1989 in video gaming

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1989 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Phantasy Star II, Golden Axe and Bonk's Adventure, and Super Mario Land

Events

The original Game Boy.

• The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 7–10. Nintendo announces that it would release 40 new NES titles through its licensees in 1989, while Sega announces 20 titles that include several translations of arcade games. Peripherals unveiled and demonstrated at this event include Broderbund's U-Force, Beeshu's Zoomer, and Nintendo's Power Pad. The next CES is held in Chicago in June.
• CSG Imagesoft and Sony hold regional Super Dodge Ball contests in Los Angeles (July 15–16 and 29–30), Chicago (August 5–6), New York City (September 9–10 and 16–17), Boston (September 23–24), and Seattle (October 14–15). Finalists from each region enter the "Super Dodge Ball World Cup" in Seattle on October 27–28, where the winners receive an assortment of Sony products as prizes.
• In August, Capcom donates $50,000 worth of video game equipment and Capcom titles to pediatric wards of California hospitals.
• The Galaxy of Electronic Games show, produced by Pinnacle Productions, opens at the San Jose Convention Center in November 17–19. The show features a display of more than 300 computer and video games and a 2,500 square foot area of arcade games.
• Universal Pictures releases The Wizard on December 15. The film, starring Fred Savage, features the games Contra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Double Dragon, and Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards is won by Operation Wolf (8-bit) and Speedball (16-bit).

Notable releases

Arcade

• February, Atari Games releases the Hard Drivin' arcade game, with filled polygon 3D graphics, physics simulation, and a force-feedback steering wheel.
• May, Sega releases Golden Axe, the first game in the Golden Axe series.
• September, Atari Games releases S.T.U.N. Runner in arcades, a 3D polygonal vehicle combat/racing game.

Home

• March 21, Sega releases Phantasy Star II, a landmark title for the role-playing video game genre.
• April 21, Nintendo releases Super Mario Land on the Game Boy, introducing Princess Daisy to the Mario series.
• May 12, Konami releases Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES, one of the first video games based on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, being released after the show's second season.
• June 5, Bullfrog releases Populous, one of the first commercially successful god games.
• June, Lucasfilm Games releases puzzle game Pipe Mania, which lives on in other titles as a visual representation of computer or security system hacking.
• July 11, Capcom releases Mega Man 2 in more countries (US).
• July 27, Nintendo releases Mother in Japan, the first of a trilogy of role-playing games produced by celebrity writer Shigesato Itoi.
• August, Nintendo of America introduces Enix's Dragon Warrior franchise to North America.
• August 26, Nintendo releases the Zelda Game & Watch.
• September 14, Capcom releases DuckTales for NES based on the Disney animated TV series of the same name.
• October 3, Brøderbund releases Prince of Persia for the declining Apple II, having been in development since 1985. Ports to other systems turn the game into a hit.
• October 3, Maxis releases Will Wright's SimCity, the first of the "Sim" games and a revolutionary real-time software toy.
• December 6, Strategic Studies Group releases Warlords which was one of the first fantasy turn-based strategy game.
• December 15, Hudson Soft releases Bonk's Adventure, introducing the TurboGrafx-16 mascot and starting the Bonk franchise.
• December 15, Techno Soft releases Herzog Zwei for the Mega Drive in Japan, laying the foundations for the real-time strategy genre.
• December 22, Konami releases Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, the third and final game from series for NES.
• Tengen releases an unlicensed version of the Tetris video game, which is recalled after Nintendo sues Tengen.
• Wes Cherry writes Solitaire and Robert Donner writes Minesweeper, which are bundled with Microsoft Windows starting from version 3.
• Psygnosis releases difficult platformer Shadow of the Beast, demonstrating the capabilities of the Amiga and helping sales of the computer.
• Sega releases Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap.
• Spectrum Holobyte's Vette! for PC and Macintosh features a 3D flat-shaded rendition of San Francisco.
• Three-Sixty Pacific releases computer wargame Harpoon.
• Atari Corporation supports the aging Atari 2600 with a new batch of cartridges, including Secret Quest.

Hardware

• August 29 - NEC's PC-Engine released in North America as the TurboGrafx-16.
• October 11 - Atari Corporation releases the Lynx handheld console with color and backlighting.
• October 14 - The Mega Drive is released in North America as the Sega Genesis.
• Nintendo releases the Game Boy handheld console.
• Mattel releases the Power Glove controller for the NES home console.

Business

• Hasbro, Inc. acquires elements of Coleco Industries, Inc.
• Trinity Acquisition Corporation founded (renamed THQ in 1990)
• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Tengen:

1. Nintendo sues Tengen over the Tetris video game copyrights. Tengen loses and recalls all its Tetris games.
2. November - Nintendo sues Tengen over production of unlicensed Nintendo games. Tengen loses. (Tengen originally sued Nintendo on December 12, 1988, for antitrust violations.)

• Nintendo v. Camerica Ltd. Nintendo sues Camerica over patent violations of the Game Genie for the NES console. Camerica wins the suit.
• UK publisher Martech goes out of business.

Critically acclaimed titles

Notable video game releases in 1989 that have accumulated overall critical acclaim from at least three contemporary English-language sources include:

Title	Publisher	Platform	Genre(s)	# of Reviews
Populous	Electronic Arts	Atari ST	God	3
SimCity	Maxis	Amiga	City-building	7
Populous	Electronic Arts	Amiga	God	9
Myth: History in the Making	System 3	ZX Spectrum	Platform	3
Xenon 2 Megablast	Image Works	Atari ST	Shoot 'em up	7
Xenon 2 Megablast	Image Works	Amiga	Shoot 'em up	8
F-16 Combat Pilot	Digital Integration	Amiga	Combat flight simulation	7
Chase H.Q.	Ocean Software	ZX Spectrum	Racing	5
Ghouls 'n Ghosts	Sega	Sega Genesis	Platform	4
R-Type II	Irem	Arcade	Shoot 'em up	4
The Revenge of Shinobi	Sega	Sega Genesis	Platform	6
Batman	Ocean Software	ZX Spectrum	Action-adventure	3
The Untouchables	Ocean Software	ZX Spectrum	Action-adventure	4
Stunt Car Racer	MicroStyle	Commodore 64	Racing	4
F-16 Combat Pilot	Digital Integration	DOS	Combat flight simulation	4
Myth: History in the Making	System 3	Commodore 64	Platform	4
Forgotten Worlds	U.S. Gold	Amiga	Shoot 'em up	6
Blazing Lazers	Hudson Soft	TurboGrafx-16	Shoot 'em up	4
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure	Lucasfilm Games	DOS	Graphic adventure	4
Stunt Car Racer	MicroStyle	Amiga	Racing	7
Interphase	Image Works	Atari ST	First-person shooter	5
Forgotten Worlds	U.S. Gold	Commodore 64	Shoot 'em up	5
Phantasy Star II	Sega	Sega Genesis	Role-playing	3
Golden Axe	Sega	Sega Genesis	Beat 'em up	6
Ghouls 'n Ghosts	U.S. Gold	Amiga	Platform	4
Interphase	Image Works	Amiga	First-person shooter	9
The Untouchables	Ocean Software	Amiga	Action-adventure	4
Super Mario Land	Nintendo	Game Boy	Platform	4
Dungeon Explorer	Hudson Soft	TurboGrafx-16	Action role-playing	4
Forgotten Worlds	U.S. Gold	ZX Spectrum	Shoot 'em up	3
F-16 Combat Pilot	Digital Integration	Atari ST	Combat flight simulation	4
Stunt Car Racer	MicroStyle	Atari ST	Racing	7
The Untouchables	Ocean Software	Atari ST	Action-adventure	4
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur	Infocom	Amiga	Interactive fiction	8
Strider	U.S. Gold	Atari ST	Platform	7