This was a pretty cool article. I didn't know about the earlier model (M8) demo systems. Something I noticed... if the first one of these came out in 1986 and has Soccer in it, isn't that more evidence that it's release date is earlier than 1987?
I was arguing a long time ago that this is really one of the NES launch titles because of some information I found in the US copyright database and in Bootgod's database. This would seem to be more fuel for the fire. In fact, the contents of the M8 v1 matches what the copyright database has as the 17(!) launch titles (if you don't include Gyromite).
| Baseball |
| Tennis |
| Pinball |
| Wild Gunman |
| Duck Hunt |
| Golf |
| Hogan's Alley |
| Clu Clu Land |
| Excitebike |
| Ice Climber |
| Soccer |
| Wrecking Crew |
| Kung Fu |
| Stack-Up |
| Gyromite |
| 10-Yard Fight |
| Super Mario Bros. |
Thoughts? How many sources do we need before we're allowed to rewrite history? Our current dates come from the official Nintendo game list, but it's been proven wrong in other instances like Metroid.
-Brian
When I tried to link to it way back when it didn't work since they're temporary links for your individual query. Here's the database search engine: US Copyright Database
I've attached some screenshots of the entries for the box and manual.
I've looked for a lot of early NES titles, but sadly it seems that no publisher other than NOA was all that stringent about its filings. That does mean that nearly all of the black box games are in there, though. Basically, the 17 I listed have 10/85 dates, then there's a wave in the 6/86 timeframe:
| Donkey Kong |
| Donkey Kong Jr. |
| Popeye |
| Donkey Kong Jr. Math |
| Donkey Kong 3 |
Then more in 8/86:
| Urban Champion |
| Balloon Fight |
| Mach Rider |
| Gumshoe |
I'm not sure where Mario Bros fits in as there's a pretty large discrepancy in publishing dates (box in 10/86, manual in 6/86). I'm not entirely sure what it means when a game is listed like that.
-Brian
I want one worse than ever now!
