Meet One Of Nintendo's Original Power Line Counselors (HBO)

[@GameXplain]

David! I used to work with him in the call center back in 05...Power Line was dead by then tho :(

[@kuya5000]

Was I the only one that thought that was Howie Mandel lmao

[@valjean3663]

Seriously, he could be his long-lost twin.

[@kuya5000]

Bald? Check. Soul patch? Check. Definitely his long-lost twin.

[@allhailzoidberg8182]

He looks more like David Draiman without his piercing to me.

[@sinceunati]

My brother, maybe my cousin or one of the neighbor kids and I spent many a weekend night drinking pop, eating cheese puffs, and playing the OG NES. The 80s were beautiful.

[@m82m107barrett]

Is it just me, or does the guy in the thumbnail look like Howie Mendel aged 20 years?

[@4400seriesFAN]

THANK YOU! I clicked on this, just to say the same!

[@booty2k]

Dammit! I was beat to it! XD

[@MrMadalien]

Holy shit that guy's hair

[@fathead8933]

Tomas Muir I thought he was wearing one of those Russian hats

[@TheDude111]

Daniel Frakes *British

[@fathead8933]

The Dude no I was talking about those Russian dancers that cross their arms and kick there legs out from underneath of them

[@TheDude111]

Daniel Frakes nice

[@SplitSight]

Tomas Muir it's so tall it crops off the edge of the screen haha

[@VICENews]

Earlier this month, Nintendo released the NES Classic, a mini version of the Nintendo Entertainment System, and it sold out almost instantly. But the new model doesn't come with one of the most beloved features of the original: access to the Power Line players called when they got stuck in a game. The NES Power Line was originally intended to help people with technical difficulties connecting their game systems and other customer support. When Power Line counselors started receiving calls asking for strategic help on how to successfully advance through games, they set up a new line to accommodate those calls. "They started a brand new phone line," said David Young, one of Nintendo's original Power Line counselors. "It's really grown from there, from six people to start out with that were taking calls to close to 400 in the heyday." People of all ages and backgrounds would call in for help, Young said. "The demographic was huge," Young told VICE News correspondent Dexter Thomas. "You'd get some little kids and you'd try to give them directions by using left and right, and they maybe didn't know their left to their right, so you'd have to find a more creative way to give them directions, like go towards the tree or towards the rock." Watch "How Tetris became the addictive classic it is today" - bit.ly/2gRhRpI Read "Nintendo's new console is like if Game Boy and Wii U had a baby" - bit.ly/2fLie9n

[@Swoop21445]

VICE News FYI while demand is high, nintendo purposely made the shipments to retailers small so that it would sellout. This makes it a desirable item and this sales tactic raises sales down the line

[@MrMadalien]

Nintendo did this with the Wii and Wii U and I imagine all console manufacturers have been doing this for as long as it's been possible.

[@loueezyrap]

I called the line in the late 90,s and they gave me alot of info on the pokemon red/blue game. They told me about the missingno trick you do when you surf on that edge by the 7th gym.

[@Sshooter444]

The late 80's called and they want their hairstyle back!

[@goobyplz1159]

Yo that black guy looks like the black dude from hey Arnold same hair and everything.

[@back2the80s]

90s outdated box style cut

[@CB-xv3xv]

VICE need to make a documentary on that geezers hair.

[@chasemichealbrown]

I spent a lot of time at the Nintendo campus in 1997 when I was a senior at the U of Washington. We all had to pick a major local company to observe & work with their in-house marketing company, & Nintendo obviously seemed the funnest to me. At that time, I think Nintendo had 4 or 5 different consoles out & there was a gigantic room full of 100's of cubicles in which each Power Line Counselor had every game console on his desk to plug in whichever game the caller needed help with. Many of them told me they'd been there since the beginning, but sadly the answer to my next question was: minimum wage, no raises, no benefits. & so, my momentary 20-year-old's brain's idea of the perfect job was forever smashed. :(

[@HashGray]

I clicked on the thumbnail thinking it was Hank from Breaking Bad.

[@BigHushAffiliate]

Not just "maintain the fun" but to keep you on the line as loong as possible! 🤣

[@unnamedchannel1237]

It must of been a premium number ? I remember reading about the lines you could call in manuals for games but they were in another country so new no point in trying

[@RandomAccessDreams]

@@unnamedchannel1237 There were two separate numbers to call: the "Power Line" was a regular number with pre-recorded gameplay tips based in Redmond, WA (Nintendo of America's HQ) so it was a 206 area code number, so it only cost money if it was a long-distance call. The other number was the gameplay counselor's line, which was a 1-900 number and would be charged per-minute, those were the calls this guy would be answering.

[@ShadeATV]

Every time I complain about a game, my dad brings this up even though they’re not Nintendo games

[@emmanoakess]

I actually thought the man in the thumbnail was Hank from breaking bad 😂

[@guitarwinds]

I used to call up Nintendo like, "Ayo fan, I'm getting tired of dying all day. What's the code for unlimited health?"

[@sanderkoekkoek9866]

That must have been a awesome summerjob.

[@unnamedchannel1237]

Hell no support desk is hell in a chair

[@k0zyofficial]

oh look marge simpson is doin an interview

[@valjean3663]

TIL Howie Mandel was a Nintendo Power Line counselor

[@joemama-os5ks]

I loved you House Party 2

[@Pozorrogo]

"We didnt want to just give players the answer, we wanted to guide them to discover it for themselves" Lets be totally fucking real here. Yall wanted to waste more minutes and therefore get more money

[@samuraistalin]

Yes, even though he received hourly wages/salary he just wanted to take your monies! Muahahahahaha

[@stirlock]

Aha! I always wondered what the identity of this guy was. He introduced himself on a couple of the automated walkthroughs as Max, hadn't really thought it wasn't his real name lol. Hope he's doing well, he has a great voice.

[@john-sp8jk]

I don't know what's more vintage the NES or that damm kid n play hair style this guy has!🙆🤦🕹️🎮🕹️

[@kimmykimko]

Lmao. Exactly what I thought.

[@john-sp8jk]

@@kimmykimko you're gorgeous😘

[@nonanimeprofilepic]

man imagine if we still had this today but youtube basically made this job of obsolete

[@IXAuxiliary]

Thought it was howie mandel on the thumbnail lol

[@killercaos123]

Wait, that's it?

[@ownageDan]

his hair... its glorious

[@virgenfj]

Black guy looks like the black kid on hey Arnold.

[@IzaakCha7]

I thought Hank worked at the DEA ?

[@roastingpotato]

This is the only call center I wouldn’t mind working at.

[@ArachnidSoul]

I need this help line for when my friends are beating me on Speed Runners.

[@JeSuisHulk]

Dude looks like Hank

[@DoxxDiamond]

"I'll do the interview, but... I have to talk to someone else I can take seriously." Also, two questions? why even call the guy into your office?

[@guarapo66]

Too short =(

[@_Majoras]

it was during this time in life that howie mandel needed a second job

[@kimmykimko]

Do you guys know Craig? He was awesome.

[@nintendokings]

Looked like Hank in the thumbnail from Breaking Bad.

[@Erin-bd6jg]

Holy sweet mother of mullets @ 1:00

[@Candle_Calmness]

I never knew Vice talks about lighter thing like video games .

[@Rhapbus1]

Vice has shows that are like Food Network these days

[@daemonrightnow.8427]

HANK!

[@walperstyle]

That must have been a Terrible expense to the company...

[@quorkquork]

You're a terrible expense

[@walperstyle]

quorkquork false. I worked with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of work as a chemical engineer, and before that, a banker.

[@quorkquork]

walperstyle And all that before you were 13

[@walperstyle]

quorkquork I'm 35. Hey are you the dude from sc.net?

[@walperstyle]

It is rather small and pathetic.

[@ctam79]

Does it come with a zapper...?

[@wmd741]

Dream job!

[@MuhammadAhmedMuddie]

the good ole.days! I want one

[@MuhammadAhmedMuddie]

Downloadable on Mac?

[@MuhammadAhmedMuddie]

Damn... lol Sounds like worth a try!!

[@MuhammadAhmedMuddie]

Thanks mate, kind of you... I'll tell U if I'm successful or not.

[@ericgarcia7710]

VICE IS AWESOME. what is the new thing TONIC that they've been doing recently ?

[@tuopinionno]

That hair... cant take this shit serious.

[@Zzeo7]

Do a full 30min episode on this! Whats with the sort stuff

[@UniversalPotentate]

I came from watching this.

[@tmason995]

NINTENDO!!

[@Nipponing]

wat

[@tmason995]

Swedish Otaku SEGA Genesis

[@Xxmeca421xX]

My stupid cousin wasted hundreds on that shit

[@st1ckyf1ngaz]

Hank Schrader/Howie Mandel hybrid

[@feelix2732]

QUALITY INTERNET VIDEO

[@eivoilaittaaverotukseen6426]

Dat hair

[@catfromtrigun]

fascinating

[@optimusgotslimed3175]

That guys hi top is sweat.

[@KraigOliver]

gerald??????

[@desmondwhalen7812]

that was cool

[@chadallen7121]

well there's google now so why would they put money into something nobody would use

[@catfromtrigun]

Chad Allen radical thought: google didn't exist in 1987

[@samuraistalin]

I'm sure people in the 80s were like "well they'll probably come up with an international computer network where you can find information in the click of a button, so I'd better wait until at least 2009 until I figure out how to get to Ganon."

[@hyperpuppy2]

How fake is that part where they are both hammering away on the controllers. I didn’t know the legend of zelda was 2 player. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@jayhandave]

Dana White

[@mycontentking9415]

holy fuc that hair

[@PedroTawa]

Awe this is cute

[@luis545x39]

i 'member

[@davidmcdonald6804]

the smiths were the best ever,!!!

[@hexadecimal5236]

I guess I'm going to have to unsubscribe bc youtube vice is nothing but an HBO advertisement now, and I'm unplugged.

[@24AntDad]

Lies. I just seen a short where the guy flat out tells the caller how to get the white ⚔️ in Zelda.

[@Candle_Calmness]

I never knew Vice talks about lighter thing like video games .