Today in Nerd History | November 15

Nerd culture is a vibrant tapestry of events, releases, and milestones that have shaped the entertainment landscape. From iconic movies to groundbreaking games and significant literary contributions, this article takes a trip down memory lane to explore the notable nerd culture events that occurred on November 15th in history. Let’s celebrate these cherished moments that have left an indelible mark on the hearts of fans around the world.

Photo Credit: nbareligion.com

COME ON AND SLAM

In 1996, Space Jam premiered in theaters. This movie combines live-action and animation, starring Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters, who team up to play a basketball game against alien invaders.

Nerdy Fact: The movie was inspired by a series of Nike commercials that featured Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball against aliens. The commercials were called “Hare Jordan” and “Aerospace Jordan”.

Photo Credit: GamesRader

POWER YOUR DREAMS

In 2001, Xbox released. This was Microsoft’s first entry into the video game console market, and it featured a PC-like architecture, an online service called Xbox Live, and a popular first-person shooter game called Halo: Combat Evolved.

Nerdy Fact: The 2001 Xbox was the first video game system to feature an internal hard drive for storage; it came with an 8GB hard drive. This also allowed you to upload your own MP3 music files that could be used in some games.

Photo Credit: PolyGon

MASTER CHIEF

Also in 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved released on Xbox. The game follows the story of the Master Chief, a super-soldier who fights against an alien alliance called the Covenant and a parasitic threat called the Flood on a mysterious ring-shaped artificial world called Halo.

Nerdy Fact: The game’s title was not liked by the developers, who preferred to call it just Halo. Microsoft added the subtitle Combat Evolved to compete with other military shooters.

Photo Credit: Google Play

CHAMBER OF SECRETS

In 2002, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets premiered in theaters. This is a fantasy film based on the novel by J.K. Rowling, in which Harry Potter and his friends must stop the Heir of Slytherin from unleashing a deadly monster in Hogwarts.

Nerdy Fact: There is a theory that the design for the house elf Dobby was based on Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and some Russian lawyers planned to sue Warner Bros. for the character, but the cases went nowhere.

Photo Credit: Eurogamer

4 PLAYERS ON A PLATFORMER

In 2009, New Super Mario Bros. Wii released in the Wii. This platform game features cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, new power-ups, and a Super Guide mode to help beginners. It is the first 2D Super Mario game for a home console in 19 years and one of the best-selling Wii games of all time.

Nerdy Fact: It is the first of two games released outside of Japan and South Korea to feature a different-colored game box, the second being the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Photo Credit: Digital Trends

PS4

In 2014, PlayStation 4 released. This powerful and popular home video game console offers immersive gaming and entertainment experiences with a range of exclusive games, online features and streaming services.

Nerdy Fact: The PlayStation 4’s messaging system was inspired by the game Dark Souls, which allows players to leave messages for each other in the game world. Sony’s president Shuhei Yoshida said that the quick select words and phrases in the PS4’s messaging system were based on the format of Dark Souls.

Photo Credit: GamesRadar

FALLEN ORDER

In 2019, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order released on consoles. This game lets you experience the adventure of a Jedi on the run from the Empire, using your lightsaber and the Force to fight and explore across different planets.

Nerdy Fact: Cal has a rare Force ability called psychometry, which allows him to sense the history of objects and places by touching them. This ability was first introduced in the Legends novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn.