1999 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as ''

Chrono Cross is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is set in the same world as ''Chrono Trigger'', which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. ''Chrono C ...

'', ''

Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMix , sometimes abbreviated as , is the second game in the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series of music video games. It was released as an arcade game by Konami on January 29, 1999. The initial release has a total of 33 songs: 22 brand new songs, and 1 ...

'', '' Dead or Alive 2'', '' Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike'', ''

Donkey Kong 64 ''Donkey Kong 64'' is a 1999 platform game developed by Rare (company), Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the first 3D game in the ''Donkey Kong'' series. As the gorilla Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong, the player e ...

'', ''

Final Fantasy VIII is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation console. Released in 1999, it is the eighth main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Set on an unnamed fantasy world with science fiction elements, t ...

'', ''

Gran Turismo 2 ''Gran Turismo 2'' is a 1999 racing game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to '' Gran Turismo''. It was well-received critically and financially, shipping 1.71&nbs ...

'', ''

Heroes of Might and Magic III ''Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia'' (commonly referred to as ''Heroes of Might & Magic 3'', or ''Heroes 3'', or abbreviated HoMM 3) is a turn-based strategy game developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Comput ...

'', ''

Mario Party is a party video game series featuring characters from the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise in which up to four local players or computer-controlled characters (called "CPU (gaming), CPUs") compete in a board game interspersed with mi ...

'', '' Pokémon Gold/Silver'', '' Garou: Mark of the Wolves'', ''

Resident Evil 3 ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' is a 1999 survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. It is the third game in the ''Resident Evil'' series and takes place almost concurrently ...

'', ''

Soulcalibur is a weapon-based fighting video game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment. There are seven main installments of video games and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books. The first game in the series, '' ...

'', '' Soul Reaver'', and '' Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation'', along with new titles such as ''

Ape Escape ''Ape Escape'' is a series of video games developed primarily by Japan Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, starting with '' Ape Escape'' for PlayStation in 1999. The series incorporates ape-related humour, unique gameplay, and a ...

'', ''

Shenmue is an action-adventure game series created, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. '' Shenmue'' (1999) and ''Shenmue II'' (2001) were developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for Dreamcast. '' Shenmue III,'' developed by Suzuki's company Y ...

'', ''

Silent Hill is a horror anthology media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four video games in the series, ''Silent Hill'', '' Silent Hill 2'', ''Silent Hill 3'' and '' ...

'', ''

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'', released as ''Tony Hawk's Skateboarding'' in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe, is a skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It was released for the PlayStation (c ...

'' and '' Super Smash Bros.'' The

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

was also released by

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 ...

internationally in 1999. The year's most critically acclaimed video game was the Dreamcast title ''

'', which remains among the highest-rated games of all time on

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 ...

. The best-selling home video game worldwide 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 ...

title '' Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

'' for the second year in a row, while the year's highest-grossing

arcade game 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 was

's ''

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 ...

''.

Events

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

hosts the 2nd annual

BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards The British Academy of Film and Television Arts ( BAFTA) annually hosted the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia entertainment between 1998 and 2003. In 2003, BAFTA announced the award would be split into two separate ceremonies � ...

. *March – '' Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children'' is republished as ''Game Over: Press Start to Continue''. *March 15 –

Game Network Game Network was a European free-to-air television channel. It was initially owned by Digital Bros group, and later taken over by Cellcast Group. It was first launched in 1999. History Game Network first broadcast in Italy on 17 September 199 ...

hosts the 1st annual

Independent Games Festival The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...

(IGF) at GDC. *March 15–19 –

Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...

(formerly Computer Game Developers Conference); moves to

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

where it stays for six consecutive years; hosts the 1st annual

. *May –

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 ...

has started working on what will eventually be the

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

, under the codename "Project Dolphin". *May 13 –

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

hosts 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (at E3); inducts

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 B ...

Firaxis Games Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meier ...

to the

AIAS Hall of Fame The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an award show in the video game industry started in 1998 and commonly referred to in the industry as the "video games Oscar". The awards are arranged by the Academy of Intera ...

. *May 13–15 – 5th annual

Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...

(E3); the 2nd annual

Game Critics Awards The Game Critics Awards are a set of annual awards held after the E3 video game conference since 1998. The awards are given to products displayed at E3 with the title Best of E3 of their category. Format The nominees and winners of the awards a ...

for the Best of E3. *''

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...

'' is announced for release during the year, but gets delayed until 2007.

Hardware

*September 9 –

is launched in North America with 19 launch titles. *

Game Boy Light 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 ...

(GBL) handheld console released in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

only *

SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...

Neo Geo Pocket Color The is a 16-bit color handheld video game console manufactured by SNK. It is a successor to SNK's monochrome Neo Geo Pocket handheld which debuted in 1998 in Japan, with the Color being fully backward compatible. The Neo Geo Pocket Color was re ...

handheld released. *

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 ...

Game.com Pocket Pro handheld released. *

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 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

is announced.

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 1999.

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

(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 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.

Financial performance

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 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 ...

or computer games) of 1999 in Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing home video games of 1999 in the United States and Europe.

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1999.

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1999.

Europe

In Europe, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing home video games of 1999. In the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 1999.

Australia

In Australia, the following titles were the top ten best-selling

of 1999.

Highest-grossing arcade games in Japan

In 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 v ...

of 1999.

Notable releases

Business

*February 22 – Sierra reorganizes to cut costs in what is widely referred to as the "Chainsaw Monday" Layoffs, closing several studios and their iconic former headquarters in Oakhurst,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Some employees were given the option to relocate to their new headquarters in

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. *

Midway Games Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...

stops using the

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation, known as Midway Games West Inc. after 1999, was an American producer of Arcade game, arcade Video game, games. It was formed in 1985 when the coin-operated Arcade game, arcade game division of Atari, Inc. was transfered ...

brand. *New companies: 3d6 Games, 7 Studios, BAM!,

Liquid Entertainment Liquid Entertainment was an American independent video game developer based in Pasadena, California. The studio was founded in April 1999 by Ed Del Castillo and Mike Grayford. History Liquid Entertainment was founded in April 1999 by Ed D ...

Bohemia Interactive Bohemia Interactive a.s. is a Czech video game developer and publisher based in Prague. The company focuses on creating military simulation games such as '' Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis'' and the '' ARMA'' series. It is also known for ...

, 7FX

Acquisitions

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 Elsinore Multimedia,

Expert Software 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 ...

, and

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 ...

Entertainment *

Infogrames Entertainment, SA 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. Be ...

acquires

Accolade The accolade (also known as dubbing or adoubement) ( la, benedictio militis) was the central act in the rite of passage ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages. From about 1852, the term ''accolade'' was used much more generally to ...

(Renamed Infogrames North America),

Gremlin Interactive Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...

(renamed Infogrames Sheffield House),

GT Interactive GT, Gt or G-T may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games * GT Interactive, an American video game developer * GameTrailers, a video game website * '' Golden Tee Golf'', golf video game * ''Gran Turismo'' (series), a series of racing video games ...

(GTIS), and Ozisoft *

Take-Two Interactive Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City and founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993. The company owns two major publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K, which operate internal g ...

acquires

TalonSoft TalonSoft, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher based in Baltimore. History TalonSoft was founded in March 1995, by video game producers Jim Rose and John Davidson. On December 24, 1998, Take-Two Interactive announced that ...

ZeniMax Media ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland, and founded in 1999. The company owns publisher Bethesda Softworks with its development unit Bethesda Game Studios (developer of ''The Elder Scrolls,'' ...

acquires

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited, and in 1999 became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In its ...

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 Octo ...

acquires

Sensible Software Sensible Software was a British software company founded by Jon Hare and Chris Yates that was active from March 1986 to June 1999. It released seven number-one hit games and won numerous industry awards. The company was well known for the exa ...

Lawsuits

v. Bung Enterprises Ltd.; Nintendo sues Bung over patent infringement *

Corporation v. Bleem LLC

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1999 In video games Video games by year

Events

Hardware

Top-rated games

Game of the Year awards

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu'' Platinum Hall of Fame

Metacritic and GameRankings

Financial performance

Best-selling video game consoles

Best-selling home video games

Japan

United States

Europe

Australia

Highest-grossing arcade games in Japan

Notable releases

Business

Acquisitions

Lawsuits

See also

Notes

References