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, , Half-Life 2, Halo 2, , , Ninja Gaiden, Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen/Emerald, Everybody's Golf 4 (Hot Shots Golf Fore!), , 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 year has been retrospectively considered one of the best and most important 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.[1] 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.
Month | Day | System | |
---|---|---|---|
October | 29 | PlayStation 2 slimline | |
November | 17 | Atari Flashback | |
November | 21 | Nintendo DS | |
December | 11 | PlayStation Portable |
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.
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.
Title | Platform | Publisher | Sales | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | USA[3] | Europe | Worldwide | |||||
1 | PS2 | Rockstar Games | 5,144,214 | 1,750,000+[4] | 6,894,214+ | |||
2 | PS2, Xbox | Ubisoft | 56,414 | 5,132,612 | 1,158,612 | 6,347,928+ | ||
3 | Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen | GBA | The Pokémon Company | 2,392,005 | 2,367,431 | 5,800,000[5] | ||
4 | FIFA Football 2005 | Multi-platform | EA Sports | 56,075 | 53,804+ | 4,500,000[6] | ||
5 | Halo 2 | Xbox | Microsoft Game Studios | 42,310[7] | 4,288,397 | 4,330,707+ | ||
6 | Madden NFL 2005 | PS2, Xbox | EA Sports | 3,705[8] | 4,274,243 | 4,277,948+ | ||
7 | Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi | PS2 | Square Enix | 3,327,167 | 3,327,167 | |||
8 | ESPN NFL 2K5 | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | 2,632,393 | 2,632,393 | |||
9 | Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (Winning Eleven 8) | PS2 | Konami | 1,120,272 | 1,500,000+[9] | 2,620,272+ | ||
10 | PS2, Xbox | Electronic Arts | 2,453,829 | 2,453,829+ |
1 | Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi | Square Enix | Role-playing | 3,327,167 | ||
2 | Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen | GBA | The Pokémon Company | Role-playing | 2,392,005 | |
3 | Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald | GBA | The Pokémon Company | Role-playing | 1,670,000 | |
4 | (The Heavenly Bride) | PS2 | Square Enix | Role-playing | 1,611,974 | |
5 | Winning Eleven 8 (Pro Evolution Soccer 4) | PS2 | Konami | Sports | 1,120,272 | |
6 | Sengoku Musou (Samurai Warriors) | PS2 | Koei | Hack and slash | 1,024,253 | |
7 | Jissen Pachislot Shinshouhou! Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) | PS2 | Sammy Corporation | Pachislot | 916,765 | |
8 | PS2 | Konami | Stealth | 694,307 | ||
9 | Gran Turismo 4 | PS2 | Sony | Racing simulation | 663,543 | |
10 | Derby Stallion 04 | PS2 | Enterbrain | Simulation | 603,815 |
1 | Rockstar Games | 5,144,214 | $ | |||
2 | Halo 2 | Microsoft Game Studios | 4,288,397 | $ | ||
3 | Madden NFL 2005 | PS2, Xbox, GC | EA Sports | 4,274,243 | $ | |
4 | ESPN NFL 2K5 | PS2, Xbox | Take-Two Interactive | 2,632,393 | $ | |
5 | PS2, Xbox, GC | Electronic Arts | 2,453,829 | $ | ||
6 | Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen | GBA | Nintendo | 2,367,431 | $ | |
7 | NBA Live 2005 | PS2, Xbox | EA Sports | 1,723,190 | $ | |
8 | Spider-Man 2 | PS2, GC | Activision | 1,569,251 | $ | |
9 | ESPN NBA 2K5 | PS2, Xbox | Take-Two Interactive | 1,280,314 | colspan="2" rowspan="2" | |
10 | Star Wars: Battlefront | PS2, Xbox | LucasArts | 1,224,927 |
United Kingdom[14] | Australia[15] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title | Platform(s) | Sales | Title | Platform | ||
1 | PS2 | 1,750,000 | PS2 | |||
2 | Multi-platform | Halo 2 | Xbox | |||
3 | Multi-platform | PS2 | ||||
4 | Multi-platform | PS2 | ||||
5 | Pro Evolution Soccer 4 | Multi-platform | PS2 | |||
6 | Sonic Heroes | Multi-platform | Ratchet & Clank | PS2 | ||
7 | Spider-Man 2 | Multi-platform | V8 Supercars 2 | PS2 | ||
8 | Multi-platform | SingStar | PS2 | |||
9 | Halo 2 | Xbox | Grand Theft Auto: Twin Pack | Xbox | ||
10 | DRIV3R | Multi-platform | PS2 |
1 | Ubisoft | ||
2 | Rockstar Games | ||
3 | DRIV3R | Atari | |
4 | |||
5 | Madden NFL 2005 | EA Sports | |
6 | NFL Street | ||
7 | Red Dead Revolver | Rockstar Games | |
8 | EA Games | ||
9 | NCAA Football 2005 | EA Sports | |
10 | The Sims Bustin' Out | EA Games |
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.[17]
Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Score (out of 40) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi | PlayStation 2 | Square Enix | Role-playing | 39 | |
Gran Turismo 4 | PlayStation 2 | Sony | Racing simulation | 39 | |
PlayStation 2 | Capcom | Action-adventure | 37 | ||
PlayStation 2 | Konami | Stealth | 37 | ||
Kessen III | PlayStation 2 | Koei | Real-time tactics | 37 | |
Onimusha 3 (Onimusha 3: Demon Siege) | PlayStation 2 | Capcom | Hack and slash | 36 | |
GameCube | Konami | Stealth | 36 | ||
Hoshi no Kirby: Kagami no Daimeikyū (Kirby & the Amazing Mirror) | Game Boy Advance | Nintendo | Metroidvania | 36 | |
Pikmin 2 | GameCube | Nintendo | Real-time strategy | 36 | |
Mawaru Made in Wario (WarioWare: Twisted!) | Game Boy Advance | Nintendo | Party | 36 | |
The Legend of Zelda: Fushigi no Bōshi (The Minish Cap) | Game Boy Advance | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 36 | |
Game Boy Advance | Square Enix | Action role-playing | 36 | ||
Sawaru Made in Wario (WarioWare: Touched!) | Nintendo DS | Nintendo | Party | 36 | |
FIFA Total Football 2 (FIFA Football 2005) | PlayStation 2 | Electronic Arts | Sports | 36 |
In the West, Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
Release | Title | PC | 5th Gen | 6th Gen | Handheld | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January 5 | Sonic Battle | GBA | ||||
January 13 | ||||||
January 14 | .hack//Quarantine Part 4 | |||||
January 20 | ||||||
Maximo vs. Army of Zin | ||||||
January 28 | ||||||
January 29 | Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (Japan) | GBA | ||||
February | (Russia) | |||||
February 2 | R-Type Final | |||||
February 9 | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles | |||||
GBA | ||||||
EverQuest: Gates of Discord | ||||||
February 10 | Nightshade | |||||
Wrath Unleashed | ||||||
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004 | GBA | |||||
February 11 | Feeding Frenzy | |||||
February14 | Classic NES Series: Donkey Kong, Excitebike, Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. | GBA | ||||
February 17 | ||||||
Pro Evolution Soccer 3 | Windows | |||||
February 24 | Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX | |||||
February 26 | Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction | |||||
February 27 | ||||||
March 1 | N | Windows | NDS | |||
March 2 | Drakengard | |||||
Lifeline | ||||||
Ninja Gaiden | Xbox | |||||
Scooby-Doo: Mystery Mayhem | GCN, PS2, Xbox | GBA | ||||
MTX Mototrax | ||||||
March 4 | Colin McRae Rally 04 | |||||
March 8 | The Suffering | |||||
March 9 | Firefighter F.D.18 | |||||
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword | Windows | |||||
March 10 | ||||||
March 12 | Seven Samurai 20XX | |||||
March 14 | Battlefield Vietnam | Windows | ||||
March 15 | Wade Hixton's Counter Punch | GBA | ||||
March 16 | Unreal Tournament 2004 | Windows | ||||
March 19 | Sacred[22] | Windows (EU) | ||||
March 23 | ||||||
Far Cry | Windows | |||||
Final Fantasy XI | PS2 (US) | |||||
Sonic Heroes | Windows | GCN, PS2, Xbox | ||||
All-Star Baseball 2005 | ||||||
March 24 | GCN, PS2 | |||||
March 25 | Sacred | Windows (NA) | ||||
March 31 | Resident Evil Outbreak | |||||
April 1 | Destruction Derby Arenas | |||||
April 5 | Alias | |||||
Fight Night 2004 | ||||||
April 8 | All-Star Baseball 2005 | |||||
April 12 | Painkiller | Windows | ||||
Serious Sam Advance | GBA | |||||
April 13 | TOCA Race Driver 2 | Windows | ||||
April 27 | Windows | |||||
April | .kkrieger | |||||
May 4 | Red Dead Revolver | |||||
Rallisport Challenge 2 | Xbox | |||||
May 6 | Samurai Warriors | PS2 | ||||
May 7 | GCN, PS2, Xbox | |||||
May 21 | GBA | |||||
May 21 | Way of the Samurai 2 | |||||
May 24 | Mario vs. Donkey Kong | GBA | ||||
May 25 | Metal Slug 3 | Xbox | ||||
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Windows | PS2, Xbox, GCN | GBA | |||
Windows | Xbox | |||||
June 1 | Xbox | |||||
June 7 | Sonic Advance 3 | GBA | ||||
GCN | ||||||
June 8 | Ribbit King | |||||
June 14 | ||||||
June 15 | Front Mission 4 | |||||
Windows | ||||||
June 21 | Driver 3 | |||||
June 22 | GBA | |||||
June 23 | Mega Man Anniversary Collection | GCN, PS2, Xbox (2005) | GBA | |||
June 27 | Mega Man Battle Network 4 | GBA | ||||
June 29 | GBA | |||||
Spider-Man 2 | Windows (US 06/28/04, EU 07/09/04) | |||||
July 2 | ||||||
July 5 | Around the World in 80 Days | GBA | ||||
July 9 | Richard Burns Rally | |||||
July 13 | Tales of Symphonia | |||||
July 14 | Athens 2004 | |||||
July 15 | ||||||
July 20 | Catwoman | Windows | GBA | |||
Puyo Pop Fever | ||||||
Sudeki | ||||||
July 21 | Crimson Tears | |||||
July 22 | Bujingai | |||||
July 29 | ||||||
August 1 | NFL GameDay 2005 | |||||
August 3 | Doom 3 | Windows | ||||
August 5 | GBA | |||||
August 10 | Classic NES Series: Metroid, Zelda ii: The Adventure of Link | GBA | ||||
August 18 | GBA | |||||
August 24 | Crazy Bus | |||||
Starsky & Hutch | ||||||
Viewtiful Joe | ||||||
August 25 | Amazing Island | |||||
August 30 | Pikmin 2 | |||||
WWE Day of Reckoning | ||||||
August 31 | Street Racing Syndicate | |||||
September 2 | ||||||
September 3 | Digimon Rumble Arena 2 | |||||
September 6 | Digimon Rumble Arena 2 | |||||
September 7 | PS2, Xbox | |||||
Windows | PS2, Xbox | |||||
September 8 | ||||||
Windows | GBA | |||||
September 9 | King of Colosseum II | PS2 | ||||
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (North America) | GBA | |||||
September 12 | Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper | |||||
September 13 | ||||||
Digimon Racing | GBA | |||||
EverQuest: Omens of War | Windows | |||||
GBA | ||||||
September 14 | Advance Guardian Heroes | GBA | ||||
Power Rangers Dino Thunder | GBA | |||||
Gradius V | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
Fable | Xbox | |||||
PS2 | ||||||
The Sims 2 | Windows | |||||
September 16 | Pokémon Emerald (Japan) | GBA | ||||
September 17 | Crisis Zone | PS2 | ||||
September 20 | F-Zero: GP Legend | GBA | ||||
GCN, PS2, Xbox | ||||||
Windows | ||||||
September 21 | Blood Will Tell | |||||
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme | PS2 | |||||
Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia | Windows | PS2 | ||||
Second Sight | ||||||
Star Wars: Battlefront | PS2, Xbox | |||||
GBA | ||||||
September 22 | Disney's Kim Possible 2: Drakken's Demise | GBA | ||||
Katamari Damacy | PS2 | |||||
September 27 | ||||||
Shark Tale | GBA | |||||
September 28 | ||||||
Crash Twinsanity | PS2, Xbox | |||||
October 1 | ||||||
Scaler | GCN, PS2, Xbox | |||||
October 4 | ||||||
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 | GCN, PS2, Xbox | GBA | ||||
October 5 | ||||||
PS2, Xbox | ||||||
Mega Man Zero 3 | GBA | |||||
Syberia II | ||||||
TOCA Race Driver 2 | ||||||
October 11 | GCN | |||||
October 14 | BloodRayne 2 | |||||
Lilo & Stitch 2: Hämsterviel Havoc | GBA | |||||
PS2 | ||||||
GCN, PS2, Xbox | GBA | |||||
FIFA Football 2005 | Windows | GCN, PS2 | GBA, PSP | |||
Under the Skin | ||||||
October 18 | Kirby & the Amazing Mirror | GBA | ||||
October 19 | Neo Contra | |||||
GBA | ||||||
GBA | ||||||
GBA | ||||||
October 20 | ||||||
Tron 2.0 | GBA | |||||
October 22 | Sacred Plus (EU) | Windows | ||||
October 25 | PS2 | |||||
OutRun 2 | Xbox | |||||
October 26 | Dead or Alive Ultimate | Xbox | ||||
Grand Theft Auto Advance | GBA | |||||
Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed | Windows | |||||
PS2 | ||||||
Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Board Traveler | GBA | |||||
October 27 | ||||||
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | Windows | GBA | ||||
October 29 | The Incredibles | Windows | ||||
November 1 | Windows | |||||
November 2 | ||||||
Killzone | PS2 | |||||
Windows | ||||||
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 | Windows | |||||
PS2 | ||||||
GBA | ||||||
November 3 | GCN, PS2, Xbox | |||||
Windows | ||||||
November 4 | PS2, Xbox | |||||
(Japan) | GBA | |||||
November 5 | Bejeweled 2 | Windows | ||||
FlatOut (Europe) | ||||||
November 8 | EverQuest II | Windows | ||||
Mario Power Tennis (North America) | ||||||
November 9 | ||||||
Halo 2 | Xbox | |||||
Jak 3 | PS2 | |||||
GBA | ||||||
November 10 | GBA | |||||
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | Windows | GBA, NDS | ||||
November 15 | GBA | |||||
MTX Mototrax | ||||||
GCN, PS2, Xbox | GBA, NDS | |||||
November 16 | PS2 | |||||
NDS | ||||||
Fight Club | ||||||
Half-Life 2 | Windows | Xbox (2005) | ||||
Windows | ||||||
November 17 | Asphalt Urban GT | NDS | ||||
Castle Shikigami 2 | ||||||
King Arthur | ||||||
PS2 | ||||||
Pac-Man World | GBA | |||||
November 18 | ||||||
GBA | ||||||
GBA | ||||||
November 19 | Mario vs. Donkey Kong | GBA | ||||
November 21 | Super Mario 64 DS | NDS | ||||
Spider-Man 2 | NDS | |||||
NDS | ||||||
November 22 | GCN, PS2, Xbox | NDS | ||||
JFK Reloaded | Windows | |||||
November 23 | Alien Hominid | |||||
World of Warcraft | Windows | |||||
November 29 | Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls | GBA | ||||
November 30 | Mr. Driller Drill Spirits | NDS | ||||
Armies of Exigo | Windows | |||||
December 1 | Painkiller: Battle out of Hell | Windows | ||||
Scrapland | Windows | |||||
GBA | ||||||
December 2 | Metal Slug Advance | GBA | ||||
Windows | GCN, PS2, Xbox | |||||
December 5 | Mario Party 6 | GCN | ||||
December 6 | Windows | Xbox | ||||
Windows | ||||||
December 7 | Growlanser Generations | |||||
GBA | ||||||
Kuon | ||||||
It's Mr. Pants | GBA | |||||
Mega Man X8 | ||||||
Ridge Racer DS | NDS | |||||
December 8 | Windows | |||||
Sprung | NDS | |||||
Viewtiful Joe 2 | ||||||
December 14 | Gungriffon Allied Strike | |||||
December 15 | ||||||
December 20 | Cave Story | Windows | ||||
December 22 | NFL Street 2 | |||||
December 24 | Garry's Mod | Windows | ||||
December 28 | Gran Turismo 4 |