10 Video Game Anniversaries that Will Make You Feel Old

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 29 Feb 2016

Will it come as a shock to you, if I were to tell you that Pokémon is 20 years old? During the weekend, on February 27 to be more precise, Pokémon celebrated its 20th anniversary and marked the occasion by holding special events and by announcing new Pokémon games.

If Pokémon celebrating its 20th made you feel old, here are 9 more video games that will celebrate a major anniversary this 2016.

1. Gears of War is 10 years old



The first Gears of War shooter was released on November 7, 2006. Three things made it stand out at the time: the stunning graphics; the introduction of "active reloading”; and the cover-based combat system that has become quite popular among developers following the game’s release.

The Gears of War franchise, which spans 4 video games, 5 novels, and a comic book series, is currently one of the best-selling franchises and most played titles on the Xbox.


2. Grand Theft Auto III is 15 years old



The latest GTA game that Rockstar Games released is Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, an open world action-adventure video game for Android and iOS, game that is based on Grand Theft Auto III Liberty City.

GTA III Liberty City by the way, will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year, seeing that it was released on October 22, 2001.


3. Resident Evil is 20 years old



Resident Evil’s 15th anniversary was 5 years ago!

The first game in the Resident Evil series of survival horror video game was released on March 22, 1996. Since then, the game series has sold more than 61 million units worldwide. And with Capcom planning to release a Resident Evil 2 complete remake, I can only assume that the number of sold units will only increase over time.

And speaking about Resident Evil, I should point out that the 6th and final installment in the Resident Evil film series, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, will be released in January 2017.


4. Crash Bandicoot is 20 years old



The first installement in the Crash Bandicoot series of platform video games was released in 1996 – on December 6 in Japan, September 9 in North America, and November 2 in Europe.

There hasn’t been a new Crash Bandicoot game since 2010, when Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 was released to Apple’s App Store. So you can imagine why fans went crazy when reports surfaced that Sony plans to make a new game. Unfortunately, it was all a big misunderstanding. Sony isn’t going to make a new Crash Bandicoot game.


5. Sonic the Hedgehog is 25 years old



The first game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise was released 25 years ago, on June 23, 1991. Since then, the franchise shipped more than 335 million units, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time.

Did you know that Sony Pictures and Sega Sammy Group plan to release a Sonic the Hedgehog movie? Scheduled for a 2018 release, the feature film is going to mix live action and animation.


6. The Legend of Zelda is 30 years old



Pictured above is the trailer for 'The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD', a game that will be released on March 4. It continues a series of high-fantasy action-adventure video games that started 30 years ago, with the release of the original The Legend of Zelda on February 21, 1986. Since then, the series has sold more than 62 million copies.


7. Metroid is 30 years old



The first Metroid game was released on August 6, 1986. Nintendo’s science fiction action-adventure series features 11 games, with the latest having been released in 2010. A 12th game entitled Metroid Prime: Federation Force will be added to the list later this year. Unveiled at E3 2015, the game doesn’t have a precise release date right now.


8. Donkey Kong is 35 years old



The Donkey Kong arcade game (not the Game Boy version) was released by Nintendo on July 9, 1981. It’s been 35 years and we’re still seeing the huge ape in the media. Most recently, in the Pixels movie, which received multiple Golden Raspberry nominations, including Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Picture.


9. Atari Breakout is 40 years old



Atari’s Breakout arcade game was released in April 1976. Did you know that Steve Wozniak built the game, with a bit of help from none other than Steve Jobs? Furthermore, do you know that Google has a Breakout Easter Egg that lets you play the game on Google Images?



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