The biggest gaming anniversaries of 2020
The best gaming birthdays from 1990-2015
Here we are, we have finally arrived in the distant land of 2020, the future, where all of your dreams will come true. Either that or the world will burn. Or a combination of the two. Anyway, there's no better way to distract ourselves from the misery of our future, than a look back at our past, right?
2020 is a nice round number, meaning it's time to look back at the games which will be celebrating their anniversaries this year. We've gone back in time (via Wikipedia) to find the most important games released in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015, and we've brought you those games in list form for you to easily browse.
It's nice to see which games are celebrating their birthdays this year, but also, this list is perfect social media fodder. Want a bunch of shares and retweets through this year? Just look at this list, schedule some posts way in advance, and watch all of the good social media numbers roll in. It's a foolproof idea, let me tell you.
We've got a lot of games to go through, so we'll take it one step at a time. Just click below to see the anniversaries of the games starting with 1990, and moving through to the modern-day - and if I've missed your favourite game, make sure to tell me how stupid I am in the comments below! It's okay, I deserve it.
30th anniversaries - games from 1990
Thirty years is longer than I've been alive - just about - and as a result these feel truly ancient. But 1990 was the year we saw the debut of some truly amazing franchises, events, and more. Did you know Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon was the very first Tycoon game? Not only that, but SimCity released, which went on to be a sensation in the future.
- SimCity - February 2
- Super Mario Bros. 3 - February 12
- Nintendo World Championships - March 8
- Final Fantasy NA launch - July 12
- The Secret of Monkey Island - October
- Sega Mega Drive - November 30
- Dr Mario - December
- Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon
25th anniversaries - games from 1995
This is the year where we saw the very first E3, the Virtual Boy, Rayman, Chrono Trigger, and so much more. Not to mention, possibly the most game-changing thing to happen this year, the launch of the Sony PlayStation.
- Panzer Dragoon - March 10
- Chrono Trigger - March 11
- Mario's Picross - March
- Kirby's Dream Land 2 - May 1
- The first E3 - May 11
- Earthbound - June 5
- Street Fighter Alpha - June 5
- Donkey Kong Land - June 26
- Vitrtual Boy launch - July 21
- Command & Conquer - August 31
- Rayman - September 1
- PlayStation US launch - September 9
- Time Crisis - October
- Worms - December
- Tales of Phantasia - December 15
- Virtual Boy discontinued - December 22
20th anniversaries - games from 2000
The year 2000 was a fascinating time. 3D games were officially the standard, new consoles were on the horizon, Counter Strike was changing the nature of competitive gaming, and Waluigi was introduced in a game for the first time ever. Absolutely incredible.
- Worms: Armageddon - January
- Dragon Warrior Monsters - January 25
- The Sims - February 4
- PS2 in Japan - March 4
- Pokémon Trading Card Game - April 10
- Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel - April 24
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - April 27
- Perfect Dark - May 22
- Pokémon Yellow EU launch - June 16
- Deus Ex - June 26
- Waluigi in Mario Tennis - July 21
- Paper Mario - August 11
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - September 19
- Dragon Warrior I & II - September 27
- Skies of Arcadia - October 5
- Pokémon Gold/Silver - October 14
- Timesplitters - October 23
- Donkey Kong Country - November 4
- Shenmue - November 6
- Counter Strike - November 6
15th anniversaries - games from 2005
2005. I'll never forget it. It was the year when those grizzly ganados appeared on my Nintendo Gamecube. Also the Nintendo DS.
- Resident Evil 4 - January 11
- World of Warcraft EU - February 11
- Tales of Eternia - March 3
- Nintendo DS EU launch - March 11
- God of War - March 22
- Wipeout Pure - April 7
- Psychonauts - April 19
- Advance Wars: Dual Strike - August 22
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - September 15
- Nintendogs - October 24
- Guitar Hero - November 7
- Mario Kart DS and Nintendo WiFi Connection - November 14
- Xbox 360 launch - November 22
- Dragon Quest VIII - November 22
- Monster Hunter Freedom - December 1
- Animal Crossing: Wild World - December 5
10th anniversaries - games from 2010
For me, ten years ago feels both like the longest time ago, and also far too recent. Heavy Rain feels like it's been a meme since the beginning of time, but the introduction of the first Humble Bundle was only yesterday. Super Meat Boy also feels like a recent development, but nope, ten years old now. Insane.
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - January 9
- Mass Effect 2 - January 26
- God Eater - February 4
- Heavy Rain - February 23
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - March 2
- Humble Bundle - May 4
- Red Dead Redemption - May 18
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 - May 23
- Xenoblade Chronicles - June 10
- Limbo - July 21
- Plants vs Zombies - September 8
- Halo: Reach - September 14
- Pokémon Black/White - September 18
- Civilization V - September 21
- Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded - October 7
- Game Dev Story - October 9
- Super Meat Boy - October 20
- Angry Birds Seasons - October 21
- Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - October 28
- Xbox Kinect - November 4
- Call of Duty: Black Ops - November 9
- Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - November 16
- Donkey Kong Country Returns - November 21
- Modern Combat: Sandstorm - November 25
- Infinity Blade - December 9
5th anniversaries - games from 2015
This was all, like, last week, I swear to God. This was 2015? For real? 2015 was five years ago? Christ, is this what aging is like? I only got a New Nintendo 3DS last year I sw- Nintendo Switch has been out for nearly three years?! Wow okay hold up I need to go write my will before death catches up to me.
- New Nintendo 3DS - February 13
- Pillars of Eternity - February 13
- Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - February 13
- Alto's Adventure - February 19
- Ori and the Blind Forest - March 11
- Bloodborne - April 7
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3D - April 10
- Hearthstone - April 14
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - May 19
- You Must Build a Boat - June 4
- Her Story - June 23
- Rocket League - July 7
- Pac-Man Championship Edition DX - July 23
- Fate/Grand Order - July 30
- Lara Croft GO - August 27th
- Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls - September 1
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - September 1
- Super Mario Maker - September 10
- Undertale - September 15
- The Talos Principle - October 13
- Downwell - October
- Fallout 4 - November 10
