PC games
The PC games industry in 2001 was virtually dormant in certain respects.
Depite the launch of several exponentially more powerful video cards, the software to take advantage of their power was almost nonexistent. The release of the dynamic Max Payne was one of the only truly groundbreaking steps in the graphical dimension.
Sound hardware also reached new exchelons of power with the next generation Soundblaster card delivering full Dolby 5.1 surround capbilities. Yet, once again, software ready to take aggressive advantage of its power was thin on the ground.
The year was characterised by a slow anticipation in the air, particularly as promised first-person shooter titles like TeamFortress 2 failed to materialise, causing a general lull in the 3D action space. Doom 3 was announced by the hallowed developers id Software, but will not reach retail 'til deep within 2002.
There were a lot of promising technologies revealed, but few games that really broke the boundaries of convention.
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 officially caught up in the console race during 2001, overcoming the difficult first-generation period and moving onward to the surprisingly impressive second generation of software.
The most obvious example of this was the release of the stellar Gran Turismo 3: A-spec, the next installment in the popular factory model road-racing game, which presented a graphical quality of rendering that sincerely approached photorealism. This title convincingly buried the efforts of arcade machines of the past and silenced critics of the system.
The leaps and bounds the PS2 has made in the second part of the year pave the way for it to present stauch opposition to the throne contenders of early next year, the Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Gamecube.
Gameboy Advance
The Gameboy market fairly sizzled this year with the release of the powerhouse Gameboy Advance, a machine that delivers the 2D processing power of 1990's home console machines such as the SNES.
With a fully-functional version of DOOM impending on this tiny machine, an entirely new audience has been opened up for the previously kiddie-only Gameboy target market. Undeniably exciting days lie ahead for this pocket-sized dynamo.
