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This is basically a run down article of all the major events that happened this decade in the world of Videogames.There is plenty of stuff that happened this decade with the golden age of Nintendo, who in my eyes , were the greatest developers of the time. They had the NES and SNES with plenty o games.But enough on that. This was just a little article on what I thought changed the face of gaming year by year.Also do not expect no jaguar or 3DO or 32X stuff since they were nothing but expensive paper weights.
1990 had nothing special or out of the ordinary. Just two systems goin at it called the Nintendo and the Genesis.Also the biggest game of the year was the smash hit Super Mario Bros. 3 which sold in excess of 18 million copies.Also the advent of the Gameboy came along.
1991 brought the Super NES and Super Mario World. There was not too much going on besides the gameboy dominating the handheld scene, while the SNES dominated the Genesis.
1992 was not going too well for the Genesis as Sega decided to make the Sega CD. The games sucked and soon whithered away as if it never existed.The big N was still crankin out great games for all three of their successful systems as we saw Zelda on all of Nintendo's Platforms.This was gaming heaven. I remember going to the movie store to see if they had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Arcade Game available for rent. Of course they never did until it was a year old. Enough talk about the good old times. Foward to 1993!
1993 saw the NES sales dwindling. Nintendo decided to put out a redesigned NES which looked like a SNES.Little did the NES know that this was to be the last year of full fledged production for their system. Sega was also hanging on but their CD system was losing steam and fast.
1994 was a year with mixed emotions.The gaming nation grew tired of freeze ups and subpar graphics. This meant that it was time for the Nintendo to say goodbye.After a stellar career the NES's stats were 62 million units sold world wide. The first successful system was on its deathbed.In December of 1994 the last game ever produced for the best system around Wario's Woods rolled out of the factory. The last game that would ever be made had come out and signaled the end of the NES.However Sony had ideas of their own. That same month in Japan Sony released it's Playstation unto the public.It was successful but how would it do overseas?
In may of 1995 the sales of the unexpected hit Playstation exceeded 1 million. September brought the U.S. launch. It was successful as 100,000 units were sold in two days giving Sony a profit of 45 million.Tekken also was the first game ever for the Playstation to sell over 1 million copies.
In 1996 the Nintendo 64 launches in Japan on June 23rd with first day sales eclipsing the 500,000 mark. The US launch had 350,000 systems wiped out in 2 days. the Saturn was also out but wilting fast. Apparently gamers did not trust Sega for the 32x and the Sega CD. The genesis was still fighting strong and the company seemed more focused on it than the weary Saturn. Thus the life span of the Saturn was short and the gamers who plunked $300 had a right to be mad. Meanwhile the SNES was still racking up sales and fighting Sega hard. But could a aging system really hold a candle to the new kids on the block Sony?Yes they could. The developers had made a exciting new game with mind boggling graphics called Donkey Kong Country.The very best of the time and gamers did not have to resort to buy a add on or a new system.
1997 had Final Fantasy sales in Japan over 3.5 million.Later it would come out here and be extremely successful also.PS sales also exceed 12 million.Meanwhile the 16 bit days were winding down as Genesis was all but dead and Nintendo focused on their N64.The final #'s were 42 million sold worldwide after a 6 year fight. The system that brought us Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 2&3 was about to die. Shooters, RPG's, and a variety of great games overall makes the SNES my second favorite system overall, and also marked my last time with a Nintendo Product. Read on to find out why.Also Pokemania with over 6 million cartridges sold in Japan alone creeping its way into gamers Gameboy's.
January 1998 finds that Shipment software from Sony tops 200 million worldwide.In August the sales of the PS were over 40 million. Also sales of the Gameboy are over 60 million as well.Saturn is dead.
1999 showed that just because you have recognizable characters does not mean you wil have a successful system. The 64 was taking shots about lack of games, RPG's and the format of almost every game that was made. The 3d aspect was wearing thin yet the big N continued to push it and as a result started to fade in Japan. Classics like Castlevania that were so tastefully done on the PS were massacred on the 64.Also numerous delays and bugs hindered the consoles success in Japan and over here.Also Sony and Nintendo had to keep their guard up because Sega was back on the saddle again with their dreamcast.Somewhat successful at launch it quickly became a smash over here with the 2k series of sports and the ability to play online with anyone in the country.
2000 brings us to a all out gaming war. The competition is fiercewith Nintendo right now watching from a distant 3rd while Sony is king of the hill again, and Sega once again playing second fiddle.The Playstation 2 is already a success and allows you to watch DVD movies without buying anything but the DVD and the PS2 and also allows you to play the PS games becuase of it's backward compatability.I like that, but Sega has internet capabilities. Gamers are stuck between these 2 systmes but it is going to get harder next year. Even though the 64 was not as successful as once thought, Times Machine of the year for 1996, it still is going down swinging with games like Perfect Dark, Kirby, Zelda, and Ogre Battle 64 you might even choose the 64 also because of its price of $99 compared to $300 or $179. Next year will have Microsoft with their X-Box coming into the picture and Nintendo with thier Dolphin. Who will reign supreme next decade? I will give this decade to the big N with Sony a close second and Sega third.I realize I have left out plenty of things like gameboy color and stuff like that. This article was about gaming in the decade that mattered. Just because it got color 6 years after it needed it does not mean I will put it in. But anyway I hope you enjoyed this rather sketchy History of Videogames>
