Universal Studios Hollywood Nintendo Challenge NES Television Commercial (1989)

Television commercial to enter the Nintendo Challenge at Universal Studios Hollywood. The "Nintendo Challenge" from 1989 was a marketing campaign by Nintendo of America to promote their Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console. It featured a series of TV commercials showcasing players attempting to complete challenging levels in popular NES games like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Tetris. The campaign aimed to highlight the excitement and competitiveness of NES gaming. Off-topic but relevant - The Wizard is a 1989 American family film directed by Todd Holland, written by David Chisholm, and starring Fred Savage, Christian Slater, Jenny Lewis, Beau Bridges, and Luke Edwards. The film follows three children as they travel to California. The youngest of the three is emotionally withdrawn with a gift for playing video games. The Wizard is known for its extensive product placement of Nintendo material. The film was also well known for being the official introduction to Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America. Despite receiving consistently negative reviews, the film has garnered a cult following. Jimmy and Corey meet Haley Brooks, a teenager on her way home to Reno. When they discover that Jimmy has an innate skill for playing video games, Haley informs Corey of "Video Armageddon", a gaming tournament being held in Universal Studios Hollywood, with a grand prize of $50,000. Corey sees the tournament as an opportunity to avert Jimmy's institutionalization by showcasing his talent, and Haley agrees to help take Jimmy to the tournament in return for a share of the winnings. During 1988, a shortage of ROM chips and the preparation of a version of Super Mario Bros. 2 for the west delayed several of Nintendo's game releases in North America. The delayed products included Super Mario Bros. 3 and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The delay presented Nintendo with an opportunity to promote the game in a feature film. In 1989, Tom Pollack of Universal Studios approached Nintendo of America's marketing department about a video game film; inspired by Nintendo video game competitions, Pollack envisioned a video game version of Tommy for younger audiences. Nintendo licensed its products for inclusion in the film. During production, the filmmakers were granted approval from Nintendo regarding the script and portrayal of its games. Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of the products shown in the film and was used in a final scene involving a video game competition. Despite the film touting itself as featuring the first public reveal of Super Mario Bros. 3, the game had already been released in Japan during the previous year, with U.S. magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro having already covered the Japanese version. Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. The original Nintendo World Championships began on March 8–11, 1990, in the Fair Park's Automobile Building in Dallas, Texas, and ended up touring through 29 cities across the United States. Players from three separate age groups (11 and below, 12–17, and 18 and above) competed across three days. The top two scorers then competed for the title of City Champion. The finalists won a trophy, US$250, and a trip for two to the World Finals at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. The runners-up won a Nintendo Power Pad and a Game Boy. The World Finals were held December 7–9, 1990, conducted similarly to the City Championships and were located at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California within the Star Trek Theater, now Shrek 4-D. There, contestants played a special Nintendo World Championships cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The cartridge contains three customized minigames based upon the popular games Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris. The objective is to achieve a high score according to a custom cumulative scoring formula across all games, within a total time limit of 6 minutes and 21 seconds. Nintendo Action Set Toy R Us Punch-Out ©1989 Nintendo. ©1989 Universal Studios. All rights reserved. (https://www.nintendo.com/) (http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/) Posted for entertainment and educational purposes only. No copyrights infringed. All works property of the company listed above. Please do not reproduce without their expressed written consent. #UniversalStudiosHollywood #UniversalStudios #UniversalPictures #Nintendo #UniversalHollywood #NES #TheWizard #VideoGame #SuperMarioBros #Boys #GameBoy #RaceCar #NintendoEntertainmentSystem #Wii #CowMissing