2005 saw the release of many sequels and prequels in video games, such as , Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Resident Evil 4, Black & White 2, , , Mario Kart DS, , , Need for Speed: Most Wanted, , and WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2006, alongside prominent new releases including Brain Age, F.E.A.R., Forza Motorsport, Dinosaur King, God of War, Guild Wars, Guitar Hero, Nintendogs, Onechanbara, Shadow of the Colossus, Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06, NBA 2K6, and Sniper Elite. The seventh generation of video game consoles also began with the launch of the Xbox 360, while the Nintendo DS launched in PAL regions.
The year's best-selling video game worldwide was Gran Turismo 4 for the PlayStation 2. The year's most critically acclaimed title was Resident Evil 4 for the GameCube and PlayStation 2.
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform | MC score | GR score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Evil 4 | Capcom | October 25, 2005 | PlayStation 2 | 96/100 | 95.85% | |
| Resident Evil 4 | Capcom | January 11, 2005 | GameCube | 96/100 | 95.83% | |
| Ninja Gaiden Black | Tecmo | September 20, 2005 | Xbox | 94/100 | 94.76% | |
| Ubisoft | March 28, 2005 | 94/100 | 94.02% | |||
| God of War | Sony Computer Entertainment | March 22, 2005 | PlayStation 2 | 94/100 | 93.58% | |
| Civilization IV | 2K Games | October 25, 2005 | Microsoft Windows | 94/100 | 93.36% | |
| Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence | Konami | December 22, 2005 | PlayStation 2 | 94/100[3] | 92.97%[4] | |
| Forza Motorsport | Microsoft Game Studios | May 3, 2005 | Xbox | 92/100 | 93.05% | |
| Rockstar Games | June 7, 2005 | Xbox | 93/100 | 92.29% | ||
| Rockstar Games | June 7, 2005 | Microsoft Windows | 93/100 | 91.94% | ||
| Ubisoft | March 28, 2005 | 92/100 | 91.44% | |||
| Guitar Hero | RedOctane | November 7, 2005 | PlayStation 2 | 91/100 | 91.96% | |
| Shadow of the Colossus | Sony Computer Entertainment | October 18, 2005 | PlayStation 2 | 91/100 | 91.43% | |
| Mario Kart DS | Nintendo | November 14, 2005 | Nintendo DS | 91/100 | 91.43% | |
| Battlefield 2 | Electronic Arts | June 21, 2005 | Microsoft Windows | 91/100 | 90.07% | |
| Konami | August 25, 2005 | Nintendo DS | 89/100 | 90.35% | ||
| Burnout Revenge | Electronic Arts | September 13, 2005 | PlayStation 2 | 90/100 | 90.3% | |
| Nintendo | June 23, 2005 | Nintendo DS | 90/100 | 90.28% | ||
| Pro Evolution Soccer 5 | Konami | August 4, 2005 | Microsoft Windows | 89/100 | 90.25%[5] | |
| Psychonauts | Majesco Entertainment | April 19, 2005 | Xbox | 88/100 | 90.21% | |
| Silent Hunter III | Ubisoft | March 15, 2005 | Microsoft Windows | 90/100 | 88.65% | |
| Graphsim Entertainment | June 28, 2005 | Microsoft Windows | 90/100 | 88.56% |
In 2005, the total U.S. sales of video game hardware, software and accessories rose 6% over 2004 to $10.5 billion USD ($9.9 billion, 2004) breaking 2002's $10.3 billion record for the industry.
The increase is largely due to the portable game market which counterbalanced sluggish console game sales. Delays, hardware shortages, and anticipation of next-generation video game consoles have been cited as reasoning for slow sales for both console games and console hardware. Console games and hardware dropped by 12% and 3% respectively.
The portable market of the video game industry rose to $1.4 billion, the second time sales broke the $1 billion mark in the industry's history. Mostly due to the release of the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable in North America, sales for portable hardware rose 96% over 2004. Although the release of the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP aided in spurring growth in the portable market, the Game Boy Advance still represented 62% total portable software units sold and 52% of total portable software dollar sales.[6]
Computer games continued its trend and declined by 14%, dropping from $1.1 billion in 2004 to $953 million. Although sales did decrease, NPD claims that playing games on the PC is actually increasing through a variety of different mediums including online websites and MMO subscriptions.[7]
Additionally, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii were officially unveiled during or just prior to E3; however, only the Xbox 360 was released in 2005. The Xbox 360 was released in North America on November 22, Europe on December 2, and Japan on December 10.
| Month | Day | Console | |
|---|---|---|---|
| September | 13 | Game Boy Micro | |
| November | 22 | Xbox 360 |
| Title | Platform(s) | Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | United States | Europe | Worldwide | ||||
| 1 | Gran Turismo 4 | PlayStation 2 | 1,066,749 | 1,500,000+ | +[8] [9] | ||
| 2 | Madden NFL 06 | PS2, Xbox, GC | 3,250[10] | 4,430,000 | 4,433,250+ | ||
| 3 | Nintendogs | Nintendo DS | 965,665 | 1,600,000[11] | +[12] | ||
| 4 | Pokémon Emerald | Game Boy Advance | 319,837 | 1,700,000+ | 1,200,000[13] | 3,219,837+ | |
| 5 | Mario Kart DS | Nintendo DS | 836,478 | 800,000 | 3,000,000+[14] | ||
| 6 | Resident Evil 4 (Biohazard 4) | GameCube, PS2 | 591,379 | 3,000,000[15] | |||
| 7 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | PlayStation 2, Xbox | 1,567,000+[16] | 500,000+[17] | 2,067,000+ | ||
| 8 | Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (Winning Eleven 9) | Multi-platform | + | 800,000+ | 1,925,464+ | ||
| 9 | Nintendo DS | 1,382,228 | 1,800,000+ | ||||
| 10 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | Multi-platform | 61,221[18] | 931,000+ | 611,000+ | 1,603,221+ | |
| 1 | Oideyo Dōbutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing: Wild World) | Nintendo DS | Nintendo | Social simulation | 1,382,228 | [19] |
| 2 | Nō o Kitaeru Otona no DS Training (Brain Training) | Nintendo DS | Nintendo | Edutainment | 1,157,870 | |
| 3 | World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 (Pro Evolution Soccer 5) | PlayStation 2 | Konami | Sports simulation | ||
| 4 | Gran Turismo 4 | PlayStation 2 | Sony | Racing simulation | 1,066,749 | [20] |
| 5 | Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon) | Nintendo | Roguelike | 1,038,864 | ||
| 6 | Nintendogs | Nintendo DS | Nintendo | Pet simulation | 965,665 | |
| 7 | Yawaraka Atama Juku (Big Brain Academy) | Nintendo DS | Nintendo | Edutainment | 935,535 | |
| 8 | Shin Sangokumusou 4 (Dynasty Warriors 5) | PlayStation 2 | Koei | Hack & slash | 917,985 | |
| 9 | Kingdom Hearts II | PlayStation 2 | Square Enix | Action RPG | 884,428 | |
| 10 | Mario Kart DS | Nintendo DS | Nintendo | Kart racing | 836,478 |
| 1 | Madden NFL 06 | PS2, Xbox, GC | EA Sports | 4,430,000 | $ | [21] | ||
| 2 | Pokémon Emerald | GBA | Nintendo | 1,700,000+ | + | $+ | [22] | |
| 3 | Nintendogs | Nintendo DS | Nintendo | + | ||||
| 4 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | PS2, Xbox | LucasArts | 1,567,000+ | + | $+ | [23] | |
| 5 | Gran Turismo 4 | PlayStation 2 | Sony | 1,500,000+ | + | $+ | ||
| 6 | NCAA Football 06 | PlayStation 2 | EA Sports | 1,130,000 | $ | |||
| 7 | MVP Baseball 2005 | PlayStation 2 | EA Sports | 970,000 | $ | |||
| 8 | World of Warcraft | PC | Blizzard | 957,000 | $ | [24] | ||
| 9 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | PS2, Xbox, GBA | LucasArts | 931,000+ | $81,000,000 | $ | [25] | |
| 10 | NBA Live 06 | PlayStation 2 | EA Sports | 826,000 | $ |
| Australia[26] | United Kingdom[27] [28] | France | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Platform | Title | Platform(s) | Sales | ||
| 1 | Gran Turismo 4 | PlayStation 2 | FIFA 06 | Multi-platform | 1,000,000+ | Pro Evolution Soccer 5[29] |
| 2 | Pokémon Emerald | Game Boy Advance | Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (PES 5) | Multi-platform | 800,000+ | rowspan="9" |
| 3 | PlayStation 2 | Need for Speed: Most Wanted | Multi-platform | 750,000+ | ||
| 4 | PlayStation 2 | Gran Turismo 4 | PlayStation 2 | 611,000+ | ||
| 5 | PlayStation 2 | Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | Multi-platform | 611,000 | ||
| 6 | Ratchet & Clank 3 | PlayStation 2 | FIFA Street | Multi-platform | 500,000+ | |
| 7 | PlayStation 2 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | Multi-platform | 500,000+ | ||
| 8 | Need for Speed: Most Wanted | PlayStation 2 | Multi-platform | 450,000+ | ||
| 9 | WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 | PlayStation 2 | King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie | Multi-platform | 450,000+ | |
| 10 | Super Mario 64 DS | Nintendo DS | The Sims 2 | Multi-platform | 402,000+ | |
| 1 | Rockstar Games | Action-adventure | |||
| 2 | PlayStation 2 | Electronic Arts | Racing | ||
| 3 | PlayStation 2 | Rockstar Games | |||
| 4 | Halo 2 | Microsoft | First-person shooter | ||
| 5 | PlayStation 2 | LucasArts | Action | ||
| 6 | Madden NFL 06 | PlayStation 2 | EA Sports | Sports | |
| 7 | WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw | PlayStation 2 | THQ | Wrestling | |
| 8 | Gran Turismo 4 | PlayStation 2 | Sony | Racing simulation | |
| 9 | Xbox | Rockstar Games | Racing | ||
| 10 | NCAA Football 06 | PlayStation 2 | EA Sports | Sports |
| Month | Date(s) | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | 6 | The television show 60 Minutes tackles issues within video game controversy. This segment of 60 Minutes has been criticized by video game players for encouraging video game censorship.[33] | |
| 7–11 | Game Developers Conference
| ||
| May | 11 | The global version of Maplestory is launched. | |
| 12 | The Xbox 360 was officially announced on MTV in a special hosted by Elijah Wood. | ||
| 16 | The PlayStation 3 was unveiled by Sony during a pre-E3 press conference, at 21:25 GMT. At the same time, the press release[34] was released through the Japanese PlayStation website. | ||
| 18–20 | The 11th annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) takes place in Los Angeles, California. Four hundred exhibiting companies and 70,000 industry professionals representing 79 countries attended. Next-generation systems from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft were unveiled.[35] | ||
| Unknown | In defense of video games being beneficial for cognitive development, Steven Berlin Johnson published his book . | ||
| May | 1 | IBM held the first virtual video game on-demand conference in which game developers and manufacturers were able to come together to discuss issues with online games, including management and distribution. | |
| July | 18–22 | IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 6th annual Executive Summit. | |
| September | 16–18 | Tokyo Game Show takes place at Makuhari Messe. One hundred-thirty companies are expected to show with 1,429 booths.
| |
| November | 14 | Nintendo's first mainstream online service (Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection) is launched with Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land. | |
| 22 | Microsoft releases the Xbox 360 as a successor to the original Xbox. | ||
| December | 16 | The Family Entertainment Protection Act (FEPA) is introduced by Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh. The bill calls for a federal mandate enforcement of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings system for video games in order to protect children from inappropriate content. |
| Month | Date(s) | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6 | French publisher Titus Software, is declared bankrupt after being in receivership since October 2004. All assets are sold to Interplay Entertainment | |
| 12 | Video game companies and players worldwide donate money to the UNICEF South Asian Tsunami Relief Fund for rescue and reconstruction efforts upon the South Asian tsunami disaster. Electronic Arts pledges to donate $250,000 to the UNICEF South Asian Tsunami Relief Fund. CCP, the publisher of EVE Online, establishes a fund that video game players can contribute to. | ||
| 17 | Electronic Arts and ESPN announced a 15-year partnership that would give EA access to ESPN's broadcast, print and online content. | ||
| 20 | Activision announced that it acquired developer Vicarious Visions known best as a developer of Game Boy games as well as for their middleware program, Alchemy. | ||
| 24 | Major League Baseball and Take-Two Interactive sign exclusive seven-year deal that gives Take-Two Interactive the rights among third-party publishers to develop games based on the MLB license. | ||
| 25 | Take-Two Interactive announced that it acquired developer Visual Concepts and their wholly owned subsidiary Kush Games from Sega for $24 million. Additionally, Take-Two Interactive also announced the start of another publishing label named 2K Games. | ||
| February | Unknown | Troika Games defunct after being unable to get contracts for development work. | |
| March | 2 | The Entertainment Software Rating Board or ESRB added the rating of "E10+" to its ratings system. E10+ was created in order to divide E ratings for younger and older children. | |
| 7 | Sammy Studios breaks away from Sega Sammy Holdings and renames itself High Moon Studios. | ||
| 9 | Sega acquires Creative Assembly. | ||
| 23 | Vivendi Universal Games buys developer Radical Entertainment. Radical is best known for developing . | ||
| April | 2 | Keiji Inafune, the creator of Mega Man series, was promoted from corporate officer to senior corporate officer. | |
| May | Unknown | Buena Vista Games announces that it had bought the rights to the Turok video game franchise and will be publishing new games. The rights were originally held by bankrupt Acclaim Entertainment. | |
| July | 20 | After coming under heavy fire from many politicians, most notably Hillary Clinton, the Entertainment Software Rating Board re-rated Rockstar Games' Adults Only 18+ (AO) due to the sexually explicit minigame mod "Hot Coffee". Additionally, Rockstar Games ceased production of the game and has announced plans to offer a new version of the game that can't be affected by the mod, and plans to patch the PC version. | |
| 27 | Sony Computer Entertainment released the first major update in Japan for their video game handheld, the PlayStation Portable. Version 2.00 includes a web browser, A-B repeat mode, Wi-Fi picture sending, as well as additional audio & video support among other features. | ||
| August | 8 | Abandon Mobile announces its formation through a partnership between Abandon Entertainment, Inc. and GF Capital Management and Advisors, LLC. | |
| 22 | Square Enix acquires Taito leading to Square Enix entering the arcade sector of the electronic game industry. | ||
| September | 29 | Namco merges with Bandai to form Bandai Namco Holdings, the third-largest video game entity in Japan. | |
| November | 7 | Take-Two Interactive acquires Firaxis Games. | |
| 30 | Sony Computer Entertainment announce that PlayStation 2 breaks a record: the fastest console to reach cumulative shipment of 100 million units, beating the previous record holder, the PlayStation, by three years and nine months. The PS platform has until the present year the biggest sales of all times of video games history, with 120 million consoles shipped. | ||
| Unknown | Pandemic Studios and BioWare partner to create BioWare/Pandemic Studios. | ||
| December | 12 | Working Designs closes down. |
| Release | Title | PC | 6th Gen | 7th Gen | Handheld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 10 | GBA | |||||
| January 10 | Software Tycoon | |||||
| January 11 | Resident Evil 4 | |||||
| January 11 | ||||||
| January 11 | ||||||
| January 12 | Banjo-Pilot | GBA | ||||
| January 16 | The Punisher | Windows | ||||
| January 18 | Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel | |||||
| January 18 | Street Racing Syndicate | |||||
| January 18 | Virtua Quest | |||||
| January 18 | Zoo Keeper | NDS | ||||
| January 19 | Virtua Quest | |||||
| January 25 | Xbox | |||||
| January 25 | ||||||
| January 27 | COPS 2170: The Power of Law[36] | Windows | ||||
| February 4 | Postal²: Share the Pain | Linux | ||||
| February 8 | Racing Gears Advance | GBA | ||||
| February 8 | Windows | |||||
| February 8 | Shadow of Rome | |||||
| February 8 | GBA | |||||
| February 8 | GBA | |||||
| February 8 | Winnie the Pooh's Rumbly Tumbly Adventure | GBA | ||||
| February 14 | Star Fox Assault | GCN | ||||
| February 14 | NDS | |||||
| February 15 | Constantine | Windows | ||||
| February 15 | Nano Breaker | |||||
| February 15 | ||||||
| February 22 | FIFA Street | |||||
| February 22 | Gran Turismo 4 | PS2 | ||||
| February 22 | MVP Baseball 2005 | Windows | ||||
| February 22 | ||||||
| February 22 | Ace Combat Advance | GBA | ||||
| February 23 | GBA | |||||
| February 23 | Project Snowblind | |||||
| February 23 | Super Army War | GBA | ||||
| February 24 | ||||||
| February 24 | Tekken 5 | PS2 | ||||
| February 27 | ||||||
| February 28 | American McGee Presents: Scrapland | |||||
| February 28 | Fight Night Round 2 | |||||
| February 28 | Ice Nine | GBA | ||||
| February 28 | Xbox | |||||
| March 1 | ||||||
| March 1 | PS2 | |||||
| March 1 | ||||||
| March 1 | Windows | |||||
| March 1 | ||||||
| March 3 | ||||||
| March 8 | MLB 2006 | PSP | ||||
| March 8 | Rave Master | |||||
| March 13 | Pokémon Dash | NDS | ||||
| March 14 | Donkey Kong Jungle Beat | GCN | ||||
| March 14 | Need for Speed Underground: Rivals | PSP | ||||
| March 14 | PSP | |||||
| March 14 | Yoshi Touch & Go | NDS | ||||
| March 15 | Windows | |||||
| March 15 | Windows | |||||
| March 15 | Cold Fear | |||||
| March 15 | Driver 3 | Windows | ||||
| March 15 | ||||||
| March 15 | Phantom Dust | |||||
| March 15 | GBA | |||||
| March 15 | Spider-Man 2 | PSP | ||||
| March 15 | Super Monkey Ball Deluxe | |||||
| March 15 | Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix | PSP | ||||
| March 16 | Dynasty Warriors | PSP | ||||
| March 16 | MX vs. ATV Unleashed | |||||
| March 16 | Retro Atari Classics | NDS | ||||
| March 21 | NFL Street 2 Unleashed | PSP | ||||
| March 21 | GCN, PS2, Xbox | |||||
| March 22 | ||||||
| March 22 | God of War | PS2 | ||||
| March 22 | Lumines | PSP | ||||
| March 22 | The Matrix Online | Windows | ||||
| March 22 | Metal Gear Acid | PSP | ||||
| March 22 | Shining Tears | |||||
| March 24 | GBA | |||||
| March 24 | PSP | |||||
| March 24 | MX vs. ATV Unleashed | |||||
| March 24 | Rayman DS | NDS | ||||
| March 24 | Ridge Racer | PSP | ||||
| March 24 | PSP | |||||
| March 24 | Wipeout Pure | PSP | ||||
| March 25 | Iron Phoenix | |||||
| March 25 | Sudeki | Windows | ||||
| March 28 | Mario Party Advance | GBA | ||||
| March 29 | Dynasty Warriors 5 | PS2 | ||||
| March 29 | ||||||
| March 29 | ||||||
| March 30 | ||||||
| March 31 | Windows | PS2, Xbox, GCN | ||||
| April 3 | Doom 3 | |||||
| April 3 | Windows | |||||
| April 5 | Rise of the Kasai | |||||
| April 5 | Windows | PS2, Xbox | GBA | |||
| April 5 | ||||||
| April 5 | SWAT 4 | |||||
| April 6 | Archer Maclean's Mercury | PSP | ||||
| April 6 | ||||||
| April 11 | ||||||
| April 12 | Jade Empire | Xbox | ||||
| April 18 | Polarium | NDS | ||||
| April 18 | Xbox | |||||
| April 19 | PSP | |||||
| April 19 | Psychonauts | Xbox | ||||
| April 20 | WWE WrestleMania 21 | |||||
| April 21 | Haunting Ground | PS2 | ||||
| April 21 | Raze's Hell | |||||
| April 24 | GBA | |||||
| April 25 | Crash Bandicoot | Mobile | ||||
| April 26 | Guild Wars | Windows | ||||
| April 26 | Pac-Pix | NDS | ||||
| April 26 | Psychonauts | Windows | ||||
| April 26 | ObsCure | Windows | PS2, Xbox | |||
| April 26 | Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory | PSP | ||||
| April 27 | Motocross Mania 3 | |||||
| April 27 | NBA Street Showdown | PSP | ||||
| April 27 | PS2, Xbox | |||||
| May 1 | Pokémon Emerald (North America) | GBA | ||||
| May 2 | Pac-Man Pinball Advance | GBA | ||||
| May 3 | Forza Motorsport | |||||
| May 3 | PSP | |||||
| May 3 | Pariah | Windows | Xbox | |||
| May 3 | Puyo Pop Fever | NDS | ||||
| May 5 | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | PS2, Xbox | GBA, NDS, Mobile | |||
| May 9 | Donkey Konga 2: Hit Song Parade! | |||||
| May 11 | Cold Winter | |||||
| May 19 | Chameleon | Windows | ||||
| May 23 | GBA | |||||
| May 23 | GBA | |||||
| May 24 | Madagascar | Windows | GBA, NDS | |||
| May 27 | 7 Sins | Windows | PS2 | |||
| May 31 | Advent Rising | |||||
| June 2 | Digimon World 4 | |||||
| June 7 | Windows | |||||
| June 7 | GCN, PS2, Xbox | |||||
| June 8 | Area 51 | Windows | PS2, Xbox | |||
| June 13 | Juiced | Windows | ||||
| June 13 | Yoshi Topsy-Turvy | GBA | ||||
| June 13 | NDS | |||||
| June 14 | ||||||
| June 14 | Batman Begins | GBA | ||||
| June 14 | Capcom Fighting Evolution | |||||
| June 21 | Battlefield 2 | Windows | ||||
| June 21 | Bomberman | NDS | ||||
| June 21 | ||||||
| June 21 | Destroy All Humans! | PS2, Xbox | ||||
| June 21 | Mega Man Battle Network 5 | GBA | ||||
| June 22 | Psychonauts | PS2 | ||||
| June 24 | Soul Ride | Linux | ||||
| June 27 | Fantastic Four | Windows | GBA | |||
| June 27 | Meteos | NDS | ||||
| June 27 | PSP | |||||
| June 28 | PSP | |||||
| June 28 | Windows | |||||
| June 28 | GBA | |||||
| July 5 | Façade | |||||
| July 6 | Coded Arms | PSP | ||||
| July 7 | killer7 | PS2, GCN | ||||
| July 11 | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | GBA | ||||
| July 12 | FlatOut (North America) | |||||
| July 12 | ||||||
| July 19 | Nanostray | NDS | ||||
| July 20 | ||||||
| July 26 | Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town | GBA | ||||
| July 26 | Disney's Kim Possible 3: Team Possible | GBA, NDS | ||||
| July 26 | ||||||
| July 29 | Worms 4 | Windows | ||||
| August 2 | BloodRayne 2 | Windows (NA) | ||||
| GBA | ||||||
| August 3 | ||||||
| August 8 | Madden NFL 06 | PS2, GCN | NDS | |||
| August 9 | Advent Rising | Windows | ||||
| August 9 | GBA | |||||
| August 15 | Geist | |||||
| August 16 | Death Jr. | PSP | ||||
| August 16 | Dungeon Siege II | Windows | ||||
| August 16 | PS2 | |||||
| August 16 | ||||||
| August 16 | Pac 'n Roll | NDS | ||||
| August 16 | Sigma Star Saga | GBA | ||||
| August 17 | Madden NFL 06 | Windows | ||||
| August 22 | Nintendogs | NDS | ||||
| August 22 | NDS | |||||
| August 23 | 187 Ride or Die | PS2, Xbox | ||||
| August 23 | ||||||
| August 23 | PS2, GCN, Xbox | |||||
| August 25 | ||||||
| August 29 | Dynasty Warriors Advance | GBA | ||||
| August 29 | Mario Superstar Baseball | |||||
| August 29 | WWE Day of Reckoning 2 | |||||
| August 30 | Windows | |||||
| August 31 | World Series of Poker | |||||
| September | Windows | |||||
| September 6 | Radiata Stories | |||||
| September 6 | GBA | |||||
| September 7 | ||||||
| September 8 | GBA | |||||
| September 13 | ||||||
| September 13 | Burnout Legends | PSP | ||||
| September 13 | Burnout Revenge | |||||
| September 13 | Dynasty Warriors 5 | Xbox | ||||
| September 13 | Windows | |||||
| September 13 | Windows | |||||
| September 13 | GripShift | PSP | ||||
| September 13 | Med|iEvil}}: Resurrection | PSP | ||||
| September 13 | Scooby-Doo! Unmasked | PS2, GCN, Xbox | GBA, NDS | |||
| September 13 | World Series of Poker | Windows | ||||
| September 14 | Tecmo Classic Arcade | |||||
| September 14 | World Series of Poker | |||||
| September 15 | Fire Pro Wrestling Returns | |||||
| September 15 | ||||||
| September 15 | World Series of Poker | PSP | ||||
| September 16 | PS2, Xbox (US) | |||||
| September 19 | DK King of Swing | GBA | ||||
| September 19 | Frantix | PSP | ||||
| September 19 | PS2, Xbox, GCN | GBA, NDS, PSP | ||||
| September 20 | ||||||
| September 20 | Gretzky NHL 2006 | |||||
| September 20 | Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy | Windows | PS2, Xbox | |||
| September 20 | Kingdom Under Fire:Heroes | |||||
| September 20 | Legend of Kay | |||||
| September 20 | Windows | |||||
| September 20 | Ninja Gaiden Black | Xbox | ||||
| September 20 | Space Invaders Revolution | NDS | ||||
| September 20 | We Love Katamari | PS2 | ||||
| September 20 | Whac-A-Mole | GBA | ||||
| September 20 | GCN, PS2, Xbox | NDS, PSP | ||||
| September 20 | Windows | |||||
| September 21 | Mega Man X8[37] (Europe) | Windows | ||||
| September 22 | Ultimate Spider-Man | Windows | GBA, NDS | |||
| September 23 | Neuro Hunter | Windows (UK) | ||||
| September 26 | NDS | |||||
| September 26 | Fahrenheit | |||||
| September 26 | ||||||
| September 26 | Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 | PSP | ||||
| September 26 | Top Spin | |||||
| September 27 | Capcom Classics Collection | |||||
| September 27 | Far Cry Instincts | |||||
| September 27 | ||||||
| September 27 | Lost in Blue | NDS | ||||
| September 27 | NDS | |||||
| September 27 | ||||||
| September 28 | Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 | |||||
| September 29 | Battalion Wars | |||||
| September 29 | NDS, PSP | |||||
| September 30 | PS2, Xbox (EU) | |||||
| October 2 | Fahrenheit | Windows | ||||
| October 3 | ||||||
| October 4 | NDS | |||||
| October 4 | Bratz: Rock Angelz | GBA | ||||
| October 4 | FIFA 06 | Windows | NDS, Mobile | |||
| October 4 | Mega Man Zero 4 | GBA | ||||
| October 4 | Street Racing Syndicate | GBA | ||||
| October 4 | NDS | |||||
| October 5 | ||||||
| October 7 | Black & White 2 | Windows | ||||
| October 7 | PSP | |||||
| October 7 | Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | |||||
| October 10 | ||||||
| October 10 | GBA, NDS | |||||
| October 10 | L.A. Rush | |||||
| October 11 | FIFA 06 | PSP, GBA | ||||
| October 11 | ||||||
| October 11 | SOCOM 3 | |||||
| October 11 | Hello Kitty: Happy Party Pals | GBA | ||||
| October 11 | Zoo Tycoon DS | NDS | ||||
| October 11 | Serious Sam 2 | Windows | Xbox | |||
| October 11 | SSX on Tour | PSP | ||||
| October 12 | Devil Kings | |||||
| October 12 | NDS | |||||
| October 13 | FlatOut (Japan) | |||||
| October 16 | Teen Titans | GBA | ||||
| October 17 | ||||||
| October 17 | F.E.A.R. | Windows | ||||
| October 17 | The Warriors | PS2 | ||||
| October 18 | Chicken Little | GCN, PS2, Xbox | ||||
| October 18 | Quake 4 | Windows | ||||
| October 18 | Age of Empires III | Windows | ||||
| October 18 | NDS | |||||
| October 18 | ||||||
| October 18 | Shadow of the Colossus | PS2 | ||||
| October 18 | NDS | |||||
| October 18 | Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse | |||||
| October 18 | The Con | PSP | ||||
| October 18 | The Fairly Oddparents! Clash with the Anti-World | GBA | ||||
| October 18 | Windows | |||||
| October 19 | GCN | |||||
| October 19 | Crash Tag Team Racing | GCN, PS2, Xbox | ||||
| October 19 | PSP | |||||
| October 19 | Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles | |||||
| October 20 | Navy Field Online | Windows | ||||
| October 21 | SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Cameras, Pants! | |||||
| October 24 | Xbox | |||||
| October 24 | Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix | |||||
| October 24 | PSP | |||||
| October 24 | Metroid Prime Pinball | NDS | ||||
| October 24 | Nintendogs: Best Friends | NDS | ||||
| October 25 | Atomic Betty | GBA | ||||
| October 25 | PS2, Xbox | |||||
| October 25 | Call of Duty 2 | Windows | ||||
| October 25 | Civilization IV | Windows | ||||
| October 25 | Driver 3 | GBA | ||||
| October 25 | Gunstar Super Heroes | GBA | ||||
| October 25 | GBA | |||||
| October 25 | ||||||
| October 25 | Resident Evil 4 | PS2 | ||||
| October 25 | PS2 | |||||
| October 25 | Shrek SuperSlam | Windows | GBA, NDS | |||
| October 25 | Soul Calibur III | PS2 | ||||
| October 26 | Windows | |||||
| October 26 | Ghost In The Shell:Stand Alone Complex | PSP | ||||
| October 26 | Nicktoons Unite | GBA | ||||
| November 1 | ||||||
| November 1 | PS2, Xbox, GCN | |||||
| November 1 | ||||||
| November 1 | Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS | NDS | ||||
| November 1 | Shamu's Deep Sea Adventures | |||||
| November 1 | Star Wars Battlefront 2 | Windows | PS2, Xbox | PSP | ||
| November 1 | Windows | NDS, GBA | ||||
| November 1 | GBA | |||||
| November 3 | Windows | GBA | ||||
| November 7 | GBA | |||||
| November 7 | GBA | |||||
| November 7 | Mario Party 7 | GCN | ||||
| November 7 | Windows | PS2, Xbox | ||||
| November 8 | ||||||
| November 8 | ||||||
| November 8 | Guitar Hero | PS2 | ||||
| November 8 | Gun | PS2, Xbox, GCN | ||||
| November 8 | Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire | Windows | NDS, GBA | |||
| November 8 | Shamu's Deep Sea Adventures | GBA, NDS | ||||
| November 8 | PSP | |||||
| November 8 | Suikoden Tactics | |||||
| November 8 | PSP | |||||
| November 8 | The Movies | Windows | ||||
| November 8 | NDS | |||||
| November 8 | ||||||
| November 9 | Big Mutha Truckers | GBA | ||||
| November 10 | Crash Tag Team Racing | PSP | ||||
| November 13 | GBA | |||||
| November 13 | The Proud Family | GBA, NDS | ||||
| November 14 | NDS | |||||
| November 14 | NDS | |||||
| November 14 | The Chronicles Of Narnia:The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe | Windows | NDS, GBA | |||
| November 14 | GBA | |||||
| November 14 | Mario Kart DS | NDS | ||||
| November 15 | Dragon Quest VIII (NA) | PS2 | ||||
| November 15 | Shadow the Hedgehog | PS2, Xbox, GCN | ||||
| November 15 | Xbox 360 | |||||
| November 15 | Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 | |||||
| November 15 | ||||||
| November 15 | Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire | PSP | ||||
| November 15 | Infected | PSP | ||||
| November 15 | Kingdom of Paradise | PSP | ||||
| November 15 | ||||||
| November 15 | ||||||
| November 15 | Pac-Man World 3 | Windows | PS2, Xbox, GCN | NDS | ||
| November 15 | Sonic Rush | NDS | ||||
| November 15 | Totally Spies! | GBA | ||||
| November 15 | Windows | PS2, Xbox, GCN | ||||
| November 15 | ||||||
| November 15 | WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 | PS2 | ||||
| November 16 | Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2 | |||||
| November 16 | NDS | |||||
| November 16 | ||||||
| November 16 | Need for Speed: Most Wanted | Windows | PS2, Xbox, GCN | Xbox 360 | GBA, NDS, PSP | |
| November 17 | ||||||
| November 17 | Perfect Dark Zero | Xbox 360 | ||||
| November 17 | [38] | Windows | PS2, Xbox, GCN | |||
| November 20 | NDS | |||||
| November 21 | Windows | |||||
| November 21 | College Hoops 2K6 | |||||
| November 21 | GBA | |||||
| November 22 | ||||||
| November 22 | Amped 3 | Xbox 360 | ||||
| November 22 | Call of Duty 2 | Xbox 360 | ||||
| November 22 | Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved | |||||
| November 22 | Mutant Storm Reloaded | |||||
| November 22 | Outpost Kaloki X | |||||
| November 22 | [39] | Xbox 360 | ||||
| November 22 | Ridge Racer 6 | |||||
| November 22 | NDS | |||||
| November 22 | Quake 4 | Xbox 360 | ||||
| November 28 | NDS | |||||
| November 29 | Burnout Legends | NDS | ||||
| November 30 | College Hoops 2K6 | |||||
| November 30 | Windows | PS2, Xbox, GCN | ||||
| December 2 | Chicken Little | Windows | ||||
| December 5 | NDS | |||||
| December 5 | GBA | |||||
| December 5 | Super Mario Strikers | GCN | ||||
| December 5 | Tokobot | PSP | ||||
| December 6 | Battles of Prince of Persia | NDS | ||||
| December 6 | Bust-a-Move DS | NDS | ||||
| December 6 | Pac-Man World 3 | PSP | ||||
| December 6 | Prince of Persia: Revelations | PSP | ||||
| December 7 | Dragon Booster | NDS | ||||
| December 7 | The Sims 2 | PSP | ||||
| December 8 | Yakuza (Japan) | |||||
| December 9 | The Endless Forest | Windows | ||||
| December 12 | Final Fantasy IV Advance | GBA | ||||
| December 12 | ||||||
| December 13 | PSP | |||||
| December 13 | Ultimate Block Party | PSP | ||||
| December 15 | PSP | |||||
| December 20 | Chaos Field | |||||
| December 20 | PSP | |||||
| December 22 | Kingdom Hearts II (Japan) | |||||
| December 29 | Dead or Alive 4 |
| Title | Date | Director | Distributor(s) | Franchise | Original game publisher | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 5, 2005 | Shigeyasu Yamauchi | Toei Animation | Xenosaga | Monolith Soft | [40] | ||
| Lucario and the Mystery of Mew | July 16, 2005 | Kunihiko Yuyama | Toho | Pokémon | Game Freak | [41] | |
| September 14, 2005 | Tetsuya Nomura | Square Enix Image Studio Division | Final Fantasy | Square Enix | [42] | ||
| Morio Asaka | Madhouse, Inc. | [43] | |||||
| October 6, 2005 | Masamitsu Hidaka | TV Tokyo | Pokémon | Game Freak | [44] | ||
| Doom | October 17, 2005 | Andrzej Bartkowiak | Universal Pictures | Doom | Id Software | [45] | |
| October 25, 2005 | Ikuo Kuwana | Manga Entertainment | Street Fighter | Capcom | [46] | ||
| December 2, 2005 | Masaki Tachibana | Production I.G | The King of Fighters | SNK |