When exactly was Super Mario Bros. released in the US? Nobody knows

Discussion in 'General Gaming' started by 7Force, Mar 30, 2012.

  1. 7Force

    7Force Guardian of the Forum

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2009
    Messages:
    4,547
    Likes Received:
    92
  2. stevenjcampbell

    stevenjcampbell Spirited Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    wouldnt it be the first day that the original entertainment sets went on sale in NYC as a test?
    Shouldnt that be easy to find?

    Or by default, call it the day they first sold one of those.
    Shouldnt be that hard lol.

    Sounds like USA today is spinning news because it was a slow news week.. no apple products launched haha
     
  3. XxHennersXx

    XxHennersXx I post here on the toilet sometimes.

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2007
    Messages:
    4,115
    Likes Received:
    24
    The test date is unclear for the NES. It was kinda just given to the shops, and they put'em out when they could.

    Release dates on games back then was also kinda blurry.
     
  4. stevenjcampbell

    stevenjcampbell Spirited Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    the officially the day that NOA met with potential retailers.
    That is what I would say would be the date the game "launched," when NOA was ready to actually sell it to retailers.
     
  5. 7Force

    7Force Guardian of the Forum

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2009
    Messages:
    4,547
    Likes Received:
    92
    Read the Gamasutra article, apparently it's not even known when exactly the NES launched in the US.
     
  6. DeckardBR

    DeckardBR Fiery Member

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2008
    Messages:
    864
    Likes Received:
    2
    Super Mario Brothers was released as a coin op first before the nes came out in the states. The biggest draw of that system, for me, was the ability to play the arcade game at home.

    From a comment at the gamasutra article: There was a single-screen, Mario-only cabinet called Vs. Super Mario Bros. It was part of the Vs. Series line of games from Nintendo, which was being promoted pre-NES and in the first year or two that the NES was out. The arcade version is slightly modified from the original game, with some different layouts and warp zones and stuff.
     
  7. Jamtex

    Jamtex Adult Orientated Mahjong Connoisseur

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2007
    Messages:
    5,472
    Likes Received:
    16
    According to Howard Lincoln who I talked to about 6 years ago the NES US release of Super Mario Brothers was 1st Febuary 1986. That is the date that the Guiness Book of Records also uses too.
     
  8. stevenjcampbell

    stevenjcampbell Spirited Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    I owned this game on the atari 2600.
    When I finally played it on the NES it blew me away.
     
  9. lordnik0n

    lordnik0n Rising Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2011
    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    3
    Your best bet is to go back and try and find a mention/record of it in a print magazine. Especially anything that is a first hand account, such as "mail bag" reader commentary.
     
  10. Jamtex

    Jamtex Adult Orientated Mahjong Connoisseur

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2007
    Messages:
    5,472
    Likes Received:
    16
    Except Vs Super Mario Brothers did not come out until April 1986 which was a good few months after the NES was available...
     
  11. DarthCloud

    DarthCloud Fiery Member

    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2007
    Messages:
    874
    Likes Received:
    14
    Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. are not the same game :p
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2012
  12. stevenjcampbell

    stevenjcampbell Spirited Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    Yes, (edit: it appears i did not read the last part about the vs series featuring a platformer in the arcades)

    mario brothers = mario and luigi hitting pipes from below to flip bad guys upside down with POW blocks.
    SUPER mario brothers = 8 bit platformer.

    AFAIK super mario brothers was not released as a coin-op, and was certainly never licensed to anyone else.
    Mario Brothers on the other hand was released to the arcade Arcade, as well as:
    Nintendo Entertainment System
    Commodore 64
    ZX Spectrum
    Amstrad CPC
    Apple II
    Atari 2600
    Atari 5200
    Atari 7800
    Atari XEGS
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2012
  13. lordnik0n

    lordnik0n Rising Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2011
    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    3
    Play Choice 10? (I know i know, its an NES in an arcade cab setup, but I couldn't resist hehe)
     
  14. stevenjcampbell

    stevenjcampbell Spirited Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    poop.
    no... lol.

    I was thinking more on the lines of dedicated.
    But platformers were never meant for the arcades. Strider was a good one though.
     
  15. lordnik0n

    lordnik0n Rising Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2011
    Messages:
    61
    Likes Received:
    3
    Even though they may not be able to narrow down the specific "launch day", I would think they could isolate the year/month at least.
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2012
  16. ave

    ave JAMMA compatible

    Joined:
    May 21, 2006
    Messages:
    5,644
    Likes Received:
    61
    Well, there was vs. Super Mario Bros. which is a customized arcade-version of SMB (i.e. the "get xxx lives"-bug is fixed):

    [​IMG]
     
  17. Tokimemofan

    Tokimemofan Dauntless Member

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2012
    Messages:
    740
    Likes Received:
    77
    You missed one, the Gameboy Advance. It was released as an e-reader pack.
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2012
  18. GaijinPunch

    GaijinPunch Lemon Party Organizer and Promoter

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    10,999
    Likes Received:
    75
    I even remember telling my mom, "It's just like the arcade! Gotta get it!". It was out a few months before Xmas I remember, and it was painful waiting.
     
  19. XxHennersXx

    XxHennersXx I post here on the toilet sometimes.

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2007
    Messages:
    4,115
    Likes Received:
    24
    SUPER mario bros WAS a coin-op. Someone already posted a screen shot. It had slightly different levels.
     
  20. GaijinPunch

    GaijinPunch Lemon Party Organizer and Promoter

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2004
    Messages:
    10,999
    Likes Received:
    75
    According to The Arcade TV Game List 1971-2005, Super Mario Bros was released in May of 1986 in the US of A. That's in the "international" section of the book. Weirdly enough, it is listed in the Japanese section as 86/02, but in parenthesis (international only). I'm not sure if that's an import of the board or errata. He lists neither as "vs" but the system is included so perhaps it is meant to be inferred. The book is considered accurate. It was originally going to be the appendix of "It Started with Pong" which is, to say the least, well-researched.
     
sonicdude10
Draft saved Draft deleted
Insert every image as a...
  1.  0%

Share This Page