The 1990 Nintendo World Championships

[sleepyflip]

man I was -1 at the time

[tomhas10]

@sleepyflip screw that, i was -4!

[DJBrokenHigh]

Ah the 90s. I was born in 1988. Damn, why didn't anyone tell me about this stuff when I was young?

[RileySkye100]

I wish I could've been born earlier, therefore, I would've entered the contest in Boston.

[cameraguyification]

wow, the most rare and expensive game ever, and it only takes five minutes to complete. i know it was just for the competition, but still, with the money you get from these you could but thousands of copies of the full versions of those three games. so really it's only good for collecters

[THENGAMER64]

Were you there?



[fista1331]

Wow this needs to happen again. With NES and only NES. Amazing!!!!

[stanleyschannel]

Nintendo,MAKE A NINTENDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012.

Combine 3 NES,SNES,N64,GC,Wii,Gameboy,GB­A,DS,3DS,and Wii U games!

Whoever wins,will get a golden 3DS & Wii U(Current Generation),A hot rod,A Giant Gold Mario Statue,100,000 3DS & Wii U points,& A copy of the game comes with the 3 systems,and 5 games from each system by choice.

So,IF THAT HAPPENS,Make a big deal over it.

[FinerIntel]

E3 1990?

[Yoshiman6464]

Nintendo needs to Make a Nintendo World Championships 2012 that's actually across the world! They need to combine Classic NES games, SNES Games, N64 Games, Gamecube Games, and Wii Games for all of the Players old and new. The Contestants would get their own Nintendo Wii/ Wii U Disk based off the world championships, and the Winner gets a Golden Wii U (Along with a New Hot Rod).

Thumbs up if you want to send this to Nintendo.

And thumbs up if AVGN took you here.

[Nyclx]

@Yoshiman6464 fag

[Nyclx]

@Nyclx

[hollowsephiroth]

2:26 VIDEO ARMAGEDDON!!!

[ataraxia77]

this game ist a piece of shit

[SonicChild1]

Well I have the gold cartridge 100% original here in argentina!!!, of course it cost a lot of money

[danielrsmodesto]

Where are this people today????

[brunomocsa]

Nao eh pela possibilidade de qualquer pessoa ir para os estados unidos se inscrever que torna o campeonato mundial...

[EronDM]

Melhor plataforma que já teve :D

[Johnmcdodger]

Is there list of winners, who have gold edition games?

[TheEgg185]

why the FUCK dont they have something like this again ???????????????????

[BlueEmeraldX]

@TheEgg185 Actually, they did something sort of like this recently for the Wii; it was called the "Wii Summer Games 2010". The selection of games wasn't as good, though. While there were challenges for New Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart, they also had challenges for Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit.

It also wasn't an invite-only event like the World Championships; anyone could participate from the get-go.

[THENOXG]

@TheEgg185 bad economy.

[heyja9]

Wow, people looked like retards back in the day

[Makinx]

Wow, check out the guy at 1:46. That's the spitting image of WSOP's Norman Chad!

[HandA711]

I totally didn't know about this. Nintendo!!!.

[TimNP61278]

I remember that Video Power TV Show host, Johnny Arcade, interviewed the kid in the yellow shirt "Jeff Hanson" @5:07.

Don't believe me... check out: "Johnny Arcade Visits Nintendo Power Fest:"

(look at @1:47 for the quick interview)

[djbradlee420]

i would enter this tomorrow.... lol 

[TheElephant79]

Golden Times !

[MICHAELWASHINGTON09]

THAT GUYS VOICE MADE ME WANT TO BREAK HIS FACE LOL

[TheDemoniusX]

back when nintendo didn't suck. They are not nearly as awesome today as they were during the time of this taping.

[flairnatureboywoo]

Rich Ambler is the man he knows hes stuff.

[djpaulhannon]

Most awkward & cheesy MC ever!

[100rocksinaboxx]

this is like the wizard but in real life

[boygamerx]

whats so cool about it? I seen it its just a stack of games inside of one cartridge

[DankTendencies]

@boygamerx Because there were only 116 ever made in the world. This makes it the single most sought after and rare game for any serious collector. It isn't about what games are on it. It is about owning a piece of gaming history. This cartridge is the video game equivalent of 'The Mona Lisa'.

[Newcomer156]

Stuff like this never happens anymore... Nintendo would be so much more popular if they still had these.

[pandahero707]

I want that trophy, anyone have info on where it is currently located?

[gottalock]

"Gimmie gimmie gimmie Jimmy Woods!" He would smoke them all!

[barneybros]

Those kids are COOL

[JessicaWhoHD]

Cool video, I wish I woulda known about this when I was younger, I was in Florida at the time I guess they didn't come out here :( ?

[jazzman7889]

@popizanetti - Thor Aackerlund is not Asian. Get a clue

[Midinthemorning45]

woot! i live in dallas!

[Casemandoo]

bring back the tournaments! screw MLG, 32bit all the way! :D

[dgmc09productions]

1:12 XD

[DS3Nintendo]

Video Armagedon?



[popizanetti]

is someone surprised that the major winner was an asian?

so many brackes, glasses, fatboys, mullets... it was perfect for bullies!

[tuxedomark]

Wow, with Terry here, it feels like watching "Video Power" and "The Wizard" in one!

[ToonLinkTalks]

How did you get this? Did you participate? You said it was given to all participates.

[MrZebraGamer]

lol they probably had somed type of no japanese kids aloud rule cus theyd beast the poor kids XD

[MuggleSnuggles]

Does anyone remember a person sitting in a specially positioned chair, almost like a throne, in between the two giant screens on the main stage? When I went to the Cincinnati PF, it looked like Howard Phillips, or some kid, and everyone was wondering if this person was the champion overlooking his would-be competition. He never left his spot, never looked up from his game playing, never smiled. It was odd.

[sisudo21]

"hE geTz AuT oF iT WiF a TETRUZ!!11!!"

[littlemac85r]

wow they got howie mandel to commentate. lol

[CpCheats1000x]

You should watch the tetris speedrun, the score goes WAY HIGHER than this. LOL

[KBgames]

i wish Nintendo would do another Nintendo World Championship, they'd probably turn it into a fucking reality show now though.

[williamtom0]

"world championships, from thousands of the top players in the united states" well that really worked out worldwide

[Mosquitox216]

Ummm, after this competition, Thor Aackerlund ended up beating the other two divsion finalists in an informal match, and traveled to Japan and beat the Japanese National Champion to eventually become World Champion.

[10princeofpersia]

This is amazing! Vintage classic video game competition.

[Killerrock501]

sounds like an old porno

[iamcornholio44]

@Killerrock501 whast??? man people today are really screwed up in the head

[claudiall]

How come I've heard many nostalgic-ridden comments talk about how this event was one and only and how Nintendo never tried something like this again?

There was a second PowerFest in '94 (also known as Wolrd Championships II), not to mention the Nintendo Campus Challenge (cos it was only held on college campuses)

...Just wondering.

[fpvshitsonhsv]

Those were the days damn i loved the 90's.Also i swear all us young lads had mullets back then

[Zeaed]

That chic at 5:00

mmmm

[MasterHiku]

She's Mario's bitch. xD

[Zeaed]

$250 is still hell of a money 20 years later lol

[Jono1874]

people sure were strange 20 years ago...

[InsulterOfChrist666]

What is the name of the song at 1:40!?!?! I love it! Cool vid!

[PaperRayman]

Nintendo needs to do this again in 2010, since it will be the 20th Anniversary of the tournament, using games like Wii Sports, Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mario Kart.

[PenguinBrosStudios]

I agree.

[resettimanalt]

I think this is how it would go..

Collect 50 coins in new super mario bros. wii

Complete a few laps in Excite Truck

And spend the rest of your time in Tetris party

[michael2244]

This is like Video Armageddon from that shitty movie The Wizard. Fucking Bad Ass.

[gniktar]

I'm not sure why Nintendo doesn't milk this more! How about making this a download for the virtual console? 2010 will be the 20th anniversary of the competition. How about inviting all the contestants to the NYC World Nintendo Store for a rematch. The top 90 head to head for 10 grand and a car. Make a big deal about it. You have the old footage in a can some where. Let it out. Quit pinching pennies Nintendo you are still on top, do something cool and fun again!!

[pika62221]

@gniktar I was in the teenage division, and SUCKED compared to the rest! God, those players were good!!!

[Nintendomanwill]

Nintendo only milk their legacy by lazy ports, they won't both with something fun from their past, you know that! Look at the lavish treatment given to their best-game-of-all-time types e.g. Mario; a port of a SNES compilation with a music CD and small book. And don't get me started on their terribly lame repackaging of the masterpiece MP and its 2 trilogy sequels. Meanwhile you can get fancy Game of the Year editions of Playbox360 rubbish and several £40 remakes of 15 years old Final Fantasy :(

[TheEgg185]

@Nintendomanwill thats why i just download the fuckin roms. lol i can play downloaded roms on any pocket emulator i want and make backups. fuck virtual console. i dont want a fuckin wii. its stupid and for kids and the elderly. PS3 is for people who dont shit themselves and require a nap time.

[PestVolk]

Looks how Mario gets pushed around in the last few seconds; as if there's a senile old man in the suit.

[WebVMan]

I'd enter a competition if I could win a solid gold game cartridge.

[MiNDx1er]

You know if you have "1990 Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition (Nintnedo NES)" its worth $10,000... look it up. NOt lieing....

[ghgod101]

they need one for the wii!!!!!!

[ApacheMan2K]

And not just Pokemon.

[YTfan24]

Ah yes the early concept of the Video Power set lol.

[Treasurefan02]

Lol, the host acts and talks like a young Chris Jericho (Y2J) XD

[MisterShow1986]

¿World Championships?... With only Hawaii & USA contestants?

What happen with all the World!¿?!¿! Asians, Europeans, Latinamericans, Australians!?¿¿?!... and most important JAPANESE gamers...

This is not a "World" Championship... Maybe is only a "National" or "Local" Championship... USA is not the Entire World... (¬_¬)

[lipsyncnetwork]

thats ok. jeff hansen went to japan and won the championships there.

[Charmaniaca]

@MisterShow1986 ssssshhhh they think they are

[Starfuchs]

@MisterShow1986 that's how the USA does world championships, though nowadays they also invite 2 canadians. valid world championsship is valid

[thefool5000]

@MisterShow1986 Or is it ()_o

[bsg4000]

@MisterShow1986 if Nintendo ran the competition and called it the world championships, then it was the world championships. if anyone from latin america or japan felt that strongly about it, there were no nationality restrictions at the door... they couldve hopped on a plane and made the trip.

[bsg4000]

@MisterShow1986 Nintendo themselves ran the event. If they deemed it the World Championship, then it was the World Championship. If anybody from Japan, S America or Europe had an issue, they couldve flown in and participated.

[nephunter]

@MisterShow1986 Those aren't real people.

[deegz01]

@MisterShow1986 Just like american football.......... world champions? Theyre the only people who play it.

[FierySora1]

Why doesnt Nintendo do stuff like this anymore? Oh yeah that right, I forgot, Nintendo stopped caring about their fans after the Wii came out. Yes I am aware that they made games like Zelda, Metroid, SSBB, etc for the Wii, but those are only a few games >.> All they care about is soccor moms that want to do pilatis in their living room on a piece of shit plastic mat.

[Snesboy09]

Hey you don't run a business. Companies don't do anything for fans, not just Nintendo, ALL COMPANIES. Corporations are in it for the money, not the fans.

[FierySora1]

Little do you know, I do run a business. A medical transcription business. So I do know how companies should work, and Nintendo had it right in the beginning, but now they just care for casual gamers instead of the hardcore ones. If they were smart they would balance it out between casual and hardcore so they don't lose their fanbase which WAS most of their income.

[Snesboy09]

Point taken.

But let's face it, a new Zelda game is coming, and we are going to forgive Nintendo and buy that game up.

Your post does make a lot of sense. But you know, whatever, good games take time :)

[FierySora1]

Very true. I can't wait for that lol. But yes, you are very right, good games take a lot of time. It isnt like in the old days where games didnt need voice acting or shading or 3D models.

[asseertedwolf]

shit i thought i was watching rocky again at the end can you say freaking epic i had atari nes all that but i never could get to go to anything like this lol

[Fitopito66]

world championship? lol its only people from the u.s

[syverone]

shouldnt it be skip rogers

[Usagi1992]

booooo

[AdzTurner]

That honkey with the mullet was just a salesman for Nintendo. What a load of shit\!

[188]

i wish they had something like this for the PS3. A Competition or For the X-Box too.

[runeinator]

:( During this time, I'm sure the console wars would get in the way.

But yes, it would be interesting to have this for all 3 consoles :)

[xiSorex]

True. But if Nintendo did this again, I'm jumping at it. HARD.

[invisiblebears]

I see there is a gray cart on ebay right now.

[ilovepth123]

my one teachers sons participated in this. They were finalists in pittsburgh but they didnt make it to the championship

[CircaMay85]

I was only 6 at the time and wasn't allowed to go and that really sucked..

[Sora444]

3:40 is that Johnny Arcade?

[runeinator]

Thor Ackurland, the worlds Nintendo Champion to this day. :)

[xiSorex]

Aackerlund, Thor Aackerlund. Hard to believe this was spawned from the Wizard back in '89. I was born in '92, wow, nostalgia much? There's gotta be more championships like this.

[runeinator]

ye I was born in '93. I'm ashamed they dont have tournies like this anymore. :(

[xiSorex]

Pisses me off. Up Nintendo. Besides, I've had my allegiance for Nintendo. Still with them. They still revolutionize gaming, minus the graphics power of many next gens, like the Wii. I consider the Wii a "current" next gen, because the graphics are toned down, but the gameplay's different.

[runeinator]

I personally go with the 360, but when the Next-next gen comes out I may go back to Nintendo.

Its not exactly the graphics, I just prefer some of the titles on the 360.

Aswell, Nintendo was way better back then :(

[xiSorex]

Backwards compatibility is a no brainer. But why do they require an update to even PLAY XBOX games? I didn't get it... Wii has that standard with GCN. It's better because of the games...

[runeinator]

Agreed, and alot of gamecube games are better than the original Xbox games.

Anyway, the next big console I want to see made is one by Sega.

Dreamcast 2010 ftw XD

[demandred753]

Was this broadcast on network TV? I remember reading about the preliminaries being held in locations across the US in an issue of Nintendo Power but didn't hear any more about it. Oh well; I probably would have FUBAR'ed Rad Racer and Tetris if I had competed.

[gniktar]

I believe the finals were gonna be shown on TV, but I guess it fell through and this was the tape sent to all the finalists. It would be nice to see more video of this event.

[ataribrad]

I think my folks still have one or two VHS tapes with footage from the tournaments... perhaps I can see if they're willing to send your way.

[clocksonfire]

where can i watch the whole thing

(they need to do this again)

[heathclifff]

which song is at 1:45? it sounds so retro!!!

[Bastiest]

How epic can Tetris get. :P

[JohnnyDeppFan1433]

If I had been playing in this tournament, I don't think I could've concentrated with that announcer talking continuously :)

[roger62383]

i thought i was watching double dare lol

[NightmareJames]

The way to remember Jeff Hansen......

Thank you for putting this up.

-James

[d2girls]

The 90's fucking ruled!!! God I wish it was the 90s again!

Anyways, who ended up with the highest score? I'm guessing someone in the 18 and over category that just makes sense.

[TheDarkHighlander]

I am a veteran gamer but not American so hope you can forgive me for asking this but.... Why an earth 6 mins and 21 secs? Why not a flat 6 or 7 min timer?

[Foo3112]

It might not seem like much today but this was huge back in the day. I wonder if Thor still has his cart? You can find him on myspace...and no, theres nothing on his page that references his NES days. I guess it doesnt impress the ladies today...lol

[Chatetris]

wow gold cartridge cost 20,000 dollors = nerds

[Bacalhau]

Amazing! =D

[TheDon212]

wow i was 6 years old when this was on i still have it one VHS somewere lol

[jonah1976]

Sadly, Thor Aackerlund became a chronic masterbaitor after the championship. He later died of a staph infection from a rest stop glory hole. America lost a great champion that day. RIP Thor.

[duba3988]

rofl

[matttheman597]

False. After earning the World Champion title, Unlicensed video game manufacturer Camerica hired Thor for some of their Magazine Ads. Since Nintendo was pissed after hearing the news, Thor Aackerlund lost his World Champion title.

HE'S NOT DEAD

[matttheman597]

As 12 years old today, I really wish I was born in 1980 to live in the 90's.

[matttheman597]

Wait, 1978.

[Ap0ske]

me too, bro, me too

[matttheman597]

It just makes me wanna cry.

[Bill307]

Dude, are you crazy? Today we've got large video game tournaments such as the World Cyber Games, Evo, and many others. South Korea already has professional gaming and it seems like the rest of the world is heading in that direction as well. Every year, there are many tournaments -- local, national, and international -- that are held for all kinds of games.

If you ask me, gaming is doing far, far better now than it was in the 90s. :)

[matttheman597]

Agreed, but the 90's were the golden years of video gaming.

[reszzz]

geez i know the NWC gold cartridge is the holy grail but imagine how much one of those mario trophies would sell for

[ChronicBurnout3]

the movie was called THE WIZARD and basically it was just a 2 hour long Nintendo commercial that you paid $5 to go see (thats back when movies were cheap, remember?)

[DDRFreak410]

Screw World Cyber Games, Nintendo World Championships is way better

[o0FreakinStein0o]

i think they made a movie about something about like this, it wasent blockbuster tho so its kinda buget and alot of ppl might have not seen it

[Mapleholic]

Tetris Championships not Nintendo championships -_-

[Shoyz]

That was one of the three games.

[HaloVideosRUs]

Those guys are so badass.

[Wheeloffortunefan999]

why was terry hosting this?

[1983parrothead]

Am I the only one who saw Howard Philips from 01:07 to 01:08?

[cyrilborg]

It wasn't called the Nintendo WORLD Chanpionships, it was called the Nintendo World Championships. Kekeke, ownt! ;-)

[ScrewAttackEurope]

Why was it called the Nintendo WORLD Chanpionships if it was only held in the US?

Seems kinda odd.

[Mapleholic]

cause you're gay thats why

no im just kidding. well im guessing they didnt have enough money to ship/fly em off to japan?

[ScrewAttackEurope]

So why not call it the "National" championships , or just the championships then? I know it sounds a bit more grand, but kinda defeats the object of being the World Champion when only your nation was allowed to enter.

That or they were worried some freaky Japanese or Swedish kid would win, like what normally happens.

[jkdskinhead]

Anyone from any country could enter.. it was just held in California.. Is this years olympics event a Chinese national sporting event? no.

[ScrewAttackEurope]

Anyone from any country could enter...

...Just as long as they were prepared to pay thousands for a plane ticket to go to America to participate in the trials and that's if they're aware of the competition existing in the first place as Nintendo didn't advertise it anywhere else.

Last time I checked the "chinese" olympics had tryouts for each country where you didn't need to travel to china to try out for the team.

So your arguement isn't really that valid is it?

[ZEROEVILDARKCOOL]

AGREED@EUROPE

HOLD NATIONALS

[ZEROEVILDARKCOOL]

THEN HAVE THE CHAMPION OF EACH

[ZEROEVILDARKCOOL]

COUNTRY ENTER THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

[ScrewAttackEurope]

You do realise you can turn off captial letters by pressing the caps-lock right?

[JamesNintendoNord]

hehe

[ScrewAttackEurope]

Well, it's trud :D

[katSvenne]

I didn't think about that. Otherwise it was really cool, but it doesn't really deserve the title "World Championships".

I would have love to take part, I was freaky and Swedish at the time, but still only 2 years old though.

[rbeghtol]

Okay, first post went into cyberhell somewhere. I was on the crew for the 1990 NWC tour, if you can believe that. Still have my awesome, Ghostbuster-y uniforms, too. And yes, Terry does come off rather douche-like here, but he is truly a great guy, trust me. And I remember that mullet all too well...The other voice you hear, and the other guy in a tux onstage with Terry is my brother Steve. What a great experience I had that year, and what great stories I could tell!

[stok3d99]

I attended NWC Detroit in '90..Fun times.

[Grooveraider]

Hahahaha, the mullet guy from the second season of Video Power! Me and a friend attended Powerfest 1990 at Universal Studios Hollywood. We enlisted into the qualifying rounds. I made it onto the stage and was able to sit in a giant throne while the others had to stand :) But then I would lose :( Was able to some free swag like the NWC hat and a Mario doll. It was a great experience !! This is a great video! Thanks for the memories !

[Dakishimeta123]

the presentator's mullet OWNS