Big Video Game Birthdays!

The year 1996 was an interesting one. Tupac was killed, Oprah started her famous book club, and "Tickle Me Elmo" was released. That year also marked the release of the Nintendo 64 gaming console. The Nintendo 64 was released in Japan on June 23rd! In the US, it didn't get released until September, but commonly, a console's birthday celebrates its first release date.

The Nintendo 64 was a huge hit, and many people still enjoy it to this day. From Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 to Goldeneye and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask, there was a little bit of everything during the console's life time, up until it ceased production in 2003. Nintendo tried to appeal to the teens of the time, release weird punk style advertisements on TV, VHS's and magazines. Let's celebrate the birthday boy... girl... Err, console!

Mario's biggest rival, Sonic The Hedgehog celebrated his 25th birthday this week, too! His first game, titled after himself, was released in the US and Europe on the Sega Genesis (Known as the Mega Drive outside of the US) in 1991. It was then released in Japan in July. Sonic has his own Twitter account, where he often teases and pokes fun at other games and developers in the industry, but also pokes tons of fun at himself and a few of his failed games. Check out the video below showcasing his life so far!