1989 in video gaming

Ask a question about '1989 in video gaming' Start a new discussion about '1989 in video gaming' Answer questions from other users Full Discussion Forum

Events

Notable releases

• Bullfrog Productions
  Bullfrog Productions
  
  Bullfrog Productions was a United Kingdom video game developer that was founded in 1987 by Les Edgar and Peter Molyneux. The company achieved recognition in 1989 for their third release, Populous....
   releases Populous
  Populous
  
  Populous is a Video game developed by Bullfrog Productions in 1989 in video gaming and is regarded by many as being the wikt:seminal god game....
   on June 5 1989, which was one of the first commercially successful god game
  God game
  
  A god game is a construction and management simulation games that casts the player in the position of controlling the game on a large scale, as an entity with divine/supernatural powers, as a great leader or with no specified character , and places them in charge of a game setting containing autonomous characters to guard and influence....
  s.
• Namco
  Namco
  
  , from NAkamura Manufacturing COmpany, is an amusement company based in Japan, best known overseas for video games development. On September 29 2005, Namco officially merged with Japanese toymaker Bandai to form Namco Bandai, one of the largest entertainment companies in Japan.Namco became a wholly owned subsidiary of the holdin...
   releases Winning Run; Rompers; Blast Off
  Blast Off
  
  Blast Off is a vertical Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan. It is the sequel to Bosconian, which was released 8 years earlier....
  , which is the sequel to Bosconian
  Bosconian
  
  Bosconian is a Shoot 'em up#multi-directional shooter arcade game that was made by Namco in 1981. It runs on Namco Galaga hardware but with a video system like that used in Rally-X....
  ; Valkyrie No Densetsu
  Valkyrie No Densetsu
  
  was released by Namco in 1989 on Arcade game and in 1990 on the PC Engine only in Japan. It is a sequel to a Japan-only 1986 Nintendo Entertainment System entitled Valkyrie no Boken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu....
  ; Dirt Fox
  Dirt Fox
  
  Dirt Fox is a Racing game arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan....
  ; World Stadium '89; Finest Hour
  Finest Hour
  
  Finest Hour is a Shoot 'em up#Run and gun arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan....
  ; Burning Force
  Burning Force
  
  Burning Force is a shoot 'em up arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan. It runs on Namco System 2 hardware, and was later ported to the Sega Mega Drive in 1990....
  ; Winning Run Suzuka GP; Four Trax
  Four Trax
  
  Four Trax is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989....
  ; Dangerous Seed
  Dangerous Seed
  
  Dangerous Seed is a vertical Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan. In 1990, a Sega Mega Drive version was also developed and released only in Japan....
   and Marvel Land
  Marvel Land
  
  is a platform game arcade game released by Namco in 1989....
  .
• Maxis
  Maxis
  
  Maxis Software was an United States company that was founded as a video game developer and is now a brand name of Electronic Arts . Maxis' second software title was the seminal SimCity, a city simulation and planning Video game....
   releases Will Wright's SimCity
  SimCity
  
  SimCity is a city-building game Construction and management simulation games personal computer game, first released in 1989 and designed by Will Wright ....
  , the first of the "Sim
  List of Sim games
  
  Sorry, no overview for this topic
  " games and a revolutionary real-time software toy.
• Tengen
  Tengen (company)
  
  Tengen was a video game publisher and video game developer that was created by arcade game manufacturer Atari Games. Atari had been split into two distinct companies....
   releases an unlicensed version of the Tetris
  Tetris
  
  Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in June 1985, while working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow....
   video game, which is recalled after Nintendo
  Nintendo
  
  is a global company located in Kyoto, Japan founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
   sues Tengen.
• Wes Cherry writes Solitaire
  Klondike (solitaire)
  
  Klondike is a solitaire card game. Many people refer to Klondike as "solitaire". It has been proposed that the version shipped with Microsoft Windows is the most popular video game of all time, Chris Sells, a Microsoft employee, was quoted as describing it as the "most used Windows application"....
   and Robert Donner writes Minesweeper
  Minesweeper (computer game)
  
  Minesweeper is a single-player computer game. The object of the game is to clear an abstract land mine without detonating a land mine. The game has been written for many system platforms in use today- including the Minesweeper , which has come bundled with versions of the operating system from 3.1 and on....
  , which are bundled with Microsoft Windows
  Microsoft Windows
  
  Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
   starting from version 3.
• Brøderbund
  Brøderbund
  
  Br?derbund Software was an United States maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games....
   releases the Prince of Persia
  Prince of Persia
  
  Prince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner in 1989 in video gaming for the Apple II, that was widely seen as a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in Video game....
   game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation.
• Nintendo of America
  Nintendo
  
  is a global company located in Kyoto, Japan founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
   introduces Enix
  Enix
  
  The was a Japan company that produced video games, Anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982....
  's Dragon Warrior
  Dragon Warrior
  
  Dragon Warrior, known as in Japan, is a console role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published in Japan by Enix in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System....
   franchise to North America
  North America
  
  North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
  .
• Techno Soft releases Herzog Zwei
  Herzog Zwei
  
  Herzog Zwei is a Sega Mega Drive game by Technosoft, published in 1989 in video gaming . It is one of the first real-time strategy games, predating the genre-popularizing Dune II, and considered one of the best two-player Genesis games, combining the arcade-style play of Technosoft's own Thunder Force series with a simple, easy-to...
   (Mega Drive/Genesis
  Sega Mega Drive
  
  The is a History of video game consoles video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. Mega Drive was the name used in Japan and Europe, while it was sold under the name Sega Genesis in North America, as Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in that region....
  ) in Japan, marking an important development in the real-time strategy
  Real-time strategy
  
  Real-time strategy games are a genre of computer wargames which do not progress incrementally in turn-based game.Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
   genre.
• Psygnosis release Shadow of the Beast
  Shadow of the Beast
  
  Shadow of the Beast is a platform game Personal computer game produced by Reflections Interactive and published by Psygnosis in 1989 in video gaming....
  , demonstrating the capabilities of the Amiga
  Amiga
  
  The Amiga is a family of personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. Development on the Amiga began in 1982 with Jay Miner as the principal hardware designer....
   and helping sales of the computer
  Computer
  
  A computer is a machine that manipulates Data according to a list of Code .The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century , although the computer concept and various machines similar to computers existed earlier....
  .
• Strategic Studies Group
  Strategic Studies Group
  
  Strategic Studies Group, commonly known as SSG, is an Australian software development company that makes strategy wargames. They are the creators of the Decisive Battles of World War II series which includes the games The Ardennes Offensive game, Korsun Pocket game, and Battles in Normandy game, Battles in Italy game and Battlefront ....
   releases Warlords
  Warlords
  
  Warlords may refer to:* The plural of warlord, a name for a figure who has military authority but not legal authority over a subnational region....
   on December 6 1989, which was one of the first fantasy
  Fantasy
  
  Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of Plot , Theme , and/or Setting . Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three ....
   turn-based strategy
  Turn-based strategy
  
  A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game that is turn-based game. The phrase turn-based is used to distinguish such games from real-time strategy games, and as such the phrase refers almost exclusively to video games....
   game.

Hardware

• Atari
  Atari
  
  Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Infogrames ....
   Corp. releases the Lynx handheld console.
• Mattel
  Mattel
  
  Mattel Inc. is the world's largest toy importing company based on revenue. The products it produces include Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles....
  , Inc. releases the Power Glove
  Power Glove
  
  The Power Glove is a List of Nintendo Entertainment System accessories for the Nintendo Entertainment System designed by the team of Grant Goddard Abrams/Gentile Entertainment, made by Mattel in the United States and PAX in Japan....
   controller for the NES
  Nes
  
  Nes may refer to:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway...
   home console.
• Nintendo
  Nintendo
  
  is a global company located in Kyoto, Japan founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
   releases the Game Boy
  Game Boy
  
  The is an 8-bit handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in August , and in Europe in ....
   handheld console, first handheld with cartridges.
• NEC's PC Engine released in North America
  North America
  
  North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
   as the Turbografx-16
  TurboGrafx-16
  
  The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by the Nippon Electric Company and released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
  .
• Sega Mega Drive
  Sega Mega Drive
  
  The is a History of video game consoles video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. Mega Drive was the name used in Japan and Europe, while it was sold under the name Sega Genesis in North America, as Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in that region....
   released in North America
  North America
  
  North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
   as the Sega Genesis.

Business

• Hasbro
  Hasbro
  
  Hasbro is an United States toy company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world, second only to the toy giant Mattel. Hasbro is also the publisher of the world's most popular board game, Monopoly ....
  , Inc. acquires elements of Coleco
  Coleco
  
  Coleco was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as "Connecticut Leather Company". It became a highly successful toy company in the 1980s, known for its mass-produced version of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consoles, the Coleco Telstar and ColecoVision....
   Industries, Inc.
• Trinity Acquisition Corporation founded (renamed THQ
  THQ
  
  THQ Inc. is an Worldwide international United States Video game developer and Video game publisher of video games. Founded in 1989, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices....
   in 1990)
• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Tengen
  Tengen (company)
  
  Tengen was a video game publisher and video game developer that was created by arcade game manufacturer Atari Games. Atari had been split into two distinct companies....
  
• Nintendo sues Tengen over the Tetris
  Tetris
  
  Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in June 1985, while working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow....
   video game copyrights. Tengen loses and recalls all its Tetris games.
• November - Nintendo sues Tengen over production of unlicensed Nintendo games. Tengen loses. (Tengen originally sued Nintendo on December 12, 1988 for antitrust violations.)
• Nintendo v. Camerica
  Camerica
  
  Camerica is a video game company that was notable for producing unlicensed Nintendo Entertainment System games and hardware. It was founded in 1988 and published games through 1992....
   Ltd. Nintendo sues Camerica over patent violations of the Game Genie
  Game Genie
  
  The Game Genie is a series of cheat cartridges designed by Codemasters and sold by Camerica and Galoob for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive, and Sega Game Gear that modifies game data, allowing the player to cheat, manipulate various aspects of Video game, and sometimes view u...
   for the NES
  Nes
  
  Nes may refer to:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway...
   console. Camerica wins the suit.
• Nintendo in business for 100 years.