2000 in video games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The year 2000 saw the release of numerous video games as well as the launch of the PlayStation 2. Critically acclaimed games originally released in 2000 include sequels such as Madden NFL 2001, NBA Live 2001, NBA 2K1, WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, Baldur's Gate II, Diablo II, Dragon Quest VII, Final Fantasy IX, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, NFL 2K1, Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, alongside new intellectual properties such as Deus Ex, Hitman, Jet Set Radio, Perfect Dark, Skies of Arcadia, The Sims, SSX, Vagrant Story, and Sin and Punishment. The year's best-selling home video games worldwide were Pokémon games for the third year in a row (since 1998), while the highest-grossing arcade game in Japan was Virtua Striker 2.
Legend
| DC | Dreamcast | GB | Game Boy | GBC | Game Boy Color |
| GEN | Sega Genesis / Mega Drive | JAG | Atari Jaguar | LIN | Linux |
| MAC | Classic Mac OS, 2001 and before | N64 | Nintendo 64, iQue Player | NES | Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom |
| NGPC | Neo Geo Pocket Color | PS1 | PlayStation 1 | PS2 | PlayStation 2 |
| SAT | Sega Saturn | SNES | Super Nintendo / Super Famicom / Super Comboy | WIN | Microsoft Windows, all versions Windows 95 and up |
| WS | WonderSwan |
Hardware releases
The list of game-related hardware released in 2000.
Sony released the PlayStation 2, which as to this day is still the best selling video game console of all time (with 160m+ units sold). Sony also released the PS One, a small revision model of the original PlayStation that can be played portably with a LCD add-on.
| Date | System |
|---|---|
| March 4 | PlayStation 2JP[1][2] |
| July 7 | PS One[3] |
| September 19 | PS OneNA |
| September 29 | PS OneEU |
| October 26 | PlayStation 2NA[4] |
| November | PS OneEA |
| November 24 | PlayStation 2EU |
| November 30 | PlayStation 2AU |
| December 9 | WonderSwan ColorJP[5][6] |
| Unknown | Sega NAOMI 2 (arcade)[7][8] |
Top-rated games
Game of the Year awards
The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 2000.
Critically acclaimed titles
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame
The following video game releases in 2000 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[38]
| Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Score (out of 40) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vagrant Story | PS1 | Squaresoft | Action RPG | 40 |
| Tekken Tag Tournament | PS2 | Namco | Fighting | 38 |
| Final Fantasy IX | PS1 | Squaresoft | RPG | 38 |
| Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshi-tachi | PS1 | Enix | RPG | 38 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Mujura no Kamen (Majora's Mask) | N64 | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 37 |
| Phantasy Star Online | DC | Sega | Action RPG | 37 |
| Ridge Racer V | PS2 | Namco | Racing | 36 |
| Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren 2 (Shiren the Wanderer 2) | N64 | Nintendo | Roguelike | 36 |
| Biohazard – Code: Veronica (Resident Evil – Code: Veronica) | DC | Capcom | Survival horror | 35 |
| Trade & Battle: Card Hero | GBC | Nintendo | Card battle | 35 |
| The Typing of the Dead | DC | Sega | Edutainment | 35 |
| Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 7 | PS2 | Konami | Sports | 35 |
| Grandia II | DC | Game Arts | RPG | 35 |
| MotoGP | PS2 | Namco | Racing | 35 |
| Tsumi to Batsu: Hoshi no Keishōsha (Sin and Punishment) | N64 | Nintendo | Rail shooter | 35 |
Metacritic and GameRankings
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform(s) | MC score | GR score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | Activision | September 20, 2000 | PS1 | 98/100 | 94.75% |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | Activision | November 7, 2000 | DC | 97/100 | 94.86% |
| Perfect Dark | Nintendo | May 22, 2000 | N64 | 97/100 | 94.55% |
| NFL 2K1 | Sega | September 7, 2000 | DC | 97/100 | 94.5% |
| Metal Gear Solid (Metal Gear: Ghost Babel) | Konami | April 24, 2000 | GBC | N/a | 95.61% |
| Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn | Interplay Entertainment | September 21, 2000 | WIN | 95/100 | 93.97% |
| The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | Nintendo | April 27, 2000 | N64 | 95/100 | 91.95% |
| Resident Evil – Code: Veronica | Capcom | February 3, 2000 | DC | 94/100 | 93.79% |
| Final Fantasy IX | Square | July 7, 2000 | PS1 | 94/100 | 92.72% |
| Jet Set Radio | Sega | June 29, 2000 | DC | 94/100 | 91.9% |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | Crave Entertainment | May 22, 2000 | DC | N/a | 94% |
| Rayman 2: The Great Escape | Ubisoft | March 21, 2000 | DC | N/a | 93.05% |
| SSX | EA Sports | October 26, 2000 | PS2 | 93/100 | 92.39% |
| Skies of Arcadia | Sega | October 5, 2000 | DC | 93/100 | 90.59% |
| NBA 2K1 | Sega | October 31, 2000 | DC | 93/100 | 89.69% |
| Le Mans 24 Hours | Sega | November 13, 2000 | DC | 93/100 | 89.5% |
| Paper Mario | Nintendo | August 11, 2000 | N64 | 93/100[41] | 88.81%[42] |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | Activision | February 29, 2000 | N64 | N/a | 92.4% |
| Vagrant Story | Square | February 10, 2000 | PS1 | 92/100 | 91.97% |
| The Sims | Electronic Arts | February 4, 2000 | WIN, MAC | 92/100 | 89.74% |
| Dead or Alive 2 | Tecmo | February 29, 2000 | DC | N/a | 91.37% |
| Virtua Tennis | Sega | June 8, 2000 | DC | 92/100 | 91.37% |
| Banjo-Tooie | Nintendo | November 20, 2000 | N64 | 90/100 | 91.31% |
| Deus Ex | Eidos Interactive | June 23, 2000 | WIN, MAC | 90/100 | 91.03% |
| Madden NFL 2001 | EA Sports | October 26, 2000 | PS2 | 91/100 | 90.78% |
| Spyro: Year of the Dragon | Sony Computer Entertainment | October 10, 2000 | PS1 | 91/100 | 90.59% |
| The Operative: No One Lives Forever | Fox Interactive | November 9, 2000 | WIN | 91/100 | 88.34% |
| DOA2: Hardcore | Tecmo | October 26, 2000 | PS2 | 91/100 | 87.38% |
| Mario Tennis | Nintendo | July 21, 2000 | N64 | 91/100 | 87.32% |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | Activision | October 25, 2000 | WIN | 91/100 | 85.77% |
| Mario Tennis | Nintendo | November 1, 2000 | GBC | N/a | 90.78%[42] |
| Donkey Kong Country | Nintendo | November 4, 2000 | GBC | N/a | 90.38% |
| Pokémon Puzzle Challenge | Nintendo | September 21, 2000 | GBC | N/a | 90.2% |
| Crazy Taxi | Sega | January 24, 2000 | DC | N/a | 90.19% |
| Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes | Capcom | March 30, 2000 | DC | 90/100 | 90.15% |
| Colin McRae Rally 2.0 | Codemasters | July 7, 2000 | PS1 | 90/100 | 88.82% |
| Grandia II | Game Arts | August 3, 2000 | DC | 90/100 | 88.81% |
| Madden NFL 2001 | EA Sports | August 22, 2000 | PS1 | 90/100 | 88.65% |
| Jane's F/A-18 | Electronic Arts | January 11, 2000 | WIN | N/a | 88.43% |
| NHL 2001 | EA Sports | September 28, 2000 | WIN | 90/100 | 86.75% |
| Rayman Revolution | Ubisoft | December 22, 2000 | PS2 | 90/100[41] | 85.17%[42] |
| WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role | THQ | November 21, 2000 | PS1 | 90/100 | 84.27% |
| Wario Land 3 | Nintendo | March 21, 2000 | GBC | N/a | 90% |
| Phantasy Star Online | Sega | December 21, 2000 | DC | 89/100[41] | 89.88%[42] |
| Sacrifice | Interplay Entertainment | November 17, 2000 | WIN | 89/100 | 89.53% |
| Counter-Strike | Sierra Entertainment | November 9, 2000 | WIN | 88/100 | 89.2% |
| Thief II | Eidos Interactive | March 23, 2000 | WIN | 87/100 | 89.14% |
| Age of Empires II: The Conquerors | Microsoft | August 24, 2000 | WIN | 88/100 | 89.11% |
| EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark | Sony Online Entertainment | April 24, 2000 | WIN | 86/100 | 89.08% |
| Excitebike 64 | Nintendo | April 30, 2000 | N64 | 88/100 | 89.07% |
| Homeworld: Cataclysm | Sierra Entertainment | June 30, 2000 | WIN | 89/100 | 88.64% |
| Samba de Amigo | Sega | April 27, 2000 | DC | 89/100 | 86.15% |
| WWF No Mercy | THQ | November 17, 2000 | N64 | 89/100 | 85.27% |
| Madden NFL 2001 | EA Sports | August 28, 2000 | N64 | 89/100 | 84.82% |
| Metropolis Street Racer | Sega | November 3, 2000 | DC | 87/100[41] | 88.59%[42] |
| Diablo II | Blizzard Entertainment | June 28, 2000 | WIN, MAC | 88/100 | 88.58% |
| MDK2 | Interplay Entertainment | March 31, 2000 | DC | N/A | 88.08% |
| Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord | Battlefront.com | May 31, 2000 | WIN | N/A | 88% |
| Ultimate Fighting Championship | Crave Entertainment | August 29, 2000 | DC | 88/100 | 87.8% |
| Superbike 2001 | EA Sports | October 6, 2000 | WIN | 88/100 | 87.32% |
| NHL 2001 | EA Sports | September 26, 2000 | PS1 | 88/100 | 84.11% |
| Enemy Engaged: RAH-66 Comanche vs. KA-52 Hokum | Empire Interactive | July 31, 2000 | WIN | 86/100 | 87.96% |
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver | Eidos Interactive | January 27, 2000 | DC | N/A | 87.94% |
| PGA Championship Golf 2000 | Sierra Entertainment | June 1, 2000 | WIN | N/A | 87.77% |
| Steel Beasts | Shrapnel Games | September 24, 2000 | WIN | 86/100 | 87.58% |
Financial performance
Best-selling video game consoles
| Rank | Manufacturer | Game console | Type | Generation | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | USA | Europe | Worldwide | |||||
| 1 | Sony | PS1 | Home | 32-bit | 940,000[43] | 3,910,000[43] | 2,940,000[43] | 7,790,000[43] |
| 2 | Nintendo | GB / GBC | Handheld | 8-bit | 3,370,000[44] | Unknown | Unknown | 18,860,000[44] |
| 3 | Sony | PS2 | Home | 128-bit | 3,940,000[45] | 1,088,000[46] | 1,000,000[45] | 6,400,000[45] |
| 4 | Nintendo | N64 | Home | 64-bit | 200,000[44] | 2,481,000[46] | Unknown | 2,850,000[44] |
| 5 | Sega | DC | Home | 128-bit | 470,000[47] | 1,309,000[46] | 500,000+[48][49] | 2,279,000+ |
| 6 | Bandai | WS | Handheld | 16-bit | 1,400,000[47] | N/a | N/a | 1,400,000 |
| 7 | Nintendo | SNES (Super Famicom) | Home | 16-bit | 10,000[44] | 810[46] | Unknown | 90,000[44] |
| 8 | Sega | GEN (Mega Drive) |
Home | 16-bit | N/a | 54,000[46] | Unknown | 54,000+ |
| 9 | Nintendo | NES (Famicom) | Home | 8-bit | 50,000[44] | N/a | N/a | 50,000[44] |
| 10 | Sega | SAT | Home | 32-bit | Unknown | 810[46] | N/a | 810+ |
Best-selling home video games
The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 2000 in Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany.
| Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | USA[50] | UK[51] | Germany | Combined | |||
| 1 | Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal | GBC | 3,448,900[52] | 4,000,000+[53] | N/a | N/a | 7,450,000+ |
| 2 | Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow | GB | 315,443[52] | 3,700,000+[54][50] | 900,000+ | 800,000+[55] | 5,715,443+ |
| 3 | Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshi-tachi | PS1 | 3,900,000+[56] | N/a | N/a | N/a | 3,900,000+ |
| 4 | Final Fantasy IX | PS1 | 2,707,000[57] | 987,354 | Unknown | Unknown | 3,694,354+ |
| 5 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | PS1, N64 | N/a | 2,307,835 | Unknown | Unknown | 2,307,835+ |
| 6 | Gran Turismo 2 | PS1 | 315,173[58] | 1,155,469 | 300,000+ | 200,000+[55] | 1,970,642+ |
| 7 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | PS1, N64 | N/a | 1,839,332 | Unknown | 100,000+[55] | 1,939,332+ |
| 8 | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | N64 | 601,542[52] | 1,206,489 | Unknown | Unknown | 1,808,031+ |
| 9 | Pokémon Stadium (Pokémon Stadium 2) | N64 | 42,166[52] | 1,701,820 | Unknown | Unknown | 1,743,986+ |
| 10 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4 | GBC | 1,669,308[58] | N/a | N/a | N/a | 1,669,308 |
The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing home video games of 2000 in the United States and Europe.
| Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Sales revenue | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA[50][54] | Europe[59] | Combined | Inflation | |||
| 1 | Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow | GB | $94,000,000+ | €296,000,000 ($273,000,000) | $367,000,000+ | $690,000,000+ |
| 2 | Pokémon Stadium | N64 | $100,000,000 | €76,000,000 ($70,000,000) | $176,000,000 | $329,000,000 |
| 3 | Pokémon Gold / Silver | GBC | $110,000,000+[53][54] | N/a | $110,000,000+ | $210,000,000+ |
| 4 | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | N64 | $72,000,000 | €27,000,000 ($25,000,000) | $97,000,000 | $180,000,000 |
| 5 | Gran Turismo 2 | PS1 | $37,000,000 | €63,000,000 ($58,000,000) | $95,000,000 | $178,000,000 |
| 6 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | $74,000,000+ | €20,000,000 ($18,000,000) | $92,000,000 | $170,000,000+ | |
| 7 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | PS1, N64 | $88,000,000 | Unknown | $88,000,000+ | $160,000,000+ |
| 8 | The Sims | WIN, MAC | $50,773,114[60] | €36,000,000 ($33,000,000) | $83,773,114 | $156,619,300 |
| 9 | Madden NFL 2001 | PS2, PS1 | $68,000,000+ | Unknown | $68,000,000+ | $127,000,000+ |
| 10 | Diablo II | WIN, MAC | $41,051,565[60] | €25,000,000 ($23,000,000) | $64,051,565 | $119,748,578 |
Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 2000.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshi-tachi | PS1 | Heartbeat | Enix | RPG | 3,900,000+ | [56] |
| 2 | Pocket Monsters: Gold / Silver / Crystal (Pokémon) | GBC | Game Freak | Nintendo | RPG | 3,448,900 | [52] |
| 3 | Final Fantasy IX | PS1 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | RPG | 2,707,000 | [57] |
| 4 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists | GBC | Konami | Konami | Card battle | 1,669,308 | [58] |
| 5 | Hoshi no Kirby 64 (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards) | N64 | HAL Laboratory | Nintendo | Platformer | 933,000 | [57] |
| 6 | Mario Tennis 64 (Mario Tennis) | N64 | Camelot Software | Nintendo | Sports | 874,350 | [52] |
| 7 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters III: Tri-Holygod Advent | GBC | Konami | Konami | Card battle | 781,000 | [57] |
| 8 | Mario Party 3 | N64 | Hudson Soft | Nintendo | Party | 767,000 | |
| 9 | Super Robot Taisen Alpha (Super Robot Wars Alpha) | PS1 | Banpresoft | Banpresto | SRPG | 714,789 | [58] |
| 10 | Ridge Racer V | PS2 | Namco | Namco | Racing | 689,000 | [57] |
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 2000.
| Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Revenue | Inflation | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pokémon Gold / Silver | GBC | Nintendo | RPG | 4,000,000+ | $110,000,000+ | $210,000,000+ | [53][54] |
| 2 | Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow | GB | Nintendo | RPG | 3,700,000+ | $94,000,000+ | $180,000,000+ | [54][50] |
| 3 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | PS1, N64 | Activision | Sports | 2,307,835 | $88,000,000 | $160,000,000 | |
| 4 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | PS1, DC | Activision | Sports | 1,839,332 | $74,000,000+ | $140,000,000+ | |
| 5 | Pokémon Stadium | N64 | Nintendo | Strategy | 1,701,820 | $100,000,000 | $187,000,000 | |
| 6 | Madden NFL 2001 | PS2, PS1 | EA Sports | Sports | 1,652,054 | $68,000,000+ | $127,000,000+ | |
| 7 | The Sims | WIN, MAC | EA | Life sim | 1,207,313 | $50,773,114 | $94,923,648 | [54][60] |
| 8 | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | N64 | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 1,206,489 | $72,000,000 | $130,000,000 | [54][50] |
| 9 | Gran Turismo 2 | PS1 | Sony | Racing sim | 1,155,469 | $37,000,000 | $69,000,000 | [54][50] |
| 10 | Final Fantasy IX | PS1 | Square EA | RPG | 987,354 | $39,000,000 | $73,000,000 | [50][61] |
The following titles were the year's top six highest-grossing home video game franchises in the United States, in terms of video game software sales revenue.[62]
| Rank | Franchise | Publisher(s) | Sales revenue | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pokémon | Nintendo, The Pokémon Company | $414,800,290 | $775,496,194 |
| 2 | Mario | Nintendo | $126,280,160 | $236,088,995 |
| 3 | The Legend of Zelda | Nintendo | $93,103,817 | $174,063,658 |
| 4 | Final Fantasy | Squaresoft, Sony, Eidos Interactive, Square EA | $61,899,388 | $115,724,943 |
| 5 | Donkey Kong | Nintendo | $41,517,999 | $77,620,607 |
| 6 | Tomb Raider | Eidos Interactive | $28,874,777 | $53,983,279 |
Europe
In Europe, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing home video games of 2000.[59]
| Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher | Genre | Sales revenue | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow | GB | Nintendo | RPG | €296,000,000 ($273,000,000) | $510,000,000 |
| 2 | Pokémon Stadium | N64 | Nintendo | Strategy | €76,000,000 ($70,000,000) | $131,000,000 |
| 3 | Gran Turismo 2 | PS1 | Sony | Racing sim | €63,000,000 ($58,000,000) | $108,000,000 |
| 4 | FIFA 2001 | EA Sports | Sports | €44,000,000 ($41,000,000) | $77,000,000 | |
| 5 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | Eidos | Quiz | €43,000,000 ($40,000,000) | $75,000,000 | |
| 6 | Pokémon Pinball | GBC | Nintendo | Pinball | €36,000,000 ($33,000,000) | $62,000,000 |
| The Sims | WIN, MAC | EA | Life sim | €36,000,000 ($33,000,000) | $62,000,000 | |
| 8 | Driver 2 | PS1 | Infogrames | Driving | €27,000,000 ($25,000,000) | $47,000,000 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | N64 | Nintendo | Action-adventure | €27,000,000 ($25,000,000) | $47,000,000 | |
| 10 | WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role | PS1 | THQ | Wrestling | €25,000,000 ($23,000,000) | $43,000,000 |
| Diablo II | WIN, MAC | Havas | Action RPG | €25,000,000 ($23,000,000) | $43,000,000 |
In the United Kingdom and France, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 2000.
| Rank | United Kingdom[63][64] | France | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Platform(s) | Sales[64][51] | ||
| 1 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | 1,000,000[65] | Pokémon Yellow[66] | |
| 2 | Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow | GB | 900,000+ | Unknown |
| 3 | Gran Turismo 2 | PS1 | 300,000+ | |
| 4 | WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role | PS1 | Unknown | |
| 5 | WWF SmackDown! | |||
In Germany, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 2000.[55]
| Rank | GB | Sales | PS1 | Sales | PC | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pokémon Red / Blue | 800,000+ | Gran Turismo 2 | 200,000+ | Diablo II | 200,000+ |
| 2 | Pokémon Yellow | Unknown | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | 100,000+ | The Sims | 100,000+ |
| 3 | Pokémon Pinball | Unknown | Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | 100,000+ | Sudden Strike | 100,000+ |
Australia
In Australia, the following titles were the top ten best-selling console games of 2000.[67]
| Rank | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pokémon Gold | GBC | Game Freak | Nintendo | RPG |
| 2 | Pokémon Silver | ||||
| 3 | Pokémon Stadium | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Strategy |
| 4 | Gran Turismo 2 | PS1 | Polyphony Digital | Sony | Racing sim |
| 5 | Pokémon Yellow | GBC | Game Freak | Nintendo | RPG |
| 6 | Star Wars Episode I: Racer | N64 | LucasArts | LucasArts | Racing |
| 7 | Pokémon Blue | GB | Game Freak | Nintendo | RPG |
| 8 | Donkey Kong 64 | N64 | Rare | Nintendo | Platformer |
| 9 | Pokémon Red | GB | Game Freak | Nintendo | RPG |
| 10 | Perfect Dark | N64 | Rare | Nintendo | First-person shooter |
Highest-grossing arcade games in Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 2000.[68]
| Rank | Title | Developer | Manufacturer | Type | Genre | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virtua Striker 2 ver. 99 / 2000 | Sega AM2 | Sega | Software | Sports | 5753 |
| 2 | Tekken Tag Tournament | Namco | Namco | Software | Fighting | 3734 |
| 3 | Samba de Amigo | Sonic Team | Sega | Dedicated | Rhythm | 3204 |
| 4 | Power Smash (Virtua Tennis) | Sega AM3 | Sega | Software | Sports | 3075 |
| 5 | Mr. Driller | Namco | Namco | Software | Puzzle | 2951 |
| 6 | Derby Owners Club | Sega AM3 | Sega | Dedicated | Simulation | 2766 |
| 7 | Time Crisis 2 | Namco | Namco | Dedicated | Light gun shooter | 2741 |
| 8 | The House of the Dead 2 | Sega AM1 | Sega | Dedicated | Light gun shooter | 2700 |
| 9 | Photo & Seal Kilala | Make Software | Make Software | Other | Purikura | 2579 |
| 10 | Garou: Mark of the Wolves | SNK | SNK | Software | Fighting | 2439 |
Major events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 7 | Publisher ASC Games shut down due to financial issues arising with the ongoing delay of their upcoming game, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – The Heart of Gaia.[69] |
| January | Digital Illusions CE acquires Refraction Games and 90% of Synergenix Interactive. |
| February 4 | First annual Dreamcast Championships, featuring the game Sonic Adventure. |
| February | Electronic Arts acquired DreamWorks Interactive, the games division of DreamWorks SKG, becoming EA Los Angeles.[70] |
| March | Game Network hosts the second annual Independent Games Festival (IGF). |
| April 14 | Reuters reports that the PlayStation 2 console would have export controls placed on it by the Trade Ministry of Japan as the PS2 is sophisticated enough for military applications.[71][72][73][74] |
| April | Nintendo sells its 100 millionth Game Boy / Game Boy Color handheld game console. |
| May 11 | The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the third Annual Interactive Achievement Awards and inducts Hironobu Sakaguchi of Square into the AIAS Hall of Fame. |
| May 11–13 | The sixth annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is held[75] along with the third annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3. |
| May 22 | The Pac-Man franchise celebrated its 20th anniversary in Japan. |
| May 24 | Looking Glass Studios was shut down.[76] |
| June 19 | Microsoft acquired Bungie.[77] |
| June 26 | Computer Game Developers Association is renamed to International Game Developers Association. |
| June 30 | Nintendo's Satellaview system ceases to receive broadcasts. |
| June | Sony acquired Verant Interactive.[78] |
| July | Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association hosts first annual Executive Summit. |
| August 31 | THQ acquired Volition.[79] |
| August | Ubi Soft acquired Red Storm Entertainment. |
| September 10 | Sega.com launches SegaNet, their online console gaming network. |
| September 13 | The Super Mario series celebrated its 15th anniversary in Japan. |
| October 7–15 | The World Cyber Games Challenge takes place in South Korea. |
| November 12 | The Sega World Sydney amusement park closes its doors for good after three years of operation. |
| December 15 | Nvidia acquires 3dfx Interactive.[80] |
| Unknown | British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) hosts its third annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia technologies; 7 of 20 awards went to video games. David Bowie was awarded, in part, for his contributions to the video game Omikron: The Nomad Soul. |
| Unknown | Mattel sells The Learning Company to Gores Technology Group.[81] |
| Unknown | All of Sega's internal consumer research & development divisions become individual developer companies. |
| Unknown | 21-6 Productions was formed. |
| Unknown | PopCap Games was formed. |
| Unknown | Yeti Interactive was formed. |
| Unknown | Team Liquid was formed. |
Notable releases
Series with new installments include Age of Empires, Banjo-Kazooie, Command & Conquer, Diablo, Excite, Final Fantasy, Grandia, The Legend of Zelda, Madden NFL, Marvel vs. Capcom, Mega Man Legends, Monkey Island, Mortal Kombat, Need for Speed, Persona, Pokémon, Resident Evil, Ridge Racer, Sonic the Hedgehog, Spyro, Tekken, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Tony Hawk's, and Wario.
In addition, 2000 saw the introduction of several new properties, including Counter-Strike, Deus Ex, Hitman, Jet Set Radio, Kessen, Mario Tennis, Midnight Club, Paper Mario, Perfect Dark, The Sims, SSX, TimeSplitters, and Total War.
| Release Date | Title | Computer Releases | Console Releases | Handheld Releases | Other Releases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 24 | Crazy Taxi | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| January 24 | Mario Party 2 | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| January 27 | Dragon Warrior Monsters | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| January 31 | Nox | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| February 3 | Resident Evil – Code: Veronica | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| February 4 | The Sims | WIN, MAC | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| February 10 | Vagrant Story | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| February 19 | SNK Gals' Fighters | N/a | N/a | NGPC | N/a |
| February 29 | BattleSphere | N/a | JAG | N/a | N/a |
| February 29 | Dead or Alive 2 | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| February 29 | Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed | WIN | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| February 29 | Rayman 2: The Great Escape | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| February 29 | Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| February 29 | Pokémon Stadium[82] | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| March 2 | WWF SmackDown! | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| March 4 | Kessen | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| March 21 | Wario Land 3 | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| March 23 | Thief II: The Metal Age | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| March 24 | Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| March 27 | Soldier of Fortune | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| March 30 | Dead or Alive 2 | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| March 30 | Final Fight Revenge | N/a | SAT | N/a | N/a |
| March 30 | Tekken Tag Tournament | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| March 31 | Tech Romancer | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| March 31 | MDK2 | WIN | DC | N/a | N/a |
| March 31 | Starlancer | WIN | DC | N/a | N/a |
| April 4 | Star Wars Episode I: Racer | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| April 27 | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| April 28 | Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| April 30 | Excitebike 64 | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| April 30 | The Misadventures of Tron Bonne | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| April 30 | Wild Arms 2 | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| May 4 | 4 Wheel Thunder | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| May 5 | Metal Gear: Ghost Babel | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| May 9 | Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| May 14 | Bomberman Max | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| May 16 | SimCity 3000 Unlimited | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| May 22 | Earth 2150 | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| May 22 | Metal Slug 2nd Mission | N/a | N/a | NGPC | N/a |
| May 22 | Perfect Dark | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| May 24 | Daikatana | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| May 28 | Bomberman 64: The Second Attack | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| June 1 | Evolva | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 1 | Ground Control | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 4 | Space Channel 5 | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| June 7 | Dracula: Resurrection | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 7 | Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 12 | Tomb Raider | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| June 13 | Shogun: Total War | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 13 | The Legend Of Dragoon | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| June 22 | Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| June 22 | Omikron: The Nomad Soul | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| June 23 | Deus Ex | WIN, MAC | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 28 | Diablo II | WIN, MAC | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 28 | Xtreme Sports | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| June 29 | Persona 2: Eternal Punishment | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 29 | Icewind Dale | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 29 | Jet Set Radio | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| June 29 | Marvel vs Capcom 2 | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| June 30 | Homeworld: Cataclysm | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| June 30 | Mortal Kombat: Special Forces | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| July 3 | Dark Reign 2 | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| July 13 | Guilty Gear X | WIN | N/a | N/a | Arcade |
| July 18 | Threads of Fate | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| July 26 | The King of Fighters 2000 | WIN | DC, PS2 | N/a | Arcade |
| July 29 | Strider 2 | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| July 31 | Spirit of Speed 1937 | WIN | DC | N/a | N/a |
| August 1 | Arcatera: The Dark Brotherhood | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| August 1 | Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2 | WIN, MAC | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| August 3 | Shin Sangoku Musou (Japan) | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| August 15 | Chrono Cross | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| August 24 | Age of Empires II: The Conquerors | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| August 26 | Dragon Quest VII (Japan) | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| August 28 | Mario Tennis | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| August 30 | WWF Royal Rumble | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| September 1 | Spider-Man | WIN | PS1, GBC, N64 | N/a | N/a |
| September 12 | Parasite Eve II | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| September 13 | Lego Stunt Rally | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| September 15 | Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| September 19 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | WIN | PS1, DC | GBC | N/a |
| September 24 | Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| September 24 | The Little Mermaid 2: Pinball Frenzy | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| September 25 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| September 25 | Vampire Hunter D | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| September 26 | Destruction Derby Raw | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| September 26 | NHL 2001 | WIN | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| September 27 | Dragon Warrior I & II | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| September 28 | F1 Championship Season 2000 | WIN | PS1, PS2 | GBC | N/a |
| October | Zeus: Master of Olympus | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| October 4 | Blair Witch Volume I: Rustin Parr | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| October 5 | Skies of Arcadia | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| October 15 | Pokémon Gold and Silver | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| October 19 | Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers | WIN | PS1, N64, PS2, DC | GBC | N/a |
| October 22 | Quake III Arena | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| October 24 | Mega Man Legends 2 | WIN | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| October 25 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| October 25 | Spyro: Year of the Dragon | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| October 26 | DOA2 Hardcore | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| October 26 | FantaVision | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| October 26 | Madden NFL 2001 | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| October 26 | Midnight Club: Street Racing | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| October 26 | Ridge Racer V | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| October 26 | SSX | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| October 26 | TimeSplitters | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| October 27 | Bust-a-Move Millennium | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| October 27 | Rune | WIN, MAC, LIN | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| October 31 | The Grinch | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| November 6 | Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| November 6 | Crash Bash | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| November 6 | Incredible Crisis | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| November 6 | The World Is Not Enough | WIN | PS1, N64 | GBC | N/a |
| November 6 | Shenmue | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| November 8 | Escape from Monkey Island | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| November 9 | The Operative: No One Lives Forever | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| November 9 | Counter-Strike (video game) | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| November 10 | Timeline | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| November 13 | Final Fantasy IX | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| November 13 | Madden NFL 2001 | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| November 13 | The Emperor's New Groove | WIN | PS1 | GBC | N/a |
| November 14 | Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| November 14 | The Powerpuff Girls: Bad Mojo Jojo | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| November 14 | Sonic Shuffle | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| November 14 | WWF No Mercy | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| November 16 | Blues Brothers 2000 | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| November 17 | Sky Odyssey | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| November 17 | Tomb Raider: Chronicles | WIN | PS1, DC | N/a | N/a |
| November 17 | Sacrifice | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| November 19 | Hitman: Codename 47 | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| November 20 | 007 Racing | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| November 20 | Banjo-Tooie | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| November 20 | Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | N/a | PS1 | GBC | N/a |
| November 20 | Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| November 21 | WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| November 22 | Harvest Moon: Back to Nature | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| November 23 | MechWarrior 4: Vengeance | WIN | N/a | N/a | Arcade |
| November 23 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| November 24 | Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| November 30 | Godzilla: The Series: Monster Wars | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| November 30 | Scooby-Doo! Classic Creep Capers | WIN | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| December 1 | Crime Cities | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| December 1 | Disney's Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge | WIN | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| December 4 | Evil Dead: Hail to the King | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| December 4 | Pokémon Puzzle Challenge | N/a | N/a | GBC | N/a |
| December 6 | American McGee's Alice | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| December 6 | Grandia II | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| December 7 | Giants: Citizen Kabuto | WIN | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| December 7 | Mario Party 3 (Japan) | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| December 7 | Project Justice | N/a | DC | N/a | Arcade |
| December 10 | Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout | N/a | PS1 | N/a | N/a |
| December 13 | Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | N/a | N64 | N/a | N/a |
| December 14 | Dark Cloud (Japan) | N/a | PS2 | N/a | N/a |
| December 14 | Pokémon Crystal (Japan) | N/a | GBC | N/a | N/a |
| December 21 | Phantasy Star Online (Japan) | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |
| December 30 | ECW Anarchy Rulz | N/a | DC | N/a | N/a |