2002 kicked off with a feeling of electricity as the rampantly competitive Christmas heralded the intense struggle between the X-Box, Gamecube and Playstation 2, the first time in many a year that three powerhouse systems were "new" to the market at one time. The buying season win went to Sony, already the most successful (and backwards compatible to shake off a lack of games) and released a year before the others.

That victory would set a trend for 2002, pushing both the Cube and X-Box into second place, where they were left to rake in the leftovers and at times question whether they would be able to escape the fate of system forefathers like the Dreamcast. The battle over, the war continued and as Cube and X-Box saw releases in Europe, all three systems competed for who would be able to sell the cheapest. In addition, purchases were sweetened with added extras, package deals, color options for systems, controllers and accessories, and the long-awaited Greatest Hits series finally making its appearance for the PS2. Through it all, PS2 could not be shaken.

All three systems and Nintendo's saving grace, GameBoy Advance, pushed the limits graphically with things never seen before, showing what everyone hoped would be untapped potential for new, mind boggling experiences. With what has almost become an annual tradition, the year began with that same anticipation when Final Fantasy X was released. Incredibly smooth and detailed polygons, meshing into movie sequences, it made everyone gooey-eyed. If we had been paying attention then, FFX would have shown us a few other trends that would be in store for us for 2002.

With the Dreamcast and PS1 covered over in a nice little grave, it seemed like polygons would be the future of gaming and 2D would be buried along with video game's past. However, game developers chose to combine polygons with the cartoon appeal of 2D and glom onto the growing popularity of cel shading. 2D wasn't getting pushed aside just getting a new face, even more vibrant and smooth. Despite pressing out the wrinkles in graphics and play mechanics, it almost seemed like the industry was getting stumped for fresh, new ideas. Over the last year "sequel, sequel, sequel" was the name of the game. Almost every major series got some action, or at least rumors of a new title. If it wasn't a sequel, then there was also a huge onslaught of classic remakes and movie knock-offs.

While developers popped out game after game, the console war raged on. Individual studios didn't go unaffected by the volume of sales each system garnered. Announcements of support and exclusivity for specific games (which never held long with dollar signs glinting on the horizon) seemed to come out constantly, Namco and Bandai jumping on board with Nintendo, Square supporting Sony. And if a console couldn't gain any supporters, in Microsoft's opinion you might as well buy them, generating rumors of their attempts to eat up Sega, Square and Nintendo itself. With video game production budgets reaching up to almost that of a movie's and increasing staffing requirements, most companies found themselves with shrinking profit and little studios cut their losses, got lost all together, or were bought up by their larger brethren. The biggest merger coming just recently when giants in the RPG field Square and Enix joined.

If nothing else, 2002 seemed like the year of waiting. There were huge plans for PS2's online games. Sony struggled to get it's online capabilities going for months, realizing quickly that it's hard to get gamers to play without the right hardware already built in. Players waited, and waited, and when the additions arrived they were scarce, there wasn't anything to play and players were reluctant to pay for a game, online game charges and the spendy broadband fees that were all but required. Microsoft tried to counter with it's own online service, X-Box Live. Shelling out a whopping $1 billion to try spark a flame, the wedding of video gamers and the internet still seemed a reluctant union though. It wasn't just the possible new online play gamers waited for. It was games in general. For many games, announced and eagerly anticipated a year or two ahead of time, it seemed like their releases would never come and many of those were pushed back, again, and again. Many of them are still being held off for 2003.

Despite the high expectations, the year seemed an eventful one in the end. While there were several new platforming titles, the game that did make it to the shelves were standard. With little but one notch higher improvements in graphics and mechanics, storylines often suffered. And while games on the average were better than previous years, exceptional gems to look back on seemed few and far between.

The year also ended with an interesting spin as the MediaWise Report Card came out, giving the industry an F, noting a handful of mature-themed games. On one hand it served as another bullet for the media and government arguing that games promoted violent tendencies in youth. But on the other hand, it made apparent another trend: that more than half of gamers are 18 and over. Also, finding increased endorsement by movies and celebrities, it showed that the industry was getting noticed as a major form of entertainment and that the enjoyment found from holding a controller did not have an age limit. Thus, it was no surprise that when this Christmas season came, electronics and video game sales made up a huge chunk of retailers profits. This year though, there was no cries of allegiance and favoritism, the tone was simply: "which one don't I have."

We already know what to expect for 2003: all the games that got delayed this year. There will be improvements galore as always, hopefully creating more diamonds than rhinestones this time. Perhaps we will even see the online capabilities of each of the systems come to fruition. And there will be more battles in the dogfight for dominance. Lets see if the winners come before the next generation of consoles. Sony's already hinted at theirs.

And so, as the video game industry continues to find the best way to peddle its wares, I will leave you with one final, more personal, New Year's thought: We should all take inventory of our own lives. Remember, that although the mirror may sometimes be cloudy, we are all special, all beautiful, people. Remember that each of us has a lot to offer others and a lot to gain from others in this new year. We are all lucky to enjoy the things that we have and the people that we hold dear to us. Joyous gaming and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!

This is just good ol' commentary out of the mouth of a professional ranter. It's getting close to being a series, this makes four weeks, but still nothing permanent. I do hope it strikes a cord with you and it makes you think a bit. If not, please send us some hate mail and I'll never write again. *sob* Enjoy!