Major Game Anniversaries in August 2018
Spyro the Dragon – 20th Anniversary
If you’re excited about the upcoming Spyro Reignited Trilogy, you’re probably already aware that the purple dragon is celebrating an anniversary this fall. The first Spyro game, Spyro the Dragon, released in the US on Sept. 9, 1998, and quickly became one of the PlayStation’s leading mascots.
Now, 20 years after the first game’s debut, Spyro is returning. The aforementioned Reignited Trilogy is a collection of remastered versions of the first three games. It’s more of a remake, though, a la last year’s Crash N’Sane Trilogy, and it will release on Nov. 13, just a couple of months after the 20th anniversary date.
Major Game Anniversaries in August 2018
Pokemon Red and Blue (North America) – 20th Anniversary
One of many gamers’ all-time favorites released in North America 20 years ago this month. The first Pokemon games, Red and Blue, had already released in Japan, but us in the West were introduced to the series on Sept. 28, 1998. We all know the story now, as you pick a starter Pokemon and travel through the Kanto region to beat the Elite Four and become the very best like no one ever was.
The Pokemon Let’s GO games that are due to debut in Switch later this year follow the same story, and will inevitably bring back memories for every Pokemon fan. Also, Pokemon Yellow, the game that combined the structure of Red and Blue and the story of the popular anime show, released in Japan on Sept. 12, before coming to the West just over a year later.
Major Game Anniversaries in August 2018
Steam Launches – 15th Anniversary
Steam is now a part of so many gamers daily lives. Before its launch on Sept. 12, 2003, Valve would frequently have issues with the updating of their games, such as Counter-Strike. In an effort to remedy those issues, they set out to create a platform that would update games automatically and minimize any disruption. Now, 15 years later, it is a bonafide digital distribution service that’s home to thousands of games and millions of players. Most PC games are launched through Steam, and its ease of use has made it very attractive to players. Also, its success has seen Valve move away from game development somewhat. Their tentpole series, Half-Life, Portal, etc, have been dormant for a few years, with the company’s focus being on Steam and their pre-existing games. Steam will no doubt be around for many years to come.
Major Game Anniversaries in August 2018
The Simpsons Hit & Run – 15th Anniversary
There are more Simpsons games than you probably had any idea there were. With nearly 30 different games, across loads of different platforms, Homer and the rest of the family are video game veterans at this point. There have been bowling games, wrestling games, and golf games, but Hit & Run, the Grand Theft Auto style game, is one of the most memorable.
As each of the series’ main characters, in an open-world version of Springfield, you race other vehicles, wreck parts of the town, and hunt for items. It’s quite basic for an open-world sandbox game, but driving around and meeting the town’s famous characters is a lot of fun. It came to PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox on Sept. 16, 2003 – which is 15 years ago this month.
Major Game Anniversaries in August 2018
Grand Theft Auto V – 5th Anniversary
It’s probably scary to hear that Grand Theft Auto V released five years ago. It’s still one of the most popular games around, breaking records and being one of the best selling games each and every month. It originally released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 a couple of months before the current generation consoles arrived, and was remastered for them a year later. Now, five years later, GTA V has sold more than 90 million copies, making it one of the most successful games of all time. With Rockstar’s next game, Red Dead Redemption 2, releasing in a couple of months, it’ll be interesting to see how close it comes to matching the success of 2013’s game.
Published: Sep 5, 2018 09:04 am