1997 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as ''

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...

'', '' Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'', '' GoldenEye 007'', ''

Star Fox 64 known as ''Lylat Wars'' in the PAL regions, is a 3D rail shooter video game developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the second installment in the ''Star Fox'' series and a reboot of the original ''Star Fox'' for the Super Nintendo Ente ...

'', ''

Tomb Raider II ''Tomb Raider II'' is a 1997 Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was first released on Windows and PlayStation (console), PlayStation. Later releases came for Classic ...

'', ''

Ultima Online ''Ultima Online'' (''UO'') is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released on September 24, 1997 by Origin Systems. Set in the '' Ultima'' universe, it is known for its extensive player versus player combat system. ...

'', and ''

Virtua Striker 2 is a sports video game developed and published by Sega for arcades in 1997. It is the sequel to the 1994 video game ''Virtua Striker'', and the second game in the ''Virtua Striker'' series. A series of updates was released from 1998 to 1999, st ...

'', along with new titles such as ''

Everybody's Golf ''Everybody's Golf'', known in Japan as and formerly known as ''Hot Shots Golf'' in North America, is a series of golf video games published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation series of video game consoles. The series ha ...

'', '' I.Q.: Intelligent Qube'', ''

PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Created by music producer Masaya Matsuura in collaboration with artist Rodney Greenblat, t ...

'', '' Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee'', '' Gran Turismo'', '' Diablo'', ''

Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...

'' and ''

Fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...

''.

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 professional ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

was the year's best-selling

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 be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...

worldwide for the second year in a row, while also being the annual best-selling console in Japan for the first time (overtaking 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 ...

and

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 was the successor to the succ ...

). The year's best-selling home video game worldwide was Squaresoft's ''Final Fantasy VII'' for the PlayStation, while 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 arcade v ...

in Japan were

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, 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, r ...

's ''

Virtua Fighter 3 is the sequel to 1994's ''Virtua Fighter 2'' and the third fighting game in the ''Virtua Fighter'' series, developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega in 1996. It was the first arcade game to run on the Sega Model 3 system board. Like its prede ...

'' and '' Print Club 2''.

Events

*March 6 -

opens

Sega World Sydney Sega World Sydney was an indoor high-tech amusement park that operated for almost four years, in Sydney. The theme park was built as the flagship tenant of the Darling Walk complex in Darling Harbour, and was designed and themed by gaming compa ...

in Australia. It is the second

Sega World Sega World (Japanese: セガワールド, Hepburn: ''Segawārudo''), sometimes stylized as SegaWorld, is a formerly international chain of amusement arcades and entertainment centres created by Sega. Though not the first venues to be developed ...

park to open outside of Japan, with

the first The First may refer to: * ''The First'' (album), the first Japanese studio album by South Korean boy group Shinee * ''The First'' (musical), a musical with a book by critic Joel Siegel * The First (TV channel), an American conservative opinion ne ...

opening as part of the

London Trocadero The London Trocadero was an entertainment complex on Coventry Street, with a rear entrance in Shaftesbury Avenue, London. It was originally built in 1896 as a restaurant, which closed in 1965. In 1984, the complex reopened as an exhibition and en ...

the previous year. *June 19–21 – The 3rd annual E3 is held in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States. * October: ** Video game retailer

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 ga ...

opens its first

Greater Cincinnati The Cincinnati metropolitan area and also known as the Cincinnati Tri-State area, or Greater Cincinnati) is a metropolitan area centered on Cincinnati and including surrounding counties in the U.S. states of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The area i ...

locations. ** 4 –

Gunpei Yokoi , sometimes transliterated Gumpei Yokoi, was a Japanese video game designer. He was a long-time Nintendo employee, best known as creator of the Game & Watch handheld system, inventor of the cross-shaped Control Pad, the original designer of th ...

(1941–1997) dies after a double car accident. *November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association ( IEMA) launched. * December 16 – A scene from the ''Pokémon'' anime (based upon the highly successful games) causes 685 Japanese children to have seizures. Nintendo makes a statement proclaiming the safety of the ''Pokémon'' games from fear that the games would cause a similar effect, the episode to be permanently removed from circulation, and the featured Pokémon in the episode (Porygon) has not made an appearance in the ''Pokémon'' anime since. *

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

, the owner of the

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...

, was acquired by

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...

. *3D Realms begins production of ''

Duke Nukem Forever ''Duke Nukem Forever'' is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Duke Nukem'' series and the sequel to ''Duke ...

'', winner of numerous vaporware awards. *The gaming portal

Cool Math Games Cool Math Games (branded as Coolmath Games) is an online web portal that hosts HTML and Flash web browser games targeted at children and young adults. Cool Math Games is operated by Coolmath LLC and first went online in 1997 with the slogan: "W ...

went online for the first time.

Hardware

*March 1 – The

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...

is released in Europe and Australia *October 20 –

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, 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 produce ...

releases the

New-style Super NES The New-Style Super NES (also known by its model number SNS-101) is a compact redesign of the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System home video game console released by Nintendo in 1997. In Japan, the system is called the Like the redes ...

, a remodeled version of the

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

, in North America. *Junny releases

development software for PC *

Tiger Electronics Tiger Electronics Ltd. (also known as Tiger and Tiger Toys) was an independent American toy manufacturer best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, the Talkboy, Giga Pets, the 2-XL robot, and audio games such as ''Brain Warp'' and the Br ...

releases the

Game.com The Game.com is a fifth-generation handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics on September 12, 1997. A smaller version, the Game.com Pocket Pro, was released in mid-1999. The first version of the Game.com can be connected to a 14.4 ...

Discontinued

announces that the

Sega Mega Drive 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 ...

(Genesis) has been discontinued. *

Sega 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 ...

discontinued.

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

awards for 1997.

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu'' Platinum Hall of Fame

The following video game releases in 1995 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 fo ...

'' magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.

Metacritic and GameRankings

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

(MC) and

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

(GR) are online aggregators of

video game journalism Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publicat ...

reviews. Note that their coverage of print magazines at the time was limited, with numerous print magazines not listed on their sites.

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games in Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing

of 1997.

Best-selling video game consoles

Best-selling home video games

'' was the best-selling home video game worldwide in 1997. It sold more than copies worldwide by 1998, becoming the best-selling PlayStation game up until then. The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (

console games A console game is a type of video game consisting of images and often sounds generated by a video game console, which are displayed on a television or similar audio-video system, and that can be manipulated by a player. This manipulation usually ...

computer games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...

) of 1997 in Japan and the United States.

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1997.

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1997.

Europe

In Europe, the following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in 1997.

Notable releases

Business

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

acquires CentreSoft Ltd. and

Raven Software Raven Software Corporation is an American video game developer based in Wisconsin and founded in 1990. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them. After the acquisition, many of the st ...

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

Inc. acquires

Maxis Maxis is an American video game developer and a Division (business), division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts, EA in 1997. Maxi ...

GameTek GameTek was an American video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rig ...

filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy and closed its doors in July 1998 * 2015, Inc. founded *4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded *September – 4HEAD Studios created *

Bungie West Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington. It is a studio owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones aft ...

formed by

Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington. It is a studio owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones (progr ...

Conspiracy Entertainment Conspiracy Entertainment (formerly Conspiracy Games) is an American third-party developer video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or extern ...

Corporation founded *

Crave Entertainment Crave Entertainment was an American video game publisher founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. Its headquarters was in Newport Beach, California. It was acquired by Handleman Company in 2005 in a deal valued up to $95,000,000 but was then sold to Fil ...

, Inc. formed *August –

Human Head Studios Human Head Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer located in Madison, Wisconsin. History Human Head Studios was founded in October 1997 by a group of six developers formerly from Raven Software: Ben Gokey, Chris Rhinehart, Paul ...

, Inc. formed *

Illusion Softworks 2K Czech, s.r.o. (formerly Illusion Softworks, a.s.) was a Czech video game developer based in Brno. Founded as Illusion Softworks in 1997 by Petr Vochozka and Jan Kudera. The company was acquired by Take-Two Interactive in January 2008 and sub ...

, a.s. founded *April 15 –

Irem is a Japanese video game console developer and publisher, and formerly a developer and manufacturer of arcade games as well. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Softwar ...

Software Engineering Inc. founded *

Irrational Games Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009) was an American video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. Take-Two Interactive acquired t ...

LLC founded *

Mythic Entertainment Mythic Entertainment (formerly BioWare Mythic, EA Mythic, Inc., and Interworld Productions) was a video game developer in Fairfax, Virginia that was most widely recognized for developing the 2001 massively multiplayer online role-playing game '' ...

renames itself from Interworld Productions after name dispute with another "Interworld" company *

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initial ...

renamed from Toy Headquarters, Inc. *Warthog PLC founded

Lawsuits

* Nintendo vs Games City: Nintendo sues Games City for selling the Game Doctor and

Doctor V64 The Doctor V64 (also referred to simply as the V64) is a Game development kit, development and game backup device, backup device made by Bung Enterprises Ltd that is used in conjunction with the Nintendo 64. The Doctor V64 also had the ability ...

backup devices for the

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

and N64 consoles. Nintendo wins the suit. * Nintendo vs

Prima Publishing Prima Games is a publishing company of video game strategy guides in the United States. Formerly, Prima was an imprint of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Penguin Random House, and produced print ''strategy guides'', featuring ''in-depth walkthro ...

: Nintendo sues Prima over copyrights to maps of the N64 video game '' GoldenEye 007''. Nintendo loses the suit. * Nintendo vs Sony Video Games: Nintendo sues Sony over copyrights about

Mario games Mario, who serves as Nintendo's mascot, is a Character (arts), fictional character created by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and voiced by Charles Martinet. This is a list of video games where the character Mario plays a part, either as the prot ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997 In video games Video games by year