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1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III , Super Contra , Super Mario Bros. 2 , Mega Man 2 , Double Dragon II: The Revenge , and Super Mario Bros. 3 , along with new titles such as Assault , Altered Beast , Capcom Bowling , Ninja Gaiden , RoboCop , Winning Run and Chase H.Q.
The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were After Burner and After Burner II in Japan, Double Dragon in the United States, Operation Wolf in the United Kingdom, and RoboCop in Hong Kong. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the fifth year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games were Dragon Quest III in Japan and Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt in the United States.
In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.
Rank | Gamest [1] | Game Machine [2] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title | Manufacturer | Title | Type | Points | |
1 | After Burner | Sega | After Burner / After Burner II | Cockpit cabinet | 3624 |
2 | World Stadium | Namco | Operation Wolf | Upright cabinet | 3569 |
3 | Gradius II | Konami | Final Lap | Deluxe / Standard | 3568 |
4 | Out Run | Sega | Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra) | Conversion kit | 3192 |
5 | Final Lap | Namco | World Stadium | Conversion kit | 3105 |
6 | R-Type | Irem | R-Type | Conversion kit | 3074 |
7 | Super Hang-On | Sega | Out Run | Deluxe cabinet | 2921 |
8 | Street Fighter | Capcom | Hi Sho Zame (Flying Shark) | Conversion kit | 2109 |
9 | Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra) | Toaplan | Galaga '88 | Conversion kit | 1990 |
10 | Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 | Taito | Gradius II | Conversion kit | 1939 |
In Hong Kong and the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988.
Rank | Hong Kong | United States | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Bondeal [3] | Play Meter | AMOA [4] [5] | ||
Dedicated cabinet | Conversion kit | |||
1 | RoboCop | Double Dragon [6] | Double Dragon | Shinobi |
2 | Chequered Flag | Unknown | Out Run , After Burner , Operation Wolf , Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja | Twin Eagle , Heavy Barrel , Capcom Bowling , Time Soldiers |
3 | Devastators | |||
4 | P.O.W. | |||
5 | Vindicators | |||
6 | Sky Soldiers | Unknown | — | |
7 | Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja | |||
8 | Blasteroids | |||
9 | Vigilante | |||
10 | Xybots |
Operation Wolf was the top-earning arcade game of 1988 in the United Kingdom. [7] [8] The following titles were the top-grossing games on the monthly arcade charts in 1988.
Month | Title | Manufacturer | Genre | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
January | Operation Wolf | Taito | Light gun shooter | [9] |
February | [10] | |||
March | [11] | |||
April | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
May | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
June | Street Fighter | Capcom | Fighting | [12] |
1988 | Operation Wolf | [7] |
Rank | System(s) | Manufacturer | Type | Generation | Sales | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | USA | EU | Worldwide | |||||
1 | Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom | Nintendo | Console | 8-bit | 1,590,000 [13] | 7,000,000 [14] | Unknown | 8,590,000+ |
2 | Mark III / Master System | Sega | Console | 8-bit | 240,000 [15] | 1,000,000 [16] | 195,000 [17] [18] | 1,435,000+ |
3 | Commodore 64 | Commodore | Computer | 8-bit | — | — | — | 1,250,000 [19] |
4 | IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) | IBM | Computer | 16-bit | Unknown | 1,229,000 [20] | Unknown | 1,229,000+ |
5 | Mac | Apple Inc. | Computer | 16-bit | — | — | — | 900,000 [19] |
6 | PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 | NEC | Console | 16-bit | 830,000 [13] | — | — | 830,000 |
7 | NEC UltraLite / PC-88 / PC-98 | NEC | Computer | 8-bit / 16-bit | 700,000 [21] [22] | 95,000+ [23] | Unknown | 795,000+ |
8 | Mega Drive / Genesis | Sega | Console | 16-bit | 400,000 [15] | — | — | 400,000 |
9 | Amiga | Commodore | Computer | 16-bit | — | — | — | 400,000 [19] |
10 | Compaq IBM PC compatible | Compaq | Computer | 8-bit / 16-bit | Unknown | 365,000+ [23] | Unknown | 365,000+ |
The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1988 in Japan, according to the annual Family Computer Magazine (Famimaga) charts. [24]
Rank | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre(s) | Sales |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... | Famicom | Chunsoft | Enix | Role-playing | 3,800,000 [25] |
2 | Super Mario Bros. 3 | Famicom | Nintendo R&D4 | Nintendo | Platform | Unknown |
3 | Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87 | Famicom | Namco | Namco | Sports (baseball) | < 1,300,000 [26] |
4 | Kyūkyoku Harikiri Stadium | Famicom | Taito | Taito | Sports (baseball) | Unknown |
5 | Captain Tsubasa (Tecmo Cup Soccer Game) | Famicom | Tecmo | Tecmo | Sports (association football) | < 700,000 [27] |
6 | Momotaro Densetsu | Famicom | Hudson Soft | Hudson Soft | Role-playing | Unknown |
7 | Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu | Famicom | TOSE | Bandai | Role-playing / card battle | < 530,000 [28] |
8 | Saint Seiya: Ōgon Densetsu | Famicom | TOSE | Bandai | Action role-playing | Unknown |
9 | Final Fantasy | Famicom | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | Role-playing | < 520,000 [29] |
10 | Gegege no Kitaro: Youkai Daimakyou (Ninja Kid) | Famicom | TOSE | Bandai | Platform | Unknown |
In the United States, the NES Action Set bundled with Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt was the best-selling toy of 1988. [30] The same year, Super Mario Bros. 2 became one of the best-selling cartridges of all time, [31] Super Mario Bros. 2 and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link were the top-selling cartridges during the holiday season, [32] and The Legend of Zelda and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! each crossed 2 million sales between 1987 and 1988. [33]
The following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in the United Kingdom and United States during 1988.
Award | 2nd Gamest Awards (December 1988) [62] | 3rd Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards (February 1989) [63] | 3rd Famimaga Game Awards (February 1989) [64] |
---|---|---|---|
Arcade | Console | Famicom | |
Game of the Year | Gradius II | Dragon Quest III (Famicom) | |
Critics' Choice Awards | — | Dragon Spirit (PC Engine) Sangokushi (Famicom) Nobunaga no Yabō: Zenkokuban (Famicom) Family Circuit (Famicom) Captain Tsubasa (Famicom) Chô Wakusei Senki Metafight (Famicom) Rockman (Famicom) | — |
Best Arcade Conversion | — | R-Type (PC Engine) | — |
Best Playability | — | — | Super Mario Bros. 3 |
Best Scenario / Story | — | Final Fantasy (Famicom) | — |
Best Graphics | Forgotten Worlds | Alien Crush (PC Engine) | — |
Best Music / Sound | The Ninja Warriors | Galaga '88 (PC Engine) | Dragon Quest III |
Special Award | After Burner II | — | — |
Original / Frontier Spirit / Spotlight | Syvalion | No-Ri-Ko (PC Engine CD-ROM²) | Captain Tsubasa |
Best Character / Character Design | Bravoman ( Bravoman ) | Dragon Quest III (Famicom) | Super Mario Bros. 3 |
Best Game Company | Namco | — | — |
Best Action Game | — | Super Mario Bros. 3 (Famicom) | |
Best Shooter / Shoot 'Em Up | Gradius II / Ultimate Tiger | Gradius II (Famicom) | — |
Best RPG | — | Dragon Quest III (Famicom) | |
Best Action RPG | — | Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished (Sega Mark III) | — |
Best Adventure Game | — | Famicom Detective Club (Famicom) Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (Famicom) | Famicom Detective Club |
Best Simulation / Strategy Game | — | Famicom Wars (Famicom) | |
Best Sports Game | World Stadium | — | Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87 |
Best Puzzle Game | — | Tetris (Famicom) | — |
Best Value for Money | — | — | Dragon Quest III |
Best Ending | Gradius II | — | — |
Best Performance | — | Ninja Ryūkenden (Ninja Gaiden) | — |
Best Commercial | — | Famicom Wars (Famicom) | — |
Award | Sinclair User Awards (December 1988) [65] | 6th Golden Joystick Awards (April 1989) [66] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Arcade | 8-bit computer | 16-bit computer | Console | |
Game of the Year | Operation Wolf | Speedball | Thunder Blade (Master System) | |
Best Arcade / Coin-Op Conversion | — | Operation Wolf | — | |
Best Graphics | — | Armalyte | Rocket Ranger | — |
Best VGM / Soundtrack | — | Bionic Commando | International Karate + | — |
Best Original Game | Dynamite Düx | — | — | — |
Best Software House | — | Ocean Software | Mirrorsoft | — |
Best Progammer | — | John Phillips | The Bitmap Brothers | — |
Best Shooter / Shoot 'Em Up | Galaxy Force | — | — | — |
Best Beat 'Em Up | Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja | — | — | — |
Best Adventure Game | — | Corruption | Fish! | — |
Best Simulation Game | — | MicroProse Soccer | Falcon | — |
Best Racing Game | Power Drift | — | — | — |
The following 1988 video game releases entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40. [82]
Title | Score (out of 40) | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Platform |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e... (Dragon Warrior III) | 38 | Chunsoft | Enix | RPG | Family Computer (Famicom) |
Final Fantasy II | 35 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | ||
Super Mario Bros. 3 | 35 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Platform |
Super Mario Bros. 3 is a 1988 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released for home consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988, in North America on February 12, 1990, and in Europe on August 29, 1991. It was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, led by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.
Super Mario Bros. 2 is a 1988 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
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1990 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Dr. Mario, Dragon Quest IV, Final Fantasy III, Phantasy Star II, and Super Mario World, along with new titles such as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Magic Sword. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Final Fight in Japan and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the United States. The year's best‑selling system was the Game Boy, while the year's best-selling home video game was Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
1989 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Phantasy Star II, Super Mario Land, Super Monaco GP, along with new titles such as Big Run, Bonk's Adventure, Final Fight, Golden Axe, Strider, Hard Drivin' and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The year also saw the release of the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 in North America, and the Game Boy worldwide along with Tetris and Super Mario Land.
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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Best-selling toys of 1988 (...) 1. Action set (Nintendo)
Last year, "Super Mario Bros. 2" became one of the best selling cartridges of all time.