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| List of years in video games |
|---|
1998 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as F-Zero X , Marvel vs. Capcom , The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time , Resident Evil 2 , Metal Gear Solid , Crash Bandicoot: Warped , Street Fighter Alpha 3 , Gex: Enter the Gecko , Fallout 2 , Panzer Dragoon Saga , Return to Krondor and Tomb Raider III , along with new titles such as Banjo-Kazooie, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life , MediEvil , Radiant Silvergun , Spyro the Dragon , StarCraft and Xenogears . In Japan, Sega released the Dreamcast which was the first console of the sixth generation and also the company's last major console.
The year has been retrospectively considered one of the best and most influential in video game history due to the release of numerous critically acclaimed, commercially successful and influential titles across all platforms and genres at the time. [1] The year's best-selling video game console was the PlayStation for the third year in a row. The year's most critically acclaimed title was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which remains Metacritic's highest-scoring game of all time. The year's best-selling home video game worldwide was Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Pikachu for the Game Boy, while the year's highest-grossing arcade game in Japan was Tekken 3.
| Arcade | Arcade video game | DC | Dreamcast | GB | Game Boy |
| GBC | Game Boy Color | GEN | Sega Genesis / Mega Drive | MAC | Classic Mac OS, 2001 and before |
| N64 | Nintendo 64 | NEO | Neo Geo AES | NEOCD | Neo Geo CD |
| NES | Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom | PS1 | PlayStation 1 | SAT | Sega Saturn |
| SNES | Super Nintendo / Super Famicom | WIN | Microsoft Windows, all versions Windows 2000 and up |
| Action | Action game | Action RPG | Action role-playing game | Action-adventure | Action-adventure game |
| Adventure | Adventure game | Business Sim | business simulation game | City builder | city-building game |
| Dating sim | Dating sim | DCCG | Digital collectible card game | Fighting | Fighting game |
| FPS | First-person shooter | Music | Music video game | Platformer | Platformer |
| Puzzle | Puzzle video game | Racing | Racing game | Rhythm | Rhythm games |
| Roguelike | Roguelike | RPG | role-playing video game | RTS | Real-time strategy game |
| RTT | Features real-time tactical battles | Sports | Sports video game | Stealth | Stealth game |
| Strategy | Strategy video game | Tactical RPG | Tactical role-playing game | TPS | Third-person shooter |
| Virtual pet | Pet-raising simulation | Visual novel | Visual novel |
| Date | System |
|---|---|
| April 14 | Game Boy Light JP [2] |
| October 21 | Game Boy Color JP [3] |
| November 18 | Game Boy Color NA |
| November 23 | Game Boy Color EU |
| November 27 | Dreamcast JP [4] |
The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1998.
| Awards | Game of the Year | Platform(s) | Publisher(s) | Genre | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CESA Awards | The Legend of Zelda: Toki no Ocarina (Ocarina of Time) | N64 | Nintendo | Action-adventure | [5] |
| Japan Media Arts Festival | [6] | ||||
| Digitiser | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | [7] | |||
| Edge | [8] | ||||
| Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) | [9] | ||||
| Game Informer | [10] | ||||
| GamePro | [11] | ||||
| GameSpot | [12] | ||||
| Interactive Achievement Awards | [13] | ||||
| BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards | GoldenEye 007 | N64 | Nintendo | FPS | [14] |
| Video Software Dealers Association | [15] [16] | ||||
| Hyper | Final Fantasy VII | PS1, WIN | Sony, Eidos | RPG | [17] |
| RPGFan | [18] | ||||
| GameSpot | Grim Fandango | WIN | LucasArts | Adventure | [19] |
| Gamest Awards | Psychic Force 2012 | Arcade | Taito | Fighting | [20] |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | Metal Gear Solid | PS1 | Konami | Stealth | [21] |
| RPGFan | Lunar 2: Eternal Blue | SAT | Game Arts | RPG | [18] |
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform | MC score | GR score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | Nintendo | November 21, 1998 | N64 | 99/100 | 97.54% |
| Tekken 3 | Namco | March 26, 1998 | PS1 | 96/100 | 95.8% |
| Half-Life | Sierra Entertainment | November 19, 1998 | WIN | 96/100 | 94.02% |
| Metal Gear Solid | Konami | September 3, 1998 | PS1 | 94/100 | 93.24% |
| Grim Fandango | LucasArts | October 30, 1998 | WIN | 94/100 | 92.97% |
| Resident Evil 2 | Capcom | January 21, 1998 | PS1 | 89/100 | 93.13% |
| Street Fighter Alpha 3 | Capcom | December 23, 1998 | PS1 | 93/100 [25] | 90.28% [26] |
| StarCraft | Blizzard Entertainment | March 31, 1998 | WIN | 88/100 | 92.85% |
| Panzer Dragoon Saga | Sega | January 29, 1998 | SAT | — | 92.46% |
| Banjo-Kazooie | Nintendo | June 29, 1998 | N64 | 92/100 | 92.38% |
| Thief: The Dark Project | Eidos Interactive | December 1, 1998 | WIN | 92/100 | 89.41% |
| Baldur's Gate | Interplay Entertainment | December 21, 1998 | WIN | 91/100 | 91.94% |
| The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX | Nintendo | December 12, 1998 | GBC | — | 91.21% |
| International Superstar Soccer 98 | Konami | June 4, 1998 | N64 | 91/100 | 89.15% |
| Crash Bandicoot: Warped | Sony Computer Entertainment | October 31, 1998 | PS1 | 91/100 | 89.07% |
| Xenogears | Square | February 11, 1998 | PS1 | 84/100 | 90.99% |
| Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus | GT Interactive | November 17, 1998 | PS1 | 88/100 | 90.42% |
| NFL Blitz | Midway Games | September 12, 1998 | PS1 | — | 90.13% |
| NFL Blitz | Midway Games | September 9, 1998 | N64 | — | 90.02% |
| 1080° Snowboarding | Nintendo | February 28, 1998 | N64 | — | 89.60% |
| Battlezone | Activision | March 11, 1998 | WIN | — | 89.03% |
| Railroad Tycoon II | Gathering of Developers | November 2, 1998 | WIN | 89/100 | 83.15% |
| Turok 2: Seeds of Evil | Acclaim Entertainment | December 10, 1998 | N64 | 86/100 | 88.96% |
| FIFA 99 | EA Sports | October 31, 1998 | WIN | — | 88.87% |
| Caesar III | Sierra Entertainment | September 30, 1998 | WIN | — | 88.6% |
| Unreal | GT Interactive | May 22, 1998 | WIN | — | 88.58% |
| NBA Live 99 | EA Sports | November 10, 1998 | PS1 | — | 88.39% |
| R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 | Namco | December 3, 1998 | PS1 | 88/100 [25] | 88.16% [26] |
| NHL 99 | EA Sports | September 30, 1998 | WIN | — | 88.11% |
| Wario Land II | Nintendo | March 7, 1998 | GBC | — | 88.04% [26] |
| Myth II: Soulblighter | Bungie | December 28, 1998 | WIN | 88/100 | 86.39% |
| Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit | Electronic Arts | March 25, 1998 | PS1 | 88/100 | 85.63% |
| Starsiege: Tribes | Sierra Entertainment | December 23, 1998 | WIN | 88/100 | 84.77% |
| Shogo: Mobile Armor Division | Monolith Productions | October 15, 1998 | WIN | 88/100 | 81.6% |
| FIFA 99 | EA Sports | October 31, 1998 | PS1 | — | 87.95% |
| F-Zero X | Nintendo | July 14, 1998 | N64 | 85/100 | 87.61% |
| Madden NFL 99 | EA Sports | September 23, 1998 | N64 | — | 87.59% |
The following video game releases in 1998 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40. [27]
| Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Score (out of 40) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda: Toki no Ocarina (Ocarina of Time) | N64 | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 40 |
| Tekken 3 | PS1 | Namco | Fighting | 39 |
| Sonic Adventure | DC | Sega | Platformer | 38 |
| Biohazard 2 (Resident Evil 2) | PS1 | Capcom | Survival horror | 37 |
| Metal Gear Solid | PS1 | Konami | Stealth | 37 |
| Virtua Fighter 3tb | DC | Sega | Fighting | 36 |
| Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG (Panzer Dragon Saga) | SAT | Sega | RPG | 35 |
| Neo Atlas | PS1 | Artdink | Strategy | 35 |
| Shiritsu Justice Gakuen: Legion of Heroes (Rival Schools) | PS1 | Capcom | Fighting | 35 |
| Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland | GBC | Enix | RPG | 35 |
| Beatmania | PS1 | Konami | Rhythm | 35 |
| R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 | PS1 | Namco | Racing | 35 |
| Crash Bandicoot 3 (Warped) | PS1 | Sony | Platformer | 35 |
| Street Fighter Zero 3 (Street Fighter Alpha 3) | PS1 | Capcom | Fighting | 35 |
| Rank | Manufacturer | Platform | Type | Generation | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | United States | Worldwide | |||||
| 1 | Sony | PS1 | Home | 32-bit | 4,660,000 [28] | 9,130,000 [28] | 22,500,000 [28] |
| 2 | Nintendo | GB / GBC | Handheld | 8-bit | 4,730,000 [29] | 2,430,000 [30] | 12,990,000 [29] |
| 3 | Nintendo | N64 | Home | 64-bit | 1,210,000 [29] | 3,881,000 [31] | 7,860,000 [29] |
| 4 | Nintendo | SNES | Home | 16-bit | 50,000 [29] | 200,000 [31] | 1,430,000 [29] |
| 5 | Sega | DC | Home | 128-bit | 900,000 [32] | — | 900,000 |
| 6 | Sega | GEN | Home | 16-bit | — | 659,000 [31] | 659,000+ |
| 7 | Sega | SAT | Home | 32-bit | 150,000 [32] | 55,000 [31] | 205,000+ |
| 8 | Nintendo | NES | Home | 8-bit | 50,000 [29] | 120 [31] | 50,120 |
The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) of 1998 in Japan, the United States, and Germany.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | United States | Germany | Combined | |||
| 1 | Pokémon Red / Green / Blue / Pikachu | GB | 3,288,391 [a] | 4,000,000 [33] | — | 7,288,391 |
| 2 | Resident Evil 2 (Biohazard 2) | PS1 | 2,298,814 [34] | 1,194,840 [35] | Unknown | 3,493,654+ |
| 3 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | N64 | 920,000 [36] | 2,500,000 [37] | Unknown | 3,420,000+ |
| 4 | Gran Turismo | PS1 | 1,495,761 [38] | 1,431,483 [35] | 270,000+ [39] | 3,197,244+ |
| 5 | Tekken 3 | PS1 | 1,266,000 [38] | 1,113,749 [35] | 100,000+ [40] | 2,479,749+ |
| 6 | GoldenEye 007 | N64 | < 17,676 [41] | 2,300,000 [42] | Unknown | 2,300,000+ |
| 7 | Metal Gear Solid | PS1 | 765,000 [36] | 1,064,909 [35] | — | 1,829,909 |
| 8 | Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland | GBC | 1,660,000 [36] | — | — | 1,660,000 |
| 9 | Crash Bandicoot: Warped (Crash Bandicoot 3) | PS1 | 649,000 [36] | 858,726 [35] | Unknown | 1,507,726+ |
| 10 | Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back | PS1 | 395,884 [38] | 941,686 [35] | Unknown | 1,337,570+ |
The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing home video games of 1998 in the United States and Europe.
| Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Sales revenue | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Europe [43] | Combined | Inflation | |||
| 1 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | N64 | $150,000,000 [37] | €39,000,000+ ($44,000,000+) | $194,000,000+ | $370,000,000+ |
| 2 | Gran Turismo | PS1 | $58,568,520 [35] | €66,000,000+ ($74,000,000+) | $132,568,520+ | $255,745,191+ |
| 3 | Resident Evil 2 | PS1 | $58,597,202 [35] | €29,000,000+ ($33,000,000+) | $91,597,202+ | $176,705,178+ |
| 4 | GoldenEye 007 | N64 | $70,377,973+ [35] | €19,000,000+ ($21,000,000+) | $91,377,973+ | $176,282,251+ |
| 5 | Tekken 3 | PS1 | $48,554,550 [35] | €36,000,000+ ($40,000,000+) | $88,554,550+ | $170,835,431+ |
| 6 | Banjo-Kazooie | N64 | $51,790,624 [35] | €26,000,000+ ($29,000,000+) | $80,790,624+ | $155,857,617+ |
| 7 | Tomb Raider III | Unknown | €68,000,000+ ($74,000,000+) | $74,000,000+ | $143,000,000+ | |
| 8 | Pokémon Red / Blue | GB | $70,000,000+ [44] | — | $70,000,000+ | $135,000,000+ |
| 9 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | $39,184,953 [35] | €21,000,000+ ($24,000,000+) | $63,184,953+ | $121,893,553+ |
| 10 | FIFA 99 | Unknown | €50,000,000+ ($56,000,000+) | $56,000,000+ | $108,000,000+ | |
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1998.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue / Pikachu (Pokémon) | GB | Nintendo | RPG | 3,288,391 | [a] |
| 2 | Biohazard 2 (Resident Evil 2) | PS1 | Capcom | Survival horror | 2,298,814+ | [34] |
| 3 | Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland | GBC | Enix | RPG | 1,660,000 | [36] |
| 4 | Gran Turismo | PS1 | Sony | Racing (Sim) | 1,495,761 | [38] |
| 5 | Tekken 3 | PS1 | Namco | Fighting | 1,266,000 | |
| 6 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters | PS1 | Konami | DCCG | 1,175,000 | [36] |
| 7 | Parasite Eve | PS1 | Squaresoft | Horror | 1,049,000 | |
| 8 | Tales of Destiny | PS1 | Namco | Action RPG | 965,280+ | [34] |
| 9 | The Legend of Zelda: Toki no Ocarina (Ocarina of Time) | N64 | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 920,000 | [36] |
| 10 | Xenogears | PS1 | Squaresoft | RPG | 892,015 | [38] |
In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1998.
| Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Revenue | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pokémon Red / Blue | GB | Nintendo | RPG | 4,000,000 [33] | $70,000,000+ [44] | $135,000,000+ |
| 2 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | N64 | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 2,500,000 [37] | $150,000,000 [37] | $290,000,000 |
| 3 | GoldenEye 007 | N64 | Nintendo | FPS | 2,300,000 [42] | $70,377,973+ [35] | $135,770,001+ |
| 4 | Gran Turismo | PS1 | Sony | Racing (Sim) | 1,431,483 [35] | $58,568,520 [35] | $112,987,739 |
| 5 | Resident Evil 2 | PS1 | Capcom | Survival horror | 1,194,840 [35] | $58,597,202 [35] | $113,043,071 |
| 6 | Tekken 3 | PS1 | Namco | Fighting | 1,113,749 [35] | $48,554,550 [35] | $93,669,241 |
| 7 | Madden NFL 99 | PS1 | EA Sports | Sports | 1,073,777 [35] | $44,130,798 [35] | $85,135,139 |
| 8 | Metal Gear Solid | PS1 | Konami | Stealth | 1,064,909 [35] | $51,834,077 [35] | $99,995,956 |
| 9 | Banjo-Kazooie | N64 | Nintendo | Platformer | 1,054,349 [35] | $51,790,624 [35] | $99,912,129 |
| 10 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | Nintendo | Platformer | 946,411 [35] | $39,184,953 [35] | $75,593,838 |
In Europe, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing home video games of 1998.
| Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Europe sales revenue [43] | France | Germany | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales revenue | Inflation | Rank | Sales | |||
| 1 | Tomb Raider III | €68,000,000+ ($74,000,000+) | $140,000,000+ | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 2 | Gran Turismo | PS1 | €66,000,000+ ($74,000,000+) | $140,000,000+ | 1 [45] | 270,000+ [39] |
| 3 | FIFA 99 | €50,000,000+ ($56,000,000+) | $108,000,000+ | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 4 | World Cup 98 | €48,000,000+ ($54,000,000+) | $104,000,000+ | Unknown | 339,000+ [39] | |
| 5 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | N64 | €39,000,000+ ($44,000,000+) | $85,000,000+ | Unknown | Unknown |
| Tomb Raider II | €39,000,000+ ($44,000,000+) | $85,000,000+ | Unknown | 358,000+ [39] | ||
| 7 | FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 | €37,000,000+ ($41,000,000+) | $79,000,000+ | Unknown | 160,000+ [39] | |
| 8 | Tekken 3 | PS1 | €36,000,000+ ($40,000,000+) | $77,000,000+ | Unknown | 100,000+ [40] |
| 9 | Colin McRae Rally | €30,000,000+ ($34,000,000+) | $66,000,000+ | Unknown | ||
| 10 | Resident Evil 2 | PS1 | €29,000,000+ ($33,000,000+) | $64,000,000+ | ||
In Australia, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home console games of 1998. [46]
| Rank | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GoldenEye 007 | N64 | Rare | Nintendo | FPS |
| 2 | Gran Turismo | PS1 | Polys Entertainment | Sony | Racing (Sim) |
| 3 | Banjo-Kazooie | N64 | Rare | Nintendo | Platformer |
| 4 | Crash Bandicoot (Platinum) | PS1 | Naughty Dog | Sony | |
| 5 | Mario Kart 64 | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Racing (Kart) |
| 6 | Super Mario 64 | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Platformer |
| 7 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Action-adventure |
| 8 | Croc: Legend of the Gobbos | PS1 | Argonaut Software | Fox Interactive | Platformer |
| 9 | Yoshi's Story | N64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | |
| 10 | Tekken 2 (Platinum) | PS1 | Namco | Sony | Fighting |
In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1998.
| Rank | Gamest [20] | Game Machine [47] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Manufacturer | Title | Type | Points | |
| 1 | Tekken 3 | Namco | Tekken 3 | Software | 4561 |
| 2 | Street Fighter Zero 3 (Street Fighter Alpha 3) | Capcom | Virtua Striker 2 / Ver. 98 | Software | 4366 |
| 3 | Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes | Capcom | Print Club 2 | Other | 3534 |
| 4 | The King of Fighters '98 | SNK | The House of the Dead | Dedicated | 3334 |
| 5 | Virtua Fighter 3 Team Battle (Virtua Fighter 3tb) | Sega | Virtua Fighter 3 Team Battle | Dedicated | 2936 |
| 6 | The King of Fighters '97 | SNK | Sega Bass Fishing (Get Bass) | Dedicated | 2931 |
| 7 | Virtua Striker 2 | Sega | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Dedicated | 2719 |
| 8 | Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram | Sega | Strikers 1945 II | Software | 2622 |
| 9 | Street Fighter EX2 | Capcom | Final Furlong | Dedicated | 2414 |
| 10 | Virtua Striker 2 Ver. 98 | Sega | The King of Fighters '97 | Software | 2377 |
The Game Boy titles Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue were released on September 27, 1998. They became the fastest-selling Game Boy titles ever, selling a combined 200,000 copies in the first two weeks of their availability. By the end of 1998 they had sold four million units in the US alone across three versions. In Japan, across four versions the game had sold nearly 12 million copies.
Release Date: September 10, 1998