1993 in video gaming

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Events

• March — In Sweden
  Sweden
  
  Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
  , the Swedish video game magazine
  Magazine
  
  for quarterly in Heraldry see Quartering Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of Article , generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscription, or all three....
   Super PLAY
  Super PLAY
  
  Super PLAY is a Sweden video game magazine. Started in March 1993 with the name Super POWER, it was the first independent video game magazine in Sweden....
   (SP) starts. The original name is Super Power.
• Midway Games
  Midway Games
  
  'Midway Games' is an United States video game publisher and video game developer. Midway's legacy includes landmark titles such as Mortal Kombat , Ms....
   embroiled in controversy
  Video game controversy
  
  Similar to other forms of media, video games have been the subject of debate and censorship. Such criticism often stems from the inclusion of controversial material such as graphic violence, sex, recreational drug use, nudity, profanity, criminal behavior or other provocative and offensive content....
   for its game Mortal Kombat
  Mortal Kombat (video game)
  
  Mortal Kombat was the first entry in the famous and highly controversial Mortal Kombat fighting game series by Midway Games, released in Video arcade in 1992....
   from 1992 when the game is launched for video game console
  Video game console
  
  A video game console is an game development that produces a video signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game. The term "video game console" is used to distinguish a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer, which has many other functions, or arcade machi...
  s in 1993.
• The first use of motion control photography in video games, used by Stormfront Studios
  Stormfront Studios
  
  Stormfront Studios was a video game developer based in San Rafael, California which had one of the longest creative histories in the industry. In 2007, the company had over 50 developers working on two teams, and owned all its proprietary engines, tools and technology....
   in Eagle Eye Mysteries
  Eagle Eye Mysteries
  
  Eagle Eye Mysteries is a two-part series of educational computer games developed by Stormfront Studios and published by EA*Kids. The game is a first-person detective game that involves reading, writing and puzzle-solving....
  , produced by Scott Orr
  Scott Orr
  
  Scott Orr is an United States computer game and video game game designer best known as the original lead designer on the first video game console versions of the best-selling game of all time in North America, Madden NFL....
   and published by Electronic Arts
  Electronic Arts
  
  Electronic Arts is an international video game developer, marketer, video game publisher and distributor of video games. Established in 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 responsible for its games....
  .

Notable releases

• Microprose
  MicroProse
  
  MicroProse, as a corporation and brand name, has been owned by several entities since its original founding by Sid Meier and Bill Stealey in 1982 in video gaming, as Microprose Software....
   releases the Strategy Game of the Year Master of Orion
  Master of Orion
  
  Master of Orion is a turn-based, 4X science fiction computer strategy game released in 1993 in video gaming by MicroProse on the MS-DOS and Mac OS operating systems....
  .
• 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 Super World Stadium '93, Emeraldia
  Emeraldia
  
  Emeraldia is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1993 only in Japan....
  , Nettou! Gekitou! Quiztou!!, Numan Athletics
  Numan Athletics
  
  Numan Athletics is an action sports-type arcade game released by Namco in 1993. This game has eight unusual and unbelieveable competitions. These competitions are to test the strength and might of four mutant athletes called "Numans"....
  , Ridge Racer, 'Great Sluggers '93, Final Lap R, Cyber Sled
  Cyber Sled
  
  Cyber Sled is a two-player video arcade video game released by Namco in 1993....
  and Tinkle Pit
  Tinkle Pit
  
  Tinkle Pit is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1993 only in Japan....
  .
• June: Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle is released by Lucasarts as a sequel to Maniac Mansion and is notable for being one of the acclaimed early titles by designer Tim Schafer
  Tim Schafer
  
  Tim Schafer is an American computer game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in January 2000, having spent over a decade at LucasArts....
  .
• July: Domark
  Domark
  
  Domark was a computer and video games software house based in the United Kingdom. The name was derived from the given names of its founders, Dominic Wheatley and Mark Strachan....
   release Championship Manager 93 the second of the series.
• August — 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 Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
  The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
  
  The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld console....
  (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 ....
  ), which becomes the best-selling handheld game in the series.
• August: Infocom
  Infocom
  
  Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone ....
   and Activision
  Activision
  
  Activision Inc. is an United States video game developer and video game publisher. It was founded on October 1, 1979., and was the first independent developer and distributor of video games for video game console....
   release Return to Zork
  Return to Zork
  
  Return to Zork is a 1993 adventure game in the Zork series for the IBM PC compatible and Apple Macintosh. It was developed by Activision and was the final Zork game to be published under the Infocom label....
  .
• September 24 — Broderbund releases the Myst
  Myst
  
  Myst is a graphic adventure game video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn Miller and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan Worlds, a Spokane, Washington-based studio, and video game publisher and distributed by Br?derbund....
  computer game, which goes on to become one of the bestselling games of all time.
• December 10 — id Software
  Id Software
  
  id Software is an American video game developer from Mesquite, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer John D....
   releases Doom, a seminal first-person shooter
  First-person shooter
  
  File:Freedoom aaa.pngFirst-person shooter is a Video game genres, featuring a First person , with which the player views the action as if through the eyes of the protagonist and in which the primary element is combat based around shooting....
   that advanced 3D graphics for computer games.
• 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 Star Fox
  Star Fox (video game)
  
  Star Fox may refer to one of two video games:*Star Fox , a video game published by Mythicon for the Atari 2600*Star Fox , a video game published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System...
  for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
  Super Nintendo Entertainment System
  
  The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a History of video game consoles video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993....
  , the first game to use the Super FX Chip.
• Sega
  Sega
  
  is a Multinational corporation video game software and hardware development company, and a home computer and console manufacturer headquartered in Ota, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan....
   releases the Virtua Fighter
  Virtua Fighter
  
  is a 1993 in video gaming fighting game video game developer for the Sega Model 1 arcade platform by Sega-AM2, a development group within Sega, headed by Yu Suzuki....
  (by AM2) arcade game, which is later displayed at the Smithsonian Institution
  Smithsonian Institution
  
  The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its Financial endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazine....
  .
• Stellar Crisis is released, making it the first free multi-player wargame that is entirely browser based.

• Squaresoft
  Square Co.
  
  was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It Mergers and acquisitions with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix....
   releases Secret of Mana
  Secret of Mana
  
  Secret of Mana, known in Japan as , is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Co. for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System....
  for the SNES, the second in a series of role-playing game
  Role-playing game
  
  A role-playing game is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a role-playing game system of rules and guidelines....
  s (the first technically being Final Fantasy Adventure for the Game Boy in 1991).
• Nintendo releases Kirby's Adventure
  Kirby's Adventure
  
  Kirby's Adventure, known in Japan as , is a platform game video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console....
  , the second Kirby
  Kirby (Nintendo)
  
  is the main character of Nintendo's Kirby created by Masahiro Sakurai and developed by HAL Laboratory. The Kirby series is one of Nintendo's many well-known game franchises, spanning nearly twenty games since 1992....
   game and the only one for the NES
  Nintendo Entertainment System
  
  The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , the Philippines, China, Vietnam and Singapore, it was released as the ....
  .
• Nintendo releases the game Super Mario All-Stars
  Super Mario All-Stars
  
  Super Mario All-Stars, known in Japan as , is a video game that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993....
  for the Super NES. It features the first 3 Super Mario Bros. games together on one. Also, it's the first time the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros 2
  Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
  
  Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, known in Japan as , is a platform game video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Famicom Disk System....
   is playable 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....
  .
• March 15 — Sunsoft releases Blaster Master 2
  Blaster Master 2
  
  Blaster Master 2 is a sequel to Blaster Master for the Sega Mega Drive. You play as Jason and control a robotic vehicle called SOPHIA in the game and its your usual jump and shoot side-scroller game....
  for the Sega 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....
  .
• 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 SimCity 2000
  SimCity 2000
  
  SimCity 2000 is a simulation/City-building game Personal computer game and the second installment in the SimCity . SimCity 2000 was first released by Maxis in 1993 for computers running the Apple Macintosh and MS-DOS operating systems....
  , sequel to the tremendously popular SimCity.
• December 17 — Sierra On-Line
  Sierra Entertainment
  
  Sierra Entertainment, Inc. was a Worldwide American video game developer and video game publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken Williams and Roberta Williams....
   releases Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
  Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
  
  Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers is a point-and-click game adventure game video game developer and video game publisher by Sierra On-Line, Inc....
  . It is the first game in the Gabriel Knight
  Gabriel Knight
  
  Gabriel Knight is a series of adventure games produced by Sierra On-Line in the 1990s. Three games were released in the series: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery and Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned....
   series and features the voices of Tim Curry
  Tim Curry
  
  Timothy James "Tim" Curry is an England actor, singer, composer and voice artist, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions....
  , Mark Hamill
  Mark Hamill
  
  Mark Richard Hamill is an United States actor and voice artist, best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the voice of Joker in the DC animated universe....
  , Michael Dorn
  Michael Dorn
  
  Michael Dorn is an United States actor known for his role as the Klingon Worf in multiple Star Trek shows and movies....
  , and Leah Remini
  Leah Remini
  
  Leah Remini is an United States actor best known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens....
  .

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 Jaguar
  Atari Jaguar
  
  The Atari Jaguar is a video game console, released by Atari Corporation in . It was designed to surpass the Sega Mega Drive and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in processing power....
   home console, calling it the first 64-bit video game system
• Commodore Business Machines releases the Amiga CD32
  Amiga CD32
  
  The Amiga CD32, styled "CD32", was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe and Canada. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year....
   multimedia home console
• Goldstar
  GoldStar
  
  GoldStar was an electronics company established in 1958. The corporate name was changed to LG Electronics and LG Cable in 1995. LG Cable was changed to LS Cable in 2005....
  , Panasonic
  Panasonic
  
  Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation Under this brand the company sells Plasma display and LCD display panels, DVD recorders and players, Blu-ray Disc players, camcorders, telephones, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, shavers, projectors, digital cameras, batteries, lapto...
  , and Sanyo
  Sanyo
  
  is a major Japanese electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle of the market and has over 324 offices and plants worldwide, together employing more than 11,000 employees....
   release their versions of the 3DO
  3DO Interactive Multiplayer
  
  The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in . Further renditions of the hardware were released in by Sanyo and LG Group....
  , the first 32-bit 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 a smaller redesigned NES
  Nintendo Entertainment System
  
  The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , the Philippines, China, Vietnam and Singapore, it was released as the ....
  , which allows cartridges to now be inserted at the top of the console, instead of the front.
• Pioneer
  Pioneer Corporation
  
  is a multinational corporation that specializes in digital entertainment products, based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded in 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and Loudspeaker repair shop....
   releases the LaserActive
  Pioneer LaserActive
  
  The Pioneer LaserActive was a short-lived Laserdisc-based game console released by Pioneer Corporation in 1993. In addition to LaserActive games, separately sold add-on modules expanded the hardware to include compatibility with the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis and PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16 game cartridges and HuCards and CDs....
   multimedia home console
• Sega
  Sega
  
  is a Multinational corporation video game software and hardware development company, and a home computer and console manufacturer headquartered in Ota, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan....
  's Mega CD
  Sega Mega-CD
  
  The is an add-on device for the Sega Mega Drive that was released in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and North America. In North America, it was renamed Sega CD, as the name Mega-CD bore no obvious associative meaning in that market where the console used the name "Genesis" instead of "Mega Drive" because of trademark reasons....
   released in Europe
  Europe
  
  Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
   and Australia
  Australia
  
  Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
  .
• Tandy
  Tandy
  
  Tandy is a name which can refer to* Tandy Corporation - a leather supply company which subsequently became the RadioShack Corporation** Tandy Leather Factory, founded in 1980 is the residual portion of Tandy Corporation which sells leather supplies....
   releases the Video Information System (VIS
  Vis
  
  Vis may refer to:...
  ) multimedia home console

Business

• Magnavox
  Magnavox
  
  Magnavox is an United States electronics company founded by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen. The brothers invented a moving-coil loudspeaker in 1915 at their lab in Napa, California, they named their brainchild "Magnavox"....
   is acquired by the Carlyle Group
  Carlyle Group
  
  The Carlyle Group is a global private equity investment firm, based in Washington, D.C., with more than $91.5 billion of equity capital under management....
  
• Microprose
  MicroProse
  
  MicroProse, as a corporation and brand name, has been owned by several entities since its original founding by Sid Meier and Bill Stealey in 1982 in video gaming, as Microprose Software....
   Inc. is acquired by Spectrum Holobyte
  Spectrum HoloByte
  
  Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. was a video game developer and video game publisher originally based in Alameda, California.The company was founded in 1983 in video gaming and was most famous for its simulation games, notably the Falcon series of flight simulators and Vette!, a driving simulator from 1989 in video gaming....
  
• New companies: nVidia
  NVIDIA
  
  Nvidia is a multinational corporation specializing in the manufacture of graphics processing unit technologies for workstations, desktop computers, and mobile devices....
   Corporation, Take-Two Interactive
  Take-Two Interactive
  
  Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an United States Video game publisher, Video game developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals....
   Software Inc., Croteam
  Croteam
  
  Croteam was a video game developer established in Zagreb, Croatia in 1993, initially as a "garage games" company. They only had six employees and four contractors for the development of Serious Sam in 2001 in video gaming....
   Ltd.