1997 in video gaming

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

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 tabletop role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
• 3D Realms begins production of the infamous Duke Nukem Forever, winner of numerous vaporware awards.

Notable releases

• January 31 - Final Fantasy VII (PS1), (1998 for Win)
• February 28 - Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (N64) (November 30 for Win)
• March 20 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1) (June 25 for Sat)
• March 22 - Tekken 3 (Arcade) (1998 for PS1)
• March 26 - Blast Corps (N64)
• April 27 - Dungeon Keeper (Win)
• April 30 - Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (Win)
• June 20 - Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1)
• July 1 - Star Fox 64 (N64)
• July 30 - Carmageddon (Win) (1999 for PS1, 2000 for N64)
• August 25 - GoldenEye 007 (N64)
• August 31 - Hexen II (Win)
• September - PaRappa the Rapper (PS1)
• September 19 - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PS1), (Win)
• September 24 - Ultima Online (Win)
• September 30 - Fallout (Win)
• September 30 - Total Annihilation (Win)
• October - Grand Theft Auto (Win)
• October 9 - Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (Win)
• October 15 - Age of Empires (Win)
• October 15 - Mortal Kombat 4 (Arcade) (1998 for N64/PS1/Win, 1999 for DC)
• October 29 - Riven (Win, Sat) (November 30 for PS1)
• October 31 - Colony Wars (PS1)
• October 31 - The Curse of Monkey Island (Win)
• November 24 - Tomb Raider II (PS1, Win)
• November 25 - Myth: The Fallen Lords (Win)
• November 30 - Wing Commander: Prophecy (Win)
• December 5 - Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS1
• December 6 - Quake II (Win) (1999 ofPS1/N64)
• December 18 - Mega Man Legends (PS1) (2000 for N64, 2001 for Win, 2005 for PSP)
• December 23 - Gran Turismo (PS1)
• December 31 - Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (N64)

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

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 1998
• 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

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 maps of the N64 video game GoldenEye 007. Nintendo loses the suit
• Nintendo vs Sony Video Games; Nintendo sues Sony over copyrights about Mario games

Discontinual

• Sega announce that the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) has been discontinued.
• Sega Game Gear discontinued.