1994 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as ''

Super Metroid is a 1994 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third installment in the ''Metroid'' series, following the events of the Game Boy g ...

'', ''

Donkey Kong Country ''Donkey Kong Country'', known in Japan as is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare (company), Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' ...

'', ''

Final Fantasy VI also known as ''Final Fantasy III'' in its initial North American release, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' ser ...

'', '' Sonic 3 & Knuckles'', ''

Super Street Fighter II Turbo ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'', released in Japan as is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the fifth installment in the '' Street Fighter II'' sub-series of ''Street Fighter'' games, following '' ...

'' and ''

Virtua Fighter 2 is a 1994 Fighting game, fighting video game developed and published by Sega for Arcade video game, arcades. It is the second game in the ''Virtua Fighter'' series and the sequel to ''Virtua Fighter (video game), Virtua Fighter'' (1993). Created ...

'' and ''

Doom II ''Doom II'', also known as ''Doom II: Hell on Earth'', is a 1994 first-person shooter game developed and published by id Software for MS-DOS. It was also released on Mac OS the following year. Unlike the original '' Doom'', which was initi ...

'', along with new titles such as ''

Daytona USA is a 1994 arcade racing game developed by Sega AM2. Inspired by the popularity of the NASCAR motor racing series in the US, the game has players race stock cars on one of three courses. It was the first game to be released on the Sega Model 2 ...

'', ''

Ace Driver is a 1994 racing arcade game developed and published by Namco. The player controls a Formula One racer, with the objective being to complete three laps of a race course and to avoid a collision with opponents and other obstacles. Three difficult ...

'', ''

Alpine Racer is a racing game, racing sports video game developed and published by Namco for Arcade game, arcades. It had a limited release in December 1994, followed by a wide release in July 1995. It ran on the Namco System 22 arcade hardware. The player ...

'' and ''

Tekken is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The main games in the series follow the events ...

''. The year's

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

was the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

, while the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis remained the

home console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. While initial consoles were dedicated units with only a few game ...

. The year's highest-grossing

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

s were '' Super Street Fighter II X'' (''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'') and ''

Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original ''Virtua Fighter (video game), Virtua Fighter'' was released in December 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential ...

'' in Japan, and ''Daytona USA'' and ''

Mortal Kombat II ''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 fighting game originally produced by Midway for arcades. It was ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo Entertainment System ...

'' in the United States, while the year's best-selling home video game worldwide was ''Donkey Kong Country''.

Events

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

proclaims "1994: The Year of the Cartridge". * Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of

Co., Ltd is established and opened by

Hiroshi Yamauchi Hiroshi Yamauchi (; 7 November 192719 September 2013) was a Japanese businessman and the third president of Nintendo, joining the company on 25 April 1949 until stepping down on 24 May 2002, being succeeded by Satoru Iwata. During his 53-year t ...

and effectively ends

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia. *"Project Reality" is renamed the Nintendo

Ultra 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...

. The console's design is revealed to the public for the first time in spring 1994. *The second of two congressional hearings on video games takes place on March 5. Topics for discussion include the depiction of violence and sexual content in video games, their influence on children, and the prospect of governmental regulation of video game content. *April – The Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) is founded in response to the hearings (name changed to the

Entertainment Software Association The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in ...

in 2003); the IDSA founds the

Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Soft ...

(ESRB) in order to self-regulate content in video games in the mold of the

Motion Picture Association of America film rating system The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictur ...

. *April 28 –

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

and

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

make a venture to create video games, movies, and television programs. *June 24 – The

Computer Game Developers Association The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers." The IGDA is incorp ...

is formed by Ernest W. Adams. *November – ''Game Zero'' magazine drops their print format and becomes the first video game news magazine on the web. *November 10 –

William Higinbotham William Alfred Higinbotham (October 22, 1910 – November 10, 1994) was an American physicist. A member of the team that developed the first nuclear bomb, he later became a leader in the nonproliferation movement. He also has a place in the hi ...

, creator of ''

Tennis for Two ''Tennis for Two'' (also known as ''Computer Tennis'') is a sports video game that simulates a game of tennis, and was one of the first games developed in the early history of video games. American physicist William Higinbotham designed the game ...

'' (1958), dies at 84.

Hardware releases

Aiwa Aiwa (, stylised aiwa) is a Japanese consumer electronics brand of Aiwa Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Towada Audio holdings. The current company was established in 2017 and creates mainly audio products; the brand is also licensed to or owned by othe ...

releases the Aiwa Mega-CD multimedia home console in Japan only. *

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

releases the

Playdia The (developed under the codename "BA-X") is a fifth-generation home video game console released exclusively in Japan in 1994 at the initial price of ¥24,800. It was intended for a young audience and, like many consoles of the era (such as the ...

multimedia home console. *

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

releases the

PC-FX The is a 32-bit home video game console co-developed by NEC and Hudson Soft. Released in December 1994, it is based on the NEC V810 CPU and CD-ROM, and was intended as the successor to the PC Engine (known overseas as the TurboGrafx-16). Unlik ...

multimedia home console. *

: **introduces the North American cable TV

Sega Channel The Sega Channel was an online game service developed by Sega for the Sega Genesis video game console, serving as a content delivery system. Launched on December 14, 1994, the Sega Channel was provided to the public by TCI and Time Warner Cabl ...

in cooperation with Time Warner (

AOL Time Warner Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warner i ...

); the subscription service provides

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 Sys ...

games via cable box to customers **releases the

Sega 32X The 32X is an add-on for the Sega Genesis video game console. Codenamed "Project Mars", it was designed to expand the power of the Genesis and serve as a transitional console into the 32-bit era until the release of the Sega Saturn. The 32X ...

add-on for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

(November 14),

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

(November 21) and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(December 3) **releases the Sega Nomad handheld console in

, a portable

. **releases the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

home console in

on November 22 *

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

releases the

Neo Geo CD The is a home video game console produced by SNK Corporation, released on September 9, 1994. The system is the same platform as the cartridge-based Neo Geo released four years earlier, but converted to the cheaper CD media format which reta ...

home console. PlayStation-SCPH-1000-with-Controller

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

releases the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

home console in Japan on December 3. *

releases the

Super Game Boy The is a peripheral that allows Game Boy cartridges to be played on a Super Nintendo Entertainment System console. Released in June 1994, it retailed for in the United States and in the United Kingdom. In South Korea, it is called the Supe ...

adapter for the

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...

home console. *

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of Home computer, home computers and Video game console, 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 ...

discontinues the

Lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

handheld system.

Top-rated games

Game of the Year awards

The following titles won

Game of the Year Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given to a video game by various award events and media publications that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year. Events and ceremonies British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards) ...

awards for 1994.

''Famitsu'' Platinum Hall of Fame

The following video game releases in 1994 entered ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly 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. , thirty ...

of at least 35 out of 40.

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

The best-selling arcade

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a Lamination, laminated sandwich structure of electrical conduction, conductive and Insulator (electricity), insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes ...

(PCB) worldwide in 1994 was

Neo Geo MVS The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video ga ...

system.

Japan

The following titles were the top ten 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 arcade ...

of 1994 in Japan.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the highest-grossing games of each month in 1994. ''

'' by

Sega AM2 previously known as is a video game development team within the Japanese multinational video game developer Sega. Yu Suzuki, who had previously developed arcade games for Sega including ''Hang-On'' and ''Out Run'', was the first manager of th ...

was also one of the UK's most popular coin-ops of the year.

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1994.

Best-selling video game consoles

Best-selling home video games

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (

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

computer games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

) worldwide in 1994.

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1994.

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1994.

United Kingdom

HMV HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson. The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...

, a British entertainment retailer, released a monthly list of the chain's highest-selling home video game titles. The following titles topped the monthly all-formats charts, as reported by ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...

''.

Notable releases

Game releases

January: • February: • March: •

Business

*New companies:

Neversoft Neversoft Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Woodland Hills, California. The studio was founded by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward in July 1994 and was acquired by Activision in October 1999. Initially, the st ...

*Defunct:

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Tradewest Tradewest, Inc. was an American video game company based in Corsicana, Texas that produced numerous games in the 1980s and early 1990s. The company was the publisher of the '' Battletoads'' and ''Double Dragon'' series in North America and the PAL ...

*September 14 – Video gaming magazine ''

Nintendomagasinet ''Nintendomagasinet'' was a Swedish video game magazine, published between the years of 1990 and 1994. The magazine contained game news, reports from fairs and expos, game guides, editorials, video game-related comics, and the subscriber-only "P ...

'' is cancelled after four years. Number 9 of 1994 would have been released on this day, but instead the magazine joins '' Super Power''. *

Apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

establishes the 3D Realms Entertainment division. *

Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Irvine, California, and a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Originally founded in 1991, the company is best known for producing the h ...

is renamed from Silicon & Synapse. * SSI sold to Mindscape *Alpex Computer Corp. v. Nintendo lawsuit: Alpex sues Nintendo over patent infringements related to the NES. Nintendo loses the case. (In 1996 this ruling was reversed by an appeals court, which determined that no patents had been infringed upon.) **Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Dragon Pacific Intern

Notes

References

{{History of video games Video games by year

Events

Hardware releases

Top-rated games

Game of the Year awards

''Famitsu'' Platinum Hall of Fame

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

United Kingdom

United States

Best-selling video game consoles

Best-selling home video games

Japan

United States

United Kingdom

Notable releases

Game releases

Business

See also

Notes

References