This week in video game history offers up anniversaries for the "fan of the genre" in all of us. From quirky Japanese music games to the hardcore Western RPGs to bullet-hell shooters, we have all niches covered.
June 13
2000 -- SNK closes its US and Europe offices. This move would signal the end of the Neo Geo Pocket Color, the company's handheld in those regions.
2000 -- Shogun: Total War, the first in the series invades PCs. This popular line of strategy games would see the release of many titles, each featuring a different setting and time period -- Medieval, Rome, and Message Board.
June 14
1989 -- Nintendo releases Tetris in Japan. This version of Tetris is the lesser of the two that were available but the only one that was officially licensed. Tengen developed the unlicensed version, which had to be removed from store shelves. See, they didn't have the Nintendo Official Seal of Quality, and we all know how important that is.
June 15
1982 -- Justice Thomas Galligan rules in New York Supreme Court that video games are not protected by the First Amendment and that the state can limit the locations of arcades. I wonder if they limited arcade cabinets to pizza parlours and convenience stores. If so, I'm pretty sure you didn't need judicial intervention. That happened everywhere.
June 16
1961 -- Happy birthday Masaya Matsuura! This music-game developed founded the NanaOn-Sha studio in Japan and was the force behind PaRappa the Rapper, UmJammer Lammy, and Vib-Ribbon.
June 17
1946 -- The first mobile phone call is made. While we can't say for certain, we are pretty sure that phone didn't have a copy of Bejeweled on it.
1980 -- Atari registers Asteroids and Lunar Lander with the U.S. Copyright Office, an industry first. Funny to think that before that, video games weren't registered! You can't even blink without infringing on copyright these days. And since Alone in the Dark had a blinking mechanic, I'm probably going to get sued.
June 18
2002 -- Bioware releases Neverwinter Nights. This well-received game would set the tone for modern Western RPGs and would help the company become the industry giant that it has become. And since Candians made developed it, this RPG is especially awesome.
June 19
1992 -- Former Konami employees found Treasure. The company would go on to to make some very well-regarded platformers and shoot 'em ups and would develop a cult-like following. They are known for making boss-heavy and chaotic games, so it only makes sense that they developed McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure. Only a company like Treasure can handle the intensity of McDonaldland.
2000 -- Microsoft announces that it has acquired Bungie. That acquisition would go on to make some of the most popular video games ever for Microsoft, before bouncing back to independence following the release of Halo 3. Bungie...bouncing back, get it? OK, I'm done for this week.
Question of the Week: What's your favorite obscure and/or strange genre?
