Timeline: Japanese contributions to video games (4/5)
- September 21, 2007 13:01 PM PST
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1990 - Sega releases its first and only commercially successful home console, the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive in Japan). It will be the first 16-bit console to achieve notable market share in Europe and North America and even hold its own against Nintendo's SNES in perhaps the fiercest video game rivalry to date.
1991 - Sega releases Sonic the Hedgehog, propelling the Genesis to mass popularity in North America. The game is important given its blazing speed, rich graphics, and fresh twist on platform level design including loops, springboards, and the ability to lose collected rings upon injury. Mario finally has his match, albeit for a short while.
1991 - Capcom blasts Street Fighter II into arcades to mass hysteria. Though not the first side-scrolling martial arts fighter, the game will revolutionize competitive play in both arcades and later on the SNES. Key innovations include multiple selectable characters, special moves, six button combo controls, counter attacks, and the "loser pays" continuation system.
1991 - Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in North America. It becomes an instant success selling its 300,000 launch units in the first few hours of availability. Despite its late entrance in the 16-bit era, the console will become the best selling system of the generation given its superior visual and audio fidelity and game library when compared to its competitors.
1993 - Sega releases Virtua Fighter, the first 3D fighting game.
1993 - Given earlier fallout between Sony and Nintendo, Sony Computer Entertainment is officially formed in 1993 to carve its own hardware path. The company will soon become the most powerful video game maker in the world with the release of the PlayStation and its favorable terms for third-party publishers. At its peak, SCE will secure a dominating 65 percent market share despite continued competition from Nintendo and Microsoft.
1995 - Sega releases the "stillborn" Saturn in North America in 1995 after a string of forgettable Genesis add-ons. Though it will be home to several great games including Virtua Fighter and Nights, the system will only sell 10 million units before Sega cuts the cord early in preparation for its last bastion in hardware -- the lovable Dreamcast.
1995 - Nimble Sony releases the original PlayStation in the U.S. a year after its release in Japan and quickly dethrones Nintendo as the king of games. Due to its fresh, more mature take on software when compared to Nintendo, the console will become the first home system to ever reach the 100 million sales mark, 40 million more than the second-place NES at the time. Gamers were ready. Sony delivered in 3D spades.
1996 - Despite a much beloved library of games, Nintendo launches the Nintendo 64 (N64) to ho-hum reception only selling a third of what rival PS1 would do. Nintendo's decision to use cartridges for a third time will prove costly as it encourages the exodus of third-party publishers to the more attractive and cheaper PS1 development terms. The N64 was marketed under the slogan, "Get N, or get Out!" 30 million system owners later including one frenzied 10 year-old boy on Christmas morning, and a majority of players got out.
1996 - Mario 64 is released. The pudgy plumber revolutionizes gaming yet again with the proper way to handle 3D games. His contributions so far have been consummate.
