1989 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Phantasy Star II, Super Mario Land, Super Monaco GP, and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, along with new titles such as Big Run, Bonk's Adventure, Final Fight, Golden Axe, Strider, Hard Drivin' and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The year also saw the release of the Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx-16 and Atari Lynx in North America, plus the Game Boy worldwide along with Tetris and Super Mario Land.
The year's highest-grossing arcade video games in Japan were Namco's Final Lap and Sega's Tetris; in the United States they were Double Dragon, Super Off Road and Hard Drivin' among dedicated arcade cabinets and Capcom Bowling and Ninja Gaiden among arcade conversion kits. The year's bestselling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the sixth year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games were Super Mario Bros. 3 in Japan and RoboCop in the United Kingdom.
Financial performance
Highest-grossing arcade games Japan In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1989.
Rank Gamest alternate urlGame MachineTitleManufacturer Dedicated arcade cabinet Software conversion kit 1 TetrisSega Final Lap Tetris (Sega) 2 Winning RunNamco Chase H.Q. World Stadium 3 Super Monaco GPSega Operation Thunderbolt Truxton 4 Power DriftSega Winning Run (deluxe) Image Fight 5 Image FightIrem Out Run (deluxe) Shanghai II 6 Final LapNamco Top Landing Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra)f 7 Tenchi wo KurauCapcom Power Drift (deluxe) Shanghai 8 Ghouls 'n GhostsCapcom Super Monaco GP (deluxe) Sichuan 9 Turbo OutRunSega Metal Hawk Birdie Try 10 Chase H.Q.Taito Turbo OutRun Galaga '88
Hong Kong and United Kingdom In Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade games of each month.
Month Hong Kong (Bondeal) United Kingdom Dedicated cabinet Conversion kit Title Manufacturer February rowspan="3" rowspan="3" Strider Capcom March April November Hard Drivin' Burning Force colspan="2" rowspan="3" December Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pang Burning Force
United States In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1989.
Rank AMOA RePlay AMAA Dedicated arcade cabinet Conversion kit Dedicated cabinet Conversion kit 1 Double Dragon Capcom Bowling Super Off Road Ninja Gaiden Hard Drivin' 2 Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, Operation Thunderbolt, Super Off Road, John Elway's Quarterback Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, Tetris (Atari) Cabal Hard Drivin' Cabal Tetris (Atari) 3 Operation Thunderbolt Golden Axe Cabal, Crime Fighters, Chase H.Q., Operation Thunderbolt 4 Chase H.Q. WWF Superstars 5 Narc Capcom Bowling 6 colspan="2" rowspan="6" S.T.U.N. Runner, Super Monaco GP, Turbo OutRun, Big Run Mechanized Attack, Midnight Resistance, Caliber .50 7 Superman, U.S. Classic 8 9 rowspan="3" rowspan="3" 10 Mechanized Attack, Midnight Resistance 11
Best-selling home systems Rank System(s) Manufacturer Type Generation Sales Japan USA Europe Korea Worldwide1Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendoConsole8-bit1,520,0009,200,000180,000+20,00010,920,000+2Game BoyNintendoHandheld8-bit1,480,0001,000,000 2,500,0003Commodore 64CommodoreComputer8-bit 1,250,0004PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16NECConsole16-bit920,000300,000 1,220,000+5NEC UltraLite / PC-88 / PC-98NECComputer8-bit / 16-bit115,800+ 1,145,800+6Mega Drive / GenesisSegaConsole16-bit600,000500,000 1,100,0007MacintoshApple Inc.Computer16-bit 1,100,0008IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC)IBMComputer16-bit 748,600+ 748,600+9Mark III / Master SystemSegaConsole8-bit200,000 350,000130,000680,000+10AmigaCommodoreComputer16-bit 600,000
Best-selling home video games
Japan The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1989 in Japan, according to the annual Family Computer Magazine (Famimaga) charts.
Rank Title Developer(s) Publisher(s) Genre(s) Sales Platform(s) 1 Super Mario Bros. 3 Nintendo R&D4 Nintendo Platformer < 3,840,000 Famicom 2 Tetris BPS / Nintendo R&D1 BPS / Nintendo Puzzle FC / GB 3 Famista '89: Kaimaku Ban! Namco Namco Sports (baseball) rowspan="2" Famicom 4 SD Gundam World Gachapon Senshi 2 Human Entertainment Bandai Strategy 5 Dragon Ball 3: Goku Den TOSE Bandai RPG / card battle < 760,000 6 Mother (EarthBound Beginnings) Ape Inc. Nintendo RPG < 400,000 7 Kyuukyoku Harikiri Stadium: Heisei Gannenhan Taito Taito Sports (baseball) rowspan="2" 8 Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden TOSE Bandai Action RPG 9 Famista '90 Namco Sports (baseball) rowspan="2" 10 Family Stadium '88 Namco
United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, RoboCop for the ZX Spectrum was the best-selling home video game of 1989. The following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in the United Kingdom during 1989.
Month Title Developer Publisher Platform(s) Operation Wolf Taito Ocean Software Computers RoboCop Data East Ocean Software 8-bit micros Computers Crazy Cars Titus Titus 8-bit micros Computers Paperboy Atari Games Elite 8-bit micros Chase H.Q. Taito Ocean Software Computers 1989 RoboCop Data East Ocean Software ZX Spectrum
United States In the United States, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of each month in 1989.
Month Bundle Standalone Platform Super Mario Bros. 2 NES Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt rowspan="7" Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt Zelda II: The Adventure of Link NES Tetris Game Boy
Top-rated games
Major awards Japan and United Kingdom Award 3rd Gamest Awards (Japan, December 1989) alternate url 4th Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards (Japan, February 1990) 4th Famimaga Game Awards (Japan, February 1990)7th Golden Joystick Awards (UK, April 1990)ArcadeConsole Famicom Game Boy8-bit computer16-bit computer Game of the Year Tetris (Sega) Final Fantasy II TetrisThe UntouchablesKick Off Critics' Choice Awards Gain Ground Image Fight Super Monaco GP Winning Run Idol Hakkenden (Famicom) Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (Famicom) Gunhed (PC Engine) Sweet Home (Famicom) Far East of Eden: Ziria (PCD) Dragon Ball 3: Goku Den (Famicom) Pachio-kun 2 (Famicom) Best Coin-Op Conversion Chase H.Q.Hard Drivin' Best Game Design / Planning Daichi-kun Crisis: Do Natural (PC Engine) Best Playability Final Fantasy II Tetris Best Scenario / Story Famicom Detective Club 2 (Famicom) Best Production Strider HiryūI (Strider) Best Graphics Darius II MythShadow of the Beast Best Music / Sound Valkyrie no Densetsu Mother (EarthBound Beginnings) Final Fantasy II TetrisChase H.Q.Future Wars Best Game Company Namco Ocean Software Special Award CP System Best Originality / Original Game Final Fantasy II TetrisPopulous Best Character / Character Design Valkyrie (Valkyrie no Densetsu) Quinty (Mendel Palace)SD Gundam World Gachapon Senshi 2Pinball: 66 Hiki no Wani Daikoushin Best Group Tetris Blocks (Tetris) Best Action Game Strider HiryūI (Strider)Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (Famicom) Best Shooting Game Area 88TwinBee 3: Poko Poko Daimaō (Famicom) Best Adventure Game Yūyūki (Famicom Disk System) Best RPG Final Fantasy II (Famicom) Best Simulation Game N/ACarrier CommandM1 Tank Platoon Best Sports Game Famista '89: Kaimaku Ban! (Famicom)N/ABest PC Leisure Product N/AIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade
United States Award Electronic Gaming Monthly (December 1989) VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (February 1990)2nd Nintendo Power Awards (May/June 1990) Computer Entertainer Awards of Excellence (December 1989)Console Console Computer ArcadeNESConsoleComputer Game of the Year Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Sega Genesis) The Legendary Axe (TG16) Populous S.T.U.N. RunnerTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Genesis Game of the YearThunder Force II (Genesis) Ghouls 'n Ghosts Master System Game of the Year Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap SpellCaster Nintendo Game of the Year Ninja Gaiden (NES) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) TurboGrafx Game of the Year The Legendary Axe (TurboGrafx-16) Dungeon Explorer Computer Entertainment Programs of the Year Shadow of the Beast (Amiga) Prince of Persia (Apple II) Powerdrome (Atari ST) Windwalker (C64/C128) Budokan (MS-DOS) Cosmic Osmo (Mac) Best Coin-Op Conversion Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Genesis) Arkanoid Best Multiplayer Game Crime FightersTecmo Bowl Best Hardware Sega Genesis Best Theme / Fun Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Best Play Control Mega Man 2 Most Challenge Phantasy Star (Master System) Ninja Gaiden Best Graphics Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Sega Genesis) Thunder Force II (Genesis) David Wolf Mega Man 2 Shadow of the Beast (Amiga) Best Music / Sound Fighting Street (TurboGrafx-CD) Developer / Software House Sega, Konami, Acclaim, Sunsoft, Tecmo Best Character / Hero Mega Man (Mega Man 2) Link (Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) Best Sequel Mega Man 2 and Ghouls 'n Ghosts (tie) Original / Special / Innovative A Boy and His Blob (NES) Star Saga One Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters Romance of the Three KingdomsPopulous Best Action / Combat / Arcade-Style Game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) Hostage Dynamite Duke Blood Money Best Adventure / Fantasy Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES) Manhunter: New York The Third Courier Best RPG Ultima III: Exodus (NES) Best Simulation Game Alien Crush (TG16) Vette! Vette! Best Sports Game World Class Baseball Tommy Lasorda Baseball Baseball Simulator 1.000 Tommy Lasorda Baseball (Sega Genesis) Zany Golf Cyberball Goal! (NES) Tommy Lasorda Baseball (GEN) TV Sports: Football (Amiga) John Madden Football (Apple II) Kings of the Beach (C64) Grave Yardage (MS-DOS) PlayMaker Football (Mac) Best Driving Simulator Hard Drivin' Best Flying Game Metal Hawk Best Strategy / Wargame A Boy and his Blob (NES) SimCity Sands of Fire Best Action-Strategy Game Mega Man 2 (NES) Lords of the Rising Sun Best Video Game Controller Joycard Sansui SSS Coolest Boss / Best Group Loki (Ghouls 'n Ghosts) Jagu (The Legendary Axe) Best Movie to Game Batman: The Video Game Best Ending in a Video Game Ninja Gaiden Ninja Gaiden
Critically acclaimed titles Famitsu and CVG reviews In Japan, the following 1989 video game releases entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.
Title Platform Score (out of 40) Developer(s) Publisher Genre Makai Toushi SaGa (Final Fantasy Legend) Game Boy 35 Squaresoft Squaresoft Role-playing Ys I & II PC Engine CD-ROM² 35 Nihon Falcom / Alfa System Hudson Soft Action role-playing
In the United Kingdom, the following titles were Computer and Video Games (CVG) magazine's highest-rated games of 1989.
Home video gamesArcade games Title Platform Score RankTitle Chase H.Q. ZX Spectrum 97% 1S.T.U.N. Runner Super Mario Bros. 2 Nintendo Entertainment System 97% 2Super Monaco GP Indianapolis 500: The Simulation PC 96% 3Winning Run Populous Amiga 96% 4Hard Drivin' Ghouls 'n Ghosts Sega Mega Drive 96% 5Narc F29 Retaliator Amiga 96% rowspan="7" rowspan="7" Gunhed (Blazing Lazers) PC Engine Xenon 2: Megablast Amiga It Came from the Desert Amiga 95% Damocles Atari ST Tetris Game Boy RoboCop ZX Spectrum
English-language reviews Notable video game releases in 1989 that have accumulated overall critical acclaim from at least four contemporary English-language sources include: