2003 in video games

2003 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Tony Hawk's Underground, Madden NFL 2004, NBA Live 2004, ESPN NBA Basketball, Saya no Uta: The Song of Saya, Final Fantasy X-2, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Sonic Heroes, Postal 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, and WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. New intellectual properties included Beyond Good & Evil, Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand, Call of Duty, Disgaea, Drakengard, Manhunt, PlanetSide, TrackMania, True Crime: Streets of LA, and Viewtiful Joe. The year's best-selling video game worldwide was Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire, the fifth time a Pokémon games was the annual worldwide top-seller (since 1998).

Legend

Hardware

This is a list of all game hardware released in 2003.

Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance SP, the second & declared as the definitive model of the Game Boy Advance (it's also been declared as the best entry in the Game Boy family overall). The GBA SP was the first handheld Nintendo console to have a rechargeable battery powered by an AC Adapter instead of using AA batteries.

Date System February 14 Game Boy Advance SP Harris, Craig (January 6, 2003). "Game Boy Advance SP". IGN. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013. March 23 Game Boy Advance SP "Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP review". CNET. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2013. March 28 Game Boy Advance SP "". Ashley Jones. March 7, 2003. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2012. August 13 PlayStation 2 October 7 N-Gage

Discontinued March 23 – Nintendo stops production of the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color worldwide. September 23 – Nintendo stops production of the Family Computer and Super Famicom in Japan.

Trends Computer games continue to lose ground to console video games with a US sales drop of 14% in 2003. Total 2003 entertainment software sales in the United States grew slightly to US$7 billion; console sales increased to $5.8 billion and computer games accounted for the remaining $1.2 billion.

Video game consoles The dominant video game consoles in 2003 were: Sony's PlayStation 2 Nintendo's GameCube Microsoft's Xbox Sony's PlayStation

Handheld game systems The dominant handheld systems in 2003 were: Nintendo's Game Boy Advance

Best-selling video games + Best-selling video games worldwide in 2003 Game Platform Publisher Sales Japan USAEurope WorldwidePokémon Ruby / SapphireGBANintendo1,704,4582,200,000+1,500,000+6,120,000Mario Kart: Double DashGCNNintendo567,8491,000,000+Chad Phelps, January 14, 2004 Nintendo Shows Strong Sales Growth in 2003 Itprotoday.com3,580,000Final Fantasy X-2PS2Square Enix2,000,000+1,000,0003,400,000Pro Evolution Soccer 3 (World Soccer Winning Eleven 7)PS2Konami1,160,000 1,550,0002,710,000Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3GBANintendo457,0951,100,000+2,590,000Madden NFL 2004PS2EA Sports 2,300,000+2,300,000+Mario Party 5GCNNintendo481,0531,640,000Enter the MatrixPS2Infogrames92,4591,000,000+300,000+1,392,459+The Legend of Zelda: The Wind WakerGCNNintendo252,0641,100,000+1,352,064+Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityPS2Rockstar 1,000,000+300,000+1,300,000+

Japan + Best-selling video games in Japan Rank Game Platform Publisher Genre Sales 1 Final Fantasy X-2 PS2 Square EnixRole-playing2,000,000+2 Pocket Monsters: Ruby / Sapphire (Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire) GBA The Pokémon CompanyRole-playing1,704,4583 Shin Sangokumusou 3 (Dynasty Warriors 4) PS2 KoeiHack and slash1,178,4554 World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 (Pro Evolution Soccer 3) PS2 KonamiSports1,160,0005 Minna no Golf 4 (Everybody's Golf 4) PS2 SonySports875,2526 Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart GBA Square EnixRole-playing593,4587 Mobile Suit Gundam: Meguriai Sora PS2 BandaiThird-person shooter577,9728 Mario Kart: Double Dash GCN NintendoKart racing567,8499 Made in Wario GBA NintendoParty556,80610 Dragon Ball Z (Dragon Ball Z: Budokai) PS2 BandaiFighting543,312

United States + Best-selling video games in the United States Rank Game Platform Publisher Genre Sales 1 Madden NFL 2004 PS2 EA SportsSports2,300,000+2 Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire GBA NintendoRole-playing2,200,000+3 Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 GBA NintendoPlatformer1,100,000+4 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker GCN NintendoAction-adventure1,100,000+5 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City PS2 Rockstar GamesAction-adventure1,000,000+6 Mario Kart: Double Dash GCN NintendoKart racing1,000,000+7 Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga GBA NintendoRole-playing 1,000,000+8 Enter the Matrix PS2 InfogramesAction-adventure1,000,000+9 Medal of Honor: Rising Sun PS2 Electronic ArtsFirst-person shooter1,000,000+10 NCAA Football 2004 PS2 EA SportsSports1,000,000+

PAL regions +Best-selling video games in PAL regions Rank Australia United Kingdom Game Platform Game Platform(s) Sales1EyeToy: PlayPS2FIFA Football 2004700,000+2Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityPS2Need for Speed: Underground700,0003Gran Turismo 3: A-SpecPS2Medal of Honor: Rising Sun300,000+4V8 SupercarsPS2The Sims300,000+5Pokémon RubyGBAGrand Theft Auto: Vice City300,000+6Pokémon SapphireGBAEnter the Matrix300,000+7Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of CortexPS2Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell300,000+8Need for Speed: UndergroundPS2EyeToy: PlayPS2300,000+9Rugby LeaguePS2The Simpsons: Hit & Run300,000+10Enter the MatrixPS2FIFA Football 2003300,000+

Games with notable critical reception Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

Critically acclaimed games + 2003 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR) Game Publisher Release date Platform(s) MC score GR score Grand Theft Auto Double Pack Rockstar Games November 4, 2003 XB 96/100 94.6% The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition Nintendo November 17, 2003 GCN 95/100 92.17% Championship Manager 4 Eidos Interactive March 28, 2003 WIN N/A 95% Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Rockstar Games May 12, 2003 WIN 94/100 94.39% Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic LucasArts July 15, 2003 XB 94/100 94.21% NCAA Football 2004 EA Sports July 16, 2003 PS2 94/100 93.27% Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Nintendo October 21, 2003 GBA 94/100 92.25% Madden NFL 2004 EA Sports August 12, 2003 PS2 94/100 91.77% Madden NFL 2004 EA Sports August 12, 2003 GCN 94/100 91.54% Pro Evolution Soccer 3 Konami October 17, 2003 WIN 92/100 93.33% Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic LucasArts November 19, 2003 WIN 93/100 93.19% Project Gotham Racing 2 Microsoft Game Studios November 18, 2003 XB 90/100 93.16% Pro Evolution Soccer 3 Konami August 7, 2003 PS2 93/100 92.97% SSX 3 EA Sports October 20, 2003 PS2 93/100 92.28% Soulcalibur II Namco March 27, 2003 GCN 93/100 92.23% Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution Sega March 13, 2003 PS2 93/100 91.59% Viewtiful Joe Capcom June 26, 2003 GCN 93/100 91.19% Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Ubisoft November 18, 2003 XB 92/100 92.67% Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Ubisoft November 18, 2003 GCN 92/100 92.12% SSX 3 EA Sports October 20, 2003 GCN 92/100 92% Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Ubisoft November 10, 2003 PS2 92/100 91.94% Soulcalibur II Namco March 27, 2003 XB 92/100 91.62% Soulcalibur II Namco March 27, 2003 PS2 92/100 91.47% SSX 3 EA Sports October 20, 2003 XB 92/100 89.93% Madden NFL 2004 EA Sports August 12, 2003 XB 92/100 89.24% Call of Duty Activision October 29, 2003 WIN 91/100 91.52% NCAA Football 2004 EA Sports July 16, 2003 XB 88/100 91.33% Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ubisoft February 19, 2003 WIN 91/100 90.16% ESPN NFL Football Sega September 3, 2003 XB 91/100 89.27% Madden NFL 2004 EA Sports August 12, 2003 WIN 91/100 88.4% ESPN NFL Football Sega September 3, 2003 PS2 91/100 88.12% Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Konami May 6, 2003 GBA 91/100 87.9% F1 Challenge '99–'02 EA Sports June 24, 2003 WIN 91/100 85.29% Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Blizzard Entertainment July 1, 2003 WIN 88/100 90.98% Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Sony Computer Entertainment November 11, 2003 PS2 90/100 90.64% Tony Hawk's Underground Activision October 27, 2003 PS2 90/100 90.58% NCAA Football 2004 EA Sports July 16, 2003 GCN 89/100 90.42% Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga Nintendo November 17, 2003 GBA 90/100 90.41% NBA Street Vol. 2 EA Sports April 29, 2003 PS2 90/100 90.16% Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising Nintendo June 24, 2003 GBA 89/100 90.16% ESPN NHL Hockey Sega September 9, 2003 PS2 90/100 86.42% The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – Game of the Year Edition Bethesda Softworks October 31, 2003 XB 88/100 89.9% Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 EA Sports September 22, 2003 PS2 89/100 89.78% Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 EA Sports September 22, 2003 GCN 89/100 89.54% Burnout 2: Point of Impact Acclaim Entertainment April 9, 2003 GCN 89/100 89.43% NBA Street Vol. 2 EA Sports April 29, 2003 GCN 88/100 89.36% Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge Microsoft Game Studios October 21, 2003 XB 88/100 89.26% NASCAR Racing 2003 Season Sierra Entertainment February 13, 2003 WIN 89/100 89.25% Rise of Nations Microsoft Game Studios May 20, 2003 WIN 89/100 89.17% World Series Baseball 2K3 Sega March 10, 2003 XB 89/100 89.12% F-Zero GX Nintendo July 25, 2003 GCN 89/100 89.03% NBA Street Vol. 2 EA Sports April 29, 2003 XB 89/100 88.91% WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! Nintendo March 21, 2003 GBA 89/100 88.83% Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Ubisoft November 10, 2003 WIN 89/100 88.59% Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ubisoft March 28, 2003 PS2 89/100 88.07% Top Spin Microsoft Game Studios October 28, 2003 XB 89/100 88.05% Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 EA Sports September 22, 2003 XB 89/100 87.23% Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ubisoft April 10, 2003 GCN 89/100 86.82% Tony Hawk's Underground Activision October 27, 2003 GCN 89/100 86.18% ESPN NBA Basketball Sega October 21, 2003 PS2 89/100 86.13% Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade Nintendo April 25, 2003 GBA 88/100 88.83% Beyond Good & Evil Ubisoft December 2, 2003 XB 87/100 88.61% Burnout 2: Point of Impact Acclaim Entertainment May 1, 2003 XB 88/100 88.55% Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Rockstar Games October 14, 2003 WIN 86/100 88.52% Beyond Good & Evil Ubisoft December 11, 2003 GCN 87/100 88.14% Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 Ubisoft October 28, 2003 XB 86/100 88.06% Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Activision August 27, 2003 WIN 88/100 87.64% ESPN NHL Hockey Sega September 9, 2003 XB 88/100 87.27% Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight Microsoft July 29, 2003 WIN 88/100 87.07% Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 EA Sports September 22, 2003 WIN 88/100 86.77% NASCAR Thunder 2004 EA Sports September 16, 2003 PS2 88/100 86.72% Jak II Sony Computer Entertainment October 14, 2003 PS2 87/100 87.93% Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Square February 14, 2003 GBA 87/100 87.64%

Famitsu The following video game releases in 2002 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" and received Famitsu scores of at least 36 out of 40.