Official SNES launch date in US is......8/21/91

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

You guys are idiots. You'll never figure what the "launch date" of the Super NES was because there was no "launch date." That sort of thing just wasn't a part of video games back then. In Japan it was (though more for games than systems), but in the U.S. nobody paid attention to specific "launch dates" for games or systems until later (Sonic Tuesday and Mortal Monday were the first that I remember).

So no single date should "be remembered in the annals of video game history" because to remember any single date as the launch date would be to misunderstand the way systems launched back then.


...word is bondage...

[DragonMaster Sam]

So I did a google search for the SNES, and there may be some proof that Anthony1 might be right about the date. Check this from answers.com:

Ten months later, on September 9 1991, Nintendo officially released the Super Famicom in North America (although the system went on sale as early as August 21 1991 in some areas of the US) with a new redesigned case as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Take it for what it's worth.