Sorry, not hard enough. I still remember Revolutions.
On the industry front, the second quarter was all about branding and recognizing the power of a good Hollywood license. Buoyed by enthusiasm preceding the two Matrix movie sequels (versus the disappointment that followed), Enter the Matrix tallied a preorder total of 4 million units to retailers and went on to sell more than 2.5 million of those in just over its first month at retail. Electronic Arts kept its license to kill by securing sole rights to the James Bond license for another seven years. Sims creator Will Wright inked a TV deal with the Fox Network courtesy of the hardworking agents at Mike Ovitz's former digs, CAA. Last but not least, Paycheck director John Woo struck a game deal with Sega.

On the branding front, Infogrames boss Bruno Bonnell deleted all references to the "I" word and deemed that his company would forever be known as Atari (Japanese for "win"). A wise choice given the high number of Atari T-shirts the man has (or is it just one shirt that he washes a lot?). Sega abandoned the 2K brand and instead pasted the ESPN moniker on its games. And even the ESRB got around to modifying those ratings that appear magically on a game's packaging.


Several candidates applied for Urqhart's job.
And games made waves as well: The second coming of Max Payne was confirmed by Rockstar; a long-standing suit against Postal creators Running With Scissors was thrown out of court; and the first rumblings of a Kingdom Hearts sequel caused a big stir in Japan.

On the personnel front, this quarter saw Acclaim cofounder Greg Fischbach relinquish the CEO reins at his company. And a handful of key Blizzard and Blizzard North staffers, including the widely respected Bill Roper and BN founders Max and Erich Schaefer and David Brevik, decided they'd had enough corporate shenanigans and took flight to create their own development house.

April

EA settles suit with former developers
Former employees who worked on Medal of Honor games have settled a lawsuit claiming they took internal development documents.


Black Isle president steps down
Black Isle's Feargus Urquhart is leaving the company.


Half-Life 2 to appear at E3
Valve reveals that the sequel to the popular action game will make its first public appearance at E3 next month.


Sony announces Ratchet & Clank 2
Insomniac Games is hard at work on the next Ratchet & Clank game.

May

Infogrames renamed Atari
Nokia showcases its N-Gage game deck and a handful of games at a press event in London.


Sony announces PSP handheld
SCEI will release an all-in-one portable entertainment platform at the end of 2004.


3DO files for Chapter 11
The company behind the Army Men series has filed for bankruptcy protection.


New Sony console revealed
Sony announces that it will release its new PSX console, complete with hard drive and DVD burner, in Japan this year and in other territories in 2004. First pictures inside.

June

Will Wright signs TV deal
The creator of The Sims and Sim City has a first-look deal with Fox for TV show ideas percolating at his Stupid Fun Club studio.


Sega swaps 2K for ESPN
Sega, Visual Concepts, and ESPN announce that the Sega Sports 2K brand is to be renamed ESPN Videogames.


Enter the Matrix sells 2.5 million
Atari announces that Enter the Matrix is its fastest-selling game ever and the 14th to sell more than 2.5 million units.


Cofounders leave Blizzard North
Blizzard North's three cofounders and Bill Roper leave the studio that created Diablo to pursue other opportunities.

Next: Year in Review - The Third Quarter >>