Got into a discussion concerning the FFX voice acting (specifically the laughing scene) and I started wondering two things:

1. What was the first game to feature voice acting?

2. When did voice acting really start to become prominent?

I feel like the answer to question 2 is sometime around the PS1 era, but I'm not entirely certain.

The wiki page says Wild Gunman in 1974 was the first game to feature voice acting.

There was voice acting in arcade game I think. Sinistar may be one of the first? I don't know. The PS1/N64 era seems to be where it stuck.

I must have skimmed over that part.

Some PC RPG's had a bit of voice acting before the PS1/N64 era, but I don't know exactly how prominent it was. The PS1/N64 era is probably the best time period to peg "rise of video game voice acting".

First video game with voice acting? I don't know. That seems like one of those things that would devolve into inane arguments about how understandable it is and whether or not two words counts and whether or not the voice acting had to be done by a voice actor or the programmer with the best voice.

I think ps2 was the generation where it became weird not to have voice acting.

I remember being blown away that Star Fox 64 had voice acting.

I do seem to remember a LOT of it in the Psone/N64 era. Unless it was a final fantasy game. They were already 4 discs without any VA. One could argue that was for the best.