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2004 in video games

None

2004 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Madden NFL 2005, NBA Live 2005, ESPN NBA 2K5, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw, Doom 3, Dragon Quest VIII, Gran Turismo 4, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Myst IV: Revelation, Ninja Gaiden, Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen/Emerald, Pikmin 2, Everybody's Golf 4 (Hot Shots Golf Fore!), Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, and World of Warcraft. New intellectual properties included Fable, Far Cry, FlatOut, Killzone, Katamari Damacy, Monster Hunter, N, Red Dead Revolver, SingStar, and Sacred. The Nintendo DS was also launched that year, the first major console of the seventh generation.

The year has been retrospectively considered one of the best and most influential in video game history due to the release of numerous critically acclaimed, commercially successful and influential titles across all platforms and genres at the time. The year's best-selling video game was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The year's most critically acclaimed titles were Dragon Quest VIII and Gran Turismo 4 in Japan, and Half-Life 2 and San Andreas in the West.

Legend

Events

January 20 – *Wired'''s Vaporware Awards gives its first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to recurring winner *Duke Nukem Forever''.
February 26 – Castle Wolfenstein creator Silas Warner dies at age 54.
March 4 – Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Peter Molyneux into the AIAS Hall of Fame.
March 22–26 – Game Developers Conference hosts 4th annual Game Developers Choice Awards and Gama Network's 6th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF).
May 11 – Nintendo officially announces its "Revolution" (later named Wii) console.
May 11–13 – The 10th annual E3 is held in Los Angeles, California, United States.
July – IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 5th annual Executive Summit.
August 1 – A viral portion of a Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike match takes place during the Evo 2004 tournament.
August 3 – Doom 3 is released, restarting the breakthrough franchise, and featured complex graphics features such as unified lighting and shadowing, real-time fully dynamic per-pixel lighting and stencil shadowing. The game became id's best selling game to date.
October 6–10 – The 2004 World Cyber Games are held.
October 12 – EA Sports launches the multi-format FIFA Football 2005. It is the last major title to be released for the original PlayStation console.
November – Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2 are officially released on PC around the world, bringing in a new era for the first-person shooter genre of video games, with advanced graphics & physics.
November 5 – Nobuo Uematsu resigns from Square Enix and becomes a freelancer, starting his own business, called Smile Please Co., Ltd.
December 14 – The 2004 Spike Video Game Awards are held.

Business

January 12 – Ubisoft acquires Tiwak.
February – Electronic Arts consolidates, rolls most of Maxis and all of Origin Systems into its Redwood Shores, California HQ.
March – Microsoft announces XNA the successor of DirectX as the default API for "Longhorn", and Xenon.
April 6 – Midway Games acquires Surreal Software.
April 13 – T1, a South Korean esports organization, is founded.
May – Sammy Corporation buys a controlling share in Sega Corporation at a cost of $1.1 billion creating the new company, Sega Sammy Holdings, one of the biggest video game companies in the world.
July – Square Enix restructures executive branches around the world.
September 1 – Acclaim declares bankruptcy and closes its doors.
October 11 – Midway Games acquires Inevitable Entertainment and renames it Midway Studios Austin.
November 30 – Midway Games acquires developer Paradox Development.
December 13 – Electronic Arts purchases a 5-year exclusive agreement for the rights to the NFL, which includes NFL teams, stadiums and players for use in EA's football video games.
December 20 – Electronic Arts purchases 20% stake in Ubisoft. The purchase at the time was considered "hostile", by Ubisoft.

Hardware releases

This seventh generation of video game consoles began this year with the launch of the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable (only in Japan for the latter).

Sony also released the PlayStation 2 slimline, a smaller revision model of the PlayStation 2.

As of 2026, the Nintendo DS is the best-selling handheld game console of all time and the 2nd best video game console overall (right behind the PlayStation 2).

Month	Day	System
January	1	PlayStation 2CHN
October	29	PlayStation 2 slimlineEU
November	17	Atari Flashback
November	3	PlayStation 2 slimlineJP
21	Nintendo DSNA
25	PlayStation 2 slimlineNA
December	2	Nintendo DSJP
PlayStation 2 slimlineAU
11	PlayStation PortableJP

Trends

In 2004, the total U.S. sales of video game hardware, software and accessories was $9.9 billion compared with $10 billion in 2003. Total software sales rose 8 percent over the previous year to $6.2 billion. Additionally, sales of portable software titles exceeded $1 billion for the first time. Hardware sales were down 27 percent for the year due in part to shortages during the holiday season and price reductions from all systems.

Video game consoles

GameCube
Xbox
PlayStation 2
- Sony released an internal hard drive for the PlayStation 2 on March 23
- The third major hardware revision of the PlayStation 2 (model number SCPH-70000) was released in Japan on November 1

Handheld game systems

The dominant handheld systems in 2004 were:

Game Boy Advance SP
N-Gage Additionally, Nokia released an updated version of their original N-Gage, called the N-Gage QD. Nintendo released the Nintendo DS on November 21 in the United States. In Japan Sony released the PlayStation Portable on December 12.

Best-selling video games

Rank	Title	Platform	Publisher	Sales	Japan	USA	Europe	Worldwide
1	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	PS2	Rockstar Games		5,144,214	last=Fahey	first=Rob	date=10 January 2005	title=San Andreas dominates 2004 as UK market grows 6.6 per cent	url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/san-andreas-dominates-2004-as-uk-market-grows-66-per-cent	url-status=live	access-date=2021-11-09	website=GamesIndustry.biz	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109074705/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/san-andreas-dominates-2004-as-uk-market-grows-66-per-cent	archive-date=November 9, 2021 }}	6,894,214+
2	Prince of Persia: Warrior Within	PS2, XBOX	Ubisoft	56,414	5,132,612	1,158,612	6,347,928+
3	Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen	GBA	The Pokémon Company	2,392,005	2,367,431		5,800,000
4	FIFA Football 2005		EA Sports	56,075	53,804+		author=B2B Staff	date=27 January 2005	title=EA: risultati finanziari del terzo trimestre fiscale	url=http://www.multiplayer.it/b2b/articoli.php3?id=11894	url-status=dead	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050209124357/http://www.multiplayer.it/b2b/articoli.php3?id=11894	archive-date=9 February 2005	work=Multiplayer.it	language=it}}
5	Halo 2	XBOX	Microsoft Game Studios	title=Famitsū Gēmu Hakusho 2005	publisher=Enterbrain	year=2005	location=Tokyo	language=ja	script-title=ja:ファミ通ゲーム白書2005	trans-title=Famitsu Game Whitebook 2005	chapter=2004年ゲームソフト年間売上TOP500	trans-chapter=2004 Game Software Annual Sales Top 500	chapter-url=http://geimin.net/da/db/2004_ne_fa/index.php	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227141227/http://geimin.net/da/db/2004_ne_fa/index.php	archive-date=2008-12-27	url-status=dead}}	4,288,397	4,330,707+
6	Madden NFL 2005	PS2, XBOX	EA Sports	3,705	4,274,243		4,277,948+
7	Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi	PS2	Square Enix	3,327,167			3,327,167
8	ESPN NFL 2K5	PS2	Take-Two Interactive		2,632,393		2,632,393
9	Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (Winning Eleven 8)	PS2	Konami	1,120,272		1,500,000+	2,620,272+
10	Need For Speed: Underground 2	PS2, XBOX	Electronic Arts		2,453,829		2,453,829+

Japan

Rank	Title	Platform	Publisher	Genre	Sales
1	Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi	PS2	Square Enix	Role-playing	3,327,167
2	Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen	GBA	The Pokémon Company	Role-playing	2,392,005
3	Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald	GBA	The Pokémon Company	Role-playing	1,670,000
4	Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome (The Heavenly Bride)	PS2	Square Enix	Role-playing	1,611,974
5	Winning Eleven 8 (Pro Evolution Soccer 4)	PS2	Konami	Sports	1,120,272
6	Sengoku Musou (Samurai Warriors)	PS2	Koei	Hack and slash	1,024,253
7	Jissen Pachislot Shinshouhou! Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star)	PS2	Sammy Corporation	Pachislot	916,765
8	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	PS2	Konami	Stealth	694,307
9	Gran Turismo 4	PS2	Sony	Racing simulation	663,543
10	Derby Stallion 04	PS2	Enterbrain	Simulation	603,815

United States

Rank	Title	Platform(s)	Publisher	date=January 13, 2005	title=Best 100 Selling Games in 2004	url=http://the-magicbox.com/forums/showpost.php?p=165859&postcount=1
1	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	PS2	Rockstar Games	5,144,214		$
2	Halo 2	XBOX	Microsoft Game Studios	4,288,397		$
3	Madden NFL 2005	PS2, XBOX, GCN	EA Sports	4,274,243		$
4	ESPN NFL 2K5	PS2, XBOX	Take-Two Interactive	2,632,393		$
5	Need For Speed: Underground 2	PS2, XBOX, GCN	Electronic Arts	2,453,829		$
6	Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen	GBA	Nintendo	2,367,431		$
7	NBA Live 2005	PS2, XBOX	EA Sports	1,723,190		$
8	Spider-Man 2	PS2, GCN	Activision	1,569,251		$
9	ESPN NBA 2K5	PS2, XBOX	Take-Two Interactive	1,280,314	colspan="2" rowspan="2"
10	Star Wars: Battlefront	PS2, XBOX	LucasArts	1,224,927

PAL regions

Rank	United Kingdom	Australia	Title	Platform(s)	Sales
1	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	PS2	1,750,000	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	PS2
2	Prince of Persia: Warrior Within			Halo 2	XBOX
3	Need For Speed: Underground 2			Need For Speed: Underground 2	PS2
4	The Simpsons: Hit & Run			The Simpsons: Hit & Run	PS2
5	Pro Evolution Soccer 4			Need for Speed: Underground	PS2
6	Sonic Heroes			Ratchet & Clank	PS2
7	Spider-Man 2			V8 Supercars 2	PS2
8	Need for Speed: Underground			SingStar	PS2
9	Halo 2	XBOX		Grand Theft Auto: Twin Pack	XBOX
10	DRIV3R			Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec	PS2

Top game rentals in the United States

Rank	Title	Publisher	Platform
1	Prince of Persia: Warrior Within	Ubisoft	PS2
2	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Rockstar Games
3	DRIV3R	Atari
4	Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
5	Madden NFL 2005	EA Sports
6	NFL Street
7	Red Dead Revolver	Rockstar Games
8	James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing	EA Games
9	NCAA Football 2005	EA Sports
10	The Sims Bustin' Out	EA Games

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu''

In Japan, the following video game releases in 2004 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" and received Famitsu scores of at least 36 out of 40.

Title	Platform	Publisher	Genre	Score (out of 40)
Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi	PS2	Square Enix	Role-playing	39
Gran Turismo 4	PS2	Sony	Racing simulation	39
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	PS2	Capcom	Action-adventure	37
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	PS2	Konami	Stealth	37
Kessen III	PS2	Koei	Real-time tactics	37
Onimusha 3 (Onimusha 3: Demon Siege)	PS2	Capcom	Hack and slash	36
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes	GCN	Konami	Stealth	36
Hoshi no Kirby: Kagami no Daimeikyū (Kirby & the Amazing Mirror)	GBA	Nintendo	Metroidvania	36
Pikmin 2	GCN	Nintendo	Real-time strategy	36
Mawaru Made in Wario (WarioWare: Twisted!)	GBA	Nintendo	Party	36
The Legend of Zelda: Fushigi no Bōshi (The Minish Cap)	GBA	Nintendo	Action-adventure	36
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories	GBA	Square Enix	Action role-playing	36
Sawaru Made in Wario (WarioWare: Touched!)	DS	Nintendo	Party	36
FIFA Total Football 2 (FIFA Football 2005)	PS2	Electronic Arts	Sports	36

Metacritic and GameRankings

In the West, Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

Game	Publisher	Release date	Platform	MC score	GR score
Half-Life 2	Valve	November 16, 2004	WIN	96/100	95.48%
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Rockstar Games	October 26, 2004	PS2	95/100	95.08%
Halo 2	Microsoft Game Studios	November 9, 2004	XBOX	95/100	94.57%
Burnout 3: Takedown	Electronic Arts	September 8, 2004	XBOX	94/100	93.06%
Burnout 3: Takedown	Electronic Arts	September 8, 2004	PS2	93/100	93.32%
Unreal Tournament 2004	Atari	March 16, 2004	WIN	93/100	92.57%
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow	Ubisoft	March 23, 2004	XBOX	93/100	92.37%
World of Warcraft	Blizzard Entertainment	November 23, 2004	WIN	93/100	91.89%
Ninja Gaiden	Tecmo	March 2, 2004	XBOX	91/100	92.54%
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes	Nintendo	November 15, 2004	GCN	92/100	91.87%
Rome: Total War	Activision	September 22, 2004	WIN	92/100	91.75%
ESPN NFL 2K5	Sega	July 20, 2004	XBOX	92/100	90.52%
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	Konami	November 17, 2004	PS2	91/100	91.77%
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal	Sony Computer Entertainment	November 3, 2004	PS2	91/100	91.54%
Pro Evolution Soccer 4	Konami	August 5, 2004	PS2	title=Best Video Games for 2005	url=https://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/year/all/filtered?sort=desc&year_selected=2005	website=Metacritic	access-date=September 8, 2019}}	title=Highest-Ranking Games of 2005 (with at least 5 reviews)	url=https://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html?site=&cat=0&year=2005&numrev=4&sort=0&letter=&search=	website=GameRankings	access-date=September 8, 2019}}
Madden NFL 2005	EA Sports	August 9, 2004	PS2	91/100	90.33%
Madden NFL 2005	EA Sports	August 9, 2004	XBOX	91/100	89.5%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005	EA Sports	September 20, 2004	WIN	91/100	88.24%
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay – Developer's Cut	Vivendi Universal Games	December 3, 2004	WIN	90/100	90.95%
The Sims 2	Electronic Arts	September 14, 2004	WIN	90/100	90.76%
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap	Nintendo	November 4, 2004	GBA	89/100	90.36%
Metroid: Zero Mission	Nintendo	February 9, 2004	GBA	89/100	90.19%
Pro Evolution Soccer 4	Konami	November 26, 2004	XBOX	90/100	90.11%
Dragon Quest VIII	Square Enix	November 27, 2004	PS2	89/100	90.05%
Madden NFL 2005	EA Sports	August 9, 2004	GCN	90/100	90%
Pikmin 2	Nintendo	April 29, 2004	GCN	90/100	89.44%
MVP Baseball 2004	EA Sports	March 9, 2004	PS2	90/100	88.89%
MVP Baseball 2004	EA Sports	March 9, 2004	XBOX	90/100	88.73%
Viewtiful Joe	Capcom	August 24, 2004	PS2	90/100	87.95%
Lumines: Puzzle Fusion	Bandai	December 12, 2004	PSP	89/100	89.93%
Counter-Strike: Source	Valve	November 1, 2004	WIN	88/100	89.71%
EVE Online: Exodus	CCP Games	November 17, 2004	WIN	N/A	89.62%
Gran Turismo 4	Sony Computer Entertainment	December 28, 2004	PS2	89/100	89.53%
NCAA Football 2005	EA Sports	July 15, 2004	PS2	88/100	89.45%
FirePower for Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3	Microsoft Game Studios	June 11, 2004	WIN	88/100	89.43%
Far Cry	Ubisoft	March 23, 2004	WIN	89/100	89.38%
Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor	DreamCatcher Interactive	October 5, 2004	WIN	81/100	89%
Football Manager 2005	Sega	November 5, 2004	WIN	89/100	88.81%
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay	Vivendi Universal Games	June 1, 2004	XBOX	89/100	88.61%
NCAA Football 2005	EA Sports	July 15, 2004	XBOX	89/100	88.4%
MVP Baseball 2004	EA Sports	March 9, 2004	GCN	89/100	87.43%
Ridge Racer	Namco	December 12, 2004	PSP	88/100	88.62%
RalliSport Challenge 2	Microsoft Game Studios	May 4, 2004	XBOX	87/100	88.54%
Pro Evolution Soccer 4	Konami	December 3, 2004	WIN	88/100	88.5%
Out of the Park Baseball 6	Out of the Park Developments	June 14, 2004	WIN	87/100	88.4%
Sid Meier's Pirates!	Atari	November 22, 2004	WIN	88/100	88.34%
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door	Nintendo	July 22, 2004	GCN	87/100	88.05%
NCAA Football 2005	EA Sports	July 15, 2004	GCN	88/100	88.01%
Sly 2: Band of Thieves	Sony Computer Entertainment	September 14, 2004	PS2	88/100	87.92%
Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots	Microsoft Game Studios	April 27, 2004	WIN	88/100	87.86%
WarioWare: Twisted!	Nintendo	October 14, 2004	GBA	88/100	87.79%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005	EA Sports	September 20, 2004	GCN	88/100	87.68%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005	EA Sports	September 20, 2004	PS2	88/100	87.08%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005	EA Sports	September 20, 2004	XBOX	88/100	86.51%
ESPN NHL 2K5	Sega	August 30, 2004	XBOX	88/100	86.22%
Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers and Jets	Tri Synergy	September 13, 2004	WIN	83/100	87.83%
NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup	EA Sports	September 4, 2004	GCN	N/A	87.61%

Notable releases

Release date	Title	Computer Releases	Console Releases	Handheld Releases
January 5	Sonic Battle			GBA
January 13	Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel		PS2, XBOX
January 14	.hack//Quarantine Part 4		PS2
January 20	Delta Force: Black Hawk Down – Team Sabre	WIN	PS2
January 20	Maximo vs. Army of Zin		PS2
January 28	Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven		PS2
January 28	Vietcong: Fist Alpha	WIN	PS2, XBOX
January 29	Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (Japan)			GBA
February	Cops 2170: The Power of Law (Russia)	WIN
February 2	R-Type Final		PS2
February 9	Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles		GCN
February 9	Metroid: Zero Mission			GBA
February 9	EverQuest: Gates of Discord	WIN
February 10	Nightshade		PS2
February 10	Unreal II: The Awakening		XBOX
February 10	Wrath Unleashed		PS2, XBOX
February 10	Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004			GBA
February 11	Feeding Frenzy	WIN
February 14	Classic NES Series: Bomberman, Donkey Kong, Excitebike, Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Xevious			GBA
February 17	James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing		GCN, PS2, XBOX
February 17	Jet Li: Rise to Honor		PS2
February 17	Pro Evolution Soccer 3	WIN	PS2
February 24	Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX		PS2
February 26	Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction		PS2
February 27	Steel Battalion: Line of Contact		XBOX
March 1	N	WIN		DS
March 2	Drakengard		PS2
March 2	Lifeline		PS2
March 2	Ninja Gaiden		XBOX
March 2	Scooby-Doo: Mystery Mayhem		GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
March 2	MTX Mototrax		PS2, XBOX
March 4	Colin McRae Rally 04	WIN
March 8	The Suffering	WIN	PS2, XBOX
March 9	Firefighter F.D.18		PS2
March 9	Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes		GCN
March 9	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword	WIN
March 10	Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven		XBOX
March 12	Seven Samurai 20XX		PS2
March 14	Battlefield Vietnam	WIN
March 15	Wade Hixton's Counter Punch			GBA
March 16	Unreal Tournament 2004	WIN
March 19	Sacred (EU)	WIN
March 23	Counter-Strike: Condition Zero	WIN
March 23	Far Cry	WIN
March 23	Final Fantasy XI (US)		PS2
March 23	Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma		GCN
March 23	Sonic Heroes	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX
March 23	All-Star Baseball 2005		XBOX
March 24	Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku		GCN, PS2
March 25	Sacred (NA)	WIN
March 26	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX
March 31	Resident Evil Outbreak		PS2
April 1	Destruction Derby Arenas		PS2
April 5	Alias	WIN	PS2, XBOX
April 5	Fight Night 2004		PS2, XBOX
April 8	All-Star Baseball 2005		PS2
April 12	Painkiller	WIN
April 12	Serious Sam Advance			GBA
April 13	TOCA Race Driver 2	WIN	XBOX
April 20	Hitman: Contracts	WIN	PS2, XBOX
April 20	Manhunt	WIN	XBOX
April 27	Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots	WIN
April 27	Beyond Divinity	WIN
April 28	City of Heroes	WIN, OSX
April	.kkrieger	WIN
May 4	Red Dead Revolver		PS2, XBOX
May 4	Rallisport Challenge 2		XBOX
May 6	Samurai Warriors		PS2
May 7	Future Tactics: The Uprising		GCN, PS2, XBOX
May 21	Classic NES Series: Dr. Mario			GBA
May 21	Way of the Samurai 2		PS2
May 24	Mario vs. Donkey Kong			GBA
May 25	Metal Slug 3		XBOX
May 25	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	WIN	PS2, XBOX, GCN	GBA
May 25	Thief: Deadly Shadows	WIN	XBOX
June 1	Half-Life: Source	WIN
June 1	The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay		XBOX
June 7	Sonic Advance 3			GBA
June 7	The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures		GCN
June 8	Ribbit King		GCN, PS2
June 14	Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy	WIN	PS2, XBOX
June 15	Front Mission 4		PS2
June 15	Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising	WIN
June 21	Driver 3		PS2, XBOX
June 22	Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors			GBA
June 23	Mega Man Anniversary Collection		GCN, PS2	GBA
June 27	Mega Man Battle Network 4			GBA
June 29	CT Special Forces 2: Back in the Trenches			GBA
June 29	Spider-Man 2 (US)	WIN
July 2	Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos: Joey the Passion	WIN
July 5	Around the World in 80 Days			GBA
July 9	Richard Burns Rally	WIN	PS2, XBOX
July 9	Spider-Man 2 (EU)	WIN
July 13	Tales of Symphonia		GCN
July 14	Athens 2004		PS2
July 15	Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga		PS2
July 20	Catwoman	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
July 20	Puyo Pop Fever		GCN
July 20	Sudeki		XBOX
July 21	Crimson Tears		PS2
July 22	Bujingai		PS2
July 29	Mega Man X: Command Mission		GCN, PS2
August 1	NFL GameDay 2005		PS1
August 3	Doom 3	WIN
August 5	Cartoon Network: Block Party			GBA
August 10	Classic NES Series: Castlevania, Metroid, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link			GBA
August 18	Astro Boy: Omega Factor			GBA
August 24	Crazy Bus
August 24	Starsky & Hutch		GCN
August 24	Viewtiful Joe		PS2
August 25	Amazing Island		GCN
August 27	title=Headhunter: Redemption Review	url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/headhunter-redemption-review/1900-6108224/	access-date=2025-04-15	website=GameSpot	language=en-US}}	PS2, XBOX
August 30	Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch	WIN
August 30	Pikmin 2		GCN
August 30	WWE Day of Reckoning		GCN
August 31	Street Racing Syndicate		GCN, PS2, XBOX
September 2	Terminator 3: The Redemption		PS2, XBOX
September 3	Digimon Rumble Arena 2		PS2, XBOX
September 6	Digimon Rumble Arena 2		GCN
September 7	Burnout 3: Takedown		PS2, XBOX
September 7	Silent Hill 4: The Room	WIN	PS2, XBOX
September 8	Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums		PS2
September 8	The Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown	WIN	GCN, PS2	GBA
September 9	King of Colosseum II		PS2
September 9	Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (North America)			GBA
September 12	Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper			GBA
September 13	Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums		GCN, XBOX
September 13	Digimon Racing			GBA
September 13	EverQuest: Omens of War	WIN
September 13	The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Attack of the Twonkies		GCN, PS2	GBA
September 14	Advance Guardian Heroes			GBA
September 14	Power Rangers Dino Thunder		GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
September 14	Gradius V		PS2
September 14	Bad Boys: Miami Takedown		GCN, PS2, XBOX
September 14	Call of Duty: United Offensive	WIN
September 14	Fable		XBOX
September 14	Sly 2: Band of Thieves		PS2
September 14	The Sims 2	WIN
September 16	Pokémon Emerald (Japan)			GBA
September 17	Crisis Zone		PS2
September 20	F-Zero: GP Legend			GBA
September 20	Def Jam: Fight for NY		GCN, PS2, XBOX
September 20	Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War	WIN
September 21	Blood Will Tell		PS2
September 21	Dance Dance Revolution Extreme		PS2
September 21	Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia	WIN	PS2
September 21	Headhunter Redemption (North America)		PS2, XBOX
September 21	Second Sight		GCN, PS2, XBOX
September 21	Star Wars: Battlefront	WIN	PS2, XBOX
September 21	Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force			GBA
September 22	Disney's Kim Possible 2: Drakken's Demise			GBA
September 22	Katamari Damacy		PS2
September 22	Rome: Total War	WIN
September 27	Shadow Hearts: Covenant		PS2
September 27	Shark Tale	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
September 28	Armored Core: Nexus		PS2
September 28	Myst IV: Revelation	WIN
September 28	Crash Twinsanity		PS2, XBOX
October 1	Kult: Heretic Kingdoms	WIN, OSX
October 1	Scaler		GCN, PS2, XBOX
October 4	Mortal Kombat: Deception		PS2
October 4	Tony Hawk's Underground 2	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
October 5	Tribes: Vengeance	WIN
October 5	Conflict: Vietnam	WIN	PS2, XBOX
October 5	Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude	WIN	PS2, XBOX
October 5	Mega Man Zero 3			GBA
October 5	Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor	WIN
October 5	Syberia II		XBOX
October 5	TOCA Race Driver 2		PS2
October 11	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door		GCN
October 14	BloodRayne 2		PS2
October 14	Lilo & Stitch 2: Hämsterviel Havoc			GBA
October 14	Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne		PS2
October 14	Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams		GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
October 14	FIFA Football 2005	WIN	GCN, PS1, PS2	GBA, PSP
October 14	Under the Skin		PS2
October 18	Kirby & the Amazing Mirror			GBA
October 19	Neo Contra		PS2
October 19	All Grown Up!: Express Yourself		PS2, GCN	GBA
October 19	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
October 19	Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django			GBA
October 20	Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed		PS2
October 20	Tron 2.0			GBA
October 22	Sacred Plus (EU)	WIN
October 25	Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War		PS2
October 25	OutRun 2		XBOX
October 26	The Bard's Tale		PS2, XBOX
October 26	Dead or Alive Ultimate		XBOX
October 26	Grand Theft Auto Advance			GBA
October 26	Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed	WIN
October 26	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas		PS2
October 26	Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Board Traveler			GBA
October 27	The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino Dungeon		PS2
October 27	The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
October 29	The Incredibles	WIN
November 1	Counter-Strike: Source	WIN
November 2	Codename: Kids Next Door – Operation: S.O.D.A.			GBA
November 2	Godzilla: Save the Earth		PS2, XBOX
November 2	Killzone		PS2
November 2	Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault	WIN
November 2	RollerCoaster Tycoon 3	WIN
November 2	Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal		PS2
November 2	The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age		GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA
November 3	Spyro: A Hero's Tail		GCN, PS2, XBOX
November 3	The Incredibles: When Danger Calls	WIN
November 4	Godzilla: Save the Earth		PS2, XBOX
November 4	The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (Japan)			GBA
November 5	Bejeweled 2	WIN
November 5	FlatOut (Europe)	WIN	XBOX
November 8	EverQuest II	WIN
November 8	Mario Power Tennis (North America)		GCN
November 9	EyeToy: AntiGrav		PS2
November 9	Halo 2		XBOX
November 9	Jak 3		PS2
November 9	Shaman King: Master of Spirits			GBA
November 9	Shaman King: Power of Spirit		PS2
November 10	Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge		PS2, XBOX	GBA
November 10	Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA, DS
November 12	Sabotain: Break the Rules	WIN
November 15	Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest			GBA
November 15	Metroid Prime 2: Echoes		GCN
November 15	MTX Mototrax	WIN
November 15	Need for Speed: Underground 2	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX	GBA, DS
November 16	Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3		PS2
November 16	Feel the Magic: XY/XX			DS
November 16	Fight Club		PS2, XBOX
November 16	Half-Life 2	WIN
November 16	Joint Operations: Escalation	WIN
November 16	Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines	WIN
November 17	Asphalt Urban GT			DS
November 17	Castle Shikigami 2		PS2
November 17	Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone		XBOX
November 17	King Arthur		PS2
November 17	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater		PS2
November 17	Pac-Man World			GBA
November 18	Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space		XBOX
November 18	Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure			GBA
November 18	Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean		GCN
November 18	Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics			GBA
November 19	Mario vs. Donkey Kong			GBA
November 21	Super Mario 64 DS			DS
November 21	Spider-Man 2			DS
November 21	Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt			DS
November 22	GoldenEye: Rogue Agent		GCN, PS2, XBOX	DS
November 22	JFK Reloaded	WIN
November 23	Alien Hominid		GCN
November 23	World of Warcraft	WIN
November 29	Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls			GBA
November 30	Mr. Driller Drill Spirits			DS
November 30	Armies of Exigo	WIN
November 30	Half-Life 2: Deathmatch	WIN
December 1	Painkiller: Battle out of Hell	WIN
December 1	Scrapland	WIN
December 1	Top Gun: Combat Zones			GBA
December 2	Metal Slug Advance			GBA
December 2	Prince of Persia: Warrior Within	WIN	GCN, PS2, XBOX
December 6	Mario Party 6		GCN
December 6	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords	WIN	XBOX
December 6	The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth	WIN
December 7	Growlanser Generations		PS2
December 7	Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories			GBA
December 7	Kuon		PS2
December 7	It's Mr. Pants			GBA
December 7	Mega Man X8		PS2
December 7	Ridge Racer DS			DS
December 8	The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay	WIN
December 8	Sprung			DS
December 8	Viewtiful Joe 2		PS2
December 14	Gungriffon Allied Strike		XBOX
December 15	Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2		GCN
December 20	Cave Story	WIN
December 22	NFL Street 2		GCN, PS2, XBOX
December 24	Garry's Mod	WIN
December 28	Gran Turismo 4		PS2

References

"Why 2004 Was the Best Year in Gaming".
(June 8, 2012). "Attendance and Stats". IGN.
"x.com".
Cruz, Christopher. (2024-07-20). "How 'Evo Moment #37' Became the Greatest Viral Clip in Esports History".
(2024-09-16). "Evo Moment 37: Daigo's historic Street Fighter comeback vs Justin Wong was 20 years ago".
Colayco, Bob. (October 13, 2004). "GameSpot @ WCG 2004".
"GameSpy: Video Game Awards 2004 Award Winners Announced – Page 1".
Myers, Maddy. (2024-11-29). "Rewatching the 2004 Spike TV Video Game Awards, a true time capsule of gaming".
"[https://web.archive.org/web/20040405232816/http://cn.playstation.com/pressrelease/pr_detail.asp?ID=2 PlayStation®2电脑娱乐系统在上海和广州与您见面 (PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system meets you in Shanghai and Guangzhou)]" (Press release). Sony China. 1 January 2004. Archived from [http://cn.playstation.com/pressrelease/pr_detail.asp?ID=2 the original] on 5 April 2004.
"アメリカ (2004)". [[The NPD Group]].
Fahey, Rob. (10 January 2005). "San Andreas dominates 2004 as UK market grows 6.6 per cent".
(January 26, 2005). "Consolidated Financial Statements".
B2B Staff. (27 January 2005). "EA: risultati finanziari del terzo trimestre fiscale". [[:it:Multiplayer.it.
(2005). "Famitsū Gēmu Hakusho 2005". [[Enterbrain]].
"Game Search".
(August 16, 2006). "Konami ships 1.4 million PS2 copies of Pro Evolution Soccer 4". [[GameSpot]].
"2004 Top 100 Best Selling Japanese Console Games".
(January 18, 2005). "The NPD Group Reports Annual 2004 U.S. Video Game Industry Retail Sales". [[NPD Group]].
(19 April 2016). "The Handbook of Mobile Middleware". [[CRC Press]].
(January 13, 2005). "Best 100 Selling Games in 2004". [[The NPD Group]].
(9 April 2020). "UK Top Selling Games 2004". [[The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment]].
"Top 20 Console Games Ranked by Units Sold, 1998–2013". [[Australian Government]].
(8 January 2005). "Marketplace: A Look At The 2004 Video Chart Picture". [[Nielsen Business Media, Inc.]].
"週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧".
"Best Video Games for 2004".
"Highest-Ranking Games of 2004 (with at least 5 reviews)".
"Best Video Games for 2005".
"Highest-Ranking Games of 2005 (with at least 5 reviews)".
III, Fran Mirabella. (2004-02-18). "James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing Review".
"Sacred Release Information for PC – GameFAQs".
(2004-04-07). "Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow review". Eurogamer.net.
"Hitman: Contracts Review".
"PC Games: Manhunt".
Brenesal, Barry. (2004-05-07). "Beyond Divinity Review".
(2006-03-14). "City of Heroes review".
"Headhunter: Redemption Review".
(2004-08-09). "Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch review".
(2004-11-29). "Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor review".
(2004-03-19). "Sabotain: Break the Rules Site Launches – IGN". IGN.
"Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines Review – IGN". IGN.
"Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines Review for PC – GameSpot".

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