1996 in video games

none March 2016 1996 video games August 2022 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 main platform 3 3DO Arcade DOS GB GEN GG MAC N64 NEO NEOCD NES PCFX PC98 PS1 RZ SAT SNES WIN main genre none 3 4X Action Action-adventure Adventure Brawler Fighting FPS MMORPG Platformer Puzzle Racing RPG RTS Sandbox Shooter Simulation Sports Tactical RPG Visual novel Hardware 250px|thumb|right|Nintendo 64 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 JapanReleased in North America on November 4th. June 23 - Nintendo's Nintendo 64, the first true 64-bit home console, initially released in JapanRelease in North America on September 29, 1996 and then in PAL regions on March 1, 1997. July 20 - Nintendo's Game Boy Pocket (GBP) handheld console (30% smaller version of the previous Game Boy handheld console), initially released in JapanReleased in North America on September 2nd. 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 Reference(s)Chicago TribuneSuper Mario 64N64NintendoPlatformer Carter Chip Carter Jonathan For Game Quality, 1996 Was a Very Good Year https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-01-02-9701020105-story.html 29 October 2021 Chicago Tribune January 2, 1997 Digitiser Digitiser's Top 14 Games Of 1996 http://www.superpage58.com/digitiser-vault-teletext-screenshot-image-archive-1997-01-03.htm 27 October 2021 Digitiser 3 January 1997 Electronic Gaming Monthly Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 92 (March 1997), pages 82-90 Game Informer https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/01/02/looking-back-at-25-years-of-game-informer-s-goty-awards.aspx?PostPageIndex=1 25 Years Of Game Informer's GOTY Awards Game Informer 2 January 2017 29 December 2017 30 December 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171230060137/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/01/02/looking-back-at-25-years-of-game-informer-s-goty-awards.aspx?PostPageIndex=1 live Golden Joystick Awards http://www.gamesradar.com/golden-joysticks-ultimate-list-ultimate-games-1983-2014/ Golden Joysticks Awards' Ultimate List of Ultimate Games: 1983–2014 GamesRadar Future plc 15 October 2015 30 October 2015 17 March 2016 https://archive.today/20160317174345/http://www.gamesradar.com/golden-joysticks-ultimate-list-ultimate-games-1983-2014/ live Spotlight Awards Archive 1997 Spotlight Awards https://gamechoiceawards.com/archive/spotlight_1997 Game Developers Choice Awards 4 April 2024 CESA Awards Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) SAT Sega Tactical RPG http://awards.cesa.or.jp/2017/history/1.html ja:CESA大賞'96 初の作品賞(大賞)はサクラ大戦が受賞！ The CESA Grand Prize '96's top award (Grand Prize) was won by Sakura Wars! ja Japan Game Awards 2017 March 14, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180314114012/http://awards.cesa.or.jp/2017/history/1.html March 14, 2018 live2008 About Sakura Taisen http://www.red-entertainment.co.jp/eng/works/sakura/works/index.html Red Entertainment 2 February 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081221055452/http://www.red-entertainment.co.jp/eng/works/sakura/works/index.html 21 December 2008GameFan MegawardsTomb RaiderEidosAction-adventureGameFan, volume 5, issue 2 (February 1997), pages 34-36Enemy ZeroSATWarpAdventure Gamest Awards Street Fighter Zero 2 (Street Fighter Alpha 2) Arcade Capcom Fighting IAAPA Exhibit Awards Tokyo Wars Arcade Namco Shooter IAAPA Exhibit Awards History (1990-2001) https://www.iaapa.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/ExhibitorAwardsHistory_1990-2001.pdf International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions November 2019 27 October 2021 VSDA Awards Donkey Kong Country 2 SNES Nintendo Platformer Home Entertainment Awards – Video Games http://www.entmerch.org/industry/awards/emavsda-home-entertainment-/home-entertainment-awards-v-2.html Entertainment Merchants Association 5 February 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20131101201913/http://www.entmerch.org/industry/awards/emavsda-home-entertainment-/home-entertainment-awards-v-2.html 1 November 2013 dead Critically acclaimed titles Metacritic and GameRankings Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews. + 1996 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR)Best Video Games for 1996 https://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/year/all/filtered?sort=desc&year_selected=1996 November 4, 2019 MetacriticHighest-Ranking Games of 1996 (with at least 5 reviews) https://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html?site=&cat=0&year=1996&numrev=4&sort=0&letter=&search= November 4, 2019 GameRankings 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 91.86% Tomb Raider Eidos Interactive November 14, 1996 DOS 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 89.90% Dragon Force Sega March 29, 1996 SAT 89.64% International Superstar Soccer 64 Konami December 20, 1996 N64 89.23% Guardian Heroes Sega January 26, 1996 SAT 89.20% Super Mario RPG Nintendo March 9, 1996 SNES 89.12% Descent II Interplay Productions March 13, 1996 DOS 89/100 Duke Nukem 3D GT Interactive January 29, 1996 DOS 89/100 88.50% Star Control 3 Accolade August 31, 1996 DOS 89/100 NiGHTS into Dreams... Sega July 5, 1996 SAT 88.56% Pokémon Blue Version Nintendo October 15, 1996 GB 88.33% Pokémon Red Version Nintendo February 27, 1996 GB 87.86% Formula 1 Psygnosis September 30, 1996 PS1 87.75% Fighters Megamix Sega December 21, 1996 SAT 87.67% Pilotwings 64 Nintendo June 23, 1996 N64 80/100 87.52% Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Sega March 22, 1996 SAT 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.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 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081027205828/http://geimin.net/da/db/cross_review/index.php October 27, 2008 24 February 2021 Geimin ja TitlePlatformDeveloperPublisherGenreScore (out of 40)Super Mario 64N64Nintendo EADNintendoPlatformer39Resident EvilPS1CapcomCapcomSurvival horror38Tekken 2PS1NamcoNamcoFighting38Fighting VipersSATSega AM2SegaFighting37Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren GBGBAquamarineChunsoftRoguelike36Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e...SNESHeartbeatEnixRPG36Panzer Dragoon II ZweiSATSegaSegaRail shooter35J. League Victory Goal '96SATSegaSegaSports35Fighters MegamixSATSega AM2SegaFighting35 Financial performance Highest-grossing arcade games Japan In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1996. Rank Gamest第10回 ゲーメスト大賞 10th Gamest Awards Gamest December 27, 1996 188 (January–February 1997) 46–63 ja alternate url Game MachineAkagi Masumi "Tekken 2", "Virtua Cop 2" Top Videos '96 Game Machine 534 Amusement Press, Inc. 1 February 1997 26 https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19970201p.pdf#page=14TitleManufacturer Title Type Points 1 Street Fighter Zero 2 (Street Fighter Alpha 2)CapcomVirtua Fighter 2 / 2.1 PCB 2 Virtual On: Cyber TroopersSega Puzzle Bobble 2 / 2X PCB 3 The King of Fighters '96SNK Print Club (Purikura) Other 4059 4 Virtua Fighter 3Sega Rave Racer SD / DX / 2P 5 Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over MystaraCapcom Tekken 2 PCB 3579 6 Psychic ForceTaito Virtua Cop 2 Dedicated 3271 7 RayStormTaito Virtual On: Cyber Troopers Dedicated 3208 8 X-Men vs. Street FighterCapcom Alpine Racer Dedicated 2807 9 Real Bout Garō Densetsu (Real Bout Fatal Fury)SNK Fighting Vipers PCB 2555 10 Battle GareggaEighting 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 CommunicationsTop Ten Arcade Titles for 1996: According to a recent report, both Sega and Namco had three of top ten grossing arcade titles in 1996 http://www.next-generation.com/news/121796b.chtml 17 October 2021 Next Generation December 17, 1996 dead https://web.archive.org/web/19970418202309/http://www.next-generation.com/news/121796b.chtml 18 April 1997 AMOACoin Machine: AMOA Announces JB Award Nominees Cash Box August 3, 1996 26 https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/90s/1996/CB-1996-08-03-OCR-Page-0026.pdf 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 USAMortal 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 colspan="2" rowspan="5" 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.Test Reports https://archive.org/details/Leisure_Line_1996-03_Leisure_Allied_Industries_AU/page/n57 27 December 2019 Leisure Line Leisure & Allied Industries March 1996 58 Best-selling video game consoles RankManufacturerGame consoleTypeGenerationSales Japan United States Worldwide1SonyPS1Home32-bit2,200,000+Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware / PlayStation http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps_e.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20040422075722/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps_e.html 2004-04-22 2021-12-25 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony 31 December 2003Clements Matthew T. Ohashi Hiroshi October 2004 Indirect Network Effects and the Product Cycle: Video Games in the U.S., 1994–2002 http://www.netinst.org/Clements_Ohashi.pdf#page=25 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160307012843/http://www.netinst.org/Clements_Ohashi.pdf March 7, 2016 September 21, 2011 NET Institute 12, 246,600,000+2NintendoGBHandheld8-bit2,860,000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/http://www.toyo.ac.jp/uploaded/attachment/3049.pdf 2015-07-25 2021-12-06 Toyo University Academic Information Repository (Toyo University) 4,000,000+Rothstein Edward December 8, 1997 Nintendo's Game Boy lives as nostalgia for simpler computer games catches on The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/08/business/technology-connections-nintendo-s-game-boy-lives-nostalgia-for-simpler-computer.html subscription 25 December 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20150527052924/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/08/business/technology-connections-nintendo-s-game-boy-lives-nostalgia-for-simpler-computer.html 2015-05-27SegaSATHome32-bit2,300,000,0004,000,000+Fontaine Gilles 5 February 1997 Jeux vidéo : une industrie lourde est née fr Video games: a heavy industry is born L'Express https://lexpansion.lexpress.fr/actualite-economique/jeux-video-une-industrie-lourde-est-nee_1409552.html 25 December 2021April 1996 Sales War Continues https://retrocdn.net/images/f/fa/SegaPro_UK_56.pdf#page=11 Sega Pro 28 February 1996 56 11 25 December 20214NintendoN64Home64-bit1,022,9991997 Results https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/hardware-by-year/1997-results live 2021-12-27 Game Data Library Famitsu en-US https://web.archive.org/web/20190322125135/https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/hardware-by-year/1997-results March 22, 2019 2,758,999+5NintendoSNESHome16-bit620,0001,416,0001,746,000+6SegaGENHome16-bit 1,316,000+7NintendoNESHome8-bit70,000,000538,000+8SegaGGHandheld8-bit100,000 100,000+9NECPCFXHome32-bit50,000 50,000+Panasonic3DOHome32-bit50,000 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 States9 September 1996 Growing Minions of Evil! https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_179_1996-10_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n8 Computer and Video Games 179 (October 1996) 9 Europe Worldwide1Super Mario 64N64903,0002,000,000+ 2,903,000+2Tekken 2PS11,200,000+1,000,000+420,0002,620,000+3Resident Evil (Biohazard)PS11,016,0001,000,000+300,000+2,316,000+4Super Mario RPGSNES995,8981,000,000+ 1,995,898+5Donkey Kong Country 3SNES674,0001,000,000+ 1,674,000+6Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / BlueGB1,663,861 1,663,8617Donkey Kong Country 2SNES612,0001,000,000+ 1,612,000+8Wave Race 64N64154,6821,000,000+ 1,154,682+9Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e...SNES1,071,000 1,071,00010Madden NFL 97PS1 1,000,000+ 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 Reference 1 Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue GB Game Freak Nintendo RPG 1,663,861 Famitsū Gēmu Hakusho 1997 Enterbrain 1997 Tokyo ja ja:ファミ通ゲーム白書1997 Famitsu Game Whitebook 1997 1996年ゲームソフト年間売上TOP100 1996 Game Software Annual Sales Top 100 http://geimin.net/da/db/1996_ne_fa/index.php dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081227141144/http://geimin.net/da/db/1996_ne_fa/index.php December 27, 2008 17 February 2021 1996 Top 30 Best Selling Japanese Console Games http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-BestSell1996.shtml The Magicbox February 24, 2021 May 12, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160512150524/http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-BestSell1996.shtml dead 2 Tekken 2 PS1 Namco Namco Fighting 1,200,000+ Hurwitch Nick The Art of Tekken: A Complete Visual History 10 July 2019 Dynamite Entertainment 978-1-5241-1308-7 33 https://books.google.com/books?id=cG2hDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 3 Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... SNES Heartbeat Enix RPG1,071,000 1996年のコンシューマーゲームソフトの売上 1996 Consumer Game Software Sales Dengeki Oh MediaWorks ja http://www.rnac.ne.jp/~zangel/1996.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010921045056/http://www.rnac.ne.jp/~zangel/1996.htm 21 September 2001 16 September 2021 4 Biohazard (Resident Evil) PS1 Capcom Capcom Survival horror 1,016,000 5 Super Mario RPG SNES Squaresoft Nintendo RPG 995,898 6 Derby Stallion '96 PS1 ASCII ASCII Simulation 960,000 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.Famighetti Robert The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1998 World Almanac Books 1997 0886878217 259 Top-Selling Video Games, 1996 Source: The NPD TRSTS Video Game Tracking Service, The NPD Group, Inc., Port Washington, NY; ranked by units sold https://archive.org/details/worldalmanacbook00slwo/page/259 registration Rank Title Platform Publisher Genre Sales Revenue Inflation 1 Super Mario 64 N64 Nintendo Platformer 2,000,000+16 March 1997 Inventor pales beside his 'Mario' creation 56 El Paso Times Associated Press https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21337013/shigeru-miyamoto-nintendo/ $140,000,000 $US 140,000,000 1996 -6 c 2 Donkey Kong Country 2 SNES Nintendo Platformer1,000,000+ 3 Donkey Kong Country 3 SNES Nintendo Platformer 1,000,000+ 4 Madden NFL 97 PS1 EA Sports Sports (football) 1,000,000+ rowspan="3" rowspan="3" 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+ 8 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire N64 Nintendo Action 1,000,000+ 9 Resident Evil PS1 Capcom Survival horror 1,000,000+ 10 Myst PS1 Broderbund Adventure 853,765Miller Greg March 3, 1997 Myst Opportunities: Game Makers Narrow Their Focus to Search for the Next Blockbuster 3 Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-03-fi-34360-story.html live 18 October 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20180508013306/http://articles.latimes.com/1997-03-03/business/fi-34360_1_pc-game/3 2018-05-08 Source: PC Data $28,800,000 $US 28,800,000 1996 -5 c Europe In Europe, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 1996. Rank All platforms PlayStationTop-Selling PlayStation Titles (1996) - Europe Screen Digest 1997 130 https://books.google.com/books?id=51nvAAAAMAAJ Screen Digest Limited Title Publisher Title EU saleshttps://books.google.com/books?id=51nvAAAAMAAJ Screen Digest 1997 Screen Digest 132 Despite the earlier launch in the US, sales of next generation console games can already be fairly evenly balanced between the US and Europe, with PlayStation titles Tekken II and Crash Bandicoot, for example, selling 470,000 and 340,000 in the US and 420,000 and 300,000 in Europe respectively. UK revenue12 February 1997 Scorching Christmas Sales For PlayStation! https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_184_1997-03_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n11 Computer and Video Games 184 (March 1997) 12 UK revenue (inflation) 1 Formula 1Classic Videogame Hardware Genius Guide Imagine Publishing 978-1-908222-22-0 492 https://books.google.com/books?id=QZS_gXpshd4C&pg=PT492 Psygnosis Formula 1 420,000+ £15,000,000+ (15 GBR 1996 yes,000,000 no+) $US 23000000 1996 -6 c+ 2 colspan="2" Tekken 2 420,000 £15,000,000+ (15 GBR 1996 yes,000,000 no+) $US 23000000 1996 -6 c+ 3 colspan="2" FIFA 97 300,000+ rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 4 colspan="2" Resident Evil300,000+ 5 colspan="2" Crash Bandicoot 300,000 £15,000,000+ (15 GBR 1996 yes,000,000 no+) $US 23000000 1996 -6 c+ 6 colspan="2" Destruction Derby colspan="3" rowspan="5" 7 colspan="2" Ridge Racer Revolution 8 colspan="2" Tekken 9 colspan="2" Ridge Racer 10 colspan="2" 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. Sega Saturn PCUK: Top-Selling PC CD-ROM Games 1996 Screen Digest 1997 133 https://books.google.com/books?id=51nvAAAAMAAJ Screen Digest Limited HMVEditorial Computer and Video Games EMAP United Kingdom 183 (February 1997) 10 January 1997 6–7 https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_183_1997-02_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n5/mode/2up Rank Title Athlete Kings Tomb Raider 1 Grand Prix 2 Bust-A-Move 2 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 2 Command & Conquer: Red Alert Daytona USA: Circuit Edition Virtua Cop 3 FIFA 97 Euro 96 Virtua Fighter 2 4 Command & ConquerExhumedSega Worldwide Soccer 975Civilization IIFighting Vipers 6 QuakeGuardian Heroes 7Theme ParkNights into Dreams 8Rally Championship Sea Bass Fishing 9Championship Manager 2 Sega Rally Championship 10Worms 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 Reference January February March April May Super Mario RPG https://web.archive.org/web/19970419014216/http://www.next-generation.com/news/082496g.html http://www.next-generation.com:80/news/082496g.html Mario RPG Tops Rentals Again August 24, 1996 Staff April 19, 1997 Next Generation dead February 6, 2021 June July August September October November December 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.https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/16/business/sega-s-us-chief-to-resign-as-company-sales-fall-short.html Sega's US Chief to Resign as Company Sales Fall Short New York Times Laurence Zuckerman en 16 July 1996 5 July 2020 May 16–18 – The second annual E3 is held in Los Angeles, California, United States.http://www.ign.com/wikis/e3/Attendance_and_Stats Attendance and Stats June 8, 2012 IGN May 21, 2015 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. 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 Notable releases Release Date Title Developer/Publisher Platform Genre Ref Reference(s) January 25 Guardian Heroes Treasure/Sega SAT Brawler October 2025 January 26 Mystaria: The Realms of Lore Micro Cabin/Sega SAT Tactical RPG October 2025 January 26 Shizuku Leaf PC98 Visual novel 『雫』『痕』、そして『ToHeart』。ビジュアルノベルの誕生と繚乱【アニメ『16bitセンセーション Another Layer』連動企画第4回】 "Shizuku," "Kizu," and "ToHeart." The Birth of Visual Novels and the Era of Turmoil [Part 4 of the Cross-Promotional Campaign for the Anime "16-bit Sensation: Another Layer"] https://www.famitsu.com/news/202310/29322123.html Famitsu October 29, 2023 July 14, 2026 live https://web.archive.org/web/20231030030743/https://www.famitsu.com/news/202310/29322123.html October 30, 2023 Ryo Morise Japanese Kadokawa Game Linkage Tokyo, Japan January 29 Duke Nukem 3D 3D Realms/GT Interactive DOS FPS October 2025 January 31 Mega Man X3 Capcom SNES October 2025 February 9 Bahamut Lagoon SquareSoft SNES Tactical RPG October 2025 February 20 Soul Edge Namco Arcade Fighting https://www.bandainamcoent.co.jp/corporate/press/namco/51/51-046refer.pdf 「ソウルキャリバーⅢ」参考資料 Bandai Namco February 23 Front Mission: Gun Hazard SquareSoft SNES October 2025 February 27 Pokémon Red and Green Game Freak/Nintendo GB October 2025 February 29 Civilization II MicroProse WIN 4X October 2025 February 29 Ripper Take Two Interactive DOS Adventure, Interactive film October 2025 February 29 Rise 2: Resurrection Mirage/Acclaim WIN, SAT, PS1 October 2025 February 29 Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri Looking Glass Studios DOS FPS October 2025 February 29 Zork: Nemesis Activision WIN October 2025 March 9 Super Mario RPG SquareSoft/Nintendo SNES RPG October 2025 March 21 Kirby Super Star HAL Labs/Nintendo SNES October 2025 March 22 Resident Evil Capcom PS1 survival horror October 2025 March 22 Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Team Andromeda/Sega SAT Rail shooter October 2025 March 24 Someone's in the Kitchen! The Neverhood Inc./DreamWorks WIN https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220055/ Someone's in the Kitchen (Video Game 1996) IMDb March 29 Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension TOSE/Bandai SNES October 2025 April 20 Barbie Fashion Designer Digital Domain/Mattel Media WIN October 2025 April 26 Jumping Flash! 2 Exact/SCEA PS1 Platformer October 2025 April 26 The Legend of Oasis Sega/Ancient SAT October 2025 April 30 Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures LucasArts WIN, MAC Adventure October 2025 May 14 Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu Intelligent Systems/Nintendo SNES Tactical RPG October 2025 May 13 Kirby's Block Ball HAL Labs/Nintendo GB October 2025 May 24 Metal Slug SNK NEO October 2025 May 31 Final Doom id Software DOS October 2025 June Last Bronx Sega Arcade October 2025 June 22 Quake id Software DOS October 2025 June 23 Super Mario 64 Nintendo N64 Platformer June 26 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Acclaim Entertainment, GT Interactive, Midway, Williams Entertainment SAT, GEN, SNES October 2025 July 5 NiGHTS into Dreams... Sega SAT October 2025 July 19 Saturn Bomberman Hudson SAT October 2025 July 19 Star Ocean tri-ace/Enix SNES October 2025 July 25 The King of Fighters '96 SNK NEO, NEOCD, SAT October 2025 July 26 Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition Taito/Acclaim SAT, PS1 Puzzle October 2025 July 31 Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh Sierra On-Line DOS, WIN October 2025 July 31 Virtua Fighter Kids Sega AM2 SAT, Arcade October 2025 August 25 Tekken 2 Namco PS1 Fighting October 2025 August 26 Azrael's Tear Intelligent Games DOS Adventure October 2025 August 31 Die Hard Trilogy Probe Entertainment/Fox Interactive WIN, PS1, SAT October 2025 August 31 Tetris Attack Intelligent Systems/Nintendo SNES, GB October 2025 August 31 Madden NFL 97 EA Sports/Electronic Arts GEN, PS1, WIN, SNES, SAT, GB Sports (football) October 2025 August 31 Beyond the Beyond Camelot/SCEA PS1 RPG October 2025 August 31 Jet Moto SingleTrac/SCEA PS1 Racing October 2025 September Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games Sir-Tech DOS October 2025 September Virtua Fighter 3 Sega AM2 Arcade Fighting October 2025 September 8 Magic Carpet 2 Bullfrog Productions DOS Action 2021-01-22 Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworlds - PC Review - Coming Soon Magazine! https://www.csoon.com/issue8/magic2.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20210122182053/https://www.csoon.com/issue8/magic2.htm dead 2021-01-22 2024-05-17 September 9 Crash Bandicoot Naughty Dog/Universal/Sony PS1 October 2025 September 14 GunGriffon Game Arts/Sega SAT October 2025 September 20 Revelations: Persona Atlus PS1 RPG October 2025 September 20 The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall Bethesda Softworks WIN Sandbox October 2025 September 27 Meridian 59 3DO WIN MMORPG October 2025 September 27 Blue Breaker: Ken yori mo hohoemi o HuneX PCFX RPGhttp://www.hunex.co.jp/gyoumu01.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20001210143600/http://www.hunex.co.jp/gyoumu01.htm HuneX 業務実績1 Project Portfolio Japanese June 10, 2026 December 10, 2000 dead HuneX September 29 Pilotwings 64 Nintendo N64 http://www.pennoaks.net/archive64/Miscellaneous_Articles/N64_US_Launch.htm McCall N64's U.S. Launch Teleparc Scott September 28, 1996 September 29, 2015 September 30 Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars Revolution Software/Virgin Interactive WIN, PS1 Adventure October 2025 September 30 Wipeout XL/2097 Psygnosis PS1 October 2025 September 30 Shattered Steel BioWare/Interplay DOS October 2025 September 30 Street Fighter Alpha 2 Capcom Arcade, SNES, PS1, SAT October 2025 September 30 Mr. Bones Zono/Sega SAT Platformer October 2025 September 30 Tobal No. 1 DreamFactory/SCEA PS1 Fighting October 2025 September 30 Formula 1 Bizarre Creations/SCEA PS1 Racing October 2025 September 30 Donkey Kong Land 2 Rare/Nintendo GB October 2025 October 1 Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars New World Computing/3DO DOS, WIN October 2025 October 10 Mortal Kombat Trilogy Avalanche, Midway, Point of View N64, PS1, RZ October 2025 October 15 Marathon Infinity Bungie MAC October 2025 October 15 Pokémon Blue Game Freak/Nintendo GB October 2025 October 30 The Neverhood The Neverhood Inc./DreamWorks WIN October 2025 October 31 Command & Conquer: Red Alert Westwood Studios DOS October 2025 October 31 Master of Orion II Simtex/MicroProse DOS October 2025 October 31 Toonstruck Burst Studios/Virgin Interactive Entertainment DOS October 2025 October 31 Drowned God Epic Multimedia Group/Inscape WIN Adventure October 2025 October 31 SimCopter Maxis WIN Simulation (flight) October 2025 October 31 King's Field III FromSoftware/ASCII Entertainment PS1 October 2025 October 31 DeathDrome Zipper Interactive/Viacom WIN October 2025 October 31 WWF In Your House Acclaim DOS, PS1, SAT October 2025 October 31 Twisted Metal 2 SingleTrac/SCEA PS1 October 2025 October 31 Destruction Derby 2 Reflections Interactive/SCEA PS1 October 2025 October 31 NBA Live 97 Electronic Arts, EA Sports PS1, SAT, SNES, GEN October 2025 October 31 Pandemonium! Electronic Arts, EA Sports PS1, SAT October 2025 November 1 Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain Silicon Knights/Crystal Dynamics PS1, WIN October 2025 November 14 Tomb Raider Core Design/Eidos PS1, SAT, DOS Action-adventure October 2025 November 20 Disruptor Insomniac Games PS1 October 2025 November 20 Sonic 3D Blast Sega/Traveller's Tales SAT, GEN Platformer October 2025 November 22 Donkey Kong Country 3 Rare/Nintendo SNES October 2025 November 25 Killer Instinct Gold Rare/Nintendo N64 Fighting October 2025 November 25 Bubsy is 3D in "Furbitten Planet" Eidetic/Accolade PS1 October 2025 November 26 Area 51 Mesa Logic/Atari Games PS1, WIN, SAT Shooter October 2025 November 26 Dead or Alive Team Ninja/Tecmo Arcade Fighting http://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=26409 デッド オア アライブ まとめ [アーケード] / ファミ通.com Famitsu.com 2014-02-22 2016-03-06 November 30 Contra: Legacy of War Konami/Appaloosa Interactive SAT, PS1 October 2025 November 30 Dragon Force Sega/Working Designs SAT RPG, RTS October 2025 November 30 Fighting Vipers Sega AM2 SAT, Arcade Fighting October 2025 November 30 Virtua Cop 2 Sega AM2 SAT, Arcade Light gun shooter October 2025 November 30 Virtual On: Cyber Troopers CRI/Sega SAT, Arcade October 2025 November 30 Bug Too! Sega/Realtime Associates SAT, WIN October 2025 November 30 FIFA Soccer 97 EA Canada/Electronic Arts GEN, PS1, WIN, SNES, SAT, GB October 2025 December 3 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire LucasArts/Nintendo N64 Action October 2025 December 12 Ignition Unique Development Studios/Virgin Interactive DOS, WIN Racing October 2025 December 14 Mario Kart 64 Nintendo N64 Racing (kart) October 2025 December 16 Furcadia Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc. WIN MMORPG 2016-10-03 Longest-running social MMORPG https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-running-social-mmorpg 2023-05-25 Guinness World Records en-gb December 17 Mega Man 8 Capcom PS1 October 2025 December 26 Yu-no ELF Corporation PC98 Visual novel http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/yu-no/ YU-NO Sorlie Audun July 12, 2011 Hardcore Gaming 101 15 November 2021 December 31 Death Rally Remedy Entertainment/GT Interactive DOS October 2025 December 31 NBA Hangtime Midway GEN, PS1, WIN, N64, Arcade, SNES Sports (basketball) October 2025 See also 1996 in games Notes References External links Category:Video games by year