No one knows when Super Mario Bros. came out in the US?

[garyopa]

No one has ever published a definitive release date.

http://www.maxconsole.com/maxconsole/contents/RKLS0000005694/icon_xl.jpg

According to Gamasutra, nobody can't prove when Super Mario Bros. came out...

Well, this is surely shocking and interesting... according to a research by Gamasutra's Frank Cifaldi, there is no solid proof of when Super Mario Bros. was released in North America. Yes, you hear it right... no one has ever published a definitive release date.



In Japan, we know Super Mario Bros. shipped on September 13, 1985. In the US, there are several conflicting dates: October 12, 1985; October 18, 1985; November 17, 1985; March 1986; and others. You see, Cifaldi didn't simply grab a couple of books from the library and checked a few web pages before calling it a day. No, he got on the phone with current and former Nintendo employees, FAO Schwarz (where the first NES unit was sold), and even a friend of a friend of former NoA president Minoru Arakawa. If his research has revealed anything substantial, it's that we suck at videogame preservation.


This whole mess looks quite unbelievable, I mean, this is Super Mario Bros.... but it's true. Sadly, this is is the state of video game preservation in 2012.



Cifaldi has a laugh over the fact that just as he wrapped up his investigation, he got an anonymous tip that pointed him towards November 17 as the launch date. How ridiculous is it, he asks, that 27 years after the game launched, he has to rely on intense investigative journalism and random anonymous tipsters to even get an inkling of when the game came out?


You can check the full article linked below, it's quite interesting.

NEWS SOURCE #1: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/167392/sad_but_true_we_cant_prove_when_.php?page=3
NEWS SOURCE #2: http://www.destructoid.com/nobody-knows-when-super-mario-bros-came-out-in-the-us--224727.phtml

Our thanks to 'Gauss' for this news story!

[someoldguy]

Well I'm sure there are plenty of American 1985 Christmases that could either confirm or deny the March '86 date.

[billysastard]

Well I'm sure there are plenty of American 1985 Christmases that could either confirm or deny the March '86 date.

not really because it was only launched in november as a test market in new york.

why this is a mystery i really dont know because surely any serious games collector could tell them as a launch day unit was sold within the last 24 months complete with its original receipt all still sealed and in a1 condition, strangely the receipt had the date on it ;)

[JonathanD]

not really because it was only launched in november as a test market in new york.

why this is a mystery i really dont know because surely any serious games collector could tell them as a launch day unit was sold within the last 24 months complete with its original receipt all still sealed and in a1 condition, strangely the receipt had the date on it ;)

Since it says on the NES, yeah I agree it shouldn't be too much of a mystery.

Now if they had said arcade version.... I would have no clue beyond the fact that I know it was out before the NES version, even accounting for the NY launch (At the time I lived about 4 hours drive from NY so I was aware of the NES launch... I wanted it sooooo badly.) I think I had to wait at least a year before I could get one, lol I worked all summer long to earn the money.

Oh and they didn't have SMB to buy when I bought my NES so I got Ikari Warriors instead... God if only I had been a little wiser back then. I didn't think about the control scheme at the time. I mean it wasn't horrible but lets just say I spent a LOT more quarters on the arcade machine even after getting it for the NES.

Edit: I wish it had controlled like Heavy Barrel, even the NES version was pretty tight, still not perfect but very enjoyable.

[billysastard]

Since it says on the NES, yeah I agree it shouldn't be too much of a mystery.

Now if they had said arcade version.... I would have no clue beyond the fact that I know it was out before the NES version, even accounting for the NY launch (At the time I lived about 4 hours drive from NY so I was aware of the NES launch... I wanted it sooooo badly.) I think I had to wait at least a year before I could get one, lol I worked all summer long to earn the money.

Oh and they didn't have SMB to buy when I bought my NES so I got Ikari Warriors instead... God if only I had been a little wiser back then. I didn't think about the control scheme at the time. I mean it wasn't horrible but lets just say I spent a LOT more quarters on the arcade machine even after getting it for the NES.

Edit: I wish it had controlled like Heavy Barrel, even the NES version was pretty tight, still not perfect but very enjoyable.

the vs arcade version is actually quite easy, it released in the usa the same day as smb shipped on cart in japan.

sorry if this is all a bit nerdy (and cryptic) but i did post all the info along with the dates in the mod section last week so here i'm just going to drip feed and encourage people to find out.