1997 in video games

1997 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Final Fantasy VII, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, GoldenEye 007, Star Fox 64, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Quake II, Mega Man Legends, Riven, Tomb Raider II, Dark Rift, Tekken 3 and Virtua Striker 2, along with new games such as Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Gran Turismo, Diablo, Grand Theft Auto, Fallout, and Postal.

Sony's PlayStation was the year's best-selling video game console worldwide for the second year in a row, while also being the annual best-selling console in Japan for the first time (overtaking the Game Boy and Sega Saturn). The year's best-selling home video game worldwide was Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation, while the year's highest-grossing arcade games in Japan were Sega's Virtua Fighter 3 and Print Club 2.

Events

• March 6 - Sega opens Sega World Sydney in Australia. It is the second Sega World park to open outside of Japan, with the first opening as part of the London Trocadero the previous year.
• June 19–21 – The 3rd annual E3 is held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.^[1]
• October:
  • Video game retailer FuncoLand opens its first Greater Cincinnati locations.^[2]
  • 4 – Gunpei Yokoi (1941–1997) dies after a double car accident.
• November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) launched.
• December 16 – A scene from the Pokémon anime (based upon the highly successful games) causes 685 Japanese children to have seizures. Nintendo makes a statement proclaiming the safety of the Pokémon games from fear that the games would cause a similar effect, the episode to be permanently removed from circulation, and the featured Pokémon in the episode (Porygon) has not made an appearance in the Pokémon anime since.
• TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
• 3D Realms begins production of Duke Nukem Forever, winner of numerous vaporware awards.
• The gaming portal Cool Math Games went online for the first time.
• Sony releases PlayStation development software for PC

Hardware

Game.com

Month	Day	System
March	1	Nintendo 64EU/AU
April	25	Dual Analog ControllerJP
September	12	Game.comNA
October	20	New-style Super NESNA
November	20	DualShock controllerJP

Discontinued

Month	Day	System
Unknown	Unknown	Genesis/Mega Drive
April	30	Game Gear

Top-rated games

Game of the Year awards

The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1997.

Awards	Game of the Year	Platform(s)	Genre	Publisher	Ref
CESA Awards	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	Role-playing	Squaresoft	[3]
Japan Media Arts Festival					[4]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)				Sony	[5]
Game Informer					[6]
GamePro					[7]
Hyper					[8]
Origins Awards					[9]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)	GoldenEye 007	Nintendo 64	First-person shooter	Nintendo	[10]
Interactive Achievement Awards					[11]
VideoGame Advisor					[12]
Electronic Playground					[13]
GamePro					[7]
Nintendo Power					[14]
Digitiser	Super Mario 64	Nintendo 64	Platformer	Nintendo	[15]
Golden Joystick Awards					[16]
GameSpot	Total Annihilation	PC	Real-time strategy	Cavedog	[17]
Gamest Awards	Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3)	Arcade (CP System II)	Fighting	Capcom	[18]
Japan Media Arts Festival	Intelligent Qube (I.Q. / Kurushi)	PlayStation	Puzzle	Sony	[4]
Origins Awards	Sid Meier's Gettysburg!	PC	Wargame	Electronic Arts	[9]
	Tomb Raider	Multi-platform	Action-adventure	Eidos Interactive

Critically acclaimed titles

Metacritic and GameRankings

Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are online aggregators of video game journalism reviews. Note that their coverage of print magazines at the time was limited, with numerous print magazines not listed on their sites.

1997 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR)^[19][20]

Game	Publisher	Release Date	Platform(s)	MC score	GR score
Gran Turismo	Sony Computer Entertainment	December 23, 1997	PlayStation	96/100[21]	94.95%[22]
GoldenEye 007	Nintendo	August 25, 1997	Nintendo 64	96/100	94.7%
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	Konami	March 20, 1997	PlayStation	93/100	93.03%
Final Fantasy VII	Square	January 31, 1997	PlayStation	92/100	92.35%
Dungeon Keeper	Electronic Arts	June 26, 1997	Microsoft Windows	—	92.2%
Diablo	Blizzard Entertainment	January 3, 1997	Microsoft Windows	94/100	89.07%
Colony Wars	Psygnosis	October 31, 1997	PlayStation	91/100	92.09%
Sid Meier's Gettysburg!	Electronic Arts	October 14, 1997	Microsoft Windows	92/100	91%[23]
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II	LucasArts	October 10, 1997	Microsoft Windows	91/100	88.69%
Myth: The Fallen Lords	Bungie	November 7, 1997	Microsoft Windows	91/100	80.8%
Blast Corps	Nintendo	March 21, 1997	Nintendo 64	90/100	88.87%
NFL GameDay 98	Sony Computer Entertainment	September 4, 1997	PlayStation	—	90%
Fallout	Interplay Productions	October 10, 1997	Microsoft Windows	89/100	89.69%
Carmageddon	Sales Curve Interactive	June 13, 1997	Microsoft Windows	—	89.6%
Formula 1 97	Psygnosis	September 26, 1997	PlayStation	—	89.43%
MDK	Playmates Interactive	May 5, 1997	Microsoft Windows	—	89.2%
Star Fox 64	Nintendo	April 27, 1997	Nintendo 64	88/100	89.01%
The Curse of Monkey Island	LucasArts	November 1, 1997	Microsoft Windows	89/100	89%
Einhänder	Square	November 20, 1997	PlayStation	89/100[21]	85%[22]
Total Annihilation	GT Interactive	September 26, 1997	Microsoft Windows	86/100	88.85%
Diddy Kong Racing	Rare	November 21, 1997	Nintendo 64	88/100	88.65%
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back	Sony Computer Entertainment	October 31, 1997	PlayStation	—	88.54%
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee	GT Interactive	September 18, 1997	PlayStation	85/100	87.94%

Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame

The following video game releases in 1997 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.^[24]

Title	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Genre	Score (out of 40)
Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	Role-playing	38
Final Fantasy VII International	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	Role-playing	37
Tobal 2	PlayStation	DreamFactory	Squaresoft	Fighting	36
Star Fox 64	Nintendo 64	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Rail shooter	36
Derby Stallion	PlayStation	ASCII Corporation	ASCII Corporation	Simulation	35
Gran Turismo	PlayStation	Polys Entertainment	Sony	Racing simulation	35

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games in Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1997.

Rank	Gamest[18]			Game Machine[25]
	Title	Manufacturer	Genre	Title	Manufacturer	Type	Points
1	Virtua Fighter 3	Sega	Fighting	Print Club 2	Atlus	Other	4068
2	Tekken 3	Namco	Fighting	Virtua Fighter 3	Sega	Dedicated	3995
3	X-Men vs. Street Fighter	Capcom	Fighting	Tekken 3	Namco	PCB	3757
4	Street Fighter III: New Generation	Capcom	Fighting	Virtual On: Cyber Troopers	Sega	Dedicated	2969
5	Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3)	Capcom	Fighting	X-Men vs. Street Fighter	Capcom	PCB	2776
6	Samurai Spirits 4: Amakusa Kōrin	SNK	Fighting	Puzzle Bobble 3	Taito	PCB	2626
7	Real Bout Garō Densetsu Special	SNK	Fighting	Densha de Go!	Taito	Dedicated	2614
8	Virtual On: Cyber Troopers	Sega	Shooter	Time Crisis	Namco	Dedicated	2459
9	The King of Fighters '97	SNK	Fighting	Gallop Racer	Tecmo	PCB	2420
10	DoDonPachi	Atlus	Bullet hell	Rave Racer	Namco	Dedicated	2399

Best-selling video game consoles

Rank	Manufacturer	Game console	Type	Generation	Sales
					Japan	United States	Worldwide
1	Sony	PlayStation	Home	32-bit	5,050,000+[26]	6,750,000+[26]	17,200,000+[26]
2	Nintendo	Game Boy / Game Boy Pocket	Handheld	8-bit	4,220,000[27]	Un­known	10,370,000[27]
3	Nintendo	Nintendo 64	Home	64-bit	1,110,000[27]	4,488,000[28]	9,420,000[27]
4	Nintendo	Super NES / Super Famicom	Home	16-bit	190,000[27]	593,000[28]	2,040,000[27]
5	Sega	Sega Saturn	Home	32-bit	800,000[29]	249,000[28]	1,800,000[30][31]
6	Sega	Sega Genesis	Home	16-bit	Un­known	478,000[28]	478,000+
7	Nintendo	NES / Famicom	Home	8-bit	30,000[27]	81,000[28]	111,000
8	NEC	PC-FX	Home	32-bit	30,000[29]	—	30,000

Best-selling home video games

Final Fantasy VII was the best-selling home video game worldwide in 1997.^[32] It sold more than 6 million copies worldwide by 1998, becoming the best-selling PlayStation game up until then.^[33]

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) of 1997 in Japan and the United States.

Rank	Title	Platform	Sales
			Japan	United States[34][35]	Combined
1	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	3,447,500+[36]	1,500,000+[35]	4,947,500+
2	Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue	Game Boy	3,995,988[37]	—	3,995,988
3	Mario Kart 64	Nintendo 64	731,385[37]	1,500,000+	2,231,385+
4	Star Fox 64	Nintendo 64	373,479[38]	1,500,000+	1,873,479+
5	Super Mario 64	Nintendo 64	361,302[38]	1,500,000+	1,861,302+
6	Diddy Kong Racing	Nintendo 64	217,259[39]	1,500,000+	1,717,259+
7	Derby Stallion	PlayStation	1,581,138[38]	—	1,581,138
8	Minna no Golf (Everybody's Golf)	PlayStation	1,327,000[40]	—	1,327,000
9	Final Fantasy Tactics	PlayStation	1,239,000[40]	—	1,239,000
10	SaGa Frontier	PlayStation	1,057,263[38]	—	1,057,263

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1997.^[41][42][43]

Rank	Title	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Genre	Sales[34][35]
1	Mario Kart 64	Nintendo 64	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Kart racing	1,500,000+
2	Star Fox 64	Nintendo 64	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Rail shooter	1,500,000+
3	Super Mario 64	Nintendo 64	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Platformer	1,500,000+
4	Diddy Kong Racing	Nintendo 64	Rare	Rare	Kart racing	1,500,000+
5	GoldenEye 007	Nintendo 64	Rare	Nintendo	FPS	1,500,000+
6	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Sony	RPG	1,500,000+[35]
7	NFL GameDay 98	PlayStation	Sony Interactive	Sony	Sports	Un­known
8	Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire	Nintendo 64	LucasArts	Nintendo	Action	Un­known
9	Madden NFL 98	PlayStation	Tiburon Entertainment	EA Sports	Sports	Un­known
10	Crash Bandicoot	PlayStation	Naughty Dog	Sony	Platformer	Un­known

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1997.

Rank	Title	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Genre	Sales	Ref
1	Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue	Game Boy	Game Freak	Nintendo	RPG	3,995,988	[37]
2	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	RPG	3,447,500+	[36]
3	Derby Stallion	PlayStation	ASCII	ASCII	Simulation	1,581,138	[38]
4	Minna no Golf (Everybody's Golf)	PlayStation	Camelot Software Planning	Sony	Sports	1,327,000	[40]
5	Final Fantasy Tactics	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	SRPG	1,239,000
6	SaGa Frontier	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	RPG	1,057,263	[38]
7	Gran Turismo	PlayStation	Polys Entertainment	Sony	Racing simulation	905,000	[40]
8	Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi	Game Boy	Tom Create	Bandai	Breeding simulation	808,000
9	Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	Roguelike	801,000
10	PaRappa the Rapper	PlayStation	NanaOn-Sha	Sony	Rhythm	761,621	[37]

Europe

In Europe, the following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in 1997.

Month(s)	United Kingdom		France
January	Die Hard Trilogy (PlayStation)[44]		Un­known
February	Cool Boarders (PlayStation)[45]
March	Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)[46]
April	Wave Race 64 (Nintendo 64)[47]	Micro Machines V3 (PlayStation)[48]
May	Soul Blade (PlayStation)[49]
June	Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64)[50]
July	International Superstar Soccer 64 (Nintendo 64)[51]
August–September	V-Rally (PlayStation)[52][53]
October	Formula 1 97 (PlayStation)[54]	Lylat Wars (Nintendo 64)[55]
November	Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)[56]
December	FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 (PlayStation, PC)[57]
1997			Tomb Raider 2[58]

Notable releases

Video game platforms

GBC Game Boy Color Mac Mac N64 Nintendo 64 Neo Neo Geo NeoCD Neo Geo CD Pippin Apple Pippin PS1 PlayStation Sat Saturn SMD Mega Drive / Genesis SNES Super NES Win Windows

Notable releases of the year 1997

Release	Title	Windows / DOS	4th Gen	5th Gen	Handheld	Arcade
January 3	Diablo	Yes	—	PS1 (1998)	—	—
January 14	Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no Mokushiroku	—	—	Sat	—	—
January 31	Final Fantasy VII	1998	—	PS1	—	—
February 5	DoDonPachi	—	—	Sat (September 18), PS1 (1998)	—	Yes
February 10	Mario Kart 64	—	—	N64	—	—
February 27	The Lost Vikings 2	April 30	SNES	PS1 (May), Sat (May)	—	—
February 28	Blast Corps	—	—	N64	—	—
February 28	Independence Day	Yes	—	PS1, Sat	—	—
February 28	Mega Man 8	—	—	PS1, Sat	—	—
February 28	Turok: Dinosaur Hunter	November 30	—	N64	—	—
February 28	Interstate '76	Yes	—	—	—	—
March 20	Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	—	—	PS1, Sat (1998)	—	—
March 20	Tekken 3	—	—	PS1 (1998)	—	Yes
March 24	Realms of the Haunting (NA)	Yes
March 26	Vandal Hearts	—	—	PS1, Sat (November 27)	—	—
March 30	The Last Express	Yes	—	—	—	—
March 31	Need for Speed II	Yes	—	PS1	—	—
April 7	Outlaws	Yes	—	—	—	—
April 7	Redneck Rampage	Yes	—	—	—	—
April 30	Fighters Megamix	—	—	Sat	Game.com (1998)	—
April 30	Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter	Yes	—	—	—	—
May 21	Blood	Yes	—	—	—	—
May 31	MDK	Yes	—	PS1 (1998)	—	—
June 10	Ecstatica II	Yes
June 17	Harvest Moon	—	SNES	—	—	—
June 20	Sonic Jam	—	—	Sat	Game.com (1998)	—
June 20	Final Fantasy Tactics	—	—	PS1	—	—
June 26	Dungeon Keeper	Yes	—	—	—	—
June 30	Star Fox 64	—	—	N64	—	—
July 4	Jane's 688(I) Hunter/Killer	Yes	—	—	—	—
July 28	The King of Fighters '97	—	Neo, NeoCD	PS1, Sat (1998)	—	Yes
July 30	Carmageddon	Yes	—	PS1 (1999), N64 (2000)	GBC (2000)	—
July 31	Herc's Adventures	—	—	PS1, Sat	—	—
July 31	Warlords III: Reign of Heroes	Yes	—	—	—	—
August 1	Mega Man X4	1999	—	PS1, Sat	—	—
August 11	Tetrisphere	—	—	N64	—	—
August 25	GoldenEye 007	—	—	N64	—	—
August 25	Shadow Warrior	Yes	—	—	—	—
August 26	Madden NFL 98	Yes	—	PS1, Sat	—	—
August 31	Imperialism	Yes	—	—	—	—
September 9	Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire	Yes
September 10	Silhouette Mirage	—	—	Sat, PS1 (1998)	—	—
September 11	Breath of Fire III	—	—	PS1	—	—
September 11	Hexen II	Yes	—	—	—	—
September 17	Resident Evil	Yes
September 18	Street Fighter Collection	—	—	Sat, PS1 (October 23)	—	—
September 19	Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee	Yes	—	PS1	—	—
September 24	Ultima Online	Yes	—	—	—	—
September 24	Postal	Yes	—	—	—	—
September 26	Bomberman 64	—	—	N64	—	—
September 26	LEGO Island	Yes	—	—	—	—
September 29	Croc: Legend of the Gobbos	Yes	—	PS1, Sat	—	—
September 30	Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far	Yes	—	—	—	—
September 30	Fallout	Yes	—	—	—	—
September 30	Panzer General II	Yes	—	—	—	—
September 30	Poy Poy	—	—	PS1	—	—
September 30	Total Annihilation	Yes	—	—	—	—
October	Combat Chess	Yes	—	—	—	—
October 9	Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II	Yes	—	—	—	—
October 15	Age of Empires	Yes	—	—	—	—
October 15	Mortal Kombat 4	1998	—	N64, PS1 (1998)	GBC (1998)	Yes
October 23	Steep Slope Sliders	—	—	Sat	—	1998
October 28	Shipwreckers	Yes	—	PS1	—	—
October 29	Riven	Yes	—	Sat, PS1 (November 30)	—	—
October 30	Culdcept	—	—	Sat, PS1 (1999)	—	—
October 31	The Curse of Monkey Island	Yes	—	—	—	—
October 31	Zork: Grand Inquisitor	Yes	—	—	—	—
November	Independence War	Yes	—	—	—	—
November 1	Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back	—	—	PS1	—	—
November 1	Shock Troopers	—	Neo	—	—	Yes
November 4	Colony Wars	—	—	PS1	—	—
November 14	Blade Runner	Yes	—	—	—	—
November 17	Sonic R	1998	—	Sat	—	—
November 18	Tomb Raider II	Yes	—	PS1	—	—
November 21	Diddy Kong Racing	—	—	N64	—	—
November 21	Worms 2	Yes	—	—	—	—
November 25	Myth: The Fallen Lords	Yes	—	—	—	—
November 27	Kirby's Dream Land 3	—	SNES	—	—	—
November 27	Grand Theft Auto	Yes	—	PS1 (December 12)	GBC (1999)	—
November 30	FIFA: Road to World Cup 98	Yes	—	N64, PS1, Sat	—	—
November 30	One	—	—	PS1	—	—
November 30	Wing Commander: Prophecy	Yes	—	—	—	—
November 30	WCW vs. nWo: World Tour	—	—	N64	—	—
December	Puzzle Bobble 4	—	—	PS1, Sat (1998)	—	Yes
December 6	Quake II	Yes	—	PS1, N64 (1999)	—	—
December 11	Klonoa: Door to Phantomile	—	—	PS1	—	—
December 18	Grandia	—	—	Sat, PS1 (1999)	—	—
December 18	Mega Man Legends	2001	—	PS1, N64 (2000)	—	—
December 21	Yoshi's Story	—	—	N64	—	—
December 23	Gran Turismo	—	—	PS1	—	—
December 31	Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero	—	—	N64	—	—
—	7 Wonders	—	—	Win	—	—

Business

• Activision acquires CentreSoft Ltd. and Raven Software
• Electronic Arts Inc. acquires Maxis
• GameTek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed its doors in July 1998
• 2015, Inc. founded
• 4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded
• September – 4HEAD Studios created
• Bungie West formed by Bungie
• Conspiracy Entertainment Corporation founded
• Crave Entertainment, Inc. formed
• August – Human Head Studios, Inc. formed
• Illusion Softworks, a.s. founded
• April 15 – Irem Software Engineering Inc. founded
• Irrational Games LLC founded
• Mythic Entertainment renames itself from Interworld Productions after name dispute with another "Interworld" company
• THQ renamed from Toy Headquarters, Inc.
• Warthog PLC founded

Lawsuits

• Nintendo vs Games City: Nintendo sues Games City for selling the Game Doctor and Doctor V64 backup devices for the SNES and N64 consoles. Nintendo wins the suit.
• Nintendo vs Prima Publishing: Nintendo sues Prima over copyrights to maps of the N64 video game GoldenEye 007. Nintendo loses the suit.
• Nintendo vs Sony Video Games: Nintendo sues Sony over copyrights about Mario games.

See also

• 1997 in games