Chalk this up to a random gaming fact, but can you think back to the release of Super Mario Brothers on the Nintendo? It's on the tip of your tongue, isn't it? But even after checking Wikipedia just now--we know you did--you still can't confirm a North American releas edate outside of the 1980s can you?
It shouldn't be that surprising, because no one else knows either. Gamasutra went on a quest to uncover the North American release for the iconic plumber and when he first leapt into our pipe-shaped hearts. It's a long and twisted tale through the 1980s electronic culture, as America was just getting out of its Atari funk and desperate for a cleaner and clearer pixelated game to play in the living room:
The NES, meanwhile, actually offered something resembling the arcade experience at home, or at least a reasonable facsimile. In the case of many of Nintendo's own games, the hardware was literally the same as what was powering their arcade counterparts, meaning they were truly arcade-perfect. A common theme in talking to Nintendo employees of the time is that if players just got their hands on the system, they'd be sold.
From there the story gets even crazier as myths of an earlier retail opportunity about Mario rise, test groups about how best to market the system and to families in 1985 instead of 1986. Even crazier is how Nintendo's R.O.B. used to just be marketed as a "Video Robot" to accompany you in the living room.
It's definitely an interesting Saturday story when literally it shaped the future franchise of Nintendo and U.S. gamers.
