1994 год в истории видеоигр

1994 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy VI, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Virtua Fighter 2 and Doom II, along with new titles such as Daytona USA, Ace Driver, Alpine Racer and Tekken. The year's best selling video game console was the Game Boy, while the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis remained the best selling home console. The year's highest grossing arcade video games were Super Street Fighter II X (Super Street Fighter II Turbo) and Virtua Fighter in Japan, and Daytona USA and Mortal Kombat II in the United States, while the year's best selling home video game worldwide was Donkey Kong Country.

Nintendo proclaims "1994: The Year of the Cartridge". Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia. "Project Reality" is renamed the Nintendo Ultra 64. The console's design is revealed to the public for the first time in spring 1994. The second of two congressional hearings on video games takes place on March 5. Topics for discussion include the depiction of violence and sexual content in video games, their influence on children, and the prospect of governmental regulation of video game content. April – The Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) is founded in response to the hearings (name changed to the Entertainment Software Association in 2003); the IDSA founds the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in order to self regulate content in video games in the mold of the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system. April 28 – Sega and MGM make a venture to create video games, movies, and television programs. June 24 – The Computer Game Developers Association is formed by Ernest W. Adams. November – Game Zero magazine drops their print format and becomes the first video game news magazine on the web. November 10 – William Higinbotham, creator of Tennis for Two (1958), dies at 84.

The best selling arcade printed circuit board (PCB) worldwide in 1994 was SNK's Neo Geo MVS system.

In the United States, the following titles were the highest grossing arcade video games of 1994. Rank Play Meter AAMA AMOA Title Award Dedicated arcade cabinet Arcade conversion kit 1 Daytona USA, Mortal Kombat II Daytona USA (Twin) Cruis'n USA, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat II, Neo Geo MVS Diamond Mortal Kombat II 2 Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, Virtua Fighter NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, Raiden II, Super Street Fighter II, Samurai Shodown 3 rowspan="3" 4 5 6 NBA Jam: Tournament Edition Platinum 7 rowspan="3" Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, Raiden II, Revolution X Gold colspan="2" rowspan="6" 8 9 10 rowspan="3" Alien vs. Predator, Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom, Super Street Fighter II Turbo Silver 11 12

Rank Manufacturer Game console Type Generation Sales Japan USA Europe Elsewhere Worldwide1NintendoGame BoyHandheld8 bit1,140,000 7,500,000+2SegaMega Drive / GenesisHome16 bit500,0004,000,000+1,540,0001,060,000500,000 Worldwide1Donkey Kong Country (Super Donkey Kong)Super NES 956,0002,057,0066,000,0002Street Fighter IIMulti platform 941,000+989,178+ million worldwide sales during JanuaryMarch 1994. 77,910+ Street Fighter II Turbo and Special Champion Edition sales in the US during AprilAugust.5NBA JamSega Genesis, Super NES 2,313,5262,313,526+6Sonic 3 & KnucklesMega Drive/Genesis 1,473,7301,473,730+7Madden NFL 95Sega Genesis, Super NES 811,568811,568+8Super MetroidSuper NES531,000256,262+787,262+9Mighty Morphin Power RangersSega Genesis, Super NES 731,910731,910+10J. League Excite Stage '94 (Capcom's Soccer Shootout)Super Famicom714,000 714,000+

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best selling home video games of 1994. Rank Title Platform Publisher Genre Sales Ref (Reference) 1 Final Fantasy VI Super Famicom Squaresoft RPG 2,550,000+ 2 Super Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country) Super Famicom Nintendo Platformer 956,000 3 Super Street Fighter IISuper Famicom Capcom Fighting 941,000 4 J. League Excite Stage '94 (Capcom's Soccer Shootout)Super Famicom Epoch Co. Sports 714,000 5 Super Bomberman 2Super Famicom Hudson Soft Maze 713,000 6 Super Momotarō Dentetsu IIISuper Famicom Hudson Soft Simulation 610,000 7 Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 3Super Famicom Bandai Fighting 595,000 8 Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo (Mystery of the Emblem)Super Famicom Nintendo Tactical RPG 563,000 9 Super MetroidSuper Famicom Nintendo Metroidvania 531,000 10 Mother 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū (EarthBound)Super Famicom Nintendo RPG 518,000

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best selling home video games of 1994. Rank Title Platform(s) Publisher(s) Genre Sales Ref (Reference(s)) 1 NBA Jam Sega Genesis, Super NES Acclaim Entertainment Sports2,313,526 341,728 Super Street Fighter II sales up until September. 448,452 Street Fighter II, Turbo and Special Champion Edition sales in December. February SimCity 2000 PC, MacMindscapeCity building March NBA JamMega Drive, SNES, GGAcclaimSports (basketball) AprilDoomPCId SoftwareFPS May World Cup StrikerSNESU. S. GoldSports (football) June World Cup USA '94 Mega Drive, SNES, GGU. S. GoldSports (football) July Star Wars: TIE Fighter PCVirgin InteractiveSpace combat August Super Street Fighter II Mega DriveSegaFighting September Mortal Kombat II SNES, SMD, SMS, GG, GBAcclaimFighting October Doom II PCVirgin InteractiveFPS November FIFA Soccer 95 Mega DriveEA SportsSports (football) December

+ Notable releases of the year 1994 Release Title System Developer/Publisher Notes February 2 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 SMD Sega Third installment of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Introduces Knuckles the Echidna. March X COM: UFO Defense DOS Mythos Games/MicroProse March 19 Super Metroid SNES Nintendo Third in the Metroid series; distributed on a 24 megabit cartridge. Noted as the "best game of all time" by Electronic Gaming Monthly in 2002. March 25 The Elder Scrolls: Arena DOS Bethesda Open world action role playing game, and the first game in the Elder Scrolls series April 2 Final Fantasy VI SNES Square Co. Sixth title in the Final Fantasy series. Released on October 11 in the US. June 14 Donkey Kong 94 GB Nintendo Remake of the first four stages of the original game, adding 96 puzzle based levels and new mechanics July TIE Fighter DOS LucasArts August 2 Earthworm Jim SNES, SMD Shiny Entertainment August 25 The King of Fighters '94 Neo SNK First title in the King of Fighters series August 27 EarthBound SNES Nintendo The only title in the series to be localized until Mother was released in the United States as EarthBound Beginnings in 2015. Also introduces Ness. September Master of Magic DOS MicroProse September 9 Mortal Kombat II SNES Sculptured Software/Acclaim Entertainment Released with all blood and fatalities left intact, the first major release on any Nintendo console at that point to have such content. September 22 System Shock DOS Looking Glass Studios/Origin Systems October 10 Doom II DOS id Software Sequel to the original first person shooter DOOM. Doom Lin Dave D. Taylor/id Software Port of the original game, becoming the first major game for the Linux operating system. October 17 Sonic & Knuckles SMD Sega The sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, allowing players to play as either Sonic or Knuckles. The cartridge features an adapter that can connect to Sonic 3, allowing the two games to be played consecutively. October 28 Killer Instinct Arcade Rare The first arcade machine with an internal hard disk. November 15 Warcraft: Orcs & Humans DOS Blizzard Entertainment The first game in the Warcraft franchise. Adapted into the 2016 film of the same name. November 15 NFL '95 Sega Genesis and Sega Game Gear Double Diamond Software Genesis and Blue Sky Software Game gear Sixth game in the Joe Montana Football/NFL series. November 21 Donkey Kong Country SNES Rare/Nintendo The first in the Donkey Kong Country series. Features 3D pre rendered graphics. Also introduces Diddy Kong and King K. Rool. November 23 King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride DOS Sierra On Line First in the series to use SVGA graphics. December The Need for Speed 3DO Electronic Arts Launched one of the most successful racing game franchises of all time. DecemberMagic CarpetDOS, PS1, Sega SaturnBullfrog ProductionsAction video game developed by Bullfrog Productions, a title deemed innovative and visually impressive at the time of its release, which features 3D real time visuals. December Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger DOS Origin Space combat simulator game that adds interactive movie elements with big name actors. One of the most expensive games developed for the time, costing about $4 million to produce. December 9 Tekken Arcade Namco Namco's first 3D fighting game, spawning the Tekken franchise. December 10 Wario's Woods NES Nintendo The last official game to be released on the NES in North America before Nintendo would officially discontinue production of the console. December 16 King's Field PS1 FromSoftware Released in Japan only, first in the King's Field series and the first 3D action RPG to be developed for a home console. Considered to be the predecessor of the Dark Souls series. Introduced the Moonlight Sword. December 17 Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium SMD Sega December 21 Marathon Mac Bungie One of the earliest original (non ported) first person shooters for the Mac computer. December 27 Heretic DOS, Mac Raven Software/id Software First in the Heretic/Hexen series and also the first game bundled with DWANGO, one of the earliest online multiplayer services