Wikipedia

1996 in video games

List of years in video games

1996 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario 64, Duke Nukem 3D, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Super Mario RPG, King's Field III, Virtua Fighter 3, along with new titles such as Blazing Heroes, NiGHTS into Dreams..., Crash Bandicoot, Pokémon Red/Green/Blue, Resident Evil, Dead or Alive, Soul Edge, Quake and Tomb Raider.

The year's best-selling video game console worldwide was the PlayStation, while the best-selling consoles in Japan were the Game Boy and Sega Saturn. The year's best-selling home video game worldwide was Super Mario 64, while highest-grossing arcade games in Japan were Street Fighter Zero 2 (Street Fighter Alpha 2) and Virtua Fighter 2.

Legend

[edit]
Video game platforms
3DO3DOArcadeArcade video gameDOSDOS / MS-DOS
GBGame BoyGENSega Genesis / Mega DriveGGGame Gear
MACClassic Mac OS, 2001 and beforeN64Nintendo 64, iQue PlayerNEONeo Geo AES
NEOCDNeo Geo CDNESNintendo Entertainment System / FamicomPCFXPC-FX
PC98PC-9800 seriesPS1PlayStation 1RZR-Zone
SATSega SaturnSNESSuper Nintendo / Super
Famicom / Super Comboy		WINMicrosoft Windows, all
versions Windows 95 and up
Genre notes
4X4X gameActionAction gameAction-adventureAction-adventure game
AdventureAdventure gameBrawlerBeat 'em upFightingFighting game
FPSFirst-person shooterMMORPGMassively multiplayer online RPGPlatformerPlatformer
PuzzlePuzzle video gameRacingRacing gameRPGRole-playing video game
RTSReal-time strategySandboxSandbox gameShooterShooter game
SimulationSimulation video gameSportsSports video gameTactical RPGTactical role-playing game
Visual novelVisual novel

Hardware

[edit]
Nintendo 64

Discontinuation

[edit]

1996 saw a major shakeup in the crowded home console market, with the Virtual Boy, Atari Jaguar, 3DO, Sega CD, 32X, and CD-i all being discontinued.

Top-rated games

[edit]

Game of the Year awards

[edit]

The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1996.

Awards Game of the Year Platform(s) Publisher Genre Ref
Chicago Tribune Super Mario 64 N64 Nintendo Platformer [1]
Digitiser [2]
Electronic Gaming Monthly [3]
Game Informer [4]
Golden Joystick Awards [5]
Spotlight Awards [6]
CESA Awards Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) SAT Sega Tactical RPG [7][8]
GameFan Megawards Tomb Raider Eidos Action-adventure [9]
Enemy Zero SAT Warp Adventure
Gamest Awards Street Fighter Zero 2 (Street Fighter Alpha 2) Arcade Capcom Fighting [10]
IAAPA Exhibit Awards Tokyo Wars Arcade Namco Shooter [11]
VSDA Awards Donkey Kong Country 2 SNES Nintendo Platformer [12]

Critically acclaimed titles

[edit]

Metacritic and GameRankings

[edit]

Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

1996 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR)[13][14]
Game Publisher Release Date Platform(s) MC score GR score
Super Mario 64 Nintendo June 23, 1996 N64 94/100 96.41%
Wipeout XL/2097 Psygnosis September 30, 1996 PS1 93/100 94.75%
Quake GT Interactive June 22, 1996 DOS 94/100 93.22%
Tekken 2 Namco March 29, 1996 PS1 89/100 92.50%
Civilization II MicroProse February 29, 1996 WIN 94/100 91.29%
Wave Race 64 Nintendo September 27, 1996 N64 92/100 90.67%
PaRappa the Rapper Sony Computer Entertainment December 6, 1996 PS1 92/100 88.31%
Realms of the Haunting Interplay December 31, 1996 DOS — 91.86%
Tomb Raider Eidos Interactive November 14, 1996 DOS — 91.67%
Soul Edge Namco December 20, 1996 PS1 89/100 91.46%
Tomb Raider Eidos Interactive October 25, 1996 PS1 91/100 90.02%
Resident Evil Capcom March 22, 1996 PS1 91/100 87.23%
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Virgin November 22, 1996 DOS 90/100 90.91%
Command & Conquer Sega December 18, 1996 SAT — 89.90%
Dragon Force Sega March 29, 1996 SAT — 89.64%
International Superstar Soccer 64 Konami December 20, 1996 N64 — 89.23%
Guardian Heroes Sega January 26, 1996 SAT — 89.20%
Super Mario RPG Nintendo March 9, 1996 SNES — 89.12%
Descent II Interplay Productions March 13, 1996 DOS 89/100 —
Duke Nukem 3D GT Interactive January 29, 1996 DOS 89/100 88.50%
Star Control 3 Accolade August 31, 1996 DOS 89/100 —
NiGHTS into Dreams... Sega July 5, 1996 SAT — 88.56%
Pokémon Blue Version Nintendo October 15, 1996 GB — 88.33%
Pokémon Red Version Nintendo February 27, 1996 GB — 87.86%
Formula 1 Psygnosis September 30, 1996 PS1 — 87.75%
Fighters Megamix Sega December 21, 1996 SAT — 87.67%
Pilotwings 64 Nintendo June 23, 1996 N64 80/100 87.52%
Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Sega March 22, 1996 SAT — 87.50%

Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame

[edit]

The following video game releases in 1996 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[15]

Title Platform Developer Publisher Genre Score (out of 40)
Super Mario 64 N64 Nintendo EAD Nintendo Platformer 39
Resident Evil PS1 Capcom Capcom Survival horror 38
Tekken 2 PS1 Namco Namco Fighting 38
Fighting Vipers SAT Sega AM2 Sega Fighting 37
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren GB GB Aquamarine Chunsoft Roguelike 36
Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... SNES Heartbeat Enix RPG 36
Panzer Dragoon II Zwei SAT Sega Sega Rail shooter 35
J. League Victory Goal '96 SAT Sega Sega Sports 35
Fighters Megamix SAT Sega AM2 Sega Fighting 35

Financial performance

[edit]

Highest-grossing arcade games

[edit]

Japan

[edit]

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1996.

Rank Gamest[10] Game Machine[16]
Title Manufacturer Title Type Points
1 Street Fighter Zero 2 (Street Fighter Alpha 2) Capcom Virtua Fighter 2 / 2.1 PCB 5541
2 Virtual On: Cyber Troopers Sega Puzzle Bobble 2 / 2X PCB 4782
3 The King of Fighters '96 SNK Print Club (Purikura) Other 4059
4 Virtua Fighter 3 Sega Rave Racer SD / DX / 2P 3780
5 Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara Capcom Tekken 2 PCB 3579
6 Psychic Force Taito Virtua Cop 2 Dedicated 3271
7 RayStorm Taito Virtual On: Cyber Troopers Dedicated 3208
8 X-Men vs. Street Fighter Capcom Alpine Racer Dedicated 2807
9 Real Bout Garō Densetsu (Real Bout Fatal Fury) SNK Fighting Vipers PCB 2555
10 Battle Garegga Eighting Street Fighter Zero 2 PCB 2543

United States

[edit]

In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1996.

Drasnin Communications[17] AMOA[18]
Title Developer Manufacturer Genre Dedicated cabinet Conversion kit
Daytona USA Sega AM2 Sega Racing Alpine Racer Area 51
Cruis'n USA Midway Games Midway Games Racing Area 51 Bust-A-Move Again
Tekken 2 Namco Namco Fighting Cruis'n USA Mortal Kombat 3
Area 51 Mesa Logic Atari Games Light gun shooter Daytona USA Soul Edge
Alpine Racer Namco Namco Sports Time Crisis Tekken 2
Die Hard Arcade Sega AM1 Sega Brawler —
Metal Slug SNK SNK Run and gun
Point Blank Namco Namco Light gun shooter
DecAthlete Sega AM3 Sega Sports
Strikers 1945 Psikyo Psikyo Scrolling shooter

Australia

[edit]

On Australia's Timezone monthly arcade charts published in the March 1996 issue of Leisure Line magazine, Sega's Manx TT Super Bike was the top-grossing dedicated arcade cabinet and Namco's Point Blank was the top-grossing arcade conversion kit.[19]

Best-selling video game consoles

[edit]
Rank Manufacturer Game console Type Generation Sales
Japan United States Worldwide
1 Sony PS1 Home 32-bit 2,200,000+[20] 2,044,000[21] 6,600,000+[20]
2 Nintendo GB Handheld 8-bit 2,860,000[22] Unknown 4,000,000+[23]
Sega SAT Home 32-bit 2,300,000[22] 744,000[21] 4,000,000+[24][25]
4 Nintendo N64 Home 64-bit 1,022,999[26] 1,736,000[21] 2,758,999+
5 Nintendo SNES Home 16-bit 620,000[22] 1,416,000 1,746,000+
6 Sega GEN Home 16-bit Unknown 1,316,000[21] 1,316,000+
7 Nintendo NES Home 8-bit 70,000[22] 468,000[21] 538,000+
8 Sega GG Handheld 8-bit 100,000[22] Unknown 100,000+
9 NEC PCFX Home 32-bit 50,000[22] Unknown 50,000+
Panasonic 3DO Home 32-bit 50,000[22] Unknown 50,000+

Best-selling home video games

[edit]

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) worldwide in 1996.

Rank Title Platform Sales
Japan United States[27][28] Europe[29][30] Worldwide
1 Super Mario 64 N64 903,000[31] 2,000,000+[32] — 2,903,000+
2 Tekken 2 PS1 1,200,000+[33] 1,000,000+ 420,000 2,620,000+
3 Resident Evil (Biohazard) PS1 1,016,000[31] 1,000,000+ 300,000+ 2,316,000+
4 Super Mario RPG SNES 995,898[34] 1,000,000+ — 1,995,898+
5 Donkey Kong Country 3 SNES 674,000[31] 1,000,000+ Unknown 1,674,000+
6 Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue GB 1,663,861[34] — — 1,663,861
7 Donkey Kong Country 2 SNES 612,000[31] 1,000,000+ Unknown 1,612,000+
8 Wave Race 64 N64 154,682[34] 1,000,000+ — 1,154,682+
9 Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... SNES 1,071,000[31] — — 1,071,000
10 Madden NFL 97 PS1 — 1,000,000+ Unknown 1,000,000+

Japan

[edit]

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1996.

Rank Title Platform Developer Publisher Genre Sales Ref
1 Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue GB Game Freak Nintendo RPG 1,663,861 [34]
2 Tekken 2 PS1 Namco Namco Fighting 1,200,000+ [33]
3 Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... SNES Heartbeat Enix RPG 1,071,000 [31]
4 Biohazard (Resident Evil) PS1 Capcom Capcom Survival horror 1,016,000
5 Super Mario RPG SNES Squaresoft Nintendo RPG 995,898 [34]
6 Derby Stallion '96 PS1 ASCII ASCII Simulation 960,000 [31]
7 Super Mario 64 N64 Nintendo EAD Nintendo Platformer 903,000
8 Arc the Lad II PS1 ARC Entertainment Sony RPG 818,000
9 Tobal No. 1 PS1 DreamFactory Squaresoft Fighting 752,000
10 Rage Racer PS1 Namco Namco Racing 701,000

United States

[edit]

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1996.[27]

Rank Title Platform Publisher Genre Sales[27][28] Revenue Inflation
1 Super Mario 64 N64 Nintendo Platformer 2,000,000+[32] $140,000,000[32] $281,000,000
2 Donkey Kong Country 2 SNES Nintendo Platformer 1,000,000+ Unknown Unknown
3 Donkey Kong Country 3 SNES Nintendo Platformer 1,000,000+ Unknown Unknown
4 Madden NFL 97 PS1 EA Sports Sports (football) 1,000,000+ Unknown Unknown
5 Wave Race 64 N64 Nintendo Racing 1,000,000+
6 Super Mario RPG SNES Nintendo RPG 1,000,000+
7 Tekken 2 PS1 Namco Fighting 1,000,000+ Unknown Unknown
8 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire N64 Nintendo Action 1,000,000+ Unknown Unknown
9 Resident Evil PS1 Capcom Survival horror 1,000,000+[28] Unknown Unknown
10 Myst PS1 Broderbund Adventure 853,765[35] $28,800,000[35] $57,700,000

Europe

[edit]

In Europe, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 1996.

Rank All platforms PlayStation[29]
Title Publisher Title EU sales[30] UK revenue[36] UK revenue (inflation)
1 Formula 1[37] Psygnosis Formula 1 420,000+ £15,000,000+ ($23,000,000+) $46,000,000+
2 Unknown Tekken 2 420,000 £15,000,000+ ($23,000,000+) $46,000,000+
3 Unknown FIFA 97 300,000+ Unknown Unknown
4 Unknown Resident Evil 300,000+
5 Unknown Crash Bandicoot 300,000 £15,000,000+ ($23,000,000+) $46,000,000+
6 Unknown Destruction Derby Unknown
7 Unknown Ridge Racer Revolution
8 Unknown Tekken
9 Unknown Ridge Racer
10 Unknown Tomb Raider

In addition to the PlayStation games listed above, the following titles were the year's best-selling Sega Saturn and PC games in the United Kingdom.

Sega Saturn PC[38]
HMV[39] Rank Title
Athlete Kings Tomb Raider 1 Grand Prix 2
Bust-A-Move 2 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 2 Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Daytona USA: Circuit Edition Virtua Cop 3 FIFA 97
Euro 96 Virtua Fighter 2 4 Command & Conquer
Exhumed Sega Worldwide Soccer 97 5 Civilization II
Fighting Vipers — 6 Quake
Guardian Heroes — 7 Theme Park
Nights into Dreams — 8 Rally Championship
Sea Bass Fishing — 9 Championship Manager 2
Sega Rally Championship — 10 Worms

Top game rentals in the United States

[edit]

In the United States, the following games were the top video game rentals of each month, according to the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA).

Month Game Ref
January Unknown
February Unknown
March Unknown
April Unknown
May Super Mario RPG [40]
June
July
August
September Unknown
October Unknown
November Unknown
December Unknown

Events

[edit]

Business

[edit]

Notable releases

[edit]
Release Date Title Developer/Publisher Platform Genre Ref
January 25 Guardian Heroes Treasure/Sega SAT Brawler [citation needed]
January 26 Mystaria: The Realms of Lore Micro Cabin/Sega SAT Tactical RPG [citation needed]
January 29 Duke Nukem 3D 3D Realms/GT Interactive DOS FPS [citation needed]
January 31 Mega Man X3 Capcom SNES [citation needed]
February 9 Bahamut Lagoon SquareSoft SNES Tactical RPG [citation needed]
February 23 Front Mission: Gun Hazard SquareSoft SNES [citation needed]
February 27 Pokémon Red and Green Game Freak/Nintendo GB [citation needed]
February 29 Civilization II MicroProse WIN 4X [citation needed]
February 29 Ripper (video game) Take Two Interactive DOS Adventure, Interactive film [citation needed]
February 29 Rise 2: Resurrection Mirage/Acclaim WIN, SAT, PS1 [citation needed]
February 29 Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri Looking Glass Studios DOS FPS [citation needed]
February 29 Zork: Nemesis Activision WIN [citation needed]
March 9 Super Mario RPG SquareSoft/Nintendo SNES RPG [citation needed]
March 21 Kirby Super Star HAL Labs/Nintendo SNES [citation needed]
March 22 Resident Evil Capcom PS1 survival horror [citation needed]
March 22 Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Team Andromeda/Sega SAT Rail shooter [citation needed]
March 24 Someone's in the Kitchen! The Neverhood Inc./DreamWorks WIN [43]
March 29 Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension TOSE/Bandai SNES [citation needed]
April 20 Barbie Fashion Designer Digital Domain/Mattel Media WIN [citation needed]
April 26 Jumping Flash! 2 Exact/SCEA PS1 Platformer [citation needed]
April 26 The Legend of Oasis Sega/Ancient SAT [citation needed]
April 30 Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures LucasArts WIN, MAC Adventure [citation needed]
May 14 Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu Intelligent Systems/Nintendo SNES Tactical RPG [citation needed]
May 13 Kirby's Block Ball HAL Labs/Nintendo GB [citation needed]
May 24 Metal Slug SNK NEO [citation needed]
May 31 Final Doom id Software DOS [citation needed]
June Last Bronx Sega Arcade [citation needed]
June 22 Quake id Software DOS [citation needed]
June 23 Super Mario 64 Nintendo N64 Platformer [44]
June 26 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Acclaim Entertainment, GT Interactive, Midway, Williams Entertainment SAT, GEN, SNES [citation needed]
July 5 NiGHTS into Dreams... Sega SAT [citation needed]
July 19 Saturn Bomberman Hudson SAT [citation needed]
July 19 Star Ocean tri-ace/Enix SNES [citation needed]
July 25 The King of Fighters '96 SNK NEO, NEOCD, SAT [citation needed]
July 26 Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition Taito/Acclaim SAT, PS1 Puzzle [citation needed]
July 31 Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh Sierra On-Line DOS, WIN [citation needed]
July 31 Virtua Fighter Kids Sega AM2 SAT, Arcade [citation needed]
August 25 Tekken 2 Namco PS1 Fighting [citation needed]
August 26 Azrael's Tear Intelligent Games DOS Adventure [citation needed]
August 31 Die Hard Trilogy Probe Entertainment/Fox Interactive WIN, PS1, SAT [citation needed]
August 31 Tetris Attack Intelligent Systems/Nintendo SNES, GB [citation needed]
August 31 Madden NFL 97 EA Sports/Electronic Arts GEN, PS1, WIN, SNES, SAT, GB Sports (football) [citation needed]
August 31 Beyond the Beyond Camelot/SCEA PS1 RPG [citation needed]
August 31 Jet Moto SingleTrac/SCEA PS1 Racing [citation needed]
September Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games Sir-Tech DOS [citation needed]
September Virtua Fighter 3 Sega AM2 Arcade Fighting [citation needed]
September 8 Magic Carpet 2' Bullfrog Productions DOS Action [45]
September 9 Crash Bandicoot Naughty Dog/Universal/Sony PS1 [citation needed]
September 14 GunGriffon Game Arts/Sega SAT [citation needed]
September 20 Revelations: Persona Atlus PS1 RPG [citation needed]
September 20 The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall Bethesda Softworks WIN Sandbox [citation needed]
September 29 Pilotwings 64 Nintendo N64 [44]
September 27 Meridian 59 3DO WIN MMORPG [citation needed]
September 30 Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars Revolution Software/Virgin Interactive WIN, PS1 Adventure [citation needed]
September 30 Wipeout XL/2097 Psygnosis PS1 [citation needed]
September 30 Shattered Steel BioWare/Interplay DOS [citation needed]
September 30 Street Fighter Alpha 2 Capcom Arcade, SNES, PS1, SAT [citation needed]
September 30 Mr. Bones Zono/Sega SAT Platformer [citation needed]
September 30 Tobal No. 1 DreamFactory/SCEA PS1 Fighting [citation needed]
September 30 Formula 1 Bizarre Creations/SCEA PS1 Racing [citation needed]
September 30 Donkey Kong Land 2 Rare/Nintendo GB [citation needed]
October 1 Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars New World Computing/3DO DOS, WIN [citation needed]
October 10 Mortal Kombat Trilogy Avalanche, Midway, Point of View N64, PS1, RZ [citation needed]
October 15 Marathon Infinity Bungie MAC [citation needed]
October 15 Pokémon Blue Game Freak/Nintendo GB [citation needed]
October 30 The Neverhood The Neverhood Inc./DreamWorks WIN [citation needed]
October 31 Command & Conquer: Red Alert Westwood Studios DOS [citation needed]
October 31 Master of Orion II Simtex/MicroProse DOS [citation needed]
October 31 Toonstruck Burst Studios/Virgin Interactive Entertainment DOS [citation needed]
October 31 Drowned God Epic Multimedia Group/Inscape WIN Adventure [citation needed]
October 31 SimCopter Maxis WIN Simulation (flight) [citation needed]
October 31 King's Field III FromSoftware/ASCII Entertainment PS1 [citation needed]
October 31 DeathDrome Zipper Interactive/Viacom WIN [citation needed]
October 31 WWF In Your House Acclaim DOS, PS1, SAT [citation needed]
October 31 Twisted Metal 2 SingleTrac/SCEA PS1 [citation needed]
October 31 Destruction Derby 2 Reflections Interactive/SCEA PS1 [citation needed]
October 31 NBA Live 97 Electronic Arts, EA Sports PS1, SAT, SNES, GEN [citation needed]
October 31 Pandemonium! Electronic Arts, EA Sports PS1, SAT [citation needed]
November 1 Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain Silicon Knights/Crystal Dynamics PS1, WIN [citation needed]
November 14 Tomb Raider Core Design/Eidos PS1, SAT, DOS Action-adventure [citation needed]
November 20 Disruptor Insomniac Games PS1 [citation needed]
November 20 Sonic 3D Blast Sega/Traveller's Tales SAT, GEN Platformer [citation needed]
November 22 Donkey Kong Country 3 Rare/Nintendo SNES [citation needed]
November 25 Killer Instinct Gold Rare/Nintendo N64 Fighting [citation needed]
November 25 Bubsy is 3D in "Furbitten Planet" Eidetic/Accolade PS1 [citation needed]
November 26 Area 51 Mesa Logic/Atari Games PS1, WIN, SAT Shooter [citation needed]
November 26 Dead or Alive Team Ninja/Tecmo Arcade Fighting [citation needed]
November 30 Contra: Legacy of War Konami/Appaloosa Interactive SAT, PS1 [citation needed]
November 30 Dragon Force Sega/Working Designs SAT RPG, RTS [citation needed]
November 30 Fighting Vipers Sega AM2 SAT, Arcade Fighting [citation needed]
November 30 Virtua Cop 2 Sega AM2 SAT, Arcade Light gun shooter [citation needed]
November 30 Virtual On: Cyber Troopers CRI/Sega SAT, Arcade [citation needed]
November 30 Bug Too! Sega/Realtime Associates SAT, WIN [citation needed]
November 30 FIFA Soccer 97 EA Canada/Electronic Arts GEN, PS1, WIN, SNES, SAT, GB [citation needed]
December 3 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire LucasArts/Nintendo N64 Action [citation needed]
December 12 Ignition Unique Development Studios/Virgin Interactive DOS, WIN Racing [citation needed]
December 14 Mario Kart 64 Nintendo N64 Racing (kart) [citation needed]
December 16 Furcadia Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc. WIN MMORPG [46]
December 17 Mega Man 8 Capcom PS1 [citation needed]
December 26 YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World ELF Corporation PC98 Visual novel [47]
December 31 Death Rally Remedy Entertainment/GT Interactive DOS [citation needed]
December 31 NBA Hangtime Midway GEN, PS1, WIN, N64, Arcade, SNES Sports (basketball) [citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Carter, Chip; Carter, Jonathan (January 2, 1997). "For Game Quality, 1996 Was a Very Good Year". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "Digitiser's Top 14 Games Of 1996". Digitiser. January 3, 1997. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 92 (March 1997), pages 82-90
  4. ^ "25 Years Of Game Informer's GOTY Awards". Game Informer. January 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  5. ^ "Golden Joysticks Awards' Ultimate List of Ultimate Games: 1983–2014". GamesRadar. Future plc. October 15, 2015. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  6. ^ "Archive 1997 Spotlight Awards". Game Developers Choice Awards. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  7. ^ CESA大賞'96 初の作品賞(大賞)はサクラ大戦が受賞！ [The CESA Grand Prize '96's top award (Grand Prize) was won by Sakura Wars!] (in Japanese). Japan Game Awards. 2017. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "About Sakura Taisen". Red Entertainment. 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
  9. ^ GameFan, volume 5, issue 2 (February 1997), pages 34-36
  10. ^ a b "第10回 ゲーメスト大賞" [10th Gamest Awards]. Gamest (in Japanese). Vol. 188 (January–February 1997). December 27, 1996. pp. 46–63. alternate url
  11. ^ "IAAPA Exhibit Awards History (1990-2001)" (PDF). International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. November 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  12. ^ "Home Entertainment Awards – Video Games". Entertainment Merchants Association. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  13. ^ "Best Video Games for 1996". Metacritic. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  14. ^ "Highest-Ranking Games of 1996 (with at least 5 reviews)". GameRankings. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  15. ^ "週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧" [Weekly Famitsu Cross Review Platinum Hall of Fame Software List]. Geimin (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 27, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  16. ^ Akagi, Masumi, ed. (February 1, 1997). ""Tekken 2", "Virtua Cop 2" Top Videos '96" (PDF). Game Machine. No. 534. Amusement Press, Inc. p. 26.
  17. ^ "Top Ten Arcade Titles for 1996: According to a recent report, both Sega and Namco had three of top ten grossing arcade titles in 1996". Next Generation. December 17, 1996. Archived from the original on April 18, 1997. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  18. ^ "Coin Machine: AMOA Announces JB Award Nominees" (PDF). Cash Box. August 3, 1996. p. 26.
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  20. ^ a b "Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware / PlayStation". Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony. December 31, 2003. Archived from the original on April 22, 2004. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
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  22. ^ a b c d e f g 小川 (Ogawa), 純生 (Sumio) (December 14, 2010). "テレビゲーム機の変遷 —ファミコン、スーパーファミコン、プレステ、プレステ2、Wiiまで—" [Recent Developments in Video Game Technology in Japan — Famicom, Super Famicom, Play Station, Play Station 2 and Wii —] (PDF). 経営論集 (Keiei Ronshū) (in Japanese) (77) (published March 2011): 1–17 (2). ISSN 0286-6439. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2021 – via Toyo University Academic Information Repository (Toyo University).
  23. ^ Rothstein, Edward (December 8, 1997). "Nintendo's Game Boy lives as nostalgia for simpler computer games catches on". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  24. ^ Fontaine, Gilles (February 5, 1997). "Jeux vidéo : une industrie lourde est née" [Video games: a heavy industry is born]. L'Express (in French). Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  25. ^ "Sales War Continues" (PDF). Sega Pro. No. 56 (published February 28, 1996). April 1996. p. 11. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
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  30. ^ a b Screen Digest. Screen Digest. 1997. p. 132. Despite the earlier launch in the US, sales of next generation console games can already be fairly evenly balanced between the US and Europe, with PlayStation titles Tekken II and Crash Bandicoot, for example, selling 470,000 and 340,000 in the US and 420,000 and 300,000 in Europe respectively.
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  32. ^ a b c "Inventor pales beside his 'Mario' creation". El Paso Times. Associated Press. March 16, 1997. p. 56.
  33. ^ a b Hurwitch, Nick (July 10, 2019). The Art of Tekken: A Complete Visual History. Dynamite Entertainment. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-5241-1308-7.
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