Games Released in December 1997

716 new games debuted in December 1997, with PlayStation being the most active platform. December 18 was the busiest day, with 32 releases. Quake II was the most popular release of the month.

Which days had the most releases?

December 18 saw the most activity with 32 releases.

32 releases

December 18

21 releases

December 11

21 releases

December 1

20 releases

December 4

How did each week compare?

The first week of December was the busiest with 67 releases.

Week 1 (December 1–7)

67 releases

Most popular release in Week 1

Time Crisis II

Time Crisis II is a light gun arcade game and the second installment in the Time Crisis series. It introduces co-operative multiplayer to the franchise. The game was first released in arcades in April 1998, with an enhanced port released on the PlayStation 2 in October 2001, bundled with the GunCon 2 controller.

Week 2 (December 8–14)

46 releases

Most popular release in Week 2

Quake II

Quake II is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. It is not a direct sequel to Quake, id decided to revert to an existing trademark when they were unable to agree on a new name that did not violate another company's trademark.

Week 3 (December 15–21)

53 releases

Most popular release in Week 3

Yoshi's Story

Baby Bowser has taken the Super Happy Tree and cast a spell on Yoshi's world, turning it into the pages of a picture book. The only Yoshis not affected by the spell were six hatchlings that were still protected by their shells. It's up to them to reclaim the Super Happy Tree and restore happiness to the world. That is the only thing that can break Baby Bowser's Spell!

Week 4 (December 22–28)

30 releases

Most popular release in Week 4

Gran Turismo

Gran Turismo is a racing game designed by Kazunori Yamauchi and is the first entry in the critically acclaimed simulator racing series bearing the same name. After five years of development time, it was well-received publicly and critically, shipping a total of 10.85 million copies worldwide as of March 2013, making it the best-selling PlayStation game. The game uses two different modes: Arcade Mode and Gran Turismo Mode. In the arcade mode, the player can freely choose the courses and vehicles they wish to use. Winning races unlocks additional cars and courses. However, Gran Turismo Mode requires the player to earn different levels of driver's licenses in order to qualify for events, and earn credits, trophies and prize cars by winning race championships. Gran Turismo features 140 cars and 11 race tracks (as well as their reversed versions).

Week 5 (December 29–31)

26 releases

Most popular release in Week 5

Worms 2

Worms 2 is a turn-based strategy game, with each team moving in a randomly determined sequence across two-dimensional terrain. During a single turn, a team can only move one of its worms. Worms can crawl and jump, as well as swing by ninja-rope, parachute, teleport, and bungee when the appropriate items are available. The objective of a traditional match or campaign mission is to defeat all opposing teams by killing their worms. When hit with a weapon, the worm will lose health depending on the power of the weapon and the directness of the hit. A worm can be killed either by having its health reduced to zero or being knocked into the water around and below the level.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

PlayStation received 74 new titles in December 1997. The runner up was PC with 44 new titles.

PlayStation74 releases

PC44 releases

Sega Saturn44 releases

Nintendo 6421 releases

Game Boy11 releases

Arcade8 releases

Mac8 releases

Satellaview5 releases

Super Famicom4 releases

DOS3 releases

What genres were most popular?

Adventure was the dominant genre in December 1997 with 47 titles. Shooter followed closely with 27.

Adventure47

Shooter27

Sport27

Platform26

Puzzle22

Simulator22

Arcade19

Role-playing18

Strategy18

Fighting15

1997 Review

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