From M:TG Archive, a library of Magic: The Gathering information

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Events

• April 18 - Wizards of the Coast hosts an art show and open house at their offices. This is the first public introduction to Magic. [1]

• July 1-4 - At the Origins convention in Ft. Worth, Texas, WotC gives demonstrations of Magic at their booth and the open gaming area. Altough no product was available for sale, pre-orders for Magic in the first hour outsold the rest of WotC's product line. [2]

• August 2-16 (approx.) - Peter Adkison and his wife Cathleen give demonstrations of Magic during a promo tour to various game stores in Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. [3]

• August 19-22 - At the GenCon 1993 convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Magic (Alpha) was released to the public. The response at the convention was overwhelming.
  • The first sanctioned Magic tournament was held during GenCon. Alex Parrish defeated Rick Townsend in three games. [4]

Product releases

• Alpha - August 19 (Some sources report August 5 and September 20 as other possible release dates.)
• Beta - October 4
• Unlimited - December 1
• Collectors' Edition - December 10
• Arabian Nights - December 17