<!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
1992 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest V, Final Fantasy V, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, and Super Mario Kart, along with new titles such as Art of Fighting, Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat and Virtua Racing.
The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II for the second year in a row, while also being the year's highest-grossing entertainment product. The year's best-selling home system was the Game Boy for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games were Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System port of Street Fighter II, which were both also the year's highest-grossing home entertainment products.
Legend
Hardware releases
thumb|[[TurboDuo, the North American version of the PC Engine Duo.]]
thumb|[[Sega CD, the North American version of the Mega-CD.]]
thumb|[[Super Scope]]
- April 11 – The Super NES releases in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
- June - The Super NES releases in the rest of Europe.
- June 8 - The Super NES releases in Chile.
- July 3 - The Super NES releases in the Australasia region.
- October – Sega releases the Model 1, Sega's first arcade system board supporting 3D polygon graphics.
- October 10 - The PC Engine Duo releases in North America as the TurboDuo, an updated version of the TurboGrafx-16 with built-in CD-ROM drive and Super System Card for Super CD-ROM² support.
- October 15 - Sega releases the Mega-CD as Sega CD (an add-on for the Sega Genesis) in North America, almost a year after the equivalent Japanese launch.
- October 21 - The Amiga 1200 computer is released. It's the final lower-cost Amiga model before Commodore's bankruptcy.
- Namco releases the System 22, an arcade system board that introduces 3D texture mapping and Gouraud shading.
- JVC releases the Wondermega console in Japan, a combined Mega Drive and Mega CD.
- Nintendo releases the Super Scope for the Super NES.
Top-rated games
Game of the Year awards
The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1992.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Awards
! Game of the Year
! Publisher
! Genre
! Platform
! class="unsortable" |
|-
|Chicago Tribune
| rowspan="7" | Street Fighter II
| rowspan="7" | Capcom
| rowspan="7" | Fighting
| rowspan="7" | SNES
|
|-
| Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)
|
|-
| European Computer Trade Show (ECTS)
|
|-
|GameFan Golden Megawards
|
|-
| Golden Joystick Awards
|
|-
| Gamest Awards
| Street Fighter II Dash (Champion Edition)
| Capcom
| Fighting
| Arcade
|
|-
| Chicago Tribune
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
| Nintendo
| Action-adventure
| SNES
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | GameFan Golden Megawards
| Cybernator (Assault Suits Valken)
| Masaya Games
| Run and gun
| SNES
|
|-
| Streets of Rage 2
| Sega
| Brawler
| GEN
|
|}
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame
The following video game releases in 1992 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Title
! Developer
! Publisher
! Score (out of 40)
! Genre
! Platform
|-
| Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome
| Chunsoft
| Enix
| 36
| rowspan="2" | RPG
| rowspan="2" | SNES
|-
| Shin Megami Tensei
| Atlus
| Atlus
| 36
|-
| I Love Mickey & Donald: Fushigi na Magic Box (World of Illusion)
| Sega AM7
| Sega
| 36
| Platformer
| SCD
|-
| Street Fighter II
| Capcom
| Capcom
| 35
| Fighting
| rowspan="2" | SNES
|-
| Mario Paint
| Nintendo R&D1
| Nintendo
| 35
| Art
|}
Financial performance
Highest-grossing arcade games
The year's highest-grossing game worldwide was Street Fighter II, which alone accounted for an estimated 60% of the global arcade game market, according to Coinslot magazine. The following table lists the year's top-grossing arcade games in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Market
! Title
! Coin drop revenue
! Inflation
! Manufacturer
! Genre
! class="unsortable" |
|-
| Japan
| Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
|
|
| Capcom
| Fighting
|
! colspan="3" | Game Machine
! rowspan="2" | Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu)
|-
! Title
! Type
! Points
|-
| 1
| Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
| Street Fighter II / Dash
| Software kit
|
| Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
|-
| 2
| Street Fighter II Dash (Champion Edition)
| Final Lap 2
| Standard/deluxe
|
| Final Lap 2
|-
| 3
| Captain Commando
| F1 Exhaust Note
| Dedicated
| 3464
|Street Fighter II Dash
|-
| 4
| Garō Densetsu: Shukumei no Tatakai (Fatal Fury)
| Tetris (Sega)
| Software kit
| 3402
| F1 Exhaust Note
|-
| 5
| Final Lap 2
| Columns
| Software kit
| 3218
| Final Lap
|-
| 6
| Knights of the Round
| Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes)
| Software kit
| 3140
| Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours
|-
| 7
| Sonic Wings (Aero Fighters)
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day
| Dedicated
| 2937
| Super Monaco GP
|-
| 8
| F-1 Grand Prix
| Clutch Hitter
| Software kit
| 2748
| Driver's Eyes
|-
| 9
| WWF WrestleFest
| Garō Densetsu: Shukumei no Tatakai
| Software kit
| 2401
| Tetris (Sega)
|-
| 10
| Hacha Mecha Fighter
| Super Monaco GP
| Standard/deluxe
|
| Virtua Racing
|}
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1992.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | Rank
! rowspan="2" | RePlay
! rowspan="2" | Play Meter
! colspan="2" | Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA)
! rowspan="2" | AMAA
|-
! Dedicated arcade cabinet
! Arcade conversion kit
|-
| 1
| Street Fighter II / Champion Edition
| Street Fighter II
| Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
| WWF WrestleFest
| rowspan="4" | Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, <br /> Mortal Kombat, <br /> Neo Geo MVS, <br /> Terminator 2: Judgment Day
|-
| 2
| rowspan="9" | World Heroes, <br /> Art of Fighting, <br /> X-Men, <br /> Lethal Enforcers, <br /> Mortal Kombat, <br /> Steel Talons, <br /> Space Lords, <br /> Final Lap 2 / Final Lap 3, <br /> Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours, <br /> Virtua Racing
| rowspan="4"
| rowspan="4" | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, <br /> Terminator 2: Judgment Day, <br /> Race Drivin, <br /> X-Men
| rowspan="4" | Captain America and The Avengers, <br /> Road Riot 4WD, <br /> Sunset Riders, <br /> Super High Impact
|-
| 3
|-
| 4
|-
| 5
| Suzuka 8 Hours
|-
| 6
| rowspan="5"
| colspan="2" rowspan="5"
| rowspan="5"
|-
| 7
|-
| 8
|-
| 9
|-
| 10
|}
Australia
On Australia's Timezone monthly arcade charts published in the June 1992 issue of Leisure Line magazine, Capcom's Street Fighter II: Champion Edition was the top-grossing arcade conversion kit and Konami's X-Men was the top-grossing dedicated arcade cabinet.
Best-selling home systems
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |Rank
! rowspan="2" |System(s)
! rowspan="2" |Manufacturer
! rowspan="2" |Type
! colspan="5" |Sales
|-
! data-sort-type="number" | Japan
! USA
! data-sort-type="number" | Europe
! Korea
! Worldwide
|-
|1
|GB
|Nintendo
|Handheld
|1,910,000
|4,000,000
|6,000,000
|
|11,910,000+
|-
|2
|SNES
|Nintendo
|Console
|3,580,000
|2,030,000
|11,230,000+
|-
|3
|GEN
|Sega
|Console
|400,000
|76,000
|-
|6
|MAC
|Apple Inc.
|Computer
|
|
|
|
|2,500,000
|-
|7
|SMS
|Sega
|Console
|
|< 50,000
|
|
|1,370,000+
|-
|10
|PC88, PC98
|NEC
|Computer
|
|
|
|
|1,120,000+
|}
Best-selling home video games
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Street Fighter II each sold units worldwide in 1992,
|+
|
|
|-
| Street Fighter II
| SNES
| 2,000,000+
|5,000,000
|
|
|-
|3
|Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome
|SNES
|2,800,000
|+
|+
|-
| rowspan="2" |4
|Super Mario Kart
|SNES
|2,000,000+
|< 1,000,000
! colspan="2" | South Korea
|-
! Title
! Platform
! Sales
! Title
! Platform
|-
| 1
| Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome
| SNES
| 2,800,000
| Street Fighter II
| rowspan="5" |SNES
|-
| 2
| Final Fantasy V
| SNES
| 2,000,000+
|Final Fantasy V
|-
| 3
| Super Mario Kart
| SNES
| 2,000,000+
| Ranma ½: Hard Battle
|-
| 6
| Super Mario Land 2: 6-tsu no Kinka
| GB
| rowspan="2"
| colspan="2" rowspan="5"
|-
| 7
| Mario Paint
| SNES
|-
| 8
| Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu
| SNES
| < 730,000
|-
| 9
| Hoshi no Kirby (Kirby's Dream Land)
| GB
| rowspan="2"
|-
| 10
| Super Famista (Super Batter Up)
| SNES
|}
Europe
The following titles were the top three best-selling home video game releases of 1992 in Europe and the United Kingdom.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | Rank
! colspan="3" | Europe
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2
| GEN
| 1,000,000+
|-
| 2
| Road Rash II
| GEN
|
| rowspan="2" | Street Fighter II
| SNES
| 200,000
|-
| 3
| Mario Paint
| SNES
|
| AMI
|
|}
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in 1992.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | Month
! colspan="5" | Game consoles
! colspan="2" | Home computers
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |
|-
! Genesis
! Super NES
! Master System
! NES
! Game Boy
! Amiga
! ZX Spectrum
|-
|
| colspan="7" | WWF WrestleMania (home computers)
|
|-
|
| Robocod
|
| Sonic the Hedgehog
| rowspan="4" | Super Mario Bros. 3
| rowspan="6" | Super Mario Land
| Grand Prix 1
|
|
|-
|
| QuackShot
|
| rowspan="2" | Asterix
| 1st Division Manager
|
|
|-
|
| rowspan="3" | Desert Strike
|
| Project-X
|
|
|-
|
|
| Super Kick Off
| John Madden
|
|
|-
|
|
| Champions of Europe
| rowspan="2" | Rescue Rangers
| rowspan="4" | Sensible Soccer
| rowspan="2" | Italia '90
|
|-
|
| Taz-Mania
|
| Wimbledon
|
|-
|
| Olympic Gold
|-
|
| Alien 3
|-
|
| colspan="7" | Street Fighter II (SNES)
|
|-
|
| colspan="7" rowspan="2" |Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GEN)
|
|-
|
|
|}
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the top three best-selling home video games of 1992.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Rank
! Title
! Publisher
! Genre
! Sales
! Platform
! class="unsortable" |
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2
| Sega
| Platformer
| 2,000,000
| GEN
|
|-
| 3
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
| Nintendo
| Action-adventure
| 1,000,000
| SNES
|
|-
| August
| rowspan="2" | Yoshi
| Street Fighter II
| rowspan="2" | Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing
|
| rowspan="2" | Super Mario Land
| rowspan="2" | Batman Returns
|
|-
| September
| Turtles in Time
|
|
|-
| October
| rowspan="3" | Tecmo Super Bowl
| rowspan="3" | Street Fighter II
| NHLPA Hockey '93
| Cosmic Fantasy 2
| Kirby's Dream Land
| rowspan="2" | NFL Football
|
|-
| November
| John Madden Football '93
| rowspan="2" | Air Zonk
| rowspan="2" | Super Mario Land 2
|
|-
| December
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2
| Batman Returns
|
|}
The following titles were the top-selling personal computer games on the monthly PC Research charts in 1992, as reported by Electronic Games magazine.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! Month
! DOS games
! DOS educational games
! Amiga
! Macintosh
! CD-ROM
! class="unsortable" |
|-
| May
| Hardball III
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| June
| rowspan="2" | Aces of the Pacific
| rowspan="5" | Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
|
|
|
|
|-
| July
|
|
|
|
|-
| August
| Links
|
|
|
|
|-
| September
| Falcon 3.0: Operation Fighting Tiger
|
|
|
|
|-
| October
| King's Quest VI
| Civilization
| Prince of Persia
| Battle Chess
|
|}
Events
- January 1 – Atari Corporation drops support for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 7800, and software for those systems.
- May 25 – FuncoLand founder David Pomije is named "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" by the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce.
- July 2 – FuncoLand's parent company Funco Inc. files a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of one million shares of its common stock at $5 a share, with plans to use the proceeds from the sold shares to repay short-term debt and finance the opening of other FuncoLand locations.
- July 13 – The first Chicago-area FuncoLand location opens in Bloomingdale.
- August 12 – Funco's initial public offering, underwritten by Miller, Johnson & Kuehn Inc., is announced.
- September 22 – The first south suburban Chicago-area FuncoLand location opens in Orland Park.
|-
| January || Art Alive! || GEN || Educational ||
|-
| January 14 || Super Fantasy Zone || GEN || Shoot 'em up ||
|-
| January 25 || Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan || SNES || RPG ||
|-
| January 28 || Romancing SaGa || SNES || RPG ||
|-
| January 31 || Football Frenzy || Arcade || Sports ||
|-
| January 31 || Soul Blazer || SNES || RPG ||
|-
| February || Adventure Island || GB || Action ||
|-
| February || Alisia Dragoon || GEN || Action ||
|-
| February || Asteroids || GB || Action ||
|-
| February 14 || Soccer Brawl || Arcade || Sports ||
|-
| March || The Addams Family || SNES || Action ||
|-
| March || Baseball Heroes || LYNX || Sports ||
|-
| March || Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? || GEN || Educational ||
|-
| March 23 || Last Resort || Arcade || Shoot 'em up ||
|-
| March 27 || Rival Turf! || SNES || Action ||
|-
| April || Crystal Mines II || LYNX || Action ||
|-
| April || Devilish: The Next Possession || GEN || Action ||
|-
| April 28 || Baseball Stars 2 || NEO || Sports ||
|-
| May || NBA All-Star Challenge 2 || GB || Sports ||
|-
| May 25 || King of the Monsters 2 || Arcade || Fighting ||
|-
| June 15 || Andro Dunos || Arcade || Shoot 'em up ||
|-
| July 29 || Ecco the Dolphin || || ||
|-
| August 27 || Super Mario Kart || || Racing (kart) ||
|-
| September 1 || Championship Manager || AMI, ATRST || ||
|-
| September 24 || Art of Fighting || Arcade || ||
|-
| September 27 (JP) || Dragon Quest V || || ||
|-
| October || Virtua Racing || Arcade || Racing ||
|-
| October || Zool || AMI || Platformer ||
|-
| October 8 (NA) || Mortal Kombat || Arcade || Fighting ||
|-
| October 15 || Night Trap || SCD || ||
|-
| October 21 || Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins || GB || ||
|-
| October 23 || Galaxy Fraulein Yuna || PCE || Adventure ||
|-
| November || Star Control II || || ||
|-
| November || Prince of Persia || SNES || ||
|-
|November 4
|Stunt Island
|DOS
|Flight simulation
|
|-
| November 21 || Sonic the Hedgehog 2 || GEN || ||
|-
| December || Dune II || || RTS ||
|-
| December 4 (JP) || Mega Man 5 || || ||
|-
| December 10 || Fatal Fury 2 || Arcade, NEO || ||
|-
| December 15 (US) || Mega Man 5 || || ||
|-
| Unknown || Alone in the Dark || || survival horror ||
|-
| Unknown || Flashback || AMI || ||
|}
See also
- 1992 in games