1993 in video games
1993 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Star Fox, Virtua Fighter and Ridge Racer.
Events
- March – In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super Play starts. The original name is Super Power.
- Nintendo and Silicon Graphics collaborate and begin work on "Project Reality". The project is officially announced in October.
- The first of two congressional hearings on video games takes place on December 7. 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.
Business
- New companies: Croteam, nVidia, Take-Two Interactive, Shiny
- Defunct companies: DK'Tronics, Epyx
- Magnavox is acquired by the Carlyle Group
- MicroProse is acquired by Spectrum HoloByte
Notable releases
| Date | Dev. / Pub. | Game Title | Console | Notes |
| February | LucasArts | ' | PC | - |
| February | Nintendo | Star Fox | SNES | The first game to use the new Super FX chip |
| March | Nintendo | Kirby's Adventure | NES | Introduced Kirby's ability to take on the powers of enemies he has eaten, which would go on to become a staple of the franchise. First appearance of Meta Knight. |
| April | Virgin Interactive | The 7th Guest | PC | Sold over two million copies and was widely regarded as one of three "killer apps" that accelerated the sales of CD-ROM drives. Bill Gates also called The 7th Guest "the new standard in interactive entertainment" |
| June | LucasArts | Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle | PC | - |
| June | Nintendo | ' | Game Boy | - |
| June | Electronic Arts | Syndicate | PC | - |
| July | Nintendo | Super Mario All-Stars | SNES | Featured upgraded 16-bit versions of the first four Super Mario games. Also Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels makes its debut in the Western region. |
| August | Square | Secret of Mana | SNES | Second "Action Role-Playing Game" after Final Fantasy Adventure |
| August | Activision | Return to Zork | PC | - |
| September | MicroProse | Master of Orion | PC | - |
| September | Sega | Sonic CD | Sega CD | First appearance of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic to the Sonic the Hedgehog series. |
| September | Broderbund | Myst | PC | One of '93's key games, with lots of interesting facts including that Myst was the best-selling PC title on record, with 6 million units sold since its launch. To date, the franchise has sold over 12 million units. |
| November | LucasArts | Sam & Max Hit the Road | PC | - |
| November | Quintet | Illusion of Gaia | SNES | - |
| November | Capcom | Mega Man 6 | NES | - |
| November | Virgin | Disney's Aladdin | Genesis | Crowned "Genesis Game of The Year" at the Electronic Gaming Awards voted on by the public |
| November | Nintendo | ClayFighter | SNES | Thought of as a parody of Street Fighter & Mortal Kombat, but actually wasn't, and was re-released to the Wii. |
| November | Sega | Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball | Genesis | - |
| December | Sierra | PC | - | |
| December | Id Software | Doom | PC | Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential games of all time, especially in the first-person-shooter genre. |
| December | Capcom | Mega Man X | SNES | - |
Hardware
- Sega releases the Model 2, an arcade system board that introduces 3D texture filtering. It becomes their most popular arcade system board.
- Fujitsu releases the FM Towns Marty in Japan, as the first 32-bit home console, starting the fifth console generation.
- Panasonic, GoldStar and Sanyo release the first versions of the 3DO 32-bit console
- Atari Corporation releases the Jaguar home console, calling it the first 64-bit video game system.
- Commodore Business Machines releases the Amiga CD32 multimedia home console.
- Nintendo releases a smaller redesigned NES, which allows cartridges to be inserted at the top of the console, instead of the front.
- Pioneer releases the LaserActive multimedia home console
- Sega's Mega-CD released in Europe and Australia.
Sales
Highest-selling console and handheld titles according to Babbage's
, an American video game retailer, released an Electronic Gaming Monthly-exclusive monthly list of the chain's highest-selling console and handheld titles.;Highest-selling NES titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Tetris | Nintendo | Puzzle | 11 | #3 |
| Tecmo Super Bowl | Tecmo | Sports | 10 | #1 |
| Dragon Quest IV | Enix | Role-playing | 10 | #2 |
| Tecmo NBA Basketball | Tecmo | Sports | 9 | #1 |
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | Nintendo | Platform | 9 | #3 |
| Kirby's Adventure | Nintendo | Platform | 7 | #1 |
| ' | Konami | Beat 'em up | 7 | #2 |
| Jurassic Park | Ocean Software | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Super Mario Bros. 2 | Nintendo | Platform | 5 | #5 |
| ' | Konami | Platform | 5 | #4 |
;Highest-selling SNES titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| ' | Capcom | Fighting | 7 | #1 |
| Star Fox | Nintendo | Rail shooter | 6 | #1 |
| Super Mario Kart | Nintendo | Kart racing | 6 | #2 |
| Mortal Kombat | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 4 | #1 |
| ' | Capcom | Fighting | 4 | #1 |
| Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind | Accolade | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| Super Star Wars | JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment | Run and gun | 4 | #3 |
| Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs | Electronic Arts | Sports | 3 | #1 |
| Batman Returns | Konami | Beat 'em up | 3 | #2 |
| Mario Is Missing! | The Software Toolworks | Educational | 3 | #2 |
;Highest-selling Sega Genesis titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| PGA Tour Golf II | Electronic Arts | Sports | 8 | #1 |
| Road Rash II | Electronic Arts | Racing | 7 | #4 |
| NHLPA Hockey '93 | Electronic Arts | Sports | 6 | #2 |
| X-Men | Sega | Action | 5 | #1 |
| HardBall III | Accolade | Sports | 5 | #5 |
| Mortal Kombat | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 4 | #1 |
| R.B.I. Baseball '93 | Tengen | Sports | 4 | #3 |
| Tony La Russa Baseball | Electronic Arts | Sports | 4 | #2 |
| ' | Capcom | Fighting | 4 | #2 |
| Bill Walsh College Football | Electronic Arts | Sports | 4 | #3 |
;Highest-selling Sega CD titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Night Trap | Sega | Interactive movie | 10 | #2 |
| Road Blaster | Renovation Products | Interactive movie | 9 | #1 |
| Sewer Shark | Sony Imagesoft | Rail shooter | 7 | #4 |
| Jaguar XJ220 | Core Design | Racing | 6 | #1 |
| The Adventures of Willy Beamish | Sierra Entertainment | Adventure | 6 | #1 |
| Batman Returns | Sega | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Final Fight | Sega | Beat 'em up | 5 | #1 |
| Time Gal | Renovation Products | Interactive movie | 5 | #2 |
| After Burner III | Sega | Shoot 'em up | 5 | #4 |
| Black Hole Assault | Micronet co., Ltd. | Fighting | 5 | #7 |
;Highest-selling Game Boy titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| ' | Nintendo | Platform | 12 | #1 |
| Super Mario Land | Nintendo | Platform | 12 | #2 |
| Kirby's Dream Land | Nintendo | Platform | 11 | #1 |
| NBA All-Star Challenge | LJN | Sports | 10 | #4 |
| Tetris | Nintendo | Puzzle | 9 | #5 |
| Golf | Nintendo | Sports | 7 | #4 |
| Yoshi's Cookie | Nintendo | Puzzle | 6 | #3 |
| ' | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Yoshi | Nintendo | Puzzle | 5 | #4 |
| Baseball | Nintendo | Sports | 5 | #7 |
;Highest-selling Game Gear titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sega | Platform | 9 | #1 |
| Columns | Sega | Puzzle | 7 | #1 |
| Taz-Mania | Sega | Platform | 7 | #2 |
| Streets of Rage | Sega | Beat 'em up | 7 | #2 |
| Batman Returns | Sega | Platform | 7 | #3 |
| ' | Sega | Sports | 6 | #4 |
| Sega | Platform | 6 | #1 | |
| Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse | Sega | Platform | 6 | #2 |
| Defenders of Oasis | Sega | Role-playing | 5 | #4 |
| Prince of Persia | Tengen | Platform | 5 | #7 |
Highest-renting console titles according to Blockbuster Video
, an American chain of video rental shops, released a GamePro-exclusive monthly list of the chain's highest-renting console titles.;Highest-renting NES titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Tecmo NBA Basketball | Tecmo | Sports | 12 | #1 |
| ' | Konami | Platform | 6 | #1 |
| Mega Man 5 | Capcom | Platform | 6 | #2 |
| ' | LJN | Action-adventure | 6 | #2 |
| Battletoads/Double Dragon | Nintendo | Beat 'em up | 6 | #4 |
| Kirby's Adventure | Nintendo | Platform | 5 | #1 |
| Jurassic Park | Ocean Software | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Tecmo Super Bowl | Tecmo | Sports | 5 | #1 |
| Home Alone 2 | THQ | Action | 5 | #3 |
| ' | Acclaim Entertainment | Platform | 5 | #4 |
;Highest-renting SNES titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs | Electronic Arts | Sports | 7 | #4 |
| ' | Capcom | Fighting | 5 | #1 |
| ' | Capcom | Fighting | 5 | #6 |
| WWF Royal Rumble | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 4 | #2 |
| Super Star Wars | JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment | Run and gun | 4 | #1 |
| Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge | LJN | Action-adventure | 4 | #1 |
| Tecmo Super NBA Basketball | Tecmo | Sports | 4 | #1 |
| Star Fox | Nintendo | Rail shooter | 4 | #1 |
| Road Runner's Death Valley Rally | Sunsoft | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| Mortal Kombat | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 3 | #1 |
;Highest-renting Sega Genesis titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| X-Men | Sega | Action | 8 | #1 |
| ' | Sega | Fighting | 6 | #2 |
| Road Rash II | Electronic Arts | Racing | 6 | #7 |
| Streets of Rage 2 | Sega | Beat 'em up | 5 | #3 |
| Cool Spot | Virgin Interactive | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sega | Platform | 4 | #1 |
| Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs | Electronic Arts | Sports | 4 | #3 |
| Flashback | U.S. Gold | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| R.B.I. Baseball '93 | Tengen | Sports | 4 | #4 |
| Mortal Kombat | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 3 | #1 |
;Highest-renting Sega CD titles of 1993
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Batman Returns | Sega | Action-adventure | 4 | #2 |
| Night Trap | Sega | Interactive movie | 4 | #4 |
| Road Blaster | Renovation Products | Interactive movie | 4 | #3 |
| Jaguar XJ220 | Core Design | Racing | 4 | #5 |
| Final Fight | Sega | Beat 'em up | 3 | #1 |
| Sewer Shark | Sony Imagesoft | Rail shooter | 3 | #7 |
| Joe Montana Football | Sega | Sports | 2 | #1 |
| Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin | Sega | Action | 2 | #2 |
| After Burner III | Sega | Shoot 'em up | 2 | #7 |
| Time Gal | Renovation Products | Interactive movie | 2 | #7 |