Page 66 - PlayStation hardware

The 32-bit war was rather short - the Saturn launched in May 1995, the PlayStation in September, by December it was already obvious who the winner was going to be. Nintendo came in a year later but never caught-up to the massive lead Sony built. In this catalog the PlayStation is given more space than both of its competitors combined.

Page 67 - Final Fantasy VII, Beyond the Beyond, Wild Arms, Bushido Blade, Memory Card

Final Fantasy VII was the marquee PlayStation game of the season. In my fuzzy memories I recall Crash Bandicoot 2 actually being the best seller. That would make sense at least, mainstream semi-platformers will always outsell Japanese RPGs like it or not.

Page 68 - Analog Controller, Crash Bandicoot 2, MLB '98, Steel Reign, Spawn, Cool Boarders 2

That's right, the analog controller still wasn't a pack-in with system at this point. I'd say that was a mistake on Sony's part but it sure didn't hurt console sales for them.

Page 69 - Multi Tap, NFL GameDay '98, NCAA GameBreaker '98, NFL FaceOff '98, NBA Shootout '98

I miss the days of multiple publishers making licensed sports games.

Page 70 - Intelligent Qube, Blasto, Parappa the Rapper, Jam Pack 2, Armored Core, Tail of the Sun

Coming soon - Blasto... I believe this didn't make it out in May/June 1998, not long after Phil Hartman's death. That game would have been one of his last appearances.

Page 71 - Jet Moto 2, Twished Metal 2, Cart World Series, Porsche Challenge, Rally Cross

I kinda feel bad for parents of young kids in 1997. If their kids asked for a racing game for the PlayStation they had to try to figure out which of the dozen or so was the one they wanted. In my experience they picked whatever was cheapest.

Page 72 - Crash Bandicoot, Jet Moto, Warhawk, Battle Arena Toshinden, 2Xtreme

A couple launch titles here now in jewel case form. I preferred the cardboard longboxes even though they're a pain to store.

Page 73 - NFL GameDay '97, NHL Faceoff, Twisted Metal, Cool Boarders, NFL GameDay, NFL Faceoff '97

A couple more launch titles - which I now realized were probably sitting in a used bin for $5 too. Very few things devalue as much as old sports games.

Page 74 - Nightmare Creatures, Grand Tour Racing, Mechwarrior 2, Legacy of Kain, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Need for Speed V-Rally, Moto Racer, Nuclear Strike

Nuclear Strike - also coming in 2013 I suspect.

Page 78 - EA Sports '98

A lot of time has been spent analyzing the "Madden Curse" but has anyone looked at the "NBA Live" curse? It looks like Tim Hardaway is on the cover of the '98 edition. He had a great season in 1997-1998 so that fits. However, his 1998-1999 season was cut short sometime around the all-star break. There was also his bizarre anti-gay diatribe on national TV but that was long after his NBA Live cover appearance.

Page 76 - NFL Quarterback Club 98, Extreme G, Turok, NHL Breakaway 98, Riven, Magic the Gathering, Fantastic Four, Alien Trilogy, WrestleMania: The Arcade Game, Turok: Battle of the Dinosaur, Mortal Kombat I&II

I know this is the PlayStation section but a few Game Boy games leaked onto here and I have to talk about one. I have zero recollection of that Mortal Kombat I&II combo game being in the store. Looking around a bit it turns out it's a rare title. I wish I knew that then because it would be a great item for my collection now.

Page 77 - Ace Combat II, Soul Blade, Time Crisis, Treasures of the Deep, Tekken 2, Rage Racer, Tekken, Ridge Racer, Air Combat

At some point I guess I should try one of the Tekken games. 3D fighters were never my thing but everyone else seems to love this series so I should give at least one a go.

Page 78 - Mass Destruction, One, TNN Motor Sports Hardcore 2, WCW vs. nWo: World Tour, WCW Nitro, Ghost in the Shell, Vs., NBA Live '98

Also on the PlayStation section we have one of the last releases for Genesis and Super Nintendo, I believe the 2nd or 3rd to last.

Page 79 - Clock Tower, Dynasty Warriors, Masters of the Teras Kasi, Tetris Plus, Fighting Force, Tomb Raider II

I bet you think a fighting game based on Star Wars would be awesome? Well, you bet wrong.

Page 80 - Frogger, Monopoly, Beast Wars, Command and Conquer Red Alert, Golden Nugget, Command and Conquer, NFL Power Play '98, Hercules

They claim Golden Nugget offers "Completely realistic Las Vegas gambling". I don't think that's possible unless the game produces a constant stream of cigarette smoke.

Page 81 - NBA in the Zone '98, CastleVania: Symphony of the Night, Wheel of Fortune, Croc, Die Hard Trilogy, Multi Racing Championship

CastleVania: Symphony of the Night is another entry on my mile-long list of games to eventually try.

Page 89 - Duke Nukem Total Meltdown, Critical Depth, Courier Crisis, Oddworld, Duke Nukem 64, Bugriders: The Race of Kings

Courier Crisis sounds hilariously bad, I've got to get a copy.

Page 90 - Resident Evil, Resident Evil II, Street Fighter EX, Caesar's Palace, Clayfighter 63 1/3, Jimmy Johnson VR Football, Red Asphalt

Resident Evil II is the only game in the series I've put any time into. It's alright but the controls are goofy, you probably knew that already though.

Page 97 - Reel Fishing, Harvest Moon, Excalibur 2555 A.D., Tecmo Stackers, Monster Rancher, Tecmo Deception, Casper, Spider, Loaded

Loaded is still one of my favorite PlayStation games. I think I'll go check if it's available on the Vita now, not much else to play on it yet. It is rather odd that the portable PlayStation 3 is probably mostly used as a portable PlayStation.