1990 in video gaming

Events

Notable releases

• Bonk's Adventure is released for NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and is the first US appearance of Bonk, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16.
• Namco releases Kyuukai Douchuuki, World Stadium '90, Final Lap 2, Pistol Daimyo no Bouken, which is a spin-off from Berabow Man, Souko Ban Deluxe, Dragon Saber, Rolling Thunder 2, Steel Gunner and Golly! Ghost! They also develop the unreleased prototype, Puzzle Club.
• February 12 — Nintendo releases the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America. It sells 17.28 million copies, making it the best-selling stand-alone video game of all time.
• April — Konami releases Snake's Revenge, a sequel to Metal Gear for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. Although developed by a Japanese staff, Snake's Revenge was produced specifically for the international market, and developed without the involvement of Hideo Kojima, the game designer of the original MSX2 version of Metal Gear (who was not involved in the NES port either). According to Kojima, who initially did not intend on producing a Metal Gear sequel, was convinced by a programmer working on Snake's Revenge to produce a "proper" sequel. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the MSX2 computer, the sequel developed by Kojima's staff, was released exclusively in Japan on July 19. It would be Konami's last major game for the hardware.
• November 21 — Nintendo releases Super Mario World and F-Zero in Japan as launch titles for the Super Famicom (released for the SNES in North America in August 1991). Super Mario World introduced the character, Yoshi.
• July 12 — Nintendo of America publishes Final Fantasy for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. This game started Square's popular and long-running Final Fantasy series.
• November 9— Sierra On-Line releases King's Quest V to massive success and acclaim.^{[citation needed]}
• Sega releases the R-360 arcade game, featuring the first 3D - 360° gameplay that physically rotated the real world player.
• Origin releases Ultima VI: The False Prophet and the first Wing Commander game.
• Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon, the first of the "Tycoon" games, is released by MicroProse.
• December 14 — Commander Keen is released as shareware. John Carmack's smooth-scrolling graphics engine helps it become the first major platformer on a PC.
• Capcom releases Mega Man 3 for NES, introducing the characters Rush and Proto Man, Mega Man's slide, and Capcom's character cameos.
• Nintendo releases Dr. Mario
• Infogrames releases Alpha Waves, the first 3D platform game.^{[citation needed]}

Hardware

• Camerica releases Codemasters' Game Genie adapter in Canada and the UK (In the USA, it was released by Galoob).
• NEC releases the TurboExpress handheld console.
• Nintendo releases the Super Famicom 16-bit console in Japan.
• SNK releases the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System (AES) home console.
• October 6 — Sega Game Gear released in Japan, launched in North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 1992.
• November 30 — Sega's Mega Drive released in Europe.
• Amstrad halts production of the ZX Spectrum, formally bringing to an end that platform's 8-year dominance of the UK home computer market.

Business

• Nintendo v. Color Dreams lawsuit: Nintendo sues Color Dreams over unlicensed production of Nintendo video games.
• THQ Inc.: Toy Head-Quarters merges with Trinity Acquisition Corporation.
• New companies: Eidos plc, Team17 Software Limited, Natsume Co., Ltd.