1989 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as ''

Phantasy Star II ''Phantasy Star II'' (Japanese: ファンタシースターII 還らざる時の終わりに, "Phantasy Star II: At the End of the Restoration") is a science fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. It ...

'', '' Super Mario Land'', ''

Super Monaco GP is a Formula One racing simulation video game released by Sega, originally as a Sega X Board arcade game in 1989, followed by ports for multiple video game consoles and home computers in the early 1990s. It is the sequel to the 1979 arcade ga ...

'', along with new titles such as '' Big Run'', '' Bonk's Adventure'', ''

Final Fight ''Final Fight'' is a series of beat 'em up video games by Capcom, which began with the arcade release of ''Final Fight'' in 1989. Set in the fictional Metro City, the games focus on a group of heroic vigilantes who fights against the control and ...

'', ''

Golden Axe is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade video games developed by Sega. The series takes place in a medieval fantasy world where several heroes have the task of recovering the legendary Golden Axe, the mainstay element of the series. ...

'', '' Strider'', ''

Hard Drivin' ''Hard Drivin'' is a driving simulation video game developed by Atari Games in 1989. It invites players to test drive a sports car on courses that emphasize stunts and speed. The game features one of the first 3D polygon driving environments v ...

'' and ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

''. The year also saw the release of the Sega Genesis and

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

in North America, and the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

worldwide along with ''

Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...

'' and ''Super Mario Land''. The year's highest-grossing arcade games in Japan were

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...

's '' Final Lap'' and Sega's ''Tetris'', while the highest-grossing

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arc ...

s in the United States were ''

Double Dragon is a beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technōs Japan and released as an arcade game in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals. The origina ...

'', '' Super Off Road'' and ''

'' among dedicated arcade cabinets and '' Capcom Bowling'' and ''

Ninja Gaiden is a series of action video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American ''Ninja Gaiden'' title means "side story" in Japanese. The o ...

'' among

arcade conversion In video gaming parlance, a conversion is the production of a game on one computer or console that was originally written for another system. Over the years, video game conversion has taken form in a number of different ways, both in their style a ...

kits. The year's bestselling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the sixth year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games were '' Super Mario Bros. 3'' in Japan and '' RoboCop'' in the United Kingdom.

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1989.

Hong Kong and United Kingdom

In Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade games of each month.

United States

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1989.

Best-selling home systems

Best-selling home video games

Japan

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1989 in Japan, according to the annual '' Family Computer Magazine'' (''Famimaga'') charts.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, '' RoboCop'' for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

was the best-selling home video game of 1989. The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in the United Kingdom during 1989.

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in 1989.

Top-rated games

Major awards

Japan and United Kingdom

United States

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu'' and ''CVG'' reviews

In Japan, the following 1989 video game releases entered ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40. In the United Kingdom, the following titles were '' Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') magazine's highest-rated games of 1989.

English-language reviews

Notable video game releases in 1989 that have accumulated overall critical acclaim from at least four contemporary English-language sources include:

Events

* The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held at the

Las Vegas Convention Center The Las Vegas Convention Center (commonly referred to as LVCC) is a convention center in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As one of the largest convention centers in the world, it h ...

on January 7–10. Nintendo announces that it would release 40 new

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

titles through its licensees in 1989, while Sega announces 20 titles that include several translations of arcade games. Peripherals unveiled and demonstrated at this event include

Broderbund Broderbund Software, Inc. (stylized as Brøderbund) was an American maker of video games, educational software, and productivity tools. Broderbund is best known for the 8-bit video game hits ''Choplifter'', ''Lode Runner'', ''Karateka'', and '' ...

U-Force The U-Force is a game controller made by Broderbund for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It employs a pair of perpendicular consumer IR sensor panels to translate the user's hand movements into controller signals. From a print advertisement ...

, Beeshu's Zoomer, and Nintendo's

Power Pad The Power Pad (known in Japan as Family Trainer, and in Europe and briefly in the United States as Family Fun Fitness) is a floor mat game controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a gray mat with twelve pressure-sensors embedded be ...

. The next CES is held in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in June. *

CSG Imagesoft Sony Imagesoft Inc. was an American video game publisher that operated from 1989 to 1995 and was located in California. It was established in January 1989 in Los Angeles, California, as a subsidiary of the Japan-based CBS/Sony Group (CSG) and in ...

and

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

hold regional '' Super Dodge Ball'' contests in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

(July 15–16 and 29–30),

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(August 5–6),

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(September 9–10 and 16–17),

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(September 23–24), and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

(October 14–15). Finalists from each region enter the "Super Dodge Ball World Cup" in Seattle on October 27–28, where the winners receive an assortment of Sony products as prizes. * In August, Capcom donates $50,000 worth of video game equipment and Capcom titles to pediatric wards of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

hospitals. *

Sega of America is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

ends its Master System distribution deal with

Tonka Tonka is an American producer of toy trucks. The company is known for making steel toy models of construction type trucks and machinery. Maisto International, which makes diecast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of ...

, and appoints former

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when Warner Communica ...

President Michael Katz as its new president in October. *

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...

launches the "Crumble Competition", in which participants win a free Konami title from rub-off cards found in specially marked packages of Chips Ahoy! and

Oreo Oreo () (stylized as OREO) is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet creme filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers and split ...

cookies. Konami also collaborates with

Ralston Purina Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's Fr ...

to create a breakfast cereal based on the

. * On October 3, Nintendo and Fidelity Investments announce plans to jointly develop a home trading system for financial services. * NEC promotes the

with contests held at local shopping centers in

(October 6–8), Trumbull, Connecticut (October 21–22),

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(October 27–31), Wayne, New Jersey (November 11–12), Marlborough, Massachusetts (November 18–19) and Atlanta (December 2–3). The Los Angeles contest is won by 17-year-old Jim Hakola of Lakewood, California, who scored 220,080 points on ''Blazing Lazers''. * Corey Sandler and Tom Badgett's ''Ultimate Unauthorized Nintendo Game Strategies'', the first in Bantam Books' "Game Mastery" series, is released in November. * PepsiCo awards over 4,000

systems via an under-the-cap contest across a variety of Pepsi soft drinks. * The Galaxy of Electronic Games show, produced by Pinnacle Productions, opens at the San Jose Convention Center in November 17–19. The show features a display of more than 300 computer and video games and a 2,500 square foot area of arcade games. * On December 2, the world premiere of the Universal Pictures film ''The Wizard (1989 film), The Wizard'' is held at the Cineplex Odeon Corporation, Cineplex Odeon Theatre in Universal City, California. The film – starring Fred Savage, Luke Edwards, Jenny Lewis, Christian Slater and Beau Bridges – tells the story of two brothers who travel to a video game tournament.

Hardware releases

* August 29 – NEC Corporation, NEC's PC-Engine released in North America as the

. * October 11 –

releases the Atari Lynx, Lynx handheld console with color and backlighting. * October 14 – The Mega Drive is released in North America as the Sega Genesis. * Nintendo releases the

handheld console. * Mattel releases the Power Glove controller for the NES home console.

Game releases

* February – Atari Games releases the ''

'' arcade game, with filled polygon 3D graphics, physics simulation, and a force-feedback steering wheel. * March 21 – Sega releases ''

'', a landmark title for the role-playing video game genre. * April 21 – Nintendo releases '' Super Mario Land'' on the Game Boy, introducing Princess Daisy to the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' series. * May – Sega releases ''

'', the first game in the Golden Axe series. * May 12 –

releases ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES video game), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' for NES, one of the first video games based on the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated series, being released after the show's second season. * June 5 – Bullfrog Productions, Bullfrog releases ''Populous (video game), Populous'', one of the first commercially successful god games. * June – Lucasfilm Games releases puzzle game ''Pipe Mania'', which lives on in other titles as a visual representation of computer or security system hacking. * July 11 – Capcom releases ''Mega Man 2'' in more countries (US). * July 27 – Nintendo releases ''Mother (game), Mother'' in Japan, the first of a Mother (video game series), trilogy of role-playing games produced by celebrity writer Shigesato Itoi. * August – Nintendo, Nintendo of America introduces Enix's ''Dragon Quest, Dragon Warrior'' franchise to North America. * August 26 – Nintendo releases the LCD games from The Legend of Zelda series#Zelda (Game & Watch), Zelda Game & Watch. * September – Atari Games releases ''S.T.U.N. Runner'' in arcades, a 3D polygonal vehicle combat/racing game. * September 14 – Capcom releases ''DuckTales (video game), DuckTales'' for NES based on the Disney animated TV series of the same name. * October 3 – Brøderbund releases ''Prince of Persia (1989 video game), Prince of Persia'' for the declining Apple II, having been in development since 1985. Ports to other systems turn the game into a hit. * October 3 – Maxis releases Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright's ''SimCity (1989 video game), SimCity'', the first of the "list of Sim games, Sim" games and a revolutionary real-time software toy. * December 6 – Strategic Studies Group releases ''Warlords (1989 video game), Warlords'' which was one of the first fantasy turn-based strategy game. * December 15 – Hudson Soft releases '' Bonk's Adventure'', introducing the

mascot and starting the ''Bonk (series), Bonk franchise''. * December 15 - Tecmo releases ''Bad News Baseball'' in Japan. US release to follow in January 1990. * December 15 – Techno Soft releases ''Herzog Zwei'' for the Mega Drive in Japan, laying the foundations for the real-time strategy genre. * December 22 –

releases ''Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse'', the third and final game from series for NES. * Tengen (company), Tengen releases an Tetris (Atari), unlicensed version of the ''Tetris'' video game, which is recalled after Nintendo sues Tengen. * Wes Cherry writes ''Klondike (solitaire), Solitaire'' and Robert Donner writes ''Minesweeper (video game), Minesweeper'', which are bundled with Microsoft Windows starting from version 3. *Psygnosis releases a platformer ''Shadow of the Beast (1989 video game), Shadow of the Beast'', demonstrating the capabilities of the Amiga and helping sales of the computer. * Sega releases ''Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap''. *Spectrum Holobyte's ''Vette!'' for PC and Macintosh features a 3D flat-shaded rendition of San Francisco. *Three-Sixty Pacific releases computer wargame ''Harpoon (video game), Harpoon''. *

supports the aging Atari 2600 with a new batch of cartridges, including ''Secret Quest''.

Business

* Hasbro, Inc. acquires elements of Coleco Industries, Inc. * Trinity Acquisition Corporation founded (renamed THQ in 1990) * Nintendo withdraws from the Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association, Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association (JAMMA) on February 28. * Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Tengen (company), Tengen: # Nintendo sues Tengen over the ''Tetris'' video game copyrights. Tengen loses and recalls all its ''Tetris (Atari), Tetris'' games. # In November, Nintendo sues Tengen over production of unlicensed Nintendo games. Tengen loses. (Tengen originally sued Nintendo on December 12, 1988, for antitrust violations.) * Nintendo v. Camerica Ltd. Nintendo sues Camerica over patent violations of the Game Genie for the NES console. Camerica wins the suit. * UK publisher Martech goes out of business.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1989 In video games 1989 in video gaming, 1989 video games, Video games by year Computer-related introductions in 1989, video games

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

Hong Kong and United Kingdom

United States

Best-selling home systems

Best-selling home video games

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

Top-rated games

Major awards

Japan and United Kingdom

United States

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu'' and ''CVG'' reviews

English-language reviews

Events

Hardware releases

Game releases

Business

See also

References