Welcome to the latest episode of Past Games, a Patreon-exclusive monthly series that uncovers the histories of 2026's biggest and most consequential gaming anniversaries.
Last month, I shared the rarely told origin story of Pokémon. While researching that episode, I stumbled upon interesting details about other games released in 1996 and began to wonder... could '96 be the most important year in the history of games?
In 1996, we saw the beginning of the end for Sega, the rise of Sony's PlayStation, and Nintendo's move to 3D. PC gaming pioneered the violent first-person shooters, complex role-playing games, and internet multiplayer that would become the industry's fiscal cornerstones. And over half a dozen competitor consoles were discontinued, failing to survive the early '90s gaming gold rush.
To learn more about the year, I reached out to the experts at My Life in Gaming, Coury Carlson and Marc "Try4ce" Duddleson. The conversation is split into three parts.
Act 1: The Road to 1996
Act 2: 1996 Changes Video Games
Act 3: Recreating 1996 in 2026
Stories discussed:
My Life in Gaming (YouTube)
The Story Of The 3DO - The Console Born From EA's Founder & Makers of The Atari Lynx & Amiga 1000 (Wrestling with Gaming)
The First 25 Years: A PlayStation Oral History (Game Informer)
Do The Math - The Story Of The Atari Jaguar (Wrestling with Gaming)
Electronic Gaming Monthly, January 1996 (VGHF)
PC Gamer, March 1996 (VGHF)
GamePro, July 1996 (VGHF)
Game Informer, November 1996 (VGHF)
History of the Sega Saturn/Release (SegaRetro)
1996 in Video Games (Wiki)
Analogue 3D - Overclocked N64 Gaming with 4K Upscaling (My Life in Gaming)
DF Retro Super Show EX1 - Analogue 3D Review - Overclocking, Image Quality Boosts + Much More (Digital Foundry)
Good Game, No Rematch by Mike Drucker (Harper Collins)
How to make video games funny, featuring Mike Drucker (Post Games)
Mario 64 (1996) - IGN Gameplay Vault (IGN)
The Best Way to Play Super Mario 64 - N64, DS, Wii, Wii U, or Switch? (My Life in Gaming)
Sixty-forsaken: The Nintendo 64 | N64 Works 000 (Jeremy Parish)