1996 in video games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1996 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario 64, Duke Nukem 3D, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Mario Kart 64, King's Field III, Virtua Fighter 3, along with new titles such as Blazing Heroes, NiGHTS into Dreams..., Crash Bandicoot, Pokémon Red/Green/Blue, Resident Evil, Dead or Alive, Soul Edge, Quake and Tomb Raider.
The year's best-selling video game console worldwide was the PlayStation, while the best-selling consoles in Japan were the Game Boy and Sega Saturn. The Nintendo 64 debuted in 1996. The year's best-selling home video game worldwide was Super Mario 64, while highest-grossing arcade games in Japan were Street Fighter Zero 2 (Street Fighter Alpha 2) and Virtua Fighter 2.
Legend
| 3DO | 3DO | Arcade | Arcade video game | DOS | PC DOS / MS-DOS, Windows 3.X |
| GB | Game Boy | GEN | Genesis / Mega Drive | GG | Game Gear |
| MAC | Classic Mac OS, 2001 and before | N64 | Nintendo 64, iQue Player | NEO | Neo Geo AES |
| NEOCD | Neo Geo CD | NES | Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom | PCFX | PC-FX |
| PC98 | PC-9800 series | PS1 | PlayStation 1 | RZ | R-Zone |
| SAT | Sega Saturn | SNES | Super NES / Super Famicom / Super Comboy | WIN | Windows, all versions Windows 95 and up |
| 4X | 4X game | Action | Action game | Action-adventure | Action-adventure game |
| Adventure | Adventure game | Brawler | Beat 'em up | Fighting | Fighting game |
| FPS | First-person shooter | MMORPG | Massively multiplayer online RPG | Platformer | Platformer |
| Puzzle | Puzzle video game | Racing | Racing video game | RPG | Role-playing video game |
| RTS | Real-time strategy | Sandbox | Sandbox game | Shooter | Shooter game |
| Simulation | Simulation video game | Sports | Sports video game | Tactical RPG | Tactical role-playing game |
| Visual novel | Visual novel |
Hardware
- February 21 – Sega Model 3, an arcade system board considered to have the most technically impressive graphics at the time
- April 21 - Apple's Apple Pippin console initially released in Japan[a]
- June 23 - Nintendo's Nintendo 64, the first true 64-bit home console, initially released in Japan[b]
- July 20 - Nintendo's Game Boy Pocket (GBP) handheld console (30% smaller version of the previous Game Boy handheld console), initially released in Japan[c]
- October - Sega's Net Link modem for the Sega Saturn home console
- November 23 – Bandai's Tamagotchi virtual pet handheld initially released in Japan
- December 3 - Namco's Alpine Racer arcade game, including a new type of user interface
- SNK's Neo Geo CDZ (Japan only)
Discontinuation
1996 saw a major shakeup in the crowded home console market, with the Virtual Boy, Atari Jaguar, 3DO, Sega CD, 32X, and CD-i all being discontinued.
Top-rated games
Game of the Year awards
The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1996.
| Awards | Game of the Year | Platform(s) | Publisher | Genre | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Tribune | Super Mario 64 | N64 | Nintendo | Platformer | [1] |
| Digitiser | [2] | ||||
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | [3] | ||||
| Game Informer | [4] | ||||
| Golden Joystick Awards | [5] | ||||
| Spotlight Awards | [6] | ||||
| CESA Awards | Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) | SAT | Sega | Tactical RPG | [7][8] |
| GameFan Megawards | Tomb Raider | Eidos | Action-adventure | [9] | |
| Enemy Zero | SAT | Warp | Adventure | ||
| Gamest Awards | Street Fighter Zero 2 (Street Fighter Alpha 2) | Arcade | Capcom | Fighting | [10] |
| IAAPA Exhibit Awards | Tokyo Wars | Arcade | Namco | Shooter | [11] |
| VSDA Awards | Donkey Kong Country 2 | SNES | Nintendo | Platformer | [12] |
Critically acclaimed titles
Metacritic and GameRankings
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 | N64 | 94/100 | 96.41% |
| Wipeout XL/2097 | Psygnosis | September 30, 1996 | PS1 | 93/100 | 94.75% |
| Quake | GT Interactive | June 22, 1996 | DOS | 94/100 | 93.22% |
| Tekken 2 | Namco | March 29, 1996 | PS1 | 89/100 | 92.50% |
| Civilization II | MicroProse | February 29, 1996 | WIN | 94/100 | 91.29% |
| Wave Race 64 | Nintendo | September 27, 1996 | N64 | 92/100 | 90.67% |
| PaRappa the Rapper | Sony Computer Entertainment | December 6, 1996 | PS1 | 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 | PS1 | 89/100 | 91.46% |
| Tomb Raider | Eidos Interactive | October 25, 1996 | PS1 | 91/100 | 90.02% |
| Resident Evil | Capcom | March 22, 1996 | PS1 | 91/100 | 87.23% |
| Command & Conquer: Red Alert | Virgin | November 22, 1996 | DOS | 90/100 | 90.91% |
| Command & Conquer | Sega | December 18, 1996 | SAT | N/a | 89.90% |
| Dragon Force | Sega | March 29, 1996 | SAT | N/a | 89.64% |
| International Superstar Soccer 64 | Konami | December 20, 1996 | N64 | N/a | 89.23% |
| Guardian Heroes | Sega | January 26, 1996 | SAT | 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 | SAT | N/a | 88.56% |
| Pokémon Blue Version | Nintendo | October 15, 1996 | GB | N/a | 88.33% |
| Pokémon Red Version | Nintendo | February 27, 1996 | GB | N/a | 87.86% |
| Formula 1 | Psygnosis | September 30, 1996 | PS1 | N/a | 87.75% |
| Fighters Megamix | Sega | December 21, 1996 | SAT | N/a | 87.67% |
| Pilotwings 64 | Nintendo | June 23, 1996 | N64 | 80/100 | 87.52% |
| Panzer Dragoon II Zwei | Sega | March 22, 1996 | SAT | N/a | 87.50% |
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame
The following video game releases in 1996 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[15]
| Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Score (out of 40) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario 64 | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Platformer | 39 |
| Resident Evil | PS1 | Capcom | Capcom | Survival horror | 38 |
| Tekken 2 | PS1 | Namco | Namco | Fighting | 38 |
| Fighting Vipers | SAT | Sega AM2 | Sega | Fighting | 37 |
| Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren GB | GB | Aquamarine | Chunsoft | Roguelike | 36 |
| Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... | SNES | Heartbeat | Enix | RPG | 36 |
| Panzer Dragoon II Zwei | SAT | Sega | Sega | Rail shooter | 35 |
| J. League Victory Goal '96 | SAT | Sega | Sega | Sports | 35 |
| Fighters Megamix | SAT | Sega AM2 | Sega | Fighting | 35 |
Financial performance
Highest-grossing arcade games
Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1996.
| Rank | Gamest[10] | Game Machine[16] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Manufacturer | Title | Type | Points | |
| 1 | Street Fighter Zero 2 (Street Fighter Alpha 2) | Capcom | Virtua Fighter 2 / 2.1 | PCB | 5541 |
| 2 | Virtual On: Cyber Troopers | Sega | Puzzle Bobble 2 / 2X | PCB | 4782 |
| 3 | The King of Fighters '96 | SNK | Print Club (Purikura) | Other | 4059 |
| 4 | Virtua Fighter 3 | Sega | Rave Racer | SD / DX / 2P | 3780 |
| 5 | Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara | Capcom | Tekken 2 | PCB | 3579 |
| 6 | Psychic Force | Taito | Virtua Cop 2 | Dedicated | 3271 |
| 7 | RayStorm | Taito | Virtual On: Cyber Troopers | Dedicated | 3208 |
| 8 | X-Men vs. Street Fighter | Capcom | Alpine Racer | Dedicated | 2807 |
| 9 | Real Bout Garō Densetsu (Real Bout Fatal Fury) | SNK | Fighting Vipers | PCB | 2555 |
| 10 | Battle Garegga | Eighting | Street Fighter Zero 2 | PCB | 2543 |
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1996.
| Drasnin Communications[17] | AMOA[18] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Developer | Manufacturer | Genre | Dedicated cabinet | Conversion kit |
| Daytona USA | Sega AM2 | Sega | Racing | Alpine Racer | Area 51 |
| Cruis'n USA | Midway Games | Midway Games | Racing | Area 51 | Bust-A-Move Again |
| Tekken 2 | Namco | Namco | Fighting | Cruis'n USA | Mortal Kombat 3 |
| Area 51 | Mesa Logic | Atari Games | Light gun shooter | Daytona USA | Soul Edge |
| Alpine Racer | Namco | Namco | Sports | Time Crisis | Tekken 2 |
| Die Hard Arcade | Sega AM1 | Sega | Brawler | N/a | |
| Metal Slug | SNK | SNK | Run and gun | ||
| Point Blank | Namco | Namco | Light gun shooter | ||
| DecAthlete | Sega AM3 | Sega | Sports | ||
| Strikers 1945 | Psikyo | Psikyo | Scrolling shooter | ||
Australia
On Australia's Timezone monthly arcade charts published in the March 1996 issue of Leisure Line magazine, Sega's Manx TT Super Bike was the top-grossing dedicated arcade cabinet and Namco's Point Blank was the top-grossing arcade conversion kit.[19]
Best-selling video game consoles
| Rank | Manufacturer | Game console | Type | Generation | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | United States | Worldwide | |||||
| 1 | Sony | PS1 | Home | 32-bit | 2,200,000+[20] | 2,044,000[21] | 6,600,000+[20] |
| 2 | Nintendo | GB | Handheld | 8-bit | 2,860,000[22] | Unknown | 4,000,000+[23] |
| Sega | SAT | Home | 32-bit | 2,300,000[22] | 744,000[21] | 4,000,000+[24][25] | |
| 4 | Nintendo | N64 | Home | 64-bit | 1,022,999[26] | 1,736,000[21] | 2,758,999+ |
| 5 | Nintendo | SNES | Home | 16-bit | 620,000[22] | 1,416,000 | 1,746,000+ |
| 6 | Sega | GEN | Home | 16-bit | Unknown | 1,316,000[21] | 1,316,000+ |
| 7 | Nintendo | NES | Home | 8-bit | 70,000[22] | 468,000[21] | 538,000+ |
| 8 | Sega | GG | Handheld | 8-bit | 100,000[22] | Unknown | 100,000+ |
| 9 | NEC | PCFX | Home | 32-bit | 50,000[22] | Unknown | 50,000+ |
| Panasonic | 3DO | Home | 32-bit | 50,000[22] | Unknown | 50,000+ | |
Best-selling home video games
The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) worldwide in 1996.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | United States[27][28] | Europe[29][30] | Worldwide | |||
| 1 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | 903,000[31] | 2,000,000+[32] | N/a | 2,903,000+ |
| 2 | Tekken 2 | PS1 | 1,200,000+[33] | 1,000,000+ | 420,000 | 2,620,000+ |
| 3 | Resident Evil (Biohazard) | PS1 | 1,016,000[31] | 1,000,000+ | 300,000+ | 2,316,000+ |
| 4 | Super Mario RPG | SNES | 995,898[34] | 1,000,000+ | N/a | 1,995,898+ |
| 5 | Donkey Kong Country 3 | SNES | 674,000[31] | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | 1,674,000+ |
| 6 | Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue | GB | 1,663,861[34] | N/a | N/a | 1,663,861 |
| 7 | Donkey Kong Country 2 | SNES | 612,000[31] | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | 1,612,000+ |
| 8 | Wave Race 64 | N64 | 154,682[34] | 1,000,000+ | N/a | 1,154,682+ |
| 9 | Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... | SNES | 1,071,000[31] | N/a | N/a | 1,071,000 |
| 10 | Madden NFL 97 | PS1 | N/a | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | 1,000,000+ |
Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1996.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue | GB | Game Freak | Nintendo | RPG | 1,663,861 | [34] |
| 2 | Tekken 2 | PS1 | Namco | Namco | Fighting | 1,200,000+ | [33] |
| 3 | Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... | SNES | Heartbeat | Enix | RPG | 1,071,000 | [31] |
| 4 | Biohazard (Resident Evil) | PS1 | Capcom | Capcom | Survival horror | 1,016,000 | |
| 5 | Super Mario RPG | SNES | Squaresoft | Nintendo | RPG | 995,898 | [34] |
| 6 | Derby Stallion '96 | PS1 | ASCII | ASCII | Simulation | 960,000 | [31] |
| 7 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Platformer | 903,000 | |
| 8 | Arc the Lad II | PS1 | ARC Entertainment | Sony | RPG | 818,000 | |
| 9 | Tobal No. 1 | PS1 | DreamFactory | Squaresoft | Fighting | 752,000 | |
| 10 | Rage Racer | PS1 | Namco | Namco | Racing | 701,000 |
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1996.[27]
| Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Sales[27][28] | Revenue | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | Nintendo | Platformer | 2,000,000+[32] | $140,000,000[32] | $287,000,000 |
| 2 | Donkey Kong Country 2 | SNES | Nintendo | Platformer | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | Unknown |
| 3 | Donkey Kong Country 3 | SNES | Nintendo | Platformer | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | Unknown |
| 4 | Madden NFL 97 | PS1 | EA Sports | Sports (football) | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | Unknown |
| 5 | Wave Race 64 | N64 | Nintendo | Racing | 1,000,000+ | ||
| 6 | Super Mario RPG | SNES | Nintendo | RPG | 1,000,000+ | ||
| 7 | Tekken 2 | PS1 | Namco | Fighting | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | Unknown |
| 8 | Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire | N64 | Nintendo | Action | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | Unknown |
| 9 | Resident Evil | PS1 | Capcom | Survival horror | 1,000,000+[28] | Unknown | Unknown |
| 10 | Myst | PS1 | Broderbund | Adventure | 853,765[35] | $28,800,000[35] | $59,100,000 |
Europe
In Europe, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 1996.
| Rank | All platforms | PlayStation[29] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Publisher | Title | EU sales[30] | UK revenue[36] | UK revenue (inflation) | |
| 1 | Formula 1[37] | Psygnosis | Formula 1 | 420,000+ | £15,000,000+ ($23,000,000+) | $47,000,000+ |
| 2 | Unknown | Tekken 2 | 420,000 | £15,000,000+ ($23,000,000+) | $47,000,000+ | |
| 3 | Unknown | FIFA 97 | 300,000+ | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 4 | Unknown | Resident Evil | 300,000+ | |||
| 5 | Unknown | Crash Bandicoot | 300,000 | £15,000,000+ ($23,000,000+) | $47,000,000+ | |
| 6 | Unknown | Destruction Derby | Unknown | |||
| 7 | Unknown | Ridge Racer Revolution | ||||
| 8 | Unknown | Tekken | ||||
| 9 | Unknown | Ridge Racer | ||||
| 10 | Unknown | Tomb Raider | ||||
In addition to the PlayStation games listed above, the following titles were the year's best-selling Sega Saturn and PC games in the United Kingdom.
Top game rentals in the United States
In the United States, the following games were the top video game rentals of each month, according to the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA).
| Month | Game | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| January | Unknown | |
| February | Unknown | |
| March | Unknown | |
| April | Unknown | |
| May | Super Mario RPG | [40] |
| June | ||
| July | ||
| August | ||
| September | Unknown | |
| October | Unknown | |
| November | Unknown | |
| December | Unknown |
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.[41]
- May 16–18 – The second annual E3 is held in Los Angeles, California, United States.[42]
- 7 September - Sega opens SegaWorld London as part of the London Trocadero in England. It is the first Sega World park to open outside of Japan.
- 1 October – Tom Kalinske resigns as president for Sega of America.[41]
- December 31 – Battle.net Classic is released.
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 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.
- September 29 – IGN is founded.
- 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