1997 in video games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1997 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Final Fantasy VII, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, GoldenEye 007, Star Fox 64, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Quake II, Mega Man Legends, Riven, Tomb Raider II, Dark Rift, Tekken 3 and Virtua Striker 2, along with new games such as Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Gran Turismo, Diablo, Grand Theft Auto, Fallout, and Postal.
Sony's PlayStation was the year's best-selling video game console worldwide for the second year in a row, while also being the annual best-selling console in Japan for the first time (overtaking the Game Boy and Sega Saturn). The year's best-selling home video game worldwide was Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation, while the year's highest-grossing arcade games in Japan were Sega's Virtua Fighter 3 and Print Club 2.
Legend
| Arcade | Arcade video game | DOS | PC DOS / MS-DOS, Windows 3.X | GB | Game Boy |
| N64 | Nintendo 64, iQue Player | NEO | Neo Geo AES | NEOCD | Neo Geo CD |
| NES | Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom | PCFX | PC-FX | PS1 | PlayStation 1 |
| SAT | Sega Saturn | SNES | Super NES / Super Famicom / Super Comboy | WIN | Windows, all versions Windows 95 and up |
| Action | Action game | Action-adventure | Action-adventure game | Fighting | Fighting game |
| FPS | First-person shooter | Platformer | Platformer | Puzzle | Puzzle video game |
| Racing | Racing video game | Rhythm | Rhythm game | Roguelike | Roguelike, Roguelite |
| RPG | Role-playing video game | RTS | Real-time strategy | Shooter | Shooter game |
| Simulation | Simulation video game | Sports | Sports video game | Tactical RPG | Tactical role-playing game |
| Virtual pet | Virtual pet |
Hardware
| Date | System | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| March 1 | Nintendo 64EU/AU | [1][2] |
| April 25 | Dual Analog ControllerJP | [3][4] |
| September 12 | Game.comNA | [5] |
| October 20 | New-style Super NESNA | [citation needed] |
| November 20 | DualShock controllerJP | [6][7][8] |
Discontinued
| Date | System |
|---|---|
| April 30 | Game Gear |
| Unknown | Genesis/Mega Drive |
Top-rated games
Game of the Year awards
The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1997.
| Awards | Game of the Year | Platform(s) | Genre | Publisher | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CESA Awards | Final Fantasy VII | PS1 | RPG | Squaresoft | [9] |
| Japan Media Arts Festival | [10] | ||||
| Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) | Sony | [11] | |||
| Game Informer | [12] | ||||
| GamePro | [13] | ||||
| Hyper | [14] | ||||
| Origins Awards | [15] | ||||
| Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) | GoldenEye 007 | N64 | FPS | Nintendo | [16] |
| Interactive Achievement Awards | [17] | ||||
| VideoGame Advisor | [18] | ||||
| Electronic Playground | [19] | ||||
| GamePro | [13] | ||||
| Nintendo Power | [20] | ||||
| Digitiser | Super Mario 64 | N64 | Platformer | Nintendo | [21] |
| Golden Joystick Awards | [22] | ||||
| Computer Gaming World Premier Awards | Diablo[a] | WIN / DOS | Action RPG | Blizzard | [23] |
| Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II | FPS | LucasArts | [24] | ||
| GameSpot | Total Annihilation | WIN / DOS | RTS | Cavedog | [25] |
| Gamest Awards | Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3) | Arcade | Fighting | Capcom | [26] |
| Japan Media Arts Festival | Intelligent Qube (I.Q. / Kurushi) | PS1 | Puzzle | Sony | [10] |
| Origins Awards | Sid Meier's Gettysburg! | WIN / DOS | Wargame | Electronic Arts | [15] |
| Tomb Raider | Action-adventure | Eidos Interactive |
Critically acclaimed titles
Metacritic and GameRankings
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are online aggregators of video game journalism reviews. Note that their coverage of print magazines at the time was limited, with numerous print magazines not listed on their sites.
| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform(s) | MC score | GR score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Turismo | Sony Computer Entertainment | December 23, 1997 | PS1 | 96/100[29] | 94.95%[30] |
| GoldenEye 007 | Nintendo | August 25, 1997 | N64 | 96/100 | 94.7% |
| Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | Konami | March 20, 1997 | PS1 | 93/100 | 93.03% |
| Final Fantasy VII | Square | January 31, 1997 | PS1 | 92/100 | 92.35% |
| Dungeon Keeper | Electronic Arts | June 26, 1997 | WIN / DOS | N/a | 92.2% |
| Diablo | Blizzard Entertainment | January 3, 1997 | WIN / DOS | 94/100 | 89.07% |
| Colony Wars | Psygnosis | October 31, 1997 | PS1 | 91/100 | 92.09% |
| Sid Meier's Gettysburg! | Electronic Arts | October 14, 1997 | WIN / DOS | 92/100 | 91%[31] |
| Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II | LucasArts | October 10, 1997 | WIN / DOS | 91/100 | 88.69% |
| Myth: The Fallen Lords | Bungie | November 7, 1997 | WIN / DOS | 91/100 | 80.8% |
| Blast Corps | Nintendo | March 21, 1997 | N64 | 90/100 | 88.87% |
| NFL GameDay 98 | Sony Computer Entertainment | September 4, 1997 | PS1 | N/a | 90% |
| Fallout | Interplay Productions | October 10, 1997 | WIN / DOS | 89/100 | 89.69% |
| Carmageddon | Sales Curve Interactive | June 13, 1997 | WIN / DOS | N/a | 89.6% |
| Formula 1 97 | Psygnosis | September 26, 1997 | PS1 | N/a | 89.43% |
| MDK | Playmates Interactive | May 5, 1997 | WIN / DOS | N/a | 89.2% |
| Star Fox 64 | Nintendo | April 27, 1997 | N64 | 88/100 | 89.01% |
| The Curse of Monkey Island | LucasArts | November 1, 1997 | WIN / DOS | 89/100 | 89% |
| Einhänder | Square | November 20, 1997 | PS1 | 89/100[29] | 85%[30] |
| Total Annihilation | GT Interactive | September 26, 1997 | WIN / DOS | 86/100 | 88.85% |
| Diddy Kong Racing | Rare | November 21, 1997 | N64 | 88/100 | 88.65% |
| Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back | Sony Computer Entertainment | October 31, 1997 | PS1 | N/a | 88.54% |
| Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee | GT Interactive | September 18, 1997 | PS1 | 85/100 | 87.94% |
| Madden NFL 98 | EA Sports | August 26, 1997 | SAT | N/a | 87.90%[32] |
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame
The following video game releases in 1997 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[33]
| Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Score (out of 40) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final Fantasy VII | PS1 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | RPG | 38 |
| Final Fantasy VII International | PS1 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | RPG | 37 |
| Tobal 2 | PS1 | DreamFactory | Squaresoft | Fighting | 36 |
| Star Fox 64 | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Rail shooter | 36 |
| Derby Stallion | PS1 | ASCII Corporation | ASCII Corporation | Simulation | 35 |
| Gran Turismo | PS1 | Polys Entertainment | Sony | Racing (sim) | 35 |
Financial performance
Highest-grossing arcade games in Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1997.
| Rank | Gamest[26] | Game Machine[34] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Manufacturer | Genre | Title | Manufacturer | Type | Points | |
| 1 | Virtua Fighter 3 | Sega | Fighting | Print Club 2 | Atlus | Other | 4068 |
| 2 | Tekken 3 | Namco | Fighting | Virtua Fighter 3 | Sega | Dedicated | 3995 |
| 3 | X-Men vs. Street Fighter | Capcom | Fighting | Tekken 3 | Namco | PCB | 3757 |
| 4 | Street Fighter III: New Generation | Capcom | Fighting | Virtual On: Cyber Troopers | Sega | Dedicated | 2969 |
| 5 | Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3) | Capcom | Fighting | X-Men vs. Street Fighter | Capcom | PCB | 2776 |
| 6 | Samurai Spirits 4: Amakusa Kōrin | SNK | Fighting | Puzzle Bobble 3 | Taito | PCB | 2626 |
| 7 | Real Bout Garō Densetsu Special | SNK | Fighting | Densha de Go! | Taito | Dedicated | 2614 |
| 8 | Virtual On: Cyber Troopers | Sega | Shooter | Time Crisis | Namco | Dedicated | 2459 |
| 9 | The King of Fighters '97 | SNK | Fighting | Gallop Racer | Tecmo | PCB | 2420 |
| 10 | DoDonPachi | Atlus | Bullet hell | Rave Racer | Namco | Dedicated | 2399 |
Best-selling video game consoles
| Rank | Manufacturer | Game console | Type | Generation | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | United States | Worldwide | |||||
| 1 | Sony | PS1 | Home | 32-bit | 5,050,000+[35] | 6,750,000+[35] | 17,200,000+[35] |
| 2 | Nintendo | GB | Handheld | 8-bit | 4,220,000[36] | Unknown | 10,370,000[36] |
| 3 | Nintendo | N64 | Home | 64-bit | 1,110,000[36] | 4,488,000[37] | 9,420,000[36] |
| 4 | Nintendo | SNES | Home | 16-bit | 190,000[36] | 593,000[37] | 2,040,000[36] |
| 5 | Sega | SAT | Home | 32-bit | 800,000[38] | 249,000[37] | 1,800,000[39][40] |
| 6 | Sega | GEN | Home | 16-bit | Unknown | 478,000[37] | 478,000+ |
| 7 | Nintendo | NES | Home | 8-bit | 30,000[36] | 81,000[37] | 111,000 |
| 8 | NEC | PCFX | Home | 32-bit | 30,000[38] | N/a | 30,000 |
Best-selling home video games
Final Fantasy VII was the best-selling home video game worldwide in 1997.[41] It sold more than 6 million copies worldwide by 1998, becoming the best-selling PlayStation game up until then.[42]
The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) of 1997 in Japan and the United States.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | United States[43][44] | Combined | |||
| 1 | Final Fantasy VII | PS1 | 3,447,500+[45] | 1,500,000+[44] | 4,947,500+ |
| 2 | Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue | GB | 3,995,988[46] | N/a | 3,995,988 |
| 3 | Mario Kart 64 | N64 | 731,385[46] | 1,000,000+[43] | 1,731,385+ |
| 4 | Derby Stallion | PS1 | 1,581,138[47] | N/a | 1,581,138 |
| 5 | Star Fox 64 | N64 | 373,479[47] | 1,000,000+[43] | 1,373,479+ |
| 6 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | 361,302[47] | 1,000,000+[43] | 1,361,302+ |
| 7 | Minna no Golf (Everybody's Golf) | PS1 | 1,327,000[48] | N/a | 1,327,000 |
| 8 | Final Fantasy Tactics | PS1 | 1,239,000[48] | N/a | 1,239,000 |
| 9 | Diddy Kong Racing | N64 | 217,259[49] | 1,000,000+[43] | 1,217,259+ |
| 10 | SaGa Frontier | PS1 | 1,057,263[47] | N/a | 1,057,263 |
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1997.[50][51][52]
| Rank | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Sales[43][44] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Kart 64 | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Racing (kart) | 1,000,000+[43] |
| 2 | Star Fox 64 | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Rail shooter | 1,000,000+[43] |
| 3 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Platformer | 1,000,000+[43] |
| 4 | Diddy Kong Racing | N64 | Rare | Rare | Racing (kart) | 1,000,000+[43] |
| 5 | GoldenEye 007 | N64 | Rare | Nintendo | FPS | 1,000,000+[43] |
| 6 | Final Fantasy VII | PS1 | Squaresoft | Sony | RPG | 1,500,000+[44] |
| 7 | NFL GameDay 98 | PS1 | Sony Interactive | Sony | Sports (football) | Unknown |
| 8 | Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire | N64 | LucasArts | Nintendo | Action | Unknown |
| 9 | Madden NFL 98 | PS1 | Tiburon Entertainment | EA Sports | Sports (football) | Unknown |
| 10 | Crash Bandicoot | PS1 | Naughty Dog | Sony | Platformer | Unknown |
Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1997.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue | GB | Game Freak | Nintendo | RPG | 3,995,988 | [46] |
| 2 | Final Fantasy VII | PS1 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | RPG | 3,447,500+ | [45] |
| 3 | Derby Stallion | PS1 | ASCII | ASCII | Simulation | 1,581,138 | [47] |
| 4 | Minna no Golf (Everybody's Golf) | PS1 | Camelot Software Planning | Sony | Sports (golf) | 1,327,000 | [48] |
| 5 | Final Fantasy Tactics | PS1 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | Tactical RPG | 1,239,000 | |
| 6 | SaGa Frontier | PS1 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | RPG | 1,057,263 | [47] |
| 7 | Gran Turismo | PS1 | Polys Entertainment | Sony | Racing (sim) | 905,000 | [48] |
| 8 | Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi | GB | Tom Create | Bandai | Virtual pet | 808,000 | |
| 9 | Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon | PS1 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | Roguelike | 801,000 | |
| 10 | PaRappa the Rapper | PS1 | NanaOn-Sha | Sony | Rhythm | 761,621 | [46] |
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in 1997.
| Month(s) | Title | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| January | Die Hard Trilogy [53] | PS1 |
| February | Cool Boarders [54] | PS1 |
| March | Super Mario 64 [55] | N64 |
| April | Wave Race 64 [56] | N64 |
| Micro Machines V3 [57] | PS1 | |
| May | Soul Blade [58] | PS1 |
| June | Mario Kart 64 [59] | N64 |
| July | International Superstar Soccer 64 [60] | N64 |
| August | V-Rally [61][62] | PS1 |
| September | ||
| October | Formula 1 97 [63] | PS1 |
| Lylat Wars [64] | N64 | |
| November | Final Fantasy VII [65] | PS1 |
| December | FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 [66] | PS1, WIN / DOS |
Events
- March 6 - Sega opens Sega World Sydney in Australia. It is the second Sega World park to open outside of Japan, with the first opening as part of the London Trocadero the previous year.
- June 19–21 – The 3rd annual E3 is held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.[67]
- October:
- Video game retailer FuncoLand opens its first Greater Cincinnati locations.[68]
- 4 – Gunpei Yokoi (1941–1997) dies after a double car accident.
- November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) launched.
- December 16 – A scene from the Pokémon anime (based upon the highly successful games) causes 685 Japanese children to have seizures. Nintendo makes 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) has not made an appearance in the Pokémon anime since.
- TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
- 3D Realms begins production of Duke Nukem Forever, winner of numerous vaporware awards.
- The gaming portal Cool Math Games went online for the first time.
- Sony releases PlayStation development software for IBM compatible PCs
Business
- April 7 – Warthog Limited founded[69]
- April 15 – Irem Software Engineering Inc. founded[70]
- May 5 – Irrational Games LLC founded[71]
- June 4 – Electronic Arts Inc. acquires American video game developer Maxis[72][73]
- August 7 – Activision acquires American video game developer Raven Software[74]
- August 14 – Intermetrics. Inc and Looking Glass Studios announce the merger of their gaming operations to form Intermetrics/Looking Glass Studios, LLC.[75] which was renamed to Intermetrics Entertainment Software, LLC on September 17[76]
- August 28 – Human Head Studios, Inc. formed[77]
- September 19 – 4HEAD Studios created[78]
- November 21 – Conspiracy Entertainment Corporation founded[79][80]
- December 2 – Activision acquires British software distributor CentreSoft Ltd.[81][82]
- December 3 – GameTek files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy[83] and closes its doors in July 1998[citation needed]
- 2015 founded
- 4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded;[84] the company was legally incorporated on January 29, 1998[85]
- Bungie West formed by Bungie
- Crave Entertainment, Inc. formed
- Illusion Softworks, a.s. founded
- Mythic Entertainment renames itself from Interworld Productions after name dispute with another "Interworld" company
- THQ renamed from Toy Headquarters, Inc.
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.