old 20/20 story on NES "Nuts for Nintendo" 1988

[SoulBlazer]

As for the chip shortage, there's other sources that confirm there WAS one happening during this time period. It's a simple supply and demand problem -- the companies like Nintendo placing orders for the chips exceeded what was on hand and could be made, and thus shortages. There have been other chip shortages in history (such as the first Pong on a chip one) so no conspiracy there.

 

What I DO believe happened is that Nintendo prioritized the Japanese market and we got what was left here in North America, which clearly wasn't enough to handle all the demand.

[atarilovesyou]

 

This brings up an interesting point (and I'm not saying he didn't have an NES in 1985, he may have been one of the lucky few that did) but, it seems a lot of people on the net claim to have gotten an NES in 1985. The issue is 1985 was only a test market at least here in the states (I believe in New York city only) for the NES. So unless you lived there or knew someone who lived there or you just happen to be visiting, it was very difficult to purchase a NES in 1985 (not impossible but, difficult). Keep mind Nintendo didn't sell all their systems during that test market either. The vast majority of video gamers didn't even see a NES until X-mas 1986. Yes, I know the NES was released earlier in 1986 but, most didn't see them in the stores until that X-mas season. Remember, by this time video game magazines were not as common as they were just a few year prior.

 

Yeah, I can't say I even heard about the NES until late 86...possibly late 87! The first time I ever played one was fall of 87, Trojan on a buddy's system. I had read about them in articles in Boy's Life magazine, lol...which was a pretty good magazine for video game coverage (adverst, mostly, but also other aspects) in the first Atari boom (which I localize from 82 to 84, in my area). I came across some articles about a kid who went on to review video games for, I dunno, newspapers, maybe? Anyways, this kid described how he spent a whole summer harvesting pecans on the family farm in order to raise the money to buy an NES. How I remember this 30 years on, I don't know I don't even think I tried pecans before reading that story! Anyways. I do remember a buddy of mine who somehow knew about the NES in 86. He moved away that summer, but before then he would bug his Dad daily about getting an NES. We'd wait every day after school, sure that THAT would be 'the' day Of course, it never happened...he moved away that summer, and THEN got one...and keeping in touch as people did in them days, via mail, he'd mail me instructions from his games Man, was I ever desperate back then! He was a great friend. He sent me the Super Mario Bros booklet, and I was just frothing to play the thing. OH...and how could I forget: Ghosts n Goblins, that manual as well. We loved the arcade game, and here he was, four provinces away, playing all this NES...lucky bastard! So anyways, lots of memories. I gotta type this down just so I can get my story straight! I now recall seeing the majority of adverts on tv for NES stuff the Christmas 87 season. That was when I first got to play SMB, after all that damn reading I liked it, but it never really 'got me' like it did so many others. Ninja Gaiden and Blaster Master were more my fare. We eventually beat GnG as well, summer of 88...knocked out Bald Bull...man, those were the days Some Metroid too.

 

Anyways, just a point: where I grew up, the NES wasn't synonymous with 'video games'...that was (and will always stay in mind) 'ATARI'..."Wanna come over and play Atari?" ..you'd hear it all the time. That one system was just DOMINANT...even playing computer games was called 'playing Atari'...lol. Of course parents also called all gaming "Atari"...and so did I, until I got my first system...my "Coleco", and then that was my go-to word. But with the NES, it was just the NES....."Wanna play some video games?" You could play anything, really. And to note, I saw and played a Sega Master System first, before the NES...and I LOVED that thing. SO. Much. And the kid who owned it was a rich kid...also owned a complete (COMPLETE!) Colecovision setup, with literally everything they released, right up to the Adam. Then he got the Sega. He dissed the NES all the time, lol. I think he eventually got one though.

 

Memory Lane!

[NE146]

I remember in 87 or 88?.. NES Double Dragon was "hard to find".. although with the limited information at the time I'm not sure if it was more likely "Not out yet" but the magazines said it was! I remember I had a dumb ritual of hitting a circle of about 3-4 stores every day in order to find Double Dragon. Obviously I was pretty green then But yes, the word from the clerks was there was a "chip shortage". I don't remember how long it lasted but if I had to guess I'd say it was about a month or two before stores started having stock of the game.

Edited May 4, 2017 by NE146

[Tanooki]

 

 

 

I'm curious... do you recall how you acquired one in '85?

 

I got mine in Feb. of '86 (bday); Parents needed help from relatives out east to get it. (Dad wanted it as much as I did )

I had one in 85 as well. I can't recall if I somehow as an 8 year old heard about it or something (we didn't get computer magazines at home) but luck of the draw living just outside LA county back then, my mom somehow got a west coast test launch unit and it (the unbranded then) Deluxe Set was under the Christmas tree along with +2 games individually wrapped handed over after the big reveal -- Hogan's Alley and Super Mario Bros. I don't get the bizarre stupid commentary online that tries to make the claim the system only launched limited in NYC alone that year as my mom wasn't that sharp to get something cross country as it wasn't some catalog item or something on the early days of the home shopping network or qvc either. Over the years I lost the system and much of the rest of it due to changing tech making the ROB and lightgun useless, but one constant is that I still have the original SMB cart, sleeve, and manual I got that year tucked away here.

[schuwalker]

I had one in 85 as well. I can't recall if I somehow as an 8 year old heard about it or something (we didn't get computer magazines at home) but luck of the draw living just outside LA county back then, my mom somehow got a west coast test launch unit and it (the unbranded then) Deluxe Set was under the Christmas tree along with +2 games individually wrapped handed over after the big reveal -- Hogan's Alley and Super Mario Bros. I don't get the bizarre stupid commentary online that tries to make the claim the system only launched limited in NYC alone that year as my mom wasn't that sharp to get something cross country as it wasn't some catalog item or something on the early days of the home shopping network or qvc either. Over the years I lost the system and much of the rest of it due to changing tech making the ROB and lightgun useless, but one constant is that I still have the original SMB cart, sleeve, and manual I got that year tucked away here.

Thanks for the insight Tanooki...

 

Geographically, I lived in the Chicagoland area my whole life and it was a no go for any department stores. Seen some Nintendo displays but no stock.

 

I noticed there is a lot of conjecture when it comes to Nintendo's history. Maybe perpetuated by know-it-all Youtuber's - I don't know. The whole Stadium Events thing and where it was only 'supposedly' released is a perfect example.

[Professor Gull]

 

This brings up an interesting point (and I'm not saying he didn't have an NES in 1985, he may have been one of the lucky few that did) but, it seems a lot of people on the net claim to have gotten an NES in 1985. The issue is 1985 was only a test market at least here in the states (I believe in New York city only) for the NES. So unless you lived there or knew someone who lived there or you just happen to be visiting, it was very difficult to purchase a NES in 1985 (not impossible but, difficult). Keep mind Nintendo didn't sell all their systems during that test market either. The vast majority of video gamers didn't even see a NES until X-mas 1986. Yes, I know the NES was released earlier in 1986 but, most didn't see them in the stores until that X-mas season. Remember, by this time video game magazines were not as common as they were just a few year prior.

I had to pull back to a childhood moment to think on this one. I was in the Midwest and I know I remember playing with a kid in my neighborhood who got an NES and specifically playing Excitebike end of school so 1984 by my thought calendar. So thoughts on how that happened would be welcomed.

[Tanooki]

Was it really a NES or a Famicom? If it was a NES, perhaps that family had a member who worked with Nintendo or some distributor in some sort and you got a beta test model design? I know this will sound even more bat sh*t nuts, but my best friend since 10th grade, his father was a JAG and into tech (as were other family members) and had odd ties/friends of the years. Back in the earlier 90s when they lived elsewhere in the country (VA I believe) at the time a friend of theirs father ended up working with Philips (see where this is going?) and well he decided to brag to my friend he had something he wasn't allowed to show off. Apparently its the other lost white whale of the ages, the Philips version of the SNES CD system. It was rough, not really branded much, had a few discs with it of very incomplete stuff, but one of them was Mario, possibly the same Mario decades later leaked online that ended up being done up more but never finished for the CDi (which like Nintendo burning Sony got us the PS1, burning Philips they went CDi with things.) He only got to see the stuff once, people moved shortly there after. If it wasn't the person who told me this as I know he's honor about and not a liar, even when we were in HS (as his JAG father didn't put up with crap period) I'd say he was one too. It's just a story though, not like it could ever get proven but it is nice to dream.

[Professor Gull]

Was it really a NES or a Famicom? If it was a NES, perhaps that family had a member who worked with Nintendo or some distributor in some sort and you got a beta test model design? I know this will sound even more bat sh*t nuts, but my best friend since 10th grade, his father was a JAG and into tech (as were other family members) and had odd ties/friends of the years. Back in the earlier 90s when they lived elsewhere in the country (VA I believe) at the time a friend of theirs father ended up working with Philips (see where this is going?) and well he decided to brag to my friend he had something he wasn't allowed to show off. Apparently its the other lost white whale of the ages, the Philips version of the SNES CD system. It was rough, not really branded much, had a few discs with it of very incomplete stuff, but one of them was Mario, possibly the same Mario decades later leaked online that ended up being done up more but never finished for the CDi (which like Nintendo burning Sony got us the PS1, burning Philips they went CDi with things.) He only got to see the stuff once, people moved shortly there after. If it wasn't the person who told me this as I know he's honor about and not a liar, even when we were in HS (as his JAG father didn't put up with crap period) I'd say he was one too. It's just a story though, not like it could ever get proven but it is nice to dream.

Nope definately NES I remember the grey carts and toaster. I was sad cause all I had was a 2600 and Excitebike and Mario were like amazing to me at the time.

 

That is cool though to get those oddity stories. Those are the things you wish you had a badly taken picture from a 110 or Polaroid to keep as proof.

[Tanooki]

You got that right. He used to moan about it to me in high school he wish had thought to go back and get his camera as no one would believe him. Different era in early/mid 90s, no camera phones and very little internet as of yet too.