2001 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Madden NFL 2002, NBA Live 2002, NBA 2K2, WWF Smackdown! Just Bring It, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Crazy Taxi 2, Dead or Alive 3, Final Fantasy X, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Grand Theft Auto III, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Myst III: Exile, Silent Hill 2, Sonic Adventure 2, SSX Tricky, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Tekken 4, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and Virtua Fighter 4. New intellectual properties include Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Burnout, Gothic, Black & White, Devil May Cry, Fatal Frame, Ghost Recon, Halo: Combat Evolved, Jak and Daxter, Max Payne, Oni, Onimusha: Warlords, Operation Flashpoint, Pikmin, Pro Evolution Soccer, Red Faction, Serious Sam, and Tropico.
Three major video game systems were released in 2001: the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance by Nintendo, and the Xbox by Microsoft. Sega, which had been a major competitor in the video game hardware market to this point, ended its involvement in the market after the failure of the Dreamcast.