1999 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Heroes of Might and Magic III, System Shock 2, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Final Fantasy VIII, Age of Empires II, Crash Team Racing, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, Grand Theft Auto 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Chrono Cross, Unreal Tournament, Pokémon Gold and Silver, and Donkey Kong 64, along with new titles such as Super Smash Bros., Silent Hill, Syphon Filter, Driver, EverQuest, Homeworld, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Planescape: Torment.

The year's most critically acclaimed video game was the Dreamcast title Soulcalibur, which remains among the highest-rated games of all time on Metacritic. The best-selling home video game worldwide was the Game Boy title Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow for the second year in a row, while the year's highest-grossing arcade game in Japan was Sega's Virtua Striker 2.

Legend

Events British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards. March – Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children is republished as Game Over: Press Start to Continue. March 15 – Game Network hosts the 1st annual Independent Games Festival (IGF) at GDC. March 15–19 – Game Developers Conference (formerly Computer Game Developers Conference); moves to San Jose, California where it stays for six consecutive years; hosts the 1st annual Independent Games Festival. May 12 – Nintendo has started working on what will eventually be the GameCube, under the codename "Project Dolphin". May 13 – Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (at E3); inducts Sid Meier of Firaxis Games to the AIAS Hall of Fame. May 13–15 – 5th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3); the 2nd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3. September 7 - The SegaWorld London amusement park shuts down for good exactly three years after its original opening date in 1996. The bottom two floors of the park continue to operate as a generic arcade until 2011.

Hardware

This is a list of all the game-related hardware released in 1999.

The Sega Dreamcast made its international release after initially launching in Japan the previous year. Date System January 23 PocketStation March 4 WonderSwan March 16 Neo Geo Pocket Color May / June Game.com Pocket Pro September 9 DreamcastOctober 14DreamcastNovember 30Dreamcast

Top-rated games

Game of the Year awards The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1999.

Awards Game of the Year Platform Publisher Genre Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) Soulcalibur DC Namco Fighting Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 128, March 2000, page 139GameSpot Hyper GamePowerSoulcaliburDCNamcoFightingGameSpySoulcaliburDCNamcoFighting BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64 Nintendo Action-adventure Video Software Dealers Association Computer Gaming World Premier Awards Unreal Tournament WIN GT Interactive FPSGameSpy Digitiser Pokémon Red / Blue GB Nintendo Role-playing Edge Gran Turismo 2 PS1 Sony Racing simulation Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) Final Fantasy VIII PS1 Squaresoft Role-playing Game Informer Tony Hawk's Pro Skater PS1 Neversoft Sports GameSpot EverQuest Sony MMORPG Japan Game Awards Doko Demo Issyo PS1 Sony Strategy Japan Media Arts Festival Seaman DC Sega Simulation RPGFan Chrono Cross PS1 Squaresoft RPG

Critically acclaimed titles

Metacritic and GameRankings Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

+ 1999 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR) Game Publisher Release Date Platform(s) MC score GR score Soulcalibur Namco August 5, 1999 DC 98/100 96.56% Chrono Cross Square November 18, 1999 PS1 94/100 92.28% Gran Turismo 2 Sony Computer Entertainment December 11, 1999 PS1 93/100 92.42% Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Activision September 29, 1999 PS1 92/100 93.67% Unreal Tournament GT Interactive November 22, 1999 WIN 92/100 93.57% Super Mario Bros. Deluxe Nintendo May 10, 1999 GBC 92.63% Homeworld Sierra Entertainment September 28, 1999 WIN 93/100 88.81% System Shock 2 Electronic Arts August 11, 1999 WIN 92/100 92% Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Electronic Arts February 12, 1999 WIN 92/100 91.88% Age of Empires II Microsoft September 30, 1999 WIN 92/100 91.81% Medal of Honor Electronic Arts October 31, 1999 PS1 92/100 87.31% Crash Team Racing Sony Computer Entertainment September 30, 1999 PS1 88/100 91.78% FreeSpace 2 Interplay Entertainment September 30, 1999 WIN 91/100 91.58% NFL 2K Sega September 9, 1999 DC 91.53% Pokémon Silver Version Nintendo November 21, 1999 GBC 91.35% Pokémon Gold Version Nintendo November 21, 1999 GBC 91.35% Planescape: Torment Interplay Entertainment December 12, 1999 WIN 91/100 90.63% Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Capcom September 22, 1999 PS1 91/100 88.21% Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Eidos Interactive August 16, 1999 PS1 91/100 88.16% The Longest Journey IQ Media Nordic November 18, 1999 WIN 91/100 88% Mario Golf Nintendo June 11, 1999 N64 91/100 87.32% Rayman 2: The Great Escape Ubisoft November 5, 1999 WIN 90.7% Ape Escape Sony Computer Entertainment May 31, 1999 PS1 90/100 90.44% Final Fantasy VIII Square February 11, 1999 PS1 90/100 89.42% Beetle Adventure Racing Electronic Arts February 28, 1999 N64 90/100 89.1% Rayman 2: The Great Escape Ubisoft October 29, 1999 N64 90/100 88.83% Syphon Filter 989 Studios February 17, 1999 PS1 90/100 86.93% Donkey Kong 64 Nintendo November 22, 1999 N64 90/100 86.73% Shenmue Sega December 29, 1999 DC 89.34% Wipeout 3 Sony Computer Entertainment September 8, 1999 PS1 89/100 87.17% Grandia Entertainment Software Publishing June 24, 1999 PS1 89/100 85.87% Descent 3 Interplay Entertainment June 17, 1999 WIN 89/100 84.36% Flight Unlimited III Electronic Arts September 17, 1999 WIN 88.5% NBA 2K Sega November 10, 1999 DC 88.3% NBA Live 2000 EA Sports October 31, 1999 WIN 88% Worms Armageddon Team17 January 29, 1999 WIN 87.71% All-Star Baseball 2000 Acclaim Entertainment April 8, 1999 N64 87.69% EverQuest Sony Online Entertainment March 16, 1999 WIN 85/100 87.68% Mario Golf Nintendo August 10, 1999 GBC 87.65% Driver GT Interactive June 25, 1999 PS1 87/100 87.57% RollerCoaster Tycoon Hasbro Interactive March 22, 1999 WIN 87.54%

Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame The following video game releases in 1999 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.

TitlePlatformPublisherGenreScore (out of 40)SoulcaliburDCNamcoFighting40Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio TangramDCSegaShooter39Final Fantasy VIIIPS1SquaresoftRPG37Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2PS1EnixRoguelike37Sega Rally 2DCSegaRacing36Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 6 (Power Pros 6)N64KonamiSports36Biohazard 3: Last Escape (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)PS1CapcomSurvival horror36Chrono CrossPS1SquaresoftRPG36Um Jammer LammyPS1SonyRhythm35SaGa Frontier 2PS1SquaresoftRPG35Devil Summoner: Soul HackersPS1AtlusRPG35Culdcept ExpansionPS1Media FactoryTurn-based strategy35Fire Emblem: Thracia 776SNESNintendoSRPG35

Financial performance

Best-selling video game consoles Rank Manufacturer Game console Type Generation Sales Japan United States Europe Worldwide1SonyPS1Home32-bit2,570,0007,040,00011,750,00021,820,0002NintendoGB / GBCHandheld8-bit4,180,0002,680,000+ 17,450,0003NintendoN64Home64-bit940,000 6,490,0004SegaDCHome128-bit950,0001,700,000500,000+3,150,000+5BandaiWSHandheld16-bit1,400,000 1,400,0006SegaGENHome16-bit,000 431,000+7NintendoSNESHome16-bit30,000,000 280,0008NintendoNESHome8-bit50,00050,0009SNKNGPCHandheld16-bit 25,000+ 25,000+10SegaSATHome32-bit< 10,000 6,100+

Best-selling home video games The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) of 1999 in Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany.

+ Best-selling home video games in Japan, United States and Germany Rank Title Platform Sales Japan USA UK Germany Combined 1 Pokémon Red / Green / Blue / Yellow GB 998,666 + 2 Final Fantasy VIII PS1 3,538,000 1,000,000+ + 3 Pocket Monsters: Gold / Silver (Pokémon Gold / Silver) GBC 4,444,000 4,444,000 4 Super Smash Bros. (Dai Rantō Smash Brothers) N64 1,520,000 1,300,000 + 5 Donkey Kong 64 N64 739,000 1,900,000 + 6 Pokémon Pinball GBC 765,263 1,800,000 7 Pokémon Snap N64 634,000 1,500,000 8 Dance Dance Revolution / 2ndReMix PS1 1,904,441+ 9 Gran Turismo PS1 234,652 1,300,000 100,000+ + 10 Driver PS1 1,200,000 200,000+ 200,000+ +

The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing home video games of 1999 in the United States and Europe.

+ Highest-grossing home video games in United States and Europe Rank Title Platform(s) Sales revenue United States Europe Combined Inflation 1 Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow GB € () $ 2 Gran Turismo PS1 €94,444,000 () $ 3 Donkey Kong 64 N64 €20,561,696 () $ 4 Tomb Raider III €96,591,106 () + $+ 5 Driver PS1 €43,112,063 () $ 6 FIFA 99 €86,316,959 () + $+ 7 Final Fantasy VIII PS1 + €26,549,294 () + $+ 8 Pokémon Snap N64 $ 9 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64 €70,023,810 () + $+ 10 Super Smash Bros. N64 + $+

United States In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1999.

Rank Title Platform Publisher Genre Sales Revenue Inflation 1 Pokémon Red / Blue / Yellow GB Nintendo Role-playing $ 2 Donkey Kong 64 N64 Nintendo Platformer 1,900,000 $ 3 Pokémon Pinball GBC Nintendo Pinball 1,800,000 $ 4 Pokémon Snap N64 Nintendo Photography 1,500,000 $ 5 Super Smash Bros. N64 Nintendo Fighting 1,300,000 $ 6 Gran Turismo PS1 Sony Racing simulation 1,300,000 $ 7 Driver PS1 GT Interactive Driving 1,200,000 $ 8 Spyro the Dragon PS1 Sony Platformer 1,200,000 9 Final Fantasy VIII PS1 Square EA Role-playing 1,000,000+ + $+ 10 Frogger PS1 Hasbro Interactive Action colspan="3"

Japan In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1999.

Rank Title Platform Sales First-day sales revenue Inflation 1 Pocket Monsters: Gold / Silver (Pokémon Gold / Silver) GBC 4,444,000 2 Final Fantasy VIII PS1 3,538,000¥17,200,000,000 ($151,000,000)$ 3 Dance Dance Revolution / 2ndReMix PS1 colspan="2" 4 Nintendo All Star! Dai Rantō Smash Brothers N64 1,520,000+ colspan="2" 5 Biohazard 3: Last Escape (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis) PS1 1,465,000 colspan="2" rowspan="3" 6 Gran Turismo 2 PS1 1,410,000 7 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark duel Stories GBC 1,208,000 8 Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue / Pikachu (Pokémon) GB 998,666 colspan="2" 9 Derby Stallion '99 PS1 890,000 colspan="2" rowspan="2" 10 Minna no Golf 2 (Everybody's Golf 2) PS1 843,000

Europe In Europe, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing home video games of 1999.

Rank Title Platform(s) PublisherGenre Sales revenue Inflation 1 Tomb Raider III Eidos InteractiveAction-adventure €96,591,106 () $ 2 Gran Turismo PS1 SonyRacing simulation €94,444,000 () $ 3 FIFA 99 Electronic ArtsSports €86,316,959 () $ 4 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64 NintendoAction-adventure €70,023,810 () $ 5 Pokémon Red / Blue GB NintendoRole-playing € () $ 6 Tekken 3 PS1 NamcoFighting €57,209,778 () $ 7 Tomb Raider II Eidos InteractiveAction-adventure €54,477,514 () $ 8 FIFA 2000 Electronic ArtsSports €53,519,616 () $ 9 Colin McRae Rally CodemastersRacing €51,584,666 () $ 10 Driver GT InteractiveDriving €43,112,063 () $

In the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 1999.