The Gorby Congressmanz
Banned
First it's of no doubt that during 2001 Halo and GTA 3 were the biggest defining, earth shaking games in the industry at the time, and basically set the foundation for many games during that generation onward. No one came even close, although Black and White did have the overblown hype to make people think otherwise back in the day, but looking back it was these two games by miles.
With that said, between Halo: Combat Evolved, and Grand Theft Auto III which was more influential for that time period?
GTAIII is known as what really kicked off the PS2 and had caused many games to copy its formula or even themes (see Jak II). it was a massive experience and you really had to be there to see just how much it reached around the industry during its relevance. However, GTAIII's sequels GTA Vice City, and San Andreas, would ultimately, while they do owe the GTAIII the original, would end up overshadowing GTA 3 around 2004 as those would be the dominant games in the series people would go back to or buy and that would continue years into the future.
The living world concept was always a goal for many developers and while PC had already tinkered with this in titles before it was basically a no show on consoles, which were often to weak for any developer to bring the "dream" to fruition. However GTA managed to shock everybody! While not perfect (not even close) it was leaps and bounds ahead of anything on consoles at the time of its release. A major showcase for the PS2 as well.
However, GTAIII while not having the longevity as its sequels, was still a hot button game for 2001 and would shape the generation of xbox/ps2 with its popularity and mechanics. One weak spot is that computers already had games with similar styles of gameplay going back years, and while still selling well on PC, the influence wasn't as far reached but it still was a major force to be dealt with. It brought in a whole new demographic to consoles as well, and it benefitted all gaming systems including PC because GTAIII eventually in some form, released on all available home gaming platforms that weren't dead...Except the GameCube.
Halo was also a massive game in 2001, it took the the best of PC FPS games and streamlined it, while adding its own innovations that would become standard. The popularity of the first game would lead into the release of the second game and the rise of online console gaming. Halo broke records and was a media frenzy that was never seen before with the closest comparison being, well, GTA 3.
Despite being an Xbox console focused release, the reach of Halo was massive, the standard set by it were copied on other consoles and on PC, it really picked up the conversation on the internet creating media interest in video game competitions on a large scale, and many companies across the industry were releasing there own "Halo killers" in order to dethrone this new juggernaut.
While the Sequels would sell more the core innovations of the first Halo were not overshadowed, instead they were complimented by online innovation (for consoles) later. The accessibility to a broader demographic and increasing media interest in video games would continue as the series grew. Nearly all other franchises at the time couldn't touch the influence and reach Halo provided despite selling 6 million units primarily on one console, which while great for a console release, would be considered small in the grand scheme of things, yet Halo still took everyones attention despite not having the audience of something like, well, GTA 3. Even if you didn't have access to a way to play Halo, people knew what Halo was, and merchandise and coverage was accelerating on a massive scale.
With that said, between Halo: Combat Evolved, and Grand Theft Auto III which was more influential for that time period?
GTAIII is known as what really kicked off the PS2 and had caused many games to copy its formula or even themes (see Jak II). it was a massive experience and you really had to be there to see just how much it reached around the industry during its relevance. However, GTAIII's sequels GTA Vice City, and San Andreas, would ultimately, while they do owe the GTAIII the original, would end up overshadowing GTA 3 around 2004 as those would be the dominant games in the series people would go back to or buy and that would continue years into the future.
The living world concept was always a goal for many developers and while PC had already tinkered with this in titles before it was basically a no show on consoles, which were often to weak for any developer to bring the "dream" to fruition. However GTA managed to shock everybody! While not perfect (not even close) it was leaps and bounds ahead of anything on consoles at the time of its release. A major showcase for the PS2 as well.
However, GTAIII while not having the longevity as its sequels, was still a hot button game for 2001 and would shape the generation of xbox/ps2 with its popularity and mechanics. One weak spot is that computers already had games with similar styles of gameplay going back years, and while still selling well on PC, the influence wasn't as far reached but it still was a major force to be dealt with. It brought in a whole new demographic to consoles as well, and it benefitted all gaming systems including PC because GTAIII eventually in some form, released on all available home gaming platforms that weren't dead...Except the GameCube.
Halo was also a massive game in 2001, it took the the best of PC FPS games and streamlined it, while adding its own innovations that would become standard. The popularity of the first game would lead into the release of the second game and the rise of online console gaming. Halo broke records and was a media frenzy that was never seen before with the closest comparison being, well, GTA 3.
Despite being an Xbox console focused release, the reach of Halo was massive, the standard set by it were copied on other consoles and on PC, it really picked up the conversation on the internet creating media interest in video game competitions on a large scale, and many companies across the industry were releasing there own "Halo killers" in order to dethrone this new juggernaut.
While the Sequels would sell more the core innovations of the first Halo were not overshadowed, instead they were complimented by online innovation (for consoles) later. The accessibility to a broader demographic and increasing media interest in video games would continue as the series grew. Nearly all other franchises at the time couldn't touch the influence and reach Halo provided despite selling 6 million units primarily on one console, which while great for a console release, would be considered small in the grand scheme of things, yet Halo still took everyones attention despite not having the audience of something like, well, GTA 3. Even if you didn't have access to a way to play Halo, people knew what Halo was, and merchandise and coverage was accelerating on a massive scale.