2002 in video gaming

Events

 * Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Will Wright of Maxis to the AIAS Hall of Fame
 * BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) holds 5th annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia technologies; 10 of 21 awards go to video games; awards Ian Livingstone the BAFTA Interactive Special Award
 * Big Fish Games is founded with Paul Thelen as the only employee.
 * 8th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 5th annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³
 * Eidos Interactive selects Dutch model Jill De Jong as the new digitized Lara Croft character
 * G4 Media, LLC (subsidiary of Comcast Corporation) launches the G4 cable television video game network channel
 * Gama Network hosts the 4th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
 * Game Developers Conference hosts the 2nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards
 * SEGA establishes the Sega Mobile division to develop, produce, and distribute video games for mobile phones and PDAs; establishes the Sega.com Business Solutions division to service video game developers and publishers
 * Rockstar Games embroiled in controversy for its Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video games
 * March 22 &mdash; The Sims overtakes Myst as all-time best-selling computer game, having sold 6.3 million units
 * July - IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 3rd annual Executive Summit

Business

 * January 2 – Cyberactive Media, publishers of GameWeek, is closed down.
 * February 19 &mdash; Sierra Entertainment, Inc. renamed from Sierra On-Line
 * May 10 &mdash; Tiwak renamed from Yeti Interactive
 * November 15 &mdash; Xbox Live, the largest online network for video game consoles is launched.
 * November 26 &mdash; Squaresoft and Enix announces a fusion. The new name is Square Enix.
 * Activision acquires Luxoflux Corporation, Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Shaba Games LLC, and Z-Axis Ltd.
 * Empire Interactive PLC acquires eJay AG (renamed eJay Entertainment GmbH)
 * Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Eden Studios and Shiny Entertainment
 * Microsoft acquires Rare Ltd.
 * PCCW: Jaleco USA merges with its VR1 Entertainment (renamed Jaleco Entertainment) division
 * Sony Corporation acquires Aiwa Corporation
 * Vivendi Universal acquires Massive Entertainment
 * Bankrupt/Defunct: Encore Software, Inc. (assets acquired by Navarre Corporation)
 * .400 Software Studios founded
 * Realtime Worlds Founded by David Jones

Notable releases
North American release dates:
 * February 22 - Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)
 * March 4 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (GBA, Xbox)
 * March 26 - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC)
 * March 31 - Dungeon Siege (PC)
 * April 30 - Resident Evil Remake (GC)
 * May 2 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)
 * May 16 - Final Fantasy XI (Japan) (PS2)
 * May 20 - Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (PC)
 * June 1 - The House of the Dead III (Arcade)
 * June 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox)
 * June 16 - Neverwinter Nights (PC)
 * July 3 - Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC)
 * August 19 - Medieval: Total War (PC)
 * August 25 - Super Mario Sunshine (GC)
 * August 25 - Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)
 * August 27 - SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2)
 * August 28 - Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (PC)
 * September 10 - Battlefield 1942 (PC)
 * September 15 - Animal Crossing (GC)
 * September 17 - Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
 * September 23 - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS2)
 * September 23 - Tekken 4 (PS2)
 * September 30 - No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way (PC)
 * October 9 - TimeSplitters 2 (PS2)
 * October 22 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (Xbox)
 * October 27 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2)
 * November 1 - Age of Mythology (PC)
 * November 4 - Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
 * November 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal (PC)
 * November 10 - Resident Evil 0 (GC)
 * November 11 - MechAssault (Xbox)
 * November 15 - Metroid Prime (GC)
 * November 18 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (GC)
 * November 18 - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Xbox)
 * November 20 - Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (PS2, Xbox, GBA)
 * December 13 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Japan) (GC)