1994 in video gaming
Notable events of 1994 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games.
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Events
- 1994 — Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".
- April — Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) founded (name changed to the Entertainment Software Association in 2003); IDSA founds Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)
- June 24 — The Computer Game Developers Association 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, creator of Tennis for Two (1958), dies at 84.
Notable releases
- February 2 — Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sega, Mega Drive/Genesis), introduced Knuckles the Echidna. Sonic & Knuckles was released on October 24, 1994. Sonic & Knuckles introduced "lock-on" gaming, allowing a player to connect Sonic 2 or 3 to the cartridge, which allowed the player to play these games as Knuckles. Sonic Triple Trouble was released on November 11, 1994
- March 19 — Super Metroid (SNES), distributed on a 24-megabit cartridge (the largest of its time), called the "best game of all time" by Electronic Gaming Monthly in 2002.
- Nintendo releases Rare's Donkey Kong Country (SNES), featuring distinctive 3D pre-rendered graphics. It was followed by several sequels.
- Blizzard releases the real-time strategy game Warcraft, which spawns a franchise and influences many later games.
- Looking Glass Studios releases System Shock.
- Bungie releases Marathon, one of the earliest original (non-ported) first-person shooters for the Macintosh.
- Squaresoft releases Final Fantasy VI (known as Final Fantasy III in North America) for the SNES, which many still consider to be the best in the series.
- Daytona USA (Sega, arcade game), a highly successful racing game noted for its advanced 3D graphics that included texture mapping
- Wario's Woods, the last game released for the NES in North America
- Killer Instinct (Rare, arcade), the first arcade game with an internal hard disk, made extensive use of pre-rendered graphics
- Rise of the Triad is released. The multiplayer mode included possibly the first ever Capture the flag mode in a PC game.
- Origin Systems releases their most ambitious Wing Commander game yet, Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, based both around the space simulation gameplay and an interactive movie with big-name actors. They boast about it being the most expensive game developed, with a budget of $4 million USD.
- LucasArts releases TIE Fighter, a game many consider to be one of the finest moments of the genre. The same year sees the release of Rebel Assault, an innovative Star Wars interactive movie game.
- id Software releases Doom II.
- Sensible Software releases Sensible World of Soccer, regarded as the best Amiga game of all time by British Amiga magazine Amiga Power.
- Epic Games releases Jazz Jackrabbit.
- Sony releases Mickey Mania.
- MicroProse releases the first installment of the X-COM-series.
Hardware
- Aiwa releases the CSD-GLM Mega Drive multimedia home console in Japan only
- Bandai releases the Playdia multimedia home console
- NEC releases the PC-FX multimedia home console
- Sega:
- introduces the North American cable TV Sega Channel in cooperation with Time Warner (AOL Time Warner); the subscription service provides Sega Genesis games via cable box to customers
- releases the 32X add-on for the Sega Genesis in North America and the Sega Mega Drive in Japan
- releases the Sega Nomad handheld console in North America, a portable Sega Genesis.
- releases the Sega Saturn home console in Japan
- SNK releases the Neo Geo CD home console
- Sony releases the PlayStation console in Japan on December 3
- Nintendo releases the Super Game Boy adapter for the SNES home console
Business
- Apogee establishes the 3D Realms Entertainment division
- Blizzard Entertainment is renamed from Silicon & Synapse
- Commodore goes out of business
- SSI sold to Mindscape
- Alpex Computer Corp. v. Nintendo lawsuit: Alpex sues Nintendo over patent infringements. Nintendo loses the case.
- Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Dragon Pacific Intern
Categories
1994 computer and video games