This Day in Video Game History: October 31

This Day in Video Game History: October 31
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This Day in Video Game History

1982

Coleco Industries announced that it had sold over 2.2 million units of its second-generation ColecoVision table-top video game console since its release in August.

Eighteen year old Kenneth Vance set a record score of 411,200 on Atari’s Kangaroo arcade game after playing it for two hours and twenty-seven minutes at Tilt Arcade in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1991

Konami released the Super Castlevania IV platform game as Akumajo Dracula for the Super Famicom in Japan. The game has the same story and setting as the first Castlevania game.

1996

Tomb Raider

Eidos Interactive released the single-player third-person shooting game Tomb Raider for the Saturn in the U.S. It was one of the best-selling in history, becoming one of the first games to be introduced into the PlayStation’s Platinum series. So much so that it spawned a popular game series and film series. Not only was it popular, it became highly influential, having introduced a number significant innovations to the third-person shooter genre. It was widely praised for its state-of-the-art graphics, sweeping soundtrack, and cinematic presentation. (ESRB: T)

Midway released the Mortal Kombat Trilogy versus fighting game for the Nintendo 64 in the U.S. (ESRB: M)

1997

Activision released the NetStorm: Islands At War real-time strategy game for Windows.

Capcom released the X-Men vs. Street Fighter versus fighting game for the Sega Saturn in Japan.

GT Interactive released the first-person shooter Duke Nukem 64 for the Nintendo 64 in the U.S. (ESRB: M)

1998

Activision released the fantasy-themed third-person shooter Heretic II, built on the Doom game engine, for personal computers in the U.S. (ESRB: T)

Activision released the 3D third-person shooter Apocalypse for the PlayStation in the U.S. It was most notable for its starring actor Bruce Willis, who provided both the likeness and voice of the game’s protagonist. (ESRB: T)

Arc System Works released the Guilty Gear weapons-based fighting game for the PlayStation and PlayStation Portable in North America. (ESRB: T)

GT Interactive released the first-person shooter Blood II: The Chosen for Windows. (ESRB: M)

Microsoft Game Studios released the Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome real-time strategy game for Windows. (ESRB: T)

Psygnosis released the single-player Psybadek platform game for the Playstation in the U.S. It will be named one of the fifty worse games of all time by Gamer Revolution. (ESRB: E)

Sony Computer Entertainment America released the Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped platform game for the PlayStation in the U.S. (ESRB: E)

1999

Acclaim released the Psychic Force 2012 cyberpunk-themed fighting game for the Dreamcast and PlayStation in the U.S. (ESRB: T)

Capcom released the single-player Resident Evil 2 survival horror game for the Nintendo 64 in the U.S. It would go on to become Capcom’s best-selling game of all time. (ESRB: M)

Interplay and Rockstar Games released the Earthworm Jim 3D platform game for personal computers and the Nintendo 64. It’s gameplay was very similar to Super Mario 64 but was well-praised by critics. (ESRB: E)

Sega announced that it had sold 750,862 Dreamcast video game systems in North America to date.

Sierra Studios released the Half-Life: Opposing Force expansion pack for the first-person shooter Half-Life for Windows in North America. It added several notable features to the popular game, including squad support and different classes of soldiers. (ESRB: M)

2001

Eidos Interactive released Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 for the PlayStation 2 in North America. It was the sequel to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and the third game in the Legacy of Kain series. (ESRB: M)

2002

Square released a remake of Final Fantasy for the PlayStation in Japan.

Square released a remake of the Final Fantasy II video game for the PlayStation in Japan.

2003

Sega released Headhunter: Redemption for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in Europe. (PEGI: 16+)

2005

LucasArts released Star Wars: Battlefront II for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Xbox in Europe. (PEGI:12+)

NCsoft released the City of Villains massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Windows in the U.S. It was the sequel to the MMORPG City of Heroes. (ESRB: T)

2006

Atari released the Neverwinter Nights 2 roleplaying game for Windows in the U.S. It was the sequel to BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights (NWN), and it was based on the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. (ESRB: T)

Electronic Arts released the Need for Speed Carbon racing game and Need for Speed Carbon Collector’s Edition for personal computers, the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360 in the U.S. (ESRB: E10+)

Hudson Entertainment released the first in a series of classic TurboGrafx-16 games as downloads through the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console.

Microsoft released a download update for the Xbox 360 in the U.S. The update adds support for 1080p High Definition resolution, HD DVD support, the ability to play WMV files, and resolves eighty-four other issues.

Rockstar Games released the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories driving game for the PlayStation Portable in North America. It will go on to sell 4.5 million copies. (ESRB: M)

Sony Computer Entertainment released Killzone: Liberation for the PlayStation Portable in North America. The game was widely recognized as being an exceptionally difficult game. (ESRB: T)

Sony Computer Entertainment of America released the ATV Offroad Fury 4 racing game for the PlayStation 2. (ESRB: E)

Square Enix released the Final Fantasy XII roleplaying game for the PlayStation 2 in North America. It was the twelfth game in the Final Fantasy series. (ESRB: T)

2007

Atari announced that its Godzilla Unleashed had gone gold for PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.

EA announced that its simulation game SimCity Societies for personal computers had gone Gold.

Midway announced that its Unreal Tournament III fighting game for personal computers had gone Gold.