Brad "Markup" Cole [Feedback]
January 23, 2002

2001 is now officially a memory! For some, it was a year gratefully left behind. Bear markets ate away at retirement plans; dot-coms continued to become dot-gones; and terrorists struck at the heart of America. For others, it was a time to celebrate: Arizona won the World Series, the government gave taxpayers money back, and we all discovered that heroes still exist. It was a painful year, but not one without moments of joy.

But I'll leave the heavy philosophical debates to other; Gaming Voice is about GAMES, and I try not to disappoint the readers. So here is my review of the year that was 2001-- from hardware to software, consoles to computers -- I'll revisit it all. So without further ado, let’s get started...

Hardware: Down, Down, DOWN in price!

Was the GeForce3 really worth the upgrade from the GeForce2?

The first thing most computer enthusiasts will remember about 2001 is how low the prices dropped on just about everything. The recession and a public tired of upgrading their systems caused a major slowdown in PC sales, and the price slashing began! Extremely powerful computers could be purchased for $1000.00 that surpassed the previous years $2000.00 models. RAM, which had again become an obscenely expensive upgrade, returned to being affordable. Hard disk drives grew larger, faster, and more reasonably priced. In short: if you had the money, it was a great time to buy!

2001 was also the first year in a long time that many of us didn't feel the need to purchase a new video card. The GeForce3s, nVIDIA's latest chipset, just wasn't that much better than the GeForce2. In fact, the GeForce2 Ultra card -- an earlier and discontinued version -- dropped in price and tended to outperform the buggier GeForce3. Still, not everything was bleak in the graphics market -- video card prices dropped, and decently performing "value lines" became more available.

Finally, it was announced that the original design of the iMac would be retired. While not of importance to most PC people, the iMac did do a lot for the computer industry. First, it brought Apple back from the brink of ruin with its high sales. Second, it helped spark a design revolution: no longer did PCs have to be big gray boxes that seemed, well, boring. The iMac inspired new computer colors, changes in design, and just generally reminded us that technology does not have to look so sterile (Personally, I think a boxy computer looks best and hate all these curved and colored PCs now – eds.).

Operating Systems: New OS, New Bugs

Apple and Microsoft both released new operating systems in 2001 -- though rumor is that they won't be completed until 2002. Apple's OS X for the Macintosh, while pleasing to the eye, seemed to be less than stable when installed on many computers. Windows XP, Microsoft's "next best thing" for PCs, also had its share of bugs -- some which opened breaches in security for internet-connected PCs. Sales of XP were a bit below expectations. This was a sign, perhaps, that consumers are tired of purchasing a new operating system every year (or a sign that the price and licensing of XP was not agreeable to consumers – eds.).

Console Gaming: Casualties and New Blood

Sega Dreamcast. We hardly knew you.

One of the most disturbing events in the console market during 2001 was the death of the Sega Dreamcast. The system, which had its production halted in late February and early March, was a next generation console built to compete with the PlayStation2 and Nintendo's "Next Generation" system (which we now know to be the GameCube). Sega decided to scrap the Dreamcast when sales in Japan just couldn't compete with the PlayStation2. What's more, Sega decided NOT to develop a new console system, but to instead focus on developing games for the PlayStation2, Gameboy Advance, and others.

But 2001 also saw the release of three new gaming systems! First came the Gameboy Advance, the successor to the Gameboy and the Gameboy Color. The Advance brought with it color graphics on par with the Super Nintendo, a decent selection of release titles, and backward compatibility with older Gameboy games. Next came the Xbox, Microsoft's first entry into the console market. A hybrid of computers and console systems, its release title HALO raised many eyebrows and helped spur sales. Nintendo's GameCube followed shortly thereafter, and also had a strong release accompanied by such titles as Star Wars Rogue Squadron II, Super Smash Brothers Melee, and (the slightly delayed) Pikmin. All of these new systems were in high demand during Christmas, and promise to heat things up in 2002.

MMORPGS: More Competition, Fewer Differences

Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games saw some solid financial backing in 2001, resulting in a large number of releases. WWII Online (which would turn out to be not so "Massive" by year's end), Anarchy Online, and Dark Age of Camelot were all new games released during the year. They went head-to-head with updates of the old favorites - Ultima Online: Third Dawn, Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty, and EverQuest: Shadows of Luclin. Each new release saw a hoard of players migrating from the other games, only to leave again when the next new release came out. So, why didn't the players just stick with one game? MMORPG consumers seemed to want something more and different than what they were getting, but just couldn't find it from a string of releases that were all basically the same game slightly retooled. Go figure.

There were also a number of shakeups in the companies that RUN MMORPGs. While both UO and EQ lost valuable developers, one of the most stunning changes was when Destination Games - the company formed by "Lord British" Richard Garriott and his brother Robert - became part of Korea's NCSoft in May. Garriott was placed in control of the American version of the world's largest subscription-based on-line game Lineage: The Blood Pledge (and, yes, the Korean version does have a larger active player base than EverQuest). In this reviewer's eyes, the relaunch of Lineage was not particularly stunning -- but there's still time.

Scary Trends: Things That Should Not Be

2001 also had its share of scary trends -- and not just those involving terrorists. Retailers and distributors, both showed how questionable they could be when it came to making a buck.

Electronics Boutique managed to corner the market on a select few titles like Battlecruiser Millennium.

Electronics Boutique began acting as a distributor in 2001, releasing a number of "EB Exclusive" games that could only be purchased at Electronics Boutique for the first few months of their release. Wizardry 8, Battlecruiser: Millennium, and Strifeshadow were just a few of the exclusive releases that were offered. Some consumers hailed EB's new strategy as groundbreaking and the only way "small market" titles could be released in retail; others called it the destruction of competition and the beginning of higher game prices. No word yet on whether CompUSA or Best Buy will start their own "exclusive" game lines.

"Package Deals" also dominated console releases in 2001. Starting with the Gameboy Advance, many retailers would not sell the game systems to consumers unless they also purchased costly extras such as games, lights, and battery packs. The Xbox and GameCube were also similarly marketed by retailers, who forced rabid gamers to buy extra controllers, memory cards, games, and the occasional extended warranty if they wanted the new systems for Christmas. Sometimes adding $300.00 to the cost of the systems, these bundles were seen by a number of people as unfair to consumers -- many of whom just wanted the console and a game. Though the systems were eventually sold individually a month after release, the necessity of buying package deals if you wanted a console for Christmas sent a number of gamers and their parents home from the mall fuming.

In Conclusion

And that pretty much summarizes 2001 from this gamer's perspective. See you in twelve months, when answers to questions like, "Will the Xbox still be popular?" and "Which MMORPG will be the first to go out of business?" will be answered. Until then!