Notable events of 1996 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games. 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... see also: 1995 in games, 1997 in games Games Released or Invented in 1996 Crash Bandicoot NiGHTS Into Dreams Resident Evil Sonic 3D Blast Super Mario 64 Tomb Raider Netrunner collectible card game Ani-Mayhem CCG Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kongs Double Trouble! Super Mario RPG Kirby Super... 1995 1995 in games 1994 in video gaming 1996 in video gaming Notable events of 1995 in video gaming. ... See also: 1996 in video gaming, other events of 1997, 1998 in video gaming, history of video games Events 3rd annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo) October 4 - Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) dies after a double car accident. ... Home video-game systems became popular during the 1970s and 80s. ...

Events

Super Mario 64 brought the Mario series into the 3D era.

• March — The Swedish video game magazine Super Power, started in 1993, changes its name to Super PLAY.
• May 16-18 — 2nd annual E³
• August 8 — John Romero leaves id Software, forming Ion Storm in Dallas, Texas in November with Tom Hall (who had left id in 1993).
• August 15 — Gunpei Yokoi resigns from Nintendo and founds his own company, Koto, on September 11.
• DigiPen Institute of Technology receives accreditation, making it the first school in the world to offer college degrees in video game development.
• December 19 — VGMusic.com debuts on the web, specializing in video game MIDI.

Image File history File links N64_Super_Mario_64. ... Image File history File links N64_Super_Mario_64. ... Super Mario 64 is a video game for the Nintendo 64. ... This article is a chronological list of Mario games. ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a cultural phenomenon. ... This article is about the magazine as a published medium. ... Super PLAY (often abbreviated SP) is a Swedish video game magazine. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... E³ logo Presented by the Entertainment Software Association, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known and composed as E3 (besides the organiser’s usage of E³, the superscript version is rarely used), is the worlds largest annual trade show for the computer and video games industry. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... Alfonso John Romero (born October 28, 1967) is a well-known game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. ... id Software (IPA: officially, though originally ) is an American computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. ... A solar wind is a stream of particles (mostly high-energy protons ~ 500 keV) which are ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star (in the case of a star other than the Earths Sun, it may be called a stellar wind instead). ...      Nickname: Big D Location in the state of Texas Country United States State Texas Counties Dallas, Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall Mayor Laura Miller Area    - City 997. ... Tom Hall Tom Hall is a game designer born in Wisconsin. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Nintendo Company, Limited (任天堂 or ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 usually referred to as simply Nintendo, or Big N ) is a multinational corporation founded on September 23, 1889[1] in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. ... This article is about the date September 11 in general. ... DigiPen Institute of Technology is a college located in Redmond, Washington which has a focus on art, computer science, and computer engineering with emphasis in creating video games. ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Videogame Music Archive, also known as VGMusic. ...

Notable releases

• January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters. (PC)
• March — Capcom releases Resident Evil for the PlayStation in Japan and the United States. It is believed to have invented the term "survival horror" and it popularized the genre.
• March 9 — Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Square Co., Ltd.'s last produced game for the SNES, released in Japan
• May 13 — Super Mario RPG released in North America
• May 31 — id releases Quake, advancing 3D graphics technology on the PC and starting a franchise that has sold more than 4 million games.
• June 23 — Nintendo releases Super Mario 64, the first 3D Mario platformer, in Japan as the flagship for their new Nintendo 64 system.
• August 25 — Namco releases Tekken 2 for the Sony PlayStation. The game sold over 3,000,000 copies worldwide.
• August 31 — Bethesda Softworks releases The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, a notable evolution of the sandbox RPG started with The Elder Scrolls: Arena. (PC)
• September 3 — Sony releases Crash Bandicoot video game. Crash Bandicoot is used as the mascot for their PlayStation console.
• September 27 — 3DO publicly launches Meridian 59, widely regarded as the first MMORPG.
• October 31 — Command & Conquer: Red Alert, the second major title in the Command & Conquer fanchise, and the most popular one yet. (PC)
• November 15 — Tomb Raider is released for the PC, Sony PlayStation, and the Sega Saturn. It spawns a series of sequels as well as a series of movies.
• November 30 — Diablo is released. It is the first chapter in Blizzard Entertainment's enormously popular series. (PC)
• December 3 — Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is released for N64 and PC. It is part of a large cross-media project by LucasArts.

• Crusader: No Regret, the critically acclaimed sequel to Origin's innovative Crusader: No Remorse. (PC)
• Final Doom, the final release of the original Doom series. Contains 2 large and original storylines. (PC)
• Master of Orion II, the sequel to the revolutionary original. (PC)
• MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries, a successful sequel to the well-received MechWarrior 2. (PC)
• Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh, a controversial sequel to the controversial original. (PC)
• Star Wars: Rebel Assault II - The Hidden Empire, sequel to the innovative original, and the final interactive movie-based Star Wars game. (PC)
• The first console emulators appear.

January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter developed by 3D Realms and released on January 29, 1996 by Apogee Software, featuring the adventures of Duke Nukem, based on a character that had appeared in earlier platform games by the company: Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II. // Murderous aliens have... A first-person shooter (FPS) is a computer or video game where the players on-screen view of the game world simulates that of the character, and there is some element of shooting involved. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... Capcom Co. ... Resident Evil, known in Japan as Biohazard ), is a highly successful survival-horror franchise that started life as video games developed by Capcom and created by Shinji Mikami. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... The survival horror game is a prominent video game subgenre of action-adventure games or first-person shooters in which the player has to survive an onslaught of undead or creepy opponents, usually in claustrophobic environments in a third-person perspective. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (スーパーマリオRPG) was the last Mario game made and released for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and was the last Square-produced game for a Nintendo video game console until 2003, with the debut... Square Co. ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... id Software (IPA: officially, though originally ) is an American computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. ... Zombies attacking the player. ... The rewrite of this article is being devised at Talk:3D computer graphics/Temp. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... This is a list of video game franchises organised alphabetically by name. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... Nintendo Company, Limited (任天堂 or ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 usually referred to as simply Nintendo, or Big N ) is a multinational corporation founded on September 23, 1889[1] in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. ... Super Mario 64 is a video game for the Nintendo 64. ... Platform games, or platformers, are a very popular genre of video games that originated in the early 1980s. ... A flagship is the ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. ... Nintendo 64 ) is Nintendos third home video game console for the international market. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... Tekken 2 is the second installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. ... The original PlayStation was produced in a light grey colour; the more recent PSOne redesign sports a smaller more rounded case. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media Company, is a developer and publisher of computer and video games. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Group Hug Hint Guide Artwork. ... Crash Bandicoot ), or simply Crash, is the fictional protagonist of Naughty Dogs Crash Bandicoot series created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The 3DO Company (formerly THDO on the NASDAQ stock exchange), also known as 3DO, was founded in 1991 under the name SMSG, Inc. ... Meridian 59 is an online computer role-playing game first published by 3DO Studios and now run by Near Death Studios. ... Players interacting in Ultima Online. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... Tomb Raider is a video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... The original PlayStation was produced in a light grey colour; the more recent PSOne redesign sports a smaller more rounded case. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... Diablo is a dark fantasy-themed hack and slash action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment on January 2, 1997. ... Blizzard Entertainment is an American PC game developer and publisher. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Nintendo 64 ) is Nintendos third home video game console for the international market. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Crusader is a series of action oriented computer games created by Origin Systems, Inc. ... Origin Systems, Inc. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... Final Doom is a first-person shooter computer game that uses the game engine, items and characters from Doom II. It consists of two 32-level megawads (level files), TNT: Evilution by brothers Dario and Milo Casali and TeamTNT, and The Plutonia Experiment by the Casali brothers. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares (MOO2) was the first sequel to Master of Orion. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... Phantasmagoria is a CD-ROM horror-themed computer game series created by Sierra On-line for the DOS and Windows platforms. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... One of the first laserdisc games, Dragons Lair, was developed during the Golden Age of Arcade Games An interactive movie is a video game genre composed entirely of full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage. ... Apple Macintoshes like the iMac Core Duo are personal computers. ... A console emulator is a program that allows a computer to emulate a video game console. ...

Hardware

• Bandai's Tamagotchi virtual pet handheld
• Nintendo:
  • Nintendo 64 64-bit home console
  • Game Boy Pocket (GBP) handheld console (30% smaller version of the previous Game Boy handheld console)
• SEGA's Net Link modem for the Sega Saturn home console
• SNK's Neo Geo CDZ (Japan only)
• Namco's Alpine Racer arcade game, including a new type of user interface

This article is about the Japanese toy manufacturer. ... Tamagotchi Plus, with a Marutchi character on-screen. ... Nintendo Company, Limited (任天堂 or ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 usually referred to as simply Nintendo, or Big N ) is a multinational corporation founded on September 23, 1889[1] in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. ... Nintendo 64 ) is Nintendos third home video game console for the international market. ... The original Game Boys design set the standard for handheld gaming consoles. ... For the entire Game Boy series of handheld consoles, see Game Boy line. ... Sega Corporation ) is an international video game software and hardware developing company, and a former home computer and console manufacturer. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... SNK Playmore (formerly SNK) is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. ... The Neo Geo CDZ was a home video-game console manufactured by SNK. History A CDZ system with control pad and A/V hookups The CDZ was released in 1996 as the Japanese market replacment for SNKs previous effort, the Neo Geo CD. The NGCD had met with limited... Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... Alpine Racer is a 3D skiing arcade game released by Namco in 1995. ...

Business

• February — Blizzard Entertainment acquires a development group known as Condor, renaming it Blizzard North
• February 13 — Atari Corporation announces a plan to merge with JTS Corp.
• April — Eidos acquires Centregold plc, which holds Core Design (creator of the Lara Croft character) and U.S. Gold
• June — Firaxis Games is formed By Jeff Briggs with Sid Meier and Brian Reynolds
• July — GT Interactive purchases Humongous Entertainment
• November 13 — Tom Clancy and Virtus Corp. found Red Storm Entertainment, headed by Doug Littlejohns
• Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Ocean Software Ltd.
• Midway Games, Inc. (subsidiary of WMS Industries, formerly known as Williams Electronics) acquires Atari Games Corp. from Warner Communications Inc. (AOL Time Warner in 2000)
• Technos Japan Corporation, originator of the Nekketsu Kouha Kunio Kun series and Double Dragon series, goes out of business (assets acquired by Atlus Corporation)
• Black Isle Studios forms as a division by Interplay; doesn't use Black Isle name until 1998
• Game Park Inc. founded in South Korea
• The company formed by Microprose and Spectrum Holobyte in 1993 starts branding using only the Microprose name
• Overworks, Ltd. formed
• Zed Two Limited formed
• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Computer & Entertainment, Inc.
• The 3DO Company purchases New World Computing

Blizzard Entertainment is an American PC game developer and publisher. ... Blizzard North is a division of Blizzard Entertainment. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... JT Storage (also known as JTS) was a maker of inexpensive IDE hard drives for personal computers based in San Jose, California. ... Eidos Interactive is a publisher of video and computer games based in the United Kingdom. ... Core Design was a video game developer best known for creating the popular Tomb Raider series. ... (1996) Lara Croft (birthday February 14, 1968)[] is an English video game character and the Amazonian heroine of the Tomb Raider series of video games, movies and comic books. ... // US Gold Corporation - Gold Mining U.S. Gold is a gold exploration company focused on Nevadas Cortez Trend, which is home to some of the worlds largest gold deposits. ... Firaxis Games is a computer game developer. ... Jeff Briggs is founder, president, and CEO of Firaxis Games, a computer game developer based in Hunt Valley, Maryland. ... Sid Meier (born Sidney K. Meier in 1954, in Detroit, USA) is a renowned American programmer and designer of some of the most commercially and critically successful computer strategy games of all time. ... Brian Reynolds is a well known computer strategy game designer, formerly of Microprose and Firaxis Games. ... GT Interactive was a video game developer founded in 1993 and headquartered in New York City. ... Humongous Entertainment was a video game company from 1992 to 2005 that designed adventure games, many of which are made to be educational, for children. ... November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ... Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. ... Red Storm Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ubisoft Entertainment, specializing in PC games, console games, and related merchandise mainly based on the works of the writer Tom Clancy. ... Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) is an international holding company headquartered in Lyon, France. ... The familiar Ocean logotype had an often prominent placement on the box art and is recognized by many people. ... Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) (formerly Midway Manufacturing) is an American video game publisher. ... Atari Games was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari Inc. ... Technos Japan Corporation is the defunct Japanese video game publisher that originated the Nekketsu Kouha: Kunio-Kun (including River City Ransom) and Double Dragon franchises. ... Kunio has starred in more than 20 games by Technos. ... Billy and Jimmy Lee, the protagonists of the Double Dragon series. ... Atlus is a Japanese computer and video game developer and publisher. ... Black Isle Studios was a division of the computer and video game developer and publisher Interplay Entertainment, created specifically for the development of computer role-playing games. ... Game Park[1] is the Korean company that sells the GP32. ... MicroProse Software, Inc. ... Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. ... Nintendo Company, Limited (任天堂 or ニンテンドー Nintendō; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 usually referred to as simply Nintendo, or Big N ) is a multinational corporation founded on September 23, 1889[1] in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. ... The 3DO Company (formerly THDO on the NASDAQ stock exchange), also known as 3DO, was founded in 1991 under the name SMSG, Inc. ... New World Computing, Inc. ...

Awards

• Spiel des Jahres: El Grande - Wolfgang Kramer and Richard Ulrich, Hans im Glück