2000s .2010s in video games. 2020s |
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The 2010s was the fifth decade in the industry's history. The decade was notable for producing the first truly "3D" games and consoles,[ clarification needed ] introducing cloud gaming and virtual reality to consumers, and the rising influence of tablet-based and mobile casual games, including a boom in freemium titles. The industry remained heavily dominated by the actions of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. [1] The eighth generation of video game consoles was released, including the Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita. Notable games released in the decade included Minecraft , Fortnite , PUBG: Battlegrounds, Grand Theft Auto V , The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim , The Last of Us , The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild , The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt , Uncharted 4: A Thief's End , Red Dead Redemption, Marvel's Spider-Man, Dark Souls , Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , Batman: Arkham City , BioShock Infinite , Dishonored, Halo: Reach, Mass Effect 2 , Disco Elysium , Undertale , Overwatch, Super Mario Odyssey , Red Dead Redemption 2 , L.A. Noire, Bloodborne , Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice , Far Cry 3 , Destiny, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, The Walking Dead, Persona 5, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Portal 2, Diablo III, Horizon Zero Dawn, Journey, Shovel Knight, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Death Stranding, Titanfall 2, Xenoblade Chronicles, Cuphead, Terraria, Alien: Isolation, Fallout 4, God of War, and Borderlands 2 .
The seventh generation of video game consoles entered the market in the mid-2000s with the release of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. These three consoles dominated the video game scene throughout much of the early-2010s as well. Each console brought with them a new breakthrough in technology. The Xbox 360 offered games rendered natively at HD resolutions. In addition to HD games, Sony's PlayStation 3 featured a built in Blu-ray player. Nintendo, having opted out of the HD race, focused more on mobility and interaction. All three major consoles expanded their overall use by doubling as media centers, featuring Wi-Fi internet connectivity, and allowing the use of apps.
Regarding the handheld market, Nintendo's evolving DS series of handhelds and Sony's PlayStation Portable dominated the market throughout much of the late-2000s. The Nintendo DS introduced a dual screen, as well as touchscreen gaming. The PSP was Sony's first attempt at competing in the handheld market and featured multiple ports to other devices, improved graphics, and is known for being the first handheld video game device to use an optical disc format.
The seventh generation of video game consoles followed a longer than usual console cycle. [3] Nintendo was the first of the big three companies to announce their next generation console, doing so at E3 2011 with the unveiling of the Wii U, the successor to the Wii. [4] The Wii U was released in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand in November 2012 and in Japan the following month. [5] Reception to the console was mixed, with many reviewers criticising the limited choice of launch games available. [6]
Both Microsoft and Sony announced their offerings in the eighth generation in 2013. On May 21, just weeks before E3 2013, Microsoft revealed its "all-in-one entertainment device," the Xbox One. [7] Reaction among the press and gamers was mixed, with many gamers criticizing DRM-related restrictions and persistent internet requirements. [8] E3 in June saw Microsoft reveal a November launch date for the Xbox One [9] and Sony unveil its eighth generation console, the PlayStation 4. The PlayStation 4 received an enthusiastic response from the attendees after it was revealed it would lack DRM restrictions and online requirements and have a cheaper launch price than the Xbox One, [10] leading some commentators to declare Sony the winner of E3. [11] In the week following E3, Microsoft announced a reversal of its online and used games restrictions after substantial negative feedback. [12]
The eight generation was further elongated with the release of the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X, both more-powerful variations of their predecessors capable of displaying video games in 4K resolution, as well as the Nintendo Switch, a hybrid portable-home video game console meant to replace the Wii U. The Wii U was discontinued following the release of the Switch in March 2017.
Handheld gaming in the eighth generation was dominated primarily by the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita. The Nintendo 3DS is the first video game device to feature 3D gaming without the need for stereoscopic glasses. [13] Sony's Vita is the successor to the PSP. Both systems are backward compatible. Nvidia also announced its intention to market a handheld video game device. [14]
The eighth generation consoles were expected to face stiff competition from tablet and smartphone video game markets, [15] online services and dedicated consoles [16] based on cheap technology [17] and free-to-play games or low cost downloadable content [18] away from big budget blockbusters, [19] as well as an increased interest in independent games promoted by popular social networking sites. [20] [21]
The Great Recession affected the video game industry. [22] [23] Many electronic gadgets, not just video games, were perceived to be a luxury item. [24] Also, market shifts towards mobile and casual gaming led to a dip in overall sales as well. [25]
Following the release of James Cameron's long-awaited film, Avatar in 2009, utilizing stereoscopic 3D technology became a staple in the early 2010s in the production and services of television, as well as video games. [26] Nintendo released the first video game device to feature stereoscopic 3D visuals without the need for special glasses with the 3DS handheld.
In a related trend, Sony unveiled "dual-view" at E3 2011. Dual view technology provides the capability of playing multiplayer games on the same screen without splitting it by overlaying the two images on top of each other. [27]
Cloud gaming, or sometimes known as gaming on demand, is a technology in which the actual game and saved data is stored on a company's server, and users play the game over a stable internet connection. One major advantage to cloud gaming is the absence of a compact disc or cartridge required for use. [28] [29] In 2010, the OnLive gaming console debuted becoming the first console to exclusively feature cloud-based gaming. As the decade progressed, even some of the major players began to look into utilizing cloud gaming on their systems. [30] [31] In early 2012, it was the fastest-growing segment of the video game market. [32]
In 2013, Julie Uhrman began a Kickstarter campaign to raise funding for her cloud-based video game console, the Ouya. [33] The Ouya outdid their goal by raising over US$8.5 million, becoming that site's second-highest-earning project at the time. It operates with technology from Android, and features customization to the device's cover. [34]
During a press conference at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony unveiled PlayStation Now, [35] a subscription-based streaming service that allows the PlayStation 4 to play previous console titles over the internet. As of February 2014, Now was in closed beta, but was planned to be released to the public later in the year. [36] Sony had recommended users to have at least a 5 Mbit/s internet connection speed for what they termed "good performance." [37]
Cloud gaming is expected, by many video game experts, to challenge the dominance of the major video game corporations, and may eventually lead to the decline of console gaming entirely. [38] [39] [40]
As transformative as the iPad was to the tablet PC industry, it also had a lasting effect on the video game world as well. Apple's high-resolution displays and mobile graphics processors set a high bar on graphical capabilities that rivaled some of the major handheld video game devices. [41] As of 2014, nearly half of the Top-25 paid applications on the iPad App Store were games. [42] Despite not having a controller, mobile devices and games continued to become a staple of the "casual gaming" market. [43]
Ever since Nintendo released the original Wii in 2006, mobility and interaction became a major focus to the video game world. It encouraged activity with gaming beyond the traditional controller, and expanded the market to include the elderly and those interested in physical therapy. [44] [45] [46] [47] Microsoft and Sony did not respond to Nintendo's motion sensor technology until 2010 when they released Kinect and PlayStation Move, respectively. The Kinect took further advantage of motion control by not requiring a controller at all. [48] [49] [50]
In September 2012, Yosh Engineering unveiled a new immersive motion capture, virtual reality program. [51] The YEI 3-Space Sensor product line featured allows for highly accurate body and head tracking giving the wearer full freedom of mobility in a realistic virtual environment. [52] Yosh Engineering showed that the technology was both adaptable to contemporary graphic requirements [53] and that the wearer has a freedom to move about through 3D space.
In 2013, a Houston-based upstart named Virtuix began a Kickstarter campaign to develop the Omni, an omnidirectional treadmill that has potential applications for video games. Such a device, if ever released to the public, would allow a player to walk naturally in the virtual environment of a game. [54]
The decade also saw the growing popularity of Let's Play videos on YouTube and Twitch, where viewers could watch streamers play through games. The YouTube channels of notable streamers such as PewDiePie, who became the first person to reach 10 billion views in 2015, [55] were among the most-subscribed of the decade.
In the aftermath of several mass shootings, namely the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, debate on whether or not there is a connection between violent video games and real-life violent acts re-emerged. [56] [57] [58] Former United States President Barack Obama assigned his former Vice President, Joe Biden, to head a discussion with representatives for the gun and video game lobbies in early-2013. [59] [60] Several days later, Obama announced stricter legislation on guns and also proposed a $10 million study, to be headed by the CDC, on whether or not violent video games were encouraging violent behavior. Results inconclusive. [61]
Issues of sexism, racism and inclusion in video games came to the fore, as the demographic of gamers and public image of gaming, via investment firm projections, shifted away from the traditional view of a largely male, heterosexual, young and white/Asian audience. The Gamergate harassment campaign was a response to criticism (some valid some not, said critiques were controversial) of sexism in gaming by Anita Sarkeesian and others. [62] [63] [64] [65]
According to the Entertainment Software Association, the average age of a person who played video games in 2010 was 30. [66]
Notes:
The following table lists the top ten highest-grossing video games of the decade, in terms of worldwide revenue (including buy-to-play, free-to-play, pay-to-play, digital purchases, microtransactions and subscriptions) across all platforms (including mobile, PC and console platforms). Among the top ten highest-grossing games of the decade, eight of them are free-to-play titles, five of which are published or owned by Chinese conglomerate Tencent.
The following table lists video games of the 2010s that have sold at least 10 million copies. The list only includes buy-to-play titles, and does not include free-to-play or subscription titles. The company that published the most number of games with over 10 million sales during the decade was Nintendo, with fifteen titles on the list.
The following table lists the top ten video games of the decade based on their rankings on various publications' lists of the best video games of the decade. This list was determined by Metacritic, which used a points system based on how frequently certain games appeared on these lists and their rankings within the lists. [135]
No. | Title | 1st place | 2nd place | Other rankings | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | 17 | 4 | 15 | 74 |
2 | The Last of Us | 3 | 9 | 13 | 40 |
3 | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 2 | 2 | 21 | 31 |
4 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | 1 | 1 | 23.5 | 28.5 |
5 | Dark Souls | 1 | 1 | 21 | 26 |
6 | Grand Theft Auto V | 1 | 0 | 19.5 | 22.5 |
7 | God of War | 0 | 1 | 19.5 | 21.5 |
8 | Minecraft | 1 | 3 | 12 | 21 |
9 | Mass Effect 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 21 |
10 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 18 |
The following table lists the top ten video games of decade based on Metacritic's aggregate review scores. [135]
No. | Title | Average score |
---|---|---|
1 | Super Mario Galaxy 2 | 97 |
2 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | 97 |
3 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | 97 |
4 | Grand Theft Auto V | 97 |
5 | Super Mario Odyssey | 97 |
6 | Mass Effect 2 | 96 |
7 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | 96 |
8 | The Last of Us | 95 |
9 | The Last of Us Remastered | 95 |
10 | Red Dead Redemption | 95 |
The following is a partial list of games considered to be the most influential of the 2010s.
The following gallery highlights hardware used to predominantly play games throughout the 2010s.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes and releases both video games and video game consoles.
The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. Spacewar! was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student hobbyists in 1962 as one of the first such games on a video display. The first consumer video game hardware was released in the early 1970s. The first home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, and the first arcade video games were Computer Space and Pong. After its home console conversions, numerous companies sprang up to capture Pong's success in both the arcade and the home by cloning the game, causing a series of boom and bust cycles due to oversaturation and lack of innovation.
The Wii is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, following the GameCube, and is a seventh-generation console alongside Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.
In the history of video games, the sixth generation era is the era of computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming devices available at the turn of the 21st century, starting on November 27, 1998. Platforms in the sixth generation include consoles from four companies: the Sega Dreamcast (DC), Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2), Nintendo GameCube (GC), and Microsoft Xbox. This era began on November 27, 1998, with the Japanese release of the Dreamcast, which was joined by the PlayStation 2 on March 4, 2000, the GameCube on September 14, 2001 and the Xbox on November 15, 2001, respectively. On March 31, 2001, the Dreamcast was among the first to be discontinued, followed by Xbox in 2006, GameCube in 2007, and PlayStation 2 in January 2013. Meanwhile, the seventh generation of consoles started on November 22, 2005, with the launch of the Xbox 360.
The history of video game consoles, both home and handheld, began in the 1970s. The first console that played games on a television set was the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey, first conceived by Ralph H. Baer in 1966. Handheld consoles originated from electro-mechanical games that used mechanical controls and light-emitting diodes (LED) as visual indicators. Handheld electronic games had replaced the mechanical controls with electronic and digital components, and with the introduction of Liquid-crystal display (LCD) to create video-like screens with programmable pixels, systems like the Microvision and the Game & Watch became the first handheld video game consoles.
The history of Nintendo, a Japan-based international video game company, starts in 1889 when Fusajiro Yamauchi founded "Yamauchi Nintendo", producing handmade hanafuda playing cards. Since its founding, the company has been headquartered in Kyoto. Sekiryo Kaneda was company president from 1929 to 1949, and succeeded by Hiroshi Yamauchi. Hiroshi Yaumauchi's Nintendo started producing toys like the Ultra Hand and operating love hotels. In the 1970s and 80s, they made arcade games and related accessories, as well as the Color TV-Game series of home consoles and the Game & Watch series of handheld electronic games.
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). As a seventh-generation console, it primarily competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.
The 2000s was the fourth decade in the industry's history. It was a decade that was primarily dominated by Sony, Nintendo, newcomer Microsoft, and their respective systems. Sega, being Nintendo's main rival in the 1980s and 1990s, left the console market in 2001 in favor of returning to third-party development, as they once were. Overall the decade saw the last of the low resolution three-dimensional polygons of the 1990s with the emergence of high definition games, and often focused on developing immersive and interactive environments, implementing realistic physics, and improving artificial intelligence. The sixth and seventh generation of video game consoles went on sale, including the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. Notable games released in the 2000s included Half-Life 2, Wii Sports, Grand Theft Auto III, BioShock, The Sims, Metroid Prime, Burnout 3: Takedown,Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Resident Evil 4, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Shadow of the Colossus,Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, LittleBigPlanet, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind,World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy X, Perfect Dark, God of War, Left 4 Dead, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Counter-Strike, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,Diablo II, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,Super Smash Bros. Melee, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Gears of War, Max Payne, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl,Super Mario Galaxy, Halo: Combat Evolved, Tony Hawk´s Pro Skater 3, Guitar Hero, Devil May Cry, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus,Hitman: Blood Money, Grand Theft Auto IV, Halo 2, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Fallout 3, Super Mario Sunshine, Rock Band, Beyond Good & Evil,Portal, Ico, Jet Set Radio, Silent Hill 2, Psychonauts, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves,Halo 3, Plants vs. Zombies, Angry Birds, League of Legends and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
The seventh generation of home video game consoles began on November 22, 2005, with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 home console. This was followed by the release of Sony's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006, and Nintendo's Wii on November 19, 2006. Each new console introduced new technologies. The Xbox 360 offered games rendered natively at high-definition video (HD) resolutions, the PlayStation 3 offered HD movie playback via a built-in 3D Blu-ray Disc player, and the Wii focused on integrating controllers with movement sensors as well as joysticks. Some Wii controllers could be moved about to control in-game actions, which enabled players to simulate real-world actions through movement during gameplay. By this generation, video game consoles had become an important part of the global IT infrastructure; it is estimated that video game consoles represented 25% of the world's general-purpose computational power in 2007.
The Japanese multinational consumer electronics company Nintendo has developed seven home video game consoles and multiple portable consoles for use with external media, as well as dedicated consoles and other hardware for their consoles. As of September 30, 2021, in addition to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has sold over 863.07 million hardware units.
Platform exclusivity refers to the status of a video game being developed for and released only on certain platforms. Most commonly, it refers to only being released on a specific video game console or through a specific vendor's platforms—either permanently, or for a definite period of time.
Video games are a major industry in Japan, and the country is considered one of the most influential in video gaming. Japanese game development is often identified with the golden age of video games and the country is home to many notable video game companies such as Nintendo, Sega, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Taito, Konami, Square Enix, Capcom, NEC, SNK, and formerly Sony Computer Entertainment. In 2022, Japan was the third largest video game market in the world after the United States and China.
The Wii U is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
Video gaming in the United States is one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries in the country. The American video game industry is the largest video game industry in the world. According to a 2020 study released by the Entertainment Software Association, the yearly economic output of the American video game industry in 2019 was $90.3 billion, supporting over 429,000 American jobs. With an average yearly salary of about $121,000, the latter figure includes over 143,000 individuals who are directly employed by the video game business. Additionally, activities connected to the video game business generate $12.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes each year. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2025 the American gaming industry will reach $42.3 billion while the worldwide gaming industry will possibly reach US$270 billion. The United States is one of the nations with the largest influence in the video game industry, with video games representing a significant part of its economy.
The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.
Just Dance is a rhythm game series developed and published by Ubisoft, beginning with the original game in 2009. The games feature of a variety of songs that are accompanied with choreography performed by on-screen dancers. Players physically mimick the dance routine shown on screen and are scored based on how accurately they followed. The series has attracted popularity among a wide age range and dance skill level, and has been played in various contexts, such as entertainment, fitness and education.
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox network and Xbox Game Pass. The brand is produced by Microsoft Gaming, a division of Microsoft.
In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is commonly applied to the ability for players using a game on a specific video game console to play alongside a player on a different hardware platform such as another console or a computer. A related concept is cross-save, where the player's progress in a game is stored in separate servers, and can be continued in the game but on a different hardware platform.
The Harry Potter video games are a series of video games based on the Harry Potter novel and film series originally created by English author J. K. Rowling. Many of the Harry Potter-inspired video games are tie-ins to the film adaptations of the same name. There are multiple distinct versions for individual games.
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