Nintendo is a gaming giant today, but it wasn't really on anyone's radar in the United States in 1980. And what was arguably the first American commercial for hardware produced by the company: a handheld computer called launch, from his “Game & Watch” series, certainly didn't help, as a recently restored copy shows. This is because there is no mention of Nintendo at all, not even Game & Watch.
Game & Watch games were simplistic, stand-alone handheld LCD games, not unlike the cheap Tiger Electronics-licensed games that seemingly every kid had in the 1990s. And in the US, those games were initially licensed for a company called Mego (pronounced “mee-go”) and were instead sold as a series called “Time-Out.” according to the Video Game History Foundation in a blog post Extra time stained.
The ad was dated June 25, 1980, just “a couple of months after Nintendo of America came on board,” game historian Chris Kohler, who found the 16mm reel containing the ad, told the foundation. eBay. Apparently, the hardware still had the Nintendo logo engraved on the back.
The commercial appeals mostly to older, hipsters (except the dumb nerd because ha ha, nerds) to enjoy an “e-sport” when they can't play real sports. You know, like when you have fallen arches or tennis elbow, or are completely encased in a full-body cast. That's quite different from Nintendo's own commercials a few years later! These tended to focus on children and families and certainly didn't have close-ups of butts in tight shorts. Like this:
The Game & Watch games also came in other form factors besides the one Nintendo resurrected for its standalone collectible NES versions. Super Mario Bros. and The legend of Zelda games a few years ago. Like this dual screen one:
