This Day in Video Game History: December 20

This Day in Video Game History: December 20
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This Day in Video Game History

1987

Sega released the Phantasy Star roleplaying game for the Sega Master System in Japan.

1990

Sega released the Crack Down run and gun game for the Sega Mega drive in Japan.

1995

Atari released the Atari Karts racing game and Attack of the Mutant Penguins for the Atari Jaguar in Europe. (ESRB: E)

1996

NEC Home Electronics released Angelique Special 2 for the NEC PC-FX in Japan.

2000

3DO released World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks vehicular combat game for the PlayStation 2 in the U.S. (ESRB: T)

Crave released the The Next Tetris - Online Edition puzzle game for the Dreamcast in the U.S. (ESRB: E)

2001

Interplay released the third-person shooter Giants: Citizen Kabuto for Windows in the U.S. The game was notable for being one of the first third-person shooters to successfully incorporate real-time strategy game elements into a hybridized genre. (ESRB: T)

Konami released the Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams survival horror game for the Xbox in the U.S. Within a year of its release, over a million copies will be sold, and it’s sales would continue to be strong for years after. In 2006, the game would be declared the scariest game of all time by G4TV’s X-Play television series. (ESRB: M)

Sony Computer Entertainment of America released the Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy platform game for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. It ultimately sold over three million copies globally.

2004

Electronic Arts announced that it had purchased roughly a twenty percent (19.9) stake in developer and publisher Ubisoft pending the green light from U.S. regulatory agencies. While the details of the transaction weren’t disclosed, the deal was valued by analysts between eighty and one hundred million dollars.

“Team PI Coder” have released instructions for extracting code from Xbox 360 discs, just a month after the platform’s release. The cracking of the system’s copy protections so early in the platform’s lifecycle after Microsoft had touted it’s anti-piracy measures for the benefit of its developers pre-release came as heavy blow to the company.

Video game publisher Konami announced that it would merge its four subsidiary studios into one branch of its organization. The merger of Konami Computer Entertainment Studio, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, and Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo would be valued at US$250 million.

2005

Blizzard announced that it had exceeded the five million subscriber mark in its World of Warcraft massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Hirameki International Group released Ever 17: Out of Infinity for Windows in the U.S. (ESRB: T)

O3 Entertainment released the Chaos Field shooting game for the GameCube in the U.S. (ESRB: E)

2006

Activision released Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for the Wii in Australia.

Buena Vista Games released the Novadrome vehicular combat game for the XBox 360 via XBox Live Arcade. Novadrome featured twenty-four vehicles, three single-player modes, and fifteen maps for as many as eight players. (ESRB: E)

The lawfirm of Green Welling LLP announced a nation-wide class action lawsuit against Nintendo concerning the defective straps of its Wii Remotes. Nintendo responded with a statement that the suit was “completely without merit,” claiming that its current recall of the original straps should remedy any defects. Nintendo also advised players “not let go of the Wii remote itself,” and to “take a moment to dry [their] hands” if they started perspiring.

PC World magazine published an article entitled “The 21 biggest technology mistakes of 2006,” in which it listed Sony’s PlayStation 3 as the eighth biggest mistake of the year. The magazine’s author cites repeated distribution delays and a high price tag as the reasons behind the choice.

2007

Warhawk

Sony Computer Entertainment released the third-person shooter Warhawk for the PlayStation 3 in the U.S. (ESRB: T)