2001 in video gaming
Notable events of 2001 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games.
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- Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts John Carmack of id Software to the AIAS Hall of Fame
- BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) hosts the 4th annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia technologies; 15 of 21 awards go to video games
- May 17-19 — 7th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 4th annual Game Critics Awards For The Best Of E³
- July - IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 2nd annual Executive Summit
- Gama Network hosts the 3rd annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
- Game Developers Conference hosts the 1st annual Game Developers Choice Awards
- Reuters reports that the Sega Dreamcast console has an estimated 800,000 online users playing its various online games already by midyear
- reports that Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and SEGA are cooperating to allow online users for the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast consoles to play each other via the 1st ever cross-console network
- Sony cooperates with AOL to incorporate Internet features with the PlayStation 2 console; which include a browser, email, and instant messaging capabilities
- 2nd annual Sega Dreamcast Championships (featuring the Crazy Taxi 2 video game)
- 1st place: Lindsay Gall ($15,000 & Jamaica resort trip)
- 2nd place: Michael Pirring ($10,000)
- 3rd place: Roger Mogle ($5,000)
- Nikkei News reports that the video game Phantasy Star Online (for Sega Dreamcast) has had 300,000 worldwide users login already by midyear
- December 31 — Jez San is awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours, becoming the first person awarded specifically for services to video games.
- SEGA announces that it will no longer develop home consoles, in order to focus on game development. The Dreamcast is waiting to finish the production in May. But a lot of games were released for it in the same year.
- Indrema in April closes and its L600 Entertainment System multimedia home console is never released.
- Activision acquires Treyarch Invention LLC
- PCCW (Pacific Century CyberWorks Japan Co., Ltd.) acquires VR1 Entertainment
- Midway Games announces that it will no longer manufacture arcade games
- Sega of America Inc. v. Kmart Corporation; Sega sues Kmart over an unpaid debt of over USD$2 million dollars
- Uri Geller v. Nintendo; Geller sues Nintendo over his resemblance to a Pokémon character. The suit is dismissed.
- November 23 — GamePark releases the GP32 (GamePark 32) wireless-multiplayer multimedia handheld console in South Korea
- December — Panasonic's Q multimedia console
| Platform key | |
| DC | Dreamcast |
| GB | Game Boy |
| GBA | Game Boy Advance |
| GBC | Game Boy Color |
| GCN | Nintendo GameCube |
| Lin | Linux |
| Mac | Apple Macintosh personal computer |
| NDS | Nintendo DS |
| PS1 | PlayStation |
| PS2 | PlayStation 2 |
| PS3 | PlayStation 3 |
| PSP | PlayStation Portable |
| Wii | Wii |
| Win | Windows-based personal computer |
| XB | Xbox |
| X360 | Xbox 360 |
North American release dates:
- January 21 - Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast)
- February 5 - Paper Mario (N64)
- March 5 - Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)
- March 13 - Onimusha: Warlords (PS2)
- March 21 - Serious Sam: The First Encounter (PC)
- March 25 - Black & White (PC)
- May 22 - Red Faction (PS2)
- June 5 - Sonic Adventure 2 (Sega Dreamcast)
- June 8 - Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA)
- June 11 - Super Mario Advance (GBA)
- June 18 - Twisted Metal: Black (PS2)
- June 22 - Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (PC)
- June 29 - Final Fantasy Chronicles (PS1)
- July 10 - Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2)
- July 19 - Final Fantasy X (PS2)
- July 23 - Max Payne (PC)
- August 21 - Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (PC)
- August 27 - Mario Kart Super Circuit (GBA)
- September 9 - Advance Wars (GBA)
- September 24 - Silent Hill 2 (PS2)
- September 30 - Ico (PS2)
- October 17 - Devil May Cry (PS2)
- October 22 - Grand Theft Auto III (PS2)
- October 28 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2)
- October 30 - Civilization III (PC)
- November 1 - Dragon Warrior VII (PS1)
- November 5 - SSX Tricky (PS2, GC, Xbox)
- November 9 - Project Gotham Racing (Xbox)
- November 11 - Golden Sun (GBA)
- November 12 - Empire Earth (PC)
- November 14 - Dead or Alive 3 (Xbox)
- November 14 - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)
- November 15 - Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
- November 17 - Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (GC)
- November 18 - Super Monkey Ball (GC)
- November 20 - FreQuency (PS2)
- November 20 - Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC)
- December 3 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2)
- December 3 - Pikmin (GC)
- December 3 - Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC)
- December 4 - Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
The dominant video game consoles in 2001 were:
Additionally, Nintendo released the Nintendo GameCube on September 14 in Japan (U.S. on November 11 and in Europe on May 3, 2002). Microsoft released the Xbox video game console in the U.S. on November 15 (in Europe on March 14, 2002).
The dominant handheld systems in 2001 were:
Additionally, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in Japan on March 21 (in the U.S. on June 11 and Europe on June 22).
 The Game Boy Advance |
The top 10 selling console video games in 2001 in the United States ranked by units sold, according to NPD, were:
| Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto III | PS2 | Rockstar Games |
| 2 | Madden NFL 2002 | PS2 | Electronic Arts |
| 3 | Pokémon Crystal | GBC | Nintendo |
| 4 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | PS2 | Konami |
| 5 | Super Mario Advance | GBA | Nintendo |
| 6 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony |
| 7 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | PS2 | Activision |
| 8 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | PS1 | Activision |
| 9 | Pokémon Silver | GBC | Nintendo |
| 10 | Driver 2 | PS1 | Infogrames |
The top 10 selling computer games in 2001 in the United States ranked by units sold, according to NPD, were:
| Rank | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Sims | Electronic Arts |
| 2 | Roller Coaster Tycoon | Infogrames |
| 3 | Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | Diablo II: Lord of Destruction | Vivendi Universal |
| 5 | The Sims: House Party | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | The Sims: Livin' Large | Electronic Arts |
| 7 | The Sims: Hot Date | Electronic Arts |
| 8 | Diablo II | Vivendi Universal |
| 9 | Sim Theme Park | Electronic Arts |
| 10 | Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings | Microsoft |
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