1995 in video games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1995 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest VI, Mega Man 7, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Tekken 2, along with new titles such as Mario's Picross, Battle Arena Toshinden, Chrono Trigger, Rayman, Twisted Metal, Star Wars: Dark Forces, Destruction Derby, Wipeout and Jumping Flash!
The year's highest-grossing arcade game in Japan was Virtua Fighter 2, while the best-selling arcade video games in the United States were Daytona USA (for the second year in a row) and Mortal Kombat 3. The home video game with the highest known sales in 1995 was Dragon Quest VI, despite only releasing in Japan. The Super Famicom was the best-selling game console in Japan, while the North American Super Nintendo was the best-selling console in North America.
Legend
| 3DO | 3DO | AMI | Amiga | Arcade | Arcade video game |
| DOS | PC DOS / MS-DOS, Windows 3.X | GB | Game Boy | GEN | Genesis / Mega Drive |
| GG | Game Gear | JAG | Atari Jaguar | MAC | Classic Mac OS, 2001 and before |
| NES | Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom | PCFX | PC-FX | PS1 | PlayStation 1 |
| SAT | Sega Saturn | SCD | Sega CD / Mega-CD | SNES | Super NES / Super Famicom / Super Comboy |
| WIN | Windows, all versions Windows 95 and up |
| Action-adventure | Action-adventure game | Adventure | Adventure game | Artillery | Artillery game |
| Brawler | Beat 'em up | Fighting | Fighting game | FPS | First-person shooter |
| Platformer | Platformer | Puzzle | Puzzle video game | Racing | Racing video game |
| Roguelike | Roguelike, Roguelite | RPG | Role-playing video game | RTS | Real-time strategy |
| Simulation | Simulation video game | Sports | Sports video game | TBS | Turn-based strategy |
| TPS | Third-person shooter |
Hardware releases
- Nintendo releases:
- March 20 – Game Boy Play It Loud! series, color/clear versions of the Game Boy.
- April 23 – Satellaview accessory for the Super Famicom console in Japan only.
- July 21 – Virtual Boy 32-bit console in Japan. It is discontinued on December 22.
- May 11 – Sega releases the Sega Saturn console in North America.[1]
- August 14 – The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is discontinued in North America.
- September 9 – Sony releases the PlayStation console in the United States.[2]
- September 29 – Sony releases the PlayStation console in Europe.[3]
- October 25 – Funtech releases the Super A'Can console in Taiwan.
- Full date unknown
Top-rated games
Major awards
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame
The following video game releases in 1995 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[11]
| Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Score (out of 40) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtua Fighter 2 | SAT | Sega | Fighting | 39 |
| Ridge Racer Revolution | PS1 | Namco | Racing | 39 |
| Tekken | PS1 | Namco | Fighting | 38 |
| Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Furai no Shiren (Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer) | SNES | Chunsoft | Roguelike | 38 |
| Sega Rally Championship | SAT | Sega | Racing | 36 |
| Virtua Fighter Remix | SAT | Sega | Fighting | 35 |
| King's Field II | PS1 | FromSoftware | RPG | 35 |
| Boxer's Road | PS1 | New Corporation | Sports (boxing) | 35 |
| Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner | SAT | Atlus | RPG | 35 |
Financial performance
Highest-grossing arcade games
Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1995, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.
| Rank | Gamest[7] | Game Machine[12] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Manufacturer | Title | Type | Points | |
| 1 | Virtua Fighter 2 | Sega | Virtua Fighter 2 | PCB / DX | 7887 |
| 2 | Street Fighter Zero (Street Fighter Alpha) | Capcom | Daytona USA | 2P / DX | 3721 |
| 3 | Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' Revenge (Night Warriors) | Capcom | Sega Rally Championship | 2P / DX | 3456 |
| 4 | Tekken | Namco | Virtua Cop | Dedicated | 3204 |
| 5 | The King of Fighters '94 | SNK | Puzzle Bobble (Bust-a-Move) | PCB | 3186 |
| 6 | Super Street Fighter II X (Super Street Fighter II Turbo) | Capcom | Taisen Puzzle-Dama (Crazy Cross) | PCB | 3111 |
| 7 | X-Men: Children of the Atom | Capcom | Puyo Puyo 2 | PCB | 2639 |
| 8 | Shin Samurai Spirits (Samurai Shodown II) | SNK | Tetris (Sega) | PCB | 2638 |
| 9 | Tekken 2 | Namco | Shanghai III | PCB | 2455 |
| 10 | Puzzle Bobble (Bust-a-Move) | Taito | Ace Driver | Dedicated | 2414 |
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1995, according to the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) and Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA).
| Rank | AAMA[13][14] | AMOA[15][16] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Award | Dedicated cabinet | Conversion kit | |
| 1 | Daytona USA, Neo Geo MVS, Mortal Kombat 3 |
Diamond | Cruis'n USA | Mortal Kombat 3 |
| 2 | Daytona USA, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3 |
Mortal Kombat II, Raiden II, Tekken, X-Men: Children of the Atom | ||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | Sega Rally Championship, WWF WrestleMania, Area 51 |
Platinum | ||
| 5 | ||||
| 6 | N/a | N/a | ||
| 7 | 2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge, Indy 500, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop |
Silver | ||
| 8 | ||||
| 9 | ||||
| 10 | ||||
Best-selling video game consoles
| Rank | Manufacturer | Game console | Type | Generation | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | USA | Worldwide | |||||
| 1 | Nintendo | SNES | Home | 16-bit | 1,780,000[17] | 1,900,000 | 3,518,000+ |
| 2 | Sony | PS1 | Home | 32-bit | 1,700,000[18] | 800,000[18] | 3,100,000[18] |
| 3 | Sega | SAT | Home | 32-bit | 1,660,000[17] | 400,000[19] | 2,060,000+ |
| 4 | Sega | GEN | Home | 16-bit | 30,000[17] | 1,700,000 | 1,998,000+ |
| 5 | Nintendo | GB | Handheld | 8-bit | 1,000,000[17] | Unknown | 1,000,000+ |
| 6 | Panasonic | 3DO | Home | 32-bit | 150,000[17] | 250,000[20] | 400,000+ |
| 7 | Nintendo | NES | Home | 8-bit | 80,000[17] | 104,000[21] | 184,000+ |
| 8 | Sega | GG | Handheld | 8-bit | 180,000[17] | Unknown | 180,000+ |
| 9 | Atari Corp | JAG | Home | 32-bit | Unknown | 150,000[20] | 150,000+ |
| 10 | NEC | PCFX | Home | 32-bit | 120,000[17] | Unknown | 120,000+ |
Best-selling home video games
The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1995 in Japan and the United States.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | USA[22][23][24] | Combined | |||
| 1 | Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi (Realms of Reverie) | SNES | 2,482,640[25] | N/a | 2,482,640 |
| 2 | Chrono Trigger | SNES | 2,000,000+[26] | Unknown | 2,000,000+ |
| Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | SNES | 1,000,000+[27] | 1,000,000+ | 2,000,000+ | |
| Mortal Kombat 3 | SNES, GEN | N/a | 2,000,000+ | 2,000,000+ | |
| 5 | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest | SNES | 987,295[25] | 1,000,000+ | 1,987,295+ |
| 6 | Donkey Kong Country (Super Donkey Kong) | SNES | 643,028[28] | 1,000,000+ | 1,643,028+ |
| 7 | Virtua Fighter 2 | SAT | 1,500,000+[29] | Unknown | 1,500,000+ |
| 8 | Derby Stallion III | SNES | 1,086,141[28] | N/a | 1,086,141 |
| 9 | Killer Instinct | SNES | N/a | 1,000,000+ | 1,000,000+ |
| 10 | Tekken | PS1 | 942,000[30] | Unknown | 942,000+ |
Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1995.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi (Realms of Reverie) | SNES | Enix | RPG | 2,482,640 | [25] |
| 2 | Chrono Trigger | SNES | Squaresoft | RPG | 2,000,000+ | [26] |
| 3 | Virtua Fighter 2 | SAT | Sega | Fighting | 1,500,000+ | [29] |
| 4 | Derby Stallion III | SNES | ASCII Corporation | Simulation | 1,086,141 | [28] |
| 5 | Super Mario: Yoshi Island (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) | SNES | Nintendo | Platformer | 1,000,000+ | [27] |
| 6 | Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy (Donkey Kong Country 2) | SNES | Nintendo | Platformer | 987,295 | [25] |
| 7 | Tekken | PS1 | Namco | Fighting | 942,000 | [30] |
| 8 | Romancing SaGa 3 | SNES | Squaresoft | RPG | 786,000 | |
| 9 | Arc the Lad | PS1 | Sony | RPG | 697,000 | |
| 10 | Mobile Suit Gundam | PS1 | Bandai | FPS | 668,242 | [28] |
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1995.[22][23][24]
| Rank | Title | Publisher | Genre | Platform(s) | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mortal Kombat 3 | Williams Entertainment | Fighting | SNES, GEN | 2,000,000+ |
| 2 | Donkey Kong Country | Nintendo | Platformer | SNES | 1,000,000+ |
| 3 | Killer Instinct | Nintendo | Fighting | SNES | 1,000,000+ |
| 4 | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest | Nintendo | Platformer | SNES | 1,000,000+ |
| 5 | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | Nintendo | Platformer | SNES | 1,000,000+ |
| 6 | Madden NFL '96 | EA Sports | Sports | GEN | Unknown |
| 7 | NBA Jam: Tournament Edition | Acclaim Entertainment | Sports | GEN | |
| 8 | SNES | ||||
| 9 | Mortal Kombat II | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | GEN | |
| 10 | The Lion King | Virgin Interactive | Platformer | SNES |
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 1995.[31]
Events
- January or February – Stars! is released as shareware.
- April 6 – Funco Inc., parent company of video game retailer FuncoLand, announces that vice president and director Stanley Bodine is promoted to president and chief operating officer, replacing founder David R. Pomije, who will remain as chairman and chief executive. Financial controller Robert Hiben is also named chief financial officer, while vice president of merchandising and information systems Michael Hinnenkamp resigns from the company to pursue other career opportunities.[32]
- May 11 – Introduction of trade magazine GameWeek (then called Video Game Advisor).
- May 11–13 – The 1st annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is held in Los Angeles, California.[33]
- November 5 – GameFAQs debuts on the web, as an archive of video game FAQs.
- November 24 – Nintendo unveils a playable version of the Nintendo Ultra 64, later renamed the Nintendo 64, at the 7th Annual Nintendo Space World Software Exhibition in Japan. Thirteen games were demonstrated but only two were in playable form, Kirby Ball 64 and Super Mario 64.[34]
Business
- New companies: BioWare, Frog City, Interworld Productions (renamed Mythic Entertainment in 1997), Remedy, TalonSoft
- Defunct: Cyberdreams
- Nintendo v. Samsung Electronics; Nintendo sues Samsung for promoting software piracy. The suit is settled.
- Nintendo of America, Inc. v. NTDEC