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1994 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such asSuper Metroid,Donkey Kong Country,Final Fantasy VI,Sonic 3 &Knuckles,Super Street Fighter II Turbo andVirtua Fighter 2 andDoom II, along with new titles such asDaytona USA,Ace Driver,Alpine Racer,The King of Fighters '94 andTekken.

The year'sbest-sellingvideo game console was theGame Boy, while the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo remained thebest-sellinghome console. The year's highest-grossingarcade video games wereSuper Street Fighter II X (Super Street Fighter II Turbo) andVirtua Fighter in Japan, andDaytona USA andMortal Kombat II in the United States, while the year's best-selling home video game worldwide wasDonkey Kong Country.

• Aiwa releases theAiwa Mega-CD multimedia home console in Japan only.
• Bandai releases thePlaydia multimedia home console.
• NEC releases thePC-FX multimedia home console.
• Sega:
  • introduces the North American cable TVSega Channel in cooperation with Time Warner (AOL Time Warner); the subscription service providesSega Genesis games via cable box to customers
  • releases theSega 32X add-on for theSega Mega Drive/Genesis inEurope (November 14),North America (November 21) andJapan (December 3)
  • releases theSega Nomad handheld console inNorth America, a portableSega Genesis.
  • releases theSega Saturn home console inJapan on November 22
• SNK releases theNeo Geo CD home console.
• Sony releases thePlayStation home console in Japan on December 3.
• Nintendo releases theSuper Game Boy adapter for theSuper Nintendo home console.
• Atari Corporation discontinues theLynx handheld system.

The following titles wonGame of the Year awards for 1994.

The following video game releases in 1994 enteredFamitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receivingFamitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.^[10]

The best-selling arcadeprinted circuit board (PCB) worldwide in 1994 wasSNK'sNeo Geo MVS system.^[11]

The following titles were the top ten highest-grossingarcade games of 1994 in Japan.

In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the highest-grossing games of each month in 1994.

Virtua Fighter bySega AM2 was also one of the UK's most popular coin-ops of the year.^[23]

In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1994.

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games orcomputer games) worldwide in 1994.

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1994.

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1994.^[45]

HMV, a British entertainment retailer, released a monthly list of the chain's highest-selling home video game titles. The following titles topped the monthly all-formats charts, as reported byComputer and Video Games.

• Nintendo proclaims "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".^[58][59]
• Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary ofNintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened byHiroshi Yamauchi and effectively endsMattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.
• "Project Reality" is renamed the NintendoUltra 64. The console's design is revealed to the public for the first time in spring 1994.
• The second of twocongressional hearings on video games takes place on March 5. Topics for discussion include the depiction of violence and sexual content in video games, their influence on children, and the prospect of governmental regulation of video game content.
• April – The Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) is founded in response to the hearings (name changed to theEntertainment Software Association in 2003); the IDSA founds theEntertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in order to self-regulate content in video games in the mold of theMotion Picture Association of America film rating system.
• April 28 –Sega andMGM make a venture to create video games, movies, and television programs.
• June 24 – TheComputer Game Developers Association is formed by Ernest W. Adams.
• November –Game Zero magazine drops their print format and becomes the first video game news magazine on the web.
• November 10 –William Higinbotham, creator ofTennis for Two (1958), dies at 84.

• New companies:Neversoft
• Defunct:Commodore,Tradewest
• September 14 – Video gaming magazineNintendomagasinet is cancelled after four years. Number 9 of 1994 would have been released on this day, but instead the magazine joinsSuper Power.
• Apogee establishes the 3D Realms Entertainment division.
• Blizzard Entertainment is renamed from Silicon & Synapse.
• SSI sold toMindscape
• Alpex Computer Corp. v. Nintendo lawsuit: Alpex sues Nintendo over patent infringements related to the NES. Nintendo loses the case. (In 1996 this ruling was reversed by an appeals court, which determined that no patents had been infringed upon.)^[60][61]
  • Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Dragon Pacific Intern

• 1994 in games

• 1994 in video gaming
• Video games by year

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