A page dedicated to retro video game promotional VHS tapes, news stories, commercials and more!

20/20 - Nuts for Nintendo

The NES was a pop culture phenomenon, and to ride the wave 20/20 did a story about the platform and its popularity with children. The anchor is initially pretty dismissive of video games as a whole, but at the end of the piece he admits that he went and bought one.

Emergency Nintendo News Flash

To continue the Nintendo theme today, here is a promotional VHS tape sent out around the launch of the Super Game Boy. It is presented as if it were a breaking news story, complete with a host behind a desk and an on-site correspondent that shows you how the device works. Double your SNES library now!

PS1 "Are You Hungry?"

This is a quick VHS promo video that would've been distributed around the PS1's launch in 1995, featuring footage of Destruction Derby, 3D Lemmings, Extreme Games, Discworld, Wipeout and more. It features some 90s video staples such as xtreme camera angles, videos being projected onto buildings, and use of public domain film footage. I can laugh at it now, but this type of marketing was super effective on 10 year old me.

Sega Channel Promotional Video

Here's a relatively short promotional video that explained the basics of how the Sega Channel worked. I was always fascinated by this service when I was a kid but I never had it. I went to a local kid's expo and they had demo kiosks showing it off. My dad went over and asked how much it cost and then he told me that it was out of the question. That is my Sega Channel experience.

Donkey Kong at the 1994 Video Software Dealers' Association Trade Show!

This falls under the "more" category. It's an amateur video shot during a technology trade show where a person behind the scenes (who I believe is Charles Martinet) is acting as the voice of a 3D Donkey Kong head who spent his entire day flirting with women before trying to sell them games like Super Punch-Out and Tetris 2. If you ever wanted to hear a horny Donkey Kong use the words "The Illusion of Gaia, baby" while whispering into women's ears, this is the video for you.

StarFox 64 Promotional VHS

This VHS tape came in the mail to subscribers of Nintendo Power at the time. It features employees of Sega and Sony kidnapping a Nintendo employee and trying to get them to spill the beans on Nintendo's next big thing. This show features several very serious crimes being carried out, including torture, all in the name of selling you StarFox 64 and the Rumble Pack. Watch the horror unfold yourself.