As Wired points out, the original ratings were:

• Early Childhood (eC): Suitable for ages 3 and over, usually educational in nature.
• Kids to Adults (K-A): May be unsuitable for players under 6.
• Teen (T): May be unsuitable for players under 13.
• Mature (M): May be unsuitable for players under 17.
• Adults Only (AO): Content considered unsuitable for minors.

The proposal satisfied US politicians, and the ESRB began rating games later that year.

July 29, 1994: Videogame Makers Propose Ratings Board to Congress [This Day In Tech]

The Game Boy was created by Nintendo's Gunpei Yokoi, who also created the company Game & Watch handhelds. Worldwide, the Game Boy and its later iteration Game Boy Color have sold 118.69 units. Nintendo produced a variety of accessories for the portable, including Game Boy Camera.

ゲームボーイ生誕20周年記念 CM編 [Inside]

During midterms and work, Steve and his roommate Figge collectively spent 4.5 man-hours over five days to build the arcade. A hundred nails were hammered into the handsawed wood panels. A FightStick and SFIV artwork fleshed out the cabinet.

Full story from Steven below:

I want to tell you guys of the story of how my roommate and I built an arcade for my buddy's birthday. My name's Steve Sy and my buddy and roommate, Michael Figge wanted to get our friend, James Lhi one of the new Mad Catz Fightsticks for his birthday a few weeks ago. Since James had gotten sf4 for his birthday and was playing it til his thumbs bled, I proposed to Figge that a cool gift to get would be a fightstick.

Figge, a grandiose character by nature, blurts out, "That's cool... But let's build him the whole arcade!!!!"

Stunned and in bewilderment, I said "I'm down!! That sounds awesome!" With an idea this solid, nothing could stop us. So the project began.

At the time, I had midterms and Figge was working from 9am-9pm. So over the course of five days, we collectively had 4.5 man-hours to build the arcade. Four point five.

Oh and we didn't have any power tools either.

Hell, we didn't even have the FightStick! After calling every gamestop, bestbuy, and pawnshop in the tricounty area, we discovered that FightSticks were sold out everywhere. Upon brief inspection, our bullet-proof plan had more holes than a post-hadouken slice of swiss cheese.

So Figge and I handsawed several panels of wood, then nailed in about 100 nails and we come up with this ugly, ugly POS. (See unadorned arcade pics below.) Figge says he's got an idea of how design some artwork on the front, but I think the whole thing is pretty hopeless. I'm pretty close to giving up. This'd be around 1pm Saturday, while his bbq was already happening.

But then, the Miracleland I love and hate known as craigslist reminds me of a last and LOCAL opportunity for the FightStick. "Figge!" I shout, "I'll get the stick, you stay here...and figure out how to make this look good!" A war-torn Figge looks up and mutters, "I hate you as a human being." And with that, the plan begins to click back into place.

I pick up the FightStick for a very digestable $100 (msrp $70) and come back to our apartment to see Figge putting the finishing touches on a now-pretty-AMAZING looking arcade. By the time we're finished, James' party has about 2 hours life left.

It took four people to carry to Figge's car when we encountered the biggest failblog moment of the whole adventure. The cabinet wouldn't fit in Figge's car. We collectively sighed and nearly smashed the arcade out of rage, but our good friend stopped us just in time by letting us borrow his station wagon.

We arrive to his house and some of the guests are on the driveway chatting, some are about to leave. Figge and I say, "Hey guys check this out" and bring our the arcade from the back of the station wagon. Figge and I carry the arcade into his house while a ton of ppl are crowding around wondering what was going on.

James "What the hell is that? A coffin? Hahaha. What are you fools doing??"

We set it upright in his living room and I say:

"Alright James, we know how much you like street fighter so Fig and I made you your own arcade cabinet. It should fit your TV perfectly. And whenever you decide you'd wanna get a joystick, this thing'd be perfect for it."

"But....we'll start you off with your first." And we pulled out the fightstick from the oven-like cabinet door.

He was delivering hugs and wiping tears for half an hour.

I thought this would be a geeky endeavor but it turned out far better than I could have anticipated and everyone was thoroughly impressed.

Happy birthday James!

Sonic's Birthday [Sega Nerds]

Never before has an in-home game system experienced this type of worldwide success on such a long-lasting scale... PlayStation 2 is a perfect example of our ten year product lifecycle promise and is a testament to the design and technology that continues to be at the core of the product. While today's anniversary celebrates PlayStation 2's past, we're very excited for its future.

Oh, and Lisa-Marie just had a birthday. Happy Birthday!

Kotaku Cutie [DevianART, Thanks Robert!]

Has it really been ten years? Unfortunately, yes. In April 1997, Pokémon premiered in The Land of the Rising Sun with Rica Matsumoto voicing Satoshi ("Ash" in the West). She says:

It doesn't feel it's been that long. It's like Satoshi and I are doing this together. From the beginning, I wanted to perform, and I knew I wanted to do work that let others have fun.

After coming down with tuberculosis, Matsumoto turned to voice acting during her recovery. By the late 90s, she was a full-fledged voice actor and hit gold when she tried out for a role only described as "A young boy's voice, that is also a singer." The role was for Satoshi. The rest, history! Matsumoto adds:

Knowing that children are happy about Pokémon makes me glad. To everyone who likes Pokémon, I hope you continue to enjoy it!

And I'll continue to hate it so hard. Brian Ashcraft

Pokéversary [AnimeNewsNetwork]

Today, Mario/Zelda/Donkey Kong, hell, pretty much everything Nintendo, creator Shigeru Miyamoto turns 54. Yep, he's a little old for the sword and shield bit, but whatever. Happy Birthday! Brian Ashcraft

Nothing says birthday fun like smashing papier-mache. So thought Kotaku reader JL who made this Pikmin pinata for his 8 year-old party. Says JL:

He loved it so much that he couldn't smash it, so now it hangs in his room.

And the candy inside? Spoiling and drawing ants, we guess. Brian Ashcraft

Bullet Witch was actually a presents of sorts. From me, to me. Today is my birthday. I turn 28. While Crecente used the word "whippersnapper," 1Up's Luke snarked that 28 is "old" and that Bullet Witch is a "turd." Luke hates everything, birthdays included.

I'm at the point where it doesn't matter whether or not if I get a cake or presents, really. And before this turns into an omg-soon-I'm-gonna-be-thirty post, I'd like to ask Japan to stop putting fruit on cakes. Creamy frosty is enough. Strawberries, apples and melon are not compulsory. I like my cake and fruit separate, geddit?

I assume this could've been worked out at the bakery.

Guns and witchcraft, on the other hand, are actually a pretty decent combo. Third-person-shooter Bullet Witch tells the story of Alicia, a witch, who trades her broomstick for a broomstick-like machine gun. She's an enchantress on a mission, out to save the world on the verge of extinction.

Quick and dirty: The bullet-plus-witch element is novel and fun. While spell weaving compliments bang-bang, the actual shooting itself is somewhat lacking. When Bullet Witch was released in Japan, the game's "deep physics" were pumped. Yet, while it's possible to blow up a tanker from a mile away, it's impossible to shoot out a store window from three feet. Annoying. Another gripe is that all the bad guys (so far, at least) look the same, but that doesn't really concern me right now. I've got pettier concerns, like picking the kiwi fruit off my cake. Brian Ashcraft

Today's nerd hero, reader Timothy, zapped us a pic of this delicious-looking game cake. He explains:

This picture was taken at my wedding in June. My birthday was 3 days before the wedding and my wife had the wedding cake baker make a birthday cake for me for at the reception in the shape of a Gamecube. Sadly, only part of the controller is visible in this picture. I knew nothing about it until we got to the reception. It was a wonderfully nerdy moment on an otherwise not nerdy day.

Birthday three days before your wedding? Good thinking! That way you'll never forget your anniversary. Brian Ashcraft

Game Cakes, O Boy

Late last week, old man Crecente had his birthday (he turned 58). If he had given me, Mike, Eliza or Florian a heads up, we could've pooled our moolah together and bought him something. Instead, we just made fun of him. Mercilessly.

A nice present could've been these cheese and chocolate cakes, featuring the white Sony cat Toro from Together, Everywhere. A special Toro event's being held at Odaiba in the Fuji Television building. A man-in-Toro-suit poses for pics with fans, and there's a special souvenir shop called "Travel with Toro." The shop is packed with Toro goodies like sweets, stuffed animals and cell phone straps. Those could've been yours Crecente! Brian Ashcraft

More Sugar Here [Game Watch]

To celebrate Sonic's 15th birthday, Sega of America paid someone to make this cake and then forced its employees to eat it. My gripe: what's up with that pattern? It doesn't look very Sonicy, and the hedgehog is all kinda slapped on. Just because a cake is blue doesn't mean it's a Sonic cake. Same goes for the games. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Sonic Channel]

Not from the church of Nintendo, but close. Artist Kelli loves to paint video game characters like Link. For her birthday, Kelli's husband commissioned this stained-glass version of her work. Absolutely beautiful! Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Wonderland]

It's been twenty years since mainstay Japanese game mag burst on the scene. The publication has become the benchmark for many gamers, who follow the mag's reviews closer than domestic pubs. When the "non-game" Nintendogs got a perfect score in Famitsu, people literally freaked.

The dapper Tim Rogers has a loving write-up of the magazine over at Next-Gen. It's well worth a look, with Tim discussing a bit about Famitsu's history and importance. He writes:

Perhaps the nicest feeling I get comes after reading their extensive history feature and thinking how much has changed, and then flipping through the magazine and feeling a weird little flashback. I stop flipping — and there's maps of New Super Mario Bros. Twenty years have passed since the first issue of Famitsu, and now, twenty years later, they're still running maps of a Super Mario Bros. game.

Guess that means we've come full circle? Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Next-Gen]

Tanjobi omedetou gozaimasu.
(Happy Birthday!)

Shiggy Podcast [Kotaku]
Happy B-Day Miyamoto-san [Infendo] Thanks Blake!

The game launched a year ago today. To celebrate, Sony's offering a revamp. Futher info after the jump.

Sony's press release reads:

- EverQuest II celebrates its first birthday by introducing Veteran Rewards! - Griffon tamers are seeking your assistance in the Thundering Steppes and Nektulos Forest! - Give the residents of Norrath a fresh look with the new SOGA character models! - Two new iksar scale patterns now available for each gender! - Crusaders, Mages, and Priests can now equip symbols in their ranged slot! - Carry extra ammo in quivers you can equip! - Using clickable items is now even easier, and food and drink get their own inventory slots! - Population and item improvements made in some of Norrath's deadly dungeons! - Can't reach your spirit shard? Now you can have your spirit restored... for a price! - Guild quest raids now scale according to player level and reward additional status! - The user interface gets a spiffy new look!

Hey Sony, I'm excited too, but just lay off the exclamation marks. It's like laughing at yer own jokes.

More Info Here [Sony Forums]

Luigi, you bitter, bitter man.

Luigi Gets Pissed [Nintendorks]
More Mario

We haven't seen this much longevity out of a chubby guy with a mustache since Ron Jeremy left his prime, but the plumber keeps at it.

How far has the plumber come since his eight-bit days? Well, we could sit here and tell you, or with the help of Game Ads, we could show you. Walk with Kotaku down memory lane.

Mario the Musical?
Famicom Love
A Commercial So Good It Gives Me Goosebumps, Seriously
Playing Doctor is Always Worthwhile
Plumbers Get Road Rage, Too

There's plenty more to check out, click around.

Mario is celebrating 20 years of stardom in video games (to the countless fanboys who emailed us just to point out that the avatar of Mario was originally Jumpman, thanks, we know, it's not the point, go outside). Twenty years ago, Mario appeared in his first true adventure in Super Mario Bros. on Japan's Famicom system. Since then, he's been responsible for worldwide sales of over 180 million units of software. Aside from Mario, Nintendo created a memorable cast of characters in the Mario universe with Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Bowser, Wario, hell, we'll even give a nod to Wart because we're a little misty-eyed.

Happy 20th Mario You're Super [Edge Online]