1988 in video gaming

Console Hardware Releases

• Mega Drive released in Japan on October 29.

Game Releases

• The first commercial versions of Tetris are released.
• Namco releases World Stadium, Assault, which is the first game to use sprite scaling and massive sprite rotation, Assault Plus, Berabow Man, Marchen Maze, Bakutotsu Kijuutei, which is the sequel to Baraduke, Ordyne, Metal Hawk, World Court, Splatterhouse, which is the first game to get a parental advisory disclaimer, Mirai Ninja, Face Off and Phelios.
• Electronic Arts releases John Madden Football for the Apple II, starting its highly successful line of American football games. It is also the first major football game to feature full 11-man teams.
• Capcom releases Mega Man 2 in Japan, the highest-selling installment to date (August 2006) in the entire Mega Man franchise with a total of 1.5 million copies sold. It was honored in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever list, coming in at number 33. As well, it is considered by many fans as the best game in the Classic series.
• Pool of Radiance (SSI), the first of the "Gold Box" games, the first computer RPG based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
• Origin Systems releases Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny. This was the first game in the Ultima series to implement a time-of-day system with day/night cycles and daily schedules for non-player characters.
• Altered Beast (SEGA, arcade), later ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis where it was packaged with the console in North America and Europe.
• SEGA releases Phantasy Star for the Master System, the first in the company's most successful series of RPGs.
• Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Famicom in Japan.

Key Events

• Nintendo releases the Nintendo Power magazine in July.
• New companies: KOEI Co., Ltd., Visual Concepts, Stormfront Studios, Walt Disney Computer Software
• Defunct companies: Coleco Industries Inc.
• Activision renamed to Mediagenic.
• Nintendo vs. Camerica Ltd. lawsuit: Nintendo sues Camerica over the clone production of an Advantage joystick controller for the NES console.

Video game releases

Name	Release Date	Category	Region(s)	Platform(s)
1943: The Battle of Midway	October, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
32 in 1 Game Cartridge	1988	Bundle	Europe	Atari 2600
Action Fighter	1988	Video Game	United Kingdom	Amiga
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes of the Lance	1988	Video Game	North America	DOS
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Pool of Radiance	1988	Video Game	North America	DOS
Adventure Island	September, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
After Burner	1988	Video Game	Europe	Commodore 64
After Burner	1988	Video Game	North America	Commodore 64
After Burner	March, 1988	Video Game	International	Master System
Ai Sensei no Oshiete: Watashi no Hoshi	March 26, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Aighina no Yogen: From the Legend of Balubalouk	1988	Video Game	Europe	Commodore 64
Aighina no Yogen: From the Legend of Balubalouk	1988	Video Game	North America	Commodore 64
Akira	December 24, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars	1988	Video Game	Europe	Master System
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars	March 10, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Master System
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars	July, 1988	Video Game	North America	Master System
Alien Crush	September 14, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Alien Fires: 2199 AD	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Alien Syndrome	1988	Video Game	Europe	Atari ST, CPC, MSX, Master System
Alien Syndrome	December 2, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Alien Syndrome	March, 1988	Video Game	North America	Amiga, Commodore 64, Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System
Altered Beast	1988	Video Game	Europe	MSX, ZX Spectrum
Altered Beast	1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Altered Beast	1988	Video Game	North America	Arcade
Amagon	December 2, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Anacreon	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Anticipation	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Apache 3	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Appare! Gateball	December 22, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Area 51: Site 4	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Armed Formation F	1988	Video Game	North America	Arcade
Assault (1988)	April, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Athletic World	June 15, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
Bad Dudes	1988	Video Game	Europe	Amiga, Commodore 64
Bad Dudes	1988	Video Game	North America	Amiga, Apple II, Commodore 64, Arcade, MS-DOS
Bad Dudes	1988	Video Game	United Kingdom	ZX Spectrum
Bakushou!! Jinsei Gekijou	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Bakutotsu Kijūtei	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Bases Loaded	July, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Bases Loaded II: Second Season	August 10, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Batman: The Caped Crusader	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Bionic Commando	1988	Video Game	Australia	Nintendo Entertainment System
Bionic Commando	July 20, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Bionic Commando	December, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Birdie Try	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Blades of Steel	July 22, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Blaster Master	June 17, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Blaster Master	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Bloody Wolf	1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Body Slam: Super Pro Wrestling	1988	Video Game	North America	Intellivision
Bombuzal	1988	Video Game	North America	Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64
Bonze Adventure	1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Bravoman	1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Bubble Bobble	July 2, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Master System
Bubble Bobble	November, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Bump 'n' Jump	December, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Cabal	1988	Video Game	International	Arcade
California Games	1988	Video Game	Europe	Amiga, Master System
California Games	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System
Captain Comic	January 5, 1988	Video Game	North America	DOS
Castlevania	December 19, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest	December 1, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Chelnov	January, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Chelnov	1988	Video Game	North America	Arcade
Chopper I	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
City Connection	1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
Cobra Command (1988)	October 21, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Cobra Command (1988)	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Commando	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 2600
Contra	February 9, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Contra	1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Crazy Climber 2	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Crime Buster	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Crossbow (1983)	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, Atari 7800
Dark Chambers	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 2600
Defender II	July, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Déjà Vu	November 22, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Demon Sword	March 29, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Desert Commander	April 28, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Devastators	June 23, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Donkey Kong	April 8, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer Disk System
Donkey Kong	1988	Video Game	International	Atari 7800
Donkey Kong Classics	1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Jr.	July 19, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Famicom Disk System
Donkey Kong Jr.	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 7800
Double Dragon	April 8, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Famicom
Double Dragon	June, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Double Dunk	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 2600
Dr. Chaos	November, 1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	April 8, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Dragon Power	1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
Dragon Power	March, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Dragon Quest III	February 10, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Dragon Spirit	December 16, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Dynamite Dux	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
EGA Trek: The Final Frontier	1988	Video Game	North America	MS-DOS
Fantasy Zone	1988	Video Game	North America	TurboGrafx-16
Final Blow	1988	Video Game	International	Undefined
Final Fantasy II	December 17, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Fire Bam	February 1, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Famicom Disk System
First Expedition	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
First Queen	1988	Video Game	Japan	NEC PC-9801, Sharp X68000
Food Fight	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 8-bit
Freedom Force	April, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Friday the 13th	April, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Galaga '88	July 15, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Ghostbusters	1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!	December 9, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Gradius	November 30, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
Gradius 2	March 24, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Undefined
Gun.Smoke	January 27, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Famicom Disk System
Gun.Smoke	December 23, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Haunted Castle	September 22, 1988	Video Game	North America	Arcade
Haunted Castle	February, 1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Hot Rod	1988	Video Game	North America	Arcade
Ice Hockey	April 15, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
Ice Hockey	January 21, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Ice Hockey	March, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road	April 16, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Undefined
Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road	April, 1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy	July, 1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
John Madden Football (1988)	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Jordan vs Bird: One on One	1988	Video Game	North America	DOS
JTrek	June 23, 1988	Video Game	International	Java
Karate Champ	July 22, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Famicom
Karnov	January, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Keith Courage in Alpha Zones	August 30, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Kid Kool	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Konami '88	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Kung Fu Heroes	March, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Last Duel	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Legendary Axe	September 23, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Legendary Wings	July, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (In Several Wrong Places)	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Life and Death	1988	Video Game	North America	DOS
Live and Let Die	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Maniac Mansion	September 13, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Famicom
Marchen Maze	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Mega Man 2	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Metal Gear	June, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Metal Hawk	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Mirai Ninja	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Missing in Action	November 14, 1988	Video Game	International	Arcade
Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
NARC	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Netrek	1988	Video Game	International	Unix
Ninja Gaiden	December 9, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Ninja Spirit	1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Parodius	April 28, 1988	Video Game	Japan	MSX
Pole Position	1988	Video Game	North America	Intellivision
Power Drift	August, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Pro Yakyuu World Stadium	May 20, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
R-Type	March 25, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine (Part 1)
R.C. Pro-Am	April 15, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
R.C. Pro-Am	February, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Rad Racer	January 15, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
Rally Bike	1988	Video Game	International	Arcade
Rambo III	1988	Video Game	Europe	Commodore 64
River Raid II	July 28, 1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 2600
Rygar	March 25, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Master System
Sadakichi Sebun: Hideyoshi no Ougon	November 18, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Saint Seiya: Ougon Densetsu Kanketsu Hen	May 30, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Salamander	August 1, 1988	Video Game	North America	Undefined
Samurai Sword	November 15, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Famicom Disk System
Sengoku Mahjong	July 8, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Snatcher	November 13, 1988	Video Game	Japan	NES PC-8801
Solomon's Key	1988	Video Game	Europe	IBM PC
Solomon's Key	April 17, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Master System
Space Harrier	1988	Video Game	Europe	Atari ST
Space Harrier	July 25, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-8801
Space Harrier	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari ST
Splatterhouse	1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Sprintmaster	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Stadium Mud Buggies	1988	Video Game	North America	Intellivision
Star Trek: First Contact	1988	Video Game	North America	MS-DOS
Star Trek: The Last Generation	1988	Video Game	North America	MS-DOS
Super Baseball	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 2600
Super Dodge Ball	July 26, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
Super Football	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Super Mario Bros. 2	October 9, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Thunder Blade	October 29, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Mega Drive
Superman (NES)	December, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Syvalion	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
T & C Surf Designs	February, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Taboo: The Sixth Sense	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Tetris: The Soviet Mind Game	1988	Video Game	North America	Arcade
The Adventures of Bayou Billy	August 12, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
The Battle of Olympus	March 28, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
The Black Bass	October 18, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
The Goonies II	December 19, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
The Guardian Legend	February 5, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
The Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance	1988	Video Game	North America	Undefined
The Main Event	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
The New Zealand Story	1988	Video Game	North America	Undefined
Thunder Cross	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Thunder Force II	November, 1988	Video Game	Japan	X68000
Tomcat: The F-14 Fighter Simulator	1988	Video Game	North America	Atari 2600
Toobin'	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
U.S. Championship V'Ball	October, 1988	Video Game	North America	Arcade
Universal Chaos	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Vigilante	February, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
Vindicators	1988	Video Game	North America	Arcade
Wheel of Fortune	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Who Dunit	1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
Wild Gunman	February 15, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
World Class Baseball	June 24, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
World Class Track Meet	August, 1988	Video Game	Undefined	Undefined
World Court	1988	Video Game	Japan	Arcade
World Court Tennis	August 11, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Xevious	1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System
Xexyz	August 26, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Family Computer
YouYou Jinsei	April 22, 1988	Video Game	Japan	PC-Engine
Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished	1988	Video Game	Europe	Genesis
Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished	August 26, 1988	Video Game	Japan	Famicom
Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished	1988	Video Game	North America	Genesis
Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter	June 24, 1988	Video Game	Japan	NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-9801
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link	September 26, 1988	Video Game	Europe	Nintendo Entertainment System
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link	December 1, 1988	Video Game	North America	Nintendo Entertainment System

Hardware releases

Name	Release Date	Category	Region(s)
Family Computer Network System	September, 1988	Peripheral	Japan
Mega Drive	October 29, 1988	Home Console	Japan
Mega Drive Controller	October 29, 1988	Controller	Japan
MSX2+	1988	Home Computer	International
PC-Engine CD-ROM²	December 4, 1988	Peripheral	Japan