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December 31

Video Games

1986: To date, Nintendo has sold almost two million Disk Systems for the Famicom in Japan.

1987: Shipments of IBM PS/2 Model 30 computers to date: 350,000.

1987: Shipments of Apple IIgs computers to date: 340,000.

1987: Shipments of IBM PS/2 Model 50 computers to date: 308,000.

1987: Shipments of IBM PC AT Model 5170 computers to date: 263,000.

1987: Shipments of Atari 130XE and 65XE computers to date: 261,000.

1987: Shipments of MS-DOS to date: 10.5 million.

1987: Shipments of Apple Macintosh SE computers to date: 255,000.

1987: Shipments of Apple IIe computers to date: 231,000.

1987: Shipments of IBM PC XT Model 5160 computers to date: 217,000.

1987: Shipments of Leading Edge PC Model D computers to date: 210,000.

1987: Unit sales to date of Nintendo Entertainment System game systems: about 4 million.

1988: Unit sales to date of Nintendo Entertainment System game systems: about 11 million.

1989: Unit sales to date of Nintendo Entertainment System game systems: about 20 million.

1990: At the end of the year, 29% of American households with TV sets also have a personal computer. 7.6% have a CD-ROM drive on their PC, and 17% have a modem on the PC.

1990: To date, Nintendo has sold 4.4 million Disk Systems for the Famicom.

1990: Unit sales to date of Nintendo Entertainment System game systems: about 27.5 million.

1991: Shipments of Apple Macintosh computers to date: 7 million.

1991: Total sales of Lotus 1-2-3 to date: 16 million.

1991: Total shipments of Microsoft Windows 3.0 to date: 15 million.

1991: NEC releases the PC Engine Super CD-ROM2 for the PC Engine in Japan.

1992: Unit shipments of personal computers worldwide to date: about 135 million.

1992: Unit sales of Nintendo Game Boy game systems worldwide to date: 32.2 million.

1992: Unit sales of Nintendo Entertainment Systems worldwide to date: 64.2 million.

1992: Unit sales of Super Nintendo Entertainment System game systems worldwide to date: 17.8 million.

1993: Shipments of IBM OS/2 2.1 to date: 3 million.

1993: Unit sales of the video game Double Dragon to date: 8 million copies.

1994: Shipments of Windows NT to date: 1 million.

1994: Shipments of Windows to date: 50-60 million.

1994: Shipments of OS/2 2.0 (and higher) to date: nearly 10 million.

1994: Shipments of home video games in the US to date: 40 million.

1995: Squaresoft releases the Final Fantasy IV video game for the PlayStation.

1996: IBM announces it has developed a hard drive storing 5 gigabits per square inch. Drives could be released for sale in a few years.

1996: Shipments of Windows 95 operating system to date: about 65 million.

1999: Shipments of CD-R discs worldwide to date: 1.4 billion.

1999: Shipments of CD-RW drives to date: 14 million.

1999: Unit shipments of Nintendo's Mario Party video game in the USA to date: 1.15 million.

2003: Total worldwide sales to date of Halo video game for the Xbox: 4 million.

2003: Total shipments of video game systems in the US to date: Xbox 8.6 million, GameCube 6.8 million.

2003: Total shipments to date of video game systems worldwide: Xbox 13.7 million, PlayStation 2 70 million.

2003: Total shipments of Game Boy Advance video game systems in the world to date: 8.1 million.

2004: Microsoft officially ends support for Windows NT 4.0.

2004: Total unit sales of the Final Fantasy video game series to date: Japan 28.8 million, USA 18.2 million, Europe 8.7 million.

2005: Total sales of Game Boy Advance series worldwide to date: 74 million.

2007: Sales to date of video game systems in the US: Xbox 360 9.2 million, Nintendo Wii 7.4 million, PlayStation 3 3.3 million.

2007: Sales to date of Xbox 360 systems worldwide: 17.7 million.

Movies

1985: Death of Rick Nelson at age 45; American singer, actor (Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) (born 1940).

1986: Lloyd Haynes, actor (Pete Dixon - Room 222), dies at age 54.

1990: The Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting.

1993: Arthur Dreifuss, director/producer (Murder in Amsterdam), dies at age 85.

1994: The Discovery Channel cable TV channel debuts in Canada.

1994: The Showcase cable TV channel debuts in Canada.

1994: Leo Fuchs, Polish/US Yiddish actor (Story of Ruth), dies at age 83.

1994: Woodrow "Woody" Strode, American rugby player/black cowboy actor (Posse, Cotton Club, Vigilante, Oil), dies.

1996: David Sinclair, actor (Love and Hate), dies at age 62.

2001: Death of Eileen Heckart at age 82 from cancer; actress (One Life to Live, Cybil, Annie McGuire, Out of the Blue, Suspense, The Fugitive).

2007: Death of Bill Idelson at age 88; actor/writer (Vic and Sade radio show, Herman Glimscher - The Dick Van Dyke Show TV show, MASH, Andy Griffith, Happy Days, The Flintstones).

Music

1985: Death of Rick Nelson at age 45; American singer, actor (Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) (born 1940).

1993: Barbra Streisand performs her first live public concert in 20 years.

1997: Floyd Cramer, pianist (Nashville Sound), dies of cancer at age 64.

2000: James Tuozzolo, trumpet player with the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra, collapses of a heart attack on stage just after performing a solo and dies in hospital.

2000: James Tuozzolo, trumpet player with the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra, collapses of a heart attack on stage just after performing a solo and dies in hospital.

Sports

1985: Alexander Matheson, cricket player (two wickets/2 Tests for New Zealand 1930-31), dies.

1988: NHL player Mario Lemieux scores a goal in each of the five different ways possible in one game (even-strength, power-play, shorthanded, penalty shot, and empty-net)

1989: Fog Bowl: Heavy fog rolls in on Chicago Bears 20-12 victory over Philadelphia Eagles.

1989: Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets record with 598 wins in a year.

1990: George Allen, US football coach (Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins), dies.

1991: Daniel R McCarthy elected New York Yankees managing general partner.

1991: J Donald Crump resigns as Canadian Football League Commissioner.

1992: , 1996).

1994: Byron Nelson-second).

1994: Woodrow "Woody" Strode, American rugby player/black cowboy actor (Posse, Cotton Club, Vigilante, Oil), dies.

1995: 62nd Sugar Bowl: Virginia Tech beats Texas.

1995: Matthew Elliott scores separate cricket century same day for Victoria.

1995: GHP Heartland Classic-45th).

1996: Canadians-second).

1997: Marv Levy retires as coach of Buffalo Bills.

1997: Orlando Hernandez, half-brother of pitcher Livan, defects from Cuba.

2007: In Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the Baltimore Ravens fire long-time head coach Brian Billick, after finishing a disappointing 5-win, 11-loss season. Billick spent nine seasons in Baltimore and was the Ravens' most successful coach with an 85-67 record.

2008: Moscow Dynamo defeats Canada in hockey to win the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.

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