1997 in video games explained

1997 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Final Fantasy VII, , GoldenEye 007, Star Fox 64, , Quake II, Mega Man Legends, Riven, Tomb Raider II, Dark Rift, Tekken 3 and Virtua Striker 2, along with new titles such as , Gran Turismo, Diablo, Grand Theft Auto and Fallout.

Sony's PlayStation was the year's best-selling video game console worldwide for the second year in a row, while also being the annual best-selling console in Japan for the first time (overtaking the Game Boy and Sega Saturn). The year's best-selling home video game worldwide was Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation, while the year's highest-grossing arcade games in Japan were Sega's Virtua Fighter 3 and Print Club 2.

Events

• March 6 - Sega opens Sega World Sydney in Australia. It is the second Sega World park to open outside of Japan, with the first opening as part of the London Trocadero the previous year.
• June 19–21 – The 3rd annual E3 is held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.^[1]
• October:
  • Video game retailer FuncoLand opens its first Greater Cincinnati locations.^[2]
  • 4 – Gunpei Yokoi (1941–1997) dies after a double car accident.
• November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) launched.
• December 16 – A scene from the Pokémon anime (based upon the highly successful games) causes 685 Japanese children to have seizures. Nintendo makes a statement proclaiming the safety of the Pokémon games from fear that the games would cause a similar effect, the episode to be permanently removed from circulation, and the featured Pokémon in the episode (Porygon) has not made an appearance in the Pokémon anime since.
• TSR, Inc., the owner of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game, was acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
• 3D Realms begins production of Duke Nukem Forever, winner of numerous vaporware awards.
• The gaming portal Cool Math Games went online for the first time.
• Sony releases PlayStation development software for PC

Hardware

Month	Day	System
March	1	Nintendo 64^/
April	25	Dual Analog Controller
September	12	Game.com
October	20	New-style Super NES
November	20	DualShock controller

Discontinued

Month	Day	System
Unknown	Unknown	Genesis/Mega Drive
April	30	Sega Game Gear

Top-rated games

Game of the Year awards

The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1997.

Awards	Game of the Year	Platform(s)	Genre	Publisher
CESA Awards	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	Role-playing	Squaresoft	^[3]
Japan Media Arts Festival					^[4]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)				Sony	^[5]
Game Informer					^[6]
GamePro					^[7]
Hyper					^[8]
Origins Awards					^[9]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)	GoldenEye 007	Nintendo 64	First-person shooter	Nintendo	^[10]
Interactive Achievement Awards					^[11]
VideoGame Advisor					^[12]
Electronic Playground					^[13]
GamePro
Nintendo Power					^[14]
Digitiser	Super Mario 64	Nintendo 64	Platformer	Nintendo	^[15]
Golden Joystick Awards					^[16]
GameSpot	Total Annihilation	PC	Real-time strategy	Cavedog	^[17]
Gamest Awards	Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3)	Arcade (CP System II)	Fighting	Capcom
Japan Media Arts Festival	Intelligent Qube (I.Q. / Kurushi)	PlayStation	Puzzle	Sony
Origins Awards	Sid Meier's Gettysburg!	PC	Wargame	Electronic Arts
	Tomb Raider	Multi-platform	Action-adventure	Eidos Interactive

Critically acclaimed titles

Metacritic and GameRankings

Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are online aggregators of video game journalism reviews. Note that their coverage of print magazines at the time was limited, with numerous print magazines not listed on their sites.

1997 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR)^{[18] [19]}

Game	Publisher	Release Date	Platform(s)	MC score	GR score
Gran Turismo	Sony Computer Entertainment	December 23, 1997	PlayStation	96/100^[20]	94.95%^[21]
GoldenEye 007	Nintendo	August 25, 1997	Nintendo 64	96/100	94.7%
	Konami	March 20, 1997	PlayStation	93/100	93.03%
Final Fantasy VII	Square	January 31, 1997	PlayStation	92/100	92.35%
Dungeon Keeper	Electronic Arts	June 26, 1997	Microsoft Windows		92.2%
Diablo	Blizzard Entertainment	January 3, 1997	Microsoft Windows	94/100	89.07%
Colony Wars	Psygnosis	October 31, 1997	PlayStation	91/100	92.09%
Sid Meier's Gettysburg!	Electronic Arts	October 14, 1997	Microsoft Windows	92/100	91%^[22]
	LucasArts	October 10, 1997	Microsoft Windows	91/100	88.69%
	Bungie	November 7, 1997	Microsoft Windows	91/100	80.8%
Blast Corps	Nintendo	March 21, 1997	Nintendo 64	90/100	88.87%
NFL GameDay 98	Sony Computer Entertainment	September 4, 1997	PlayStation		90%
Fallout	Interplay Productions	October 10, 1997	Microsoft Windows	89/100	89.69%
Carmageddon	Sales Curve Interactive	June 13, 1997	Microsoft Windows		89.6%
Formula 1 97	Psygnosis	September 26, 1997	PlayStation		89.43%
MDK	Playmates Interactive	May 5, 1997	Microsoft Windows		89.2%
Star Fox 64	Nintendo	April 27, 1997	Nintendo 64	88/100	89.01%
The Curse of Monkey Island	LucasArts	November 1, 1997	Microsoft Windows	89/100	89%
Einhänder	Square	November 20, 1997	PlayStation	89/100	85%
Total Annihilation	GT Interactive	September 26, 1997	Microsoft Windows	86/100	88.85%
Diddy Kong Racing	Rare	November 21, 1997	Nintendo 64	88/100	88.65%
	Sony Computer Entertainment	October 31, 1997	PlayStation		88.54%
	GT Interactive	September 18, 1997	PlayStation	85/100	87.94%

Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame

The following video game releases in 1997 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.^[23]

Title	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Genre	Score (out of 40)
Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	Role-playing	38
Final Fantasy VII International	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	Role-playing	37
Tobal 2	PlayStation	DreamFactory	Squaresoft	Fighting	36
Star Fox 64	Nintendo 64	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Rail shooter	36
Derby Stallion	PlayStation	ASCII Corporation	ASCII Corporation	Simulation	35
Gran Turismo	PlayStation	Polys Entertainment	Sony	Racing simulation	35

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games in Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1997.

Rank	Gamest^[24]			Game Machine^[25]
	Title	Manufacturer	Genre	Title	Manufacturer	Type	Points
1	Virtua Fighter 3	Sega	Fighting	Print Club 2	Atlus	Other	4068
2	Tekken 3	Namco	Fighting	Virtua Fighter 3	Sega	Dedicated	3995
3	X-Men vs. Street Fighter	Capcom	Fighting	Tekken 3	Namco	PCB	3757
4		Capcom	Fighting		Sega	Dedicated	2969
5	Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3)	Capcom	Fighting	X-Men vs. Street Fighter	Capcom	PCB	2776
6		SNK	Fighting	Puzzle Bobble 3	Taito	PCB	2626
7	Real Bout Garō Densetsu Special	SNK	Fighting	Densha de Go!	Taito	Dedicated	2614
8		Sega	Shooter	Time Crisis	Namco	Dedicated	2459
9	The King of Fighters '97	SNK	Fighting	Gallop Racer	Tecmo	PCB	2420
10	DoDonPachi	Atlus	Bullet hell	Rave Racer	Namco	Dedicated	2399

Best-selling video game consoles

Rank	Manufacturer	Game console	Type	Generation	Sales
					data-sort-type="number"	Japan	data-sort-type="number"	United States	data-sort-type="number"	Worldwide
1	Sony	PlayStation	Home	32-bit	5,050,000+^[26]	6,750,000+	17,200,000+
2	Nintendo	Game Boy / Game Boy Pocket	Handheld	8-bit	4,220,000		10,370,000
3	Nintendo	Nintendo 64	Home	64-bit	1,110,000^[27]	^[28]	9,420,000
4	Nintendo	Super NES / Super Famicom	Home	16-bit	190,000	,000	2,040,000
5	Sega	Sega Saturn	Home	32-bit	800,000^[29]	,000	1,800,000^[30] ^[31]
6	Sega	Sega Genesis	Home	16-bit		,000	478,000+
7	Nintendo	NES / Famicom	Home	8-bit	30,000	,000	111,000
8	NEC	PC-FX	Home	32-bit	30,000		30,000

Best-selling home video games

Final Fantasy VII was the best-selling home video game worldwide in 1997.^[32] It sold more than copies worldwide by 1998, becoming the best-selling PlayStation game up until then.^[33]

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) of 1997 in Japan and the United States.

Rank	Title	Platform	Sales
			Japan	United States^[34]	Combined
1	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	3,447,500+	1,500,000+^[35]	4,947,500+
2	Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue	Game Boy	3,995,988		3,995,988
3	Mario Kart 64	Nintendo 64	731,385	1,500,000+	2,231,385+
4	Star Fox 64	Nintendo 64	373,479	1,500,000+	1,873,479+
5	Super Mario 64	Nintendo 64	361,302	1,500,000+	1,861,302+
6	Diddy Kong Racing	Nintendo 64	217,259^[36]	1,500,000+	1,717,259+
7	Derby Stallion	PlayStation	1,581,138		1,581,138
8	Minna no Golf (Everybody's Golf)	PlayStation	1,327,000		1,327,000
9	Final Fantasy Tactics	PlayStation	1,239,000		1,239,000
10	SaGa Frontier	PlayStation	1,057,263		1,057,263

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1997.^{[37] [38] [39]}

Rank	Title	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Genre	Sales
1	Mario Kart 64	Nintendo 64	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Kart racing	1,500,000+
2	Star Fox 64	Nintendo 64	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Rail shooter	1,500,000+
3	Super Mario 64	Nintendo 64	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Platformer	1,500,000+
4	Diddy Kong Racing	Nintendo 64	Rare	Rare	Kart racing	1,500,000+
5	GoldenEye 007	Nintendo 64	Rare	Nintendo	FPS	1,500,000+
6	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Sony	RPG	1,500,000+
7	NFL GameDay 98	PlayStation	Sony Interactive	Sony	Sports
8	Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire	Nintendo 64	LucasArts	Nintendo	Action
9	Madden NFL 98	PlayStation	Tiburon Entertainment	EA Sports	Sports
10	Crash Bandicoot	PlayStation	Naughty Dog	Sony	Platformer

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1997.

Rank	Title	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Genre	Sales
1	Pocket Monsters: Red / Green / Blue	Game Boy	Game Freak	Nintendo	RPG	3,995,988	^[40]
2	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	RPG	3,447,500+	^[41]
3	Derby Stallion	PlayStation	ASCII	ASCII	Simulation	1,581,138	^[42]
4	Minna no Golf (Everybody's Golf)	PlayStation	Camelot Software Planning	Sony	Sports	1,327,000	^[43]
5	Final Fantasy Tactics	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	SRPG	1,239,000
6	SaGa Frontier	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	RPG	1,057,263
7	Gran Turismo	PlayStation	Polys Entertainment	Sony	Racing simulation	905,000
8	Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi	Game Boy	Tom Create	Bandai	Breeding simulation	808,000
9	Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon	PlayStation	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	Roguelike	801,000
10	PaRappa the Rapper	PlayStation	NanaOn-Sha	Sony	Rhythm	761,621

Europe

In Europe, the following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in 1997.

Month(s)	United Kingdom		France
January	Die Hard Trilogy (PlayStation)^[44]		rowspan="11"
February	Cool Boarders (PlayStation)^[45]
March	Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)^[46]
April	Wave Race 64 (Nintendo 64)^[47]	Micro Machines V3 (PlayStation)^[48]
May	Soul Blade (PlayStation)^[49]
June	Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64)^[50]
July	International Superstar Soccer 64 (Nintendo 64)^[51]
August–September	V-Rally (PlayStation)^[52] ^[53]
October	Formula 1 97 (PlayStation)^[54]	Lylat Wars (Nintendo 64)^[55]
November	Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)^[56]
December	(PlayStation, PC)^[57]
1997			Tomb Raider 2^[58]

Notable releases

Notable releases of the year 1997

Release	Title	Windows / DOS	4th Gen	5th Gen	Handheld	Arcade
January 3	Diablo			PS1 (1998)
January 14				Sat
January 31	Final Fantasy VII			PS1
February 5	DoDonPachi			Sat (September 18), PS1 (1998)
February 10	Mario Kart 64			N64
February 27	The Lost Vikings 2		SNES	PS1 (May), Sat (May)
February 28	Blast Corps			N64
February 28	Independence Day			PS1, Sat
February 28	Mega Man 8			PS1, Sat
February 28				N64
February 28	Interstate '76
March 20				PS1, Sat (1998)
March 20	Tekken 3			PS1 (1998)
March 24	Realms of the Haunting (NA)	Yes
March 26	Vandal Hearts			PS1, Sat (November 27)
March 30	The Last Express
March 31	Need for Speed II			PS1
April 7	Outlaws
April 7	Redneck Rampage
April 30	Fighters Megamix			Sat	Game.com (1998)
April 30
May 21	Blood
May 31	MDK			PS1 (1998)
June 10	Ecstatica II	Yes
June 17	Harvest Moon		SNES
June 20	Sonic Jam			Sat	Game.com (1998)
June 20	Final Fantasy Tactics			PS1
June 26	Dungeon Keeper
June 30	Star Fox 64			N64
July 4	Jane's 688(I) Hunter/Killer
July 28	The King of Fighters '97		Neo, NeoCD	PS1, Sat (1998)
July 30	Carmageddon			PS1 (1999), N64 (2000)	GBC (2000)
July 31	Herc's Adventures			PS1, Sat
July 31
August 1	Mega Man X4			PS1, Sat
August 11	Tetrisphere			N64
August 25	GoldenEye 007			N64
August 25	Shadow Warrior
August 26	Madden NFL 98			PS1, Sat
August 31	Imperialism
September 9	Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire	Yes
September 10	Silhouette Mirage			Sat, PS1 (1998)
September 11	Breath of Fire III			PS1
September 11	Hexen II
September 17	Resident Evil	Yes
September 18	Street Fighter Collection			Sat, PS1 (October 23)
September 19				PS1
September 24	Ultima Online
September 24	Postal
September 26	Bomberman 64			N64
September 26	LEGO Island
September 29				PS1, Sat
September 30
September 30	Fallout
September 30	Panzer General II
September 30	Poy Poy			PS1
September 30	Total Annihilation
October	Combat Chess
October 9
October 15	Age of Empires
October 15	Mortal Kombat 4			N64, PS1 (1998)	GBC (1998)
October 23	Steep Slope Sliders			Sat
October 28	Shipwreckers			PS1
October 29	Riven			Sat, PS1 (November 30)
October 30	Culdcept			Sat, PS1 (1999)
October 31	The Curse of Monkey Island
October 31
November	Independence War
November 1				PS1
November 1	Shock Troopers		Neo
November 4	Colony Wars			PS1
November 14	Blade Runner
November 17	Sonic R			Sat
November 18	Tomb Raider II			PS1
November 21	Diddy Kong Racing			N64
November 21	Worms 2
November 25
November 27	Kirby's Dream Land 3		SNES
November 27	Grand Theft Auto			PS1 (December 12)	GBC (1999)
November 30				N64, PS1, Sat
November 30	One			PS1
November 30
November 30				N64
December	Puzzle Bobble 4			PS1, Sat (1998)
December 6	Quake II			PS1, N64 (1999)
December 11				PS1
December 18	Grandia			Sat, PS1 (1999)
December 18	Mega Man Legends			PS1, N64 (2000)
December 21	Yoshi's Story			N64
December 23	Gran Turismo			PS1
December 31				N64

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 1998
• 2015, Inc. founded
• 4D Rulers Software, Inc. founded
• September – 4HEAD Studios created
• Bungie West formed by Bungie
• 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 Headquarters, Inc.
• Warthog PLC founded

Lawsuits

• Nintendo vs 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 vs Prima Publishing: Nintendo sues Prima over copyrights to maps of the N64 video game GoldenEye 007. Nintendo loses the suit.
• Nintendo vs Sony Video Games: Nintendo sues Sony over copyrights about Mario games.

See also

• 1997 in games

Notes and References

1. Web site: Attendance and Stats. June 8, 2012 . IGN. May 21, 2015.
2. News: Koenig . Angela . October 15, 1997 . Funco Landstore coming . . Newspapers.com . . 5.
3. Web site: 「CESA大賞'97」受賞作品一覧. "CESA Awards '97" Winners List. live. 2021-10-27. Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA). ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20030628152447/http://awards.cesa.or.jp:80/1997/jyushou.html . June 28, 2003 .
4. Web site: 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival Awards. March 1, 2009. Japan Media Arts Plaza, Agency for Cultural Affairs. ja.
5. March 1998. Readers' Choice Awards. Electronic Gaming Monthly. 104. 100.
6. Web site: 2 January 2017. 25 Years Of Game Informer's GOTY Awards. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20171230060137/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/01/02/looking-back-at-25-years-of-game-informer-s-goty-awards.aspx?PostPageIndex=1. 30 December 2017. 29 December 2017. GameInformer.com.
7. July 1998. You Have Spoken!. GamePro. 118. 38–9.
8. January 1999. The Hyper Reader Awards 97-98. Hyper. 63. 38–41.
9. Web site: July 6, 1998. Origins Awards winners. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20141213220137/http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/press/press.449.html. December 13, 2014. December 29, 2011. Origins Awards, RPGnet.
10. March 1998. Editors' Choice Awards. Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis. 104. 86–96.
11. Web site: Academy of Interactive Arts & Science Game of the Year 1997. 26 August 2015. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
12. Book: Wilton Magazine Gives Awards . Dec 10, 1997 . The Wilton Bulletin . en . the awards go to: Best Overall Game — GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo); Best Nintendo 64 Game — GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo);.
13. Web site: 1998-02-11 . Electric Playground: FEATURE - EP's Best of 1997: The "Blister" Awards - Pg. 1 . 2024-10-08 . Electronic Playground . https://web.archive.org/web/19980211210831/http://www.elecplay.com/feature/best97/best97-1.html#one . February 11, 1998 . Game of the Year Winner - GoldenEye (Nintendo 64) - His name's Bond, James Bond. And our name is absolutely hooked on his game. Rare Entertainment hit the stratosphere with this one. With tons of detailed missions and multiplayer games that were impossible to stop playing, Goldeneye became the title that halted production at EP..
14. May 1998 . Nintendo Power Issue 108: Power Award Winners . 2024-10-08 . Nintendo Power . The Best Games of 1997: GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64) - With more than 5 times the number of votes of second place Diddy Kong Racing, the Game of the year proved to be GoldenEye 007.
15. News: 13 January 1998. Digitiser's Top Games of 1997. Digitiser. 19 October 2021.
16. 14 January 1998. 1997 Golden Joysticks Awards: The Winners!. Computer and Video Games. 195 (February 1998). 6.
17. Web site: 13 February 1998. GameSpot PC Game of the Year 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19980213094308/http://gamespot.com/features/awards97/game.html. 13 February 1998. 28 August 2012.
18. Web site: Best Video Games for 1997 . February 18, 2019 . Metacritic.
19. Web site: Highest-Ranking Games of 1997 (with at least 5 reviews) . August 6, 2019 . GameRankings.
20. Web site: Best Video Games for 1998 . February 17, 2019 . Metacritic.
21. Web site: Highest-Ranking Games of 1998 (with at least 20 reviews) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161007001158/http://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html?site=&cat=0&year=1998&numrev=0&sort=0&letter=&search= . 2016-10-07 . February 25, 2019 . GameRankings.
22. Web site: Sid Meier's Gettysburg! for PC . August 6, 2019 . GameRankings.
23. Web site: 週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧. Weekly Famitsu Cross Review Platinum Hall of Fame Software List. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081027205828/http://geimin.net/da/db/cross_review/index.php. October 27, 2008. 24 February 2021. Geimin. ja.
24. 第11回 ゲーメスト大賞 . 11th Gamest Awards . . December 26, 1997 . 212 (January–February 1998) . 34–102 . ja. alternate url
25. Akagi. Masumi. "Tekken 3", "Virtua Fighter 3" Top Videos. Game Machine. 557. Amusement Press, Inc.. 1 February 1998. 22.
26. Web site: 31 December 2003. Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware / PlayStation. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20040422075722/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps_e.html. 2004-04-22. 2021-12-25. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.. Sony.
27. Web site: September 2012. Consolidated Sales Transition by Region. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121030031244/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1209.pdf. 2012-10-30. 2021-12-26. Nintendo. Nintendo Co., Ltd..
28. Web site: Clements. Matthew T.. Ohashi. Hiroshi. October 2004. Indirect Network Effects and the Product Cycle: Video Games in the U.S., 1994–2002. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160307012843/http://www.netinst.org/Clements_Ohashi.pdf. March 7, 2016. September 21, 2011. NET Institute. 12, 24.
29. 小川 (Ogawa). 純生 (Sumio). 2010-12-14. テレビゲーム機の変遷 —ファミコン、スーパーファミコン、プレステ、プレステ2、Wiiまで—. Recent Developments in Video Game Technology in Japan — Famicom, Super Famicom, Play Station, Play Station 2 and Wii —. 経営論集 (Keiei Ronshū). ja. March 2011. 77. 1–17 (2). 0286-6439. https://web.archive.org/web/20150725185700/http://www.toyo.ac.jp/uploaded/attachment/3049.pdf. 2015-07-25. 2021-12-06. Toyo University Academic Information Repository (Toyo University).
30. Book: Annual Report 1998. Sega Enterprises, Ltd.. 1998. 7. Consumer Products. 25 December 2021. https://segaretro.org/images/f/fe/AnnualReport1998_English.pdf#page=9.
31. News: Fontaine. Gilles. 5 February 1997. Jeux vidéo : une industrie lourde est née. fr. Video games: a heavy industry is born. L'Express. 25 December 2021.
32. Book: Classic Videogame Hardware Genius Guide . . 978-1-908222-22-0 . 492 .
33. Book: The Oriental Economist Report . 1998 . . 16 . Square's Final Fantasy VII software has sold more than copies worldwide, making it the biggest selling Playstation software..
34. Web site: Johnston, Chris. 22 December 1997. Give It 21 Days, It'll Give You a Million. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20000305024359/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/97_12/22_diddymil/index.html. 5 March 2000. 16 October 2021. GameSpot.
35. News: Thompson . Adam . 22 October 1997 . The pain of addiction . 9 . Oshkosh Advance-Titan . . subscription . 9 April 2022 . Last month Final Fantasy VII hit the stores and sold copies the first week..
36. Book: Famitsū Gēmu Hakusho 1998. Enterbrain. 1998. Tokyo. ja. ja:ファミ通ゲーム白書1998. Famitsu Game Whitebook 1998. 1997年ゲームソフト年間売上TOP100. 1997 Game Software Annual Sales Top 100. 17 February 2021. http://geimin.net/da/db/1997_ne_fa/index.php. https://web.archive.org/web/20081227141149/http://geimin.net/da/db/1997_ne_fa/index.php. December 27, 2008. dead.
37. Book: Famighetti . Robert . The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1999 . 1998 . . 978-0-88687-832-0 . 188 . Top-Selling Video Games, 1997 . Source: The NPD TRSTS Video Game Tracking Service, The NPD Group, Inc., Port Washington, NY; ranked by units sold . https://archive.org/details/worldalmanacbo1999mahw/page/188 . registration.
38. News: 6 February 1998 . US Sales Top 10 for 1997 . 18 October 2021 . IGN.
39. News: 30 January 1998 . The Top 20 Games of the Year . 22 October 2021 . IGN.
40. Web site: 1997 Top 30 Best Selling Japanese Console Games . The Magic Box . 24 February 2021 . February 18, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070218202258/http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-BestSell1997.shtml . dead .
41. Book: 96年9月～97年8月 . 1996.09~1997.08 . TV Game Ranking Databook: 1995.9~1998.8 . 15 December 1998 . ベストセラーズ (Bestsellers) . 978-4-584-16090-9 . 17 . https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/images/fotolife/M/MULTi88/20200928/20200928080910.jpg . ja.
42. News: Ohbuchi . Yutaka . Japan's Top Ten of '97 . 16 September 2021 . . 5 December 1998 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/19981205025457/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_02/05_japan/index.html . 5 December 1998.
43. 1997年のコンシューマーゲームソフトの売上Top100 . 1997 Consumer Game Software Sales: Top 100 . . . ja . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20020106110736/http://www.rnac.ne.jp/~zangel/1997.htm . 6 January 2002 . 16 September 2021.
44. Freeplay . . . 184 (March 1997) . 12 February 1997 . 1-16 (1-2) .
45. Freeplay . . . 185 (April 1997) . 12 March 1997 . 1-16 (2-3) .
46. Freeplay . . . 186 (May 1997) . 11 April 1997 . 1-16 (2-3) .
47. Leisure Software All Formats (ELSPA Charts Compiled by Chart-Track) . . 1 May 1997 . 19 October 2021.
48. Freeplay . . . 187 (June 1997) . 11 May 1997 . 1-16 (2-3) .
49. Freeplay . . . 189 (August 1997) . 11 July 1997 . 1-16 (2-3) .
50. Leisure Software All Formats (ELSPA Charts Compiled by Chart-Track) . . 21 June 1997 . 19 October 2021.
51. Freeplay . . . 190 (September 1997) . 13 August 1997 . 1-16 (2-3) .
52. Freeplay . . . 191 (October 1997) . 12 September 1997 . 1-16 (2-3) .
53. Freeplay . . . 192 (November 1997) . 15 October 1997 . 1-16 (2-3) .
54. Freeplay . . . 193 (December 1997) . 12 November 1997 . 1-16 (2-3) .
55. Leisure Software All Formats (ELSPA Charts Compiled by Chart-Track) . . 18 October 1997 . 19 October 2021.
56. Leisure Software All Formats (ELSPA Charts Compiled by Chart-Track) . . 27 November 1997 . 19 October 2021.
57. Leisure Software All Formats (ELSPA Charts Compiled by Chart-Track) . . 31 December 1997 . 19 October 2021.
58. Web site: Lemaire . Oscar . Animal Crossing New Horizons est le jeu vidéo le plus vendu de l'année 2020 en France en physique . Animal Crossing New Horizons is the best-selling video game of the year 2020 in France in physical . . Ludostrie . 18 November 2021 . fr.