Video Game History: On This Day in Video Game History: August 16

Page content

This Day in Video Game History

1988

Sierra Entertainment releases the ground-breaking adventure game King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella for Apple GS/OS and MS-DOS. It’s the first widely-released, fully graphical adventure game to feature a female protagonist, though several earlier text-based interactive fiction games had featured female protagonists as well. It is also the first commercial entertainment software to support for sound cards and synthesizers such as AdLib and Roland MT-32. The technological advance means that the game is the first to feature realistic sound effects and an orchestral music score such as a film might. The effects create an atmosphere such as was previously impossible with standard one-channel PC speaker sound. Famed Hollywood composer William Goldstein was commissioned for the game, which includes over seventy-five short, original melodies.

1999

Eidos Interactive releases the single-player third-person adventure game Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver for the PlayStation and Windows. ESRB: T (Teen)

2000

Acclaim Entertainment releases the fighting game ECW Anarchy Rulz for the PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast. ECW is an accronym for Extreme Championship Wrestling. The game is based on the profession wrestling program and the sequel to the 2000 game ECW Hardcore Revolution. ESRB: T (Teen)

Square Electronic Arts releases the single-player roleplaying game (RPG) Chrono Cross for the PlayStation in North America. The game follows a boy named Serge who discovers an parallel dimension in which he died. Now, he must uncover the events that caused the two dimension to diverge and locate the Frozen Flame before it’s too late. While gameplay is typical of the game’s contemporaries, it differentiates itself in several ways. The game’s magic system, for instance, focuses on elemental control rather spells, and a player’s seven points of stamina is expended during battles, then slowly regained over time. ESRB: T (Teen)

2002

3DO’s puzzle game Aqua Aqua for the PlayStation 2 goes Platinum.

Majesco releases the first-person shooter (FPS) Mobile Forces for Windows in North America. ESRB: T (Teen)

Sierra Entertainment releases the expansion pack Aliens Versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt Expansion Pack for the first-person shooter (FPS) Aliens versus Predator 2 for Windows in Europe. The pack includes new weapons and maps. ELSPA: 15+ OFLC: MA15+ USK: 16+

Ubisoft releases the real-time strategy game Conflict Zone for the PlayStation 2 in Europe.

2005

Capcom releases the single-player first-person shooter (FPS) Darkwatch for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in the US. The game casts players as Jericho Cross, a vampire who must choose to hunt the forces of darkness or become one of them, as the player chooses. The game is one of several recent releases that employs the device of allowing players to choose their moral alignment. ESRB: M (Mature)

Konami releases Death Jr. for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in North America. While the game receives a mediocre reception from critics and consumers, it receives praise for its story themes and artwork, both of which imitate Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. ESRB: T (Teen)

Microsoft releases the single-player roleplaying game (RPG) Dungeon Siege II for Windows. ESRB: M (Mature)

Namco releases the platform game Pac ‘n Roll for the Nintendo DS in North America. The game features a 3D version of the classic arcade character Pac-Man. ESRB: E (Everyone)

Namco releases the hybrid roleplaying and side-scrolling game Sigma Star Saga for the Game Boy Advance in North America. ESRB: E (Everyone)

Nokia releases Glimmerati for the Nokia N-Gage handheld video game system in the US.

Play It Ltd releases the side-scrolling James Pond 2 for the Gameboy Advance. The game is a remake of a 1991 Commodore Amiga game of the same title. The games lampoons the James Bond franchise.

Sega releases the game compilation Sonic Gems Collection for the GameCube globally and for the PlayStation 2 in Europe and Japan. The compilation includes: Sonic R, Sonic the Fighters, and Sonic the Hedgehog CD, as well as six games ported from Game Gear versions: Sonic Drift 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Spinball, Sonic Triple Trouble, Tails Adventure, and Tails’ Skypatrol. The Japanese version includes an additional four unlockable games that are excluded from the compilation outside of Japan to maintain its child-friendly ratings. BBFC: Universal CERO: A (All Ages) ESRB: E (Everyone) PEGI: 3+

Sony Computer Entertainment releases single-player party game EyeToy: Play 2 for the PlayStation 2 in North America. ESRB: E10+ (Everyone)

Square Enix releases the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy XI: The Vana’diel Collection for Windows in the US. The release includes the original Final Fantasy XI and both of the expansion packs released for the game, Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia. ESRB: T (Teen)

2006

America Online acquires the gaming news site GameDaily from Gigex.