IGN Presents the History of Awesome: 2004

Welcome back to IGN's History of Awesome - a year-long look back at all the coolest and most influential games, movies, TV shows, comic books, toys, and tech that have shaped pop culture, and shaped the lives of an entire generation. Up this week is 2004 - the year of Half-Life 2, Halo 2, and Metal Gear Solid 3.

Catch up on IGN's History of Awesome:

2004 was also the year World of Warcraft reshaped the MMORPG forever, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas changed what the GTA series could be, and the show Lost made its debut.

2003 by the Numbers

1. Shrek 2	$441,226,247
2. Spider-Man 2	$373,585,825
3. The Passion of the Christ	$370,274,604
4. Meet the Fockers	$279,261,160
5. The Incredibles	$261,441,092
6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	$249,541,069
7. The Day After Tomorrow	$186,740,799
8. The Bourne Supremacy	$176,241,941
9. National Treasure	$173,008,894
10. The Polar Express	$162,775,358

Source: Box Office Mojo

1. "Yeah!"	Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris
2. "Burn"	Usher
3. "If I Ain't Got You"	Alicia Keys
4. "This Love"	Maroon 5
5. "The Way You Move"	OutKast feat. Sleepy Brown
6. "The Reason"	Hoobastank
7. "I Don't Wanna Know"	Mario Winans feat. Enya and P. Diddy
8. "Hey Ya!"	OutKast
9. "Goodies"	Ciara feat. Petey Pablo
10. "Lean Back"	Terror Squad

Source: Billboard

1. House MD.
2. Lost
3. Entourage
4. Desperate Housewives
5. Battlestar Galactica
6. Deadwood
7. Doc Martin
8. CSI: NY
9. Stargate: Atlantis
10. The L Word

Source: IMDB

1. My Sister's Keeper	by Jodi Picoult
2. Something Borrowed	by Emily Giffin
3. Cloud Atlas	by David Mitchell
4. The Truth About Forever	by Sarah Dessen
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid	by Jeff Kinney
6. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim	by David Sedaris
7. Dead to the World	by Charlaine Harris
8. Darkly Dreaming Dexter	by Jeff Lindsay
9. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell	by Susanna Clarke
10. The Walking Dead, Vol. 01: Days Gone Bye	by Robert Kirkman

Source: Goodreads

Females	Males
1. Emily	1. Jacob
2. Emma	2. Michael
3. Madison	3. Joshua
4. Olivia	4. Matthew
5. Hannah	5. Ethan

Source: Social Security Administration

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History of Awesome is IGN's 38-part trip down memory lane - each week we're covering a new year's most important, influential, or just-plain-awesome movies, games, TV shows, comics, and more. 2004 was epic, but things are only going to get more awesome from here. Be sure to check back next week for an in-depth look at the year 2005, the year of Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus, and the first film in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.