Overview of the events of 1991 in video games
1991 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such asStreet Fighter II Final Fantasy IV Super Castlevania IV Mega Man 4 Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Sonic the Hedgehog Battletoads Lemmings Sunset Riders Duke Nukem Fatal Fury: King of Fighters Streets of Rage Capcom 's arcadefighting game Street Fighter II . The year's best-selling system was theGame Boy for the second year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video game wasSega 'sSonic the Hedgehog , which was also the year's topvideo game rental in the United States.
Game of the Year awards [ edit ] The following titles wonGame of the Year awards for 1991.
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame[ edit ] The following video game releases in 1991 enteredFamitsu Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[ 7]
Financial performance [ edit ] Highest-grossing arcade games [ edit ] The year's highest-grossing game worldwide wasStreet Fighter II arcade game market, according toCoinslot [ 8] arcade game in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1991, according to the annualGamest Game Machine
In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossingarcade video games of 1991.
Hong Kong and Australia [ edit ] In Hong Kong and Australia, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade games on the monthly charts in 1991.
Best-selling home systems [ edit ] Rank System(s) Manufacturer Type Generation Sales Japan USA Europe Korea Worldwide 1 Game Boy Nintendo Handheld 8-bit 1,940,000[ 30] 4,000,000[ 31] 1,400,000[ 32] Unknown 7,340,000+ 2 Super NES Nintendo Console 16-bit 3,150,000[ 30] 1,900,000+[ 33] — — 5,050,000+ 3 NES /Famicom Nintendo Console 8-bit 1,240,000[ 30] 2,100,000[ 31] 500,000+[ 34] 100,000[ 35] 3,940,000+ 4 Mega Drive /Genesis Sega Console 16-bit 700,000[ 30] 1,600,000+[ 36] 815,000[ 37] 51,000[ 35] 3,166,000+ 5 IBM PC IBM Computer 16-bit — — — — 2,910,000[ 38] 6 Macintosh Apple Inc. Computer 16-bit — — — — 2,100,000[ 39] 7 Master System Sega Console 8-bit Unknown < 50,000[ 40] 1,745,000[ 37] 160,000[ 35] 1,905,000+ 8 NEC PC-88 /PC-98 NEC Computer 8-bit /16-bit 1,720,000[ 41] [ 42] Unknown Unknown Unknown 1,720,000+ 9 Game Gear Sega Handheld 8-bit 400,000[ 30] 600,000+[ 43] 520,000[ 37] Unknown 1,520,000+ 10 Amiga Commodore Computer 16-bit — — — — 1,035,000[ 39]
Best-selling home video games [ edit ] Sonic the Hedgehog [ 44] 2 million copies sold worldwide during the year.[ 45]
In Japan, according toFamicom Tsūshin Famitsu ) magazine, the following titles were the top ten best-selling 1991 releases, including later sales in 1992.[ 46]
The following titles were the best-selling home video games on theFamitsu
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the best-selling home video games on the monthlyComputer and Video Games CVG ) charts in 1991.
In the United States, the following titles were the top three best-selling home video game releases of 1991.
The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in 1991.
January - The first two THQ releases came out in stores. February 14 –DMA Design releasesLemmings anthropomorphic lemmings through a dangerous environment to an escape portal. March –AOL ,SSI ,TSR andStormfront Studios collaborate and launchNeverwinter Nights MMORPG . March 7 –Capcom releasesStreet Fighter II [ 86] [ 87] fighting game genre. It is also credited with revitalizing thearcade game industry at the time,[ 88] [ 89] May 6 –Sierra On-Line releases The Sierra Network, which is also credited as the first graphicalMMORPG (due to its inclusion ofThe Shadow of Yserbius ), TSN would later become its more memorable name, ImagiNation Network, after a total buyout fromAT&T in 1994. June 23 –Sega releasesSonic the Hedgehog Sega Genesis which later becomes thepack-in game and defining title for the console. It introduces theeponymous character , who would go on to be Sega'smascot . Sega also releases a version of the game for theMaster System andGame Gear . July 19 –Square releasesFinal Fantasy IV Final Fantasy Super Famicom (released in November asFinal Fantasy II in North America). August 13 –Intelligent Systems releasesSimCity for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System . August 23 –Nintendo releasesSuper Mario World F-Zero Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America.Super Mario World was the original pack-in game for the SNES. The game introduces theYoshi character to theMario series. September –Namco releasesStarblade September –Electronic Arts releases motorcycle racing combat gameRoad Rash Sega Genesis , starting the series. October 14 - Nintendo releasesMario The Juggler , the finalGame & Watch title. November –Nintendo releasesMetroid II: Return of Samus Game Boy in North America. November –Delphine Software releases cinematic action-adventure gameAnother World Amiga , which usespolygons instead ofsprites . November 21 –Nintendo releasesThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Super Famicom inJapan . November 25 –SNK releasesFatal Fury: King of Fighters Neo Geo . December 1 –LucasArts releasesMonkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge December 4 –Konami releasesSuper Castlevania IV for SNES in North America. December 6 –Mega Man 4 December 13 –Tecmo releasesTecmo Super Bowl NES , the follow-up to 1989'sTecmo Bowl December 16 –MicroProse releasesCivilization Sid Meier 's most successful game. Team17 releaseAlien Breed Amiga .Super Nintendo Entertainment System released in North América^a b Carter, Chip; Carter, Jonathan (November 15, 1991)."A Few of Chip and Jonathan Carter's Favorite Things" .Chicago Tribune . RetrievedOctober 28, 2021 . ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1992 Video Game Buyer's Guide , pages 60-61^a b "News" .Zero 8– 9.^ "Luvvies! Dahlings!" .The One (44). EMAP: 17. May 1992. 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Australia: Leisure & Allied Industries. November 1991. p. 20.^a b c d e 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 fromthe original (PDF) on July 25, 2015. RetrievedDecember 6, 2021 – via Toyo University Academic Information Repository (Toyo University ). ^a b "Nintendo cuts retail prices on video games" .United Press International . RetrievedDecember 13, 2021 .^ Pettus, Sam; Munoz, David; Williams, Kevin; Barroso, Ivan (December 20, 2013).Service Games: The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition ISBN 978-1-311-08082-0 ^ Mulzac, Lystra (January 10, 1992)."Games people play" .Ocala Star-Banner ^ "Everyone's gone Nintendo crazy!" .Total! Future plc . 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"The Japanese Personal Computer Market".A Dynamic Analysis of Entry Rates in the Global Personal Computer Industry Michigan State University (Department of Marketing and Logistics). p. 36.Traditionally, dominated by Japanese vendors, the market had reached 2.5 million units in 1989, and 3.3 million units in 1991 (Dataquest Inc.) ^ Morrison, Mike; Morrison, Sandie (1994).The Magic of Interactive Entertainment Sams Publishing . p. 54.ISBN 978-0-672-30590-0 The Sega Game Gear, a portable video game system, was also released in 1991. Game Gear featured a color display with an 8-bit microprocessor, it was an instant success, selling over 600,000 units in its first year. ^a b c Kalinske, Tom (November 24, 1992).Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Launch (Sonic 2sday) Sega of America .Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. RetrievedOctober 2, 2021 .^ Pham, Alex (September 13, 2001)."Super Sonic" .Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. 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Top 15 (6月14日)" .Famicom Tsūshin ^ "U.S.A. Top 10" .Famitsu ^ Lynch, Dennis (November 29, 1991)."Super NES, Sega Genesis in 16-bit duel" .Chicago Tribune . RetrievedSeptember 8, 2021 . ^ "U.S.A. Top 10 (9月20日)" .Famicom Tsūshin ^ "U.S.A. Top 10 (10月18日)" .Famicom Tsūshin ^ "U.S.A. Top 10 (10月25日)" .Famicom Tsūshin ^ "U.S.A. Top 10 (11月1日)" .Famicom Tsūshin 152– 153. November 15–22, 1991. p. 17.^ "U.S.A. Top 30 (12月13日)" .Famicom Tsūshin 14– 5.^ "U.S.A. Top 10 (12月20日)" .Famicom Tsūshin ^ "U.S.A. Top 10 (12月27日)" .Famicom Tsūshin ^ "ヒストリー ストリートファイター35周年記念サイト" .Capcom JP ^ "CAPCOM Investor Relations - History" .Capcom .Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2024 .^ "Street Fighter II" .The Essential 50 .1UP.com . Archived fromthe original on May 22, 2011. RetrievedApril 17, 2012 .^ Patterson, Eric L. (November 3, 2011)."EGM Feature: The 5 Most Influential Japanese Games Day Four: Street Fighter II" .Electronic Gaming Monthly the original on March 14, 2017. 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