This is a classic article. Some really good research.

Thanks! It screwed up because of the image I put in. Hopefully fixed now.

We had the exact same discussion with Pac-Man for the VCS some years ago. There was an official “Pac-Man Day” where the release was celebrated, but we found several new stories about it being bought out at different retail locations before then. I even wrote an article on the ephemerality of release dates. Nothing’s ever tidy and simple!