1990s
Major shake-ups occur in the who's-who of US game publishing and distribution. Wizards of the Coast, which started the decade as a small West Coast publisher, buys veteran Avalon Hill later in the decade, only to be bought up in turn by industry juggernaut Hasbro. TSR and Iron Crown Enterprises both collapse.
The collectible game became a dominant business model, first by Magic: the Gathering then by several rivals. By the mid-nineties, hundreds of CCGs competed for market share, and most of these products were culled for weak sales. Collectible gaming also expanded from cards into dice, tiles, and miniatures.
Settlers of Catan breaks Eurogaming into the American market, becoming an overnight bestseller and gateway game. Publishers such as Mayfair and Rio Grande Games begin meeting the new market demand with titles from Europe.
Online retailing begins to pose a challenge to "brick and mortar" game stores, though the full effects of e-commerce will not be felt until the following decade.
- 1990 in games
- 1991 in games
- 1992 in games
- 1993 in games
- 1994 in games
- 1995 in games
- 1996 in games
- 1997 in games
- 1998 in games
- 1999 in games
Read more about this topic: List Of Years In Games