Timeline of Arcade Video Game History - Post-golden Age (1987-present)

Post-golden Age (1987-present)

1987

• Namco releases Yōkai Dōchūki (known outside of Asia as Shadowland).

• Technos Japan releases Double Dragon. It became a huge hit, paving the way for beat 'em up games.

1988

• NARC, by Williams is released and is the first commercially released game to use a 32-bit processor.

• Reikai Doushi by Home Data is released. It is the first digitized fighting game and the first claymation fighting game.

• Namco releases Assault, which was the first game to make use of massive sprite rotation as well as sprite scaling. It also released Splatterhouse, which was the first game to get a parental advisory disclaimer.

• Namco introduces the Namco System 21 "Polygonizer", the first arcade system board designed for 3D polygonal graphics. The first game to use it is the early 3D racing video game Winning Run.

• Hard Drivin', by Atari Games is released and is the second arcade driving game to have 3D polygon graphics.

• Tetris makes the jump from home to arcade as an Atari coin-op.

1989

• Exterminator, the first game with fully digitized graphics, is released. It will have the highest quality digitized graphics until the release of Mortal Kombat II.

• S.T.U.N. Runner is released by Atari Games and is known for early use of high-speed 3-D Polygonal Graphics.

1991

• Capcom releases Street Fighter II, revolutionizing competitive play in the arcade setting and setting the template for fighting games.

1992

• Midway Games releases Mortal Kombat, which features blood and fatalities.

1993

• Mortal Kombat II is released, featuring high quality digitized graphics, and the most advanced sound system in arcades at the time, the DCS sound system which allowed for MP3 style compression to all sounds.
• Sega releases Virtua Fighter, the first 3D fighting game.

• Sega releases Daytona USA, the most successful arcade game to date.

1994

• Killer Instinct is released, the first arcade game with a hard disk, up to that point the game with the highest quality graphics pre-rendered by a rendering program, featuring to this day the highest quality use of the movie background technique.

1996

• SNK releases Metal Slug, a run and gun game widely known for its sense of humor, fluid hand-drawn animation, and fast paced two-player action.

1998

• Konami releases Dance Dance Revolution, an arcade game with four arrow pads that the players used to "dance." This game would create many sequels and spin-offs.

1999

• Rush 2049 is released, the last arcade game to bear the Atari Games logo. Atari Games in Milpitas is renamed Midway Games West, and closes its coin-op product development division.