2004 in video games
{{Short description|None}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Year nav topic5|2004|video games}}
2004 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Madden NFL 2005, NBA Live 2005, ESPN NBA 2K5, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw, Doom 3, Dragon Quest VIII, Gran Turismo 4, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Myst IV: Revelation, Ninja Gaiden, Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen/Emerald, Everybody's Golf 4 (Hot Shots Golf Fore!), Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, and World of Warcraft. New intellectual properties included Fable, Far Cry, FlatOut, Killzone, Katamari Damacy, Monster Hunter, N, Red Dead Revolver, SingStar, and Sacred. The Nintendo DS was also launched that year, the first major console of the seventh generation.
The year has been retrospectively considered one of the best and most influential in video game history due to the release of numerous critically acclaimed, commercially successful and influential titles across all platforms and genres at the time.{{cite web |last1=VanOrd |first1=Kevin |title=Why 2004 Was the Best Year in Gaming |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-2004-was-the-best-year-in-gaming/1100-6424377/ |website=Gamespot |access-date=26 December 2021}} The year's best-selling video game was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The year's most critically acclaimed titles were Dragon Quest VIII and Gran Turismo 4 in Japan, and Half-Life 2 and San Andreas in the West.
Events
- January 20 – Wired's Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever.
- February 26 – Castle Wolfenstein creator Silas Warner dies at age 54.
- March 4 – Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame.
- March 22–26 – Game Developers Conference hosts 4th annual Game Developers Choice Awards and Gama Network's 6th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF).
- May 11 – Nintendo officially announces its "Revolution" (later named Wii) console.
- May 11–13 – The 10th annual E3 is held in Los Angeles, California, United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/wikis/e3/Attendance_and_Stats|title=Attendance and Stats|date=June 8, 2012 |publisher=IGN|language=en|access-date=May 21, 2015}}
- July – IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 5th annual Executive Summit.
- August 1 – A viral portion of a Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike match takes place during the Evo 2004 tournament.{{Cite web |title=x.com |url=https://x.com/Evo/status/1819110272508088569 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240803051701/https://x.com/Evo/status/1819110272508088569 |archive-date=2024-08-03 |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=Twitter}}{{Cite magazine |last=Cruz |first=Christopher |date=2024-07-20 |title=How 'Evo Moment #37' Became the Greatest Viral Clip in Esports History |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/rs-gaming/evo-moment-37-esports-real-story-1235061310/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2024-09-16 |title=Evo Moment 37: Daigo's historic Street Fighter comeback vs Justin Wong was 20 years ago |url=https://www.dexerto.com/street-fighter/evo-moment-37-daigos-historic-street-fighter-comeback-vs-justin-wong-was-20-years-ago-2900815/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=Dexerto |language=en}}
- August 3 – Doom 3 is released, restarting the breakthrough franchise, and featured complex graphics features such as unified lighting and shadowing, real-time fully dynamic per-pixel lighting and stencil shadowing. The game became id's best selling game to date.
- October 6-10 – The 2004 World Cyber Games are held.{{Cite web |last=Colayco |first=Bob |date=October 13, 2004 |title=GameSpot @ WCG 2004 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamespot-wcg-2004/1100-6109972/ |access-date=2025-01-25 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}
- October 12 – EA Sports launches the multi-format FIFA Football 2005. It is the last major title to be released for the original PlayStation console.
- November – Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2 are officially released on PC around the world, bringing in a new era for the first-person shooter genre of video games, with advanced graphics & physics.
- November 5 – Nobuo Uematsu resigns from Square Enix and becomes a freelancer, starting his own business, called Smile Please Co., Ltd.
- December 14 – The 2004 Spike Video Game Awards are held.{{Cite web |title=GameSpy: Video Game Awards 2004 Award Winners Announced - Page 1 |url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/half-life-2/573823p1.html |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=pc.gamespy.com}}{{Cite web |last=Myers |first=Maddy |date=2024-11-29 |title=Rewatching the 2004 Spike TV Video Game Awards, a true time capsule of gaming |url=https://www.polygon.com/awards/486729/2004-spike-tv-video-game-awards-vgas-snoop-dogg |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}
=Business=
- January 12 – Ubisoft acquires Tiwak.
- February – Electronic Arts consolidates, rolls most of Maxis and all of Origin Systems into its Redwood Shores, California HQ.
- March – Microsoft announces XNA the successor of DirectX as the default API for "Longhorn", and Xenon.
- April 6 – Midway Games acquires Surreal Software.
- April 13 – T1, a South Korean esports organization, is founded.
- May – Sammy Corporation buys a controlling share in Sega Corporation at a cost of $1.1 billion creating the new company, Sega Sammy Holdings, one of the biggest video game companies in the world.
- July – Square Enix restructures executive branches around the world.
- September 1 – Acclaim declares bankruptcy and closes its doors.
- October 11 – Midway Games acquires Inevitable Entertainment and renames it Midway Studios Austin.
- November 30 – Midway Games acquires developer Paradox Development.
- December 13 – Electronic Arts purchases a 5-year exclusive agreement for the rights to the NFL, which includes NFL teams, stadiums and players for use in EA's football video games.
- December 20 – Electronic Arts purchases 20% stake in Ubisoft. The purchase at the time was considered "hostile", by Ubisoft.
Hardware releases
File:Nintendo-DS-Fat-Blue.jpg]]
| class="wikitable" |
| Month
! Day ! System |
|---|
| October
| 29 | PlayStation 2 slimline{{abbr|EU|Europe}} |
| November
| 17 |
| November
| 21 | Nintendo DS{{abbr|NA|North America}} |
| December
| 11 | PlayStation Portable{{abbr|JP|Japan}} |
Trends
In 2004, the total U.S. sales of video game hardware, software and accessories was $9.9 billion compared with $10 billion in 2003. Total software sales rose 8 percent over the previous year to $6.2 billion. Additionally, sales of portable software titles exceeded $1 billion for the first time. Hardware sales were down 27 percent for the year due in part to shortages during the holiday season and price reductions from all systems.
=Video game consoles=
- GameCube
- Xbox
- PlayStation 2
- Sony released an internal hard drive for the PlayStation 2 on March 23
- The third major hardware revision of the PlayStation 2 (model number SCPH-70000) was released in Japan on November 1
=Handheld game systems=
The dominant handheld systems in 2004 were:
Additionally, Nokia released an updated version of their original N-Gage, called the N-Gage QD. Nintendo released the Nintendo DS on November 21 in the United States. In Japan Sony released the PlayStation Portable on December 12.
=Best-selling video games=
== Japan ==
== United States ==
== PAL regions ==
= Top game rentals in the United States =
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+Top video game rentals in the United States{{Cite magazine|date=8 January 2005|title=Marketplace: A Look At The 2004 Video Chart Picture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|volume=117|issue=2|page=39|issn=0006-2510}} ! Rank ! Title ! Publisher ! Platform | |||
| 1 | Prince of Persia: Warrior Within | Ubisoft | rowspan="10" | PlayStation 2 |
| 2 | |||
| 3
| rowspan="2" |Atari | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5
| rowspan="2" |EA Sports | |||
| 6 | |||
| 7
|Rockstar Games | |||
| 8 | |||
| 9
|EA Sports | |||
| 10
|EA Games |
Critically acclaimed titles
= ''Famitsu'' =
In Japan, the following video game releases in 2004 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" and received Famitsu scores of at least 36 out of 40.{{cite web|title=週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧|trans-title=Weekly Famitsu Cross Review Platinum Hall of Fame Software List|url=http://geimin.net/da/db/cross_review/index.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081027205828/geimin.net/da/db/cross_review/index.php|archive-date=October 27, 2008|access-date=24 February 2021|website=Geimin|language=ja}}
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
!Title !Platform !Publisher !Genre !Score (out of 40) |
| Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi
|39 |
| Gran Turismo 4
|PlayStation 2 |Sony |39 |
| Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
|PlayStation 2 |37 |
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
|PlayStation 2 |37 |
| Kessen III
|PlayStation 2 |Koei |37 |
| Onimusha 3 (Onimusha 3: Demon Siege)
|PlayStation 2 |Capcom |36 |
| Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
|Konami |Stealth |36 |
| Hoshi no Kirby: Kagami no Daimeikyū (Kirby & the Amazing Mirror)
|36 |
| Pikmin 2
|GameCube |Nintendo |36 |
| Mawaru Made in Wario (WarioWare: Twisted!)
|Game Boy Advance |Nintendo |36 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Fushigi no Bōshi (The Minish Cap)
|Game Boy Advance |Nintendo |Action-adventure |36 |
| Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
|Game Boy Advance |Square Enix |36 |
| Sawaru Made in Wario (WarioWare: Touched!)
|Nintendo |Party |36 |
| FIFA Total Football 2 (FIFA Football 2005)
|PlayStation 2 |36 |
= Metacritic and GameRankings =
In the West, Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ 2004 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR){{cite web |title=Best Video Games for 2004 |url=https://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/year/all/all?sort=desc&year_selected=2004 |website=Metacritic |access-date=September 6, 2019}}{{cite web |title=Highest-Ranking Games of 2004 (with at least 5 reviews) |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html?site=&cat=0&year=2004&numrev=4&sort=0&letter=&search= |website=GameRankings |access-date=September 6, 2019}} |
| scope="col"| Game
! scope="col"| Publisher ! scope="col"| Release Date ! scope="col"| Platform ! scope="col"| MC score ! scope="col"| GR score |
|---|
| Half-Life 2
| Valve | November 16, 2004 | 96/100 | 95.48% |
| Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
| October 26, 2004 | 95/100 | 95.08% |
| Halo 2
| November 9, 2004 | Xbox | 95/100 | 94.57% |
| Burnout 3: Takedown
| September 8, 2004 | Xbox | 94/100 | 93.06% |
| Burnout 3: Takedown
| September 8, 2004 | 93/100 | 93.32% |
| Unreal Tournament 2004
| Atari | March 16, 2004 | 93/100 | 92.57% |
| Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
| Ubisoft | March 23, 2004 | Xbox | 93/100 | 92.37% |
| World of Warcraft
| November 23, 2004 | 93/100 | 91.89% |
| Ninja Gaiden
| Tecmo | March 2, 2004 | Xbox | 91/100 | 92.54% |
| Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
| Nintendo | November 15, 2004 | GameCube | 92/100 | 91.87% |
| Rome: Total War
| September 22, 2004 | 92/100 | 91.75% |
| ESPN NFL 2K5
| Sega | July 20, 2004 | Xbox | 92/100 | 90.52% |
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
| Konami | November 17, 2004 | 91/100 | 91.77% |
| Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
| November 3, 2004 | 91/100 | 91.54% |
| Pro Evolution Soccer 4
| Konami | August 5, 2004 |
| Madden NFL 2005
| August 9, 2004 | 91/100 | 90.33% |
| Madden NFL 2005
| August 9, 2004 | Xbox | 91/100 | 89.5% |
| Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
| September 20, 2004 | 91/100 | 88.24% |
| The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay – Developer's Cut
| December 3, 2004 | 90/100 | 90.95% |
| The Sims 2
| September 14, 2004 | 90/100 | 90.76% |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
| Nintendo | November 4, 2004 |
| Metroid: Zero Mission
| Nintendo | February 9, 2004 | 89/100 | 90.19% |
| Pro Evolution Soccer 4
| Konami | November 26, 2004 | Xbox |
| Dragon Quest VIII
| November 27, 2004 |
| Madden NFL 2005
| August 9, 2004 | GameCube | 90/100 | 90% |
| Pikmin 2
| Nintendo | April 29, 2004 | GameCube | 90/100 | 89.44% |
| MVP Baseball 2004
| March 9, 2004 | 90/100 | 88.89% |
| MVP Baseball 2004
| March 9, 2004 | Xbox | 90/100 | 88.73% |
| Viewtiful Joe
| Capcom | August 24, 2004 | 90/100 | 87.95% |
| Lumines: Puzzle Fusion
| Bandai | December 12, 2004 |
| Counter-Strike: Source
| Valve | November 1, 2004 | 88/100 | 89.71% |
| EVE Online: Exodus
| November 17, 2004 | N/A | 89.62% |
| Gran Turismo 4
| December 28, 2004 |
| NCAA Football 2005
| July 15, 2004 | 88/100 | 89.45% |
| FirePower for Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3
| June 11, 2004 | 88/100 | 89.43% |
| Far Cry
| Ubisoft | March 23, 2004 | 89/100 | 89.38% |
| Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor
| October 5, 2004 | 81/100 | 89% |
| Football Manager 2005
| Sega | November 5, 2004 | 89/100 | 88.81% |
| The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
| June 1, 2004 | Xbox | 89/100 | 88.61% |
| NCAA Football 2005
| July 15, 2004 | Xbox | 89/100 | 88.4% |
| MVP Baseball 2004
| March 9, 2004 | GameCube | 89/100 | 87.43% |
| Ridge Racer
| Namco | December 12, 2004 |
| RalliSport Challenge 2
| May 4, 2004 | Xbox | 87/100 | 88.54% |
| Pro Evolution Soccer 4
| Konami | December 3, 2004 |
| Out of the Park Baseball 6
| Out of the Park Developments | June 14, 2004 | 87/100 | 88.4% |
| Sid Meier's Pirates!
| Atari | November 22, 2004 | 88/100 | 88.34% |
| Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
| Nintendo | July 22, 2004 | GameCube | 87/100 | 88.05% |
| NCAA Football 2005
| July 15, 2004 | GameCube | 88/100 | 88.01% |
| Sly 2: Band of Thieves
| September 14, 2004 | 88/100 | 87.92% |
| Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
| April 27, 2004 | 88/100 | 87.86% |
| WarioWare: Twisted!
| Nintendo | October 14, 2004 |
| Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
| September 20, 2004 | GameCube | 88/100 | 87.68% |
| Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
| September 20, 2004 | 88/100 | 87.08% |
| Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
| September 20, 2004 | Xbox | 88/100 | 86.51% |
| ESPN NHL 2K5
| Sega | August 30, 2004 | Xbox | 88/100 | 86.22% |
| Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers and Jets
| Tri Synergy | September 13, 2004 | 83/100 | 87.83% |
| NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup
| September 4, 2004 | GameCube | N/A | 87.61% |
Notable releases
{{GamePlatformKey|tot=9|GBA|GCN|NDS|PS1|PS2|PSP|Win|Xbox}}