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1991 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man 4, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, along with new titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Battletoads, Lemmings, Sunset Riders, Duke Nukem, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, and Streets of Rage. The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II. The year's best-selling system was the Game Boy for the second year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video game was Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, which was also the year's top video game rental in the United States.
Top-rated games
Game of the Year awards
The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1991.
Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame
The following video game releases in 1991 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.[7]
| Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre | Score (out of 40) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (A Link to the Past) | Super Famicom | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Action-adventure | 39 |
| Final Fantasy IV | Super Famicom | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | Role-playing | 36 |
| Lemmings | Super Famicom | Sunsoft | Sunsoft | Strategy | 35 |
Financial performance
Highest-grossing arcade games
The year's highest-grossing game worldwide was Street Fighter II, which alone accounted for an estimated 60% of the global arcade game market, according to Coinslot magazine.[8] The following table lists the year's top-grossing arcade game in Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, and worldwide.
| Market | Title | Hardware sales | Coin drop earnings | Inflation | Manufacturer | Genre | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | 17,000 | Unknown | Unknown | Capcom | Fighting | [9][10] |
| United Kingdom | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | 10,000 | $229 million+ | $510 million+ | Capcom | Fighting | [8] |
| United States | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Unknown | Unknown | Capcom | Fighting | [11][12] | |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Unknown | Unknown | Konami | Beat 'em up | [13] | ||
| Australia | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Unknown | Unknown | Capcom | Fighting | [14] | |
| Worldwide | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | 50,000 | Capcom | Fighting | [8][10] | ||
Japan
In Japan, the following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1991, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.
| Rank | Gamest[9] | Game Machine[10] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Type | ||
| 1 | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Software conversion kit |
| 2 | Final Fight | Tetris (Sega) | Software conversion kit |
| 3 | Final Lap 2 | Columns | Software conversion kit |
| 4 | Quiz Tonosama no Yabō | Final Lap 2 | Standard cabinet |
| 5 | Raiden | Deluxe cabinet | |
| 6 | Super Monaco GP | Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes) | Software conversion kit |
| 7 | Clutch Hitter | Quiz Tonosama no Yabō | |
| 8 | GP Rider | Final Fight | Software conversion kit |
| 9 | Super Volley '91 (Power Spikes) | World Stadium '90 | Software conversion kit |
| 10 | Dragon Saber | Columns II | Software conversion kit |
United States
In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1991.
| Rank | AAMA[11][12][15] | AMOA[16][17] | Play Meter | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Award | Arcade conversion kit | Dedicated arcade cabinet | ||
| 1 | Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Diamond | Street Fighter II | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[13] |
| 2 | The Simpsons, Neo Geo MVS |
Platinum | Capcom Bowling, Final Fight, High Impact Football, Raiden |
Hard Drivin', Neo Geo MVS, Pit Fighter, Race Drivin' |
Unknown |
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | High Impact Football | Gold | |||
| 5 | Final Lap 2 | Silver | |||
Hong Kong and Australia
In Hong Kong and Australia, the following titles were the top-grossing arcade games on the monthly charts in 1991.