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Overview of the events of 1991 in video games From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1991 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man 4, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, along with new titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Battletoads, Lemmings, Sunset Riders, Duke Nukem, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, and Streets of Rage. The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II. The year's best-selling system was the Game Boy for the second year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video game was Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, which was also the year's top video game rental in the United States.
The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1991.
The following video game releases in 1991 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[7]
Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Score (out of 40) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (A Link to the Past) | Super Famicom | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 39 |
Final Fantasy IV | Super Famicom | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | Role-playing | 36 |
Lemmings | Super Famicom | Sunsoft | Sunsoft | Strategy | 35 |
The year's highest-grossing game worldwide was Street Fighter II, which alone accounted for an estimated 60% of the global arcade game market, according to Coinslot magazine.[8] The following table lists the year's top-grossing arcade game in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.
Market | Title | Hardware sales | Coin drop earnings | Inflation | Manufacturer | Genre | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | 17,000 | Unknown | Unknown | Capcom | Fighting | [9][10] |
United Kingdom | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | 10,000 | $229 million+ | $510 million+ | Capcom | Fighting | [8] |
United States | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Unknown | Unknown | Capcom | Fighting | [11][12] | |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Unknown | Unknown | Konami | Beat 'em up | [13] | ||
Australia | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Unknown | Unknown | Capcom | Fighting | [14] | |
Worldwide | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | 50,000 | Capcom | Fighting | [8][10] |
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1991, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.
Rank | Gamest[9] | Game Machine[10] | |
---|---|---|---|
Title | Type | ||
1 | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Software conversion kit |
2 | Final Fight | Tetris (Sega) | Software conversion kit |
3 | Final Lap 2 | Columns | Software conversion kit |
4 | Quiz Tonosama no Yabō | Final Lap 2 | Standard cabinet |
5 | Raiden | Deluxe cabinet | |
6 | Super Monaco GP | Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes) | Software conversion kit |
7 | Clutch Hitter | Quiz Tonosama no Yabō | |
8 | GP Rider | Final Fight | Software conversion kit |
9 | Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes) | World Stadium '90 | Software conversion kit |
10 | Dragon Saber | Columns II | Software conversion kit |
In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1991.
Rank | AAMA[11][12][15] | AMOA[16][17] | Play Meter | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title | Award | Arcade conversion kit | Dedicated arcade cabinet | ||
1 | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Diamond | Street Fighter II | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[13] |
2 | The Simpsons, Neo Geo MVS |
Platinum | Capcom Bowling, Final Fight, High Impact Football, Raiden |
Hard Drivin', Neo Geo MVS, Pit Fighter, Race Drivin' |
Unknown |
3 | |||||
4 | High Impact Football | Gold | |||
5 | Final Lap 2 | Silver |
In Hong Kong and Australia, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade games on the monthly charts in 1991.
Month | Hong Kong (Bondeal) | Australia (Timezone) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arcade conversion software kit | Dedicated arcade cabinet | Ref | Dedicated | Conversion | Ref | ||||
January | Super Pang | Big Run | Cisco Heat | [18][19] | Unknown | Unknown | |||
February | Escape Kids | Street Fighter II | Cisco Heat | Hard Drivin' | Big Run | [19][20] | |||
March | Street Fighter II | Hard Drivin' | Big Run | F-15 Strike Eagle | [20][21][22] | ||||
April | Street Fighter II | Gun Force | F-15 Strike Eagle | [22][23] | |||||
May | Street Fighter II | F-15 Strike Eagle | Hard Drivin' | [23][24] | |||||
June | Hard Drivin' | [24][25] | |||||||
July | Street Fighter II | Mutant Fighter | [25][26] | ||||||
August | Mutant Fighter | D. D. Crew | Hard Drivin' | Time Traveler | [26][27] | ||||
September | WWF WrestleFest | Street Fighter II | Time Traveler | Hard Drivin' | [27][28] | ||||
October | Street Fighter II | Vendetta | Hard Drivin' | Race Drivin' | [28] | Final Lap 2 | Spider-Man | [29] | |
1991 | Street Fighter II | [14] |
Rank | System(s) | Manufacturer | Type | Generation | Sales | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | USA | Europe | Korea | Worldwide | |||||
1 | Game Boy | Nintendo | Handheld | 8-bit | 1,940,000[30] | 4,000,000[31] | 1,400,000[32] | Unknown | 7,340,000+ |
2 | Super NES | Nintendo | Console | 16-bit | 3,150,000[30] | 1,900,000+[33] | — | — | 5,050,000+ |
3 | NES / Famicom | Nintendo | Console | 8-bit | 1,240,000[30] | 2,100,000[31] | 500,000+[34] | 100,000[35] | 3,940,000+ |
4 | Mega Drive / Genesis | Sega | Console | 16-bit | 700,000[30] | 1,600,000+[36] | 815,000[37] | 51,000[35] | 3,166,000+ |
5 | IBM PC | IBM | Computer | 16-bit | — | — | — | — | 2,910,000[38] |
6 | Macintosh | Apple Inc. | Computer | 16-bit | — | — | — | — | 2,100,000[39] |
7 | Master System | Sega | Console | 8-bit | Unknown | < 50,000[40] | 1,745,000[37] | 160,000[35] | 1,905,000+ |
8 | NEC PC-88 / PC-98 | NEC | Computer | 8-bit / 16-bit | 1,720,000[41][42] | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | 1,720,000+ |
9 | Game Gear | Sega | Handheld | 8-bit | 400,000[30] | 600,000+[43] | 520,000[37] | Unknown | 1,520,000+ |
10 | Amiga | Commodore | Computer | 16-bit | — | — | — | — | 1,035,000[39] |
Sonic the Hedgehog was the best-selling home video game of 1991,[44] with 2 million copies sold worldwide during the year.[45]
In Japan, according to Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazine, the following titles were the top ten best-selling 1991 releases, including later sales in 1992.[46]
Rank | Title | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Platform | Sales |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (A Link to the Past) | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Action-adventure | Super Famicom | < 1,160,000[47] |
2 | Final Fantasy IV (Final Fantasy II) | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | Role-playing | Super Famicom | Unknown |
3 | Yoshi | Game Freak | Nintendo | Puzzle | Famicom | Unknown |
4 | Game Boy | |||||
5 | Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyūshutsu Emaki (Mystical Ninja) | Konami | Konami | Action-adventure | Super Famicom | Unknown |
6 | SaGa 3: Jikū no Hasha (Final Fantasy Legend III) | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | Role-playing | Game Boy | < 650,000[48] |
7 | Chō Makaimura (Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts) | Capcom | Capcom | Action-platformer | Super Famicom | Unknown |
8 | SimCity | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | City-building | ||
9 | Super Wagan Land | Namco | Platformer | |||
10 | Super Formation Soccer (Super Soccer) | Human Entertainment | Sports (football) | Super Famicom | < 600,000[49] |
The following titles were the best-selling home video games on the Famitsu charts in 1991. The charts were bi-weekly up until July 1991, when they switched to a weekly format.
Month | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
January | Unknown | Super Mario World (Super Famicom) | [50] | ||
February | Super Mario World (Super Famicom) | ||||
March | [50][51] | ||||
April | Ultraman (Super Famicom) | Super Mario World (Super Famicom) | |||
May | Super Mario World (Super Famicom) | SimCity (Super Famicom) | [50][51][52] | ||
June | SimCity (Super Famicom) | Magical Taruruto (Game Boy) | [50] | ||
July | SimCity (Super Famicom) | Super R-Type (SFC) | Final Fantasy IV (Super Famicom) | ||
August | Unknown | Unknown | Final Fantasy IV (SFC) | Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza (FC) | [50][53] |
September | Final Fantasy IV (Super Famicom) | Chibi Maruko-chan 2 (GB) | Mario Open Golf (Famicom) | [53][54][55] | |
October | Chō Makaimura (Super Famicom) | [55][56][57] | |||
November | Chō Makaimura (Super Famicom) | Akumajō Dracula (SFC) | Super Mario World (SFC) | Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (SFC) | [50][58] |
December | Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (SFC)[58] | Mega Man 4 (FC) | SaGa 3 (Game Boy) | [50][59][60] |
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the best-selling home video games on the monthly Computer and Video Games (CVG) charts in 1991.
Month | Home computers | Sega Mega Drive | PC Engine | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
January | Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (C64) | Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse | Out Run | [61] |
February | Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (Amiga) | [62] | ||
March | Lemmings (Amiga) | Gynoug | Parasol Stars | [63] |
April | Magicland Dizzy (ZX Spectrum) | Midnight Resistance | [64] | |
May | [65] | |||
June | Sonic the Hedgehog | Legend of Hero Tonma | [66] | |
July | Bubble Bobble (ZX Spectrum) | — | [67] | |
August | Manchester United Europe | — | — | [68] |
September | Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker | Streets of Rage | PC Kid 2 | [69] |
October | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Mercs | Hit the Ice | [70] |
November | Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 | QuackShot | Time Cruise II | [71] |
December | WWF WrestleMania | RoboCod | Gradius | [72][73] |
In the United States, the following titles were the top three best-selling home video game releases of 1991.
Rank | Title | Platform | Sales | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sonic the Hedgehog | Sega Genesis | 1,000,000+ | [44] |
2 | Super Mario World | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Unknown | [74] |
3 | F-Zero |
The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in 1991.
Month | All platforms | Nintendo consoles | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title | Platform | Ref | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Ref | |
May | Unknown | Unknown | Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) | [75] | ||||
June | Unknown | Unknown | [76][77] | |||||
August | Sonic the Hedgehog | Sega Genesis | [78] | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
September | Unknown | Tetris (NES) | Super Mario World (Super NES) | Unknown | [79] | |||
October | Super Mario World (Super NES)[80][81][82] | |||||||
November | Unknown | |||||||
December | [44] | Super Mario World (Super NES)[83][84][85] |