History of video games/2000-2009

__NOTOC__ Trends Internet Gaming matures In late 1999 EverQuest was released, popularizing MMORPGs.Engineering Everquest https://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gaming/engineering-everquest IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News 27 November 2020 en The 2000's saw the release of popular MMORPG's such as World of Warcraft, and Runescape. These MMORPGs offered unique social experiences for their players and resulted in in game social institutions being formed.Silva Matthew De What I learned from getting scammed by 12-year-olds https://qz.com/1608914/how-runescape-mmorpgs-shaped-millennials-during-childhood/ Quartz 27 November 2020 en New Economics of games thumb|EVE Online in 2008. The concept of free to play games primarily downloaded on the internet with small paid additions, microtransactions, is refined. This strategy begins to be seriously pursued by major game companies like EA by the end of the decade.Schiesel Seth The Video Game May Be Free, but to Be a Winner Can Cost Money (Published 2008) https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/technology/21game.html The New York Times 4 December 2020 21 January 2008 Companies begin seriously marketing small DLC, with incidents like Horse Armor DLC for Oblivion initially attracting an incredulous response for selling something that did not include story or other additional content,Download Oblivion's horse armor, for a price https://www.engadget.com/2006-04-03-download-oblivions-horse-armor-for-a-price.html Engadget 4 December 2020 en and becoming a common joke online by the end of the decade.Oblivion Horse Armor On Sale For Twice The Price https://kotaku.com/oblivion-horse-armor-on-sale-for-twice-the-price-5193675 Kotaku 4 December 2020 en-usIndustry must address horse armour 'joke' https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/industry-must-address-horse-armour-joke/ MCV/DEVELOP 4 December 2020 15 July 2009 Virtual in-game currencies that can be officially exchanged for real currencies or to replace membership costs emerge in games like Second Life and EVE OnlineVirtual Economics https://www.technologyreview.com/2005/12/01/229988/virtual-economics/ MIT Technology Review 4 December 2020 enEVE Online player loses USD 19,000 in shady virtual currency deal https://www.engadget.com/2008-12-30-eve-online-player-loses-usd-19-000-in-shady-virtual-currency-dea.html Engadget 4 December 2020 en. In part due to concerns of inflation, EVE Online developer CCP Games hires an economist to manage the in-game economy.Hillis Scott Virtual world hires real economist https://www.reuters.com/article/us-videogames-economist-life/virtual-world-hires-real-economist-idUSN0925619220070816 Reuters 4 December 2020 en 16 August 2007 In games that prohibit trading in game currency for real currency like World of Warcraft, and to a lesser extent games that allow it like EVE Online, under the table deals and grey markets for in game currency obtained by techniques like gold farming arise.China's 'Gold Farmers' Play a Grim Game https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10165824 NPR.org 4 December 2020 en In game thefts for real world gain begin catching the public eye.Gamer robs virtual bank to get real-world cash CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/gamer-robs-virtual-bank-to-get-real-world-cash-1.799414 CBC 4 December 2020 Games as Apps, Mobile gaming in the 2000's thumb|Tetris running on an iPod music player in 2006. Games for non-gaming mobile computer devices gained popularity, often running on mobile media players like iPods, or on basic feature phones.Hill Jason The rise and rise of casual gaming https://www.smh.com.au/technology/the-rise-and-rise-of-casual-gaming-20080904-gdstl3.html The Sydney Morning Herald 27 November 2020 en 4 September 2008 Later the introduction of smartphones and application stores on them made mobile gaming more accessible.Wortham Jenna Apple’s Game Changer, Downloading Now (Published 2009) https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/technology/06apps.html The New York Times 27 November 2020 5 December 2009 Popular Genres Rhythm and Music games Role Playing Games Role Playing Games continued to evolve during this decade, and would incorporate technological features to enhance storytelling, such as increased use of voice acting, better CGI, and larger maps. 3D RPGs became quite common on PC and home console, while 2D RPGs remained common on handheld devices, typically reaching graphical parity with home RPGs of the 1990's while incorporating improved understanding of game design. First Person Shooters While First Person Shooters continued to be popular on PC, innovations in controllers and console capabilities lead to a boom in console first person shooters. These console shooters were typically slower paced then their PC counterparts, but found massive popularity and adoption among gamers. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games While Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) emerged before the 2000's, this decade was when they achieved mass popularity. Most notably World of Warcraft was released this decade. Open World As hardware increasingly became more powerful, game developers soon were able to craft comprehensive, vast 3D environments much more easily than before. Open World games blur the line between a subgenre, a design choice, and a game mechanic. Open world mechanics often were mixed with other genres for interesting results. Constructive One of the most notable video games to be released in the 2000s, despite the fact that it was only a paid public alpha, is Markus "Notch" Persson's 2009 masterpiece Minecraft, which was an instant success since the time of its release and has since become an ever-evolving video game running on various different platforms - eventually becoming one of the most popular games of all time. The 2009 version evolved in what was later known as the "Java Edition", due to the fact that it was completely written in Java, although this will be explored in later chapters. Earlier in the decade, similar games attempted to capture this idea of an open world where the player could do anything, though far less popularity. Minecraft was influenced by the earlier 2009 voxel building game Infiniminer.Minecraft: 10 Facts About The Game That Every Fan And Newcomer Should Know About https://gamerant.com/minecraft-facts-about-the-game/ 19 February 2021 Game Rant 25 October 2020The good, the bad, the Minecraft: All the inspiration and clones you’ll ever need https://venturebeat.com/2012/09/15/minecraft-inspiration-and-clones/ 19 February 2021 VentureBeat 15 September 2012 2002 saw the beginnings of the game Dwarf Fortress. GTA and clones Other, earlier, games that had enormous success in the 2000s were Rockstar Games's Grand Theft Auto III (2001), IV (2008) and the intermediate chapters Vice City (2002) and San Andreas (2004). They have spawned the GTA clone video game genre, which also encompasses many other video games, all characterized by being a hybrid of third-person shooters and driving simulators and often focusing on organized crime and mafia storylines. There was a large demand for GTA-style games on the go, which included the well-received, but controversial, 2006 video game adaptation of The Godfather and its 2009 sequel, leading to innovative attempts to replicate the gameplay on very underpowered handheld hardware. This resulted in the release of acclaimed titles such as Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars in 2009 or the Payback clone duology (2001-2012). 2000 Handheld Era thumb|Samples of Tantalum, a key element in handheld electronics of the early 2000s. High demand for handheld electronics of all kinds causes a severe shortage of the chemical element Tantalum.Roos Gina A Serious Case Of the Shorts https://www.eetimes.com/a-serious-case-of-the-shorts/ 23 March 2021 January 31st, 2000 The People's Republic of China bans video game consoles As a measure intended to protect the mental health of youth in China, game consoles are banned in the People's Republic of China.China lifts ban on foreign video games consoles https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25635719 14 October 2021 BBC News 7 January 2014China suspends ban on video game consoles after more than a decade https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-gamesconsoles/china-suspends-ban-on-video-game-consoles-after-more-than-a-decade-idUSBREA0606C20140107 14 October 2021 Reuters 7 January 2014 en This ban did not apply in Hong Kong or Macau, and consoles were often openly sold to wealthy gamers in grey market storefronts despite the ban during its later years.Boy, Is China's Illegal Gray Market Blatant https://kotaku.com/boy-is-chinas-illegal-gray-market-blatant-5883693 14 October 2021 Kotaku en-us There were also a few exceptions made, allowing Sony and Nintendo to make limited sanctioned attempts to enter the Chinese market.China's complicated history with video games: when a ban isn't really a ban https://www.engadget.com/2013-01-30-china-console-ban.html 14 October 2021 Engadget Still, this restriction lead to computer and mobile games becoming the dominant mode of play in the country.Kharpal Arjun Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/16/chinese-games-developers-eye-a-slice-of-49-billion-console-market.html 14 October 2021 CNBC 16 August 2021 en 2001 War on Terror The horrific attacks on September 11th, 2001 had huge repercussions on both culture and the global economy.Events of 9/11 Affected U.S. Culture in Ways Both Clear and Obscure https://www.trincoll.edu/NewsEvents/NewsArticles/pages/911Panel.aspx www.trincoll.edu 14 December 2020Brainard Lael Globalization in the Aftermath: Target, Casualty, Callous Bystander? https://www.brookings.edu/research/globalization-in-the-aftermath-target-casualty-callous-bystander/ Brookings 14 December 2020 NaN In response to the attacks, many games are delayed and edited out of respect to the victims of the tragedy.How 9/11 Affected Games bit-tech.net https://bit-tech.net/reviews/gaming/pc/how-9-11-affected-games/1/ bit-tech.net 14 December 2020 en 2002 left|thumb|In the 2000's, gaming web comics became an important part of gamer culture. Pictured is a panel from the webcomic Ctrl+Alt+Del. Game Jams In early 2002 Game Jams begin taking off with developers. In Oakland, California the 0th Indie Game Jam is held from March 15th, to March 18th.Technology Inspires Creativity: Indie Game Jam Inverts Dogma 2001! https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2989/technology_inspires_creativity_.php 14 December 2020 www.gamasutra.com en The first Ludum Dare follows shortly in April.Get Your Game On with Ludum Dare: Interview with Mike Kasprzak (Part... https://software.intel.com/content/www/us/en/develop/blogs/get-your-game-on-with-ludum-dare-interview-with-mike-kasprzak-part-1.html Intel 14 December 2020 en 2003 thumb|Graham a 2003 oil painting by artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand inspired by Pixel Art in games. Strategy Guides Peak By 2003 the rush to write official strategy guides that release either on or before the launch of a game lead to poor quality writing in such guides.Decline of Guides https://web.archive.org/web/20030908223435/http://alanemrich.com/Writing_Archive_pages/decline.htm web.archive.org 27 November 2020 8 September 2003 Furthermore some strategy guides for Square Enix games required use of a non-free website in conjunction with the guideGameSpy.com - Article https://web.archive.org/web/20060617055414/http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/ web.archive.org 27 November 2020 17 June 2006, which was problematic in an era before laptops and mobile devices were common, and when desktop computers were often kept in separate rooms from a television and console. Meanwhile a popular unofficial strategy guide website GameFAQs is acquired by CNET.GameFAQs Acquired by CNET - Slashdot https://games.slashdot.org/story/03/06/04/1438227/gamefaqs-acquired-by-cnet games.slashdot.org 27 November 2020 en 2005 World of Warcraft goes Viral 2005 was a landmark year for World of Warcraft, including a number of events which would have broader influence outside the game. In 2005 a bug in the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft leads to the player transmissible status effect Corrupted Blood not always disappearing after a specific encounter, thus spreading across the game world and infecting over a million player characters in a virtual epidemic.Corrupted blood incident—a not-so-virtual epidemic in a virtual world : Networks Course blog for INFO 2040/CS 2850/Econ 2040/SOC 2090 https://blogs.cornell.edu/info2040/2016/11/28/corrupted-blood-incident-a-not-so-virtual-epidemic-in-a-virtual-world/ 6 January 2021 The event became a subject of academic research by medical professionals, as the event was essentially a model of a real life epidemic.Oultram Stuart Virtual plagues and real-world pandemics: reflecting on the potential for online computer role-playing games to inform real world epidemic research Medical Humanities 1 December 2013 39 2 115–118 10.1136/medhum-2012-010299 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23584861/ 6 January 2021 1473-4265 In particular observations from the Corrupted Blood incident would later be used in 2020 by researchers looking to understand decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic.Elker Jhaan World of Warcraft experienced a pandemic in 2005. That experience may help coronavirus researchers. https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/04/09/world-warcraft-experienced-pandemic-2005-that-experience-may-help-coronavirus-researchers/ 6 January 2021 Washington Post A video of the infamous total party wipe in the Leeroy Jenkins World of Warcraft raid gained enormous online popularity following its posting on the 10th of May 2005, though in 2017 the video was confirmed to have been staged.The Makers Of 'Leeroy Jenkins' Didn't Think Anyone Would Believe It Was Real https://kotaku.com/the-makers-of-leeroy-jenkins-didnt-think-anyone-would-b-1821570730 23 February 2021 Kotaku en-usLeeroy Jenkins Meme is 10 Years Old https://time.com/3855242/leeroy-jenkins-world-of-warcraft-meme/ 23 February 2021 Time The name Leeroy Jenkins became somewhat of an icon, and was used to refer to players who charged into dangerous situations with blind enthusiasm. 2005 Gallery 2007 Great Recession The Great Recession hits the economy in 2007, wiping out savings and deeply hurting the stock market.Merle Renae A guide to the financial crisis — 10 years later https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/a-guide-to-the-financial-crisis--10-years-later/2018/09/10/114b76ba-af10-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html Washington Post 3 December 2020 Sales of video games and gaming hardware subsequently drop.Richtel Matt Video Games Aren't Recession-Proof https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/video-game-industry-dips-further-in-may/ Bits Blog 3 December 2020 11 June 2009 Compared to other industries, the gaming industry was relatively resilient.Terdiman Daniel Is the video game industry recession-proof? https://www.cnet.com/news/is-the-video-game-industry-recession-proof/ CNET 3 December 2020 en 2008 Tabula Rasa in Space The creator of Ultima, Richard Garriott, flies to the International Space Station as a tourist.What Did Richard Garriott Do In Space? https://kotaku.com/what-did-richard-garriott-do-in-space-5214165 Kotaku 21 November 2020 en-us He attempts to play the game Tabula Rasa into space, but this is denied for security reasons, bringing the code of Tabula Rasa with him and broadcasting a message to players instead.Video Games in Space Nixed Over Fears of Space Station Hacking https://kotaku.com/video-games-in-space-nixed-over-fears-of-space-station-5478092 Kotaku 21 November 2020 en-usGarriott: 'Operation Immortality' Good Substitute For Playing Tabula Rasa In Space https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/111612/Garriott_Operation_Immortality_Good_Substitute_For_Playing_Tabula_Rasa_In_Space.php www.gamasutra.com 21 November 2020 enGarriott Sends Coded Message From Space https://www.wired.com/2008/10/garriott-sends/ Wired 21 November 2020 en-us 2008 Gallery 2000's Gallery Screenshots Events References 2000s in video games 100% 1990-1999 2010-2019