Top 10 Moments of the Decade

With 2010 fast approaching, it’s time to cast our mind back and reflect on what’s been a tumultuous decade for gaming. We’ve seen scandal, high sales, sex, and more drama than in your average episode of Hollyoaks. But what were the most important moments of the decade? What events shocked and stunned and sent gamers screaming to YouTube? What earth shattering revelations will never be forgotten? Here, in a special VideoGamer.com’s Top 10, we tell you, with a run-down of the defining events from the last ten years.

10. Manhunt blamed for teenage murder – 2004

In July 2004, UK stores removed Rockstar’s 18-rated kill-em-up Manhunt from their shelves after the parents of murdered schoolboy Stefan Pakeerah blamed the game for their son’s death. The media, predictably, latched on to the decision, whipping up an anti-video game storm riddled with misunderstanding and factual inaccuracies. Dissenting voices tried desperately to be heard above the din of moral panic, but the damage had been done. Britain’s condemning eyes were fixed on video gaming, and game ratings were to be the subject of constant scrutiny for the remainder of the decade. As for Manhunt, it became the most in-demand game of the time. There ‘aint nothing more attractive than a thing you can’t have.

9. PS3 CGI-gate – E3 2005

With Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2 currently re-writing the graphics rulebook, no-one doubts the power of the PS3. But back in 2005, following the console’s controversial unveiling at the E3 tradeshow, there were more than a few sceptics. The furore revolved around now infamous video footage of Guerrilla Games’ Killzone 2 and Evolution Studios’ MotorStorm. The videos were stunning – almost impossibly so – and the internet cried foul. “That’s CGI!” they claimed. “That’s false.” Was it in-game or not? In 2008 Guerrilla described the video as a “target render of what we thought would be possible on the PS3”. In the same year, Evolution described the MotorStorm video as a “test render”. Whatever the truth, gamers are more sceptical now then they’ve ever been.

8. Make Love, Not Warcraft – October 4, 2006

When one of the biggest shows in pop culture history comes knocking on your door, you know that you’ve attained the status of Zeitgeist royalty. So it was with Blizzard in September 2006, when Matt Stone and Trey Parker revealed their plans for a World of Warcraft-themed episode of South Park. Two things stand out from this historic event: for a start, there’s the fact that Blizzard actively co-operated with Comedy Central in the making of the show – something that says a lot about the developer, as well as their faith in the security of WoW’s reputation. Secondly, and more importantly, the episode itself was bang on the mark – lampooning the game’s foibles while quietly celebrating many of the things that make it great. And wouldn’t you just know it, in 2007 it won an Emmy.

7. Halo 3 sets blockbuster sales records – September 2007

Microsoft rolled out the red carpet. It hired celebrities. It booked giant venues. It let everyone know it was coming: Halo 3, the Xbox 360-exclusive FPS, would be the biggest thing to happen to gaming since the jump to 3D. And so it proved. The Grand Theft Auto series might have enjoyed incredible sales before Halo 3 did, but Microsoft was smart enough to shout about it. Halo 3 earned more than £84 million in sales in its first 24 hours on release, setting the record for the most money earned in a day by an entertainment product and obliterating figures set by superhero flick Spider-Man 3. That last bit was the crucial one: Halo 3 wasn’t just a successful video game, it was a successful entertainment product, the most successful, in fact. Here was the moment the games industry finally trumped Hollywood. No longer would films have it all their own way. Master Chief and Microsoft had made a powerful point.

6. GTA Hot Coffee – 2005

Even by Rockstar’s own standards, GTA: San Andreas was a game about excess – an intoxicating cocktail of gang warfare, black humour, and Nineties hip-hop beats. It had jetpacks, parachutes, an interactive replica of Las Vegas… and a naughty little secret that you weren’t supposed to see. At some point in the project’s development, Rockstar toyed with the concept of including playable sex games – simple challenges that involved thrusting your analogue stick in a constant rhythm so that… well, you get the idea. This plan was sensibly scrapped, but someone forgot to remove the relevant files from the game disc; when enterprising bedroom coders found out how to access this data, seamlessly inserting it back into the game via a relatively simple process, a media storm erupted.

With hindsight, the Hot Coffee scandal seems even more ridiculous now than it did at the time. Concerned US parents rung their hands and wept for the damage that could potentially have been done to their poor, impressionable children – conveniently ignoring the fact that a) the offensive material was largely inaccessible, and b) that kids shouldn’t have been playing the game in the first place. No, what Hot Coffee really underlined was the Moral Majority’s inherent distrust of video games, as well as the warped value system of the American establishment. Remember kiddies: violence is fine, but consensual sex between adults is wrong, wrong, wrong!

5. Activision and Vivendi Games announce merger – December 2, 2007

It was announced on a Sunday. A Sunday! Oh well. In the high-powered world of video game publishing, there must be no time for rest. And the internet didn’t wait till Monday to report it, either. The news of Activision’s multi-billion dollar merger with Vivendi, the parent company of World of Warcraft developer Blizzard, sent shockwaves through the business world. The newly-formed Activision Blizzard instantly became the biggest third-party games company in the world, overtaking the mighty Electronic Arts, which then set out, clearly in response, to try and buy Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two. As Blizzard fans feared for the future of their beloved franchises, the money men rubbed their hands. Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III… Activision Blizzard’s new portfolio was packed with sure-fire hits. It has never looked back.

4. “One more big announcement”: Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 – E3 2008

When Square Enix president Yoichi Wada took to the stage at the end of Microsoft’s E3 2008 media conference, tapped MS head honcho Don Mattrick on the shoulder and said, “I have one more big announcement to share,” everyone knew something special was about to be revealed. He didn’t let us down. The millisecond the “Final Fantasy XIII” trailer ended, the internet exploded. It was a brutal slap in Sony’s face – Final Fantasy, the jewel in PlayStation’s eye, had been unceremoniously ripped from its socket, leaving the Japanese company humiliated and exposed. “At long last, the day we have all been waiting for has arrived,” Wada proclaimed. Square Enix had betrayed its fans, said the Sony Defence Force, sold its soul to the devil, and no doubt performed satanic rituals in the process. “Xbots”, as they’re known, revelled in the victory. It was perhaps the most memorable E3 moment of all time.

3. Nintendo disrupts the world with the Wii – April 27, 2006

We were expecting a Revolution, and in many respects that’s what we got – just not quite the one we were anticipating. On April 27 2006, Nintendo released a video announcing the name of their next console – the machine that had until this point been known as “Revolution”. Now, we were told, it would be called “Wii”. It’s no understatement to say that the gaming world went nuts in response to this news. Had Ninty really named their new console after a bodily function? It had to be a hoax – but it wasn’t. It was all part of the company’s new focus on “disruptive” technologies – a strategy that Reggie Fils-Aime had discussed with Brand Week two months earlier. It worked, too, because nobody would shut up about the name for weeks. Still, all of this was nothing compared to the impact the Wii would have when it finally launched…

2. SEGA says goodbye to console business – 2001

The writing was on the wall. When SEGA discontinued the Dreamcast in North America in November 2001 and withdrew entirely from the console hardware business, it was a bitter disappointment, but it wasn’t a surprise. Without third-party support – particularly from EA – and stiff competition from Sony’s PS2, it was only a matter of time before the Dreamcast would bite the dust. It was a crying shame. The console’s back catalogue of games includes some true greats: Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Tennis, Metropolis Street Racer, Skies of Arcadia, Power Stone… the list goes on. But the Dreamcast, after only three years of life, was dead. It wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t an April Fools. It was real. It was worse than when Take That broke up. It was worse than when England lost on penalties in the semi final of the 1990 World Cup. It was worse than stubbing your little toe on the corner of your bed. SEGA had become a software developer. /cry.

1. Bill Gates unveils the Xbox – March 10, 2000

Microsoft’s “Xbox Brings ‘Future-Generation’ Games to Life” press release from March 2000 is a quite stunning read. It tells of Microsoft’s plan to enter the home console market, and recounts Bill Gate’s unveiling of something codenamed “Xbox” at the Games Developers Conference. “Xbox will offer game developers a powerful platform and game enthusiasts an incredible experience,” Gates cheered. “We want Xbox to be the platform of choice for the best and most creative game developers in the world.” Microsoft’s plan was clear: challenge the PlayStation as the most successful video game console on the planet. The gaming world stood up and took notice. Microsoft and its millions would have the financial clout to make a success of the Xbox at any cost. For hardcore gamers it was, undoubtedly, the most important moment of the decade.

Check back tomorrow for the top ten trends of the Noughties.