1999 in video games
1999 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Mario Party, Sonic Adventure, Pokémon Snap, , Heroes of Might and Magic III, Super Smash Bros., Pokémon Stadium, Donkey Kong 64, Ape Escape, Mario Golf 64 and '.
Events
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards.
- March – Game Over is republished as "Game Over: Press Start to Continue".
- March 15 – Game Network hosts the 1st annual Independent Games Festival at GDC.
- March 15–19 – Game Developers Conference ; moves to San Jose, California where it stays for six consecutive years; hosts the 1st annual Independent Games Festival.
- May – Nintendo has started working on what will eventually be the GameCube, under the codename "Project Dolphin".
- May 13 – Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards ; inducts Sid Meier of Firaxis Games to the AIAS Hall of Fame.
- May 13–15 – 5th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo ; the 2nd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3.
- Team Fortress 2 is announced for release during the year, but gets delayed until 2007.
Notable releases
Release | Title | Windows | 5th Gen | 6th Gen | Handheld | Arcade |
January 15 | WCW/nWo Thunder | PS1 | ||||
January 21 | Super Smash Bros. | N64 | ||||
January 31 | Guardian's Crusade | PS1 | ||||
January 31 | Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter | PS1 | ||||
January 31 | Silent Hill | PS1 | ||||
January 31 | SimCity 3000 | |||||
February 1 | WCW Nitro | N64 | ||||
February 8 | Mario Party | N64 | ||||
February 11 | Final Fantasy VIII | PS1 | ||||
February 12 | Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri | |||||
February 24 | Street Sk8er | PS1 | ||||
February 28 | Army Men 3D | PlayStation | ||||
February 28 | Beetle Adventure Racing | N64 | ||||
February 28 | MLB 2000 | PS1 | ||||
February 28 | ' | |||||
March | ' | PS1 | ||||
March 1 | ' | PS1, N64 | GBC | |||
March 3 | Heroes of Might and Magic III | |||||
March 4 | Pepsiman | PS1 | ||||
March 15 | The King of Fighters '98 | PS1 | ||||
March 16 | EverQuest | |||||
March 17 | Legend of Legaia | PS1 | ||||
March 18 | UmJammer Lammy | PlayStation | ||||
March 19 | King of Fighters R-2 | NGP | ||||
March 21 | Pokémon Snap | N64 | ||||
March 22 | RollerCoaster Tycoon | Xbox | ||||
April 7 | Team Fortress Classic | |||||
April 10 | Warzone 2100 | |||||
April 30 | ' | PS1 | ||||
April 30 | Aliens versus Predator | |||||
April 30 | ' | |||||
April 30 | Pokémon Stadium 2 | N64 | ||||
April 30 | Super Mario Bros. Deluxe | GBC | ||||
May | Midtown Madness | |||||
May 12 | ' | DC ; PS2, Xbox | ||||
May 28 | ' | PS1 | ||||
May 31 | Ape Escape | PS1 | ||||
June 8 | ' | |||||
June 19 | Counter-Strike | |||||
June 17 | Descent 3 | |||||
June 18 | Heavy Gear II | |||||
June 24 | ' | PS1 | ||||
June 28 | Pokémon Pinball | GBC | ||||
June 30 | Croc 2 | PS1 | ||||
June 30 | Driver | PS1 | ||||
July 1 | Attack of the Saucerman | PS1 | ||||
July 7 | Dungeon Keeper 2 | |||||
July 14 | ' | N64 | ||||
July 23 | Jagged Alliance 2 | |||||
July 26 | Mario Golf | N64 | GBC | |||
July 27 | NCAA Football 2000 | PS1 | ||||
July 31 | Biomotor Unitron | NGP | ||||
July 31 | The New Tetris | N64 | ||||
July 31 | Outcast | |||||
July 31 | Seven Kingdoms II | |||||
August 11 | System Shock 2 | |||||
August 12 | Syphon Filter | PS1 | ||||
August 16 | ' | PS1 | DC | |||
August 27 | ' | |||||
August 31 | All Star Tennis '99 | N64, PS1 | ||||
August 31 | Gauntlet Legends | N64 | ||||
August 31 | Jet Moto 3 | PS1 | ||||
August 31 | Madden NFL 2000 | PS1, N64 | ||||
August 31 | ' | PS1 | DC | GBA | ||
August 31 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | PS1, N64 | DC | |||
September 1 | ' | PS1 | ||||
September 9 | Sonic Adventure | DC; GC | ||||
September 9 | Soulcalibur | DC | ||||
September 17 | Flight Unlimited III | |||||
September 22 | ' | PS1 | DC ; GC | |||
September 28 | Homeworld | |||||
September 30 | ' | |||||
September 30 | Crash Team Racing | PS1 | ||||
September 30 | Final Fantasy VI | PS1 | ||||
September 30 | Freespace 2 | |||||
September 30 | Pac-Man World | PS1 | GBA | |||
October 4 | ' | |||||
October 11 | Jet Force Gemini | N64 | ||||
October 14 | Sonic Adventure | DC | ||||
October 16 | Dead or Alive 2 | DC, PS2 | ||||
October 19 | Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition | GB; GBC | ||||
October 22 | Grand Theft Auto 2 | PS1 | DC | GBC | ||
October 29 | ' | PS1 ; N64 | DC, PS2 | |||
October 31 | Nocturne | |||||
October 31 | Pharaoh | |||||
October 31 | Ballistic | PS1 | GBC, iOS | |||
October 31 | Septerra Core | |||||
October 31 | ' | N64, PS1 | DC | |||
November 2 | ' | PS1 | ||||
November 2 | Asheron's Call | |||||
November 10 | ' | |||||
November 10 | Rippin' Riders Snowboarding | DC | ||||
November 11 | Medal of Honor | PS1 | ||||
November 11 | Age of Wonders | |||||
November 16 | Tomorrow Never Dies | PS1 | ||||
November 18 | Chrono Cross | PS1 | ||||
November 19 | ' | |||||
November 19 | The Longest Journey | |||||
November 21 | 'Pokémon Gold and Silver | GBC | ||||
November 22 | ' | PS1 | DC | |||
November 22 | Unreal Tournament | DC, PS2 | ||||
November 23 | ' | NGP | ||||
November 23 | ' | |||||
November 24 | Donkey Kong 64 | N64 | ||||
November 24 | ' | |||||
November 26 | ' | DC ; PS2, Xbox | ||||
November 30 | South Park Rally | PS1, N64 | DC | |||
December 2 | The Legend of Dragoon | PS1 | ||||
December 2 | Quake III Arena | DC, PS2 | ||||
December 11 | Gran Turismo 2 | PS1 | ||||
December 12 | ' | |||||
December 17 | Mario Party 2 | N64 | ||||
December 20 | Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure | NGP | ||||
December 22 | Harvest Moon 64 | N64 | ||||
December 29 | Shenmue | DC | ||||
December 30 | ' | |||||
December 31 | Zombie Revenge'' | DC |
Hardware
- September 9 – The Dreamcast is launched in North America with 19 launch titles.
- Nintendo's Game Boy Light handheld console released in Japan only
- SNK's Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld released.
- Tiger Electronics Game.com Pocket Pro handheld released.
- Sony PlayStation 2 is announced.
Business
- February 22 – Sierra reorganizes to cut costs in what is widely referred to as the "Chainsaw Monday" Layoffs, closing several studios and their iconic former headquarters in Oakhurst, California. Some employees were given the option to relocate to their new headquarters in Bellevue, Washington.
- Midway Games stops using the Atari Games brand.
- New companies: 3d6 Games, 7 Studios, BAM!, Liquid Entertainment, Bohemia Interactive, 7FX
Acquisitions
- Activision acquires Elsinore Multimedia, Expert Software, and Neversoft Entertainment
- Infogrames Entertainment, SA acquires Accolade, Gremlin Interactive, GT Interactive Software, and Ozisoft
- Take-Two Interactive acquires TalonSoft
- ZeniMax Media acquires Bethesda Softworks
Lawsuits
- Nintendo v. Bung Enterprises Ltd.; Nintendo sues Bung over patent infringement
- Sony Corporation v. Bleem LLC
Awards
- Spiel des Jahres: Tikal - Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer, Ravensburger
Critically acclaimed titles
Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform | MC score | GR score |
Soulcalibur | Namco | August 5, 1999 | Dreamcast | 98/100 | 96.56% |
Chrono Cross | Square | November 18, 1999 | PlayStation | 94/100 | 92.28% |
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | Activision | August 31, 1999 | PlayStation | 92/100 | 93.67% |
Unreal Tournament | GT Interactive | November 30, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 92/100 | 93.57% |
Gran Turismo 2 | Sony Computer Entertainment | December 11, 1999 | PlayStation | 93/100 | 92.42% |
Homeworld | Sierra Entertainment | September 28, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 93/100 | 88.81% |
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe | Nintendo | May 10, 1999 | Game Boy Color | N/A | 92.63% |
System Shock 2 | Electronic Arts | August 11, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 92/100 | 92% |
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri | Electronic Arts | February 12, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 92/100 | 91.88% |
Age of Empires II | Microsoft | September 30, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 92/100 | 91.81% |
Medal of Honor | Electronic Arts | October 31, 1999 | PlayStation | 92/100 | 87.31% |
Crash Team Racing | Sony Computer Entertainment | September 30, 1999 | PlayStation | 88/100 | 91.78% |
FreeSpace 2 | Interplay Entertainment | September 30, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 91/100 | 91.58% |
NFL 2K | Sega | September 9, 1999 | Dreamcast | N/A | 91.53% |
Pokémon Silver Version | Nintendo | November 21, 1999 | Game Boy Color | N/A | 91.35% |
' | Interplay Entertainment | December 12, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 91/100 | 90.63% |
' | Eidos Interactive | August 16, 1999 | PlayStation | 91/100 | 88.16% |
The Longest Journey | IQ Media Nordic | November 18, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 91/100 | 88% |
Mario Golf | Nintendo | June 11, 1999 | Nintendo 64 | 91/100 | 87.32% |
' | Ubisoft | November 5, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | N/A | 90.7% |
Ape Escape | Sony Computer Entertainment | May 31, 1999 | PlayStation | 90/100 | 90.44% |
Final Fantasy VIII | Square | February 11, 1999 | PlayStation | 90/100 | 89.42% |
Beetle Adventure Racing | Electronic Arts | February 28, 1999 | Nintendo 64 | 90/100 | 89.1% |
' | Ubisoft | October 29, 1999 | Nintendo 64 | 90/100 | 88.83% |
Syphon Filter | 989 Studios | January 31, 1999 | PlayStation | 90/100 | 86.93% |
Donkey Kong 64 | Nintendo | November 22, 1999 | Nintendo 64 | 90/100 | 86.73% |
Pokémon Gold Version | Nintendo | November 21, 1999 | Game Boy Color | N/A | 91.35% |
Shenmue | Sega | December 29, 1999 | Dreamcast | N/A | 89.34% |
Wipeout 3 | Sony Computer Entertainment | September 8, 1999 | PlayStation | 89/100 | 87.17% |
Resident Evil 2 | Capcom | October 31, 1999 | Nintendo 64 | 89/100 | 86.93% |
Grandia | Entertainment Software Publishing | June 24, 1999 | PlayStation | 89/100 | 85.87% |
Descent 3 | Interplay Entertainment | June 17, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 89/100 | 84.36% |
Flight Unlimited III | Electronic Arts | September 17, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | N/A | 88.5% |
NBA 2K | Sega | November 10, 1999 | Dreamcast | N/A | 88.3% |
Capcom | September 22, 1999 | PlayStation | N/A | 88.21% | |
NBA Live 2000 | EA Sports | October 31, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | N/A | 88% |
Worms Armageddon | Team17 | January 29, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | N/A | 87.71% |
All-Star Baseball 2000 | Acclaim Entertainment | May 1, 1999 | Nintendo 64 | N/A | 87.69% |
EverQuest | Sony Online Entertainment | March 16, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | 85/100 | 87.68% |
Mario Golf | Nintendo | August 10, 1999 | Game Boy Color | N/A | 87.65% |
Driver | GT Interactive | June 25, 1999 | PlayStation | 87/100 | 87.57% |
RollerCoaster Tycoon | Hasbro Interactive | March 31, 1999 | Microsoft Windows | N/A | 87.54% |