Retro Gaming News: Week of September 7th
Welcome back to Out of Sync Gaming’s weekly history breakdown!
This week in September stands as one of the most transformative periods in video game history. From the birth of modern side-scrolling platformers to iconic console rollouts, cult-classic action games, and user-generated level creation, here is what happened this week in gaming history.
1980s: Super Mario Bros. Launches in Japan
On September 13, 1985, Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. for the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, the game revolutionised side-scrolling mechanics, precise platforming controls, hidden secret warps, and iconic music by Koji Kondo. Its massive global success revived the post-crash video game industry and established Mario as the face of gaming culture.
1990s: Sega Dreamcast Hits North America on 9/9/99
Sega made history with the North American release of the Dreamcast on September 9, 1999 (9/9/99). Retailing for $199.99 alongside hits like Sonic Adventure, Soulcalibur, and NFL 2K, the 128-bit machine featured a built-in 56k dial-up modem for online gaming and interactive VMU memory cards, breaking single-day hardware sales records at the time.
2000s: Capcom Releases P.N.03 in North America
On September 9, 2003, Capcom officially brought P.N.03 (Product Number 03) to North America. Directed by Shinji Mikami as part of the infamous "Capcom Five," the third-person shooter starred mercenary Vanessa Z. Schneider fighting rogue robots. While a commercial underdog at launch, its stylish combat and techno soundtrack turned it into a beloved GameCube cult classic that laid the foundation for Mikami's later action masterpiece, Vanquish.
2010s: Nintendo Releases Super Mario Maker
Nintendo celebrated 30 years of Super Mario Bros. on September 11, 2015, with the launch of Super Mario Maker for the Wii U. Utilising the GamePad touchscreen, the game handed level-design tools directly to players, allowing them to build, share, and play custom 2D Mario courses across four graphical eras. It created an enormous global speedrunning community and spawned the infamous "Kaizo" level-creation subculture.
The Out of Sync Gaming Take
Did you play the original Super Mario Bros. on Famicom or NES, pick up a Dreamcast on 9/9/99, or play cult-classics like P.N.03 on GameCube? I missed both the Dreamcast and P.N.03 back in the day but now I want to try and play both! Drop a comment below and share your favourite memories from this week in history!
