1992 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest V, Final Fantasy V, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Streets of Rage 2, and Super Mario Kart, along with new titles such as Art of Fighting, Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat and Virtua Racing.
The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II for the second year in a row, while also being the year's highest-grossing entertainment product. The year's best-selling home system was the Game Boy for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games were Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System port of Street Fighter II, which were both also the year's highest-grossing home entertainment products.
Legend
Hardware releases
April 11 – The Super NES releases in Ireland and the United Kingdom. June - The Super NES releases in the rest of Europe. June 8 - The Super NES releases in Chile. July 3 - The Super NES releases in the Australasia region. October – Sega releases the Model 1, Sega's first arcade system board supporting 3D polygon graphics. October 10 - The PC Engine Duo releases in North America as the TurboDuo, an updated version of the TurboGrafx-16 with built-in CD-ROM drive and Super System Card for Super CD-ROM² support. October 15 - Sega releases the Mega-CD as Sega CD (an add-on for the Sega Genesis) in North America, almost a year after the equivalent Japanese launch. October 21 - The Amiga 1200 computer is released. It's the final lower-cost Amiga model before Commodore's bankruptcy. Namco releases the System 22, an arcade system board that introduces 3D texture mapping and Gouraud shading. JVC releases the Wondermega console in Japan, a combined Mega Drive and Mega CD. Nintendo releases the Super Scope for the Super NES.
Top-rated games Game of the Year awards The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1992.
Awards Game of the Year Publisher Genre Platform Chicago Tribune Street Fighter II Capcom Fighting SNES Electronic Gaming Awards Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) GameFan Golden Megawards Game Informer Golden Joystick Awards Gamest Awards Street Fighter II Dash (Champion Edition) Capcom Fighting Arcade alternate url Chicago Tribune The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Nintendo Action-adventure SNES Computer Gaming World Links 386 Pro Access Software Sports DOS GameFan Golden Megawards Cybernator (Assault Suits Valken) Masaya Games Run and gun SNES Streets of Rage 2 Sega Brawler GEN Wonderdog JVC Musical Industries Platformer SCD PC Engine Fan Far East of Eden II: Manji Maru Hudson Soft RPG PCD
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame The following video game releases in 1992 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.
Title Developer Publisher Score (out of 40) Genre Platform Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome Chunsoft Enix 36 RPG SNES Shin Megami Tensei Atlus Atlus 36 I Love Mickey & Donald: Fushigi na Magic Box (World of Illusion) Sega AM7 Sega 36 Platformer SCD Street Fighter II Capcom Capcom 35 Fighting SNES Mario Paint Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo 35 Art
Financial performance Highest-grossing arcade games The year's highest-grossing game worldwide was Street Fighter II, which alone accounted for an estimated 60% of the global arcade game market, according to Coinslot magazine. The following table lists the year's top-grossing arcade games in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.
Market Title Coin drop revenue Inflation Manufacturer Genre Japan Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Capcom Fighting United Kingdom Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Capcom Fighting United States Street Fighter II / Champion Edition Capcom Fighting Worldwide Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Capcom Fighting
Japan The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1992 in Japan, according to Gamest, Game Machine and Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazines.
Rank Gamest alternate url Game Machine Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) Title Type Points 1 Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Street Fighter II / Dash Software kit Street Fighter II: The World Warrior 2 Street Fighter II Dash (Champion Edition) Final Lap 2 Standard/deluxe Final Lap 2 3 Captain Commando F1 Exhaust Note Dedicated 3464Street Fighter II Dash 4 Garō Densetsu: Shukumei no Tatakai (Fatal Fury) Tetris (Sega) Software kit 3402 F1 Exhaust Note 5 Final Lap 2 Columns Software kit 3218 Final Lap 6 Knights of the Round Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes) Software kit 3140 Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours 7 Sonic Wings (Aero Fighters) Terminator 2: Judgment Day Dedicated 2937 Super Monaco GP 8 F-1 Grand Prix Clutch Hitter Software kit 2748 Driver's Eyes 9 WWF WrestleFest Garō Densetsu: Shukumei no Tatakai Software kit 2401 Tetris (Sega) 10 Hacha Mecha Fighter Super Monaco GP Standard/deluxe Virtua Racing
United States In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1992.
Rank RePlay Play Meter Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) AMAA Dedicated arcade cabinet Arcade conversion kit 1 Street Fighter II / Champion Edition Street Fighter II Street Fighter II: Champion Edition WWF WrestleFest Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Mortal Kombat, Neo Geo MVS, Terminator 2: Judgment Day 2 World Heroes, Art of Fighting, X-Men, Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat, Steel Talons, Space Lords, Final Lap 2 / Final Lap 3, Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours, Virtua Racing rowspan="4" Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Race Drivin', X-Men Captain America and The Avengers, Road Riot 4WD, Sunset Riders, Super High Impact 3 4 5 Suzuka 8 Hours 6 rowspan="5" colspan="2" rowspan="5" rowspan="5" 7 8 9 10
Australia On Australia's Timezone monthly arcade charts published in the June 1992 issue of Leisure Line magazine, Capcom's Street Fighter II: Champion Edition was the top-grossing arcade conversion kit and Konami's X-Men was the top-grossing dedicated arcade cabinet.
Best-selling home systems RankSystem(s)ManufacturerTypeSales Japan USA Europe Korea Worldwide1GBNintendoHandheld1,910,0004,000,0006,000,000 11,910,000+2SNESNintendoConsole3,580,0005,600,0002,030,00020,00011,230,000+3GENSegaConsole400,00076,0008,236,000+4NESNintendoConsole820,0002,700,000110,0006,660,000+5IBMIBMComputer 3,400,0006MACApple Inc.Computer 2,500,0007SMSSegaConsole < 50,000180,0002,415,000+8Compaq (IBM)CompaqComputer 1,500,0009GGSegaHandheld250,000800,000320,000+ (UK) 1,370,000+10PC88, PC98NECComputer 1,120,000+
Best-selling home video games Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Street Fighter II each sold units worldwide in 1992, making them the year's highest-grossing entertainment products. The following home video games sold more than 1 million units worldwide in 1992.
Rank Title Platform Sales Revenue Japan United States Europe Worldwide Nominal Inflation 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 GEN 2,000,000+5,000,000 Street Fighter II SNES 2,000,000+2,000,000 200,000+5,000,000 3Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no HanayomeSNES2,800,000 2,800,000+++4Super Mario KartSNES2,000,000+< 1,000,000 2,000,000+ colspan="2" rowspan="3" Final Fantasy VSNES2,000,000+ 2,000,000+6The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the PastSNES 1,000,000 1,000,000+
The following table lists the year's top-selling home video game releases in several markets, including Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
Market Title Platform Sales Europe Sonic the Hedgehog 2 GEN + Japan Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome SNES 2,800,000 South Korea Street Fighter II SNES United States Sonic the Hedgehog 2 GEN 2,000,000 Street Fighter II SNES 2,000,000
Asia In Japan and South Korea, according to Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazine, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video game releases of 1992.
Rank Japan South Korea Title Platform Sales Title Platform 1 Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome SNES 2,800,000 Street Fighter IISNES 2 Final Fantasy V SNES 2,000,000+Final Fantasy V 3 Super Mario Kart SNES 2,000,000+Dragon Quest V 4 Street Fighter II SNES 2,000,000+ Arang Jeonseol (Fatal Fury) 5 Romancing SaGa SNES < 1,170,000 Ranma ½: Hard Battle 6 Super Mario Land 2: 6-tsu no Kinka GB rowspan="2" colspan="2" rowspan="5" 7 Mario Paint SNES 8 Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu SNES < 730,000 9 Hoshi no Kirby (Kirby's Dream Land) GB rowspan="2" 10 Super Famista (Super Batter Up) SNES
Europe The following titles were the top three best-selling home video game releases of 1992 in Europe and the United Kingdom.
Rank Europe United Kingdom Title Platform Sales Title Platform Sales 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 GEN + Sonic the Hedgehog 2 GEN 1,000,000+ 2 Road Rash II GEN Street Fighter II SNES 200,000 3 Mario Paint SNES AMI
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in 1992.
Month Game consoles Home computers Genesis Super NES Master System NES Game Boy Amiga ZX Spectrum WWF WrestleMania (home computers) Robocod Sonic the Hedgehog Super Mario Bros. 3 Super Mario Land Grand Prix 1 QuackShot Asterix 1st Division Manager Desert Strike Project-X Super Kick Off John Madden Champions of Europe Rescue Rangers Sensible Soccer Italia '90 Taz-Mania Wimbledon Olympic Gold Rainbow Islands Alien 3 WWF Super WrestleMania Street Fighter II (SNES) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GEN)
United States In the United States, the following titles were the top three best-selling home video games of 1992.
Rank Title Publisher Genre Sales Platform 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Sega Platformer 2,000,000 GEN Street Fighter II Capcom Fighting 2,000,000 SNES 3 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Nintendo Action-adventure 1,000,000 SNES
The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month for video game consoles (home consoles and handheld consoles) in 1992.
Month NES Super Nintendo Sega Genesis TurboDuo Game Boy Atari Lynx June Final Fantasy II August Yoshi Street Fighter II Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing Super Mario Land Batman Returns September Turtles in Time October Tecmo Super Bowl Street Fighter II NHLPA Hockey '93 Cosmic Fantasy 2 Kirby's Dream Land NFL Football November John Madden Football '93 Air Zonk Super Mario Land 2 December Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Batman Returns
The following titles were the top-selling personal computer games on the monthly PC Research charts in 1992, as reported by Electronic Games magazine.
Month DOS games DOS educational games Amiga Macintosh CD-ROM May Hardball III June Aces of the Pacific Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? July August Links September Falcon 3.0: Operation Fighting Tiger October King's Quest VI Civilization Prince of Persia Battle Chess
Events January 1 – Atari Corporation drops support for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 7800, and software for those systems. May 25 – FuncoLand founder David Pomije is named "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" by the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce. July 2 – FuncoLand's parent company Funco Inc. files a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of one million shares of its common stock at $5 a share, with plans to use the proceeds from the sold shares to repay short-term debt and finance the opening of other FuncoLand locations. July 13 – The first Chicago-area FuncoLand location opens in Bloomingdale. August 12 – Funco's initial public offering, underwritten by Miller, Johnson & Kuehn Inc., is announced. September 22 – The first south suburban Chicago-area FuncoLand location opens in Orland Park. December – the Apple IIGS is discontinued. Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America Inc. Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. Sega v. Accolade Activision (as Mediagenic) files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection