Hideo Kojima has reminded us that the release of GTA 3, Halo, and Metal Gear Solid 2 in late 2001 ushered in a period of significant upheaval in the industry.
Hideo Kojima observed that the 2001 releases of Grand Theft Auto 3, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Halo: Combat Evolved brought about a significant shift in the gaming business. In general, gaming has had several memorable years of import that have been jam-packed with seminal releases. With the release of games like Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, Portal, Super Mario Galaxy, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, 2007 is often recognized as one of these years.
As many may recall, 2009 was also pivotal in the industry’s progress, thanks to games like Batman: Arkham Asylum, which changed third-person action game combat. Assassin’s Creed II laid the groundwork for Ubisoft’s open-world approach. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves ushered forth a new era of storytelling, elevating player-controlled set pieces. Similarly, 2011 was a year of transition, with the launches of Portal 2, Mortal Kombat 9, Batman: Arkham City, Uncharted 3, and Skyrim, all of which raised the standard in their respective genres. 2001 brought with it an equally astounding slew of new experiences.
Hideo Kojima, the designer of Metal Gear Solid 2, mentioned two other games that came out in late 2001: GTA 3 and Halo: Combat Evolved, in honor of the game’s 20th anniversary. “[2001] was a year of enormous shift in the game business,” Kojima wisely observed. He could not be more precise. GTA 3 was released in October for the PlayStation 2 and paved the way for open-world sandbox games. On November 13, Metal Gear Solid 2 was released, with sophisticated stealth mechanics and ground-breaking narrative lines that made the game feel ahead of its time. On November 15, Halo was released, setting new norms for first-person shooters with regenerating health, a two-weapon limit, and controls that elevated the genre on consoles.
In 2001, the same November that MGS2 was released, GTA3 and HALO were released. This was a year of great change in the game industry.
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) November 30, 2021
In many ways, Grand Theft Auto 3, Halo: Combat Evolved, and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty helped shape the business into what it is today. Surprisingly, this is a period in which players are discovering or reliving these traditional delights.
For example, the Grand Theft Auto game in question was re-released as GTA Trilogy earlier this month. Many Halo fans remark that the multiplayer in Halo: Infinite is reminiscent of the first game from 20 years ago. Unfortunately, Konami just deleted the Metal Gear sequel from digital retailers due to licensing concerns with historical archival content. Let’s hope the situation doesn’t drag on too much longer.
Source: Hideo Kojima/Twitter
