March 1994

Video Game Newsroom Time Machine

Sega previews Saturn at CES,

Commodore warns of bankruptcy &

Doom brings corporate networks to their knees

These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM!

This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in March 1994.

As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events.

Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here:

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Links:

If you don't see all the links, find them here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/105189897

7 Minutes in Heaven: Mega Turrican

Video Version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/104910543

https://www.mobygames.com/game/16645/mega-turrican/

Corrections:

February 1994 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/february-1994-103514526

Ethan's fine site The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicktoons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famicom_Disk_System

1994:

Coinop goes BIG!

Edge March 1994, pg. 16

Coinop goes small

Edge March 1994, pg. 14

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2021/03/zool-arcade/

Daytona gets new name

Play Meter, March 1994, pg. 1

Irem shuts down arcade division

Play Meter, March 1994, pg. 1

Karaoke goes CD

https://archive.org/details/cashbox57unse_22/page/38/mode/1up?view=theater

US Rating System to be in place by Xmas

VIDEO-GAME MAKERS WILL SET UP SYSTEM FOR RATING PRODUCTS, WALL STREET JOURNAL, March 7, 1994, Monday, Section: Section B; Page 7, Column 6

UK Rating system to start in March

https://archive.org/details/AmigaFormatMagazine_201902/Amiga_Format_Issue_057_1994_03_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n21/mode/2up

3DO issues ratings system

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n10/mode/1up?view=theater

https://www.mobygames.com/game/1824/hell-a-cyberpunk-thriller/cover/group-13661/cover-30908/

Current NextGen falters at CES

Edge, March 1994, pg. 6

Sega Previews Saturn

https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20056%20%28March%201994%29/page/n57/mode/2up

Edge, March 1994, pg. 6

Nintendo fools no one with SGi demos

Edge, March 1994, pg. 6

Acclaim The Duel demo details

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n9/mode/1up?view=theater

Gregory Fischbach Part 2 - Acclaim - https://www.patreon.com/posts/47720122

Gregory Fischbach Part 1 - Activision - Acclaim - https://www.patreon.com/posts/46578120

3D tool makers show wares at CES

https://archive.org/details/powerplaymagazine-1994-03/page/15/mode/1up?view=theater

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavefront_Technologies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softimage_3D

https://archive.org/details/powerplaymagazine-1994-03/page/17/mode/1up?view=theater

Sega of America announces 32X

MONITOR, The Irish Times, March 15, 1994, CITY EDITION, Section: EDUCATION & LIVING; Pg. Supplement Page 12

SEGA TO ENTER 32-BIT VIDEO GAME MARKET IN FALL WITH PRICE BREAK ON HARDWARE, WALL STREET JOURNAL, March 15, 1994, Tuesday, Section: Section B; Page 6, Column 4, Byline: BY DON CLARK

PSX shown to UK Devs

Edge, March 1994, pg. 13

3DO announces new licensees and PC add-on card

No Headline In Original, WALL STREET JOURNAL, March 11, 1994, Friday, Section: Section B; Page 5, Column 4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3DO_Interactive_Multiplayer#Licensed_systems

Microsoft WON'T provide an OS for Saturn

Microsoft plays down Sega video game role, Financial Times (London,England), March 10, 1994, Thursday, London, Section: International Company News; Pg. 30, Byline: By LOUISE KEHOE and MICHIYO NAKAMOTO

Crystal Dynamics signs on for Saturn development

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n11/mode/1up?view=theater

https://www.mobygames.com/game/company:1281/platform:sega-saturn/sort:-date/page:1/

CD32 haralds CD revolution in UK

MONITOR, The Irish Times, March 15, 1994, CITY EDITION, Section: EDUCATION & LIVING; Pg. Supplement Page 12

Nintendo announces Super Gameboy

NINTENDO UNIT UNVEILS DEVICE, WALL STREET JOURNAL, March 15, 1994, Tuesday, Section: Section C; Page 6, Column 6

Nintendo still smug, despite share price collapse

Nintendo still at the top of its game, Despite sagging shares, firm outscores rivals in efficiency, profitability, The Nikkei Weekly (Japan), March 28, 1994, Section: INDUSTRY; Pg. 9, Byline: BY ASAKO ISHIBASHI Staff writer

Nintendo profits expected to fall by 40%

Nintendo group's pretax profit to fall 40%, daily says, Japan Economic Newswire, MARCH 31, 1994, THURSDAY, Dateline: TOKYO, March 31 Kyodo

Sega Enterprises to raise dividend, skip share split, Japan Economic Newswire, MARCH 10, 1994, THURSDAY, Dateline: TOKYO, March 10 Kyodo

Acclaim reports record earnings!

Playthings, March 1994, pg. 10

NBA Jam launch to match Mortal Kombat

NBA Jams' Wins Acclaim; TriStar's New Cover Girl, Billboard, March 19, 1994, Section: HOME VIDEO; Shelf Talk; Pg. 68, Byline: by Elleen Fitzpatrick

Midway dumps Acclaim

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/31/business/company-news-nintendo-licensing-deal-rocks-acclaim-s-stock.html https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/18/business/stocks-advance-on-good-inflation-news.html

NINTENDO'S PROJECT REALITY GAME SYSTEM GETS LIFT IN ACCORD WITH WMS INDUSTRIES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, March 31, 1994, Thursday, Section: Section B; Page 7, Column 1, Byline: BY JIM CARLTON

Sega shows off Virtua Racing on Genesis

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n87/mode/1up?view=theater

Playmates Toys gets into games

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n13/mode/1up?view=theater

https://www.mobygames.com/company/1481/playmates-interactive-entertainment-inc/games/

Playmates revenue drops

Playmates sales fall 10pc to $ 1.42b in saturated market, South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), March 22, 1994, Section: Business; Pg. 3, Byline: By CARRIE LEE

EA signs Shaq and Jordan

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n25/mode/1up?view=theater

Commodore Australia closes down

IT'S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM FOR COMMODORE; COMPUTER VISION, Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), March 21, 1994 Monday, Late Edition, Section: COMPUTERS; Pg. 50

Commodore warns of imminent bankruptcy

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/26/business/company-news-computer-pioneer-signals-bankruptcy-near.html?searchResultPosition=1

https://archive.org/details/amiga-computing-magazine-071/page/n11/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/amazing-computing-magazine-1994-03/page/n81/mode/2up

VFX1 brings VR home

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n13/mode/1up?view=theater

https://archive.org/details/powerplaymagazine-1994-03/page/12/mode/1up?view=theater

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VFX1_Headgear https://archive.org/details/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1994-03/page/n19/mode/2up

New World bought by NTN

https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_116/page/n13/mode/1up?view=theater

MCA announces game studio

https://www.mobygames.com/company/1982/universal-interactive-inc/

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n13/mode/1up?view=theater

Broderbund signs up affiliates

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n9/mode/1up?view=theater

Rocket Science goes full Siliwood

https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_116/page/n14/mode/1up?view=theater

Microsoft's got game

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n10/mode/1up?view=theater

Newton gets games

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n9/mode/1up?view=theater

Sierra goes big on CGI

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n13/mode/1up?view=theater

Tsunami wants to inject you into a game

https://www.mobygames.com/game/1478/blue-force/trivia/

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n11/mode/1up?view=theater

Dragon's Lair comes to CDRom

https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1994-03/page/n18/mode/1up?view=theater

Shareware confusion rises

https://archive.org/details/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1994-03/page/n25/mode/2up?q=shareware

https://archive.org/details/Aktueller_Software_Markt_-_Ausgabe_1994.03/page/n5/mode/2up

Company networks get Doom-ed!

https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_116/page/n13/mode/1up?view=theater

Microsoft announces Microsoft Network

Microsoft to test PC network, Financial Times (London,England), March 14, 1994, Monday, London, Section: International Company News; Pg. 19

IBM and Videotron team up

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/12/business/company-news-videotron-and-ibm-to-explore-interactive-technology.html

https://techmonitor.ai/technology/ibm_previews_its_powerpc_403ga_emebedded_microcontroller_chip

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerPC_400#PowerPC_403

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=gJaSV-oulLE

https://books.google.ca/books?id=aeQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62&dq=videoway+popular+mechanics&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixn-r1wrTpAhWPbs0KHbhTC6AQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=videoway%20popular%20mechanics&f=false

https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/groupe-videotron-lte

Japanese recession hits Akihabara

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/05/world/tokyo-journal-electronics-district-hits-hard-times.html?searchResultPosition=1

Survey reveals some winners amid chilly business climate, The Daily Yomiuri, March 28, 1994, Monday

https://www.triptojapan.com/blog/akihabara-exploring-tokyo-s-electric-town

Discounting takes Japanese retail by storm

Cheap and cheerful: Changing patterns of Japanese retailing, Financial Times (London,England), March 15, 1994, Tuesday, London, Section: Pg. 24, Byline: By EMIKO TERAZONO

Rhino Group grows

Enlarged Rhino advances to Pounds 2m, Financial Times (London,England). March 4, 1994, Friday, London, Section: UK Company News; Pg. 24, Byline: By PAUL TAYLOR

UK mag publisher Impact calls it quits

THE GAMES OF CHANCE; You don't need to live in the metropolis to make a million from mags, The Guardian (London), March 10, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN FEATURES PAGE; Pg. 17

https://archive.org/details/zzap64-magazine-106

https://archive.org/details/amiga-force-16/page/n11/mode/2up?view=theater

https://segaretro.org/Impact_Magazines

Dark Horse Comics gets into games mag business

https://archive.org/details/max-overload-01/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/AmigaFormatMagazine_201902/Amiga_Format_Issue_057_1994_03_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n19/mode/2up

Move over cover disks...CDs are here!

https://archive.org/details/powerplaymagazine-1994-03/page/9/mode/1up?view=theater

Multimedia Porn becomes harder to ignore

https://archive.org/details/AcornUser140-Mar94/page/n21/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_116/page/n9/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/amiga-computing-magazine-071/page/n29/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1994-03/page/n17/mode/2up

McGraw Hill publishes Best of Byte

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/01/science/peripherals-the-bytes-of-the-past-emerge-as-a-book.html?searchResultPosition=1

https://archive.org/details/bestofbyte0000rana

Japan buys more chips abroad

Japan, U.S. emphasize 3 sectors for foreign chips Tokyo Relieved No Guarantee Sought, The Nikkei Weekly (Japan), March 28, 1994, Section: ECONOMY; Pg. 2, Byline: BY HIROSHI NAKAMAE Staff writer

Girls need to get into games

A TOOL FOR WOMEN, A TOY FOR MEN: VIDEO GAMES HELP BOYS GET A HEAD START, WALL STREET JOURNAL, March 16, 1994, Wednesday, Section: Section B; Page 1, Column 6, Byline: BY WILLIAM M BULKELEY

Carmen Sandiego goes around the world

https://archive.org/details/powerplaymagazine-1994-03/page/8/mode/1up?view=theater

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_in_the_World_Is_Carmen_Sandiego%3F_(game_show)#International_versions

Magic the Gathering takes gaming market by storm

Playthings, March 1994, pg. 18

Linux launched

https://twitter.com/WeAreRSGroup/status/1768186561227538885/photo/1

RIP John Candy

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/05/obituaries/john-candy-comedic-film-star-is-dead-of-a-heart-attack-at-43.html?searchResultPosition=7

Recommended Links:

The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/

Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/

They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/

Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/

The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/

Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/

Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/

Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/

Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/

Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/

Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play.

Copyright Karl Kuras