1992 in video games
1992 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as , Art of Fighting, Super Mario Kart, and Mortal Kombat.
Events
- Street Fighter II wins Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards and the last Electronic Gaming Awards
Notable releases
- January 15 – Capcom releases Mega Man 4 in the US.
- March - Blue Sky Productions releases ', the first ever real-time 3D, first-person role-playing video game.
- March 20 - Sega releases Shining Force.
- April 16 - Origin Systems releases Ultima VII: The Black Gate for the PC.
- April 27 - Nintendo releases Kirby's Dream Land for the Game Boy, the first game in the Kirby series.
- May 5 - id Software releases Wolfenstein 3D for MS-DOS, which popularizes the first-person shooter genre for the PC and leads to many similar games
- June - Graphics adventure Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is released by LucasArts.
- July 29 - Ecco the Dolphin is released, the first in the series.
- August 27 - Nintendo releases Super Mario Kart, the first in the Mario Kart series, creating the mascot/go-kart subgenre of racing games.
- September 1 - Domark releases Championship Manager for the Amiga and Atari ST.
- September 24 - SNK releases Art of Fighting for the arcades.
- September - Enix releases Dragon Quest V in Japan.
- October - Sega releases Virtua Racing by Yu Suzuki and AM2 in the arcades, laying the foundations for subsequent 3D racing games and popularizing 3D polygon graphics among a wider audience.
- October – Dalek Attack, the final official game for the ZX Spectrum format.
- October - Gremlin Graphics releases Zool, a character-based platformer following in the footsteps of Mario and Sonic. It goes on to become the best selling Amiga game.
- October 8 - Midway Games releases the Mortal Kombat arcade game in North America, which features bloody "fatalities," digitized characters, and started a franchise of games and movies.
- October 15 - Sega releases the controversial Night Trap video game for the Sega CD console.
- October 21 - ' is released for the Game Boy. The first appearance of Wario.
- November - Accolade releases Star Control II.
- November 21 - Sega publishes Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The game introduced Sonic's sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower and Sonic's Super Sonic transformation.
- Interplay publishes Alone in the Dark, widely considered the first survival horror game and one of the first games with fully 3D polygonal characters.
- Flashback is released by Delphine Software on the Amiga. The game is praised for its rotoscoped animation, giving movements fluidity unusual for the time. It is listed in the Guinness World Records as the best-selling French game of all time.
- December - Dune II is released by Westwood Studios, creating the template for the modern real-time strategy genre.
- December 4 - Mega Man 5 is released in Japan. On December 15, Mega Man 5 is released in the US.
- December 10 - Fatal Fury 2 is released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms.
Hardware
- January 1 - Atari Corporation drops support for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit family, Atari 7800, and software for those systems.
- April 11 - European launch of the SNES.
- October - Sega releases the Model 1, Sega's first arcade system board supporting 3D polygon graphics.
- December - the Apple IIgs is discontinued, ending the Apple II series.
- Namco releases the System 22, an arcade system board that introduces 3D texture mapping and Gouraud shading.
- Philips releases the CD-i multimedia home console
- Super NES released in Europe and Australasia
- Sega releases the Mega CD as Sega CD in North America, almost a year after the equivalent Japanese launch
- JVC releases the Wondermega console in Japan, a combined Mega Drive and Mega CD.
- Turbo Technologies Incorporated releases the TurboDuo, an updated version of the TurboGrafx-16 with built-in CD-ROM drive and Super System Card for Super CD-ROM² support.
- The Amiga 1200 computer is released. It's the final lower-cost Amiga model before Commodore's bankruptcy.
- Nintendo releases the Super Scope for the Super NES.
Business
- Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America Inc.
- Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.
- Sega v. Accolade
- Activision files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
- New companies: Wow Entertainment Inc., Humongous Entertainment
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 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Tecmo Super Bowl | Tecmo | Sports | 5 | #1 |
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | Nintendo | Platform | 5 | #3 |
| Tetris | Nintendo | Puzzle | 5 | #4 |
| ' | Konami | Beat 'em up | 5 | #3 |
| Super Mario Bros. 2 | Nintendo | Platform | 4 | #4 |
| Yoshi | Nintendo | Puzzle | 3 | #1 |
| Dragon Quest III | Enix | Role-playing | 3 | #3 |
| Monopoly | Parker Brothers | Strategy | 3 | #4 |
| Dragon Quest IV | Enix | Role-playing | 2 | #2 |
| Tecmo NBA Basketball | Tecmo | Sports | 1 | #2 |
;Highest-selling SNES titles of 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| ' | Capcom | Fighting | 5 | #1 |
| Mario Paint | Nintendo | Art tool | 4 | #2 |
| Super Mario Kart | Nintendo | Kart racing | 3 | #2 |
| ' | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 3 | #2 |
| John Madden Football '93 | Electronic Arts | Sports | 2 | #1 |
| Super Play Action Football | Nintendo | Sports | 2 | #3 |
| ' | Konami | Beat 'em up | 2 | #1 |
| NCAA Basketball | Nintendo | Sports | 1 | #4 |
| ' | Konami | Run and gun | 2 | #4 |
| Soul Blazer | Enix | Action role-playing | 2 | #5 |
;Highest-selling Sega Genesis titles of 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing | Sega | Sports | 5 | #1 |
| Taz-Mania | Sega | Platform | 5 | #3 |
| NFL Sports Talk Football '93 | Sega | Sports | 3 | #2 |
| NHLPA Hockey '93 | Electronic Arts | Sports | 3 | #1 |
| Bulls vs Lakers and the NBA Playoffs | Electronic Arts | Sports | 3 | #3 |
| ' | Sega | Role-playing | 3 | #4 |
| John Madden Football '92 | Electronic Arts | Sports | 3 | #6 |
| John Madden Football '93 | Electronic Arts | Sports | 2 | #1 |
| Sports Talk Baseball | Sega | Sports | 2 | #2 |
| PGA Tour Golf | Electronic Arts | Sports | 2 | #5 |
;Highest-selling TurboDuo titles of 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| ' | Turbo Technologies | Tactical role-playing | 3 | #2 |
| Cosmic Fantasy 2 | Nippon Telenet | Role-playing | 3 | #1 |
| Vigilante | Irem | Beat 'em up | 3 | #4 |
| Falcon | Turbo Technologies | Combat flight simulator | 3 | #4 |
| Air Zonk | Hudson Soft | Shoot 'em up | 2 | #1 |
| Exile | Telenet Japan | Action role-playing | 2 | #2 |
| Hit the Ice | Taito | Sports | 1 | #2 |
| New Adventure Island | Hudson Soft | Platform | 1 | #3 |
| Chase H.Q. | Taito | Racing | 1 | #3 |
| Neutopia | Hudson Soft | Action-adventure | 1 | #5 |
;Highest-selling Game Boy titles of 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Super Mario Land | Nintendo | Platform | 5 | #1 |
| Yoshi | Nintendo | Puzzle | 5 | #2 |
| Kirby's Dream Land | Nintendo | Platform | 4 | #1 |
| Dr. Mario | Nintendo | Puzzle | 3 | #5 |
| NBA All-Star Challenge | LJN | Sports | 3 | #3 |
| Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly | Acclaim Entertainment | Platform | 3 | #4 |
| ' | Acclaim Entertainment | Platform | 3 | #5 |
| ' | Nintendo | Platform | 2 | #1 |
| Play Action Football | Nintendo | Sports | 2 | #6 |
| Tennis | Nintendo | Sports | 2 | #6 |
;Highest-selling Atari Lynx titles of 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Batman Returns | Atari Corporation | Action | 5 | #1 |
| ' | Atari Corporation | Dungeon crawler | 4 | #4 |
| Rampart | Atari Corporation | Strategy | 4 | #2 |
| NFL Football | Atari Corporation | Sports | 3 | #1 |
| Baseball Heroes | Atari Corporation | Sports | 3 | #2 |
| Hockey | Atari Corporation | Sports | 3 | #3 |
| Shadow of the Beast | Atari Corporation | Platform | 3 | #3 |
| Steel Talons | Atari Corporation | Action | 3 | #5 |
| Warbirds | Atari Corporation | Combat flight simulator | 3 | #8 |
| World Class Fussball/Soccer | Atari Corporation | Sports | 2 | #2 |
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 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| ' | Konami | Beat 'em up | 8 | #1 |
| Tecmo Super Bowl | Tecmo | Sports | 7 | #1 |
| Tiny Toon Adventures | Konami | Platform | 6 | #3 |
| Yoshi | Nintendo | Puzzle | 5 | #1 |
| Darkwing Duck | Capcom | Platform | 5 | #3 |
| Mega Man 4 | Capcom | Platform | 4 | #4 |
| ' | LJN | Action-adventure | 4 | #3 |
| F-1 Hero MD | Coconuts Japan | Racing | 4 | #4 |
| Capcom's Gold Medal Challenge '92 | Capcom | Sports | 4 | #7 |
| Contra Force | Konami | Run and gun | 3 | #2 |
;Highest-renting Sega Genesis titles of 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| Bulls vs Lakers and the NBA Playoffs | Electronic Arts | Sports | 5 | #1 |
| Sports Talk Baseball | Sega | Sports | 5 | #3 |
| John Madden Football '92 | Electronic Arts | Sports | 4 | #1 |
| Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing | Sega | Sports | 4 | #2 |
| ' | Acclaim Entertainment | Platform | 4 | #2 |
| Double Dragon | Accolade | Beat 'em up | 4 | #3 |
| Splatterhouse 2 | Namco | Beat 'em up | 4 | #4 |
| NFL Sports Talk Football '93 | Sega | Sports | 4 | #2 |
| David Robinson's Supreme Court | Sega | Sports | 3 | #1 |
| Team USA Basketball | Electronic Arts | Sports | 3 | #1 |
;Highest-renting SNES titles of 1992
| Title | Publisher | Genre | # of charting months | Peak position |
| ' | Capcom | Fighting | 5 | #1 |
| ' | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 5 | #1 |
| Super Adventure Island | Hudson Soft | Platform | 5 | #3 |
| ' | Konami | Run and gun | 4 | #1 |
| ' | Konami | Beat 'em up | 4 | #2 |
| Krusty's Super Fun House | Acclaim Entertainment | Puzzle | 4 | #4 |
| ' | Acclaim Entertainment | Platform | 4 | #6 |
| NCAA Basketball | Nintendo | Sports | 3 | #1 |
| Super Play Action Football | Nintendo | Sports | 3 | #2 |
| WWF Super WrestleMania | Acclaim Entertainment | Fighting | 3 | #4 |