1997 in video games

Events
  • June 19–21 – The 3rd annual E3 is held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.[1]
  • October 4 – Gunpei Yokoi (1941–1997) dies after a double car accident.
  • November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) launched.
  • TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
  • 3D Realms begins production of the infamous Duke Nukem Forever, winner of numerous vaporware awards.
  • A scene from the Pokémon anime show (based upon the highly successful games) from December 16, 1997, causes 685 Japanese children to have seizures, causing Nintendo to make 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) hasn't made an appearance in the Pokémon anime since.
  • The popular online gaming portal Cool Math Games went online for the first time.

Notable releases
Video game platforms
GBC Game Boy Color
Mac Classic Mac OS / macOS
N64 Nintendo 64
Neo Neo Geo
NeoCD Neo-Geo CD
Pippin Apple Bandai Pippin
PS1 PlayStation
Sat Sega Saturn
SMD Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
SNES Super Nintendo Entertainment System / Super Famicom
Win Microsoft Windows
  
Notable releases of the year 1997
Release Title Windows / DOS 4th Gen 5th Gen Handheld Arcade
January 3DiabloYesN/APS1 (1998)N/AN/A
January 14Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no MokushirokuN/AN/ASatN/AN/A
January 31Final Fantasy VII (Japan)1998N/APS1N/AN/A
February 5DoDonPachiN/AN/ASat (September 18), PS1 (1998)N/AYes
February 10Mario Kart 64N/AN/AN64N/AN/A
February 27The Lost Vikings 2April 30SNESPS1 (May), Sat (May)N/AN/A
February 28Blast CorpsN/AN/AN64N/AN/A
February 28Independence DayYesN/APS1, SatN/AN/A
February 28Mega Man 8N/AN/APS1, SatN/AN/A
February 28Turok: Dinosaur HunterNovember 30N/AN64N/AN/A
March 20Castlevania: Symphony of the NightN/AN/APS1, Sat (1998)N/AN/A
March 20Tekken 3N/AN/APS1 (1998)N/AYes
March 26Vandal HeartsN/AN/APS1, Sat (November 27)N/AN/A
March 30The Last ExpressYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
March 31Need for Speed IIYesN/APS1N/AN/A
April 7OutlawsYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
April 27Dungeon KeeperYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
April 30Fighters MegamixN/AN/ASatGame.com (1998)N/A
April 30Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE FighterYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
May 13Shadow WarriorYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
May 31BloodYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
May 31MDKYesN/APS1 (1998)N/AN/A
JuneHarvest MoonN/ASNESN/AN/AN/A
June 20Sonic JamN/AN/ASatGame.com (1998)N/A
June 20Final Fantasy Tactics (Japan)N/AN/APS1N/AN/A
June 30Star Fox 64N/AN/AN64N/AN/A
July 4Jane's 688(I) Hunter/KillerYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
July 28The King of Fighters '97N/ANeo, NeoCDPS1, Sat (1998)N/AYes
July 30CarmageddonYesN/APS1 (1999), N64 (2000)GBC (2000)N/A
July 31Herc's AdventuresN/AN/APS1, SatN/AN/A
July 31Warlords III: Reign of HeroesYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
August 1Mega Man X41999N/APS1, SatN/AN/A
August 11TetrisphereN/AN/AN64N/AN/A
August 25GoldenEye 007N/AN/AN64N/AN/A
August 31Hexen IIYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
August 31ImperialismYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
September 10Silhouette MirageN/AN/ASat, PS1 (1998)N/AN/A
September 11Breath of Fire IIIN/AN/APS1N/AN/A
September 18Street Fighter CollectionN/AN/ASat, PS1 (October 23)N/AN/A
September 19Oddworld: Abe's OddyseeYesN/APS1N/AN/A
September 24Ultima OnlineYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
September 26LEGO IslandYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
September 29Croc: Legend of the GobbosN/AN/APS1, SatN/AN/A
September 30Close Combat: A Bridge Too FarYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
September 30FalloutYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
September 30Panzer General IIYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
September 30Poy PoyN/AN/APS1N/AN/A
September 30Total AnnihilationYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
October 9Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
October 15Age of EmpiresYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
October 15Mortal Kombat 41998N/AN64, PS1 (1998)GBC (1998)Yes
October 21Grand Theft AutoYesN/APS1 (December 12)GBC (1999)N/A
October 23Steep Slope SlidersN/AN/ASatN/A1998
October 28ShipwreckersYesN/APS1N/AN/A
October 29RivenYesN/ASat, PS1 (November 30)N/AN/A
October 30CuldceptN/AN/ASat, PS1 (1999)N/AN/A
October 31Blade RunnerYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
October 31Colony WarsN/AN/APS1N/AN/A
October 31The Curse of Monkey IslandYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
October 31PaRappa the RapperN/AN/APS1N/AN/A
October 31Zork: Grand InquisitorYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
NovemberIndependence WarYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
November 1Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes BackN/AN/APS1N/AN/A
November 1Shock TroopersN/ANeoN/AN/AYes
November 17Sonic R1998N/ASatN/AN/A
November 18Tomb Raider IIYesN/APS1N/AN/A
November 21Diddy Kong RacingN/AN/AN64N/AN/A
November 21Worms 2YesN/AN/AN/AN/A
November 25Myth: The Fallen LordsYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
November 27Kirby's Dream Land 3N/ASNESN/AN/AN/A
November 30Bomberman 64N/AN/AN64N/AN/A
November 30OneN/AN/APS1N/AN/A
November 30Wing Commander: ProphecyYesN/AN/AN/AN/A
November 30WCW vs. nWo: World TourN/AN/AN64N/AN/A
December 6Quake IIYesN/APS1, N64 (1999)N/AN/A
December 11Klonoa: Door to PhantomileN/AN/APS1N/AN/A
December 18Grandia (Japan)N/AN/ASat, PS1 (1999)N/AN/A
December 18Mega Man Legends2001N/APS1, N64 (2000)N/AN/A
December 21Yoshi's StoryN/AN/AN64N/AN/A
December 23Gran TurismoN/AN/APS1N/AN/A
December 31Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-ZeroN/AN/AN64N/AN/A

Hardware
  • March 1 – The Nintendo 64 is released in Europe and Australia
  • October 20 – Nintendo releases a smaller redesigned version of the SNES, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Model SNS-101) in North America.
  • Junny releases PlayStation development software for PC
  • Tiger Electronics releases the Game.com

Business

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.

Discontinual
  • Sega announce that the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) has been discontinued.
  • Sega Game Gear discontinued.

Critically acclaimed titles

Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

1997 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR)[2][3]
Game Publisher Release Date Platform(s) MC score GR score
Gran Turismo Sony Computer Entertainment December 23, 1997 PlayStation 96/100[4] 94.95%[5]
GoldenEye 007 Nintendo August 25, 1997 Nintendo 64 96/100 94.7%
Diablo Blizzard Entertainment January 3, 1997 Microsoft Windows 94/100 89.07%
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Konami March 20, 1997 PlayStation 93/100 93.03%
Final Fantasy VII Square January 31, 1997 PlayStation 92/100 92.35%
Dungeon Keeper Electronic Arts June 26, 1997 Microsoft Windows N/A 92.2%
Colony Wars Psygnosis October 31, 1997 PlayStation 91/100 92.09%
Sid Meier's Gettysburg! Electronic Arts September 30, 1997 Microsoft Windows 92/100 91%[6]
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II LucasArts September 30, 1997 Microsoft Windows 91/100 88.69%
Myth: The Fallen Lords Bungie October 31, 1997 Microsoft Windows 91/100 80.8%
Blast Corps Nintendo February 28, 1997 Nintendo 64 90/100 88.87%
NFL GameDay 98 Sony Computer Entertainment November 17, 1997 PlayStation N/A 90%
Fallout Interplay Productions September 30, 1997 Microsoft Windows 89/100 89.69%
Carmageddon Sales Curve Interactive June 20, 1997 Microsoft Windows N/A 89.6%
Formula 1 97 Psygnosis September 26, 1997 PlayStation N/A 89.43%
MDK Playmates Interactive April 30, 1997 Microsoft Windows N/A 89.2%
Star Fox 64 Nintendo April 27, 1997 Nintendo 64 88/100 89.01%
The Curse of Monkey Island LucasArts October 31, 1997 Microsoft Windows 89/100 89%
Einhänder Square November 20, 1997 PlayStation 89/100[4] 85%[5]
Total Annihilation GT Interactive September 30, 1997 Microsoft Windows 86/100 88.85%
Diddy Kong Racing Rare November 21, 1997 Nintendo 64 88/100 88.65%
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back Sony Computer Entertainment October 31, 1997 PlayStation N/A 88.54%
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee GT Interactive September 19, 1997 PlayStation 85/100 87.94%
Fighters Megamix Sega April 30, 1997 Sega Saturn N/A 87.67%

References
  1. "Attendance and Stats". IGN. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  2. "Best Video Games for 1997". Metacritic. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  3. "Highest-Ranking Games of 1997 (with at least 5 reviews)". GameRankings. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  4. "Best Video Games for 1998". Metacritic. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  5. "Highest-Ranking Games of 1998 (with at least 10 reviews)". GameRankings. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  6. "Sid Meier's Gettysburg! for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.