1991 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man 4, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, along with new titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Battletoads, Lemmings, Sunset Riders, Duke Nukem, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, and Streets of Rage. The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II. The year's best-selling system was the Game Boy for the second year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video game was Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, which was also the year's top video game rental in the United States.
Top-rated games
Game of the Year awards The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1991.
Awards Game of the Year Developer Publisher Genre Platform(s) Chicago TribuneSonic the HedgehogSonic TeamSegaPlatformerSega Genesis Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1992 Video Game Buyer's Guide, pages 60-61Computer Trade WeeklySega Mega DriveEuropean Computer Trade Show (ECTS) Golden Joystick Awards Computer Trade WeeklySonic the HedgehogAncientSegaPlatformerMaster SystemChicago TribuneSplatterhouseNamcoNECBeat 'em upTurboGrafx-16Super Mario Bros. 3Nintendo R&D4NintendoPlatformerNES Computer Gaming World Sid Meier's Civilization MicroProse MicroProse Strategy Home computers European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) Lemmings DMA Design Psygnosis Strategy Home computers Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards Final Fantasy IV Squaresoft Squaresoft Role-playing Super Famicom Gamest Awards Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Capcom Capcom Fighting Arcade (CP System) alternate url
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame The following video game releases in 1991 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) Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (A Link to the Past) Super Famicom Nintendo EAD Nintendo Action-adventure 39 Final Fantasy IV Super Famicom Squaresoft Squaresoft Role-playing 36 Lemmings Super Famicom Sunsoft Sunsoft Strategy 35
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 game in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.
Market Title Hardware sales Coin drop earnings Inflation Manufacturer Genre Japan Street Fighter II: The World Warrior 17,000 Capcom Fighting United Kingdom Street Fighter II: The World Warrior 10,000 + + Capcom Fighting United States Street Fighter II: The World Warrior colspan="2" Capcom Fighting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles colspan="2" Konami Beat 'em up Australia Street Fighter II: The World Warrior colspan="2" Capcom Fighting Worldwide Street Fighter II: The World Warrior 50,000 Capcom Fighting
Japan In Japan, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1991, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.
Rank Gamest alternate urlGame Machine Title Type 1 Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Software conversion kit 2 Final Fight Tetris (Sega) Software conversion kit 3 Final Lap 2 Columns Software conversion kit 4 Quiz Tonosama no Yabō Final Lap 2 Standard cabinet 5 Raiden Deluxe cabinet 6 Super Monaco GP Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes) Software conversion kit 7 Clutch Hitter Quiz Tonosama no Yabō 8 GP Rider Final Fight Software conversion kit 9 Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes) World Stadium '90 Software conversion kit 10 Dragon Saber Columns II Software conversion kit
United States In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1991.
Rank AAMA AMOA Play Meter Title Award Arcade conversion kit Dedicated arcade cabinet 1 Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Diamond Street Fighter II Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 The Simpsons, Neo Geo MVS Platinum Capcom Bowling, Final Fight, High Impact Football, Raiden Hard Drivin', Neo Geo MVS, Pit Fighter, Race Drivin' rowspan="4" 3 4 High Impact Football Gold 5 Final Lap 2 Silver
Hong Kong and Australia In Hong Kong and Australia, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade games on the monthly charts in 1991.
Month Hong Kong (Bondeal) Australia (Timezone) Arcade conversion software kit Dedicated arcade cabinet Dedicated Conversion January Super Pang Big Run Cisco Heat rowspan="9" rowspan="9" February Escape Kids Street Fighter II Cisco Heat Hard Drivin' Big Run MarchStreet Fighter II Hard Drivin' Big Run F-15 Strike Eagle AprilStreet Fighter II Gun Force F-15 Strike Eagle MayStreet Fighter II F-15 Strike Eagle Hard Drivin' June Hard Drivin' JulyStreet Fighter II Mutant Fighter August Mutant Fighter D. D. Crew Hard Drivin' Time Traveler September WWF WrestleFestStreet Fighter II Time Traveler Hard Drivin' OctoberStreet Fighter II Vendetta Hard Drivin' Race Drivin' Final Lap 2 Spider-Man 1991 Street Fighter II
Best-selling home systems Rank System(s) Manufacturer Type Generation Sales Japan USA Europe Korea Worldwide1Game BoyNintendoHandheld8-bit1,940,0004,000,0001,400,000 7,340,000+2Super NESNintendoConsole16-bit3,150,0001,900,000+ 5,050,000+3NES / FamicomNintendoConsole8-bit1,240,0002,100,000500,000+100,0003,940,000+4Mega Drive / GenesisSegaConsole16-bit700,0001,600,000+815,00051,0003,166,000+5IBM PCIBMComputer16-bit 2,910,0006MacintoshApple Inc.Computer16-bit 2,100,0007Master SystemSegaConsole8-bit < 50,0001,745,000160,0001,905,000+8NEC PC-88 / PC-98NECComputer8-bit / 16-bit 1,720,000+9Game GearSegaHandheld8-bit400,000600,000+520,000 1,520,000+10AmigaCommodoreComputer16-bit 1,035,000
Best-selling home video games Sonic the Hedgehog was the best-selling home video game of 1991, with copies sold worldwide during the year.
Japan In Japan, according to Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazine, the following titles were the top ten best-selling 1991 releases, including later sales in 1992.
Rank Title Developer Publisher Genre Platform Sales 1 Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (A Link to the Past) Nintendo EAD Nintendo Action-adventure Super Famicom < 1,160,000 2 Final Fantasy IV (Final Fantasy II) Squaresoft Squaresoft Role-playing Super Famicom 3 Yoshi Game Freak Nintendo Puzzle Famicom rowspan="2" 4 Game Boy 5 Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyūshutsu Emaki (Mystical Ninja) Konami Konami Action-adventure Super Famicom 6 SaGa 3: Jikū no Hasha (Final Fantasy Legend III) Squaresoft Squaresoft Role-playing Game Boy < 650,000 7 Chō Makaimura (Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts) Capcom Capcom Action-platformer Super Famicom rowspan="3" 8 SimCity Nintendo EAD Nintendo City-building 9 Super Wagan Land Namco Platformer 10 Super Formation Soccer (Super Soccer) Human Entertainment Sports (football) Super Famicom < 600,000
The following titles were the best-selling home video games on the Famitsu charts in 1991. The charts were bi-weekly up until July 1991, when they switched to a weekly format.
Month Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 colspan="2" Super Mario World (Super Famicom) Super Mario World (Super Famicom) Ultraman (Super Famicom)Super Mario World (Super Famicom) Super Mario World (Super Famicom) SimCity (Super Famicom) SimCity (Super Famicom) Magical Taruruto (Game Boy) SimCity (Super Famicom) Super R-Type (SFC) Final Fantasy IV (Super Famicom) Final Fantasy IV (SFC) Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza (FC) Final Fantasy IV (Super Famicom)Chibi Maruko-chan 2 (GB)Mario Open Golf (Famicom) Chō Makaimura (Super Famicom) Chō Makaimura (Super Famicom)Akumajō Dracula (SFC) Super Mario World (SFC) Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (SFC) Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (SFC)Mega Man 4 (FC) SaGa 3 (Game Boy)
United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the best-selling home video games on the monthly Computer and Video Games (CVG) charts in 1991.
Month Home computers Sega Mega Drive PC Engine Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (C64) Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse Out Run Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (Amiga) Lemmings (Amiga) Gynoug Parasol Stars Magicland Dizzy (ZX Spectrum) Midnight Resistance Sonic the Hedgehog Legend of Hero Tonma Bubble Bobble (ZX Spectrum) Manchester United Europe Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker Streets of Rage PC Kid 2 Terminator 2: Judgment DayMercsHit the Ice Lotus Turbo Challenge 2QuackShotTime Cruise II WWF WrestleManiaRoboCodGradius
United States In the United States, the following titles were the top three best-selling home video game releases of 1991.
Rank Title Platform Sales 1 Sonic the Hedgehog Sega Genesis 1,000,000+ 2 Super Mario World Super Nintendo Entertainment System rowspan="2" 3 F-Zero
The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in 1991.
Month All platforms Nintendo consoles Title Platform Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Sonic the Hedgehog Sega Genesis Tetris (NES) Super Mario World (Super NES) Super Mario World (Super NES) colspan="4" Super Mario World (Super NES)
Events Notable releases January - The first two THQ releases came out in stores. February 14 – DMA Design releases Lemmings, a puzzle game that requires the player to lead a group of anthropomorphic lemmings through a dangerous environment to an escape portal. March – AOL, SSI, TSR and Stormfront Studios collaborate and launch Neverwinter Nights, credited as the first graphical MMORPG. March 7 – Capcom releases Street Fighter II for arcades. It becomes highly successful and is routinely listed as the grandfather of the fighting game genre. It is also credited with revitalizing the arcade game industry at the time, and popularizing direct tournament-level competition between players. May 6 – Sierra On-Line releases The Sierra Network, which is also credited as the first graphical MMORPG (due to its inclusion of The Shadow of Yserbius), TSN would later become its more memorable name, ImagiNation Network, after a total buyout from AT&T in 1994. June 23 – Sega releases Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis which later becomes the pack-in game and defining title for the console. It introduces the eponymous character, who would go on to be Sega's mascot. Sega also releases a version of the game for the Master System and Game Gear.
July 19 – Square releases Final Fantasy IV in Japan, the first Final Fantasy game for the Super Famicom (released in November as Final Fantasy II in North America). August 13 – Intelligent Systems releases SimCity for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. August 23 – Nintendo releases Super Mario World and F-Zero along with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. Super Mario World was the original pack-in game for the SNES. The game introduces the Yoshi character to the Mario series. September – Namco releases Starblade for arcades, featuring one of the earliest instances of real-time 3D graphics in video games. September – Electronic Arts releases motorcycle racing combat game Road Rash for Sega Genesis, starting the series. October 14 - Nintendo releases Mario The Juggler, the final Game & Watch title. November – Nintendo releases Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Game Boy in North America. November – Delphine Software releases cinematic action-adventure game Another World for the Amiga, which uses polygons instead of sprites. November 21 – Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Famicom in Japan. November 25 – SNK releases Fatal Fury: King of Fighters for the Neo Geo. December 1 – LucasArts releases Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge for Amiga, MS-DOS, Macintosh, and FM Towns. December 4 – Konami releases Super Castlevania IV for SNES in North America. December 6 – Mega Man 4 is released in Japan.