1993 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden, Mortal Kombat II, Mega Man X, Sonic CD, Secret of Mana, and Super Street Fighter II, alongside new titles such as Star Fox, FIFA International Soccer, Doom, Gunstar Heroes, Myst, Samurai Shodown, Ridge Racer, NBA Jam, Disney's Aladdin, Virtua Fighter, and Mystery Dungeon.
This year's highest grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II for the third year in a row, while again being the year's highest grossing entertainment product. The best selling home system around the globe was the Nintendo Super Famicom/SNES video game console.Install Base | "SNES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive hardware sales comparison", posted on October 9, 2021 by Celine the Archivist. | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212005039/https://www.installbaseforum.com/forums/threads/snes-and-sega-genesis-mega-drive-hardware-sales-comparison.57/
Top-rated games
Game of the Year awards The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1993.
Awards Game of the Year Developer Publisher Genre Platform(s) Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) Samurai Shodown (Samurai Spirits) SNK SNK Fighting Neo Geo European Computer Trade Show Gamest Awards alternate urlChicago TribuneStar FoxNintendo EADNintendoRail shooterSuper NESComputer Gaming World Premier AwardsDoomid Softwareid SoftwareFPSDOS Electronic Gaming Awards Disney's Aladdin Virgin Games Sega Platform Genesis GameFan Golden Megawards Gunstar Heroes Treasure Sega Run and gun GameFan, volume 2, issue 2 (January 1994), pages 54-58 (PDF) Game Informer Mortal Kombat Midway Acclaim Entertainment Fighting Consoles
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame The following video game releases in 1993 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.
Title Platform Developer Publisher Genre Score (out of 40) Street Fighter II Turbo Super Famicom Capcom Capcom Fighting 36 Disney's Aladdin Mega Drive Virgin Games Sega Platformer 35 Dragon Quest I & II Super Famicom Chunsoft Enix Role-playing 35
Financial performance
Highest-grossing arcade games Street Fighter II was the highest-grossing entertainment product of 1993, earning more than the film Jurassic Park. The following table lists the year's top-grossing arcade games in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.
Market Period Title Coin drop revenue Inflation Manufacturer Genre Japan Street Fighter II' Turbo Capcom Fighting United Kingdom January–June Street Fighter II Capcom Fighting United States NBA Jam + + Midway Sports Worldwide Street Fighter II Capcom Fighting
Japan The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1993 in Japan.
Rank Gamest alternate url Game Machine Title Type Points 1 Street Fighter II' Turbo Street Fighter II / Dash / Turbo Software kit 2 Garō Densetsu 2: Aratanaru Tatakai (Fatal Fury 2) Virtua Racing Twin / Deluxe 3 Puyo Puyo Lethal Enforcers Dedicated 4005 4 Street Fighter II Dash (Champion Edition) Puyo Puyo Software kit 3531 5 Tenchi wo Kurau 2: Sekiheki no Tatakai (Warriors of Fate) Garō Densetsu 2: Aratanaru Tatakai Software kit 2934 6 Samurai Spirits (Samurai Shodown) Tetris (Sega) Software kit 2856 7 World Heroes 2 Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Deluxe / Standard 8 Virtua Racing Columns Software kit 2697 9 Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Final Lap 3 Standard 2638 10 Art of Fighting Tenchi wo Kurau 2: Sekiheki no Tatakai Software kit 2074
United States In the United States, NBA Jam was the highest-grossing arcade game of 1993, followed by Mortal Kombat; both games exceeded the domestic box office gross of Jurassic Park that year.
The following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of the year, according to the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) and American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA).
Rank AMOA AMAA Play Meter Dedicated cabinet Arcade conversion kit Title Award 1 NBA Jam Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, NBA Jam, Neo Geo MVS Diamond NBA Jam 2 Street Fighter II, Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat, Virtua Racing Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Time Killers, X-Men, World Heroes rowspan="8" 3 4 5 Virtua Racing Platinum 6 colspan="2" rowspan="2" OutRunners, Time Killers Gold 7 8 colspan="2" rowspan="2" Crime Patrol, Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold Silver 9
Best-selling home systems
Consoles Rank Manufacturer Game console Type Generation Sales Japan USA Europe Korea Worldwide1NintendoSuper NESHome16-bit17,700,00023,350,00060,00049,100,000+2SegaMega Drive / GenesisHome16-bit9,000,00019,000,00024,00030,750,000+3NintendoGame BoyHandheld8-bit1,590,0001,500,000+625,000+ 3,715,000+4SegaGame GearHandheld8-bit400,0001,500,000,000+ 2,283,000+5SegaSega CD / Mega-CDHome16-bit100,000800,000,000 1,164,000+6NintendoNES / FamicomHome8-bit540,000 ,00050,0001,145,000+7SegaMaster SystemHome8-bit 700,00080,000780,000+8NECPC EngineHome16-bit400,000 400,000+9FujitsuFM Towns MartyHome32-bit45,000清水欣一『富士通のマルチメディア・ビジネス』オーエス出版社、May 15, 1995第1刷、March 14, 1997第4刷、、151頁。 45,00010Panasonic3DOHome32-bit 40,000+ 40,000+
Computers Rank Manufacturer Computer architecture Sales Japan Worldwide1Apple Inc.Apple Macintosh 3,300,0002IBMIBM PC 2,075,0003Compaq ComputerIBM PC compatible 1,418,0004NECNEC PC-981,200,000+5Packard BellIBM PC compatible 997,0006DellIBM PC compatible 795,0007Gateway 2000IBM PC compatible 644,0008AST ResearchIBM PC compatible 530,0009Tandy CorporationIBM PC compatible 350,00010ToshibaIBM PC compatible 316,000
Best-selling home video games The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) of 1993 with known sales figures.
Rank Title Platform Publisher Genre Sales Japan UK Worldwide1Street Fighter IIMulti-platformCapcomFighting1,314,000+ 5,000,0002Mortal KombatMulti-platformAcclaimFighting 400,000+3,000,000+3Star FoxSuper NESNintendoRail shooter325,000 1,700,000+4Disney's AladdinMulti-platformVirginPlatformer 1,600,000+5Dragon Ball Z: Super ButōdenSuper NESBandaiFighting1,300,000+ 1,300,000+6Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana)Super NESSquaresoftAction RPG1,002,000 1,002,000+7Super Mario Collection (All-Stars)Super NESNintendoPlatformer877,000 877,000+8Romancing SaGa 2Super FamicomSquaresoftRPG823,000 823,0009Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 2Super FamicomBandaiFighting740,000 740,00010Super Mario KartSuper NESNintendoKart racing450,000250,000++
Japan In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1993.
Rank Title Developer Platform Publisher Genre Sales 1 Street Fighter II Turbo Capcom Super Famicom Capcom Fighting 1,314,000 2Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden TOSE Super Famicom Bandai Fighting 1,300,000+ 3 Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana) Squaresoft Super Famicom Squaresoft Action RPG 1,002,000 4 Super Mario Collection (Super Mario All-Stars) Nintendo EADSuper Famicom Nintendo Platformer 877,000 5Romancing SaGa 2 SquaresoftSuper Famicom Squaresoft RPG 823,000 6 Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 2 TOSESuper Famicom Bandai Fighting 740,000 7 J. League Soccer Prime Goal NamcoSuper Famicom Namco Sports 610,000 8 Dragon Quest I & II ChunsoftSuper Famicom Enix RPG 567,000 9 Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon ChunsoftSuper Famicom Chunsoft Roguelike 510,000 10 Super Bomberman Produce!Super Famicom Hudson Soft Maze 497,000
Europe In Europe, the following titles were the top five best-selling 1993 releases during the first quarter of the year.
Rank Title PlatformDeveloper(s) PublisherGenre 1 Super Mario Kart Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo EAD NintendoKart racing 2 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Mega DriveSega Technical Institute SegaPlatformer 3 Streets of Rage II Mega DriveSega, Ancient SegaBeat 'em up 4 Road Rash II Mega DriveElectronic Arts Electronic ArtsRacing 5 Mario Paint Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo R&D1, Intelligent Systems NintendoArt tool
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1993.
Rank Title Platform(s) Publisher(s) Genre Sales 1 Mortal Kombat Game consoles Acclaim Entertainment Fighting 400,000+ 2 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Mega Drive Sega Platformer 400,000+ 3 Lemmings Multi-platform Various Strategy 400,000+ 4 Super Kick Off Game consoles Various Sports 400,000+ 5 FIFA International Soccer Mega Drive Electronic Arts Sports 400,000 6 Ecco the Dolphin Mega Drive Sega Action-adventure 250,000+ 7 Super Mario Kart Super NES Nintendo Kart racing 250,000+ 8 Jurassic Park Multi-platform Ocean Software Action 250,000+ 9 Jungle Strike Game consoles Electronic Arts Shoot 'em up 250,000 10 PGA Tour Golf II Mega Drive Electronic Arts Sports 200,000
United States In the United States, the following titles were the top two highest-grossing home video game franchises in 1993.
Franchise Publisher Revenue Inflation Mario Nintendo $700,000,000 $ Sonic the Hedgehog Sega $500,000,000 $
The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month for video game consoles (home consoles and handheld consoles) in 1993, according to Babbage's (reported by Electronic Gaming Monthly and Electronic Games), Mega (for the Sega Genesis in January), and The NPD Group (for the Super NES and Genesis in July).
Month NES Super NES Sega Genesis Sega CD Game Boy Game Gear January Tecmo Super Bowl Street Fighter II Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Cobra Command Super Mario Land 2 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 February John Madden Football '93 Columns March Tecmo NBA Basketball Star Fox Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition Jaguar XJ220 April Streets of Rage May X-Men June Kirby's Adventure Yoshi's Cookie Batman Returns July August Jurassic Park Jurassic Park Ecco the Dolphin September Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat October Tetris 2 Jurassic Park Wave Race November The Lost Vikings Sonic Spinball Lethal Enforcers Kirby's Pinball Land December Super Bomberman Sonic CD The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The following titles were the year's top six best-selling PC games on CD-ROM format in the United States.
Rank Title Publisher Genre 1 The 7th Guest Virgin Interactive Interactive movie 2 Star Wars: Rebel Assault LucasArts Rail shooter 3 King's Quest VI Sierra On-Line Adventure 4 Return to Zork Activision 5 Just Grandma & Me Broderbund 6 Dracula Unleashed Viacom New Media
Events March – In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super Play (SP) starts. The original name is Super Power. April 27 – The book Game Over by David Sheff, devoted to the history of Nintendo, is published by Random House. May 11 – The first FuncoLand location in McHenry County, Illinois opens in Crystal Lake, bringing the chain's total number of locations to 62. May 24 – Sega of America introduces the first ever video game content rating system, the Videogame Rating Council. August 4 – FuncoLand parent company Funco Inc leases space for new locations in six shopping centers in the New York City area. October – Edge is a multi-format video game magazine published by Future plc, which began publication. October 1 – Nintendo and Silicon Graphics collaborate and begin work on "Project Reality". December 7 – The first of two congressional hearings on video games takes place. Topics for discussion include the depiction of violence and sexual content in video games, their influence on children, and the prospect of governmental regulation for video game content.
Business New companies: Croteam, nVidia, Take-Two Interactive, Shiny Defunct companies: DK'Tronics, Epyx Magnavox is acquired by the Carlyle Group MicroProse is acquired by Spectrum HoloByte
Notable releases
Arcade