1997 in video gaming

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.
 * 3D Realms begins production of the infamous Duke Nukem Forever, winner of numerous vaporware awards.

Notable releases

 * January 2 - Diablo (PC)
 * February 10 - Mario Kart 64 (N64)
 * February 28 - Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (N64)(PC)
 * March 20 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS) (Sega Saturn)
 * April 1 - SoulTrap (PC)
 * 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 (Nintendo 64)
 * July 30 - Carmageddon (PC)
 * July 31 - Mega Man X4 (PSX)
 * 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 25 - Ultima Online (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 - Tomb Raider II (PC) (PS)
 * November 14 - Postal (PC)
 * November 21 - Diddy Kong Racing (N64)
 * November 25 - Myth: The Fallen Lords (PC)
 * December 6 - Quake II (PC)
 * December 10 - JSF - Joint Strike Fighter (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 game