Almost Everything That Happened in Gaming & Tech Between The Release Of Kingdom Hearts 2 & 3

With the release of the third Kingdom Hearts (13th) game just about a week away, I figured it would be worth looking back at a few notable world, technical, and gaming events that have happened each year since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2 back in 2006. I've also reached out to the staff and included their thoughts on the first time they played the game way back when. Keep in mind that that for the sake of keeping this list shorter than the Bible, I'm going to include 10 notable events each year, or else by the time I finish Kingdom Hearts 4 will be available for preorder on the Playstation 10.

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2006

• Kingdom Hearts 2 officially launches in the west on March 28th and September 28th in the EU
• Facebook was opened to the public to anybody with a valid email address
• A class action lawsuit was filed against Rockstar games and its publisher Take-two interactive for its inclusion of the "Hot Coffee" mod in GTA: San Andreas
• Twitter is opened to the public
• Final Fantasy Versus 13 was announced to the public
• The Walt Disney Company buys Pixar Animation for roughly $7.4 billion
• Google buys video streaming website YouTube for $1.65 billion
• Nintendo releases the Wii, grandparents everywhere suddenly get really good at bowling and tennis
• PlayStation Network is launched
• Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis is unleashed onto the public

2007

• Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, The Witcher, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Skate, Uncharted, Super Mario Galaxy, and Half-Life 2: Episode 2 are released throughout the year.
• Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces the iPhone and changes the way we waste time forever
• NETFLIX introduces its streaming service as well as rents its 1 billionth DVD
• The Writers Guild of America commences a year long strike effectively halting production of many TV shows, movies, and severely hurting the economy in many markets outside of film production
• Author J.K Rowling completes her final Harry Potter book
• Microsoft implements a free repair service for the infamous "Red Ring of Death," costing the tech giant billions
• The first Transformers movie is released
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare launches to critical and commercial success
• Keeping Up with the Kardashians premieres in the United States
• Rock Band and Guitar Hero 2 launch globally, creating an abundance of musical themed peripherals that will never be considered junk, ever.

2008

• Twilight is released and everybody loves it
• Music streaming service Spotify launches to the public
• Tesla releases its first electric car, the Tesla Roadster
• Grand Theft Auto IV is released
• The first entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe is launched with the release of Iron Man
• Vladimir Putin is appointed the Russian Prime minister
• The Dark Knight premieres to massive critical acclaim due in part to the late Heath Ledgers performance as The Joker
• Apple launches the App Store
• T-Mobile releases its "G1" phone, marking the first ever Android Device
• Barack Obama is elected 44th President of the United States

"Kingdom Hearts was a game first introduced to me by a friend when we were both young and taking out Wonderland's Trickster was a difficult process. When Kingdom Hearts 2 was coming out, I remember being at EB games in Sydney, Australia with my mum, and now with Kingdom Hearts 3 around the corner, I've completed secondary and tertiary education, have a full-time job, have moved continents twice, and am getting married this year. It's been quite the journey."  — Andrew Stretch / Senior Writer

2009

• Batman: Arkham Asylum is launched on all platforms and receives a Guinness World Record for most critically acclaimed super hero game ever
• Avatar becomes the highest grossing film of all time
• On June 25th legendary singer, entertainer, and Crazy Taxi fanboy Michael Jackson dies.
• Sony announces the PSP Go.  A smaller PlayStation Portable that is download only
• Kickstarter launches to the public
• An early build of Minecraft is first released to the public
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is launched on the Nintendo DS adding more plot points that will never get answered
• Assassin's Creed 2, Uncharted 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Streetfighter IV, Left 4 Dead 2, and Halo 3: ODST are released
• Mobile Developer Rovio releases Angry Birds and quickly becomes a house hold name
• Disney Acquires Star Wars

2010

• The very first Humble Bundle was launched featuring popular indie games
• Justin Bieber releases "Baby"
• The Microsoft Kinect and PlayStation Move were launched worldwide
• Rockstar Games releases Red Dead Redemption to overwhelmingly positive critical acclaim and sales
• SpaceX launches their first rocket into space, making them the first privately owned corporation to do so
• Gran Turismo 5, Infinity Blade, Epic Mickey, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Super Meat Boy and Final Fantasy 13 are released
• Apple sells over 300,000 iPads on its first day at market
• Facebook becomes the most visited website ever
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is released on the PSP adding more plot points that will never get answered
• The Walking Dead premieres on AMC and kicks off a zombie revival in media

"I'll never forget the first time I played Kingdom Hearts 2.  After spending all day playing through the beginning section as Roxas and the early bits of Sora's story, I went out on my first date with a girl ... Roxas' death went better than that first date" — Nick Maillet / Video Lead

2011

• Nintendo releases the 3DS 
• The United States Supreme Court declares video games to be protected by free speech laws in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association
• The PlayStation Vita is released in Japan
• Kingdom Hearts: Re:Coded is released on the DS adding more plot points that will never get answered
• Skyrim, Infamous 2, Dark Souls, L.A. Noire, The Witcher 2, Portal 2, Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3, The Legend of of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendogs were released
• Sony's PlayStation Network experienced a massive security breach of possibly 77,000,000 accounts and was effectively shut down for 1 month, costing the company roughly $150,000,000
• Game Of Thrones Premieres on HBO
• Apple CEO Steve Jobs dies of cancer on October 5th
• Apple releases Siri

"Kingdom Hearts 2 came out ten days after my 13th birthday. I was publicly too cool for it. I was privately in love with it. I've probably played it from start to finish more than 10 times. In all the years in-between I came to understand that, actually, it's okay to like Kingdom Hearts. People won't hate you for it. They love it too, turns out. Weird shit." — Sam Guglieimo / Associate Review Editor

2012

• The final Spike Video Game Awards show airs
• Nintendo launches the Wii U, 3DS XL, and a Canadian only Mini version of the Wii
• Telltale Games revives the adventure genre with its first season of The Walking Dead
• Disney/Marvel releases the hugely ambitious Avengers movie
• Assassin's Creed 3, Diablo III, Max Payne 3, Far Cry 3, Halo 4, Borderlands 2, Uncharted Golden Abyss, Dishonored, Mass Effect 3, Hotline Miami, and  Journey were released
• Megaupload creator Kim.Com's legal troubles begin
• Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is released on the 3DS adding more plot points that will never get answered
• Kony 2012 happened
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 becomes the fastest game in history to make over $1Billion in sales
• Microsoft launches Windows 8

"When KH2 came out, I was still too young to be allowed on the internet. I found out about it thanks to a TV commercial and freaked out. Begged my mom to take me to the store and got it day of." — Max Moeller / Staff Writer

2013

• The first and only VGX awards show is streamed, and it totally went without any issues
• Sony and Microsoft reveal and launch new consoles then proceed to dunk on each other at E3
• Pebble releases the first smart watch through a successful Kickstarter
• Kingdom Hearts 3 is officially announced during the Sony E3 press conference
• The Kickstarter funded Oculus Rift is pre-released to early adopters and developers
• The Ouya is released to low reviews and rife with user problems
• TechRaptor is founded on March 14th
• Longtime developer and publisher THQ is dissolved
• GTAV, Assassin's Creed Black Flag, Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us, DmC, Metro: Last Light, DOTA 2, Disney Infinity, Outlast, Battlefield 4, Resogun, and GTA San Andreas Mobile were relased
• Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix is launched on the PS3 reinforcing more plot points that will never get answered, this time in HD!

"My wife pre-ordered Kingdom Hearts 2 for me for my birthday, which is on St. Patrick's Day. We spent most of our gaming time playing vanilla World of Warcraft, still trying to master the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj with our small guild. My wife was pregnant with our son, who is 12 now, and he wouldn't be born until November. At the time we thought our Motorola Razrs were the pinnacle of cellular technology." — Travis Williams / Tabletop Editor

2014

• Nintendo releases their toys to life products called amiibo
• Streaming platform Twitch was acquired by Amazon for $970,000,000
• Self driving cars begin to show up on American roads
• A new Super Smash Bros launches on the Wii U and features, Bayonetta, Cloud, and Pac-Man
• Apple buys Beats for $3.2 billion, thus rightfully making Dr. Dre the richest rapper in history
• Facebook acquires Oculus VR for $2 billion
• Apple launches the Apple Watch, Microsoft launches the Band, Samsung released the Gear
• Hearthstone, Destiny, Five Nights at Freddy's, P.T., The Evil Within, Bayonetta 2, Halo MCC, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and FEZ were released
• Microsoft buys Minecraft Mojang for $2.5Billion, making Notch a pretty rich guy
• Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix is launched on the PS3 reinforcing more plot points that will never get answered, this time in HD!

2015

• Nintendo announces their entry into mobile titles at an Apple event
• Konami cancels Silent Hills, shutters its LA Division, delists itself from the NYSE, and silences Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima shortly before the release of Metal Gear Solid V
• Mobile payment solutions such as Apple Pay become public
• The first annual Game Awards is held in Los Angeles Ca.; Hideo Kojima is barred from attending
• Metal Gear Solid V, Bloodborne, Undertale, Fallout 4, The Witcher 3, Her Story, Life is Strange, Rocket League, Star Wars: Battlefront, Halo 5, and Alien: Isolation were released
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake is announced 
• Pressure sensitive Touch ID technology begins to show up on smart phones
• After 32 years, the follow up to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was released; The Force Awakens receives critical success and sets box office records
• Hideo Kojima establishes an independent studio named "Kojima Productions"
• Smart homes, connected cars, and smart assistant devices such as the Amazon Echo become mainstream

"It was 2015 and I was a sophomore in college on summer break. I had some spare cash from my job, so I decided to take a trip down games history lane and bought a PS2 and some games I missed from that generation on eBay. Kingdom Hearts II was the best $12 I spent that summer."  — Jack Waibel / Staff Writer

2016

• Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is released on the PS4 and ACTUALLY fills in some plot holes
• Disney Infinity is closed down, thus marking the end of the toys to life fad
• Pokemon Go is played by a large portion of the Earth's population for a while, earning over $1 billion in a few short months
• No Man's Sky launches to disappointing expectations
• The Screen Actors Guild begins a strike against video game developers, most notably Electronic Arts
• Uncharted 4, Overwatch, Dark Souls 3, Stardew Valley, Gears of War 4, DOOM, and Battlefield 1 are released
• Final Fantasy XV and The Last Guardian are released after a decade's long development period
• Snapchat releases their AR lens filters, changing millions of millennials into skinny blemish free dogs for a few moments
• Sony releases the PS4 pro and begins the growing trend in half step consoles
• Donald Trump is elected 45th President of the United States

"I was probably playing Panzer Dragoon Orta cause I owned an Xbox, not a PS2, during that era. I read some articles and watched some let's plays of KH2. It looked neat." — Samantha Ooi / Staff Writer

2017

• Mobile MOBAS such as Arena of Valor earn billions through the use of loot boxes and micro transactions
• Nintendo reveals and launches the Nintendo Switch 
• Blizzard launches the Overwatch League in the old Tonight Show Studios and begins to popularize eSports to a mainstream audience.
• Face detection software begins to show up on smart phones, making unlocking your phone in the car that much more difficult
• Resident Evil 7, Mass Effect: Andromeda, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Personal 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, Call of Duty WW2, Cuphead, Nioh, and Night In the Woods are released
• PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds becomes the most popular game on Steam and Twitch shortly after its release, only to be dethroned by Fortnite
• Apple ditches a button on its phone in favor of a notch, everybody else follows shortly after
• Star Wars Battlefront 2 sparks a global debate if loot boxes lead to underaged gambling. The game itself is received poorly for its over use of micro transactions and average gameplay
• Microsoft launches the Xbox One X in response to the lacking performance of the Xbox One
• Club Penguin closes, everybody gets banned

"I had never heard of Kingdom Hearts until last E3. It's pretty cool, but the story is definitely confusing. Eventually ill play the entire thing." — Alex Parker / Video Creator

2018

• Kingdom Hearts 3 is playable at E3.  We played it, it's super good.
• Fortnite becomes one of the highest grossing games of the year with its free to play Battle Royale mode
• Tesla launches a car into space
• The first-ever primates are cloned in China, long-tailed macaques Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua
• Telltale Games closes down before the completion of the final season of The Walking Dead 
• The Game Awards gain more viewers than the Academy Awards; CBS launches a rival video game awards show that nobody watches
• Game developers begin to talk about unionization
• Bablefish Earbuds release and potentially close language barriers for millions
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Far Cry 5, God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, Moonlighter, Call of Duty Black Ops 4, Super Smash Bros: Ultimate, Marvel's Spiderman, and Dead Cells are released
• Disney/Marvel releases Avengers: InfinityWar and earns roughly $2.5Billion at the box office.

"When I first played Kingdom Hearts 2, it had already been released for a year or two, but I had been without a PS2. I was so psyched to play that I couldn't wait for my copy of the first one to arrive and instead borrowed 2 from my best friend during our high school art class together. Naive and foolish, I thought that I could hop right into 2 knowing the sum total of "Something something keyblades, something something Mickey Mouse is here and uh... so that's a guy." I was totally wrong, but I still had an absolute blast."  — Courtney Ehrenholfer / Staff Writer

2019

• Kingdom Hearts 3 officially releases to the public

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Quick Stats

Since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2 we have seen the following

• 3 American Presidents
• 14 years
• 2 console generations
• 12 Mainline Call of Duty Games
• The entire Uncharted series
• The entire Assassin's Creed series, including a movie
• The entire Bioshock series
• 4 Mainline Resident Evil games
• The Entire first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
• The release and rise of Smart Phones
• The idea of lets players and streaming becoming a viable career
• Mainstream Cloud based computing and storage
• Self driving cars
• 4 Nintendo consoles (not including half steps)
• The entire 3DS library
• NETFLIX and other movie streaming apps
• Smart homes and devices
• The App Store and free to play gaming
• 6 Mainline Final Fantasy releases
• Digital game market places on consoles
• 16 iPhone models
• Music streaming services
• 1080p, 2k, 4k, 6k, and 8k video
• The Battle Royale & Survival Genre
• 4 Star Wars Movies

https://youtu.be/2Ss-lKdEANI

What did we miss? Where were you when Kingdom Hearts 2 released? Are you ready to finally play the 14th game in the series?  Let us know in the comments below!