1988 in video games

none April 2020 March 2016 1988 video games 1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III, Super Contra, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, and Super Mario Bros. 3, along with new titles such as Assault, Altered Beast, Capcom Bowling, Ninja Gaiden, RoboCop, Winning Run and Chase H.Q. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were After Burner and After Burner II in Japan, Double Dragon in the United States, Operation Wolf in the United Kingdom, and RoboCop in Hong Kong. The year's bestselling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the fifth year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games were Dragon Quest III in Japan and Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt in the United States. Events Out Run wins Game of the Year at the 5th Golden Joystick Awards, for the year 1987. June – Nintendo releases the last issue (#7) of Nintendo Fun Club News. July – Nintendo releases the first issue of Nintendo Power magazine. December - Namco releases their first 3D polygon video game, Winning Run, running on the Namco System 21 arcade board. Financial performance Highest-grossing arcade games Japan In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts. Rank GamestDecember 27, 1988 第２回ゲーメスト大賞 〜 年間ヒットゲームベスト100 2nd Gamest Awards – Best 100 Hit Games of the Year https://archive.org/details/gamest0029/page/n44 Gamest ja 29 (February 1989) 25–41 (41) alternate url Game MachineGame Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '88 / "Game of the Year '88" By Game Machine Game Machine 348 Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1989 10–1, 26 ja https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19890115p.pdf#page=6TitleManufacturer Title Type Points 1 After BurnerSega After Burner / After Burner II Cockpit cabinet 3624 2 World StadiumNamco Operation Wolf Upright cabinet 3569 3 Gradius IIKonami Final Lap Deluxe / Standard 4 Out RunSega Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra) Conversion kit 3192 5 Final LapNamco World Stadium Conversion kit 3105 6 R-TypeIrem R-Type Conversion kit 3074 7 Super Hang-OnSega Out Run Deluxe cabinet 2921 8 Street FighterCapcom Hi Sho Zame (Flying Shark) Conversion kit 2109 9 Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra)Toaplan Galaga '88 Conversion kit 1990 10 Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2Taito Gradius II Conversion kit 1939 Hong Kong and United States In Hong Kong and the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988. Rank Hong Kong United States Bondeal6 April 1989 The World's Largest Arcade https://archive.org/details/ACE_Issue_20_1989-05_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n22/mode/1up ACE 20 (May 1989) 23 Play Meter AMOAAMOA Awards Nominees Cash Box 1988-09-10 27 https://archive.org/details/cashbox52unse_8/page/27 Cash Box Pub. Co.Coin Machine: AMOA Jukebox, Games & Cig Vending Awards Winners Cash Box November 26, 1988 30 https://archive.org/details/cashbox52unse_19/page/n29 Dedicated cabinet Conversion kit 1 RoboCop Double Dragon1988 Play Meter December 1994 20 13 80 https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-20-number-13-december-1994/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%2020%2C%20Number%2013%20-%20December%201994/page/80 Double Dragon Shinobi 2 Chequered Flag rowspan="4" Out Run, After Burner, Operation Wolf, Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja Twin Eagle, Heavy Barrel, Capcom Bowling, Time Soldiers 3 Devastators 4 P.O.W. 5 Vindicators 6 Sky Soldiers rowspan="5" colspan="2" rowspan="5" 7 Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja 8 Blasteroids 9 Vigilante 10 Xybots United Kingdom Operation Wolf was the top-earning arcade game of 1988 in the United Kingdom.Operation Wolf Retro Gamer 153 34–41 Martyn Carroll April 2016 https://issuu.com/michelfranca/docs/retro_gamer____153 April 23, 2021 July 14, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210714200442/https://issuu.com/michelfranca/docs/retro_gamer____153 deadReviews: Operation Wolf Computer and Video Games November 1988 86 (December 1988) 20–5 https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-086/page/n19/mode/2up The following titles were the top-grossing games on the monthly arcade charts in 1988. Month Title Manufacturer GenreRef Reference January Operation Wolf Taito Light gun shooter Street Life Your Sinclair February 1988 27 (March 1988) 22–3 https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-27/page/n21/mode/2up February Street Life Your Sinclair 10 March 1988 28 (April 1988) 22–3 https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-28/page/n21/mode/2up March Street Life Your Sinclair 13 April 1988 29 (May 1988) 38–9 https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-29/page/n37/mode/2up April May June Street Fighter Capcom Fighting Top Five Dedicated Games Sinclair User 18 July 1988 77 (August 1988) https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-077/page/n81/mode/1up 1988 Operation Wolf Best-selling home systems Rank System(s) Manufacturer Type Generation Sales Japan USA EU Worldwide1Nintendo Entertainment System / FamicomNintendoConsole8-bit1,590,000小川 (Ogawa) 純生 (Sumio) 2010-12-14 テレビゲーム機の変遷 —ファミコン、スーパーファミコン、プレステ、プレステ2、Wiiまで— Recent Developments in Video Game Technology in Japan — Famicom, Super Famicom, Play Station, Play Station 2 and Wii — http://www.toyo.ac.jp/uploaded/attachment/3049.pdf 経営論集 (Keiei Ronshū) ja March 2011 77 1–17 (2) 0286-6439 https://web.archive.org/web/20150725185700/www.toyo.ac.jp/uploaded/attachment/3049.pdf 2015-07-25 2021-12-06 Toyo University Academic Information Repository (Toyo University)7,000,000Penenberg Adam L. 1994-04-17 Games Designer Faces Crucial Tests On Videos' Content en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/17/nyregion/games-designer-faces-crucial-tests-on-videos-content.html 2021-12-07 0362-4331 8,590,000+2Mark III / Master SystemSegaConsole8-bit240,000Tanaka Tatsuo http://www.stat.go.jp/english/info/meetings/iaos/pdf/tanaka.pdf#page=2 Network Externality and Necessary Software Statistics August 2001 Statistics Bureau of Japan 2Holiday Gift Guide: Fantasy Games Remain Popular With Young Video Fans https://newspaperarchive.com/aiken-standard-dec-01-1988-p-21/ 8 December 2021 Aiken Standard 1 December 1988 21Europe: consoles contre micros Europe: consoles against microphones Tilt 23 fr https://i.imgur.com/qUXeIkm.jpgMarch 1988 Las Vegas, un coup de joystick dans le sable Las Vegas, a joystick in the sand http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Tilt/tilt_numero052/TILT%20-%20n052%20-%20mars%201988%20-%20page018%20et%20019.jpg Tilt fr 52 18–23 (19)1,435,000+3Commodore 64CommodoreComputer8-bit 1,250,000Reimer Jeremy 2005-12-15 Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures https://arstechnica.com/features/2005/12/total-share/ live 2021-11-27 Ars Technica en-us https://web.archive.org/web/20120607023023/http://arstechnica.com:80/features/2005/12/total-share/ June 7, 2012 Jeremy Reimer 2012-12-07 Total Share: Personal Computer Market Share 1975-2010 https://jeremyreimer.com/rockets-item.lsp?p=137 Jeremy Reimer4IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC)IBMComputer16-bit 1,229,000The Bandito September 1989 Roomers: Number Crunching https://archive.org/details/amazing-computing-magazine-1989-09/page/n69/mode/2up Amazing Computing for the Commodore Amiga 4 9 67-70 (69-70) 1,229,000+5MacApple Inc.Computer16-bit 900,0006PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16NECConsole16-bit830,000 830,0007NEC UltraLite / PC-88 / PC-98NECComputer8-bit / 16-bit,000Dedrick Jason https://books.google.com/books?id=fNHhBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 Asia's Computer Challenge: Threat or Opportunity for the United States and the World? Kraemer Kenneth L. 1998-08-20 Oxford University Press 978-0-19-028398-8 83https://books.google.com/books?id=ch1NAQAAIAAJ Japan Electronics Almanac 1990 Dempa Publications 145 The domestic shipment value of personal computers in fiscal 1988 totaled 649 billion (up 23 percent over fiscal 1987); the domestic shipment volume was 1,375,000 (up 14 percent over 1987). The value of domestic shipments has recorded annual growth. Conversely, the volume of domestic shipments of personal computers stabilized at the 1,200,000-nit mark for four years beginning in fiscal 1984. However, this volume began to increase rapidly in fiscal 1988.+8 January 1990 Amid industry pessiminism, micro sales rose https://books.google.com/books?id=FMbci6pHoa0C&pg=PA34 Computerworld IDG Enterprise 24 2 34 0010-4841 795,000+8Mega Drive / GenesisSegaConsole16-bit400,000 400,0009AmigaCommodoreComputer16-bit 400,00010Compaq IBM PC compatibleCompaqComputer8-bit / 16-bit + 365,000+ Best-selling home video games Japan The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1988 in Japan, according to the annual Family Computer Magazine (Famimaga) charts.グーム売上ベスト10 Best 10 Game Sales Family Computer Magazine 12 February 1989 Tokuma Shoten 116 https://archive.org/details/famimagafebruary1989/page/n106 ja Rank Title Platform Developer Publisher Genre(s) Sales 1 Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e...Famicom Chunsoft Enix Role-playing 3,800,000Fujii Daiji 2005-06-10 The Birth of "Final Fantasy": Square Corporation http://ousar.lib.okayama-u.ac.jp/40488 岡山大学経済学会雑誌 (Okayama Economic Review) Okayama University 37 1 63–88 (67–71) 0386-3069 Okayama University Scientific Achievement Repository 2 Super Mario Bros. 3Famicom Nintendo R&D4 Nintendo Platform 3 Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87Famicom Namco Namco Sports (baseball) < 1,300,000Japan Platinum Game Chart http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-JPPlatinum.shtml The Magic Box 15 March 2021 January 1, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080101043949/http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-JPPlatinum.shtml dead 4 Kyūkyoku Harikiri StadiumFamicom Taito TaitoSports (baseball) 5 Captain Tsubasa (Tecmo Cup Soccer Game)Famicom Tecmo Tecmo Sports (association football) < 700,000Game Search https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/game-search Game Data Library Famitsu 12 September 2021 6 Momotaro DensetsuFamicom Hudson Soft Hudson Soft Role-playing 7 Dragon Ball: Daimaō FukkatsuFamicom TOSE Bandai Role-playing / card battle < 530,000Dragon Ball Video Game Data Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary: Super History Book 2016 Shueisha 978-4-08-792505-0 216 8 Saint Seiya: Ōgon DensetsuFamicom TOSE Bandai Action role-playing 9 Final FantasyFamicom Squaresoft Squaresoft Role-playing < 520,000http://gamez.itmedia.co.jp/games/articles/0912/17/news104.html 日々是遊戯：もっとも売れたのはどれ？ 歴代「FF」シリーズの出荷本数をまとめてみました ITmedia Gamez December 13, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181214164315/http://gamez.itmedia.co.jp/games/articles/0912/17/news104.html December 14, 2018 live 10 Gegege no Kitaro: Youkai Daimakyou (Ninja Kid)Famicom TOSE Bandai Platform United Kingdom and United States In the United States, the NES Action Set bundled with Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt was the best-selling toy of 1988.Tops in Toyland U.S. News & World Report 1989 106 80 https://books.google.com/books?id=2lbuAAAAMAAJ U.S. News Publishing Corporation Best-selling toys of 1988 (...) 1. Action set (Nintendo) The same year, Super Mario Bros. 2 became one of the best-selling cartridges of all time,Game Boy Cartridges: Super Mario Land TV Guide 1989 37 48–52 32 https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-A4AAAAIAAJ Last year, "Super Mario Bros. 2" became one of the best selling cartridges of all time. Super Mario Bros. 2 and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link were the top-selling cartridges during the holiday season,Schultz Sean Nintendo Power Set tops list for Santa https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13646713/green-bay-press-gazette/ 13 September 2021 Green Bay Press-Gazette 3 December 1988 13 and The Legend of Zelda and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! each crossed 2 million sales between 1987 and 1988.Lindner Richard Video Games: Past, Present and Future; An Industry Overview 1990 Nintendo of America United States https://archive.org/details/06Kahle001551 The following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in the United Kingdom and United States during 1988. Month United Kingdom United States All systems ZX Spectrum Weeks 1-2 Weeks 3-4 Platform Ref Reference January Out Run Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!Top Ten Videogames Computer Entertainer February 1988 6 11 1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_feb88.pdf Top Gun19 February 1988 U.S.A. TOP 10: 2月5日 U.S.A. Top 10: February 5 https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4152-famitsu-issue-0043-february-19-1988/ Famicom Tsūshin 1988 4 16 ja NES February PlatoonStreet Life Your Sinclair 12 May 1988 30 (June 1988) 40–1 https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-30/page/n39/mode/2up Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!Top Ten Videogames Computer Entertainer March 1988 6 12 1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_mar88.pdf March Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!Top Ten Videogames Computer Entertainer April 1988 7 1 1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_apr88.pdf The Legend of Zelda9 April 1988 U.S.A. TOP 10: 4月15日 U.S.A. Top 10: April 15 https://archive.org/details/famitsu-1988-apr-9/page/10 Famicom Tsūshin 1988 9 10 ja April We Are the ChampionsStreet Life Your Sinclair 14 June 1988 31 (July 1988) 50–1 https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-31/page/n49/mode/2up Ice Hockey20 May 1988 U.S.A. TOP 10: 4月28日 U.S.A. Top 10: April 28 https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4157-famitsu-issue-0049-may-20-1988/ Famicom Tsūshin 1988 10 10 ja May Steve Davis SnookerAll Formats Combined Chart Computer and Video Games 81 (July 1988) EMAP 15 June 1988 https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-081/page/n7/mode/2up 20 December 2021 Target: RenegadeStreet Life Your Sinclair 12 July 1988 32 (August 1988) 22–3 https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-32/page/n21/mode/2up Ice Hockey The Legend of Zelda NES 17 June 1988 U.S.A. TOP 10: 6月3日 U.S.A. Top 10: June 3 https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4361-famitsu-issue-0051-june-17-1988/ Famicom Tsūshin 1988 12 10 ja June Target: Renegade (ZX Spectrum)15 July 1988 Charts https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-082/page/n10 Computer and Video Games 82 (August 1988) 9, 11 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!Top Ten Videogames Computer Entertainer July 1988 7 4 1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_jul88.pdf The Legend of Zelda29 July 1988 U.S.A. TOP 10: 7月15日 U.S.A. Top 10: July 15 https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4454-famitsu-issue-0054-july-29-1988/ Famicom Tsūshin 1988 15 10 ja NES July Football Manager 216 August 1988 Charts https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-083/page/n10 Computer and Video Games 83 (September 1988) 9, 11 The Legend of Zelda Double Dragon2 September 1988 U.S.A. TOP 10: 8月19日 U.S.A. Top 10: August 19 https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4476-famitsu-issue-0056-september-2-1988/ Famicom Tsūshin 1988 17 10 ja August Football Manager 216 September 1988 Charts https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-084/page/n10 Computer and Video Games 84 (October 1988) 9, 11 European Five-a-Side R.B.I. Baseball Double DragonTop Ten Videogames Computer Entertainer September 1988 7 6 1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_sep88.pdf September Bomb Jack15 October 1988 Charts https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-085/page/n10 Computer and Video Games 85 (November 1988) 11, 15 Football Manager 2 Double Dragon NES Top Ten Videogames Computer Entertainer October 1988 7 7 1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_oct88.pdf October Daley Thompson's Olympic ChallengeNovember 1988 Charts https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-086/page/n11 Computer and Video Games 86 (December 1988) 12 Bomb Jack Super Mario Bros. 2NES 11 November 1988 U.S.A. TOP 10: 10月28日 U.S.A. Top 10: October 28 https://archive.org/details/famitsu61november1988/page/n10 Famicom Tsūshin 1988 22 10 ja November Last Ninja 216 December 1988 Charts https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-087/page/n8 Computer and Video Games 87 (January 1989) 9, 19 Top Ten Videogames Computer Entertainer December 1988 7 9 1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_dec88.pdf December Operation WolfCundy Matt 25 December 2007 Every Christmas Top 10 from the last 20 years https://www.gamesradar.com/every-christmas-top-10-from-the-last-20-years/11/ 9 March 2021 GamesRadar 11 RoboCopJanuary 1989 Charts https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-088/page/n11/mode/1up Computer and Video Games 88 (February 1989) 9, 12 Top Ten Videogames Computer Entertainer January 1989 7 10 1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_jan89.pdf3 February 1989 U.S.A. TOP 10: 1月20日 U.S.A. Top 10: January 20 https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4567-famitsu-issue-0067-february-3-1989/ Famicom Tsūshin 1989 3 14 ja 1988 Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt NES Top-rated games Major awards Japan Award 2nd Gamest Awards (December 1988)第２回ゲーメスト大賞 2nd Gamest Awards Gamest December 27, 1988 29 (February 1989) https://archive.org/details/gamest0029/page/n28 25–41 ja alternate url 3rd Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards (February 1989)'88 ベストヒットゲーム大賞 '88 Best Hit Game Awards Famicom Tsūshin 3 February 1989 1989 3 6–9 https://www.retromags.com/files/file/4567-famitsu-issue-0067-february-3-1989/ ja 3rd Famimaga Game Awards (February 1989)1988 ファミマガゲーム大賞 1988 Famimaga Game Awards Family Computer Magazine 12 February 1989 Tokuma Shoten 116–7 https://archive.org/details/famimagafebruary1989/page/n106 jaArcadeConsoleFamicom Game of the Year Gradius II Dragon Quest III (Famicom) Critics' Choice Awards Dragon Spirit (PC Engine) Sangokushi (Famicom) Nobunaga no Yabō: Zenkokuban (Famicom) Family Circuit (Famicom) Captain Tsubasa (Famicom) Chô Wakusei Senki Metafight (Famicom) Rockman (Famicom) Best Arcade Conversion R-Type (PC Engine) Best Playability Super Mario Bros. 3 Best Scenario / Story Final Fantasy (Famicom) Best Graphics Forgotten Worlds Alien Crush (PC Engine) Best Music / Sound The Ninja Warriors Galaga '88 (PC Engine) Dragon Quest III Special Award After Burner II Original / Frontier Spirit / Spotlight Syvalion No-Ri-Ko (PC Engine CD-ROM²) Captain Tsubasa Best Character / Character Design Bravoman (Bravoman) Dragon Quest III (Famicom) Super Mario Bros. 3 Best Game Company Namco Best Action Game Super Mario Bros. 3 (Famicom) Best Shooter / Shoot 'Em Up Gradius II / Ultimate Tiger Gradius II (Famicom) Best RPG Dragon Quest III (Famicom) Best Action RPG Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished (Sega Mark III) Best Adventure Game Famicom Detective Club (Famicom) Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (Famicom) Famicom Detective Club Best Simulation / Strategy Game Famicom Wars (Famicom) Best Sports Game World Stadium Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87 Best Puzzle Game Tetris (Famicom) Best Value for Money Dragon Quest III Best Ending Gradius II Best Performance Ninja Ryūkenden (Ninja Gaiden) Best Commercial Famicom Wars (Famicom) United Kingdom Award Sinclair User Awards (December 1988)Coin-Ops: SU Awards '88 Sinclair User 18 December 1988 82 (January 1989) 98–9 https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-082/page/n97 6th Golden Joystick Awards (April 1989)16 May 1989 Golden Joystick Awards 1989 https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Video_Games_Issue_092_1989-06_EMAP_Publishing_GB/Computer__Video_Games_Issue_092_1989-06_EMAP_Publishing_GB#page/n61 Computer and Video Games Future Publishing 92 (June 1989) 62–3 Arcade 8-bit computer 16-bit computer Console Game of the Year Operation Wolf Speedball Thunder Blade (Master System) Best Arcade / Coin-Op Conversion Operation Wolf Best Graphics Armalyte Rocket Ranger Best VGM / Soundtrack Bionic Commando International Karate + Best Original Game Dynamite Düx Best Software House Ocean Software Mirrorsoft Best Progammer John Phillips The Bitmap Brothers Best Shooter / Shoot 'Em Up Galaxy Force Best Beat 'Em Up Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja Best Adventure Game Corruption Fish! Best Simulation Game MicroProse Soccer Falcon Best Racing Game Power Drift United States Award Computer Gaming World (November 1988)Video Gaming World Computer Gaming World November 1988 Kunkel, Bill Worley, Joyce Katz, Arnie 54, 56 http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_53.pdf#page=54 Electronic Gaming Monthly (1989)1989 The 1989 "Player's Choice" Awards https://retrocdn.net/images/6/64/EGM_US_BuyersGuide_1989.pdf#page=18 Electronic Gaming Monthly 1989 Buyer's Guide 18–20 Computer Entertainer Awards of Excellence (January 1989)1988 Awards of Excellence Announced! Computer Entertainer January 1989 7 10 3 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_jan89.pdf#page=3 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (February 1989)Katz Arnie February 1989 The Year's Best Video And Computer Games: Our Editors Pick The Outstanding Cartridges And Disks Of 1988 https://archive.org/details/vgce_02/page/n55 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment 2 56–68 Master System NES Console Console Computer Console Computer Game of the Year Double Dragon (NES) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES) Phantasy Star (SMS) Zaxxon 3D (Master System) Superstar Ice Hockey Entertainment Program of the Year Rocket Ranger (AMI) Wizardry IV (APL2) Bubble Ghost (GS) Captain Blood (ST) Pool of Radiance (C64) Battlehawks 1942 (IBM PC) The Colony (Mac) Arcade Conversion Out Run Arkanoid Rampage (Master System) Arkanoid (NES) Best Graphics Rocky Side Pocket Phantasy Star (SMS) rowspan="2" King's Quest IV Side Pocket (NES) Rocket Ranger Sound / Soundtrack Original / Innovative Jaws Blaster Master (NES) Monopoly (Master System) Battle Chess Action / Arcade-Style Space Harrier R.C. Pro-Am Contra (NES) Chop N' Drop Blaster Master (NES) Skate or Die! Shooter / Target Game Missile Defense 3-D Hogan's Alley Best Adventure Game / Fantasy The Legend of Zelda Manhunter: New York The Legend of Zelda (NES) Neuromancer Best Strategy Game Decisive Battles Monopoly (NES) The Fool's Errand Best Simulation / Simulator P51 Mustang Flight Sim PT-109 (Mac) Test Drive Best Sports Game Great Volleyball Pro Wrestling Bases Loaded (NES) Ice Hockey (NES) Great Basketball (SMS) Star Rank Boxing (APL2) Fast Break (C64) Jack Nicklaus Golf (PC) Bases Loaded (NES) Super Bowl Sunday Best Action-Strategy Monopoly Raid on Bungeling Bay TetrisDesigner of the Year Ezra Sidran Best Educational Mixed-Up Mother Goose Most Humorous Shufflepuck Café (Mac) Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame The following 1988 video game releases entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧 Weekly Famitsu Cross Review Platinum Hall of Fame Software List http://geimin.net/da/db/cross_review/index.php https://web.archive.org/web/20081027205828/http://geimin.net/da/db/cross_review/index.php Geimin ja dead October 27, 2008 24 February 2021 Title Score (out of 40) Developer Publisher Genre Platform Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... (Dragon Warrior III) 38 Chunsoft Enix RPG Family Computer (Famicom) Final Fantasy II 35 Squaresoft Squaresoft Super Mario Bros. 3 35 Nintendo EAD Nintendo Platform Business New companies: Eurocom, Image Works, Koeo, Stormfront, Visual Concepts, Walt Disney Computer Software Defunct: Aackosoft, Coleco, Sente, Spectravideo Activision renamed to Mediagenic Nintendo vs. Camerica lawsuit: Nintendo sues Camerica over the clone production of an Advantage joystick controller for the NES console Notable releases Arcade April – Namco releases Assault, which may be the first game to use hardware rotation of sprites and the background. August – Sega releases Altered Beast, later ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis where it was packaged with the console in North America and Europe. December – Capcom releases Ghouls 'n Ghosts, the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins. December – Namco releases Winning Run, the first polygonal 3D arcade racing game. December – Technōs Japan releases Double Dragon II: The Revenge, the first sequel to Double Dragon, released during the previous year. Atari Games releases an official arcade version of Tetris as well as Cyberball and Toobin'. Namco releases World Stadium, Berabow Man, Märchen Maze, Baraduke II, Ordyne, Metal Hawk, World Court, Splatterhouse, which is the first game to get a parental advisory disclaimer, Mirai Ninja, Face Off and Phelios. Williams releases the violent, drug-themed NARC, beginning a run of major hits for the company. Home January 2 – Electronic Arts releases Wasteland. January 5 – shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic is one of the first NES-style scrolling platform games for MS-DOS, setting the stage for a subsequent shareware boom. January 8 – Konami releases Super Contra. January 14 – Konami releases Konami Wai Wai World the first ever crossover game features cast of all star characters from various video game franchises & non-video game properties such as characters from blockbuster movies. January 29 – the first commercial versions of Tetris are released.https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/29/business/new-software-game-it-comes-from-soviet.html New Software Game: It Comes From Soviet The New York Times 1988-01-29 February 10 – Enix releases Dragon Quest III. March – R.C. Pro-Am is released and becomes a hit for the NES, drawing attention to UK developer Rare. July 20 – Capcom releases Bionic Commando, for NES/Famicom based on the 1987 arcade game of the same title. August – Zortech releases Big Bang. October 5 – Origin Systems releases Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny, which includes a time-of-day system and daily schedules for non-player characters. October 9 – Nintendo revamps Doki Doki Panic and releases it as Super Mario Bros. 2, for the Nintendo Entertainment System in America and the PAL region. Birdo made her debut in this game and released in Japan as Super Mario USA in 1992. October 23 – Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Famicom in Japan. First appearance of the Koopalings. December 1 – Nintendo releases Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in America. The game had been released nearly two years earlier in Japan on the Famicom Disk System, before America even saw the first The Legend of Zelda. December 9 – Tecmo releases Ninja Gaiden for the NES/Famicom. December 17 – Square Co. releases Final Fantasy II for the Famicom as the second installment of the Final Fantasy series. December 24 – Capcom releases Mega Man 2 in Japan, eventually becoming the highest-selling installment of the entire Mega Man franchise with a total of 1.5 million copies sold. Pool of Radiance the first of the SSI Gold Box games is released, the first computer RPG officially based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Superior Software release Exile on the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro. A complex arcade adventure, it is the first with a full physics engine. Sega releases Phantasy Star outside Japan for the Master System, the first in the company's most successful series of role-playing video games. Electronic Arts releases John Madden Football for the Apple II, starting its highly successful line of American football games. Interplay's animated chess program Battle Chess is released for the Amiga, then widely ported. Pioneer Plague makes use of the Amiga's 4096 color Hold-And-Modify mode, something not thought possible for animated games. AMC Verlag releases Herbert for the Atari 8-bit computers. Hardware thumb|Sega Mega Drive October 29 – Mega Drive released in Japan. Nintendo buys the rights to Bandai's Family Trainer and re-releases it as the Power Pad. Namco releases the Namco System 21, the first arcade system board specifically designed for 3D polygon graphics. See also 1988 in games References Category:Video games by year