Overview of the events of 2004 in video games
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 , Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , Half-Life 2 , Halo 2 , Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater , Metroid Prime 2: Echoes , Myst IV: Revelation , Ninja Gaiden , Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen /Emerald , Everybody's Golf 4 (Hot Shots Golf Fore! ), Prince of Persia: Warrior Within , Silent Hill 4: The Room , Tekken 5 , 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.
Events
January 20 – Wired ' s Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner Duke Nukem Forever .
February 26 – Castle Wolfenstein creator Silas Warner dies at age 54.
March 4 – Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards ; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame .
March 22–26 – Game Developers Conference hosts 4th annual Game Developers Choice Awards and Gama Network's 6th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF).
May 11 – Nintendo officially announces its "Revolution" (later named Wii ) console.
May 11–13 – The 10th annual E3 is held in Los Angeles , California , United States.[ 2]
July – IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 5th annual Executive Summit.
August 1 – During the Evolution Championship Series , a match of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike results in the viral "Evo Moment 37 ".
August 3 – Doom 3 is released, restarting the breakthrough franchise , and featured complex graphics features such as unified lighting and shadowing, real-time fully dynamic per-pixel lighting and stencil shadowing. The game became id's best selling game to date.
October 6-10 – The 2004 World Cyber Games are held in San Francisco .
October 12 – EA Sports launches the multi-format FIFA Football 2005 . It is the last major title to be released for the original PlayStation console.
November – Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2 are officially released on PC around the world , bringing in a new era for the first-person shooter genre of video games, with advanced graphics & physics.
November 5 – Nobuo Uematsu resigns from Square Enix and becomes a freelancer, starting his own business, called Smile Please Co., Ltd.
Business
January 12 – Ubisoft acquires Tiwak.
February – Electronic Arts consolidates, rolls most of Maxis and all of Origin Systems into its Redwood Shores, California HQ.
March – Microsoft announces XNA the successor of DirectX as the default API for "Longhorn" , and Xenon .
April 6 – Midway Games acquires Surreal Software .
April 13 – T1 , a South Korean esports organization, is founded.
May – Sammy Corporation buys a controlling share in Sega Corporation at a cost of $1.1 billion creating the new company, Sega Sammy Holdings , one of the biggest video game companies in the world.
July – Square Enix restructures executive branches around the world.
September 1 – Acclaim declares bankruptcy and closes its doors.
October – Kotaku , a video game website, is launched.
October 11 – Midway Games acquires Inevitable Entertainment and renames it Midway Studios Austin.
November 30 – Midway Games acquires developer Paradox Development .
December 13 – Electronic Arts purchases a 5-year exclusive agreement for the rights to the NFL, which includes NFL teams, stadiums and players for use in EA's football video games.
December 20 – Electronic Arts purchases 20% stake in Ubisoft . The purchase at the time was considered "hostile", by Ubisoft.
Hardware releases
Nintendo DS
Trends
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.
Video game consoles
Handheld game systems
The dominant handheld systems in 2004 were:
PlayStation Portable
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.
Best-selling video games
Best-selling video games worldwide in 2004
Rank
Title
Platform
Publisher
Sales
Japan [ 3] [ 4]
USA [ 5] [ 6]
Europe
Worldwide
1
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
PS2
Rockstar Games
—
5,144,214
1,750,000+[ 7]
6,894,214+
2
Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen
GBA
The Pokémon Company
2,392,005
2,367,431
Unknown
5,800,000[ 8]
3
FIFA Football 2005
Multi-platform
EA Sports
56,075
53,804+
Unknown
4,500,000[ 9]
4
Halo 2
Xbox
Microsoft Game Studios
42,310[ 4]
4,288,397
Unknown
4,330,707+
5
Madden NFL 2005
PS2, Xbox
EA Sports
3,705[ 10]
4,274,243
Unknown
4,277,948+
6
Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi
PS2
Square Enix
3,327,167
—
—
3,327,167
7
ESPN NFL 2K5
PS2
Take-Two Interactive
—
2,632,393
—
2,632,393
8
Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (Winning Eleven 8 )
PS2
Konami
1,120,272
Unknown
1,500,000+[ 11]
2,620,272+
9
Need For Speed: Underground 2
PS2, Xbox
Electronic Arts
—
2,453,829
Unknown
2,453,829+
10
Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald
GBA
The Pokémon Company
1,670,000
Unknown
Unknown
1,670,000+
Japan
Best-selling video games in Japan [ 3] [ 4]
Rank
Title
Platform
Publisher
Genre
Sales
1
Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi
PS2
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
Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome (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
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
PS2
Konami
Stealth
694,307
9
Gran Turismo 4
PS2
Sony
Racing simulation
663,543
10
Derby Stallion 04
PS2
Enterbrain
Simulation
603,815
United States
Best-selling video games in the United States (NPD Group ) [ 12] [ 13]
Rank
Title
Platform(s)
Publisher
Sales[ 5] [ 6]
Revenue
Inflation
1
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
PS2
Rockstar Games
5,144,214
$252,000,000
$407,000,000
2
Halo 2
Xbox
Microsoft Game Studios
4,288,397
$223,000,000
$360,000,000
3
Madden NFL 2005
PS2, Xbox, GC
EA Sports
4,274,243
$209,000,000
$337,000,000
4
ESPN NFL 2K5
PS2, Xbox
Take-Two Interactive
2,632,393
$50,000,000
$81,000,000
5
Need For Speed: Underground 2
PS2, Xbox, GC
Electronic Arts
2,453,829
$118,000,000
$190,000,000
6
Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen
GBA
Nintendo
2,367,431
$76,000,000
$123,000,000
7
NBA Live 2005
PS2, Xbox
EA Sports
1,723,190
$57,000,000
$92,000,000
8
Spider-Man 2
PS2, GC
Activision
1,569,251
$67,000,000
$108,000,000
9
ESPN NBA 2K5
PS2, Xbox
Take-Two Interactive
1,280,314
Unknown
10
Star Wars: Battlefront
PS2, Xbox
LucasArts
1,224,927
PAL regions
Top game rentals in the United States
Critically acclaimed titles
Famitsu
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]
In the West, Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
2004 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR)[ 18] [ 19]
Game
Publisher
Release Date
Platform
MC score
GR score
Half-Life 2
Valve
November 16, 2004
Microsoft Windows
96/100
95.48%
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Rockstar Games
October 26, 2004
PlayStation 2
95/100
95.08%
Halo 2
Microsoft Game Studios
November 9, 2004
Xbox
95/100
94.57%
Burnout 3: Takedown
Electronic Arts
September 8, 2004
Xbox
94/100
93.06%
Burnout 3: Takedown
Electronic Arts
September 8, 2004
PlayStation 2
93/100
93.32%
Unreal Tournament 2004
Atari
March 16, 2004
Microsoft Windows
93/100
92.57%
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Ubisoft
March 23, 2004
Xbox
93/100
92.37%
World of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment
November 23, 2004
Microsoft Windows
93/100
91.89%
Ninja Gaiden
Tecmo
March 2, 2004
Xbox
91/100
92.54%
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Nintendo
November 15, 2004
GameCube
92/100
91.87%
Rome: Total War
Activision
September 22, 2004
Microsoft Windows
92/100
91.75%
ESPN NFL 2K5
Sega
July 20, 2004
Xbox
92/100
90.52%
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Konami
November 17, 2004
PlayStation 2
91/100
91.77%
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Sony Computer Entertainment
November 3, 2004
PlayStation 2
91/100
91.54%
Pro Evolution Soccer 4
Konami
August 5, 2004
PlayStation 2
91/100[ 20]
91.12%[ 21]
Madden NFL 2005
EA Sports
August 9, 2004
PlayStation 2
91/100
90.33%
Madden NFL 2005
EA Sports
August 9, 2004
Xbox
91/100
89.5%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
EA Sports
September 20, 2004
Microsoft Windows
91/100
88.24%
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay – Developer's Cut
Vivendi Universal Games
December 3, 2004
Microsoft Windows
90/100
90.95%
The Sims 2
Electronic Arts
September 14, 2004
Microsoft Windows
90/100
90.76%
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Nintendo
November 4, 2004
Game Boy Advance
89/100[ 20]
90.36%[ 21]
Metroid: Zero Mission
Nintendo
February 9, 2004
Game Boy Advance
89/100
90.19%
Pro Evolution Soccer 4
Konami
November 26, 2004
Xbox
90/100[ 20]
90.11%[ 21]
Dragon Quest VIII
Square Enix
November 27, 2004
PlayStation 2
89/100[ 20]
90.05%[ 21]
Madden NFL 2005
EA Sports
August 9, 2004
GameCube
90/100
90%
Pikmin 2
Nintendo
April 29, 2004
GameCube
90/100
89.44%
MVP Baseball 2004
EA Sports
March 9, 2004
PlayStation 2
90/100
88.89%
MVP Baseball 2004
EA Sports
March 9, 2004
Xbox
90/100
88.73%
Viewtiful Joe
Capcom
August 24, 2004
PlayStation 2
90/100
87.95%
Lumines: Puzzle Fusion
Bandai
December 12, 2004
PlayStation Portable
89/100[ 20]
89.93%[ 21]
Counter-Strike: Source
Valve
November 1, 2004
Microsoft Windows
88/100
89.71%
EVE Online: Exodus
CCP Games
November 17, 2004
Microsoft Windows
N/A
89.62%
Gran Turismo 4
Sony Computer Entertainment
December 28, 2004
PlayStation 2
89/100[ 20]
89.53%[ 21]
NCAA Football 2005
EA Sports
July 15, 2004
PlayStation 2
88/100
89.45%
FirePower for Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3
Microsoft Game Studios
June 11, 2004
Microsoft Windows
88/100
89.43%
Far Cry
Ubisoft
March 23, 2004
Microsoft Windows
89/100
89.38%
Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor
DreamCatcher Interactive
October 5, 2004
Microsoft Windows
81/100
89%
Football Manager 2005
Sega
November 5, 2004
Microsoft Windows
89/100
88.81%
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Vivendi Universal Games
June 1, 2004
Xbox
89/100
88.61%
NCAA Football 2005
EA Sports
July 15, 2004
Xbox
89/100
88.4%
MVP Baseball 2004
EA Sports
March 9, 2004
GameCube
89/100
87.43%
Ridge Racer
Namco
December 12, 2004
PlayStation Portable
88/100[ 20]
88.62%[ 21]
RalliSport Challenge 2
Microsoft Game Studios
May 4, 2004
Xbox
87/100
88.54%
Pro Evolution Soccer 4
Konami
December 3, 2004
Microsoft Windows
88/100[ 20]
88.5%[ 21]
Out of the Park Baseball 6
Out of the Park Developments
June 14, 2004
Microsoft Windows
87/100
88.4%
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Atari
November 22, 2004
Microsoft Windows
88/100
88.34%
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Nintendo
July 22, 2004
GameCube
87/100
88.05%
NCAA Football 2005
EA Sports
July 15, 2004
GameCube
88/100
88.01%
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment
September 14, 2004
PlayStation 2
88/100
87.92%
Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
Microsoft Game Studios
April 27, 2004
Microsoft Windows
88/100
87.86%
WarioWare: Twisted!
Nintendo
October 14, 2004
Game Boy Advance
88/100[ 20]
87.79%[ 21]
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
EA Sports
September 20, 2004
GameCube
88/100
87.68%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
EA Sports
September 20, 2004
PlayStation 2
88/100
87.08%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
EA Sports
September 20, 2004
Xbox
88/100
86.51%
ESPN NHL 2K5
Sega
August 30, 2004
Xbox
88/100
86.22%
Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers and Jets
Tri Synergy
September 13, 2004
Microsoft Windows
83/100
87.83%
NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup
EA Sports
September 4, 2004
GameCube
N/A
87.61%
Notable releases
Notable releases of the year 2004
Release
Title
PC
5th Gen
6th Gen
Handheld
January 5
Sonic Battle
—
—
—
GBA
January 13
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
January 14
.hack//Quarantine Part 4
—
—
PS2
—
January 20
Delta Force: Black Hawk Down – Team Sabre
Windows
—
PS2
—
Maximo vs. Army of Zin
—
—
PS2
—
January 28
Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven
—
—
PS2
—
Vietcong: Fist Alpha
Win
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
January 29
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (Japan)
—
—
—
GBA
February
Cops 2170: The Power of Law (Russia)
Windows
—
—
—
February 2
R-Type Final
—
—
PS2
—
February 9
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
—
—
GCN
—
Metroid: Zero Mission
—
—
—
GBA
EverQuest: Gates of Discord
Windows
—
—
—
February 10
Nightshade
—
—
PS2
—
Unreal II: The Awakening
—
—
Xbox
—
Wrath Unleashed
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004
—
—
—
GBA
February 11
Feeding Frenzy
Windows
—
—
—
February
14
Classic NES Series : Donkey Kong , Excitebike , Ice Climber , The Legend of Zelda , Super Mario Bros.
—
—
—
GBA
February 17
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing [ 22]
Windows
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
Jet Li: Rise to Honor
—
—
PS2
—
Pro Evolution Soccer 3
Windows
—
PS2
—
February 24
Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX
—
—
PS2
—
February 26
Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction
—
—
PS2
—
February 27
Steel Battalion: Line of Contact
—
—
Xbox
—
March 1
N
Windows
—
—
NDS
March 2
Drakengard
—
—
PS2
—
Lifeline
—
—
PS2
—
Ninja Gaiden
—
—
Xbox
—
Scooby-Doo: Mystery Mayhem
—
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
GBA
MTX Mototrax
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
March 4
Colin McRae Rally 04
Windows
—
—
—
March 8
The Suffering
Windows
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
March 9
Firefighter F.D.18
—
—
PS2
—
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
—
—
GCN
—
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword
Windows
—
—
—
March 10
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
—
—
Xbox
—
March 11
Monster Hunter
PS2
March 12
Seven Samurai 20XX
—
—
PS2
—
March 14
Battlefield Vietnam
Windows
—
—
—
March 15
Wade Hixton's Counter Punch
—
—
—
GBA
March 16
Unreal Tournament 2004
Windows
—
—
—
March 19
Sacred [ 23]
Windows (EU)
—
—
—
March 23
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
Windows
—
—
—
Far Cry
Windows
—
—
—
Final Fantasy XI
—
—
PS2 (US )
—
Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma
—
—
GCN
—
Sonic Heroes
Windows
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
—
All-Star Baseball 2005
—
—
Xbox
—
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Windows
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
GBA
March 24
Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku
—
—
GCN , PS2
—
March 25
Sacred [ 23]
Windows (NA)
—
—
—
March 31
Resident Evil Outbreak
—
—
PS2
—
April 1
Destruction Derby Arenas
—
—
PS2
—
April 5
Alias
Win
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
Fight Night 2004
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
April 8
All-Star Baseball 2005
—
—
PS2
—
April 12
Painkiller
Windows
—
—
—
Serious Sam Advance
—
—
—
GBA
April 13
TOCA Race Driver 2
Windows
—
Xbox
—
April 20
Hitman: Contracts
Windows
—
PS2, Xbox
—
—
—
Manhunt
Windows
Xbox
Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
City of Heroes
Windows
—
—
—
April 27
Windows
—
—
—
April 28
Beyond Divinity
Win
—
—
—
April
.kkrieger
Win
—
—
—
May 4
La Pucelle: Tactics
—
—
PS2
—
Red Dead Revolver
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
Rallisport Challenge 2
—
—
Xbox
—
May 6
Samurai Warriors
—
—
PS2
—
May 7
Future Tactics: The Uprising
—
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
—
May 21
Classic NES Series: Dr. Mario
—
—
—
GBA
May 21
Way of the Samurai 2
—
—
PS2
—
May 24
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
—
—
—
GBA
May 25
Chaos Field
Arcade
Metal Slug 3
—
—
Xbox
—
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Windows
—
PS2, Xbox, GCN
GBA
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Windows
—
Xbox
—
June 1
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
—
—
Xbox
—
June 7
Sonic Advance 3
—
—
—
GBA
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
—
—
GCN
—
June 8
Ribbit King
—
—
GCN , PS2
—
June 14
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Win
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
June 15
Front Mission 4
—
—
PS2
—
Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising
Windows
—
—
—
June 21
Driver 3
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
June 22
Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors
—
—
—
GBA
June 23
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
—
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox (2005)
GBA
June 27
Mega Man Battle Network 4
—
—
—
GBA
June 29
CT Special Forces 2: Back in the Trenches
—
—
—
GBA
Spider-Man 2
Windows (US 06/28/04, EU 07/09/04)
—
—
—
July 2
Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos: Joey the Passion
Win
—
—
—
July 5
Around the World in 80 Days
—
—
—
GBA
July 9
Richard Burns Rally
Win
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
July 13
Tales of Symphonia
—
—
GCN
—
July 14
Athens 2004
—
—
PS2
—
July 15
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
—
—
PS2
—
July 20
Catwoman
Windows
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
GBA
Puyo Pop Fever
—
—
GCN
—
Sudeki
—
—
Xbox
—
July 21
Crimson Tears
—
—
PS2
—
July 22
Bujingai
—
—
PS2
—
July 29
Mega Man X: Command Mission
—
—
GCN , PS2
—
August 1
NFL GameDay 2005
—
PS1
—
—
August 3
Doom 3
Windows
—
—
—
August 5
Cartoon Network: Block Party
—
—
—
GBA
August 10
Classic NES Series: Metroid , Zelda ii: The Adventure of Link
—
—
—
GBA
August 18
Astro Boy: Omega Factor
—
—
—
GBA
August 24
Crazy Bus
—
—
—
—
Starsky & Hutch
—
—
GCN
—
Viewtiful Joe
—
—
PS2
—
August 25
Amazing Island
—
—
GCN
—
August 30
Pikmin 2
—
—
GCN
—
WWE Day of Reckoning
—
—
GCN
—
August 30
Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch
Win
—
—
—
August 31
Street Racing Syndicate
—
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
—
September 2
Terminator 3: The Redemption
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
September 3
Digimon Rumble Arena 2
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
September 6
Digimon Rumble Arena 2
—
—
GCN
—
September 7
Burnout 3: Takedown
—
—
PS2, Xbox
—
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Windows
—
PS2, Xbox
—
September 8
Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums
—
—
PS2
—
The Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown
Windows
—
GCN , PS2
GBA
September 9
King of Colosseum II
—
—
PS2
—
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (North America)
—
—
—
GBA
September 12
Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper
—
—
—
GBA
September 13
Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums
—
—
GCN , Xbox
—
Digimon Racing
—
—
—
GBA
EverQuest: Omens of War
Windows
—
—
—
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Attack of the Twonkies
—
—
GCN , PS2
GBA
September 14
Advance Guardian Heroes
—
—
—
GBA
Power Rangers Dino Thunder
—
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
GBA
Gradius V
—
—
PS2
—
Bad Boys: Miami Takedown
—
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
—
Call of Duty: United Offensive
Windows
—
—
—
Fable
—
—
Xbox
—
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
—
—
PS2
—
The Sims 2
Windows
—
—
—
September 16
Pokémon Emerald (Japan)
—
—
—
GBA
September 17
Crisis Zone
—
—
PS2
—
September 20
F-Zero: GP Legend
—
—
—
GBA
Def Jam: Fight for NY
—
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
—
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Windows
—
—
—
September 21
Blood Will Tell
—
—
PS2
—
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme
—
—
PS2
—
Final Fantasy XI : Chains of Promathia
Windows
—
PS2
—
Second Sight
—
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
—
Star Wars: Battlefront
Win
—
PS2, Xbox
—
Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force
—
—
—
GBA
September 22
Disney's Kim Possible 2: Drakken's Demise
—
—
—
GBA
Katamari Damacy
—
—
PS2
—
Rome: Total War
Win
—
—
—
September 27
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
—
—
PS2
—
Shark Tale
Win
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
GBA
September 28
Armored Core: Nexus
—
—
PS2
—
Myst IV: Revelation
Win
—
—
—
Crash Twinsanity
—
—
PS2, Xbox
—
October 1
Kult: Heretic Kingdoms
Win , Mac
—
—
—
Scaler
—
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
—
October 4
Mortal Kombat: Deception
—
—
PS2
—
Tony Hawk's Underground 2
Win
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
GBA
October 5
Tribes: Vengeance
Win
—
—
—
Conflict: Vietnam
Win
—
PS2, Xbox
—
Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
Win
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
Mega Man Zero 3
—
—
—
GBA
Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor
Windows
—
—
—
Syberia II
—
—
Xbox
—
TOCA Race Driver 2
—
—
PS2
—
October 11
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
—
—
GCN
—
October 14
BloodRayne 2
—
—
PS2
—
Lilo & Stitch 2: Hämsterviel Havoc
—
—
—
GBA
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
—
—
PS2
—
Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams
—
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
GBA
FIFA Football 2005
Windows
PS1
GCN , PS2
GBA, PSP
Under the Skin
—
—
PS2
—
October 18
Kirby & the Amazing Mirror
—
—
—
GBA
October 19
Neo Contra
—
—
PS2
—
All Grown Up!: Express Yourself
—
—
PS2 , GCN
GBA
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus
Windows
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
GBA
Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django
—
—
—
GBA
October 20
Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed
—
—
PS2
—
Tron 2.0
—
—
—
GBA
October 22
Sacred Plus [ 23] (EU)
Windows
—
—
—
October 25
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
—
—
PS2
—
OutRun 2
—
—
Xbox
—
October 26
Dead or Alive Ultimate
—
—
Xbox
—
Grand Theft Auto Advance
—
—
—
GBA
Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed
Windows
—
—
—
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
—
—
PS2
—
Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Board Traveler
—
—
—
GBA
October 27
The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino Dungeon
—
—
PS2
—
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Windows
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
GBA
October 29
The Incredibles
Windows
—
—
—
November 1
Counter-Strike: Source
Windows
—
—
—
November 2
Codename: Kids Next Door – Operation: S.O.D.A.
—
—
—
GBA
Godzilla: Save the Earth
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
Killzone
—
—
PS2
—
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
Windows
—
—
—
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3
Windows
—
—
—
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
—
—
PS2
—
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
—
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
GBA
November 3
Spyro: A Hero's Tail
—
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
—
The Incredibles: When Danger Calls
Windows
—
—
—
November 4
Godzilla: Save the Earth
—
—
PS2, Xbox
—
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
—
—
—
GBA
November 5
Bejeweled 2
Windows
—
—
—
FlatOut (Europe)
Win
Xbox
—
—
November 8
EverQuest II
Windows
—
—
—
Mario Power Tennis (North America)
—
—
GCN
—
November 9
EyeToy: AntiGrav
—
—
PS2
—
Halo 2
—
—
Xbox
—
Jak 3
—
—
PS2
—
Shaman King: Master of Spirits
—
—
—
GBA
Shaman King: Power of Spirit
—
—
PS2
—
November 10
Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
GBA
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Windows
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
GBA, NDS
November 12
Sabotain: Break the Rules - Wikipedia [ 24]
Windows
November 15
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
—
—
—
GBA
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
—
—
GCN
—
MTX Mototrax
Win
—
—
—
Need for Speed: Underground 2
Windows
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
GBA, NDS
November 16
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
—
—
PS2
—
Feel the Magic: XY/XX
—
—
—
NDS
Fight Club
—
—
PS2 , Xbox
—
Half-Life 2
Windows
—
Xbox (2005)
—
Joint Operations: Escalation
Windows
—
—
—
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
Windows
—
—
—
November 17
Asphalt Urban GT
—
—
—
NDS
Castle Shikigami 2
—
—
PS2
—
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
—
—
Xbox
—
King Arthur
—
—
PS2
—
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
—
—
PS2
—
Pac-Man World
—
—
—
GBA
November 18
Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space
—
—
Xbox
—
Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure
—
—
—
GBA
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
—
—
GCN
—
Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics
—
—
—
GBA
November 19
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
—
—
—
GBA
November 21
Super Mario 64 DS
—
—
—
NDS
Spider-Man 2
—
—
—
NDS
Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt
—
—
—
NDS
November 22
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
—
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
NDS
JFK Reloaded
Windows
—
—
—
November 23
Alien Hominid
—
—
GCN
—
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
—
—
—
Top Gun: Combat Zones
—
—
—
GBA
December 2
Metal Slug Advance
—
—
—
GBA
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Windows
—
GCN , PS2, Xbox
—
December 5
Mario Party 6
—
—
GCN
—
December 6
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords
Windows
—
Xbox
—
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth
Windows
—
—
—
December 7
Growlanser Generations
—
—
PS2
—
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
—
—
—
GBA
Kuon
—
—
PS2
—
It's Mr. Pants
—
—
—
GBA
Mega Man X8
—
—
PS2
—
Ridge Racer DS
—
—
—
NDS
December 8
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Windows
—
—
—
Sprung
—
—
—
NDS
Viewtiful Joe 2
—
—
PS2
—
December 14
Gungriffon Allied Strike
—
—
Xbox
—
December 15
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
—
—
GCN
—
December 20
Cave Story
Windows
—
—
—
December 22
NFL Street 2
—
—
GCN , PS2 , Xbox
—
December 24
Garry's Mod
Windows
—
—
—
December 28
Gran Turismo 4
—
—
PS2
—
See also
References
^ VanOrd, Kevin. "Why 2004 Was the Best Year in Gaming" . Gamespot . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
^ "Attendance and Stats" . IGN. Retrieved May 21, 2015 .
^ a b "2004 Top 100 Best Selling Japanese Console Games" . The Magic Box . Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2021 .
^ a b c "2004年ゲームソフト年間売上TOP500" [2004 Game Software Annual Sales Top 500]. Famitsū Gēmu Hakusho 2005 ファミ通ゲーム白書2005 [Famitsu Game Whitebook 2005 ] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Enterbrain . 2005. Archived from the original on December 27, 2008.
^ a b "アメリカ (2004)" [America (2004)]. ゲームハードの売り上げ (Game Hardware Sales) (in Japanese). The NPD Group . Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2021 .
^ a b "Best 100 Selling Games in 2004" . The Magic Box . The NPD Group . January 13, 2005. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021 .
^ a b Fahey, Rob (January 10, 2005). "San Andreas dominates 2004 as UK market grows 6.6 per cent" . GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021 .
^ "Consolidated Financial Statements" (PDF) . Nintendo . January 26, 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2021 .
^ B2B Staff (January 27, 2005). "EA: risultati finanziari del terzo trimestre fiscale" . Multiplayer.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link )
^ "Game Search" . Game Data Library . Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2021 .
^ "Konami ships 1.4 million PS2 copies of Pro Evolution Soccer 4" . GameSpot . August 16, 2006.
^ "The NPD Group Reports Annual 2004 U.S. Video Game Industry Retail Sales" . NPD Group . January 18, 2005. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2008 .
^ Ghibi, Vittorio; Panzieri, Fabio; Rocetti, Marco (April 19, 2016). "Middleware for Mobile Entertainment Computing" . In Bellavista, Paolo; Corradi, Antonio (eds.). The Handbook of Mobile Middleware . CRC Press . pp. 1189–1226 (1200). ISBN 978-1-4200-1315-3 . Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021 .
^ Hebblethwaite, Luke (April 9, 2020). "UK Top Selling Games 2004" . Ukie . The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment . Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021 .
^ "Top 20 Console Games Ranked by Units Sold, 1998–2013" . Screen Australia . Australian Government . Retrieved October 22, 2021 .
^ "Marketplace: A Look At The 2004 Video Chart Picture" . Billboard . Vol. 117, no. 2. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 8, 2005. p. 39. ISSN 0006-2510 .
^ "週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧" [Weekly Famitsu Cross Review Platinum Hall of Fame Software List]. Geimin (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 27, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2021 .
^ "Best Video Games for 2004" . Metacritic . Retrieved September 6, 2019 .
^ "Highest-Ranking Games of 2004 (with at least 5 reviews)" . GameRankings . Retrieved September 6, 2019 .
^ a b c d e f g h i "Best Video Games for 2005" . Metacritic . Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
^ a b c d e f g h i "Highest-Ranking Games of 2005 (with at least 5 reviews)" . GameRankings . Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
^ "James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing Review" . GameSpot . Retrieved May 9, 2024 .
^ a b c "Sacred Release Information for PC – GameFAQs" .
^ "Sabotain: Break the Rules Site Launches - IGN" . web.archive.org . August 14, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024 .
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