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.

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

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

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

, 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

and changes the way we waste time forever NETFLIX introduces its streaming service as well as rents its 1 billionth DVD

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

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

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

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."

2009

Batman: Arkham Asylum is launched on all platforms and receives a Guinness World Record for most critically acclaimed super hero game ever

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

to the public Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is launched on the Nintendo DS adding more plot points that will never get answered

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

and Halo 3: ODST are released Mobile Developer Rovio releases Angry Birds and quickly becomes a house hold name

Disney Acquires Star Wars

I see no problem here

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

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

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"

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

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."

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

, 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."

— Andrew Stretch / Senior Writer— Nick Maillet / Video Lead— Sam Guglieimo / Associate Review Editor— Max Moeller / Staff Writer

He's been wearing that jacket for 14 years

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

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

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."

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

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

, 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

, 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

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."

— Travis Williams / Tabletop Editor— Jack Waibel / Staff Writer

Nobody has any parents in this world

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

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

and Battlefield 1 are released Final Fantasy XV and The Last Guardian are released after a decade's long development period

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."

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

S tar 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

. 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." —

2018

Kingdom Hearts 3 is playable at E3 . We played it, it's super good.

. 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

; 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."

— Samantha Ooi / Staff WriterAlex Parker / Video Creator— Courtney Ehrenholfer / Staff Writer

2019

Kingdom Hearts 3 officially releases to the public

Quick Stats

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

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

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!