1997 in video gaming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Notable events of 1997 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games.
Contents |
[edit] Events
- October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) dies after a double car accident.
- 3rd annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo)
- TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
[edit] Notable releases
- February 28 - Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (N64)
- March 20 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS) (Sega Saturn)
- April 30 - Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (PC)
- June 26 - Dungeon Keeper (PC)
- July 1 - Star Fox 64 (N64
- July 30 - Carmageddon (PC)
- August 25 - GoldenEye 007 (N64)
- August 31 - Final Fantasy VII (PS), (PC)
- August 31 - HeXen II (PC)
- September 19 - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PS), (PC)
- September 30 - Fallout (PC)
- September 30 - Total Annihilation (PC)
- October 9 - Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (PC)
- October 26 - Age of Empires (PC)
- October 31 - The Curse of Monkey Island (PC)
- November 14 - Postal (PC)
- December 6 - Quake II (PC)
- December 19 - Wing Commander: Prophecy (PC)
[edit] Hardware
- March 1 — The Nintendo 64 is released in Europe and Australia
- October — Nintendo releases a smaller redesigned SNES.
- Sony releases PlayStation development software for PC
- Tiger Electronics releases the Game.com
[edit] 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 1999
- 2015, Inc. founded
- 4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded
- September — 4HEAD Studios created
- Bungie Studios West formed by Bungie Software Products Corp.
- 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 Head-Quarters, Inc.
- Warthog PLC founded
[edit] Lawsuits
- Nintendo v. 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 v. Prima Publishing; Nintendo sues Prima over copyrights to map of the N64 video game GoldenEye 007. Nintendo loses the suit
