1992 in video games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1992 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest V, Final Fantasy V, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Streets of Rage 2, and Super Mario Kart, along with new titles such as Art of Fighting, Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat and Virtua Racing.
The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II for the second year in a row, while also being the year's highest-grossing entertainment product. The year's best-selling home system was the Game Boy for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games were Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System port of Street Fighter II, which were both also the year's highest-grossing home entertainment products.
Legend
| AMI | Amiga | Arcade | Arcade video game | ATRST | Atari ST, Atari Falcon |
| DOS | PC DOS / MS-DOS, Windows 3.X | GB | Game Boy | GG | Game Gear |
| GEN | Genesis / Mega Drive | IBM | IBM PC, IBM PC compatible | LYNX | Atari Lynx |
| MAC | Classic Mac OS, 2001 and before | NEO | Neo Geo AES | NES | Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom |
| PC88 | PC-8800 series | PC98 | PC-9800 series | PCD | TurboGrafx-CD / PC Engine CD-ROM² |
| PCE | TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine | SCD | Sega CD / Mega-CD | SMS | Master System |
| SNES | Super NES / Super Famicom / Super Comboy |
| Action | Action game | Action-adventure | Action-adventure game | Adventure | Adventure game |
| Brawler | Beat 'em up | Educational | Educational video game | Fighting | Fighting game |
| FPS | First-person shooter | Platformer | Platformer | Puzzle | Puzzle video game |
| Racing | Racing video game | RPG | Role-playing video game | RTS | Real-time strategy |
| Shoot 'em up | Shoot 'em up | Simulation | Simulation video game | Sports | Sports video game |
Hardware releases
- April 11 – The Super NES releases in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
- June - The Super NES releases in the rest of Europe.
- June 8 - The Super NES releases in Chile.
- July 3 - The Super NES releases in the Australasia region.
- October – Sega releases the Model 1, Sega's first arcade system board supporting 3D polygon graphics.
- October 10 - The PC Engine Duo releases in North America as the TurboDuo, an updated version of the TurboGrafx-16 with built-in CD-ROM drive and Super System Card for Super CD-ROM² support.
- October 15 - Sega releases the Mega-CD as Sega CD (an add-on for the Sega Genesis) in North America, almost a year after the equivalent Japanese launch.
- October 21 - The Amiga 1200 computer is released. It's the final lower-cost Amiga model before Commodore's bankruptcy.
- Namco releases the System 22, an arcade system board that introduces 3D texture mapping and Gouraud shading.
- JVC releases the Wondermega console in Japan, a combined Mega Drive and Mega CD.
- Nintendo releases the Super Scope for the Super NES.
Top-rated games
Game of the Year awards
The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1992.
| Awards | Game of the Year | Publisher | Genre | Platform | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Tribune | Street Fighter II | Capcom | Fighting | SNES | [1] |
| Electronic Gaming Awards | [2] | ||||
| Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) | [3] | ||||
| European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) | [4] | ||||
| GameFan Golden Megawards | [5] | ||||
| Game Informer | [6] | ||||
| Golden Joystick Awards | [7][8] | ||||
| Gamest Awards | Street Fighter II Dash (Champion Edition) | Capcom | Fighting | Arcade | [9] |
| Chicago Tribune | The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | Nintendo | Action-adventure | SNES | [1] |
| Computer Gaming World | Links 386 Pro[a] | Access Software | Sports | DOS | [10] |
| GameFan Golden Megawards | Cybernator (Assault Suits Valken) | Masaya Games | Run and gun | SNES | [5] |
| Streets of Rage 2 | Sega | Brawler | GEN | [5] | |
| Wonderdog | JVC Musical Industries | Platformer | SCD | [5] | |
| PC Engine Fan | Far East of Eden II: Manji Maru | Hudson Soft | RPG | PCD | [11] |
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame
The following video game releases in 1992 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[12]
| Title | Developer | Publisher | Score (out of 40) | Genre | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome | Chunsoft | Enix | 36 | RPG | SNES |
| Shin Megami Tensei | Atlus | Atlus | 36 | ||
| I Love Mickey & Donald: Fushigi na Magic Box (World of Illusion) | Sega AM7 | Sega | 36 | Platformer | SCD |
| Street Fighter II | Capcom | Capcom | 35 | Fighting | SNES |
| Mario Paint | Nintendo R&D1 | Nintendo | 35 | Art |
Financial performance
Highest-grossing arcade games
The year's highest-grossing game worldwide was Street Fighter II, which alone accounted for an estimated 60% of the global arcade game market, according to Coinslot magazine.[13][14] The following table lists the year's top-grossing arcade games in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.
| Market | Title | Coin drop revenue | Inflation | Manufacturer | Genre | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Unknown | Unknown | Capcom | Fighting | [15][16][17] |
| United Kingdom | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | $456 million | $1,046 million | Capcom | Fighting | [13] |
| United States | Street Fighter II / Champion Edition | Unknown | Unknown | Capcom | Fighting | [18][19] |
| Worldwide | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Capcom | Fighting | [13] |
Japan
The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1992 in Japan, according to Gamest, Game Machine and Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazines.
| Rank | Gamest[15] | Game Machine[16] | Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu)[17] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Type | Points | |||
| 1 | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Street Fighter II / Dash | Software kit | 7795 | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior |
| 2 | Street Fighter II Dash (Champion Edition) | Final Lap 2 | Standard/deluxe | 3821 | Final Lap 2 |
| 3 | Captain Commando | F1 Exhaust Note | Dedicated | 3464 | Street Fighter II Dash |
| 4 | Garō Densetsu: Shukumei no Tatakai (Fatal Fury) | Tetris (Sega) | Software kit | 3402 | F1 Exhaust Note |
| 5 | Final Lap 2 | Columns | Software kit | 3218 | Final Lap |
| 6 | Knights of the Round | Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes) | Software kit | 3140 | Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours |
| 7 | Sonic Wings (Aero Fighters) | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Dedicated | 2937 | Super Monaco GP |
| 8 | F-1 Grand Prix | Clutch Hitter | Software kit | 2748 | Driver's Eyes |
| 9 | WWF WrestleFest | Garō Densetsu: Shukumei no Tatakai | Software kit | 2401 | Tetris (Sega) |
| 10 | Hacha Mecha Fighter | Super Monaco GP | Standard/deluxe | 2347 | Virtua Racing |
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1992.
| Rank | RePlay[18] | Play Meter | Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA)[20][21][22] | AMAA[23] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dedicated arcade cabinet | Arcade conversion kit | ||||
| 1 | Street Fighter II / Champion Edition | Street Fighter II[19] | Street Fighter II: Champion Edition | WWF WrestleFest | Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Mortal Kombat, Neo Geo MVS, Terminator 2: Judgment Day |
| 2 | World Heroes, Art of Fighting, X-Men, Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat, Steel Talons, Space Lords, Final Lap 2 / Final Lap 3, Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours, Virtua Racing |
Unknown | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Race Drivin', X-Men |
Captain America and The Avengers, Road Riot 4WD, Sunset Riders, Super High Impact | |
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | Suzuka 8 Hours | ||||
| 6 | Unknown | N/a | N/a | ||
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | |||||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | |||||
Australia
On Australia's Timezone monthly arcade charts published in the June 1992 issue of Leisure Line magazine, Capcom's Street Fighter II: Champion Edition was the top-grossing arcade conversion kit and Konami's X-Men was the top-grossing dedicated arcade cabinet.[24]
Best-selling home systems
| Rank | System(s) | Manufacturer | Type | Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | USA | Europe | Korea | Worldwide | ||||
| 1 | GB | Nintendo | Handheld | 1,910,000[25] | 4,000,000[26] | 6,000,000[27] | Unknown | 11,910,000+ |
| 2 | SNES | Nintendo | Console | 3,580,000[25] | 5,600,000[28] | 2,030,000[29] | 20,000[30] | 11,230,000+ |
| 3 | GEN | Sega | Console | 400,000[25] | 5,100,000[28] | 2,660,000[29] | 76,000[30] | 8,236,000+ |
| 4 | NES | Nintendo | Console | 820,000[25] | 2,700,000[26] | 3,030,000[29] | 110,000[30] | 6,660,000+ |
| 5 | IBM | IBM | Computer | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | 3,400,000[31] |
| 6 | MAC | Apple Inc. | Computer | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | 2,500,000[32] |
| 7 | SMS | Sega | Console | N/a | < 50,000[33] | 2,235,000[29] | 180,000[30] | 2,415,000+ |
| 8 | Compaq (IBM) | Compaq | Computer | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | 1,500,000[31] |
| 9 | GG | Sega | Handheld | 250,000[25] | 800,000[33] | 320,000+ (UK)[34] | Unknown | 1,370,000+ |
| 10 | PC88, PC98 | NEC | Computer | 1,120,000[35][36] | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | 1,120,000+ |
Best-selling home video games
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Street Fighter II each sold 5 million units worldwide in 1992,[37][38] making them the year's highest-grossing entertainment products.[39] The following home video games sold more than 1 million units worldwide in 1992.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Sales | Revenue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | United States | Europe | Worldwide | Nominal | Inflation | |||
| 1 | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | GEN | Unknown | 2,000,000[40] | 1,750,000+[41][42] | 5,000,000[37] | $450 million[39] | $1,030 million |
| Street Fighter II | SNES | 2,000,000+[43][44] | 2,000,000[45] | 200,000+[46] | 5,000,000[38] | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 3 | Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome | SNES | 2,800,000[47][48] | N/a | N/a | 2,800,000+[49] | $200 million+[50] | $460 million+ |
| 4 | Super Mario Kart | SNES | 2,000,000+ | < 1,000,000[40] | N/a | 2,000,000+ | Unknown | |
| Final Fantasy V | SNES | 2,000,000+ | N/a | N/a | 2,000,000+ | |||
| 6 | The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | SNES | Unknown | 1,000,000[40] | Unknown | 1,000,000+ | ||
The following table lists the year's top-selling home video game releases in several markets, including Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
| Market | Title | Platform | Sales | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | GEN | 1,750,000+[41][42] | [51] |
| Japan | Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome | SNES | 2,800,000[47][48] | [52][53] |
| South Korea | Street Fighter II | SNES | Unknown | [51] |
| United States | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | GEN | 2,000,000 | [40] |
| Street Fighter II | SNES | 2,000,000 | [45] |
Asia
In Japan and South Korea, according to Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazine, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video game releases of 1992.
| Rank | Japan[52] | South Korea[51] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Platform | Sales | Title | Platform | |
| 1 | Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome[53] | SNES | 2,800,000[47][48] | Street Fighter II | SNES |
| 2 | Final Fantasy V | SNES | 2,000,000+[44][54] | Final Fantasy V | |
| 3 | Super Mario Kart | SNES | 2,000,000+[44] | Dragon Quest V | |
| 4 | Street Fighter II | SNES | 2,000,000+[43][44] | Arang Jeonseol (Fatal Fury) | |
| 5 | Romancing SaGa | SNES | < 1,170,000[55] | Ranma ½: Hard Battle | |
| 6 | Super Mario Land 2: 6-tsu no Kinka | GB | Unknown | N/a | |
| 7 | Mario Paint | SNES | |||
| 8 | Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu | SNES | < 730,000[56] | ||
| 9 | Hoshi no Kirby (Kirby's Dream Land) | GB | Unknown | ||
| 10 | Super Famista (Super Batter Up) | SNES | |||
Europe
The following titles were the top three best-selling home video game releases of 1992 in Europe and the United Kingdom.
| Rank | Europe[51] | United Kingdom[46] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Platform | Sales | Title | Platform | Sales | |
| 1 | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | GEN | 1,750,000+[41][42] | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | GEN | 1,000,000+[41][57] |
| 2 | Road Rash II | GEN | Unknown | Street Fighter II | SNES | 200,000 |
| 3 | Mario Paint | SNES | Unknown | AMI | Unknown | |
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in 1992.
| Month | Game consoles | Home computers | Ref | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | Super NES | Master System | NES | Game Boy | Amiga | ZX Spectrum | ||
| January | WWF WrestleMania (home computers) | [58] | ||||||
| February | Robocod | N/a | Sonic the Hedgehog | Super Mario Bros. 3 | Super Mario Land | Grand Prix 1 | Unknown | [59][60] |
| March | QuackShot | N/a | Asterix | 1st Division Manager | Unknown | [61][62][63] | ||
| April | Desert Strike | Unknown | Project-X | Unknown | [64][62][65] | |||
| May | Unknown | Super Kick Off | John Madden[66] | Unknown | [67] | |||
| June | Unknown | Champions of Europe | Rescue Rangers | Sensible Soccer | Italia '90 | [68][69][70] | ||
| July | Taz-Mania | Unknown | Wimbledon | [71][72][73] | ||||
| August | Olympic Gold[62] | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Rainbow Islands | [74][75] | |
| September | Alien 3[62] | WWF Super WrestleMania | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | [76][77][78] | ||
| October | Street Fighter II (SNES) | [46][79] | ||||||
| November | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GEN) | [46][62][80] | ||||||
| December | [81][82][83] | |||||||
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the top three best-selling home video games of 1992.
| Rank | Title | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Platform | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sega | Platformer | 2,000,000 | GEN | [40] |
| Street Fighter II | Capcom | Fighting | 2,000,000 | SNES | [45] | |
| 3 | The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 1,000,000 | SNES | [40] |
The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month for video game consoles (home consoles and handheld consoles) in 1992.
| Month | NES | Super Nintendo | Sega Genesis | TurboDuo | Game Boy | Atari Lynx | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June | Unknown | Final Fantasy II | Unknown | N/a | Unknown | Unknown | [84] |
| August | Yoshi | Street Fighter II | Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing | N/a | Super Mario Land | Batman Returns | [85] |
| September | Turtles in Time | N/a | [86] | ||||
| October | Tecmo Super Bowl | Street Fighter II | NHLPA Hockey '93 | Cosmic Fantasy 2 | Kirby's Dream Land | NFL Football | [79][87] |
| November | John Madden Football '93 | Air Zonk | Super Mario Land 2 | [88][89] | |||
| December | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Batman Returns | [90] |
The following titles were the top-selling personal computer games on the monthly PC Research charts in 1992, as reported by Electronic Games magazine.
| Month | DOS games | DOS educational games | Amiga | Macintosh | CD-ROM | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | Hardball III | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | [91] |
| June | Aces of the Pacific | Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? | N/a | N/a | N/a | [92] |
| July | N/a | N/a | N/a | [93] | ||
| August | Links | N/a | N/a | N/a | [94] | |
| September | Falcon 3.0: Operation Fighting Tiger | N/a | N/a | N/a | [95] | |
| October | King's Quest VI | Civilization | Prince of Persia | Battle Chess | [96] |
Events
- January 1 – Atari Corporation drops support for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 7800, and software for those systems.
- May 25 – FuncoLand founder David Pomije is named "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" by the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce.[97]
- July 2 – FuncoLand's parent company Funco Inc. files a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of one million shares of its common stock at $5 a share, with plans to use the proceeds from the sold shares to repay short-term debt and finance the opening of other FuncoLand locations.[98]
- July 13 – The first Chicago-area FuncoLand location opens in Bloomingdale.[99]
- August 12 – Funco's initial public offering, underwritten by Miller, Johnson & Kuehn Inc., is announced.[100]
- September 22 – The first south suburban Chicago-area FuncoLand location opens in Orland Park.[99]
- December – the Apple IIGS is discontinued.
- Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America Inc.
- Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.
- Sega v. Accolade
- Activision (as Mediagenic) files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
- New companies: Wow Entertainment Inc. (Sega AM1), Humongous Entertainment, Halestorm