1997 in video games
1997 saw many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as ', GoldenEye 007, Star Fox 64, Tomb Raider II, Gran Turismo, Diablo, Final Fantasy VII, Ultima Online, ', Grand Theft Auto and Fallout.
Events
- June 19–21 – The 3rd annual E3 is held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
- October 4 – Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.
- November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.
- TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
- 3D Realms begins production of the infamous Duke Nukem Forever, winner of numerous vaporware awards.
- A scene from the Pokémon anime show from December 16, 1997, causes 685 Japanese children to have seizures, causing Nintendo to make a statement proclaiming the safety of the Pokémon games from fear that the games would cause a similar effect, the episode to be permanently removed from circulation, and the featured Pokémon in the episode hasn't made an appearance in the Pokémon anime since.
- The popular online gaming portal Cool Math Games went online for the first time.
Notable releases
| Release | Title | Windows / DOS | 4th Gen | 5th Gen | Handheld | Arcade |
| January 3 | Diablo | PS1 | ||||
| January 14 | ' | Sat | ||||
| January 31 | Final Fantasy VII | PS1 | ||||
| February 5 | DoDonPachi | Sat, PS1 | ||||
| February 10 | Mario Kart 64 | N64 | ||||
| February 27 | The Lost Vikings 2 | SNES | PS1, Sat | |||
| February 28 | Blast Corps | N64 | ||||
| February 28 | Independence Day | PS1, Sat | ||||
| February 28 | Mega Man 8 | PS1, Sat | ||||
| February 28 | ' | N64 | ||||
| March 20 | ' | PS1, Sat | ||||
| March 20 | Tekken 3 | PS1 | ||||
| March 26 | Vandal Hearts | PS1, Sat | ||||
| March 30 | The Last Express | |||||
| March 31 | Need for Speed II | PS1 | ||||
| April 7 | Outlaws | |||||
| April 27 | Dungeon Keeper | |||||
| April 30 | Fighters Megamix | Sat | Game.com | |||
| April 30 | ' | |||||
| May 13 | Shadow Warrior | |||||
| May 31 | Blood | |||||
| May 31 | MDK | PS1 | ||||
| June | Harvest Moon | SNES | ||||
| June 20 | Sonic Jam | Sat | Game.com | |||
| June 20 | Final Fantasy Tactics | PS1 | ||||
| June 30 | Star Fox 64 | N64 | ||||
| July 4 | Jane's 688 Hunter/Killer | |||||
| July 28 | The King of Fighters '97 | Neo, NeoCD | PS1, Sat | |||
| July 30 | Carmageddon | PS1, N64 | GBC | |||
| July 31 | Herc's Adventures | PS1, Sat | ||||
| July 31 | ' | |||||
| August 1 | Mega Man X4 | PS1, Sat | ||||
| August 11 | Tetrisphere | N64 | ||||
| August 25 | GoldenEye 007 | N64 | ||||
| August 31 | Hexen II | |||||
| August 31 | Imperialism | |||||
| September 10 | Silhouette Mirage | Sat, PS1 | ||||
| September 11 | Breath of Fire III | PS1 | ||||
| September 18 | Street Fighter Collection | Sat, PS1 | ||||
| September 19 | ' | PS1 | ||||
| September 24 | Ultima Online | |||||
| September 26 | LEGO Island | |||||
| September 29 | ' | PS1, Sat | ||||
| September 30 | ' | |||||
| September 30 | Fallout | |||||
| September 30 | Panzer General II | |||||
| September 30 | Poy Poy | PS1 | ||||
| September 30 | Total Annihilation | |||||
| October 9 | ' | |||||
| October 15 | Age of Empires | |||||
| October 15 | Mortal Kombat 4 | N64, PS1 | GBC | |||
| October 21 | Grand Theft Auto | PS1 | GBC | |||
| October 23 | Steep Slope Sliders | Sat | ||||
| October 28 | Shipwreckers | PS1 | ||||
| October 29 | Riven | Sat, PS1 | ||||
| October 30 | Culdcept | Sat, PS1 | ||||
| October 31 | Blade Runner | |||||
| October 31 | Colony Wars | PS1 | ||||
| October 31 | The Curse of Monkey Island | |||||
| October 31 | PaRappa the Rapper | PS1 | ||||
| October 31 | ' | |||||
| November | Independence War | |||||
| November 1 | ' | PS1 | ||||
| November 1 | Shock Troopers | Neo | ||||
| November 17 | Sonic R | Sat | ||||
| November 18 | Tomb Raider II | PS1 | ||||
| November 21 | Diddy Kong Racing | N64 | ||||
| November 21 | Worms 2 | |||||
| November 25 | ' | |||||
| November 27 | Kirby's Dream Land 3 | SNES | ||||
| November 30 | Bomberman 64 | N64 | ||||
| November 30 | One | PS1 | ||||
| November 30 | ' | |||||
| November 30 | ' | N64 | ||||
| December 6 | Quake II | PS1, N64 | ||||
| December 11 | ' | PS1 | ||||
| December 18 | Grandia | Sat, PS1 | ||||
| December 18 | Mega Man Legends | PS1, N64 | ||||
| December 21 | Yoshi's Story | N64 | ||||
| December 23 | Gran Turismo | PS1 | ||||
| December 31 | ' | N64 |
Hardware
- March 1 – The Nintendo 64 is released in Europe and Australia
- October 20 – Nintendo releases a smaller redesigned version of the SNES, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America.
- Junny releases PlayStation development software for PC
- Tiger Electronics releases the Game.com
Business
- Activision acquires CentreSoft Ltd. and Raven Software
- Electronic Arts Inc. acquires Maxis
- GameTek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed its doors in July 1998
- 2015, Inc. founded
- 4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded
- September – 4HEAD Studios created
- Bungie West formed by Bungie
- Conspiracy Entertainment Corporation founded
- Crave Entertainment, Inc. formed
- August – Human Head Studios, Inc. formed
- Illusion Softworks, a.s. founded
- April 15 – Irem Software Engineering Inc. founded
- Irrational Games LLC founded
- Mythic Entertainment renames itself from Interworld Productions after name dispute with another "Interworld" company
- THQ renamed from Toy Headquarters, Inc.
- Warthog PLC founded
Lawsuits
- Nintendo vs Games City: Nintendo sues Games City for selling the Game Doctor and Doctor V64 backup devices for the SNES and N64 consoles. Nintendo wins the suit.
- Nintendo vs Prima Publishing: Nintendo sues Prima over copyrights to maps of the N64 video game GoldenEye 007. Nintendo loses the suit.
- Nintendo vs Sony Video Games: Nintendo sues Sony over copyrights about Mario games.
Discontinual
- Sega announce that the Sega Mega Drive has been discontinued.
- Sega Game Gear discontinued.
Critically acclaimed titles
| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform | MC score | GR score |
| Gran Turismo | Sony Computer Entertainment | December 23, 1997 | PlayStation | 96/100 | 94.95% |
| GoldenEye 007 | Nintendo | August 25, 1997 | Nintendo 64 | 96/100 | 94.7% |
| Diablo | Blizzard Entertainment | January 3, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 94/100 | 89.07% |
| ' | Konami | March 20, 1997 | PlayStation | 93/100 | 93.03% |
| Final Fantasy VII | Square | January 31, 1997 | PlayStation | 92/100 | 92.35% |
| Dungeon Keeper | Electronic Arts | June 26, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 92.2% | |
| Colony Wars | Psygnosis | October 31, 1997 | PlayStation | 91/100 | 92.09% |
| Sid Meier's Gettysburg! | Electronic Arts | September 30, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 92/100 | 91% |
| ' | LucasArts | September 30, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 91/100 | 88.69% |
| ' | Bungie | October 31, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 91/100 | 80.8% |
| Blast Corps | Nintendo | February 28, 1997 | Nintendo 64 | 90/100 | 88.87% |
| NFL GameDay 98 | Sony Computer Entertainment | November 17, 1997 | PlayStation | 90% | |
| Fallout | Interplay Productions | September 30, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 89/100 | 89.69% |
| Carmageddon | Sales Curve Interactive | June 20, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 89.6% | |
| Formula 1 97 | Psygnosis | September 26, 1997 | PlayStation | 89.43% | |
| MDK | Playmates Interactive | April 30, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 89.2% | |
| Star Fox 64 | Nintendo | April 27, 1997 | Nintendo 64 | 88/100 | 89.01% |
| The Curse of Monkey Island | LucasArts | October 31, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 89/100 | 89% |
| Einhänder | Square | November 20, 1997 | PlayStation | 89/100 | 85% |
| Total Annihilation | GT Interactive | September 30, 1997 | Microsoft Windows | 86/100 | 88.85% |
| Diddy Kong Racing | Rare | November 21, 1997 | Nintendo 64 | 88/100 | 88.65% |
| ' | Sony Computer Entertainment | October 31, 1997 | PlayStation | 88.54% | |
| GT Interactive | September 19, 1997 | PlayStation | 85/100 | 87.94% | |
| Fighters Megamix | Sega | April 30, 1997 | Sega Saturn | 87.67% |