Research: 2003 “best year” for gaming
July 5, 2022
The best year for gaming was 2003 according to a study by online gaming site Spades Challenge, who analysed the top 2,000 video game titles on Metacritic based on user scores to see which year has produced the most fan favourites.
The study found that 2003 was the best year for gaming, with 199, or 9.95 per cent of the 2,000 titles studied being released in 2003. The highest-rated games included Fire Emblem, Gothic II, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (pictured), andDay of Defeat. The year’s most dominant consoles were the PS2, Xbox and GameCube, and the year also saw Valve officially launch the Steam service.
Next in the study comes 2003, with 168, or 8.4 per cent of the total titles studied being released that year. The year saw the release of games like Half-Life 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Burnout 3: Takedown. Handheld consoles like the Nintendo DS and PSP were also released in the same year.
In third place is 2005, with 141, or 7.9 per cent of the total games studied, released that year. The highest-rated titles from this year were Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening, Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus, and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Late 2005 also saw the release of the Xbox 360.
|
Rank |
Year |
Number of games in the top 2,000 |
Percentage of the total studied |
|
1 |
2003 |
199 |
9.95% |
|
2 |
2004 |
168 |
8.40% |
|
3 |
2005 |
158 |
7.90% |
|
4 |
2002 |
141 |
7.05% |
|
5 |
2006 |
129 |
6.45% |
|
6 |
2007 |
98 |
4.90% |
|
7 |
2010 |
96 |
4.80% |
|
8 |
2001 |
95 |
4.75% |
|
9 |
2008 |
89 |
4.45% |
|
10 |
2009 |
80 |
4.00% |
With 141 or 7.05 per cent of total games in the study being released in 2002, it takes fourth place in the list. The highest-rated titles to be released that year include Mafia, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Metroid Fusion, and Shenmue II.
In fifth place in 2006, with 129, 6.45 per cent of the 2,000 titles studied being released this year. Among those titles are God Hand, Okami, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Kingdom Hearts II.
Despite only having 25 entries in the top 2,000, 1998 had the highest-rated selection of games out of any year, with an average user score of 8.9 out of 10. That year, titles that were released included The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 2, Fallout 2, Metal Gear Solid and Half-Life.
Despite the uncertain circumstances surrounding the past couple of years, the year 2021 finished 12th on the list, with over 61 top titles being released last year. These titles included It Takes Two, Monster Hunter Rise and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from Spades Challenge said: “These findings make one thing clear, the 2000s were a very memorable decade for the gaming industry. Additionally, with 2021 and 2020 still pumping out top titles, respectively, it shows the resilience of the gaming industry in times when no one knew what to expect. With 2022 already producing 28 high-rated titles in the study, it only provides hope for the future of gaming.”