1988 in video games

1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III, Super Contra, 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 bestTemplate:Nbhselling 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.

Events

• Out Run wins Game of the Year at the 5th Golden Joystick Awards, for the year 1987.
• June – Nintendo releases the last issue (#7) of Nintendo Fun Club News.
• July – Nintendo releases the first issue of Nintendo Power magazine.
• December - Namco releases their first 3D polygon video game, Winning Run, running on the Namco System 21 arcade board.

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.

Rank	Gamest<ref>Template:Cite magazine alternate url</ref>		Game Machine<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
	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	{{#expr:2264+1304}}
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

Hong Kong and United States

In Hong Kong and the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988.

Rank	Hong Kong	United States
	Bondeal<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Play Meter	AMOA<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
			Dedicated cabinet	Conversion kit
1	RoboCop	Double Dragon<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Double Dragon	Shinobi
2	Chequered Flag	rowspan="4" Template: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	rowspan="5" Template:Unknown	colspan="2" rowspan="5" Template:N/A
7	Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja
8	Blasteroids
9	Vigilante
10	Xybots

United Kingdom

Operation Wolf was the top-earning arcade game of 1988 in the United Kingdom.<ref name="retrogamer153">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="CVG">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The following titles were the top-grossing games on the monthly arcade charts in 1988.

Month	Title	Manufacturer	Genre	Template:Abbr
January	Operation Wolf	Taito	Light gun shooter	<ref name="YS27">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
February				<ref name="YS28">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
March				<ref name="YS29">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
April	Template:Unknown	Template:Unknown	Template:Unknown	Template:Unknown
May	Template:Unknown	Template:Unknown	Template:Unknown	Template:Unknown
June	Street Fighter	Capcom	Fighting	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1988	Operation Wolf			<ref name="retrogamer153"/>

Best-selling home systems

Rank	System(s)	Manufacturer	Type	Generation	Sales
					Japan	USA	EU	Worldwide
1	Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom	Nintendo	Console	8-bit	1,590,000<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref>	7,000,000<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Unknown	8,590,000+
2	Mark III / Master System	Sega	Console	8-bit	240,000<ref name="Tanaka">Template:Cite book</ref>	{{#expr:8,000,000*0.13 round −5}}<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	{{#expr:350,000−155,000}}<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	1,435,000+
3	Commodore 64	Commodore	Computer	8-bit	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	citation	CitationClass=web }} {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
4	IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC)	IBM	Computer	16-bit	Template:Unknown	1,229,000<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:Unknown	1,229,000+
5	Mac	Apple Inc.	Computer	16-bit	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	900,000<ref name=":222" />
6	PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16	NEC	Console	16-bit	830,000<ref name=":2" />	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	830,000
7	NEC UltraLite / PC-88 / PC-98	NEC	Computer	8-bit / 16-bit	{{#expr:1375*0.51 round -1}},000<ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":22">Template:Cite book</ref>	{{#expr:115.8/1.215 round 0}},000+<ref name=":5">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:Unknown	795,000+
8	Mega Drive / Genesis	Sega	Console	16-bit	400,000<ref name="Tanaka" />	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	400,000
9	Amiga	Commodore	Computer	16-bit	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	400,000<ref name=":222" />
10	Compaq IBM PC compatible	Compaq	Computer	8-bit / 16-bit	Template:Unknown	{{#expr:469.5/1.285 round 0}},000+<ref name=":5"/>	Template:Unknown	365,000+

Best-selling home video games

Japan

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.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Rank	Title	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Genre(s)	Sales
1	Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e...	Famicom	Chunsoft	Enix	Role-playing	3,800,000<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
2	Super Mario Bros. 3	Famicom	Nintendo R&D4	Nintendo	Platform	Template:Unknown
3	Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87	Famicom	Namco	Namco	Sports (baseball)	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
4	Kyūkyoku Harikiri Stadium	Famicom	Taito	Taito	Sports (baseball)	Template:Unknown
5	Captain Tsubasa (Tecmo Cup Soccer Game)	Famicom	Tecmo	Tecmo	Sports (association football)	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
6	Momotaro Densetsu	Famicom	Hudson Soft	Hudson Soft	Role-playing	Template:Unknown
7	Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu	Famicom	TOSE	Bandai	Role-playing / card battle	< 530,000<ref name="shueisha">Template:Cite book</ref>
8	Saint Seiya: Ōgon Densetsu	Famicom	TOSE	Bandai	Action role-playing	Template:Unknown
9	Final Fantasy	Famicom	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	Role-playing	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
10	Gegege no Kitaro: Youkai Daimakyou (Ninja Kid)	Famicom	TOSE	Bandai	Platform	Template:Unknown

United Kingdom and United States

In the United States, the NES Action Set bundled with Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt was the best-selling toy of 1988.<ref name="Toyland">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The same year, Super Mario Bros. 2 became one of the best-selling cartridges of all time,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Super Mario Bros. 2 and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link were the top-selling cartridges during the holiday season,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and The Legend of Zelda and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! each crossed Template:Nowrap sales between 1987 and 1988.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in the United Kingdom and United States during 1988.

Month	United Kingdom		United States
	All systems	ZX Spectrum	Weeks 1-2	Weeks 3-4	Platform	Template:Abbr
Template:Dts	Template:Unknown	Out Run<ref name="YS28"/>	Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Top Gun<ref name="Famitsu43">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	NES
Template:Dts	Template:Unknown	Platoon<ref name="YS29"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Famitsu43"/>
Template:Dts	Template:Unknown		Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	The Legend of Zelda<ref name="Famitsu9-USA">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Unknown	We Are the Champions<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Ice Hockey<ref name="Famitsu9-USA" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Dts	Steve Davis Snooker<ref name='cvg81charts'>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Target: Renegade<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Ice Hockey	The Legend of Zelda	NES	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Dts	Target: Renegade (ZX Spectrum)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>		Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	The Legend of Zelda<ref name=":1">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	NES
Template:Dts	Football Manager 2<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>		The Legend of Zelda<ref name=":1"/>	Double Dragon<ref name=":0">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Dts	Football Manager 2<ref name="CVG84">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	European Five-a-Side<ref name="CVG84"/>	R.B.I. Baseball<ref name=":0"/>	Double Dragon<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Dts	Bomb Jack<ref name="CVG85">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Football Manager 2<ref name="CVG85"/>	Double Dragon		NES	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Dts	Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge<ref name="CVG86">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Bomb Jack<ref name="CVG86"/>	Super Mario Bros. 2		NES	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Dts	Last Ninja 2<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>					<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:Dts	Operation Wolf<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>				RoboCop<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1988			Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt		NES	<ref name="Toyland"/>

Top-rated games

Major awards

Japan

Award	2nd Gamest Awards (December 1988)<ref>Template:Cite magazine alternate url</ref>	3rd Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards (February 1989)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	3rd Famimaga Game Awards (February 1989)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
	Arcade	Console	Famicom
Game of the Year	Gradius II	Dragon Quest III (Famicom)
Critics' Choice Awards	Template:N/A	Dragon Spirit (PC Engine) Sangokushi (Famicom) Nobunaga no Yabō: Zenkokuban (Famicom) Family Circuit (Famicom) Captain Tsubasa (Famicom) Chô Wakusei Senki Metafight (Famicom) Rockman (Famicom)	Template:N/A
Best Arcade Conversion	Template:N/A	R-Type (PC Engine)	Template:N/A
Best Playability	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Super Mario Bros. 3
Best Scenario / Story	Template:N/A	Final Fantasy (Famicom)	Template:N/A
Best Graphics	Forgotten Worlds	Alien Crush (PC Engine)	Template:N/A
Best Music / Sound	The Ninja Warriors	Galaga '88 (PC Engine)	Dragon Quest III
Special Award	After Burner II	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
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	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Best Action Game	Template:N/A	Super Mario Bros. 3 (Famicom)
Best Shooter / Shoot 'Em Up	Gradius II / Ultimate Tiger	Gradius II (Famicom)	Template:N/A
Best RPG	Template:N/A	Dragon Quest III (Famicom)
Best Action RPG	Template:N/A	Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished (Sega Mark III)	Template:N/A
Best Adventure Game	Template:N/A	Famicom Detective Club (Famicom) Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (Famicom)	Famicom Detective Club
Best Simulation / Strategy Game	Template:N/A	Famicom Wars (Famicom)
Best Sports Game	World Stadium	Template:N/A	Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87
Best Puzzle Game	Template:N/A	Tetris (Famicom)	Template:N/A
Best Value for Money	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Dragon Quest III
Best Ending	Gradius II	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Best Performance	Template:N/A	Ninja Ryūkenden (Ninja Gaiden)	Template:N/A
Best Commercial	Template:N/A	Famicom Wars (Famicom)	Template:N/A

United Kingdom

Award	Sinclair User Awards (December 1988)<ref name="SU">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	6th Golden Joystick Awards (April 1989)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
	Arcade	8-bit computer	16-bit computer	Console
Game of the Year	Operation Wolf		Speedball	Thunder Blade (Master System)
Best Arcade / Coin-Op Conversion	Template:N/A	Operation Wolf		Template:N/A
Best Graphics	Template:N/A	Armalyte	Rocket Ranger	Template:N/A
Best VGM / Soundtrack	Template:N/A	Bionic Commando	International Karate +	Template:N/A
Best Original Game	Dynamite Düx	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Best Software House	Template:N/A	Ocean Software	Mirrorsoft	Template:N/A
Best Progammer	Template:N/A	John Phillips	The Bitmap Brothers	Template:N/A
Best Shooter / Shoot 'Em Up	Galaxy Force	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Best Beat 'Em Up	Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Best Adventure Game	Template:N/A	Corruption	Fish!	Template:N/A
Best Simulation Game	Template:N/A	MicroProse Soccer	Falcon	Template:N/A
Best Racing Game	Power Drift	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A

United States

Award	Computer Gaming World (November 1988)<ref name="cgw198811">Template:Cite magazine</ref>		Electronic Gaming Monthly (1989)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Computer Entertainer Awards of Excellence (January 1989)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>		VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (February 1989)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
	Master System	NES	Console	Console	Computer	Console	Computer
Game of the Year	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Double Dragon (NES)	Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES) Phantasy Star (SMS)	Template:N/A	Zaxxon 3D (Master System)	Superstar Ice Hockey
Entertainment Program of the Year	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Rocket Ranger (AMI) Wizardry IV (APL2) Bubble Ghost (GS) Captain Blood (ST) Pool of Radiance (C64) Battlehawks 1942 (IBM PC) The Colony (Mac)	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Arcade Conversion	Out Run	Arkanoid	Rampage (Master System)	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Arkanoid (NES)
Best Graphics	Rocky	Side Pocket	Phantasy Star (SMS)	rowspan="2" Template:N/A	King's Quest IV	Side Pocket (NES)	Rocket Ranger
Sound / Soundtrack			Template:N/A
Original / Innovative	Template:N/A	Jaws	Blaster Master (NES)	Monopoly (Master System)	Battle Chess	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Action / Arcade-Style	Space Harrier	R.C. Pro-Am	Contra (NES)	Template:N/A	Chop N' Drop	Blaster Master (NES)	Skate or Die!
Shooter / Target Game	Missile Defense 3-D	Hogan's Alley		Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Best Adventure Game / Fantasy	Template:N/A	The Legend of Zelda	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Manhunter: New York	The Legend of Zelda (NES)	Neuromancer
Best Strategy Game	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Decisive Battles	Monopoly (NES)	The Fool's Errand
Best Simulation / Simulator	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	P51 Mustang Flight Sim PT-109 (Mac)	Template:N/A	Test Drive
Best Sports Game	Great Volleyball	Pro Wrestling	Bases Loaded (NES)	Ice Hockey (NES) Great Basketball (SMS)	Star Rank Boxing (APL2) Fast Break (C64) Jack Nicklaus Golf (PC)	Bases Loaded (NES)	Super Bowl Sunday
Best Action-Strategy	Monopoly	Raid on Bungeling Bay	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Tetris
Designer of the Year	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Ezra Sidran	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Best Educational	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Mixed-Up Mother Goose	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Most Humorous	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Shufflepuck Café (Mac)	Template:N/A	Template:N/A

Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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

Business

• New companies: Eurocom, Image Works, Koeo, Stormfront, Visual Concepts, Walt Disney Computer Software
• Defunct: Aackosoft, Coleco, Sente, Spectravideo
• Activision renamed to Mediagenic
• Nintendo vs. Camerica lawsuit: Nintendo sues Camerica over the clone production of an Advantage joystick controller for the NES console

Notable releases

Arcade

• April – Namco releases Assault, which may be the first game to use hardware rotation of sprites and the background.
• August – Sega releases Altered Beast, later ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis where it was packaged with the console in North America and Europe.
• December – Capcom releases Ghouls 'n Ghosts, the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins.
• December – Namco releases Winning Run, the first polygonal 3D arcade racing game.
• December – Technōs Japan releases Double Dragon II: The Revenge, the first sequel to Double Dragon, released during the previous year.
• Atari Games releases an official arcade version of Tetris as well as Cyberball and Toobin'.
• Namco releases World Stadium, Berabow Man, Märchen Maze, Bakutotsu Kijūtei, which is the sequel to Baraduke, Ordyne, Metal Hawk, World Court, Splatterhouse, which is the first game to get a parental advisory disclaimer, Mirai Ninja, Face Off and Phelios.
• Williams releases the violent, drug-themed NARC, beginning a run of major hits for the company.

Home

• January 2 – Electronic Arts releases Wasteland.
• January 5 – shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic is one of the first NES-style scrolling platform games for MS-DOS, setting the stage for a subsequent shareware boom.
• January 8 – Konami releases Super Contra.
• January 14 – Konami releases Konami Wai Wai World the first ever crossover game features cast of all star characters from various video game franchises & non-video game properties such as characters from blockbuster movies.
• January 29 – the first commercial versions of Tetris are released.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• February 10 – Enix releases Dragon Quest III.
• March – R.C. Pro-Am is released and becomes a hit for the NES, drawing attention to UK developer Rare.
• July 20 – Capcom releases Bionic Commando, for NES/Famicom based on the 1987 arcade game of the same title.
• August – Zortech releases Big Bang.
• October 5 – Origin Systems releases Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny, which includes a time-of-day system and daily schedules for non-player characters.
• October 9 – Nintendo revamps Doki Doki Panic and releases it as Super Mario Bros. 2, for the Nintendo Entertainment System in America and the PAL region. Birdo made her debut in this game and released in Japan as Super Mario USA in 1992.
• October 23 – Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Famicom in Japan. First appearance of the Koopalings.
• December 1 – Nintendo releases Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in America. The game had been released nearly two years earlier in Japan on the Famicom Disk System, before America even saw the first The Legend of Zelda.
• December 9 – Tecmo releases Ninja Gaiden for the NES/Famicom.
• December 17 – Square Co. releases Final Fantasy II for the Famicom as the second installment of the Final Fantasy series.
• December 24 – Capcom releases Mega Man 2 in Japan, eventually becoming the highest-selling installment of the entire Mega Man franchise with a total of 1.5 million copies sold.
• Pool of Radiance the first of the SSI Gold Box games is released, the first computer RPG officially based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
• Superior Software release Exile on the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro. A complex arcade adventure, it is the first with a full physics engine.
• Sega releases Phantasy Star outside Japan for the Master System, the first in the company's most successful series of role-playing video games.
• Electronic Arts releases John Madden Football for the Apple II, starting its highly successful line of American football games.
• Interplay's animated chess program Battle Chess is released for the Amiga, then widely ported.
• Pioneer Plague makes use of the Amiga's 4096 color Hold-And-Modify mode, something not thought possible for animated games.
• AMC Verlag releases Herbert for the Atari 8-bit computers.

Hardware

File:Sega-Mega-Drive-JP-Mk1-Console-Set.jpg

Sega Mega Drive

• October 29 – Mega Drive released in Japan.
• Nintendo buys the rights to Bandai's Family Trainer and re-releases it as the Power Pad.
• Namco releases the Namco System 21, the first arcade system board specifically designed for 3D polygon graphics.

See also

• 1988 in games