The best year in gaming was 2001. Nothing else even comes close.
Halo
Super Smash Bros Melee
Devil May Cry
Jak and Daxter
GTA 3
Metal Gear 2
Max Payne
Advance Wars
Animal Crossing
Final Fantasy X
Silent Hill 2
Conkers Bad Fur Day
I could keep going. It's literally not even a competition. Some of the biggest game series ever got their start that year. Sequels released that year are arguably some of the strongest ones in the series.
2023 was a great year for games, but it's nothing compared to impact 2001 had.