1993 in video games
1993 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Star Fox, Virtua Fighter and Ridge Racer.
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
Events
- March – In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY (SP) starts. The original name is Super Power.
- Nintendo and Silicon Graphics collaborate and begin work on "Project Reality". The project is officially announced in October.[1]
- The first of two congressional hearings on video games takes place on December 7. Topics for discussion include the depiction of violence and sexual content in video games, their influence on children, and the prospect of governmental regulation of video game content.
Business
- New companies: Croteam, nVidia, Take-Two Interactive, Shiny
- Defunct companies: DK'Tronics, Epyx
- Magnavox is acquired by the Carlyle Group
- MicroProse is acquired by Spectrum HoloByte
Notable releases
| Date | Dev. / Pub. | Game Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | Midway | Mortal Kombat II | "Mortal Kombat II proved to be an enormous commercial success and even a cultural phenomenon. WMS Industries, owner of Midway at the time, reported its 1993 sales in the quarter ending December 31 rose to $101 million from $86 million and said much of its revenue gain was related to the sale of the arcade version of MKII [2]" |
| July | SNK | Samurai Shodown | '93 Game Of The Year voted on by Electronic Gaming Monthly[3] |
| August | Sega | Daytona USA | Becomes one of the world's most impactful racing games of all time, and "won't go away[4]" |
| October | Namco | Ridge Racer | - |
| November | Sega | Virtua Fighter | "Is often cited as being the first fully 3D fighting game released to the general public, and is a basis for almost all subsequent games in the genre[5] " |
| December | Midway | NBA Jam | Being one of the first sports games with official licensed teams and players, it became a cult classic. It was also the highest-earning arcade game of all time.[6] |
| Date | Dev. / Pub. | Game Title | Console | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | LucasArts | X-Wing | PC | - |
| February | Nintendo | Star Fox | SNES | The first game to use the new Super FX chip |
| March | Nintendo | Kirby's Adventure | NES | Introduced Kirby's ability to take on the powers of enemies he has eaten, which would go on to become a staple of the franchise. First appearance of Meta Knight. |
| April | Virgin Interactive | The 7th Guest | PC | Sold over two million copies and was widely regarded as one of three "killer apps" that accelerated the sales of CD-ROM drives (other two being Myst & Doom[7] [page 129]). Bill Gates also called The 7th Guest "the new standard in interactive entertainment" |
| June | LucasArts | Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle | PC | - |
| June | Nintendo | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Game Boy | |
| June | Electronic Arts | Syndicate | PC | - |
| July | Nintendo | Super Mario All-Stars | SNES | Featured upgraded 16-bit versions of the first four Super Mario games. Also Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels makes its debut
in the Western region. |
| August | Square | Secret of Mana | SNES | Second "Action Role-Playing Game" after Final Fantasy Adventure |
| August | Activision | Return to Zork | PC | - |
| September | MicroProse | Master of Orion | PC | - |
| September | Sega | Sonic CD | Sega CD | First appearance of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic to the Sonic the Hedgehog series. |
| September | Broderbund | Myst | PC | One of '93's key games, with lots of interesting facts[8] including that (until The Sims took the top spot with 6.3 million games sold in 2002) Myst was the best-selling PC title on record, with 6 million units sold since its launch. To date, the franchise has sold over 12 million units. |
| November | LucasArts | Sam & Max Hit the Road | PC | - |
| November | Quintet | Illusion of Gaia | SNES | - |
| November | Capcom | Mega Man 6 | NES | - |
| November | Virgin | Disney's Aladdin | Genesis | Crowned "Genesis Game of The Year" at the Electronic Gaming Awards (aka the Arcade Awards aka the Arkies) voted on by the public[3] |
| November | Nintendo | ClayFighter | SNES | Thought of as a parody of Street Fighter & Mortal Kombat, but actually wasn't, and was re-released to the Wii. |
| November | Sega | Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball | Genesis | - |
| December | Sierra | Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers | PC | - |
| December | Id Software | Doom | PC | Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential games of all time, especially in the first-person-shooter genre. |
| December | Capcom | Mega Man X | SNES | - |
Hardware
- Sega releases the Model 2, an arcade system board that introduces 3D texture filtering. It becomes their most popular arcade system board.
- Fujitsu releases the FM Towns Marty in Japan, as the first 32-bit home console, starting the fifth console generation.
- Panasonic, GoldStar and Sanyo release the first versions of the 3DO 32-bit console
- Atari Corporation releases the Jaguar home console, calling it the first 64-bit video game system.
- Commodore Business Machines releases the Amiga CD32 multimedia home console.
- Nintendo releases a smaller redesigned NES, which allows cartridges to be inserted at the top of the console, instead of the front.
- Pioneer releases the LaserActive multimedia home console
- Sega's Mega-CD released in Europe and Australia.
Sales
Highest-selling console and handheld titles according to Babbage's
Babbage's, an American video game retailer, released an Electronic Gaming Monthly-exclusive monthly list of the chain's highest-selling console and handheld titles.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]
- Highest-selling NES titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tetris | Nintendo | Puzzle | 11 | #3 |
| Tecmo Super Bowl | Tecmo | Sports (American football) | 10 | #1 |
| Dragon Quest IV | Enix | Role-playing | 10 | #2 |
| Tecmo NBA Basketball | Tecmo | Sports (basketball) | 9 | #1 |
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | Nintendo | Platform | 9 | #3 |
| Kirby's Adventure | Nintendo | Platform | 7 | #1 |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project | Konami | Beat 'em up | 7 | #2 |
| Jurassic Park | Ocean Software | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Super Mario Bros. 2 | Nintendo | Platform | 5 | #5 |
| Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland | Konami | Platform | 5 | #4 |
- Highest-selling SNES titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Capcom | Fighting | 7 | #1 |
| Star Fox | Nintendo | Rail shooter | 6 | #1 |
| Super Mario Kart | Nintendo | Kart racing | 6 | #2 |
| Mortal Kombat | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 4 | #1 |
| Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting | Capcom | Fighting | 4 | #1 |
| Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind | Accolade | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| Super Star Wars | JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment | Run and gun | 4 | #3 |
| Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs | Electronic Arts | Sports (basketball) | 3 | #1 |
| Batman Returns | Konami | Beat 'em up | 3 | #2 |
| Mario Is Missing! | The Software Toolworks | Educational | 3 | #2 |
- Highest-selling Sega Genesis titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGA Tour Golf II | Electronic Arts | Sports (golf) | 8 | #1 |
| Road Rash II | Electronic Arts | Racing | 7 | #4 |
| NHLPA Hockey '93 | Electronic Arts | Sports (ice hockey) | 6 | #2 |
| X-Men | Sega | Action | 5 | #1 |
| HardBall III | Accolade | Sports (baseball) | 5 | #5 |
| Mortal Kombat | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 4 | #1 |
| R.B.I. Baseball '93 | Tengen | Sports (baseball) | 4 | #3 |
| Tony La Russa Baseball | Electronic Arts | Sports (baseball) | 4 | #2 |
| Street Fighter II: Champion Edition | Capcom | Fighting | 4 | #2 |
| Bill Walsh College Football | Electronic Arts | Sports (American football) | 4 | #3 |
- Highest-selling Sega CD titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night Trap | Sega | Interactive movie | 10 | #2 |
| Road Blaster | Renovation Products | Interactive movie | 9 | #1 |
| Sewer Shark | Sony Imagesoft | Rail shooter | 7 | #4 |
| Jaguar XJ220 | Core Design | Racing | 6 | #1 |
| The Adventures of Willy Beamish | Sierra Entertainment | Adventure | 6 | #1 |
| Batman Returns | Sega | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Final Fight | Sega | Beat 'em up | 5 | #1 |
| Time Gal | Renovation Products | Interactive movie | 5 | #2 |
| After Burner III | Sega | Shoot 'em up | 5 | #4 |
| Black Hole Assault | Micronet co., Ltd. | Fighting | 5 | #7 |
- Highest-selling Game Boy titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins | Nintendo | Platform | 12 | #1 |
| Super Mario Land | Nintendo | Platform | 12 | #2 |
| Kirby's Dream Land | Nintendo | Platform | 11 | #1 |
| NBA All-Star Challenge | LJN | Sports (basketball) | 10 | #4 |
| Tetris | Nintendo | Puzzle | 9 | #5 |
| Golf | Nintendo | Sports (golf) | 7 | #4 |
| Yoshi's Cookie | Nintendo | Puzzle | 6 | #3 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Yoshi | Nintendo | Puzzle | 5 | #4 |
| Baseball | Nintendo | Sports (baseball) | 5 | #7 |
- Highest-selling Game Gear titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sega | Platform | 9 | #1 |
| Columns | Sega | Puzzle | 7 | #1 |
| Taz-Mania | Sega | Platform | 7 | #2 |
| Streets of Rage | Sega | Beat 'em up | 7 | #2 |
| Batman Returns | Sega | Platform | 7 | #3 |
| The Majors: Pro Baseball | Sega | Sports (baseball) | 6 | #4 |
| Tom and Jerry: The Movie | Sega | Platform | 6 | #1 |
| Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse | Sega | Platform | 6 | #2 |
| Defenders of Oasis | Sega | Role-playing | 5 | #4 |
| Prince of Persia | Tengen | Platform | 5 | #7 |
Highest-renting console titles according to Blockbuster Video
Blockbuster Video, an American chain of video rental shops, released a GamePro-exclusive monthly list of the chain's highest-renting console titles.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]
- Highest-renting NES titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tecmo NBA Basketball | Tecmo | Sports (basketball) | 12 | #1 |
| Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland | Konami | Platform | 6 | #1 |
| Mega Man 5 | Capcom | Platform | 6 | #2 |
| Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six | LJN | Action-adventure | 6 | #2 |
| Battletoads/Double Dragon | Nintendo | Beat 'em up | 6 | #4 |
| Kirby's Adventure | Nintendo | Platform | 5 | #1 |
| Jurassic Park | Ocean Software | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Tecmo Super Bowl | Tecmo | Sports (American football) | 5 | #1 |
| Home Alone 2 | THQ | Action | 5 | #3 |
| The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man | Acclaim Entertainment | Platform | 5 | #4 |
- Highest-renting SNES titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs | Electronic Arts | Sports (basketball) | 7 | #4 |
| Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting | Capcom | Fighting | 5 | #1 |
| Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Capcom | Fighting | 5 | #6 |
| WWF Royal Rumble | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 4 | #2 |
| Super Star Wars | JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment | Run and gun | 4 | #1 |
| Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge | LJN | Action-adventure | 4 | #1 |
| Tecmo Super NBA Basketball | Tecmo | Sports (basketball) | 4 | #1 |
| Star Fox | Nintendo | Rail shooter | 4 | #1 |
| Road Runner's Death Valley Rally | Sunsoft | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| Mortal Kombat | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 3 | #1 |
- Highest-renting Sega Genesis titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X-Men | Sega | Action | 8 | #1 |
| Fatal Fury: King of Fighters | Sega | Fighting | 6 | #2 |
| Road Rash II | Electronic Arts | Racing | 6 | #7 |
| Streets of Rage 2 | Sega | Beat 'em up | 5 | #3 |
| Cool Spot | Virgin Interactive | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sega | Platform | 4 | #1 |
| Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs | Electronic Arts | Sports (basketball) | 4 | #3 |
| Flashback | U.S. Gold | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| R.B.I. Baseball '93 | Tengen | Sports (baseball) | 4 | #4 |
| Mortal Kombat | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 3 | #1 |
- Highest-renting Sega CD titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre(s) | # of charting months | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batman Returns | Sega | Action-adventure | 4 | #2 |
| Night Trap | Sega | Interactive movie | 4 | #4 |
| Road Blaster | Renovation Products | Interactive movie | 4 | #3 |
| Jaguar XJ220 | Core Design | Racing | 4 | #5 |
| Final Fight | Sega | Beat 'em up | 3 | #1 |
| Sewer Shark | Sony Imagesoft | Rail shooter | 3 | #7 |
| Joe Montana Football | Sega | Sports (American football) | 2 | #1 |
| Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin | Sega | Action | 2 | #2 |
| After Burner III | Sega | Shoot 'em up | 2 | #7 |
| Time Gal | Renovation Products | Interactive movie | 2 | #7 |
References
- O'Leary, Jay (October 1, 1993). "Learning to fly". AllBusiness.com. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- "WMS Industries Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter profit rose 6..." tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- List of Game of the Year awards
- Freeman, Will (October 6, 2017). "Daytona USA: why the best arcade racing game ever just won't go away". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- "Virtua Fighter". Sega Retro. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- "NBA Jam". GamePro (56). IDG. March 1994. p. 188.
- Wolf, Mark J. P. (2008). The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to Playstation and Beyond. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313338687.
- "15 Things You Might Not Know About Myst". April 23, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. March 1993. p. 40.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. April 1993. p. 40.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. May 1993. p. 40.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. June 1993. p. 46.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. July 1993. p. 42.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. August 1993. p. 44.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. September 1993. p. 44.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. October 1993. p. 50.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. November 1993. p. 56.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. December 1993. p. 60.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. January 1994. p. 58.
- "EGM Top Ten" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. February 1994. p. 52.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. February 1993. p. 192.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. March 1993. p. 195.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. April 1993. p. 177.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. May 1993. p. 142.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. June 1993. p. 158.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. July 1993. p. 154.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. August 1993. p. 145.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. September 1993. p. 136.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. October 1993. p. 169.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. November 1993. p. 262.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. December 1993. p. 268.
- "ProNews Report" (PDF). GamePro. January 1994. p. 260.
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