September in Gaming History

Sorry for the delay this month. I'd love to blame Warhawk, but the first of the month really snuck up on me, I swear. So, I hereby present the month of September in Gaming History.

SEPTEMBER

1^st --
1992 – Super Mario Kart is released on the SNES.

4^th --
1989 – The first episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show airs. The show includes live-action sequences, along with cartoon shorts. In the live-action segments, Mario is played by “Captain” Lou Albano, while Luigi is played by Danny Wells.

7^th --
1983 – AT&T announces a joint venture with Coleco to develop a service that would deliver games over phone lines. A similar product was made available for the Atari 2600, by another company, in 1983. That product was called Gameline, which may very well be the first attempt at what we know now as digital distribution.
1997 – Final Fantasy VII is released on the PlayStation in North America. The game still remains the most popular of the series.
1999 – Final Fantasy VIII is released on the PlayStation in North America.

9^th --
1989 – Captain N: The Game Master airs its first episode. The cartoon features a teenager named Kevin, who is sucked into a vortex and taken to Videoland. He travels alongside Simon Belmont, Mega Man, and Pit, as they go through various NES games, fighting monsters and villains, in an attempt to stop Mother Brain and rescue Princess Lana.
1995 – The Sony PlayStation is released in North America. Launch titles include Battle Arena Toshindin, Ridge Racer, Twisted Metal, and Warhawk.
1999 – The Sega Dreamcast is released in North America. Launch titles include Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur, and NFL 2K.
2004 – Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are released on the Game Boy Advance in North America.

10^th --
2000 – Sega launches SegaNet, the online gaming service for the Dreamcast.

13^th --
1993 – On the day that Acclaim dubbed “Mortal Monday,” the company released Mortal Kombat on the SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, Amiga, Sega CD, IBM PC, and Sega Master System.

14^th --
2004 – Fable is released on the Xbox.

19^th --
2005 – The Game Boy Micro is released in North America.
2006 – Okami is released on the PlayStation 2.

20^th --
2002 – Microsoft buys Rare, a British development company. Nintendo had previously owned 49% of Rare, but once Microsoft bought the remaining 51% from the Stamper brothers, Nintendo sold their stake, as well.

27^th --
1983 – Atari sends 14 truckloads of computer equipment and game cartridges to a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Six million E.T. cartridges are included in the load.

29^th --
1996 – The Nintendo 64 is released in North America. Launch games included Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64.

30^th --
1998 – Pokemon Red and Blue are released for the Game Boy in North America.
2001 – Ico is released on the PlayStation 2. The game sells poorly, but is a critical success. Garnering praise from most gaming media sources, as well as three GDC awards, and five Interactive Achievement Awards.