Games Released in 1994

1,370 new games released in 1994 across 10 platforms, with Super Famicom being the most popular seeing 325 new titles. December was the busiest month of the year, launching 258 new releases.

Top Platform

Super Famicom

New Releases

1,370

Busiest Month

December

Super Metroid

What was the most popular game of 1994?

Super Metroid

The Space Pirates, merciless agents of the evil Mother Brain, have stolen the last Metroid from a research station, and once again Mother Brain threatens the safety of the galaxy! Samus Aran must don her awesome array of high-tech weaponry to retrieve the deadly Metroid hidden deep within the cave-riddled planet Zebes. Super Metroid features excellent graphics, with a huge variety of enemies and worlds to explore. The side-view action will be familiar to many players, only now there are new weapons and items, including the Grappling Beam, which allows Samus to swing across large chasms, and the X-Ray Scope, which reveals secret passages.

Which days had the most releases?

February 1 was the busiest single day of 1994 with 98 releases.

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98 releases

February 1

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47 releases

December 16

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32 releases

March 25

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32 releases

January 1

Which month had the most releases?

The busiest release month of 1994 was December, totaling 258 titles.

How did each season compare?

Q4 was the busiest quarter of 1994 with 481 releases.

Q2 (Apr–Jun)

275 releases
Final Fantasy III

Most popular release in Q2

Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy VI is the sixth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, developed and published by Square. It was the final title in the series to feature two-dimensional graphics, and the first story that did not revolve around crystals. The game gives players up to fourteen playable characters, the largest cast in the series, and features the Active Time Battle pseudo-turn based menu command system. A party can consist of up to four characters, though some events require the player to assemble three different parties of up to four and switch between them. Each character has a unique command ability, such as Terra's Trance, Locke's Steal, Edgar's Tools or Sabin's Blitz, and can also learn Magic spells from earning AP from battles with magicite equipped. Each character's rare Desperation Attack will randomly activate after using the Attack command when at critical health.

Q4 (Oct–Dec)

481 releases
Donkey Kong Country

Most popular release in Q4

Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country is a side scrolling platformer by British developers Rare in 1994. It featured revolutionary pre-rendered 3D graphics that give the game a very unique look compared to most other games on consoles at the time. The two playable characters featured in the game are the titular character, Donkey Kong and his nephew, Diddy Kong. Together the two swing, climb, jump, swim, cartwheel, ride animals, and blast out of barrels on their way to recover their stolen bannanas from the evil King K. Rool and his Kremling army. The adventure takes you through a variety of different environments and levels that continually change up gameplay. Donkey Kong Country also provides plenty of opportunities for exploration with almost every level having a multitude of collectible, shortcuts, and hidden bonus areas.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

Super Famicom received 325 new titles in 1994, holding the most releases. The runner up was Super Nintendo Entertainment System with 172 new titles.

Super Famicom325 releases
Super Nintendo Entertainment System172 releases
Sega Mega Drive/Genesis144 releases
DOS97 releases
3DO Interactive Multiplayer95 releases
Arcade93 releases
Game Boy85 releases
PC-9800 Series83 releases
PC (Microsoft Windows)67 releases
Sega Game Gear59 releases

What genres were most popular?

Sport was the dominant genre in 1994 with 245 titles. Adventure followed closely with 207.

Sport245
Adventure207
Platform206
Fighting156
Shooter153
Puzzle147
Role-playing144
Strategy130
Simulator106
Arcade90
19931995