October 1994

Description

Japan goes after arcades,
Nintendo's Famicon gets its first licensee &
Gamers come together online

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 October 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:
https://www.theycreateworlds.com/
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Links:
If you don't see all the links, find them here:

7 Minutes in Heaven: Mortal Kombat 2 (SNES, Genesis, Game Gear, Game Boy)
Video Version: https://youtu.be/KI-X2NobWF0
https://www.mobygames.com/game/600/mortal-kombat-ii/

Corrections:
September 1994 Ep - https://youtu.be/CvMg_FUb3p0
Ethan's fine site The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131646/
https://www.mobygames.com/company/8/software-toolworks-inc-the/
Console Wars Readthrough - https://youtu.be/wYhpTBPXZkI
LGR Never Obsolete PC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQo0yOqOb_4
George Morrow -
Krzysztof Kieslowski - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001425/

1994
Nintendo caves to E3
Nintendo of America to attend E3 show in Los Angeles, Business Wire, October 4, 1994, Tuesday

CES interactive postponed
Nintendo of America to attend E3 show in Los Angeles, Business Wire, October 4, 1994, Tuesday

Nintendo lowers investor expectations
NINTENDO TO SEE 2ND SALES, PROFIT DROPS, Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 4, 1994, TUESDAY
Nintendo revises FY '94 performance downward, Report From Japan, October 5, 1994
Nintendo sales, profits to post 2nd yearly fall,The Daily Yomiuri, October 5, 1994, Wednesday
Nikkei lower on new issue worries, Financial Times (London,England), October 5, 1994, Wednesday, London, Section: World Stock Markets (Asia Pacific); Pg. 41, Byline: By EMIKO TERAZONO
SEGA HITS '94 LOW ON TSE,Jiji Press Ticker Service,OCTOBER 4, 1994, ,TUESDAY

Thornton warns of UK video game market decline
THORNTON ISSUES WARNING AS VIDEO GAMES SALES PLUMMET, The Guardian (London), October 6, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN , CITY PAGE; Pg. 19

CentreGold buys Core
CentreGold picks up Core, The Independent (London), October 27, 1994, Thursday, Section: BUSINESS & CITY PAGE; Page 42

Convergance is the name of the game
Merging on The Information Superhighway The New Comfort Zone Where Public Meets Private - Correction Appended, The New York Times, Correction Appended, Distribution: Home Design MagazineHome Design Magazine, Section: Section 6; ; Section 6; Part 2; Page 40; Page 21; Column 3; Column 2; Home Design MagazineHome, Design Magazine ; Part 2; ; Column 3; Column 2;Byline: By Phil Patton; By JULIE V. IOVINE
"Media Futures: SRI denounces superhighway claims, Financial Times (London,England), October 31, 1994, Monday, Section: Pg. 13
Length: 507 words, Byline: By RAYMOND SNODDY"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Simon

Microsoft to buy Intuit
Microsoft To Acquire Intuit, Shareholder Sues, Newsbytes News Network, October 14, 1994
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Money
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY; Banks Going Interactive to Fend Off New Rivals, The New York Times, October 19, 1994, Wednesday, Late Edition - Final, Distribution: Financial Desk, Section: Section D; ; Section D; Page 1; Column 3; Financial Desk ; Column 3;
First Virtual Holdings brings banking into cyberspace
A Credit Card for On-Line Sprees, New York Times (National Edition), October 15, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. Y17; Vol. 144; No. 49,850; ISSN: 0362-4331 https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/first-virtual
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einar_Stefferud
HOME SHOPPING NETWORK STORE LAUNCH ON PRODIGY SUCCESSFUL, PR Newswire, October 18, 1994, Tuesday - 10:04 Eastern Time, Section: Financial News

MicroTime Media is bringing ads to games
Media: Watch out Sonic, the admen are coming; Maggie Brown meets the founder of an advertising agency that is putting commercials into computer games, The Independent (London), October 18, 1994, Tuesday, Section: MEDIA PAGE; Page 29
https://danielbobroff.com/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/1777/push-over/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/581/james-pond-2-codename-robocod/

Dreamworks announced
Spielberg, Katzenberg, Geffen Troika Launch Entertainment Venture. The Associated Press. October 13, 1994, Thursday, PM cycle. Section: Business News. Byline: By JOHN HORN, AP Entertainment Writer
https://archive.org/details/menwhowouldbekin0000lapo

Sega expands Model 2 offerings
https://archive.org/details/edge-013-october-1994/page/10/mode/1up?view=theater
https://segaretro.org/Sega_Model_2

Namco's Empire of Egg ups the ante
https://archive.org/details/edge-013-october-1994/page/16/mode/1up?view=theater
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Eggs

Sega VR parks coming to Canada
--The Business Report--, Broadcast News (BN), October 25, 1994 Tuesday
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playdium
https://web.archive.org/web/19970223190650/http://www.playdium.com/

Aussie arcades go family friendly
ARCADE GAMES ARRIVE, The Courier Mail (Australia), October 30, 1994 Sunday, 2 - STATE, Section: Pg. 13, Byline: VEITCH C

Next Gen battle lines drawn at Japan Electronics Show
Next-Generation Game Machines Battle at Japan Electronics Show, The Associated Press, October 4, 1994, Tuesday, AM cycle, Section: Business News, Byline: By DAVID THURBER, Associated Press Writer
https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_063_October_1994 pp178
JVC to Enter Video Game Machine Market Through Sega OEM, Japan Industrial Journal, October 5, 1994
https://segaretro.org/JVC
JVC to market Sega's Saturn video game machines, Japan Economic Newswire, OCTOBER 24, 1994, MONDAY, Dateline: TOKYO, Oct. 24 Kyodo
https://segaretro.org/Sega_Saturn#Models

Sega announces Saturn launch price
Sega to sell new generation of video game machines, Japan Economic Newswire, OCTOBER 7, 1994, FRIDAY
SEGA SHARES FALL BELOW 5,000 YEN ON TSE,Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 17, 1994, MONDAY, Dateline: TOKYO, OCT. 17
SEGA HITS NEW 1994 LOW ON TSE, Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 24, 1994, MONDAY, Dateline: TOKYO, OCT. 24
Shanghai A shares decline by 8.1 per cent, Financial Times (London,England), October 27, 1994, Thursday, Section: World Stock Markets (Asia Pacific);,pg. 49, Byline: By EMIKO TERAZONO
https://archive.org/details/edge-013-october-1994/page/9/mode/1up?view=theater
https://archive.org/details/edge-013-october-1994/page/7/mode/1up?view=theater

Matsushita announces cheaper 3DO
Matsushita introduces cheaper game machine, The Daily Yomiuri, October 21, 1994, Friday, Byline: Yomiuri Shimbun
https://archive.org/details/egm-2-october-1994/page/n39/mode/1up

Sony announces PSX price
Sony to Launch New Video Game Machine, Associated Press Worldstream, October 27, 1994; Thursday 08:44 Eastern Time
Sony to introduce next-generation video game machine, Report From Japan, October 28, 1994

NEC reveals PC-FX launch date and price
NEC joins video game war, Agence France Presse -- English, October 31, 1994 05:54 Eastern Time

3DO to charge developers $3 fee
3DO kicks off holiday season with aggressive national advertising campaign, Business Wire, October 21, 1994, Friday

3DO devs revolt
3DO FACES REVOLT BY GAME DEVELOPERS OVER FEE TO CUT MANUFACTURERS' LOSSES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, October 24, 1994, Monday, Section: Section B; Page 3, Column 1, Byline: BY JIM CARLTON

Toys R Us to stock Jaguar
Toys R Us stocks up on Jaguar, the world's first 64-bit video game system; Atari launches multi-million dollar marketing campaign for Jaguar, Business Wire, October 10, 1994, Monday
https://youtu.be/ndcTWeaVbLQ?si=kX5qo8st8oPI1wT0
https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_063_October_1994 pp178
https://songbird-productions.com/jagdomain/jvmfaq.html

Nintendo retakes 16 bit crown
"Nintendo Retakes 16-Bit Sales Crown, Wall Street Journal (3 Star, Eastern (Princeton, NJ) Edition), October 28, 1994, Business and Industry Section: Pg. B3; Vol. LXXVI; No. 11; ISSN: 0099-966"

Nintendo nixes Play it Loud campaign
PLAY IT GONE, ADWEEK, October 31, 1994, Western Advertising News Edition
https://youtu.be/FArjEUhBgP4?si=JkfYhRH8hkeB8-_M

Nintendo mails out 2 million video cassettes
Mario Homes in on D-Base, Ad Day, October 10, 1994, Section: DMK; Pg. 14, Byline: By Terry Lefton
https://youtu.be/Rv_YCSbWP78?si=jYmiIbfLxG87xjbv
Video game king invades cyberspace jungle; Nintendo of America enters the information super highway to launch Donkey Kong Country, Business Wire, October 13, 1994, Thursday
Nintendo Is Expecting Revenue From Game To Top $100 Million, Wall Street Journal (3 Star, Eastern (Princeton, NJ) Edition), October 26, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. B12; Vol. 224; No. 82; ISSN: 0099-9660
NINTENDO'S BIGGEST EVER GAMES LAUNCH AND BRITAIN IS AHEAD OF THE REST., PR Newswire Europe, October 28, 1994, Origin Universal News Services Limited, 1994, Section: GENERAL AND CITY NEWS

Acclaims gets Marvel license
TCI may form Acclaim alliance, United Press International, October 19, 1994, Wednesday, BC cycle, Section: Domestic News, Dateline: ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 19

TCI buys into Acclaim
TCI to buy 10 percent of Acclaim, United Press International, October 20, 1994, Thursday, BC cycle, Section: Domestic News, Dateline: ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 20

Virtuality is virtually everywhere
Atari plans to put virtual reality into home computer games, The Sunday Times (London), October 30, 1994, Sunday, Section: Features, Byline: Steve Boxer
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Project_Elysium_pg_1.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_VR
Atari joins forces with Virtuality to offer home virtual reality games by,Christmas 1995, Business Wire, October 25, 1994, Tuesday
https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EC%A0%84%EB%87%8C%EC%A0%84%EA%B8%B0%20%EB%84%B7%20%EB%A8%B8%ED%81%AC
Laser Quest transforms itself to push virtual reality 'tag' game, The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada), October 15, 1994, Saturday,WEEKLY EDITION, Section: SECTION 4, SPECIAL REPORT: COMPUTERS; Pg. C26; PROFILE, Byline: Johanna Powell

ESRB announces rating milestone
ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE RATING BOARD ANNOU CES 100 INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTS RATED IN FIRST MONTH, PR Newswire, October 5, 1994, Wednesday - 19:40 Eastern Time

RSAC rates Doom
CONSUMER SOFTWARE RATING SYSTEM RECEIVING STRONG INDUSTRY SUPPORT, PR Newswire, October 6, 1994, Thursday - 07:00 Eastern Time

Sega breaks budget records
Video, Playback, October 10, 1994, Section: Pg.VI-1, byline: Laura Pratt

Mobile phones set to be hot Xmas item in UK
And only 75 shopping days to go . . ., The Independent (London), October 9, 1994, Sunday, Section: HOME NEWS PAGE; Page 6
Bible goes Gameboy
Game Boy offers competition to Gideons, St. Petersburg Times (Florida), October 8, 1994, Saturday, City Edition, Section: CITY TIMES; Religion; Pg. 8

October 10th is Doomsday
DOOM II: Hell On Earth now available, Business Wire, October 10, 1994, Monday
Doom II' video game rates an 'M', USA TODAY, October 11, 1994, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION, Section: LIFE; Pg. 1D

IBM falls to 4th place among Aptiva sell out
"IBM Sells Out New Aptiva PC Shortage May Cost Millions in Potential Revenue, Wall Street Journal (3 Star, Eastern (Princeton, NJ) Edition), October 7, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. B4; Vol. 224; No. 69; ISSN: 0099-9660"
TECHNO-POP; PCs Embrace Mass Market Promos, Partners, Ad Day, October 17, 1994, Section: PROMOTIONS; Pg. 1, Byline: By Karen Benezra and Gerry Khermouch
IBM GETS BACK TO ITS ROOTS, The Australian Financial Review, October 24, 1994 Monday, Late Edition, Section: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; Pg. 40, Byline: DAVID CROWE

Packard Bell rises to 3rd place in PC biz
Packard Bell's Surpirsing PC Rise, New York Times (National Edition), October 12, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. C1
https://vintage-packard-bell.fandom.com/wiki/Spectria_610_AN
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Bell

Microsoft Revenues jump!
Computer Update, The Independent (London), October 24, 1994, Monday, Section: NETWORK PAGE; Page 27, Byline: TIM JACKSON
Microsoft's Gates Heads Richest Americans List, Newsbytes, October 3, 1994, Monday, Section: NEWS

Build to Order PCs boom
THE GLOBAL GUARD: THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION; The young pretenders ready to stake their claim, The Guardian (London), October 20, 1994, Section: THE GUARDIAN FEATURES PAGE; Pg. T15

Hyundai and DLT see PC-to-TV as the future of multimedia
Display Research In Technology Pact With Hyundai, Newsbytes, October 4, 1994, Tuesday, Section: NEWS, Dateline: KWAI CHUNG, HONG KONG

FMV goes software only
Full-motion, full-screen realism without MPEG chips in GameTek's Quarantine CD-ROM, using Duck TrueMotion video, Business Wire, October 10, 1994, Monday
https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/Duck_TrueMotion_1
https://segaretro.org/TrueMotion

Mindscape buys SSI
MINDSCAPE, INC. ACQUIRES STRATEGIC SIMULATIONS, INC.; ACQUISITION STRENGTHENS ENTERTAINMENT DEVELOPMENT, EFFORTS, PR Newswire, October 20, 1994, Thursday - 08:16 Eastern Time, Section: Financial News

Corel gets into games
Corel decides to spread its software bets around; Company moves, aggressively into new markets, The Ottawa Citizen, October 8, 1994, Saturday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. E1
https://www.mobygames.com/company/2075/cascade-parent-limited/

Will Wright working on Project X
Meet Mr. SimCity, Newsweek, October 24, 1994 , UNITED STATES EDITION, Section: Pg. 48, Byline: BARBARA KANTROWITZ

Politicians are concerned about the internet
"Ottawa seeks advice about privacy Information highway raises new questions, paper says, The Toronto Star, October 15, 1994, Saturday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. C3, Byline: BY ROBERT BREHL TORONTO STARPRIVACY RIGHTS CANADA COMPUTER
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Regulator may police culture at infohighway phone booths, The Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 1994, Saturday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. D1, Byline: ALANA KAINZ; CITIZEN"

College kids are becoming email junkies
"On campus, there's a letter in the e-mail, USA TODAY, October 5, 1994, Wednesday, FINAL EDITION, Section: LIFE; Pg. 6D; Education, Byline: Karla Price
Internet the focus of Calgary computer sho Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada), October 6, 1994, Thursday, FINAL EDITION, Section: COMPUTERS; Pg. D10, Byline: MEL DUVALL"
Commercial services: where content is king, The Toronto Star, October 27, 1994, Thursday, METRO EDITION, Section: FAST FORWARD; Pg. J2

Compuserve to open service to the Internet
DRIVE FOR INFORMATION, The Courier Mail (Australia), October 25, 1994 Tuesday, 2 - FIRST WITH THE NEWS, Section: Pg. 34, Byline: COX P

Apple to Cyberdog it
Secret Apple Cyberdog unleashed on Internet, USA TODAY, October 24, 1994, Monday, FINAL EDITION, Section: MONEY; Pg. 1B, Byline: James Kim
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDoc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberdog

The file format of the web is still in doubt
Dial-a-catalog, Forbes, October 10, 1994, Section: ON THE COVER; Computers/Communications; Pg. 126, Byline: By David C. Churbuck

Cybersquatting demo'd
Computer Update, The Independent (London), October 24, 1994, Monday, Section: NETWORK PAGE; Page 27, Byline: TIM JACKSON

Maryland's Sailor Project sees expansion need
TESTIMONY OCTOBER 4, 1994 BARBARA G. SMITH ON BEHALF OF MARYLAND'S SAILOR PROJECT HOUSE SCIENCE/SCIENCE INTERNET ACCESS, Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony, October 4, 1994, Tuesday, Section: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY

Pearson buys Future
PEARSON BUYS FUTURE PUBLISHING FOR 52.5 MLN STG: 2, Extel Examiner, October 24, 1994, Monday - 08:25 Eastern Time, Section: Company News; Takeovers and Acquisitions

Ziff family sells Ziff Davis
ZIFF FAMILY SELLS ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY TO FORSTMANN LITTLE FOR $1.4 BILLION, PR Newswire, October 27, 1994, Thursday - 12:52 Eastern Time

Ziff Davis launches Family PC
NEW COMPUTER MAGAZINE APPEALS TO FAMILIES, The Columbian (Vancouver, A.), October 09, 1994, Sunday, Section: Money; Byline: By MICHAEL J. HIMOWITZ The Baltimore Sun

Computer Living breaks records in Australia
Computer Living Largest Launch In Australian History, Newsbytes News Network, October 21, 1994
PC USERS RESUME AFFAIR WITH MAGS, Philadelphia Daily News, October 28, 1994 Friday PM EDITION, Section: BUSINESS , MONEYTALK; Pg. 75, Byline: Michael Connor, Reuters

Supreme Court won't review Game Genie case
No Headline In Original, WALL STREET JOURNAL, October 13, 1994, Thursday, Section: Section B; Page 2, Column 4

Mario Paint suit dismissed
Nintendo claims victory in inventor's patent suit, The Toronto Star, October 15, 1994, Saturday, FINAL EDITION, Section: BUSINESS; Pg. C7
NINTENDO PREVAILS IN PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE, PR Newswire, October 14, 1994, Friday - 11:00 Eastern Time, Section: Financial News

Jail time first for software pirate
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/08/22/software-pirate-is-first-to-get-prison-time/
https://archive.org/details/PC-Player-German-Magazine-1994-10/page/n15/mode/2up

Nintendo donates to epilepsy research
Nintendo to help study video-epilepsy link, The Daily Yomiuri, October 15, 1994, Saturday, Byline: Yomiuri Shimbun

UK to begin game preservation
SuperMario and Aladdin meet Marlon Brando; The National Film and Television Archive, preserver of artistic heritage, is planning a collection of video games. Nick Wray reports, The Independent (London), October 10, 1994, Monday, Section: NETWORK PAGE; Page 24, Byline: NICK WRAY

Home office furniture goes upscale
COMPUTER STATIONS GO HIGH-STYLE HOME-ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS AND WORK PODS HIGHLIGHTED AT SHOW. / WANT A LOUIS XV ARMOIRE FOR YOUR TELEVISION SET AND SEREO AND VCR? JUST LIKE THOSE IN,THE 18TH-CENTURY FRENCH COURT?, The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 1994 Friday FINAL EDITION, Section: FEATURES MAGAZINE: HOME & DESIGN; Pg. E01, Byline: Susan Caba, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Taco Bell gameifies employee performance
Users eye game technology to spice up service, Computerworld, October 10, 1994, Section: NEWS; MULTIMEDIA; Pg. 24, Byline: Suruchi Mohan; CW Staff

MK Album
https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_63_October_1994_U/page/n157/mode/1up?view=theater

MK Live coming to an arena near you
Fishof Producing $2.5 Million Mortal Kombat Arena Show, Amusement Business, October 31, 1994, Business and Industry, Section: Pg. 14; Vol. 106; No. 43; ISSN: 0003-2344, Byline: Susan Ray
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_Kombat:_Live_Tour

Raul Julia RIP
Puerto Rico to salute late actor Raul Julia, USA TODAY, October 25, 1994, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION, Section: LIFE; Pg. 1D, Byline: Ann Oldenburg

Quote of the month:
CBS is No. 1 with older viewers, but other networks say 'So what?' The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), October 2, 1994, Sunday, FINAL EDITION, Section: ENTERTAINMENT: SHOWCASE; Pg. F4, byline: ED BARK; DALLAS MORNING NEWS

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