2000s

2000: The PlayStation 2 Launches as the Classic Era Closes

Sony launched the PlayStation 2 in Japan in March and in the West that autumn, while the PlayStation, N64 and Dreamcast had some of their best games: Perfect Dark, Majora's Mask, Final Fantasy IX and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. Pokémon was the best-selling home video game franchise for a third year running.

2001: Two New Consoles, and Three Games That Rewrote Their Genres

The sixth console generation reached full strength in 2001: Nintendo's GameCube arrived on 14 September in Japan and 18 November in North America, and Microsoft entered the hardware business with the Xbox on 15 November. The software was even more consequential. Grand Theft Auto III (22 October) invented the modern open world, Halo: Combat Evolved shipped as the Xbox's launch title on 15 November and rebuilt the console first-person shooter, and Konami's Silent Hill 2 arrived in September as the most psychologically sophisticated horror game yet made.