Notable events of 1996 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games.
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, Square's last produced game for the SNES, released in Japan
- May 13 — Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars 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)
- August 31 — Sega releases NiGHTS into Dreams... for the Sega Saturn. The advertising campaign for the game features the rebirth of the Sega Scream.
- 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)
- October 31 — Master of Orion II, the sequel to the revolutionary original. (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)
- Fragile Allegiance, the spiritual sequel to K240 is released.
- MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries, a successful sequel to the well-received MechWarrior 2. (PC)
- Donkey Kong Country 3, the third and last installment to the popular Donkey Kong Country franchise is released.
- Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh, a controversial sequel to the controversial original. (PC)
- Sega Super GT is released in arcades, considered a graphical marvel just like its predecessor (Daytona USA), the game runs on the Sega Model 3 hardware and renders 1 million polygons per second.
- 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.
Hardware
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
- May 1 — GameSpot and GameFAQs are launched
- 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
Awards
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