The Sega 32X Had the Greatest Infomercial Ever

If you ever wanted to read an absurd amount of words about a Sega 32X Infomercial, I am your man! I wrote about Absolutely Rose Street for the Laser Time podcast website. Check it out!

20/20 was NUTS FOR NINTENDO in 1988

Citing the fact that kids never want to stop playing video games and when they do they "speak a language only they understand," one of the most popular news programs in American history looks to dive deep into why kids are "Nuts for Nintendo."

Being a Sega Game Tester Sounds Like the Worst Job Ever!

A few weeks ago, SegaScream uploaded a 1996 internal Sega training video introducing new employees to the job of Video Game Tester and it made the rounds on several gaming/tech websites. While it is fun to admire the overwhelming 90sness of the video, I think it does something even more interesting; it shits all over the job you just got hired to do!

While I've seen some argue that it is just being honest about how awful that job is, and while that is true, you've never seen a job training video tell you "You are about to hate this phase of your life" in so many ways.

Time to list some of the wonderful/awful things in this video.

Nintendo Customer Service Training!

Do you work at a department store in 1991? Are you tired of customers trying to abuse your return policy? Let Nintendo of America guide you to prosperity with this video that teaches you how to deal with skeevy customers.

Square Soft on PlayStation Collector's Video from 1997!

In 1997, Square Soft released Final Fantasy VII, a supremely popular and influential RPG that still inspires discussion and debate today. It has been a topic of discussion pretty much the entire time since its release almost 19 years ago. It will continue to be in the public eye as its oft-demanded remake releases on the PlayStation 4 in the coming years.

But for this piece we are going to look back at the hype machine generated by Square Soft prior to the release of FF7. For years RPG fans poured over articles and blocky screenshots in magazines and soaked in every detail they could find. Eventually, a VHS tape was released by Square themselves to excite fans further in the final months leading up to launch.

Square Soft on PlayStation Collector's Video not only included clips from Final Fantasy VII, it had interviews with key players in the development process about the game and the creation of it. To make the video even more exciting, it included trailers of a handful of other great-looking Square Soft games coming out in 1998.

All of that stuff is great, and I'll go into some of it, but there is one thing in this video that stood out to me more than anything else;

They spoiled one of the biggest plot twists in the history of video games very casually in pre-release promotional material.

Click through for more!

Nintendo's Booth at a 1994 Trade Show Starring Perverted Donkey Kong!

In the 1990s, the Video Software Dealers Association would hold trade shows for the entertainment industry to promote their products with elaborate displays, giveaways, etc. The expo held in 1994 was no different, and Nintendo was one of the companies advertising their current & upcoming products to the masses.

The video I'm discussing was said to be a video recorded by Nintendo themselves to document the event. Everything starts out innocently enough, featuring a few minutes of video documenting how Nintendo's booth looked and the games they had on display, but eventually the video essentially becomes nothing more than evidence documenting the floating head of a gorilla sexually harassing every woman that comes within eyesight.

Click through for the TRUTH!

Starfox 64 Promotional VHS from Nintendo Power!

One thing I loved doing as a kid was collecting video game promotional VHS tapes that were sent out to magazine subscribers & at request to advertise for upcoming video game releases. Unlike today, where a game can reach a lot of eyes through social media, gaming websites, YouTube, etc. video game advertising was limited to print and television commercials. These VHS tapes allowed publishers to target their audience more specifically and provide more detail than could be shown in a 30 second TV spot.

One of my favorites to this day is the tape sent out by Nintendo Power promoting the upcoming release of Starfox 64, a hugely significant game on the platform. This ad has it all; espionage, gameplay footage, kidnapping, console wars, torture and more!

Read on for more!