1990 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as '' Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'', ''

Dr. Mario ''Dr. Mario'' is a 1990 puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom, and Game Boy. It was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and designed by Takahiro Harada. The soundtrack was composed by Hirokaz ...

'', '' Dragon Quest IV'', ''

Final Fantasy III is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Family Computer. The third installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it is the first numbered ''Final Fantasy'' game to feature the job-change system. The story revolve ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

Super Mario World ''Super Mario World,'' known in Japan as is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 19 ...

'', along with new titles such as '' Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light'' and ''

Magic Sword In mythology, legend or fiction, a magic sword is a sword with magical powers or other supernatural qualities. Renowned swords appear in the folklore of every nation that used swords. Josepha Sherman, ''Once upon a Galaxy'' p 113 In some tr ...

''. The year's highest-grossing

arcade games An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcad ...

were ''

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 ...

'' in Japan 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 ...

'' in the United States. The year's bestselling home system was 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 ...

, while the year's best-selling home video game was ''

Super Mario Bros. 3 ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released for home consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988, in North America on February 12, 1990 and in Europe on ...

'' for the

Nintendo Entertainment System 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 America ...

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing

of 1990.

United Kingdom and Australia

In the United Kingdom and Australia, 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 video games of 1990. The following titles were the top-grossing arcade games on the monthly ''RePlay'' arcade charts in 1990.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade games of each month on the Bondeal charts.

Best-selling home systems

Best-selling home video games

Japan

In Japan, according to ''

Famicom Tsūshin 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 ...

'' (''Famitsu'') magazine, the following titles were the top ten best-selling 1990 releases, including later sales up until 1992. The following titles were the best-selling home video games on the Japan game charts published by ''Famicom Tsūshin'' (''Famitsu'') and '' Family Computer Magazine'' (''Famimaga'') in 1990.

United States

In the United States, ''

'' was the best-selling home video game of 1990. The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in 1990.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in 1990, for various home computer and

game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a ...

platforms.

Top-rated games

Major awards

Japan and United Kingdom

United States

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu'' Platinum Hall of Fame

The following video game releases in 1990 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 The Japanese video game magazine ''Famitsu'' reviews video games by having four critics each assign the game a score from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest score. The scores of are then added together for a maximum possible score of 40. , twenty- ...

of at least 35 out of 40.

English-language publications

Notable video game releases in 1990 that have accumulated overall critical acclaim from at least three contemporary English-language sources include:

Events

* The

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event t ...

(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 ...

in January.

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

and

Sega 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 ...

respectively unveil prototypes for the

TurboExpress The TurboExpress is an 8-bit handheld game console by NEC Home Electronics, released in late 1990 in Japan and the United States, branded as the PC Engine GT in Japan and TurboExpress Handheld Entertainment System in the U.S. It is essentially a ...

and

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

handheld consoles, while more than 35 titles are announced for the

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Oct ...

reveals an audio CD player compatible with the NES manufactured by

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

and to be distributed by Camerica in the summer. Camerica also reveals the "Power Pak", later known as the

Game Genie Game Genie is a line of video game cheat cartridges originally designed by Codemasters, sold by Camerica and Galoob. The first device in the series was released in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, with subsequent devices released for t ...

. Sega announces that 20 third-party titles would be released for the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

by the end of 1990, as well as the continued development for

Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 an ...

games. * David Pomije establishes the first

FuncoLand FuncoLand was an American video game retailer based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, that specialized in selling new and used video game software. It is considered the first major video game retailer to allow consumers to sell and trade used video gam ...

location in

New Hope, Minnesota New Hope is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 20,339 at the 2010 census and 20,907 at the 2019 estimate. History New Hope was originally a farming community called Hope in Cryst ...

in August. *August – Publication of

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic cou ...

video game magazine ''

Nintendomagasinet ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

'' begins. *March 8 – the Nintendo World Championships begins. *Nintendo v. Color Dreams lawsuit: Nintendo sues Color Dreams over unlicensed production of Nintendo video games. *Toy Headquarters merges with Trinity Acquisition Corporation forming THQ. *New companies:

Eidos Eidos may refer to: * Eidos (philosophy), a Greek term meaning "form" "essence", "type" or "species". See Plato's theory of forms and Aristotle's theory of universals * Eidos plc, a British software company, which created video game publisher Eido ...

Interactive Studios Blitz Games Studios Limited was a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa. Founded in 1990 by the Oliver Twins, who ran the company until its closure in 2013, it is best known for producing games such as ''The Fairly OddParents'', ...

Team17 Team17 Group plc is a British video game developer and publisher based in Wakefield, England. The venture was created in December 1990 through the merger of British publisher 17-Bit Software and Swedish developer Team 7. At the time, the two co ...

, Natsume,

Revolution Software Revolution Software Limited is a British video game developer based in York, founded in 1989 by Charles Cecil, Tony Warriner, David Sykes, and Noirin Carmody. Company history 1992–1994: ''Lure of the Temptress'' and ''Beneath a Steel Sky' ...

*Defunct:

Tynesoft Tynesoft Computer Software was a software developer and publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s. History The company was originally set up in 1983 to release educational software but soon moved into the video games market on which it concent ...

Hardware releases

* Camerica releases

adapter in Canada and the UK (In the US, it was released by

Galoob Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc., was a toy company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. They are perhaps best known for creating Micro Machines, which accounted for 50% of its sales in 1989, and distributing the Game Genie in the United Sta ...

). *

releases the

handheld console. *

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

releases the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...

16-bit console in Japan. * SNK releases the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System (AES) home console. *September 28 – Nintendo releases the Game Boy across Europe. It became a huge success and a wide phenomenon over the continent, particularly in Germany and the UK. *October 6 – Sega's

color handheld is released in Japan. It is launched in North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 1992. *November 30 –

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

released in Europe. *

Amstrad Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstra ...

halts production of 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 ...

, ending that platform's 8-year dominance of the UK home computer market. *

introduces its only console, the

Amstrad GX4000 The GX4000 is a video game console that was manufactured by Amstrad. It was the company's short-lived attempt to enter the games console market. The console was released in Europe in 1990 and was an upgraded design based on the then still-popular ...

, which fails to garner interest and is discontinued the following year.

Game releases

*''

Bonk's Adventure ''Bonk's Adventure'', known as in Japan and ''PC Kid'' in Europe, is a scrolling platform game developed by Red Company and Atlus and released in 1989 in Japan and 1990 in North America for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. The Japanese title ''PC ...

'' is released for

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 ...

and is the first US appearance of

Bonk Bonk may refer to: People * Bonk (surname) Arts and entertainment * ''Bonk'' (video game series), a caveman character and video game series *Bonk!, a soft drink company in the first-person shooting game ''Team Fortress 2'' * ''Bonk'' (al ...

, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16. *

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 Kaohsiun ...

releases '' Kyuukai Douchuuki'', '' World Stadium '90'', '' Final Lap 2'', ''

Pistol Daimyo no Bouken A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...

'', which is a spin-off from ''

Berabow Man is a 1988 beat'em up arcade video game developed and published in Japan by Namco. Described as a "comical action game", the player controls the titular character, a bionic superhero with telescopic limbs, as he must defeat the villainous Dr. Bom ...

'', ''

Souko Ban Deluxe is a puzzle video game in which the player pushes boxes around in a warehouse, trying to get them to storage locations. The game was designed in 1981 by Hiroyuki Imabayashi, and first published in December 1982. Gameplay The game is played on a ...

'', ''

Dragon Saber is a 1990 shoot'em up, vertical-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. It is a sequel to ''Dragon Spirit'', released in 1987. Gameplay As in the original ''Dragon Spirit'', players must take control of a prince transform ...

'', ''

Rolling Thunder 2 is a run and gun arcade game developed and released by Namco for the Namco System 2 hardware in 1991. The game is the sequel to 1986's '' Rolling Thunder'', retaining the same gameplay of its predecessor but adding cooperative gameplay for two ...

'', ''

Steel Gunner is a 1990 first-person shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. Players take control of Garcia and Cliff, a duo of police officers that are part of the Neo Arc police force, as they must use their powerful Gargoyle mecha suits to d ...

'' and ''

Golly! Ghost! is a 1991 light gun shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. It employs a diorama which is controlled by the game's driver board to open and close mechanical doors which are connected to solenoids, much like the moveable items on a pi ...

''. *February 12 –

releases the NES game ''

'' in North America. It sells 17.28 million copies, making it one of the best-selling stand-alone video games of all time. *April –

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 ca ...

releases '' Snake's Revenge'', a sequel to ''

Metal Gear is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operativ ...

'' for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, developed without the involvement of

Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer, director, producer and writer. He is regarded as an auteur of video games. He developed a strong passion for action/adventure cinema and literature during his childhood and adolescence. In 1986, he was hi ...

. *April – Williams releases ''

Smash TV ''Smash TV'' is a 1990 arcade video game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a dual-stick shooter (one for moving and the other for firing) in the same vein as 1982's ''Robotron: 2084'' (co-created b ...

'' in arcades, a twin-stick shooter about an ultra-violent game show. *April 20 –

releases '' Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light'' in Japan, innovating the tactical role-playing genre. * June 1 –

Origin Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * Origin (comics), ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * The Origin (Buffy comic), ''The Origin'' (Bu ...

releases '' Ultima VI: The False Prophet'' *July 12 – Nintendo of America publishes ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games. The ...

'' for the

in North America. This game started

Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

's popular and long-running ''Final Fantasy'' series. * July 20 – '' Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' for the MSX2 computer, is released exclusively in Japan. It is Konamis last major game for the hardware. * July 27–

releases ''

'' for 3 Nintendo platforms. * August – ''

Pit Fighter ''Pit-Fighter'' is a 1990 arcade fighting game by Atari Games which uses digitized live actors. It was Atari's first fighting game. The Japanese arcade release was published by Konami. Home versions were published by Tengen. The graphical an ...

'' from Atari Games introduces digitized sprites to arcade fighting games. *September –

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 '' ...

releases a port of

Prince of Persia ''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia. The first two games i ...

for the

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few o ...

computers. * September 26 –

releases the first ''

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

'' game. * September 28 –

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', ''Mega Man'', ''De ...

releases ''

Mega Man 3 ''Mega Man 3'' (stylized as ''Mega Man III'') is an action- platform video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third game of the original ''Mega Man'' series and was originally released in ...

'' for NES in Japan, introducing the characters Rush and

Proto Man Proto Man, known in Japan as ,Sierra On-Line Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genr ...

releases ''

King's Quest V ''King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!'' (also known simply as ''King's Quest V'') is a 1990 graphic adventure game by Sierra On-Line. Originally released in November 1990, it featured a significant improvement in graphics (achieved ...

''. *October 15 –

LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a large ...

releases

The Secret of Monkey Island ''The Secret of Monkey Island'' is a 1990 point-and-click graphic adventure game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It takes place in a fictional version of the Caribbean during the age of piracy. The player assumes the role of Guyb ...

*November 1 –

is released in the US. *November 21 –

releases ''

'' and ''

F-Zero is a series of futuristic racing video games originally created by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development, Nintendo EAD with multiple games developed by outside companies. The F-Zero (video game), first game was released for the Super Fa ...

'' in Japan as launch titles for the

. ''Super Mario World'' introduced

Yoshi Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the ''Yoshi' ...

and ''F-Zero'' introduced

Captain Falcon is a fictional character and the protagonist in the racing video game series ''F-Zero'' by Nintendo. Within the series, he is a mysterious racer who is among the best on the circuit, as well as a renowned bounty hunter. A different version of th ...

. *December 14 – ''

Commander Keen ''Commander Keen'' is a series of side-scrolling platform video games developed primarily by id Software. The series consists of six main episodes, a "lost" episode, and a final game; all but the final game were originally released for MS-DOS in ...

'' is released as

shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...

, the first major platformer on a PC. *

releases the '' G-LOC: Air Battle R-360'' arcade game, featuring the first 3D – 360° gameplay that physically rotated the real world player. *

Sid Meier Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian-American programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series. Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with ...

's '' Railroad Tycoon'', the first of the "Tycoon" games, is released by

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization'' and '' X-COM'' series. Most of their in ...

. *

Infogrames Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. ...

releases ''

Alpha Waves Alpha waves, or the alpha rhythm, are neural oscillations in the frequency range of 8–12 Hz likely originating from the synchronous and coherent (in phase or constructive) electrical activity of thalamic pacemaker cells in humans. Historica ...

'', the first 3D platform game. * Mindscape publishes ''

Captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

''. *

releases Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Arcade Game, on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1990 In video games Video games by year

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

United Kingdom and Australia

United States

Hong Kong

Best-selling home systems

Best-selling home video games

Japan

United States

United Kingdom

Top-rated games

Major awards

Japan and United Kingdom

United States

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu'' Platinum Hall of Fame

English-language publications

Events

Hardware releases

Game releases

See also

References