1996 in video games
1996 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Blazing Heroes, Super Mario 64, NiGHTS into Dreams..., Crash Bandicoot, Resident Evil, Dead or Alive, Duke Nukem 3D and Tomb Raider.
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Events
- March – Swedish video game magazine "Super Power" changes name to Super Play.
- 15 July – Tom Kalinske announces he will leave his position as president for Sega of America on 1 October.[1]
- May 16–18 – The second annual E3 is held in Los Angeles, California, United States.[2]
- 1 October – Tom Kalinske resigns as president for Sega of America.[1]
- December 31 – Battle.net Classic is released.
Notable releases
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| Release | Title | System | Developer/Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 25 | Guardian Heroes | Sat | Treasure/Sega | a beat-em-up game developed by Treasure |
| January 26 | Mystaria: The Realms of Lore | Sat | Micro Cabin/Sega | a tactical RPG |
| January 29 | Duke Nukem 3D | DOS | 3D Realms/GT Interactive | a popular first person shooter |
| January 31 | Mega Man X3 | SNES | Capcom | third X installment in popular Mega Man franchise. |
| February 9 | Bahamut Lagoon | SNES | SquareSoft | Tactical RPG spin-off in the Final Fantasy series, before Final Fantasy Tactics. |
| February 23 | Front Mission: Gun Hazard | SNES | SquareSoft | Sequel to strategy Super Famicom RPG Front Mission. |
| February 27 | Pokémon Red and Green | GB | Nintendo | launched a wildly popular game series |
| February 29 | Civilization II | Win | MicroProse | acclaimed sequel to the highly influential 1991 4X game |
| February 29 | Ripper (video game) | DOS | Take Two Interactive | Interactive movie, Point-and-click adventure Single Player game |
| February 29 | Rise 2: Resurrection | Win, Sat, PS1 | Mirage/Acclaim | the sequel to the fighting game, Rise of the Robots. |
| February 29 | Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri | DOS | Looking Glass Studios | critically acclaimed FPS |
| February 29 | Zork: Nemesis | Win | Activision | 11th game in the Zork series, employing 360-degree views of environment |
| March 9 | Super Mario RPG | SNES | SquareSoft/Nintendo | beginning of the long-running series of Mario RPGs |
| March 21 | Kirby Super Star | SNES | HAL Labs/Nintendo | considered to be one of the best games in the Kirby franchise. |
| March 22 | Resident Evil | PS1 | Capcom | one of the foundational games in the survival horror genre, for a time it held the record for best-selling PlayStation game |
| March 22 | Panzer Dragoon II Zwei | Sat | Team Andromeda/Sega | an acclaimed rail shooter |
| March 29 | Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension | SNES | TOSE/Bandai | the last Super Famicom game in the Dragon Ball Z franchise. |
| April 20 | Barbie Fashion Designer | Win | Digital Domain/Mattel Media | The game's strong sales sparked a renewed interest in developing games targeting girls. |
| April 26 | Jumping Flash! 2 | PS1 | Exact/SCEA | Sequel to the first true 3D platformer. |
| April 26 | The Legend of Oasis | Sat | Sega/Ancient | Prequel to the Genesis Zelda-style action game Beyond Oasis. |
| April 30 | Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures | Win, Mac | LucasArts | Adventure game developed by LucasArts in the popular Indiana Jones franchise specifically to run in windowed form. |
| May 14 | Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | SNES | Intelligent Systems/Nintendo | the fourth game in the popular Fire Emblem series. |
| May 24 | Metal Slug | Neo | SNK | the first in the Metal Slug series that proved popular in the arcades. |
| May 31 | Final Doom | DOS | id Software | Despite the name, it would be followed less than a year later by Doom 64. |
| May 31 | Kirby's Block Ball | GB | HAL Labs/Nintendo | Breakout-inspired game in popular Kirby franchise |
| June | Last Bronx | Arcade | Sega | Ported to the Sega Saturn (1997) and Windows (1998) |
| June 22 | Quake | DOS | id Software | advanced 3D graphics technology and started a franchise that has sold more than 4 million games |
| June 23 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | Nintendo | One of two Nintendo 64 U.S. launch games.[3] An archetype for nearly every 3D platformer which followed it, from the day of release it was widely hailed as one of the greatest games of all time. |
| June 27 | Shining Wisdom | Sat | Camelot/Sega | Action adventure game in the Shining series |
| July 5 | NiGHTS into Dreams... | Sat | Sega | The advertising campaign features the rebirth of the Sega Saturn; August 21 (US) |
| July 19 | Saturn Bomberman | Sat | Hudson | |
| July 19 | Star Ocean | SNES | tri-ace/Enix | the first game in the Star Ocean series. |
| July 25 | The King of Fighters '96 | Neo, NeoCD, Sat | SNK | an entry in the popular King of Fighters series. |
| July 26 | Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition | Sat, PS1 | Taito Corporation/Acclaim | The first home versions of the popular arcade puzzle game. |
| July 31 | Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh | DOS, Win | Sierra On-Line | a controversial sequel to the controversial Phantasmagoria. |
| July 31 | Virtua Fighter Kids | Sat, Arcade | Sega AM2 | a spin-off in the Virtua Fighter series |
| August 25 | Tekken 2 | PS1 | Namco | the second game in the popular fighting game series Tekken |
| August 31 | The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall | Win | Bethesda Softworks | an evolution of the sandbox RPG started with The Elder Scrolls: Arena |
| August 31 | Die Hard Trilogy | Win, PS1, Sat | Probe Entertainment/Fox Interactive | 3 original games in 1 disk, each based on a different movie in the series. |
| August 31 | Tetris Attack | SNES, GB | Intelligent Systems/Nintendo | first release of the popular Panel de Pon series in the US. |
| August 31 | Madden NFL 97 | SMD, PS1, Win, SNES, Sat, GB | EA Sports/Electronic Arts | The first Madden game on gen 5 platforms. |
| August 31 | Beyond the Beyond | PS1 | Camelot/SCEA | The first traditional Japanese-style RPG for the PlayStation |
| August 31 | Jet Moto | PS1 | SingleTrac/SCEA | A futuristic motocross style hoverbike racing game. |
| September | Virtua Fighter 3 | Arcade | Sega AM2 | A fighting game considered to have the most technically impressive graphics at the time. |
| September 9 | Crash Bandicoot | PS1 | Naughty Dog/Universal/Sony | Crash was used as the mascot for the PlayStation console. |
| September 14 | GunGriffon | Sat | Game Arts/Sega | critically acclaimed mech game, first in its series. |
| September 20 | Revelations: Persona | PS1 | Atlus | first game in the Persona series, a spin-off series of the Megami Tensei series. Also the first Megami Tensei-related game to release outside Japan |
| September 26 | Pilotwings 64 | N64 | Nintendo | One of two Nintendo 64 U.S. launch games.[3] |
| September 27 | Meridian 59 | Win | 3DO | one of the first MMORPGs. |
| September 30 | Wipeout XL/2097 | PS1 | Psygnosis | a poster child of the PlayStation for pop culture infusions and sleek extreme action |
| September 30 | Shattered Steel | DOS | BioWare/Interplay | first game developed by BioWare |
| September 30 | Street Fighter Alpha 2 | Arcade, SNES, PS1, Sat | Capcom | second game in the Street Fighter Alpha spin-off series |
| September 30 | Mr. Bones | Sat | Zono/Sega | platformer for the Saturn |
| September 30 | Tobal No. 1 | PS1 | DreamFactory/SCEA | fighting game famous for including a demo for Final Fantasy VII. |
| September 30 | Formula 1 | PS1 | Bizarre Creations/SCEA | first racing game developed by Bizarre. |
| September 30 | Donkey Kong Land 2 | GB | Rare/Nintendo | second Donkey Kong Land game |
| October 10 | Mortal Kombat Trilogy | N64, PS1, R-Zone, Sat (1997) | Avalanche, Midway, Point of View | |
| October 15 | Marathon Infinity | Mac | Bungie | The last game in the Marathon trilogy. |
| October 31 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert | DOS | Westwood Studios | the second major title in the Command & Conquer universe, and one of the most popular |
| October 31 | Master of Orion II | DOS | Simtex/MicroProse | |
| October 31 | The Neverhood | Win | The Neverhood Inc./DreamWorks | The game is done almost entirely in claymation and has gained a sequel. |
| October 31 | Drowned God | Win | Epic Multimedia Group/Inscape | Adventure game. |
| October 31 | SimCopter | Win | Maxis | Flight simulation game in popular Sim series. |
| October 31 | King's Field III | PS1 | FromSoftware/ASCII Entertainment | the last of three games in the King's Field series released for the PlayStation. |
| October 31 | DeathDrome | Win | Zipper Interactive/Viacom | First game developed by Zipper Interactive. |
| October 31 | WWF In Your House | DOS, PS1, Sat | Acclaim | First WWF game developed specifically for consoles. |
| October 31 | Twisted Metal 2 | PS1 | SingleTrac/SCEA | Second game in the popular Twisted Metal franchise. |
| October 31 | Destruction Derby 2 | PS1 | Reflections Interactive/SCEA | Second game in the popular Destruction Derby franchise. |
| October 31 | NBA Live 97 | PS1, Sat, SNES, SMD | Electronic Arts, EA Sports | |
| October 31 | Pandemonium! | PS1, Sat, Win (1997) | Electronic Arts, EA Sports | |
| November 1 | Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain | PS1, Win | Silicon Knights/Crystal Dynamics | First game in the Legacy of Kain series. |
| November 15 | Tomb Raider | PS1, Sat, DOS | Core Design/Eidos | Action adventure game which was among the year's most critically acclaimed games and proved highly influential on both 3D games development and cinematic presentation |
| November 20 | Sonic 3D Blast | Sat, SMD | Sega/Traveller's Tales | Isometric platformer in the popular "Sonic the Hedgehog" series. |
| November 22 | Donkey Kong Country 3 | SNES | Rare/Nintendo | the third installment to the popular Donkey Kong Country franchise |
| November 25 | Killer Instinct Gold | N64 | Rare/Nintendo | a home fighting game based on the arcade's Killer Instinct 2. |
| November 25 | Bubsy is 3D in "Furbitten Planet" | PS1 | Eidetic/Accolade | Noted for its negative reception. Was the last title in the Bubsy series for 21 years. |
| November 26 | Area 51 | PS1, Win, Sat | Mesa Logic/Atari Games | Ported versions of the classic arcade shooter. |
| November 26 | Dead or Alive | Arcade, Sat (1997), PS1 (1998) | Team Ninja/Tecmo | The first game in the Dead or Alive series of fighting games. |
| November 30 | Contra: Legacy of War | Sat, PS1 | Konami/Appaloosa Interactive | the first true 3D entry in the popular Contra series |
| November 30 | Dragon Force | Sat | Sega/Working Designs | a combination of war simulation and RPG |
| November 30 | Fighting Vipers | Sat, Arcade | Sega AM2 | a popular fighting game. |
| November 30 | Virtua Cop 2 | Sat, Arcade | Sega AM2 | a popular light gun game |
| November 30 | Virtual On: Cyber Troopers | Sat, Arcade | CRI/Sega | the first game in the Virtual On series |
| November 30 | Bug Too! | Saturn, Win | Sega/Realtime Associates | a sequel to Bug! |
| November 30 | FIFA Soccer 97 | SMD, PS1, Win, SNES, Sat, GB | EA Canada/Electronic Arts | |
| December 3 | Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire | N64 | LucasArts/Nintendo | one of the first Nintendo 64 games, an action game in the popular Star Wars franchise. |
| December 14 | Mario Kart 64 | N64 | Nintendo | The Mario Kart series first 3D game. |
| December 17 | Mega Man 8 | PS1 | Capcom | The first Mega Man game to be released on PlayStation. |
| December 19 | Terranigma | SNES | Quintet/Nintendo | Popular RPG famous for being released in Europe but not in America, a rarity in the mid-1990s. Also a spiritual successor to Illusion of Gaia. |
| December 31 | Death Rally | DOS | Remedy Entertainment/GT Interactive | the first game developed by Remedy Entertainment. |
| December 31 | NBA Hangtime | SMD, PS1, Win, N64, Arcade, SNES | Midway | arcade-style basketball game developed by Midway. |
Hardware
Nintendo 64
- February 21 – Sega Model 3, an arcade system board considered to have the most technically impressive graphics at the time
- November 23 – Bandai's Tamagotchi virtual pet handheld
- Nintendo's Nintendo 64, the first true 64-bit home console
- Nintendo's Game Boy Pocket (GBP) handheld console (30% smaller version of the previous Game Boy handheld console)
- Sega's Net Link modem for the Sega Saturn home console
- SNK's Neo Geo CDZ (Japan only)
- Namco's Alpine Racer arcade game, including a new type of user interface
Business
- February – Blizzard Entertainment acquires a development group known as Condor, renaming it Blizzard North
- April – Eidos Interactive acquires CentreGold plc, which holds Core Design (creator of the Lara Croft character) and U.S. Gold
- May 1 – GameSpot and GameFAQs are launched
- June – Firaxis Games is formed By Jeff Briggs with Sid Meier and Brian Reynolds
- July – GT Interactive Software purchases Humongous Entertainment
- July 24 – CUC International, Inc purchases Sierra On-Line, Blizzard Entertainment and Davidson & Associates for about $3 billion in a stock swap.
- July 30 - Atari Corporation reverse-merges with JTS, Inc.
- August 6 – AOL buys Sierra's ImagiNation Network from AT&T for a reported $15 million.
- August 24 – Valve is founded.
- September 1 – AOL closes ImagiNation Network, the first online video game with graphics, after 5 years of service.
- November 13 – Tom Clancy and Virtus Corp. found Red Storm Entertainment, headed by Doug Littlejohns
- Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Ocean Software Ltd.
- Midway Games, Inc. (subsidiary of WMS Industries) acquires Atari Games Corporation from Time Warner.
- Technos Japan Corporation, originator of the Nekketsu Kouha Kunio Kun series and Double Dragon series, goes out of business (assets acquired by Atlus)
- Black Isle Studios forms as a division by Interplay; doesn't use Black Isle name until 1998
- Game Park Inc. founded in South Korea
- The company formed by MicroProse and Spectrum HoloByte in 1993 starts branding using only the MicroProse name
- Overworks, Ltd. formed
- Zed Two Limited formed
- Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Computer & Entertainment, Inc.
- The 3DO Company purchases New World Computing
Discontinuation
1996 saw a major shakeup in the crowded home console market, with the Virtual Boy, Atari Jaguar, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega CD, 32X, and CD-i all being discontinued.
Critically acclaimed titles
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform(s) | MC score | GR score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario 64 | Nintendo | June 23, 1996 | Nintendo 64 | 94/100 | 96.41% |
| Wipeout XL/2097 | Psygnosis | September 30, 1996 | PlayStation | 93/100 | 94.75% |
| Quake | GT Interactive | June 22, 1996 | DOS | 94/100 | 93.22% |
| Civilization II | MicroProse | February 29, 1996 | Microsoft Windows | 94/100 | 91.29% |
| Tekken 2 | Namco | March 29, 1996 | PlayStation | 89/100 | 92.50% |
| Wave Race 64 | Nintendo | September 27, 1996 | Nintendo 64 | 92/100 | 90.67% |
| PaRappa the Rapper | Sony Computer Entertainment | December 6, 1996 | PlayStation | 92/100 | 88.31% |
| Realms of the Haunting | Interplay | December 31, 1996 | DOS | N/A | 91.86% |
| Tomb Raider | Eidos Interactive | November 14, 1996 | DOS | N/A | 91.67% |
| Soul Edge | Namco | December 20, 1996 | PlayStation | 89/100 | 91.46% |
| Tomb Raider | Eidos Interactive | October 25, 1996 | PlayStation | 91/100 | 90.02% |
| Resident Evil | Capcom | March 22, 1996 | PlayStation | 91/100 | 87.23% |
| Command & Conquer: Red Alert | Virgin | November 22, 1996 | DOS | 90/100 | 90.91% |
| Dragon Force | Sega | March 29, 1996 | Sega Saturn | N/A | 89.64% |
| International Superstar Soccer 64 | Konami | December 20, 1996 | Nintendo 64 | N/A | 89.23% |
| Guardian Heroes | Sega | January 26, 1996 | Sega Saturn | N/A | 89.20% |
| Super Mario RPG | Nintendo | March 9, 1996 | SNES | N/A | 89.12% |
| Descent II | Interplay Productions | March 13, 1996 | DOS | 89/100 | N/A |
| Duke Nukem 3D | GT Interactive | January 29, 1996 | DOS | 89/100 | 88.50% |
| Star Control 3 | Accolade | August 31, 1996 | DOS | 89/100 | N/A |
| NiGHTS into Dreams... | Sega | July 5, 1996 | Sega Saturn | N/A | 88.56% |
| Pokémon Blue Version | Nintendo | October 15, 1996 | Game Boy | N/A | 88.33% |
| Pokémon Red Version | Nintendo | February 27, 1996 | Game Boy | N/A | 87.86% |
| Formula 1 | Psygnosis | September 30, 1996 | PlayStation | N/A | 87.75% |
| Fighters Megamix | Sega | December 21, 1996 | Sega Saturn | N/A | 87.67% |
| Pilotwings 64 | Nintendo | June 23, 1996 | Nintendo 64 | 80/100 | 87.52% |
| Panzer Dragoon II Zwei | Sega | March 22, 1996 | Sega Saturn | N/A | 87.50% |
References
- Laurence Zuckerman (July 16, 1996). "Sega's US Chief to Resign as Company Sales Fall Short". New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
- "Attendance and Stats". IGN. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- McCall, Scott (September 28, 1996). "N64's U.S. Launch". Teleparc. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
- "Best Video Games for 1996". Metacritic. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- "Highest-Ranking Games of 1996 (with at least 5 reviews)". GameRankings. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
External links
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