This week is all about the important things that happened in the '90s. It's remarkable just how much happened between '90-'99. 

September 26

1986: Castlevania is released to the delight of everyone who has ever wanted to kill Dracula with a whip.

1996: The Nintendo 64 goes on sale in North America. One of my great childhood mistakes was never really pestering my parents for one. I was quite content with my PlayStation. 

September 27

1990: Wing Commander dazzles the world with its limited 3D space combat. 

1996: Meridian 59 launches. Before World of Warcraft, before EverQuest, and before most people even had much Internet connectivity, Meridian 59 opened the door to online role-playing games. 

September 28

1990: Mega Man 3 launches and tries desperately to capitalize on the pure awesome of Mega Man 2. 

1999: Relic Entertainment releases their first game. Homeworld was a real-time strategy game that makes references to Homer's Odyssey and Exodus. 

September 30

1983: Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development is formed. That title makes creating fun sound like a structured process. Isn't it weird that a studio so austerely named would give us Mario, Zelda, and Star Fox?

1991: Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego is released. I love all of Broderbund's teaching games. the Carmen San Diego series made geography class bearable when I was a kid. 

1994: Doom 2 amps up the gory isolationism of the first game when it goes on sale. 

October 1

1979: The first independent video-game developer is founded. Who was that you ask? Why, Activision, of course!

2004: Sammy and Sega merged into Sega Sammy Holdings, Inc. Sammy actually acquired Sega. 

2007: Bungie and Microsoft split ways, but their partnership didn't end until Halo: Reach was finished. Bungie is now a free-standing company but have partnered with Activision for a time. 

October 2

1955: Warren Spector is born. He's the Disney-loving mastermind behind Deus Ex and Epic Mickey.