PC games that made the Amiga look like Shit

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Megalomaniac

Copyright dates for arcade conversions often referred to the original arcade release, not the later home version.

As a general rule: Copyright date isn't the same as release date. Even for games that aren't ports from the arcade (or other systems). You can (and most likely) will register a copyright before you release something. It can be the same year that you release the thing you got the copyright for, but it doesn't have to be.

[lionagony]

Originally Posted by Megalomaniac

Copyright dates for arcade conversions often referred to the original arcade release, not the later home version. See e.g. Rainbow Islands, where the home versions says 1987 on the title screen but were released in 1990.The copyright is to Data East rather than Elite (or New World Computing who published it in the US) which would normally imply a 1991 arcade game released later for home systems. Still, even for 1992 those graphics are quite advanced compared to the Epic or Apogee stuff of the day, though I think they moved just as sluggishly as the Amiga version on most PCs of the time.

Interesting. So it is possible that Joe and Mac didn't come out until 1992 on DOS. The other 2D games always mentioned by PC users that had good ports were Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2 but both of those were 1993 on DOS according to Moby. Thus you could say it took 7 years for the PC to outmatch the Amiga in 2D with one single action game in 1992 and 8 years to outmatch it with a handful in 1993. As a 2D lover myself that's quite a run.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by lionagony

So it is possible that Joe and Mac didn't come out until 1992 on DOS.

Not only possible, but very likely. Somebody would have to check US gaming magazines to confirm when it was first reviewed there (been there, done that, not doing it in this case ).