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1998 in video gaming

Notable events of 1998 in video gaming. See also history of computer and video games.

Events

• Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame
• BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards
• 4th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 1st annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³
• Game One channel (subsidiary of Canalplus); Infogrames Entertainment SA and Canal+ launch the Game One television channel

Notable releases

• August 21 – Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (PC)
• January 21 – Resident Evil 2 (PS)
• February 28 – Tekken 3 (PS)
• March 29 – Parasite Eve (PS)
• March 31 – StarCraft (PC)
• May 6 – Warhammer: Dark Omen (PC)
• May 22 – Unreal (PC)
• May 31 – Banjo-Kazooie (N64)
• September 3 – Metal Gear Solid (PS)
• September 30 – Fallout 2 (PC)
• September 30 – Pokémon Red and Blue (GB)
• September 30 – Grim Fandango (PC)
• October 20 – Xenogears (PS)
• October 31 – Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome Expansion (PC)
• October 31 – SiN (PC)
• November 20 – Half-Life (PC)
• November 21 – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
• November 30 – StarCraft: Brood War (PC)
• November 30 – Starsiege: Tribes (PC)
• November 30 – Thief: The Dark Project (PC)
• November 30 – Baldur's Gate (PC)
• December 10 – Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (N64)
• December 23 – Sonic Adventure (DC)

Hardware

• Bandai's WonderSwan handheld in Japan
• Majesco Sales Inc.'s Genesis 3 home console
• Nintendo:
  • Game Boy Color (GBC) handheld console
  • Camera & Printer accessories for the Game Boy handheld console
• Sega's NAOMI arcade system board and Dreamcast home console
• SNK's Neo Geo Pocket (NGP) handheld

Business

• Activision acquires CD Contact Data and Head Game Publishing
• Eidos Interactive acquires Crystal Dynamics
• Electronic Arts Inc. acquires Virgin Studio and Westwood Studios, Inc.
• Hasbro, Inc. acquires Atari Corporation (from JTS Corp.), Microprose, and Tiger Electronics
• JTS Corp. (Atari Corporation) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• BreakAway Games, Ltd. founded
• Elixir Studios Ltd. formed
• Lego Media established by LEGO Group
• Metro3D, Inc. founded
• Rockstar Games founded
• Square Co., Ltd. and Electronic Arts form Square Electronic Arts LLC to publish a wealth of Square Co., Ltd. titles in the U.S.
• Sunrise Interactive founded
• Troika Games founded
• WildTangent, Inc. founded