Notable events of 1997 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games. Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... 1997 in games ... 1996 1996 in games 1995 in video gaming 1997 in video gaming Notable events of 1996 in video gaming. ... 1998 1998 in games 1997 in video gaming 1999 in video gaming Notable events of 1998 in video gaming. ... Home video-game systems became popular during the 1970s and 80s. ...

Events

• October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) dies after a double car accident.
• November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) launched.
• 3rd annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo)
• TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.

October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In April 2006, the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association merged with the Video Software Dealers Association into the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA). ... E³ logo The Electronic Entertainment Expo or E³, commonly known as E3, is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association. ... TSR, Inc. ... Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) currently published by Wizards of the Coast. ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is a publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. ...

Notable releases

Goldeneye 007 won the first ever IAA Game of the Year award.

• February 10 - Mario Kart 64 (N64)
• 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)
• May 31 - MDK: (PC) (PS)
• 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 - Grand Theft Auto (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)

Screenshot of the Nintendo 64 game GoldenEye 007 by me. ... Screenshot of the Nintendo 64 game GoldenEye 007 by me. ... The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has been hosting the Interactive Achievement Awards for video game publication anually since 1998. ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in leap years). ... Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (SOTN) is a Japanese action-adventure game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation video game console. ... 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 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. ... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... MDK is a third-person shooter game developed by Shiny Entertainment and released in 1997 by Playmates Interactive Entertainment for the PC, Macintosh, and subsequently PlayStation. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Dungeon Keeper is a PC strategy game released by Bullfrog Productions in July 1997. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Star Fox 64 ), known in Australia and Europe as Lylat Wars due to trademark issues, is a scrolling shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console. ... An N64 (with Super Smash Bros. ... is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Carmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent driving-oriented video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... is the 237th day of the year (238th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... GoldenEye 007 is a 1997 first-person shooter video game developed by Rareware for the Nintendo 64 video game console, and based on the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. ... This section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Final Fantasy VII ) is a console and computer role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix), and the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy video game series. ... 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 Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Hexen II is a first person shooter computer game developed by Raven Software from 1996 to 1997, published by id Software and distributed by Activision. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 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 Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Total Annihilation a. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is a computer and video game created by DMA Design (now Rockstar North) and published by ASC Games in 1998. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Age of Empires, abbreviated to AoE or AOE, is a history-based real-time strategy computer game released in 1997. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Curse of Monkey Island (CMI) is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island computer game series. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Postal is an ultraviolent and controversial computer game made by Running With Scissors and published by Ripcord Games in 1997. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Quake II, released on December 6, 1997, is a first person shooter computer game developed by id Software and distributed by Activision. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ...

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

is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... 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 Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. ... Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $68. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Tiger logo Tiger Electronics is a USA-based toys manufacturer, best known for the Furby and Giga Pets. ... The Game. ...

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

Activision, Inc. ... Raven Software is a computer game software developer based in Madison, Wisconsin. ... EA redirects here. ... Maxis Software is an American company that was founded as a video game developer and is now a brand name of Electronic Arts (EA). ... A newer GameTek logotype GameTek () was a leading UK video game developer and publisher, perhaps best known for such games as Frontier: Elite II and The Humans. ... Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code governs the process of reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. ... 2015 (pronounced Twenty Fifteen) is a video game developer founded in 1998 by its President and CEO, Tom Kudirka. ... Bungie Studios is an American video game developer founded in May 1991 under the name Bungie Software Products Corporation (more popularly shortened to Bungie Software) by two undergraduate students at the University of Chicago, Alex Seropian and Jason Jones. ... Conspiracy Games is a video game publisher, publishing games from smaller companies that would have a much harder time trying to get the game they developed out on the market themselves. ... Crave Entertainment was founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. ... Human Head Studios is a computer game development company located in Madison, WI. Started as a break away company from the developer Raven Software. ... Illusion Softworks is located in Brno, in the Czech Republic, and was founded by Petr Vochozka and the venture capital investors, Cash Reform Group. ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... Irem (アイレム) is a Japanese video game console developer and publisher and formerly a developer and manufacturer of arcade games as well. ... Irrational Games is a video game developer that originated as an off-shoot by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. ... Mythic Entertainment, Inc. ... THQ Inc. ...

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
• Nintendo vs Sony Video Games; Nintendo sues Sony over copyrights about Mario games

The Doctor V64 is a backup/development device, made by Bung Enterprises Ltd, that is used in conjunction with the Nintendo 64. ... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES, also known as SNES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. ... This section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Random House, the worlds largest English-language general trade book publisher. ... This section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... GoldenEye 007 is a 1997 first-person shooter video game developed by Rareware for the Nintendo 64 video game console, and based on the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. ... Over the years, Mario has appeared in more than 200 video games to date, both with starring and less significant roles. ...

Awards

• Spiel des Jahres: Mississippi Queen - Werner Hodel, Goldsieber