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Overview of the events of 1987 in video games From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1987 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Dragon Quest II, Final Lap, and Zelda II, along with new titles such as After Burner, Contra, Double Dragon, Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Metal Gear, Operation Wolf, Phantasy Star, Shinobi, Street Fighter and The Last Ninja. The Legend of Zelda was also introduced outside of Japan.
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The year's highest-grossing arcade game worldwide was Sega's Out Run. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the fourth year in a row. The best-selling 1987 home video game release in Japan was Dragon Quest II: Akuryō no Kamigami, while the year's best-selling home video games in Western markets were The Legend of Zelda in the United States and Out Run in the United Kingdom.
The year's highest-grossing arcade game worldwide was Sega's Out Run.
The following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1987 in Japan, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.
Rank | Gamest[1] | Game Machine[2] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title | Cabinet | Points | Title | Cabinet | Points | |
1 | Out Run | Large | 33 | Out Run | Deluxe | 3734 |
2 | R-Type | Table | 26 | Arkanoid | Table | 3118 |
3 | After Burner | Large | 20 | Hi Sho Zame (Flying Shark) | Table | 2434 |
4 | 1943: The Battle of Midway | Table | 12 | Major League | Table | 2285 |
5 | Double Dragon | Table | 10 | World Cup (Tehkan World Cup) | Table | 2210 |
6 | Darius | Large | 8 | Bubble Bobble | Table | 2041 |
7 | Dragon Spirit | Table | 7 | Super Hang-On | Ride-on | 1901 |
8 | Hi Sho Zame (Flying Shark) Yokai Dochuki |
Table | 5 | Double Dragon | Table | 1890 |
9 | Table | 5 | 1943: The Battle of Midway | Table | 1778 | |
10 | Super Hang-On | Large | 4 | Side Pocket | Table | 1744 |
In the United Kingdom, Out Run was the most successful arcade game of the year.[3][4] The following titles were the top-grossing games on the monthly arcade charts in 1987.
Month | Title | Manufacturer | Genre | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
February | Out Run | Sega | Racing | [5][6] |
March | ||||
April | Bubble Bobble | Taito | Platformer | [7] |
May | ||||
June | ||||
July | Double Dragon | Taito | Beat 'em up | [8] |
August | [9] | |||
September | After Burner | Sega | Combat flight sim | [10] |
October | Operation Wolf | Taito | Light gun shooter | [11] |
November | 1942 | Capcom | Scrolling shooter | [12] |
December | Operation Wolf | Taito | Light gun shooter | [13] |
1987 | Out Run | Sega | Racing | [3][4] |
In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1987.
Rank | Play Meter | AMOA[14][15] | |
---|---|---|---|
Dedicated cabinet | Conversion kit | ||
1 | Out Run[16] | Out Run | Arkanoid |
2 | Unknown | Contra, Double Dragon, Rolling Thunder |
Ikari Warriors, Rastan, Top Gunner, World Series |
3 | |||
4 | |||
5 | Unknown | Unknown |
The following titles were the top-grossing games on the monthly RePlay arcade charts in 1987.
Month | Upright cabinet | Software kit | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
January | Out Run | Gauntlet II | [17] |
February | Championship Sprint | [18] |
Rank | System(s) | Manufacturer | Type | Generation | Sales | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | USA | EU | Worldwide | |||||
1 | Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom | Nintendo | Console | 8-bit | 1,780,000[19] | 3,000,000[20] | 300,000[21] | 5,080,000+ |
2 | Commodore 64 (C64) | Commodore | Computer | 8-bit | — | — | — | 1,500,000[22] |
3 | Sega Mark III / Master System | Sega | Console | 8-bit | 280,000[23] | 500,000[21] | 155,000[21] | 935,000 |
4 | IBM PS/2 (Model 30 / 50) | IBM | Computer | 16-bit | — | Unknown | Unknown | 658,000[24] |
5 | PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) | NEC | Console | 16-bit | 600,000[19] | — | — | 600,000 |
6 | Mac | Apple Inc. | Computer | 16-bit | — | — | — | 550,000[22] |
7 | NEC PC-88 / PC-98 | NEC | Computer | 8-bit / 16-bit | 540,000[25][26] | Unknown | Unknown | 540,000+ |
8 | Apple II | Apple Inc. | Computer | 8-bit | — | — | — | 500,000[22] |
9 | Atari ST | Atari Corp. | Computer | 16-bit | — | — | — | 400,000[22] |
10 | MSX | ASCII. | Computer | 8-bit | 340,000[27] | Unknown | Unknown | 340,000+ |
In Japan, according to Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazine, the following titles were the top ten best-selling 1987 releases, including later sales up until mid-1989.[28]
Rank | Title | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Platform | Sales |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dragon Quest II: Akuryō no Kamigami | Chunsoft | Enix | RPG | Famicom | 2,400,000[29] |
2 | Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87 | Namco | Namco | Sports | Famicom | < 1,300,000[30] |
3 | Moero!! Pro Yakyū (Bases Loaded) | TOSE | Jaleco | Sports | Famicom | < 1,000,000[31] |
4 | Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (The Adventure of Link) | Nintendo R&D4 | Nintendo | Action RPG | Famicom Disk System | Unknown |
5 | Family Computer Golf: Japan Course | Nintendo R&D2 | Nintendo | Sports | Famicom | < 740,000[31] |
6 | Saint Seiya: Ōgon Densetsu | Bandai | Bandai | Action RPG | Famicom | Unknown |
7 | Momotarō Densetsu (Momotarō Legend) | Hudson Soft | Hudson Soft | RPG | ||
8 | Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School | Squaresoft | Nintendo | Dating sim | Famicom Disk System | |
9 | Sanma no Meitantei (Great Detective Sanma) | Namco | Namco | Adventure | Famicom | |
10 | Famicom Mukashibanashi: Shin Onigashima | Nintendo R&D4 | Nintendo | Adventure | Famicom Disk System |
The following titles were the best-selling home video games on the Japan game charts published by Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) and Family Computer Magazine (Famimaga) in 1987.
In the United States, The Legend of Zelda was the best-selling home video game of 1987,[41] becoming the first third-generation video game (non-bundled) to cross a million US sales that year,[20] followed by Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!![42] In the United Kingdom, Out Run was the best-selling home video game of 1987,[43] with its 8-bit home computer ports becoming the fastest-selling games in the UK up until then.[44]
The following titles were the top-selling home video games on the monthly charts in the United Kingdom and United States during 1987.
Month | United Kingdom | United States | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All formats | ZX Spectrum | Sales | Title | Platform | Sales | Ref | |
January | Gauntlet[45] | Olli & Lissa[46] | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
February | Unknown | Leader Board[47] | |||||
March | Unknown | Feud[48][49] | |||||
April | |||||||
May | Unknown | BMX Simulator[50] | |||||
June | Unknown | Milk Race[8] | |||||
July | Unknown | Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior[9] | Unknown | The Legend of Zelda | NES | Unknown | [51] |
August | Unknown | Exolon[10] | Unknown | Unknown | [52] | ||
September | Renegade[53] | Renegade[11][54] | Unknown | Unknown | [55] | ||
October | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | [56] | |||
November | Unknown | Game Set and Match[13] | Unknown | Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! | NES | Unknown | [57] |
December | Out Run[58][59] | 250,000+[60] | Unknown | [61] | |||
1987 | Out Run[43] | 350,000[62] | The Legend of Zelda | NES | 1,000,000+[20] | [41] |
Award | Gamest Awards (Japan, December 1987)[63] |
2nd Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards (Japan, February 1988)[64] |
2nd Famimaga Game Awards (Japan, February 1988)[65] |
5th Golden Joystick Awards (United Kingdom, March 1988)[66] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arcade | Console | Famicom | Computer | |
Game of the Year | Darius | Dragon Quest II (Famicom) | Out Run | |
Critics' Choice Awards | — | Tsuppari Ōzumō (Famicom) Zombie Hunter (Famicom) Shin Onigashima (Famicom Disk System) Family Computer Golf (Famicom Disk System) Bubble Bobble (Famicom) Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (Famicom) |
— | — |
Best Game Design | — | Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School (FDS) | — | — |
Best Playability | — | — | Dragon Quest II | — |
Best Story | — | Dragon Quest II (Yuji Horii) | — | — |
Best Graphics | After Burner | Faxanadu (Famicom) | — | — |
Best 3D Game | — | Highway Star (Rad Racer) | — | — |
Best Speech Synthesis | Genpei Tōma Den | — | — | — |
Best Music / Sound | Darius | Momotaro Densetsu / Exciting Billiards | Dragon Quest II | — |
Best Character / Character Design | Athena Asamiya (Psycho Soldier) | Momotaro Densetsu (Famicom) | Dragon Quest II | — |
Best Developer / Software House | Sega | — | — | U.S. Gold |
Best Programmer | — | — | — | Jon Ritman |
Best Ports | — | Wizardry / Salamander | — | — |
Best Original Game / Originality | — | — | Dragon Quest II | Nebulus |
Most Popular Game / Long Seller | Out Run | Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium (R.B.I. Baseball) | — | — |
Arcade Game of the Year | — | — | — | Out Run |
Best Action Game | — | Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (Famicom) | Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (FDS) | — |
Best Shooter | — | Fantasy Zone (Famicom) | Salamander | — |
Best Adventure Game | — | Hokkaidō Rensa Satsujin: Okhotsk ni Kiyu (FC) | Shin Onigashima (FDS) | The Guild of Thieves |
Best RPG | — | Dragon Quest II (Famicom) | Dragon Quest II | — |
Best Action RPG | — | Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (FDS) | — | — |
Best Sports Game | — | Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! (Famicom) | Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium | — |
Best Puzzle Game | — | Shanghai | — | — |
Best Simulation / Strategy Game | — | SD Gundam World Gachapon Senshi (Famicom) | — | Vulcan |
Best Leisure / Casual Games | — | Mezase Pachi Pro: Pachio-kun / Side Pocket | — | — |
Best Board Game | — | Tetsudou Ou (Famicom) | — | — |
Best Mahjong Game | — | Professional Mahjong Gokū | — | — |
The following 1987 video game releases entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[67]
Title | Platform | Score (out of 40) | Developer | Publisher | Genre |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dragon Quest II: Akuryō no Kamigami (Dragon Warrior II) | Family Computer (Famicom) | 38 | Chunsoft | Enix | RPG |
Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) | Famicom Disk System | 36 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Action RPG |
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