1989 in video gaming
Encyclopedia

Notable releases

  • October 3, Brøderbund
    Brøderbund
    Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American 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. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...

     releases the Prince of Persia
    Prince of Persia
    Prince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989 for the Apple II, that represented a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games....

    game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation.
  • Bullfrog Productions
    Bullfrog Productions
    Bullfrog Productions was a UK computer 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
    -External links:*...

    on June 5, 1989, which was one of the first commercially successful god game
    God game
    A god game is an artificial life game 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...

    s.
  • Namco
    Namco
    is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...

     releases Winning Run
    Winning Run
    Winning Run is a video game, released by Namco in 1988. It was the first game to use the Namco System 21 hardware. The music was composed by Hiroyuki Kawada.It was housed in a movable cabinet...

    ; Rompers; Blast Off
    Blast Off
    Blast Off is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan. It is the sequel to Bosconian, which was released 8 years earlier.-Description:...

    , which is the sequel to Bosconian
    Bosconian
    is a free-roaming multi-directional scrolling shooter arcade game that was developed by Namco and released in 1981. In contrast to the more linear shooter games of its time, Bosconian allows the player's ship to freely move across open space that scrolls in all directions. The game also features a...

    ; Valkyrie No Densetsu
    Valkyrie No Densetsu
    was released by Namco in 1989 in Arcades and in 1990 on the PC Engine only in Japan. It is a sequel to a Japan-only 1986 Nintendo Family Computer game entitled Valkyrie no Bōken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu. For the first time, Valkyrie no Densetsu was translated into English and released in the Namco...

    ; Dirt Fox
    Dirt Fox
    Dirt Fox is a racing arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan....

    ; World Stadium '89; Finest Hour
    Finest Hour
    Finest Hour is a run and gun arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989 and re-released for the Wii Virtual Console on August 25, 2009 only in Japan.-Gameplay:...

    ; Burning Force
    Burning Force
    Burning Force is a shoot 'em up arcade game that was originally released by Namco in 1989 only in Japan. It runs on Namco System 2 hardware.-Story:...

    ; Winning Run Suzuka GP; Four Trax
    Four Trax
    Four Trax is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1989. It is a Quad bike based racing game which is between one and eight players with four linked cabinets....

    ; Dangerous Seed
    Dangerous Seed
    Dangerous Seed is a vertical scrolling shooter 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 arcade game released by Namco in 1989.-Gameplay:In Marvel Land you play as Prince Paco , who is on a quest to save Princess Luxy from the evil Mole King . The gameplay was in the platformer style so popular at the time...

    .
  • Maxis
    Maxis
    Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...

     releases Will Wright's SimCity
    SimCity
    SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...

    , the first of the "Sim" games and a revolutionary real-time software toy.
  • Capcom
    Capcom
    is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

     releases Mega Man 2
    Mega Man 2
    Mega Man 2, known in Japan as , is a platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second installment in the original Mega Man series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, and in North America and PAL regions the following years. Mega Man 2...

    in more countries.
  • Tengen
    Tengen (company)
    Tengen was a video game publisher and developer that was created by arcade game manufacturer Atari Games.-History:Atari had been split into two distinct companies. Atari Corporation was responsible for computer and console games and hardware and owned the rights to the Atari brand for these domains...

     releases an unlicensed version of the Tetris
    Tetris
    Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...

    video game, which is recalled after Nintendo
    Nintendo
    is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced 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 Patience game . Many people refer to Klondike as patience or solitaire .- Rules :...

    and Robert Donner writes Minesweeper
    Minesweeper (computer game)
    Minesweeper is a single-player video game. The object of the game is to clear an abstract minefield without detonating a mine. The game has been written for many system platforms in use today....

    , which are bundled with Microsoft Windows
    Microsoft Windows
    Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

     starting from version 3.
  • Nintendo of America
    Nintendo
    is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced 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 Japanese 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 the first role-playing video game  in the Dragon Quest media franchise. It was developed by Chunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System and published by Enix in Japan in 1986...

    franchise to North America
    North America
    North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

    .
  • Techno Soft releases Herzog Zwei
    Herzog Zwei
    Herzog Zwei is a Mega Drive / Genesis game by Technosoft, published in 1989 . It is an early real-time strategy game, the first with a feature set that falls under the contemporary definition of the genre, predating the genre-popularizing Dune II...

    (Mega Drive/Genesis
    Sega Mega Drive
    The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...

    ) in Japan, marking an important development in the real-time strategy
    Real-time strategy
    Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. 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 side-scrolling platform computer game produced by Reflections Interactive and published by Psygnosis in 1989. The original version was released for the Commodore Amiga, but the game has been ported to many other systems...

    , demonstrating the capabilities of the Amiga
    Amiga
    The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

     and helping sales of the computer
    Computer
    A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

    .
  • Strategic Studies Group
    Strategic Studies Group
    Strategic Studies Group, commonly known as SSG, is an Australian software development company that makes primarily strategy wargames.The company was founded by strategy game enthusiasts Ian Trout and Roger Keating. Ian was proprietor of a military books store and Roger had had several of his games...

     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.* "WARLORDS", the call sign of a United States Navy Helicopter squadron based in Ayase city, Japan....

    on December 6, 1989, which was one of the first fantasy
    Fantasy
    Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

     turn-based strategy
    Turn-based strategy
    A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...

     game.
  • Electronic Arts
    Electronic Arts
    Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

     releases John Madden Football for the Apple II
    Apple II
    The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...

    , starting its highly successful line of American football
    American football
    American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

     games.
  • Nintendo
    Nintendo
    is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

     releases the Zelda Game & Watch
    Game & Watch
    is a line of handheld electronic games produced by Nintendo from to . Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, each Game & Watch features a single game to be played on an LCD screen in addition to a clock and an alarm ....

    .
  • Quixel releases 007: Licence to Kill
    007: Licence to Kill
    007: Licence to Kill is a 1989 video game based on the James Bond film of the same name, developed by Quixel and published by Domark in 1989...

     on April 20, 1989.

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 Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...

     Corp. releases the Lynx handheld console.
  • Mattel
    Mattel
    Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...

    , Inc. releases the Power Glove
    Power Glove
    The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the first peripheral interface controller to recreate human hand movements on a television or computer screen in real time. The Power Glove was not popular and was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use...

     controller for the NES
    Nes
    -Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...

     home console.
  • Nintendo
    Nintendo
    is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced 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 video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...

     handheld console, first handheld with cartridges.
  • NEC's PC-Engine released in North America
    North America
    North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

     as the Turbografx-16
    TurboGrafx-16
    TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....

    .
  • Sega Mega Drive released in North America
    North America
    North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

     as the Sega Genesis.

Business

  • Hasbro
    Hasbro
    Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

    , Inc. acquires elements of Coleco
    Coleco
    Coleco is 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...

     Industries, Inc.
  • Trinity Acquisition Corporation founded (renamed THQ
    THQ
    THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, 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 developer that was created by arcade game manufacturer Atari Games.-History:Atari had been split into two distinct companies. Atari Corporation was responsible for computer and console games and hardware and owned the rights to the Atari brand for these domains...

    • Nintendo sues Tengen over the Tetris
      Tetris
      Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...

      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 was a company owned and operated by David J. Harding. It was 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. It created a number of peripherals for the NES, including...

     Ltd. Nintendo sues Camerica over patent violations of the Game Genie
    Game Genie
    The Game Genie is a series of cheat systems designed by Codemasters and sold by Camerica and Galoob for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, and Sega Game Gear that modifies game data, allowing the player to cheat, manipulate various...

     for the NES
    Nes
    -Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...

    console. Camerica wins the suit.
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