1997 in video games
1997 saw many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, GoldenEye 007, Star Fox 64, Tomb Raider II, Gran Turismo, Diablo, Final Fantasy VII, Ultima Online, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Grand Theft Auto and Fallout.
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Events
- June 19–21 – The 3rd annual E3 is held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.[1]
- October 4 – Gunpei Yokoi (1941–1997) dies after a double car accident.
- November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) launched.
- TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
- 3D Realms begins production of the infamous Duke Nukem Forever, winner of numerous vaporware awards.
- A scene from the Pokémon anime show (based upon the highly successful games) from December 16, 1997, causes 685 Japanese children to have seizures, causing Nintendo to make a statement proclaiming the safety of the Pokémon games from fear that the games would cause a similar effect, the episode to be permanently removed from circulation, and the featured Pokémon in the episode (Porygon) hasn't made an appearance in the Pokémon anime since.
- The popular online gaming portal Cool Math Games went online for the first time.
Notable releases
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| Release | Title | Windows / DOS | 4th Gen | 5th Gen | Handheld | Arcade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 3 | Diablo | Yes | N/A | PS1 (1998) | N/A | N/A |
| January 14 | Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no Mokushiroku | N/A | N/A | Sat | N/A | N/A |
| January 31 | Final Fantasy VII (Japan) | 1998 | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| February 5 | DoDonPachi | N/A | N/A | Sat (September 18), PS1 (1998) | N/A | Yes |
| February 10 | Mario Kart 64 | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| February 27 | The Lost Vikings 2 | April 30 | SNES | PS1 (May), Sat (May) | N/A | N/A |
| February 28 | Blast Corps | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| February 28 | Independence Day | Yes | N/A | PS1, Sat | N/A | N/A |
| February 28 | Mega Man 8 | N/A | N/A | PS1, Sat | N/A | N/A |
| February 28 | Turok: Dinosaur Hunter | November 30 | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| February 28 | Interstate '76 | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| March 20 | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | N/A | N/A | PS1, Sat (1998) | N/A | N/A |
| March 20 | Tekken 3 | N/A | N/A | PS1 (1998) | N/A | Yes |
| March 26 | Vandal Hearts | N/A | N/A | PS1, Sat (November 27) | N/A | N/A |
| March 30 | The Last Express | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| March 31 | Need for Speed II | Yes | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| April 7 | Outlaws | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| April 30 | Fighters Megamix | N/A | N/A | Sat | Game.com (1998) | N/A |
| April 30 | Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| May 21 | Blood | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| May 31 | MDK | Yes | N/A | PS1 (1998) | N/A | N/A |
| June | Harvest Moon | N/A | SNES | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| June 20 | Sonic Jam | N/A | N/A | Sat | Game.com (1998) | N/A |
| June 20 | Final Fantasy Tactics (Japan) | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| June 26 | Dungeon Keeper | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| June 30 | Star Fox 64 | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| July 4 | Jane's 688(I) Hunter/Killer | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| July 28 | The King of Fighters '97 | N/A | Neo, NeoCD | PS1, Sat (1998) | N/A | Yes |
| July 30 | Carmageddon | Yes | N/A | PS1 (1999), N64 (2000) | GBC (2000) | N/A |
| July 31 | Herc's Adventures | N/A | N/A | PS1, Sat | N/A | N/A |
| July 31 | Warlords III: Reign of Heroes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| August 1 | Mega Man X4 | 1999 | N/A | PS1, Sat | N/A | N/A |
| August 11 | Tetrisphere | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| August 25 | GoldenEye 007 | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| August 31 | Imperialism | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 10 | Silhouette Mirage | N/A | N/A | Sat, PS1 (1998) | N/A | N/A |
| September 11 | Breath of Fire III | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| September 11 | Hexen II | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 12 | Shadow Warrior | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 18 | Street Fighter Collection | N/A | N/A | Sat, PS1 (October 23) | N/A | N/A |
| September 19 | Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee | Yes | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| September 24 | Ultima Online | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 24 | Postal | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 26 | LEGO Island | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 29 | Croc: Legend of the Gobbos | N/A | N/A | PS1, Sat | N/A | N/A |
| September 30 | Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 30 | Fallout | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 30 | Panzer General II | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| September 30 | Poy Poy | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| September 30 | Total Annihilation | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| October 9 | Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| October 15 | Age of Empires | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| October 15 | Mortal Kombat 4 | 1998 | N/A | N64, PS1 (1998) | GBC (1998) | Yes |
| October 21 | Grand Theft Auto | Yes | N/A | PS1 (December 12) | GBC (1999) | N/A |
| October 23 | Steep Slope Sliders | N/A | N/A | Sat | N/A | 1998 |
| October 28 | Shipwreckers | Yes | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| October 29 | Riven | Yes | N/A | Sat, PS1 (November 30) | N/A | N/A |
| October 30 | Culdcept | N/A | N/A | Sat, PS1 (1999) | N/A | N/A |
| October 31 | Blade Runner | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| October 31 | Colony Wars | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| October 31 | The Curse of Monkey Island | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| October 31 | PaRappa the Rapper | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| October 31 | Zork: Grand Inquisitor | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| November | Independence War | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| November 1 | Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| November 1 | Shock Troopers | N/A | Neo | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| November 17 | Sonic R | 1998 | N/A | Sat | N/A | N/A |
| November 18 | Tomb Raider II | Yes | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| November 21 | Diddy Kong Racing | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| November 21 | Worms 2 | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| November 25 | Myth: The Fallen Lords | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| November 27 | Kirby's Dream Land 3 | N/A | SNES | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| November 30 | Bomberman 64 | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| November 30 | One | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| November 30 | Wing Commander: Prophecy | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| November 30 | WCW vs. nWo: World Tour | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| December 6 | Quake II | Yes | N/A | PS1, N64 (1999) | N/A | N/A |
| December 11 | Klonoa: Door to Phantomile | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| December 18 | Grandia (Japan) | N/A | N/A | Sat, PS1 (1999) | N/A | N/A |
| December 18 | Mega Man Legends | 2001 | N/A | PS1, N64 (2000) | N/A | N/A |
| December 21 | Yoshi's Story | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
| December 23 | Gran Turismo | N/A | N/A | PS1 | N/A | N/A |
| December 31 | Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero | N/A | N/A | N64 | N/A | N/A |
Hardware
- March 1 – The Nintendo 64 is released in Europe and Australia
- October 20 – Nintendo releases a smaller redesigned version of the SNES, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Model SNS-101) in North America.
- Junny releases PlayStation development software for PC
- Tiger Electronics releases the Game.com
Business
- Activision acquires CentreSoft Ltd. and Raven Software
- Electronic Arts Inc. acquires Maxis
- GameTek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed its doors in July 1998
- 2015, Inc. founded
- 4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded
- September – 4HEAD Studios created
- Bungie West formed by Bungie
- Conspiracy Entertainment Corporation founded
- Crave Entertainment, Inc. formed
- August – Human Head Studios, Inc. formed
- Illusion Softworks, a.s. founded
- April 15 – Irem Software Engineering Inc. founded
- Irrational Games LLC founded
- Mythic Entertainment renames itself from Interworld Productions after name dispute with another "Interworld" company
- THQ renamed from Toy Headquarters, Inc.
- Warthog PLC founded
Lawsuits
- Nintendo vs Games City: Nintendo sues Games City for selling the Game Doctor and Doctor V64 backup devices for the SNES and N64 consoles. Nintendo wins the suit.
- Nintendo vs Prima Publishing: Nintendo sues Prima over copyrights to maps of the N64 video game GoldenEye 007. Nintendo loses the suit.
- Nintendo vs Sony Video Games: Nintendo sues Sony over copyrights about Mario games.
Discontinual
- Sega announces that the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) has been discontinued.
- Sega Game Gear discontinued.
Critically acclaimed titles
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
References
- "Attendance and Stats". IGN. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "Best Video Games for 1997". Metacritic. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- "Highest-Ranking Games of 1997 (with at least 5 reviews)". GameRankings. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
- "Best Video Games for 1998". Metacritic. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- "Highest-Ranking Games of 1998 (with at least 10 reviews)". GameRankings. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- "Sid Meier's Gettysburg! for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
External links
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