History of the Gaming Industry – year 1998
Why am I starting from 1998? Don’t know. It just hit me in the head to start with this year. So let’s go.
As you probably understand, the picture is taken from Starcraft. This RTS was released on April 1, 1998 and remained popular until the release of the sequel in 2010. On November 30 of the same year, the first (and only) addon was released Starcraft: Brood War. How have we lost the habit of the word “addon”?. But then the abbreviation DLC was almost a swear word. In general, that year was rich in good strategies. So, on October 31st the addon was released (get used to it, get used to it) Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, and on October 1 came out (came out?) Knights and Merchants. However, there was no competition in the RTS genre, even despite the release Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines And Warhammer: Dark Omen. But a city planning simulator was released Caesar 3, which occupied the niche of economic strategies that year.
Now a few words about racing. That year, perhaps, the Need For Speed series became a leader in this genre, releasing Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit. As everyone knows, a remake was released in 2010.
Lord, how everything has changed. Even the ESRB logo.
By the way, then, in 1998, I wanted a car with opening headlights, like on the cover Need For Speed 3.
Still out Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now on PC. In 1999 it was ported to the Playstation and successfully received 1 out of 10 from Computer & Video Games UK.
Now about the Russian www.casino-spin.co.uk gaming industry. In the spring, two Russian games were released that gained popularity around the world. This Truckers: Path to Victory(March 25) and Allods: Seal of Mystery(April 10), known abroad as Hard Truck: Road to Victory And Rage of Mages respectively.
They became one of the first domestic games to be widely distributed throughout the world.
I love this dragon!
Allods, of course, is a wonderful RPG, but before Fallout 2 they fade. 23 huge locations, San Francisco with the Chinese, and, of course, a third-person view – these are just some of the advantages of Fallout.
And the very first game of 1998 was Worms 2. Some say this is the best Worms. I had to change the minds of these people Worms:Reloaded.
Finally, the most important thing – Shooters. The first was Resident Evil 2, released on January 21 and became the best-selling game in the series. Then he left Unreal, with its Unreal Engine 1 and the ability to hold a weapon in the left or right hand. Published on August 7 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.
And finally Half-Life. This shooter was published by Valve on November 19, 1998. It received many modifications (primarily Counter-Strike and Team Fortress), and was recognized as game of the year in a bunch of different publications. But they didn’t even know what to call him. There were many options – Quiver, Half-Death, etc.d. But they settled on Half-Life and chose a symbol – the Greek letter “lambda”, which was inserted on the cover instead of the letter “a”, although it is an analogue of the Russian “l”
Apache, dam – everything is as it should be.
And a little about other genres. Came out Tekken 3, still considered one of the best fighting games. In the sports field FIFA 99 And NHL 99 didn’t make a revolution. But a whole new genre has appeared – stealth action – Konami released on October 21 Metal Gear Solid for Playstation. Now the leader in this industry has become Splinter Cell, but then she made a splash. One of the innovations of this game was the now so hated shelters.
But, nevertheless, that year was famous not only for releases. One of the first Russian gaming sites AG started working.ru. Activision and Electronic Arts absorbed two more studios. But most importantly, Rockstar Games was founded, giving us GTA, Manhunt, Max Payne, Midnight Club and much more.
In general, 1998 gave us many unforgettable masterpieces, and subsequently they were all just as interesting and fascinating.
And finally, a couple of questions (just because).
1. I said that Allods and Truckers are one of the first domestic games that are widely distributed throughout the world. Which game was definitely the first??