From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Events
- March 6 — The television show 60 Minutes tackles issues within video
game controversy. This segment of 60 Minutes has been
criticized by video game
players for encouraging video game censorship. [1]
- March 7–March 11 — Game Developers Conference:
- Nintendo keynote
speech: "The Heart of the Gamer" by Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo.
- Microsoft keynote
speech: "The Future of Games: Unlocking the Opportunity" by J Allard, corporate vice
president and chief XNA architect.
- May 11 — The global version of Maplestory is
launched.
- May 12 — The Xbox 360
was officially announced on MTV in a
special hosted by Elijah
Wood.
- May 16 — The PlayStation 3 was unveiled by Sony during a pre-E3 press conference, at 21:25 GMT. At the same
time, the press release[2] was
released through the Japanese PlayStation website.
- May 17-May 20 — E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) takes
place in Los Angeles,
California. Four hundred exhibiting companies and 70,000
industry professionals representing 79 countries attended.
Next-generation systems from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft were
unveiled.
- June 1 — IBM held the first
virtual video game on-demand conference in which game developers
and manufacturers were able to come together to discuss issues with
online games, including management and distribution.
- July - IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants
Association) hosts 6th annual Executive Summit.
- September 16 — September 18 — Tokyo Game Show takes place at Makuhari Messe.
One hundred-thirty companies are expected to show with 1,429
booths.
- Nintendo keynote
speech by Satoru
Iwata, president of Nintendo.
- During Iwata's keynote speech, the Wii controller is unveiled.
- Microsoft keynote
speech by Robert
J. Bach, chief Xbox officer
and senior vice president, Home and Entertainment Division at
Microsoft.
- November 14 — Nintendo's first mainstream online service (Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection) is
launched with Mario
Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American
Sk8land.
- November 22 — Microsoft's Xbox 360 is released.
- December 16 — The Family Entertainment
Protection Act (FEPA) is introduced by Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and
Evan Bayh. The bill
calls for a federal mandate enforcement of the Entertainment Software
Rating Board (ESRB) ratings system for video games in order to protect children
from inappropriate content.
Business
- January 6 — French publisher Titus
Interactive, owner of Interplay Entertainment, is
declared bankrupt
after being in receivership since October 2004.
- January 12 — Video game companies and players worldwide donate
money to the UNICEF South Asian Tsunami Relief Fund for rescue and
reconstruction efforts upon the South Asian tsunami disaster. Electronic Arts
pledges to donate $250,000 to the UNICEF South Asian Tsunami Relief
Fund. CCP, the publisher of EVE Online, establishes a fund that
video game players can contribute to.
- January 17 — Electronic Arts and ESPN announced a 15-year partnership that would
give EA access to ESPN's broadcast, print and online content.
- January 20 — Activision announced that it acquired
developer Vicarious Visions known best as a
developer of Game Boy
games as well as for their middleware program,
Alchemy.
- January 24 — Major League Baseball and Take-Two
Interactive sign exclusive seven year deal that gives Take-Two
the rights among third-party publishers to develop games based on
the MLB license.
- January 25 — Take-Two Interactive announced
that it acquired developer Visual Concepts and their wholly owned
subsidiary Kush Games
from Sega for $24 million.
Additionally, Take-Two also announced the start of another
publishing label named 2K
Games.
- February — Troika
Games defunct after being unable to get contracts for
development work.
- March 2 — The Entertainment Software
Rating Board or ESRB added the rating of "E10+" to its ratings
system. E10+ was created in order to divide E ratings for younger
and older children.
- March 7 — Sammy Studios breaks away from Sega Sammy
Holdings and renames itself High Moon Studios.
- March 9 — Sega acquires Creative Assembly.
- March 23 — Vivendi Universal Games buys developer Radical
Entertainment. Radical is best known for developing The Simpsons Hit &
Run.
- April 2 — Keiji
Inafune, the creator of Mega Man
series, was promoted from corporate officer to senior corporate
officer.
- May — Buena Vista Games announces that it had
bought the rights to the Turok
video game franchise and will be publishing new games. The rights
were originally held by bankrupt Acclaim Entertainment.
- July 20 — After coming under heavy fire from many politicians,
most notably Hillary Clinton, the Entertainment Software
Rating Board re-rated Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas Adults Only 18+ (AO) due to the sexually explicit
minigame mod "Hot Coffee".
Additionally, Rockstar Games ceased production of the game and has
announced plans to offer a new version of the game that can't be
affected by the mod, and plans to patch the PC version.
- July 27 — Sony Computer Entertainment
released the first major update in Japan for their video
game handheld, the PlayStation Portable. Version
2.00 includes an web browser, A-B repeat mode, Wi-Fi picture sending, as well as
additional audio & video support among other features.
- August 8— Abandon Mobile announces its formation through a
partnership between Abandon Entertainment, Inc. and GF Capital
Management and Advisors, LLC.
- August 22 — Square
Enix acquires Taito Corporation. That leads to
Square Enix entering the arcade sector of the electronic game
industry.
- November — Pandemic Studios and BioWare partner to create
BioWare/Pandemic Studios.
- November 7 — Take-Two Interactive acquires Firaxis Games.
- November 30 — Sony Computer Entertainment
announce that PlayStation 2 breaks a record: the
fastest console to reach cumulative shipment of 100 million units,
beating the previous record holder, the PlayStation, by three years and nine
months. The PS platform has until the present year the biggest
sales of all times of video games history, with 120 million
consoles shipped.
- December 12 — Working Designs closes down.
Notable
releases
North American release dates:
- January 10 — The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA)
- January 10 — Software Tycoon (Lin)
- January 11 — Resident Evil 4 (GCN)
- January 11 — Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
(PS2, Xbox)
- January 25 — Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (Xbox)
- February 4 — Postal²: Share the Pain (Lin)
- February 8 — Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The
Sith Lords (PC)
- February 14 —"Star Fox
Assault"(GCN)
- February 14 — WarioWare: Touched! (NDS)
- February 22 — Gran Turismo 4 (PS2)
- February 24 — Tekken
5 (PS2)
- March 1 — Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (PS2)
- March 14 — Donkey Kong Jungle Beat GC
- March 15 — Act of War: Direct Action (PC)
- March 21 — TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (GCN, PS2, Xbox)
- March 22 — God of War (PS2)
- March 22 — Lumines (PlayStation Portable)
- March 22 — The Matrix Online (PC)
- March 22 — Metal Gear Acid (PSP)
- March 29 — Dynasty Warriors 5 (PS2)
- March 31 — Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
(GCN, PC, PS2, Xbox)
- April 4 — Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (PC)
- April 5 — Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (GBA, GCN, PC, PS2, Xbox)
- April 12 — Jade
Empire (Xbox)
- April 19 — Psychonauts (Xbox)
- April 25 — Crash Bandicoot (Mobile)
- April 26 — Psychonauts (PC)
- April 26 — ObsCure (PC, PS2, Xbox)
- April 28 — Guild Wars
- May 1 — Pokémon
Emerald (GBA)
- May 23 — WarioWare: Twisted! (GBA)
- May 23 — Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (GBA)
- June 7 — Medal of Honor: European Assault (GameCube,
PS2, Xbox)
- June 13 — "Yoshi
Topsy-Turvy" (GBA)
- June 13 — Kirby: Canvas Curse (NDS)
- June 21 — Battlefield 2 (PC)
- June 21 — Psychonauts (PS2)
- June 21 — Destroy All Humans! (PS2, Xbox)
- June 24 — Soul Ride (Lin)
- June 27 — Meteos
(NDS)
- June 28 — Falcon 4.0: Allied Force (PC)
- July 7 — killer7 (PS2,GameCube)
- August 8 — Madden NFL 06 (PS2, NDS,GCN)
- August 16 —Dungeon Siege II (PC)
- August 16 —EyeToy: Play 2 (PS2)
- August 17 —Madden NFL 06 (PC)
- August 22 —Nintendogs (NDS)
- August 22 —Advance Wars: Dual Strike (NDS)
- August 23 —The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
(PS2,GCN, Xbox)
- September — Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter
Assault (PC)
- September 13 — Dynasty Warriors 5 (Xbox)
- September 13 — EverQuest II: Desert Of Flames (PC)
- September 15 — Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (PS2, Xbox)
- September 20 — Indigo
Prophecy (PS2, Xbox,
PC)
- September 20 — Ninja Gaiden
Black (Xbox)
- September 20 — We Love Katamari (PS2)
- September 20 — Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects
(GC, PS2, Xbox, DS, PSP)
- October 4 — Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (NDS)
- October 7 — Black & White 2 (PC)
- October 11 — Serious Sam II (PC, Xbox)
- October 17 — F.E.A.R. (PC)
- October 17 — The Warriors (PS2)
- October 18 — Quake
4 (PC)
- October 18 — Age of Empires III (PC)
- October 18 — Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
- October 19 — Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GameCube)
- October 25 — Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (PS2, Xbox)
- October 25 — Call of Duty 2 (PC)
- October 25 — Civilization IV (PC)
- October 25 — Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
(PSP)
- October 25 — Resident Evil 4 (PS2)
- October 25 — Ratchet: Deadlocked (PS2)
- October 25 — Soul Calibur
III (PS2)
- November 1 — Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (GCN, PS2, Xbox)
- November 1 — Star Wars
Battlefront 2 (PC, PS2, Xbox)
- November 7 — Kameo: Elements of Power (Xbox 360)
- November 8 — Guitar Hero (PS2)
- November 14 — Mario Kart DS (NDS)
- November 14 — Shadow the Hedgehog (PS2, Xbox, GCN)
- November 15 — Sonic Rush (NDS)
- November 15 — Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360)
- November 15 — Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360)
- November 15 — WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw
2006 (PS2)
- November 16 — Need for Speed: Most Wanted (NDS, GBA, GCN, PC, PS2, PSP,
Xbox, Xbox 360)
- November 17 — Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360)
- November 17 — Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game
of the Movie (Xbox
360)
- November 21 — Battlefield 2: Special Forces (PC)
- November 22 — Dragon Quest
VIII (PS2)
- November 22 — Quake 4 (Xbox 360)
- November 30 — Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (PS2, Xbox, GCN)
- December 5 — Animal Crossing: Wild World (NDS)
- December 5 — Super Mario Strikers (GCN)
- December 12 — Final Fantasy IV Advance (GBA)
Trends
In 2005, the total U.S. sales of video game hardware, software
and accessories rose 6% over 2004 to $10.5 billion USD
($9.9 billion, 2004) breaking 2002's $10.3 billion record for the
industry.
The increase is largely due to the portable game market which
counterbalanced sluggish console game sales. Delays, hardware
shortages, and anticipation of next-generation video game consoles
have been cited as reasoning for slow sales for both console games
and console hardware. Console games and hardware dropped by 12% and
3% respectively.
The portable market of the video game industry rose to $1.4
billion, the second time sales have broke the $1 billion mark in
the industry's history. Mostly due to the release of the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable in North
America, sales for portable hardware rose 96% over 2004. Although
the release of the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP aided in spurring
growth in the portable market, the Game Boy Advance still represented 62%
total portable software units sold and 52% of total portable
software dollar sales.[3]
Computer games continued its trend and declined by 14%, dropping
from $1.1 billion in 2004 to $953 million. Although sales did
decrease, NPD claims
that playing games on the PC is actually increasing through a
variety of different mediums including online websites and MMO
subscriptions.[4]
Video game
systems
Additionally, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3 and
Nintendo's Wii were officially unveiled during or just prior
to E3; however, only the Xbox 360 was released
in 2005. The Xbox 360 was released in North America on November 22, Europe on December 2, and Japan on December 10.
Handheld
game systems
Additionally, the Game Boy Micro was unveiled and was
released in the fall of 2005.
Video game
sales
Computer
game sales
References
- ^
Gainor, Dan (2005-03-09). "'60 Minutes’ Describes Video
Game as a Killer Application". businessandmedia.org. http://www.businessandmedia.org/news/2005/news20050309.asp. Retrieved
2009-11-23.
- ^
Sony. "Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc. to launch its Next Generation Computer Entertainment System in
Spring 2006" (PDF). Press release. http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/050517e.pdf.
- ^ "NPD Group's Annual 2005 U.S.
Video Game Industry Retail Sales". http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_060117.html. Retrieved January 17,
2006.
- ^ "NPD Group's Annual 2005 U.S.
PC Game Retail Sales". http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_060117a.html. Retrieved January 17,
2006.
Current CVG Events
Wikis
Search
