User:Tigerghost/Sandbox

{{See also|2010 in video gaming|2011 in video gaming|2012 in video gaming}}

File:Nintendo-3DS-AquaOpen.png

Coming into the 2010s, video games and their associated culture matures into an established element of pop culture. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the average age of a person who plays games is 37.http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp

Some of the new and innovative trends to gaming culture in this decade include cloud gaming, the rise of 3D gaming, and the ever-increasing advancements in graphic card technologies leading to more photo-realistic graphics. Video game sales declined in the early-2010s, most likely due to the effects of the Great Recession,http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/video-game-industry-dips-further-in-may/ but the industry still continued to make millions of dollars in profits from wide-releases of popular franchises. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, released in late-2011, made over US$775 million in one-week which put that particular first-person shooter video game on par or even surpassing records of the film industry's opening numbers that week.http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/nov/18/modern-warfare-2-records-775m

The first half of the decade was dominated primarily with seventh generation consoles. This includes Microsoft's Xbox 360, the Sony Playstation 3, and Nintendo's Wii. The lack of many wide release titles on the PC lead some industry critics to question whether PC gaming is dead entirely.http://www.pcworld.com/article/229976/e3_2011_the_future_of_pc_gaming.html The PC, however still remains the preferred choice medium by the Sims franchise and many of Blizzard's popular titles despite expanding onto other devices.http://www.techspot.com/news/35131-blizzard-dominates-may-pc-game-sales.htmlhttp://reviews.cnet.com/best-pc-games/ 2012 will introduce the first console regarded to be in the eighth generation, the Wii U. Sony and Microsoft have initially stated that their PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles were to be on a ten-year lifespan which wouldn't place a release of one of their consoles until 2014 or 2016,http://www.shacknews.com/article/69053/microsoft-xbox-360-about-halfwayhttp://www.industrygamers.com/news/playstation-4-in-the-works-sony-confirms/http://www.gamezone.com/news/microsoft-won-t-release-xbox-720-until-2014-analyst-predicts but the Wii U's announcement has prompted the other two industry giants to make swifter timetables of release. The successor to the Xbox 360 is expected to be released in 2013 and feature 3D gaming and touchscreen controllers.http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/02/21/microsoft-xbox-720-to-sport-3d-gaming-touchscreen-controllers/ The eighth generation consoles are expected to face stiff competition from tablet and smartphone gaming markets, as well as an increased interest in independent games promoted by popular social networking sites.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-19/nintendo-may-fail-to-replicate-wii-success-as-iphone-games-bloom.htmlhttp://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-games-stats/

Following in the 3D craze, Nintendo released the Nintendo 3DS in early-2011. It introduced a new interface that does not require special glasses to observe stereoscopic 3D visual during gameplay.{{cite web|last=Smith |first=Mike |url=http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/-nintendo-announces-new-3d-enabled-ds/1394787 |title=Nintendo announces new 3D-enabled DS |publisher=Videogames.yahoo.com |date=23 March 2010 |accessdate=21 June 2010}} Sony also releases a portable console, the Playstation Vita in 2012, but does not feature 3D gaming. The OnLive console is released as well becoming the first massively-produced cloud gaming-based gaming device.{{cite web|url=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2374376,00.asp|title=OnLive Receives Cloud-Gaming Patent|author=Sara Yin|publisher=PCMag}} Mobility and interaction become a common trend to see in video games. The original Wii revolutionized the industry with the introduction of the sensor bar with compatible sensitive controllers, and Sony and Microsoft reacted by releasing the Playstation Move and Kinect respectfully. This new and innovative direction expanded the video game market to those interested in physical therapy and to the elderly.http://nelsonphysicaltherapy.com/active-gaming/http://gamepolitics.com/2011/10/03/video-games-good-supplement-physical-therapy-icu-patientshttp://www.sciencealert.com/news/20110112-22906.htmlhttp://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/dec/16/elderly_gamers_take_wii_systems_physically_active_/

{{See also|2010s in film}}

{{See also|2010 in television|2011 in television|2012 in television}}

Film and television, two industries that have dominated pop culture for a large part of the last century found itself struggling to maintain its predominant influence throughout this decade.http://boingboing.net/2012/02/17/oh-my-god-we-are-still-havin.html The struggles plaguing the music industry in the previous decade had begun to catch up to other mediums, as well as the consequences of ever-increasing online usage by consumers. Internet piracy was a major concern for the industry as well and a reluctance to adapt to consumer demand through online venues even further harmed the industry's image.http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-stop-online-piracy-without-stupid-laws-2012-1 In 2008, the industry launched the joint venture video site Hulu to combat numerous piracy concerns from other video-sharing sites.http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/mip/peter-levinsohn-building-future-digital-business As of 2010, Hulu was contemplating a US$2 billion IPO.http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/16/technology/hulu_ipo/index.htm Also in 2010, Viacom lost a US$1 billion lawsuit it was pursuing against Youtube for copyright infringement.http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/youtube_wins_case_against_viacom.php Furthermore, governments began looking at ways to combat internet piracy. In early 2012, the United States Congress began debating the infamous SOPA and PIPA bills that were heavily lobbied by the entertainment industry and widely unpopular among the population.http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111208/03011717005/entertainment-industry-still-cant-get-grassroots-support-sopapipa-resorts-to-trying-to-buy-support.shtml Despite government efforts to debate the issue, internet piracy is still expected to be a major concern throughout the decade.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16628143http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/20/struggle-against-sopa-and-pipa-is-not-over

Cable providers saw a decline in their membership in favor of online streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon.com's Prime service due to cheaper cost to consumers.http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/060710-tech-argument-youtube-hulu.htmlhttp://www.leadertelegram.com/news/daily_updates/article_65c0b816-e963-11df-b6d1-001cc4c002e0.html These non-cable, internet-based media streaming services even began producing their own programming.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/netflix-hulu-youtube-internet-tv_n_1236218.html

3D films, although not a new technology, saw a resurgence in popularity after the long-awaited release of James Cameron's Avatar in late-2009.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1208038/Avatar-How-James-Camerons-3D-film-change-face-cinema-forever.htmlhttp://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-21/entertainment/avatar.day.james.cameron_1_stereoscopic-avatar-day-forever-war?_s=PM:SHOWBIZhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/6840357/Avatar-changing-the-face-of-film-for-ever.html In 2010, Avatar became the first film to cross the US$2 billion mark.{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9711561|title='Avatar' Wins Box Office, Nears Domestic Record|accessdate=2 February 2010|publisher=ABC News}} The box office success of other 3D releases that year insured the industry that 3D movies were not a fad.http://mashable.com/2011/12/22/3d-movies-here-to-stay/http://www.ramascreen.com/james-cameron-says-3d-is-not-a-fad-its-a-renaissance In fact, the video game and television industries began to look into utilizing the 3D trend by releasing their own 3D products and services.

Animated films in the 2010s remain predominately computer generated. Traditional 2D animation has struggled in recent years and is seen by most to be an outdated or casualty to the rise of CGI-based films.http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/leap-of-faith-the-princess-and-the-frog-1870801.htmlhttp://biznik.com/articles/traditional-2d-animation-down-but-not-out Japanese anime and manga still remain to be fairly popular 2D mediums globally and may be the exception to this trend.http://www.metropulse.com/news/2012/feb/22/studio-ghiblis-secret-world-arrietty-reminds-us-wo/ In 2010, Toy Story 3 became the first animated film to gross more than US$1 billion worldwide.{{cite web | url = http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2904&p=.htm | title = 'Toy Story 3' Reaches Billion | publisher = Amazon.com | work = Box Office Mojo | date = 29 July 2010 | accessdate = 21 August 2010 }} Established long-running 2D animated sitcoms are still widely popular as well.http://fanpagelist.com/category/tv-shows/

The American Soap opera format slides in popularity as reality television and daytime talk shows continue to move in on their time slots.http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/apr/17/abc-all-my-children-us-soap-operas-declinehttp://daytimeconfidential.zap2it.com/2011/04/15/the-decline-of-the-american-soap-opera All My Children and One Life to Live, both globally broadcast series that have been on the air for decades are cancelled.http://www.fastcompany.com/1747516/in-the-wake-of-abc-soap-opera-cancellation-is-the-death-of-soap-opera-an-inevitability Prime-time television serials and Spanish-language telenovelas remain popular globally.http://www.portalcomunicacion.com/catunesco/download/tufte_telenovelas.pdf

In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to receive the Academy Award for Best Director for the 2009 movie The Hurt Locker.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2010/03/08/2010-03-08_the_hurt_locker_is_lowestgrossing_movie_to_ever_win_best_picture_may_get_postosc.html |title='The Hurt Locker' is lowest-grossing movie to ever win Best Picture, but it may get post-Oscar bump |work=NY Daily News |author=Carter, Nicole |date=8 March 2010 |accessdate=6 April 2010 |location=New York}}

File:Skyline-Dubai-2010.jpg became the world's tallest building when completed in 2010.]]

Postmodernism and green designshttp://www.architectmagazine.com/sustainability/10-for-20.aspxhttp://www.lajollalight.com/2012/02/18/energy-saving-techniques-and-green-architecture-methods-stand-to-cut-costs-reduce-consumption-dramatically-in-the-coming-decade/ are common themes seen throughout the architecture of the decade. The aftermath of the energy crisis and the threat of peak oil have pushed developers to creating structures that are as sustainable as possible whether that is through the use of natural lighting, green/white roofs, better insulation, and other cost-saving means.http://www.storefrontnews.org/programming/events?t=752 Architect Bjarke Ingels, known for designing the Danish pavilion at Expo 2010, has proposed a type of "hedonistic sustainability" to create a balance between playful art and sustainability.http://www.ted.com/talks/bjarke_ingels_hedonistic_sustainability.html

China and Dubai have been regarded as the "architect playgrounds" of this decade.http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/05/china/architecture/ted-fishman-texthttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/2011-10/17/content_13915114.htmhttp://www.archdaily.com/86123/is-china-architects-new-dubai/http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/infinity-towers-give-new-twist-to-dubais-skyline Many iconic structures, including the current world's tallest building Burj Khalifa and the Shanghai World Financial Center, are placed in these regions of the world. Dubai's development has been slowed by the global recession,http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2009/id20090415_380317.htm but China continues to flourish in its development towards a modern nation.http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Is_China_recession_proof_2366 In fact, China is pushing Shanghai to become a global financial center by 2015.http://www.tax-news.com/news/China_Pushes_Shanghai_As_International_Financial_Centre____53769.htmlhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/uk-china-economy-shanghai-idUSTRE80T0DY20120130 As China continues to develop, it will continue to struggle to provide energy for its 1 billion strong population. China's Three Gorges Dam became fully operational in 2011 and is one of the world's largest gravity dams in the world.{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.cn/english/2006-05/19/content_285414.htm |title=Three Gorges to become center for China power grid in 2011: official |publisher=Gov.cn |date=19 May 2006 |accessdate=10 November 2011}}

A supertall skyscraper race began in the late-2000s and in 2010, Dubai's Burj Khalifa became the tallest man-made structure ever built, standing at {{convert|828|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The title is not expected to last too long as other projects proposed or approved such as the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabiahttp://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-110802-kingdom-tower-pictures,0,2908125.photogallery hopes to rise even higher. One World Trade Center ({{convert|541.32|m|ft|abbr=on}}), an environmentally integrated structureLower Manhattan Construction Command Center (2010). [http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/project_updates/freedom_tower_26204.aspx 1 World Trade Center (Freedom Tower)]. Retrieved 22 March 2010. which is set to become the tallest building in the United States, is expected to open in April 2013.{{cite report |title=World Trade Center Report: A Roadmap Forward |last=Ward |first=Chris |year=2008 |publisher=Port Authority of New York and New Jersey |pages=26 |url=http://www.panynj.gov/pdf/WTC_Presentation_Oct08.pdf |accessdate=2 October 2008 }} By January 2012, it had reached more than three-quarters of its designed height.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest railway tunnel, is scheduled to be completed in 2017 or 2018.

{{columns-list|1=

• Age of Empires (PC; 1997)
• Baldur's Gate (PC; 1998)
• Banjo-Kazooie (N64; 1998)
• Civilization (PC; 1991)
• Command & Conquer (PC; 1995)
• Crash Bandicoot (PS1; 1996)
• Chrono Cross (PS1; 1999)
• Cruis'n (ARC; 1994)
• Diablo (PC; 1996)
• Donkey Kong Country (SNES; 1994)
• DOOM (PC; 1993)
• Duke Nukem (PC; 1991)
• Dungeon Keeper (PC; 1997)
• Earthworm Jim (SGA; 1994)
• The Elder Scrolls (PC; 1994)
• Fallout (PC; 1997)
• F-Zero (SNES; 1990)
• Gabriel Knight (PC; 1993)
• Gran Turismo (PS1; 1997)
• Grand Theft Auto (PC; 1997)
• Half-Life (PC; 1998)
• Kirby (GB; 1992)
• Mario Kart (SNES; 1992)
• Metal of Honor (PS1; 1999)
• Mortal Kombat (ARC; 1992)
• Need for Speed (3DO; 1994)
• Neverwinter Nights (PC; 1991)
• Pajama Sam (PC; 1996)
• Pokémon (GB; 1996)
• Quake (PC; 1996)
• Rayman (SGA; 1995)
• Resident Evil (PS1; 1996)
• Rollercoaster Tycoon (PC; 1999)
• Silent Hill (PS1; 1999)
• Sonic, The Hedgehog (SGA; 1991)
• Soulcalibur (ARC; 1998)
• Spyro, The Dragon (PS1; 1998)
• Starcraft (PC; 1998)
• Star Fox (SNES; 1993)
• Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (N64; 1998)
• Star Ocean (SNES; 1996)
• Super Smash Bros. (N64; 1999)
• Tales of Phantasia (SNES; 1995)
• Tekken (ARC; 1994)
• Time Crisis (ARC; 1995)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (PC; 1998)
• Tomb Raider (PC; 1996)
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (PS1; 1999)
• Turok (N64; 1997)
• Unreal (PC; 1998)
• Warcraft (PC; 1994)
• Wing Commander (PC; 1990)

}}

{{columns-list|1=

• Angry Birds (iOS; 2009)
• Animal Crossing (NGC; 2002)
• Assassin's Creed (MUL; 2007)
• Battlefield (PC; 2002)
• Bejeweled (PC; 2000)
• BioShock (360; 2007)
• Black & White (PC; 2001)
• Call of Duty (PC; 2003)
• Cities XL (PC; 2009)
• Counter-Strike (PC; 2000)
• Crysis (PC/360; 2007)
• Deus Ex (PC; 2000)
• Devil May Cry (PS2; 2001)
• Drawn to Life (NDS; 2007)
• Dungeon Siege (PC; 2002)
• Empire Earth (PC; 2001)
• Fable (XBX; 2004)
• Far Cry (PC; 2004)
• F.E.A.R. (PC; 2005)
• Gears of War (MUL; 2006)
• God of War (PS2; 2005)
• Guitar Hero (PS2; 2005)
• Halo (XBX; 2001)
• Infamous (PS3; 2009)
• Jak and Daxter (PS2; 2001)
• Katamari Damacy (PS2; 2004)
• Killzone (PS2; 2004)
• Kingdom Hearts (PS2; 2002)
• Left 4 Dead (MUL; 2008)
• LittleBigPlanet (PS3; 2008)
• Lumines (PSP; 2004)
• Mass Effect (MUL; 2007)
• Max Payne (PC; 2001)
• Nintendogs (NDS; 2005)
• No More Heroes (WII; 2007)
• Overlord (PC; 2007)
• Paper Mario (N64; 2001)
• Perfect Dark (N64; 2000)
• Pikmin (NGC; 2001)
• Portal (PC; 2007)
• Rise of Nations (PC; 2003)
• Rock Band (MUL; 2007)
• Saint's Row (360; 2006)
• SingStar (PS2; 2004)
• Skate (PS3; 2007)
• SOCOM (PS2; 2002)
• SSX (PS2; 2000)
• Super Monkey Ball (NGC; 2001)
• The Sims (PC; 2000)
• TimeSplitters (PS2; 2000)
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (PS2; 2002)
• True Crime: Streets of L.A. (MUL; 2003)
• Total War (PC; 2000)
• Viewtiful Joe (NGC; 2003)
• Wii Sports (WII; 2006)
• The Witcher (PC; 2007)
• Zoo Tycoon (PC; 2001)

}}

Early on in the decade, the gaming world was shook up over two major stories that dominated the headlines: Sega was pulling out of the console war and that Microsoft was entering the market. Sega stated that the poor performance of the Sega Dreamcast and Sega Saturn lines contributed to their decision.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1145936.stm The company returned to third party publishing for the remaining consoles.http://bitmob.com/articles/qaa-former-sega-president-on-dreamcasts-failure-pranks-against-sony-his-ouster Microsoft officially debuted their Xbox console at the Game Developers Conference in 2000 after much speculation.http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/2000/03-10xbox.aspx

After the release of the Xbox and Playstation 2, a noticeable trend was to push gaming consoles into media centers and offer more features than just playing games.http://digitalhippos.com/gaming/editorial/video-game-consoles-as-media-centers-has-been-a-successhttp://hothardware.com/News/Aging-Consoles-Find-New-Life-as-Video-Streaming-Devices/ Nintendo was slow to react and released the Gamecube in 2001 without many of the exotic features seen in other consoles.http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/1278831 Instead, Nintendo was focusing on improving the gameplay experience, as well as preparing its new innovative controller to be released in 2006.http://www.pcworld.com/article/127869/nintendo_wii.html%20?tk=rel_news Backward compatibility also became a staple feature to gaming in this decade. The Playstation 2 was the first major system to allow for backward compatibility to a preceding console.http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/427056371.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+12%2C+2000&author=&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Test+driving+the+PS2&pqatl=googlehttp://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/10/26/ps2.main.story/

Piracy became a big concern to game developers and many companies tried experimenting with ways to combat the growing problem, especially among PC games. Some companies required registration through the use of a product key.http://pcsupport.about.com/b/2007/06/30/what-is-a-product-key.htm In one of the more notable events of the decade, Valve was hit particularly hard by a hacker and subsequently had much of their work on Half-Life 2 leaked onto the internet.http://www.technewsworld.com/story/31783.html

Sony and Microsoft released their Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in the mid-decade. As the decade progressed, more and more features were added to consoles. Internet connectivity became ubiquitous and some games integrated the use of webcam accessories. In the mid-decade, the industry was caught in the crossfire of the HD DVD and Blu-ray format war. Ultimately, the Blu-ray format won out, but that didn't help Microsoft after they have already made HD DVD compatibility a feature.http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/04/alt-text-gaming-consoles/ Nintendo had still yet to release a system compatible for viewing films. Instead, Nintendo unveiled the Wii and revolutionized the industry with the interactive gameplay that its brand new controller provided.http://www.theage.com.au/news/articles/which-console-to-buy/2007/11/21/1195321840790.html It would not be until the next decade that Sony or Nintendo would release a similar motion controller to the Wii as an accessory (See: Kinect and PlayStation Move).

The 1990s decade oversaw the incredible transition from 2D-based gaming to fully immersive three-dimensional environments and gameplay. The 2000s continued on this trend by polishing many of the flaws of creating a new dimension for games such as rigid polygon characters and animations. By the decades end, Microsoft and Sony had already been releasing games in high definition.

PC gaming remained popular throughout the decade, but was in an overall decline as console graphics improved. Publishers also liked the standardization that consoles provided, whereas PC game performance was dependent on the graphic capabilities of a player's hardware. Nevertheless, the PC remained the device of choice for many popular strategy, simulation, and online games.

Blizzard was a company in the spotlight on numerous occasions throughout the 2000s and loyal to the PC. In 2000, it released the hack and slash game Diablo II which is frequently listed as one of the best games ever made.http://seekingalpha.com/article/440511-the-time-is-right-for-activision-blizzard-calls-and-gamestop-shares The game continues to have a wide following many years after its release and was listed on NPD Group's top ten PC games sales list as recently as 2010.{{cite web|author=August 5th, 2010 @ 21:46 By Stephany Nunneley |url=http://www.vg247.com/2010/08/05/activision-blizzard-q2-financials-net-revenue-comes-in-at-967-million/ |title=Blog Archive » Activision Blizzard Q2 financials: Net revenue comes in at $967 million |publisher=VG247 |date=2010-08-05 |accessdate=2010-09-15}} Then in 2004, Blizzard wowed gamers with the release of World of Warcraft, which was the world's most-subscribed MMORPG at the time with over 10 million subscribers."[http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart1.html MMOG Active Subscriptions 21.0]", MMOGCHART.COM, June 29, 2006.

The Sims, a spin-off project of the popular Sim City franchise, also became a popular game of the era. Combining all of its sequels and expansions, The Sims easily becomes one of the best-selling PC game in history.http://www.gamespot.com/news/the-sims-overtakes-myst-2857556 The Sims also had an important role in bringing female and casual gamers into the often male-dominated and hardcore gaming market.http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/feb/11/games2http://www.destructoid.com/ea-sims-3-best-selling-pc-game-worldwide-in-2009-161323.phtmlhttp://articles.nydailynews.com/2008-04-16/entertainment/17895368_1_expansion-packs-sims-label-division-of-electronic-arts

Rhythm-gaming was primarily centered in the arcade with popular games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Beatmania. Many of these franchises have been popular since the late-nineties, but it wasn't until Guitar Hero's release in 2005 that the genre really had an impact on popular culture.http://www.mancouch.com/727186220/is-the-guitar-herorock-band-craze-over/ Most games in this category will feature a set list of songs that a player can choose to perform. They also tend to come with a unique controller, usually shaped like a musical instrument.http://www.gamestop.com/ps3/accessories/ps3-guitar-hero-controller-wireless-used/67480 The success of Guitar Hero lead to the creation of other similar game franchises such as Rock Band and DJ Hero. Coincidentally, the game has been cited as inspiration for people seeking to actually play instruments and has lead to a revival of interest in classic rock nostalgia.http://kotaku.com/5103724/guitar-hero-inspiring-british-kids-to-take-up-real-musichttp://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2008/0603/rock-revival-via-video-gameshttp://www.vice.com/read/closed-frontier-487-v17n8

In retrospect, it appears that rhythm gaming was a fad.http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/18/activision-abused-guitar-hero-theres-no-reason-why-it-cant-continue-says-summer/http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/15/analysts-guitar-hero-was-a-fad-activision-wont-approach-call-of-duty-that-way/http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/937671--success-in-our-times-from-hero-to-zero In late-2011, due to low sale figures, Activision closed its Guitar Hero division.http://mashable.com/2011/02/09/guitar-hero-dead/http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/02/guitar-hero-canceled/

{{main|Video game controversy}}

As video games approached greater realism in their graphic capabilities, it was inevitable that controversy would result. The evidence was inconclusive, but debates continued throughout the decade about the level of profanity, violence, pornography, and whether or not video games held an addictive effect.http://www.gamespot.com/news/aggression-and-games-link-inconclusive-oconnor-6284706http://techland.time.com/2012/02/28/good-news-oklahoma-violent-video-games-bill-tossed/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/278756/aussie-gov-violence-and-video-game-links-are-inconclusive/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24245196/ns/technology_and_science-games/t/what-makes-video-games-addictive/#.T5lQA6vOWWc One game series in particular that was no stranger to controversy in the 2000s was Grant Theft Auto.http://www.cnbc.com/id/43295087/Sex_and_Violence_The_10_Most_Controversial_Games?slide=2http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/digital/gaming/the-outlaw-history-of-grand-theft-auto-7795480 In the 2004 San Andreas installment of the series, the game received widespread criticism revolving around the Hot Coffee mod, a normally disabled mini-game that could be enabled.http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090902/1836396087.shtmlhttp://www.pcworld.com/article/184246/the_geekiest_moments_in_video_game_history.html The drama and pressure forced the ESRB to re-rate the game as an AO (Adults Only) and to have it pulled from store shelves.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/grand-theft-auto-rerated-for-porn-scene-499699.html The game was also criticized for being excessively violent.http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500172_162-708794.html

Another game that struck a nerve with many analysts and the general public was a game released in 2005 entitled Super Columbine Massacre RPG! in which a player actually carries out the events of the tragic 1999 Columbine high school shooting.http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_86/484-Be-Men-Not-Destroyershttp://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jun/01/games.guardianweeklytechnologysection1 The game and its creator, Danny Ledonne, was both praised for the bold statement on free speech and criticized for being distasteful.http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/super-columbine-massacre-rpg-part-2-articlehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2006/jun/01/comebacksandc It became the first finalist to ever be rejected at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival's Guerrilla Games Competition.http://kotaku.com/226272/exclusive-columbine-game-kicked-from-competition In protest of the rejection, many of the finalists withdrew from the competition and in the end no awards were handed out that year.http://gamepolitics.com/2007/01/07/developer-pulls-out-of-festival-competition-in-protest-over-super-columbine-decisionhttp://www.bogost.com/watercoolergames/archives/slamdance_game.shtml The competition has not been held since the 2007 incident.

As video games diversified and became an ever-present part of pop culture, its influence began integrating with other mediums. The film industry in particular took notice and capitalized on how they could integrate gaming into their storytelling. The Wachowskis brothers, known for their Matrix series of films, developed Enter the Matrix as a midquel tying together the events of the Reloaded and Revolutions motion pictures.http://www.giantbomb.com/enter-the-matrix/61-7570/ Making films from video games is nothing new to Hollywood, but the transition from video game to film doesn't always succeed.http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Article/Game-feature-Best-and-worst-videogame-movies-021243152880070 The 2000s however began to show promise in the profitability and success of making video game-based films.http://www.blu-ray1st.com/blu-ray/blu-ray-computers-technology/blu-ray-games/movie-video-games-are-getting-better-all-the-time/ Opening in 2001, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider became the highest-grossing video game adaptation with over a US$274 million box office performance.http://www.empireonline.com/promotions/game-to-film-adaptations/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/7037574/Lara-Croft-picks-up-six-Guinness-world-records.html Tomb Raider held that title for nearly a decade.http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Article/Game-feature-Best-and-worst-videogame-movies-021243152880070http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-brief/50385-prince-of-persia-becomes-highest-grossing-video-game-movie-ever Other adaptations in the 2000s included the popular Resident Evil saga, Silent Hill, Max Payne, Hitman, Alone in the Dark, DOOM, House of the Dead, and Dungeon Siege.

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At the beginning of the decade, the only genres of gaming that were predominantly 3-dimensional were role-playing games (RPGs) and first-person shooters (FPSs). The real-time strategy (RTS) genre had seen its first successful 3D release, Homeworld, in 1999, although it wasn't until the 2002 releases of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Age of Mythology that 3D became the standard for the genre.

The Sims, released by Maxis in 2000, sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide by 22 March 2002, to become the best-selling PC game in history, surpassing Myst.{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/simslivinlarge/news_2857556.html |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5mVievash |archivedate=3 January 2010 |title=The Sims overtakes Myst |accessdate=17 April 2008 |author=Walker, Trey |date=22 March 2002 |work=GameSpot |publisher=CNET Networks}} After Electronic Arts bought Maxis, the company produced numerous expansions, turning The Sims franchise, which has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide as of 16 April 2008,{{cite press release | url=http://info.ea.com/news/pr/pr1052.pdf | title=The Sims Celebrates 100 Million Sold Worldwide | publisher=Electronic Arts | date=16 April 2008 | accessdate=16 April 2008}}{{dead link|date=December 2011}} into the best-selling PC franchise in history as of 19 March 2008.[http://pc.ign.com/articles/860/860687p1.html IGN: The Sims 3 Set for Global Launch in 2009]

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Nintendo has led the market in console interactivity. The handheld Nintendo DS, released in 2004, features a touchscreen. Game interactivity took a major step forward with the introduction of the motion-sensitive Wii Remote with the Nintendo Wii in 2006. The PS3 introduced a tilt-sensitive controller on its release as well.

The 2000s has also seen the implementation of physics engines and increasing in-game interactivity into video gaming. Red Faction, a first-person shooter (FPS) released in 2001 for the PS2 and the PC, features one of the earliest examples of destructible environments in video gaming through its use of "Geo-Mod" technology. Certain sections of walls could be destroyed to provide alternate pathways or reveal hidden locations. Half-Life 2, released in 2004, is widely considered to have revolutionized physics in gaming with its Havok engine, which allowed for what was at the time widespread interactivity with objects in the environment of the game, although very little of the environment was destructible. The Havok engine brought realistic physics implementations to real-time strategy (RTS) with Age of Empires III in 2005. Black, a console FPS released in early 2006, allowed the player's weapons to extensively damage the environment. The PC games Company of Heroes (an RTS), released in late 2006, and Crysis (an FPS), released in 2007, both extended the implementation of physics in video gaming, featuring environments that were nearly entirely destructible and interactive. Since the use of physics engines has greatly increased since around 2004, so has the level of interactivity and destructibility in video games.

The rhythm game genre took off in the late 1990s with Beatmania in 1997 and Dance Dance Revolution in 1998. Although beginning their lives in arcades, they made the move to the home console market and each spawned a number of sequels and spinoffs. The popularity of rhythm games accelerated in the mid-2000s, led primarily by Guitar Hero, which was released in 2005 and featured a guitar-like controller and licensed soundtracks. Initially available only for the PS2, its sequels have expanded the franchise to include all consoles. The developer of the first two Guitar Hero games went on to create Rock Band in 2007, which expanded the concept to include drums and vocals. Guitar Hero World Tour, released in 2008, added drums and vocals as well, largely in an effort to compete with Rock Band. The independent game Audiosurf, released in 2008, allows the user to play their own mp3 files and maneuver a spaceship-like object across a track to hit the music "notes".

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Although massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) began in the 1990s with such titles as Ultima Online (1997), Everquest (1999), and Asheron's Call (1999), during the 2000s, MMORPGs became a dominant genre among PC gaming. Phantasy Star Online, released on the Dreamcast in 2000 and later ported to the Xbox, GameCube, and PC, popularized MMORPGs for consoles, although it remains a PC-dominated genre. MMORPGs feature persistent worlds, player-driven economies, frequent content updates, and massive servers that contain thousands of players. Most MMOs also feature monthly fees to help with the massive costs required to maintain and continually upgrade the games. The MMO genre has gained much of its success by cashing in on previous popular titles (such was the case with Ultima Online and Phantasy Star Online) with such titles as Final Fantasy XI (2002), Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (2003), World of Warcraft (2004), The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007), Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (2008), Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (2008), and the in-development titles Star Trek Online, Warhammer 40,000 Online, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. World of Warcraft, released in 2004, has established itself as one of the most popular games on the PC and set what are now the generally-accepted standards for the genre. Lineage II has established a large market outside of the United States, particularly in Asia, and is the second-most popular MMO worldwide.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} MMOs free of monthly charge, including RuneScape (2001)MapleStory (2003), and Guild Wars (2004) have also proven to be popular.

MMOFPSs have also been developed, although they have not gained nearly the popularity that MMORPGs have. Perhaps the two most successful games of this genre have been World War II Online (2001) and PlanetSide (2003).

By the early 2000s, the Internet was viable as the sole distribution platform for game developers, which enabled a smaller scale of commercial development than in the past. New markets formed around these newer, cheaper publishing methods, with the primary methods used being downloadable and browser-based games.

Independent games were at first associated with the emerging market for casual games, because of the perceived low budget of most casual games, but over the course of the decade, casual games rapidly grew into capital-intensive productions, with titles such as Bookworm Adventures costing over half a million USD to produce. Today, independent games are increasingly associated with art games.

Games as downloadable computer programs were not a new concept in this decade; however, gaming within the browser, using HTML, Java, Javascript, and Flash, became increasingly viable over the course of the 2000s as the browser and computer technology improved. Browser-based games have mostly avoided packaged-goods-for-sale business models in favor of advertising/sponsorship, subscription, and microtransactions.

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{{main|Video game controversy}}

The Grand Theft Auto series, notable for many violent and sexual plotlines, was a best-seller of the 2000s. The series' popularity sparked a fad of several Mature-rated video games based on including gang warfare, drug use, and perceived "senseless violence" into the gameplay. The Hot Coffee controversy, a sex mini-game, was discovered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and caused widespread controversy and have fueled efforts to ban the sale of Mature-rated games to minors. The effort has been spearheaded by mothers, lawmakers, and activists (such as Jack Thompson), although all such efforts to pass any laws concerning this have been firmly struck down. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was originally an M-rated game, but due to much controversy was later turned into an AO-rated game.{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8728577/|title=MSNBC.com – Grandmother sues Rockstar Games|date=27 July 2005|accessdate =29 September 2007| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070905062737/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8728577/| archivedate= 5 September 2007 | url-status= live}} However, the game was changed and was re-released as an M-rated game.