Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: When was the first Silent Hill released?
Silent Hill[lower-alpha 1] is a survival horror video game for the PlayStation published by Konami and developed by Team Silent, a group in Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. The first installment in the Silent Hill series, the game was released in North America in January 1999, and in Japan and Europe later that year. Silent Hill uses a third-person view, with real-time rendering of 3D environments. To mitigate limitations of the console hardware, developers liberally used fog and darkness to muddle the graphics. Unlike earlier survival horror games that focused on protagonists with combat training, the player character of Silent Hill is an "everyman".[1]
Silent Hill was released for the PlayStation in North America on January 31, 1999; in Japan on March 4, 1999; and in Europe on August 1, 1999.[46] It was included in the Japanese Silent Hill Complete Set in 2006.[47] On March 19, 2009, Silent Hill became available for download from the European PlayStation Network store of the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable.[48] Two days later, the game was removed due to "unforeseen circumstances".[49] On September 10, 2009, Silent Hill was released on the North American PlayStation Network.[50] On October 26, 2011 it was re-released on the European PlayStation Network.[51]
Silent Hill: Orphan (known as Silent Hill Mobile in Europe) is the debut release for the "Silent Hill" franchise on the mobile phone, developed by Swedish game development company Gamefederation Studio AB (a wholly owned subsidiary of Digiment Ltd) under Technical Director Eirik Moseng and Art Director Anders Korodi. The game is set in an abandoned orphanage and is played through first-person, point-and-click gameplay. In order for the player to survive, a string of puzzles must be solved by using various items and clues. "Orphan" also unveils a new perspective on some past events that have occurred in the town. A second mobile game was released in Japan in 2007 titled "". This installment utilized motion technology to sense gestures through the phone's camera.
Both "Silent Hill: Orphan" and "Silent Hill: Orphan 2" and 3 were released in the standard .jar Java format, compatible with phones which support such feature.
Development of the fourth "Silent Hill" game by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo's development group Team Silent began shortly after the release of "Silent Hill 2" and alongside "Silent Hill 3", with the intentions of creating a new style of game that would take the series in a different direction than the previous games. Despite what has been popularized around the Internet, "Silent Hill 4" was always meant to be connected to Silent Hill and not an unrelated separate horror game that later became a "Silent Hill" title, although different gameplay mechanics and change were intended. News of the game's development was made public by October 2003, and official announcements by Konami followed at Gamers' Day 2004. The game was produced by the series' recurring sound designer and composer Akira Yamaoka. Its working title, prior to its incorporation into the rest of the series, was simply "Room 302".
"Silent Hill 3" was created by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. Development on the PlayStation 2 version began after the release of "Silent Hill 2" in September 2001, and was carried out almost simultaneously with development of another "Silent Hill" title that was intended to explore a different direction for the franchise and not be part of the main, numbered series; known as "Room 302", this game would eventually become integrated into the main series as "". The development team for this iteration was smaller than that working on "Silent Hill 2", with around 40 people working on the game, made up of the core team from the second title and some newcomers. A smaller group of Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo staff later developed a port for Microsoft Windows.
A spin-off comic, "Anne's Story", was written by Tom Waltz and illustrated by Tristan Jones. Based on downloadable content for "Downpour" that was never released, it centers on Anne and her parallel journey through Silent Hill as she attempts to capture Murphy. IDW Publishing released the four issues in print from September to December 2014, and reprinted them as part of the second volume of the "Silent Hill Omnibus" in October 2015.
The seventh installment in the series is a reimagining of the first installment. Developed by Climax Studios for the Wii in December 2009, with ports for the PlayStation 2 and the PlayStation Portable released in January 2010. "Shattered Memories" retains the premise of the original game—Harry Mason's quest to find his missing daughter in the American town of Silent Hill—but is set in what appears to be a different fictional universe, following a different plot, with characters from the first game appearing altered alongside new ones. Gameplay takes place in two parts: a framing, first-person psychotherapy session with an unseen patient, and an over-the-shoulder perspective of Harry's journey through Silent Hill, periodically interrupted by the occurrence of a shift to an alternate dimension where he is pursued by monsters.
Team Silent was a development group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET), responsible for the first four games in the "Silent Hill" franchise by Konami released from 1999 to 2004, with later titles developed by external Western companies such as Climax Studios, Double Helix Games and Vatra Games. According to composer Akira Yamaoka, Team Silent consisted of staff members that had failed at other projects and originally intended to leave the company before the first "Silent Hill" game turned out to be a success. According to a "Silent Hill Homecoming" artist, Team Silent was ultimately disbanded by Konami itself, because Konami wanted Western developers to make the games. KCET was merged into the parent company Konami in April 2005.
Silent Hill received positive reviews from critics on its release and was commercially successful. It is considered a defining title in the survival horror genre, and is also considered by many to be one of the greatest video games ever made, as it moved away from B movie horror elements toward a more psychological horror style, emphasizing atmosphere.[1] Various adaptations of Silent Hill have been released, including a 2001 visual novel, the 2006 feature film Silent Hill, and a 2009 reimagining of the game, titled Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. The game was followed by Silent Hill 2 in 2001, and a direct sequel, Silent Hill 3, in 2003.
"Silent Hill 2" shared the same atmosphere of psychological horror as the first "Silent Hill" game. As the developers already had a rough sense of the game's environment, they focused on its plot first, in contrast to the process used with the first game. The PlayStation 2 hardware allowed the developers to create improved fog and shadow special effects. For example, as a monster approaches the player character, its shadow cast on the wall by the flashlight grows. When dealing with the game's camera angles, the team struggled with a balance between those that stayed true to the creative vision and those that did not hamper gameplay. Psychological elements, such as the gradual disappearance of Mary's letter and symbolic holes, were incorporated into the game. The team wanted "Silent Hill 2"s protagonist to "reflect [the] evil," against which the protagonist of the first game battles.
"Silent Hill 4: The Room" was first released in Japan on June 17, 2004. The game was shipped for its subsequent North American and European releases on September 7, with pre-ordering customers receiving the soundtrack for free with the game in the former market. The game, alongside its two PS2 predecessors, was rereleased in 2006 as part of "The Silent Hill Collection" European boxset, as a tie-in with the release of the "Silent Hill" film, and again in 2009. Microsoft has confirmed that their Xbox 360 console is backward compatible with the game's Xbox port.
A film adaptation of "Silent Hill 3", titled "Silent Hill: Revelation 3D", was released on October 26, 2012, by Open Road Films. The film is a sequel to the film adaptation of the first installment in the "Silent Hill" series. Directed by Michael J. Bassett, it starred Adelaide Clemens as Heather, Kit Harington as Vincent Cooper, Sean Bean as Harry Mason, Carrie-Ann Moss as Claudia Wolf, and Malcolm McDowell as Leonard Wolf. The film received a five percent approval rating from review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with a general consensus: "Mediocre effort even by the standards of video game adaptations, "Silent Hill: Revelation 3D" features weak characters and an incomprehensible plot with a shortage of scares."
Silent Hill 4: The Room is a survival horror video game, the fourth installment in the "Silent Hill" series, published by Konami and developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. The game was released in Japan in June 2004 and in North America and Europe in September of the same year. "Silent Hill 4" was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. Its soundtrack was released at the same time. In 2012, it was released on the Japanese PlayStation Network.
The soundtrack for "Silent Hill 3", composed by Akira Yamaoka, was released in Europe on March 25, 2003 and in Japan on July 16, 2003. The song "You're Not Here" was included in the PS2 port of "Dance Dance Revolution Extreme", and is also included in the "Silent Hill Experience" UMD media pack. The game's soundtrack is the first using vocals prominently. Most of the vocalized tracks are performed by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (credited as Melissa Williamson); one song features vocals by Joe Romersa. 
In 2006, Konami re-released the extended version of "Silent Hill 2" with its indirect PS2 sequels, "Silent Hill 3" and "", in a bundle entitled "The Silent Hill Collection" in Europe and Japan. "Silent Hill HD Collection", a compilation of remastered high-definition editions of "Silent Hill 2" and "3", was released for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 on March 20, 2012. It contains new voice actors for the characters of both games, along with the option in "Silent Hill 2" to listen to the original ones. It had multiple bugs and technical issues upon launch; these were barely ironed out following the release of online patches.
The second installment in the series follows James Sunderland searching for his deceased wife in Silent Hill after having received a letter from her informing him that she is waiting for him there. After searching in and exploring the mysterious town, he ultimately realizes her death's true nature. It was released in September 2001 for the PlayStation 2. An extended version of the game was released for the Xbox in December of the same year as "Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams" in North America and "Silent Hill 2: Inner Fears" in Europe, and for the PlayStation 2 in 2002 as "Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut", with a port of "Director's Cut" to Microsoft Windows released in December 2002.
The third installment in the series follows a teenaged girl named Heather as she becomes caught in a conflict within Silent Hill's cult and discovers her true origin. It was released in May 2003 for the PlayStation 2, with a port to Microsoft Windows released in October of the same year. "Silent Hill 3" is a direct sequel to the first installment in the series.
"Silent Hill HD Collection" is a HD re-release of "Silent Hill 2" and "Silent Hill 3" for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, featuring high-resolution visuals, new sounds, new voices and Trophies/Achievements for both games. "Silent Hill 2" features the exclusive option to use both the old and new voices; however, "Silent Hill 3" features only a new voice track, with the old voices unavailable due to legal reasons. "Silent Hill 2" features both the main scenario and the "Born from a Wish" sub-scenario for Maria seen in later re-releases, namely the "Director's Cut". This pack is also the first time "Silent Hill 3" is playable on an Xbox brand console. The collection got mixed to negative reviews due to severe issues with both games, such as severe framerate problems, lockups and more. While the PlayStation 3 version was patched, the Xbox 360 patch was cancelled and Konami offered refunds to all Xbox 360 owners of the game.
The fifth installment in the series is a prequel that follows trucker Travis Grady, who becomes trapped in Silent Hill after rescuing a girl from a burning house. During his quest to find the fate of the burned girl, he encounters characters from previous installments and is forced to face his past. It was developed by Climax Studios and released in 2007 for the PlayStation Portable, with a port for the PlayStation 2 released in 2008 and was also the first Silent Hill title developed outside Japan. It is known as "Silent Hill Zero" in Japan.
Silent Hill HD Collection is a compilation of remastered ports of "Silent Hill 2" and "Silent Hill 3" released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
A film adaptation of the first game in the series, "Silent Hill", was released in 2006. It was adapted and directed by the French film director, producer and writer Christophe Gans. Gans himself is a big fan of the "Silent Hill" game series. A second film adaptation, titled "" and based on "Silent Hill 3", was released in 2012. The former received mixed reviews, while the latter received generally negative reviews.
Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror video game published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Team Silent, part of Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. It was released in September 2001 as the second installment in the "Silent Hill" series. An extended version containing an extra bonus scenario and other additions was published for Xbox in December of the same year. In 2002 it was ported to Windows. A remastered high-definition version was released for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 in 2012 as part of the "Silent Hill HD Collection".
Konami's "Silent Hill", released in 1999, drew heavily from "Resident Evil" while using realtime 3D environments in contrast to "Resident Evil"'s pre-rendered graphics. "Silent Hill" in particular was praised for moving away from B movie horror elements to the psychological style seen in art house or Japanese horror films, due to the game's emphasis on a disturbing atmosphere rather than visceral horror. The game also featured stealth elements, making use of the fog to dodge enemies or turning off the flashlight to avoid detection. The original "Silent Hill" is considered one of the scariest games of all time, and the strong narrative from "Silent Hill 2" in 2001 has made the "Silent Hill" series one of the most influential in the genre. According to IGN, the "golden age of survival horror came to a crescendo" with the release of "Silent Hill".
Silent Hill 3 is a survival horror video game published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. It is the third installment in the "Silent Hill" series and a sequel to the first "Silent Hill" game. It was released in May 2003, with a port to Microsoft Windows released in October of the same year. A remastered high-definition version was released as part of the "Silent Hill HD Collection", for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 on March 20, 2012.