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1997 in video gaming

Notable events of 1997 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games.

Events

• October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) dies after a double car accident.
• November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) launched.
• 3rd annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo)
• TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.

Notable releases

• February 10 - Mario Kart 64 (N64)
• February 28 - Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (N64)
• March 20 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS) (Sega Saturn)
• April 30 - Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (PC)
• May 31 - MDK: (PC) (PS)
• June 26 - Dungeon Keeper (PC)
• July 1 - Star Fox 64 (N64)
• July 30 - Carmageddon (PC)
• August 25 - GoldenEye 007 (N64)
• August 31 - HeXen II (PC)
• September 7 - Final Fantasy VII (PS), (PC)
• September 19 - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PS), (PC)
• September 30 - Fallout (PC)
• September 30 - Total Annihilation (PC)
• October - Grand Theft Auto (PC)
• October 9 - Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (PC)
• October 26 - Age of Empires (PC)
• October 29 - Riven (PC) (Mac)
• October 31 - The Curse of Monkey Island (PC)
• November 14 - Postal (PC)
• December 6 - Quake II (PC)
• December 19 - Wing Commander: Prophecy (PC)
• December 23 - Gran Turismo (PS1)

Hardware

• March 1 — The Nintendo 64 is released in Europe and Australia
• October — Nintendo releases a smaller redesigned SNES.
• Sony releases PlayStation development software for PC
• Tiger Electronics releases the Game.com

Business

• Activision acquires CentreSoft Ltd. and Raven Software
• Electronic Arts Inc. acquires Maxis
• GameTek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed its doors in July 1999
• 2015, Inc. founded
• 4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded
• September — 4HEAD Studios created
• Bungie Studios West formed by Bungie Software Products Corp.
• Conspiracy Entertainment Corporation founded
• Crave Entertainment, Inc. formed
• August — Human Head Studios, Inc. formed
• Illusion Softworks, a.s. founded
• April 15 — Irem Software Engineering Inc. founded
• Irrational Games LLC founded
• Mythic Entertainment renames itself from Interworld Productions after name dispute with another "Interworld" company
• THQ renamed from Toy Head-Quarters, Inc.
• Warthog PLC founded

Lawsuits

• Nintendo v. Games City; Nintendo sues Games City for selling the Game Doctor and Doctor V64 backup devices for the SNES and N64 consoles. Nintendo wins the suit.
• Nintendo v. Prima Publishing; Nintendo sues Prima over copyrights to map of the N64 video game GoldenEye 007. Nintendo loses the suit
• Nintendo vs Sony Video Games; Nintendo sues Sony over copyrights about Mario games