This week in video-game history highlights many key releases for consoles, download clients, and games themselves. The middle of September is when the fall rush beings, and the sheer amount of content this week proves it.
September 12
1958: Jack Kilby demonstrates his recent invention, the integrated circuit. Without this breakthrough, all the technology we enjoy today wouldn't be nearly as portable or sustainable.
2003: Valve launches its digital distribution service, Steam. It took Steam a few years to get off the ground, but now I don't think I could live without it.
2007: FASA Studio, the team behind Crimson Skies and Mechassault for the original Xbox, is shut down after Microsoft Game Studios absorbed the main parts.
September 13
1985: Video games change forever as Super Mario Bros. is released. Unfortunately, I've still never beaten it.
1993: Mortal Monday: the day Mortal Kombat came to home consoles. Looking back, it is easy to see why these games caused so much controversy, but I always thought they looked silly. Bloodsport was way more graphic.
September 14
2000: The final version of MS-DOS is released. My elementary and junior high schools in Rogers, AR used DOS-based programs well into 2008. That should scare you.
2001: The GameCube goes on sale in Japan.
2004: Fable is released on the original Xbox. That same day, a friend calls me to boast about how many men he’d married in the game.
2004: The Sims 2 is released and enslaves my free time for the next two years.
September 15
1996: Bioware releases their first game. Shattered Steel was an action game designed for MS-DOS.
September 17
1955: Charles Martinet is born. In 1987, he became the official voice for Mario.
1965: Yuji Naka is born. He is the founder of Team Sonic and the lead designer for Sonic the Hedgehog. He also has an amazing gold cellphone that I watched him whip out during a preview of Ivy the Kiwi during E3 this year.
1990: The Maniac Mansion television series premieres. It was loosely based on the LucasArts adventure game and was created by Eugene Levy.
September 18
2008: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning launches.
