Nintendo at the top of its game: Peak NES | NES Works 1989

It's August 1989 and the NES is on top of the world (or at least unstoppable in the U.S., anyway). This is the ideal console. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.
Things are about to change radically here in the NES Works chronology, though. I mean, the NES itself has another five years of life left in it-that's not about to change. But the NES has entirely dominated the American console market since its tentative debut at the end of 1985. It hasn't run the race without competition, but it's lacked a serious challenger to this point. Beginning in August 1989, though, Nintendo has to deal with powerful new rivals on all fronts.
Sega Genesis and NEC TurboGrafx-16 launch this month in history, unflinchingly presenting game fanatics with genuinely more capable console hardware. And on the handheld front, Nintendo's brand new Game Boy portable arrives neck-and-neck with Atari's Lynx, a device that undeniably possesses more horsepower and a better screen than Game Boy (including color). Some of these competitors would fare better than others, but there's simply no denying that the NES no longer represents the only game in town, both figuratively and literally.
In this episode, I pause a moment to look back at where the NES has been and how it got to the point that it enjoys now, and look at the looming shape of things to come.
Production notes:
Video Works is funded via Patreon ( / gamespite ) - support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its KZbin debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!
Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games (limitedrungame...! SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I is available NOW, and Metroidvania: The First Decade and NES Works Gaiden are due in 2025.
NES footage captured from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4X and 720p with xRGB Mini Framemeister.

[@chrisd6287]

This is by far the best retro based show on YT. The content and commentary is much more thoughtful than the standard fare. Great video as always Jeremy 👍

[@gfdggdfgdgf]

And I'll never not be surprised at the low number of subscribers.

[@JeremyParish]

Ah, I'm too mean to the senile ghost of Ronald Reagan to ever pick up true traction with KZbin's right-leaning algorithm. I keep blaming society's ills on a campaign of deregulation that pandered to the owner caste and dismantled America's middle class instead of correctly decrying the TRUE evil destroying our nation: Women and minorities being allowed to have speaking roles in Star Wars shows

[@eddsoto4233]

I love you lol

[@chrisd6287]

@@JeremyParish 😂😂

[@nekononiaow]

@@JeremyParish I think it's rather lizard-brain-leaning than right-leaning but in the end that leads to the same result so please forgive me for splitting hairs.

[@Sixfortyfive]

Cultural saturation so thorough that everyone's grandparents just called all video games "Nintendos" until the turn of the millennium.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

True.

[@mortenera4423]

And some of them still do lol

[@TeruteruBozusama]

​@@mortenera4423quite a few of my relatives do, and we aren't even American!

[@chrisd6287]

You are 100% correct! My mom still calls any video game Nintendo. I'll be playing a PC game and she'll walk by and say "oh you and your Nintendo games" or "these Nintendo games look so real now" while im playing a PS5 game. 😂 Oh Mother, never change.

[@psychodiagnostik]

My grandmother called it "intendo".

[@RogerPyoko]

Our house didn't get an NES until the Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt bundle, which was sold around Christmas 1988, meaning I was certainly one of those "Nintendo hit in 1989" kids for sure. I was the bullseye Nintendo of America's marketing was aiming at.

[@HPRshredder]

11:52 - lol I didn't grow up with the 80s Nintendo marketing, but it must've hit different, because the impact it had on people's personas is plainly visible. That style will seemingly never die. I never owned or subscribed to Nintendo Power, but I recently ordered an issue on eBay. Issue no.249 -- the Spirit Tracks one. Only really got it because I like Spirit Tracks and wanted to see what an issue was like. Makes me wish I had gotten into it sooner. Magazines are comfy. It made me miss the guitar and LEGO magazines I had as a kid.

[@Davidka_I]

Your absolute mastery of the subject matter - "this was precisely the sort of cultural localization quark of the 8-bit era that resulted in playground rumors and deep-seated obsessions..." (11:56). No one who wasn't there would know about this or document it so well. What a great channel.

[@JeremyParish]

Honestly that bit was just an act of autobiography

[@charon59]

Jeremy, as much as I love your videos, they can't help but rekindle my resentment towards my dad who threw out my collection of magazines and other parapheneilia from that era. Every shot of of a Nintendo Power or EGM or GamePro elicits a "GODDAMMIT DAD, I HAD THAT!" from me. It's not YOUR fault, but I need to direct my anger SOMEWHERE! :P

[@OKeijiDragon]

What an inconsiderate dick! Sorry that happened. 😢

[@Nemo2342]

As a kid I ended up with a ton Nintendo merch before we ever could afford an actual Nintendo. The cartoons really hooked you as a kid.

[@joeboo8626]

We had an Atari 2600 growing up in West Germany. In 1989 my parents bought an NES. Later that year a friend brought his Sega Genesis to the house. From Pifall! to Rambo III in 8 months. I was inpressed by NES for only one year, 1989.

[@JoshuaOwens]

When I was like 3 my dad hooked up his old 2600 and I played it a lot, then one day we went straight to snes. 2600 Donkey Kong and Mario Bros arcade game to Mario World was the biggest leap I'll ever see even more than 3d. Something having detail was incredible.

[@jessragan6714]

You'd have been even less impressed if you played ITS version of Pitfall.

[@joeboo8626]

2600 straight to SNES? You win.

[@winstonslone2797]

I was 8 in 1989. I fell hook line and sinker for the Nintendo cerial. It was just lucky charms with Mario and Zelda shapes. I had the Nintendo comics system. As an adult I can appreciate the shit I put my Dad through for these things. I'll give him this I got Zelda 2 and Mario 2 when everyone was fighting over the few available copies. To this day he will not discuss where the games came from. I'm sure it involves something illegal that could still carry consciences today. Maybe he just wants to preserve the magic for me even though I'm in my 40s. Thanks Pop

[@kennethchia4194]

"Nin-ten-do ... Two cereals in one!" Good lord, how do I still remember that commercial jingle.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

It's a cereal... WOW!

[@targuscinco]

It's for break-fast now!

[@danreitzdotcom]

I can still taste it

[@Scarybug]

Super Mario JUMPS!

[@WalrusFPGA]

The description of cereal as a "bowl of extruded corn paste" was hilarious. Great form as always, Mr. Parish. 🤣

[@pauldyson8098]

My sister found a blue Princess in a pack of Mario fruit snacks; she mailed it in for a t-shirt.

[@longshotomega4258]

This owns! So lucky!

[@Big_Dai]

What was the t-shirt about?

[@tidq]

Nintendo’s extensive license-selling definitely worked on me. I subscribed to Nintendo Power, watched the Captain N, Mario Bros, and Legend of Zelda cartoons, and I had my parents buy me the cereal. Wasn’t until 1996 that I even dared to get a non-Nintendo console.

[@mortenera4423]

Let me guess, it was the PS1? lol

[@bluespaceman7937]

I had a similar experience. I didn't even get a PS1 until 1999. The N64 wasn't a terrible console, but it didn't have the types of games that I really wanted to play.

[@therealjaystone2344]

@@bluespaceman7937the n64 lineup was boring espaclly today with their NSO lineup for the console

[@duhdeedee]

@@therealjaystone2344 Of all Nintendo's consoles N64 is for die-hard Nintendo nerds and practically noone else (Virtual Boy separates the die-hards from the masochists)

[@PerfectAgent]

If the cut to Pit at 8:45 ish while mentioning "the more literate among the youth set" was intentional.... well done.

[@JeremyParish]

Literaticus

[@MCastleberry1980]

I also want to add, as someone with a degree in history, i really do appreciate how well researched this series has been while adding context we all didn't know as kids to paint such a great picture of gaming in this era.

[@JeremyParish]

Sadly, this series isn't really researched, I just try to sound authoritative about my personal memories

[@MCastleberry1980]

@JeremyParish well congrats on your ability to pull that off then lol I found most of my research papers were some decent quotes from primary and secondary sources filled out by really confident assertions about them.

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

I've been binge watching tons of your old videos. KZbin was right on top of getting this new episode in my feed. Heck yeah!

[@stopmikeandjim3196]

8:13 I was 10 and was the exact target market for the cereal at the time. I pestered my mom to buy a box for me, and by far the best thing about it was the packaging. I remember that the cereal itself was far more dry and stale tasting than any other I had ever tried to that point

[@digamejh]

I wasn't even allowed to try it (or Lucky Charms or Cookie Crisp or any of that)

[@jasonblalock4429]

12:20 VG&CE was actually my favorite gaming magazine back in the day. Even as a kid, I recognized how fluffy most of the magazines like GamePro and EGM were. As you say, VG&CE was a bit dry, but they had real industry coverage and more even-handed reviews. Plus, I was gaming on PC along with NES, so their 'twofer' strategy was perfect for me. (Also, digging up old issues on RetroMags, it's the only one that doesn't make me roll my eyes, re-reading as an adult, haha.)

[@NAJ0202]

Yeah, my dad bought me my first issue of VG&CE when he saw it for sale in a gift shop, because it had Zelda 2 on the cover. I got a subscription soon after, and it was so different from other game magazines, especially given the coverage of PC games. I'm pretty sure the first time I ever heard about visual novels is from the slightly racy ads for early VNs in the back of VG&CE. Such a fascinatingly important little touchstone from that era of gaming. Great memories.

[@jessragan6714]

No, really, this guy has it right. VG&CE found a sweet spot between the saccharine pandering of EGM and the pompous idiocy of Next Generation. Smart, but humble, and quietly charismatic. The ultimate video game magazine for readers who wanted to read something worthwhile.

[@rsmith02]

​@@jessragan6714Next Generation came a decade later for those of us who aged out of Nintendo Power and were reading magazines like Wired to understand the implications of the new internet on society.

[@Questorps7]

Fantastic video, a step above even your usual content. I watched twice just to make sure I absorbed it all.

[@michaelpuglisi6767]

Videos like this just epitomize the eye this series has shown to showcasing the history of the console industry that has made it stand head and shoulders over any other coverage I’ve found on this site. Always looking forward to what comes next!

[@JohahnDiechter]

The initial launch games of the Genesis blew my mind at the time. I especially remember Phantasy Star 2 being so impressive as I had just ben introduced to Dragon Warrior a month earlier.

[@BasementBrothers]

I think the idea for the dual-sided Mario/Zelda cereal box must have come from Ralston's similar dual-sided Nerds cereal box, which contained two different flavors.

[@ShadowEl]

I was subscribed to GamePro in the early-mid 2000s and "sleek looking but superficial" described it even then.

[@robintst]

I still have that big hardback comic book somewhere, I used to reread the crap out of the Zelda comics. Nintendo really was a lifestyle back then, I don't think we really grasped just how hard they had us by the balls. For the young audience now, they love it but it's not their end all be all, for us it was a craze.

[@NAJ0202]

Only Turtle Mania truly rivaled the power of Nintendo back in the day.

[@robintst]

@@NAJ0202 Oh god, yes, that was our whole lives. Then mix the two with the Turtles NES games, nothing was better than that to us.

[@mightypotato]

7:00 Hostess Munchies? Core Canadian memory unlocked

[@ralang999]

Cuz when you got the Munchies nothing else will do!

[@anonymouskaiju9101]

You know even though this video ends with you announcing several weeks to months of master system videos, this video kinda feels like the start of the long road to SNES works (assuming you hadn't made the 1991 season already). Since we're finally at the point where the NES's age and success is catching up to it.

[@steveroberts7080]

Yes the NES was indeed everything in 1989. We got our console for Christmas of 1988 and I was 8 years old - it literally changed my life. If that sounds dramatic, it really isn’t. I still use the ultra-precise hand-eye coordination skills honed on Ninja Gaiden and Mega Man 2 very frequently, as I perform eye surgery procedures 1-2 days a week.

[@longshotomega4258]

I always look foward to your uploads but this episode in particular is very invocative of some long dormant and bittersweet feelings of nostalgia. Thank you

[@DaneeBound]

This episode could also be accurately titled "NES Quo Vadis"

[@MCastleberry1980]

I really can't think of a comparable "school yard zeitgeist" as the peak of Nintendomania. Really shows what dominating a market practically unopposed can do. Our collective nostalgia is tied directly to marketing and ruthless business practices.

[@masonasaro2118]

pokémania is a close second

[@JeremyParish]

Yeah, based on my various nephews' and cousins' experiences, I 100% feel that Pokémon, Minecraft, and a few other gaming trends through the years have captured the same "everyone talking about the same thing at once in the school yard" feel as NES. Probably moreso-video games were pretty uncool in 1989, so it was only us nerds talking about them.

[@teruienages962]

I used to doodle Mario 2 enemies all over the inside of my school textbooks

[@MCastleberry1980]

@JeremyParish I was just young enough that all the marketing was targeted directly at me, so grade school kids in that period were pretty much all obsessed with Nintendo. By the time I was in high school we were in the PS1 era of mature games, so gaming was cool for that age group as well more or less.

[@deathtone1614]

Got my first nes when I was five during Christmas of 89. Most of the games I would acquire were used but some how I was lucky enough not to get any shovelware. Despite never having any magazines or help from someone telling me what to get.

[@bxsolx5086]

I had a couple of animation cels from the Donkey Kong cereal commercial featuring the old Jumpman design of Mario.

[@mootbooxle]

This was an excellent nostalgia trip back to the late 80s!

[@supercrownjosie7732]

I am SO excited for Genesis Works. what a truly strange library awaits you.

[@rocklobster28]

The memories just came flooding back. I owned so many of these comics, cereal, books, toys, magazines, etc. (I still may have most of these boxed away somewhere). Great work, as always!

[@EllaNinto55]

god this project is massive. just covering all of console and handheld gaming at this point, I love it. looking forward to watching these as long as you make them

[@jackill2611]

Thank you sir! The amount of work for this episode should be colossal

[@krad2520]

This type of video is fantastic for placing other videos (and the games covered therein) in their proper contexts, really perfect supplementary material

[@frankschuler2867]

I spent some time straightening up the basement this week and came across my old game systems...the NES still has Mega Man 2 in it, lol. I need to finish that game someday... You're absolutely right, the NES was a juggernaut in its day. And, there are plenty of those games that still hold up today. SMB3 is a masterpiece, and it absolutely lived up to the hype. I never have set up a videogaming mancave...might be able to do that now. I love your channel! Keep up the great work!

[@nfugitt89]

While more profitable years would be coming decades later, one could argue this was not just Peak NES but Peak Nintendo

[@JeremyParish]

I agree if we include 1990 in there. So much incredible stuff coming in 1990... although there's a much higher percentage of trash, too.

[@NiceTryLaoChe]

Certainly for that generation, "Nintendo" meant "video games" and vice versa. It's a very short list of brands that become synonymous with a whole industry.

[@teruienages962]

Not at all. The mid to late SNES era and then the Wii are peak Nintendo.

[@therealjaystone2344]

Fun fact: 1989 being peak was Nintendo’s 100rh anniversary and their greatest anniversary ever than any other game anniversaries for the company

[@therealjaystone2344]

@@teruienages962SNES era was the console war era and the Wii was the brand era (for the worst)

[@RabbitEarsCh]

In my home country, where the NES had no official release whatsoever, people were still calling every video game system "a Nintendo" until the 2010s. Then again, where I come from we also call all cereals Corn Flakes (pronounced/spelled confléis) so maybe we're just really prone to this sort of thing.

[@dleone]

Truly a different time. I remember going to the grocery store, which had an entire video games section with consoles and games for the NES, 5200, 7800 and PC games.

[@broy8172]

Those Game Player's Game Tapes are very funny...and have a weird quirk -- they fade out during the end boss (or earlier) and usually have very little advice on the final boss. Have to wonder if that was a preemptive move or if they put out something with game endings and got a call from Nintendo's lawyers about it? Edit: also time is a flat circle in that regard lol thank you for keeping up this very binge-worthy channel!

[@JoshSmith-ff8dw]

Keep up the fantastic work Jeremy. Still the best long-running series on the platform.

[@jessragan6714]

This video game video was really good, man. A thorough and deliberate examination of the NES as it entered the 1990s. This could be in history books.

[@JeremyParish]

Thanks, Jess.

[@KnivesOut86]

The year that we got our NES and nothing got more of my attention

[@fireresq7]

Great episode!!!1989 was such a great year!!!

[@rottenparts]

That cereal was amazing! There was definitely nothing else like it available at the time.

[@andrewkaye2108]

I must say, you are always on the spot with your info sir. I mean, your info on the lack of video game magazines, until Nintendo Power is right on the money. I was there. I remember how happy I was to get that first issue of The Nintendo Fun Club, as it had complete maps of both quests of The Legend of Zelda. Which I NEEDED! Lol. 😅

[@Brayniac]

1989 really makes sense as the peak year, it was the year I discovered that video games existed and played them (SMB) for the first time. I wouldn't actually get the NES until early 1990 but 89 lit the spark.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

I was 10 and from my limited world experience, yes, Nintendo seemed to rule. Solid games, loads of fun, no drama (yet) and lots to look forward to.

[@officialretroshell]

This is a nostalgia trip, thanks for sharing! We will feature this in our weekly retro gaming newsletter (link in bio).

[@mischitary]

Seeing that Mario bubble bath warped me to the past like the dude from the end of Ratatouille. I forgot I even had a memory of that deep in there somewhere.

[@frankieh]

I got that big yellow comic collection on a trip to the city as a very, very young boy. So rad.

[@Mer.Saloon]

4kids (then known as Liesure Concepts) was the licensing company mainly involved in the NES merch saturation. They would eventually show themselves a powerhouse again with Pokemon.

[@teruienages962]

What in gods name are you talking about? 4Kids was literally CREATED with the airing of Pokemon. They did not even exist before that.

[@Mer.Saloon]

@@teruienages962 Whoops. I meant proto 4kids, when they were called Liesure Concepts.

[@marctoad]

Whoa! The Hostess Munchies! My mind completely forgot them and that brand

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

At least Canada gets a nod.

[@luismoura477]

Awesome video. Many thanks ❤

[@nekononiaow]

This notion of "deeply superficial" had me so intrigued that I had to search for it and stumble on the "Deeply Superficial" series (which I was not aware of). Is that sentence a nod to it or a pure quirk of your eternally facetious mind? I hesitate because you seem to have pronounced it without the usual cheekiness that you employ during such sarcastic/cheeky moments. 😉 Thanks for another great info-packed video!

[@superpan218]

1989 was Nintendo's centennial year, which made sense for them to be at their apex. We had The Wizard, which was a glorified Nintendo commercial in the form of a feature-length movie. We had shows like Captain N: The Game Master and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Other movies that year had Nintendo products featured and/or mentioned such as Ghostbusters II and Back to the Future Part 2. Not to mention, the debut of the Game Boy.

[@wusstunes]

Looking forward as was requested

[@tacg99]

This video is such a flashback to my childhood. I ate Nintendo cereal and had Nintendo folders for school. I also watched the Super Mario Bros super show and read Nintendo power. I even had stuffed Mario and Luigi dolls.

[@Riz2336]

I was only 2 years old so it took me a few years to understand what gaming was. I think my older brother was into it at this time though

[@keq64]

I was 4 or 5 when I got my first console - a famicom clone that my cousin didn't want anymore. That was in 1998. So I wasn't exactly impressed by the graphics, but because I got stuck with it for 8 years I learned to love it.

[@JetstreamGW]

Well, some dude on eBay just had a good day given that you reminded me about _The Best of Nintendo Comic System._ A little pricey, but not as high as I was expecting. It was actually reasonable enough to buy, given that it's a 35 year old book :D

[@cristoferxcruz]

Did you get a new camera? The intro clips are extra crispy ✨👍

[@JeremyParish]

At like the beginning of the year?

[@m.steward9146]

I miss the 80s and Trickle-Down economics.

[@campaug]

It’s been a minute since I’ve watched I’ve always listened at work, when did the 240p intro stop?

[@FreshTillDeath56]

If you captured me and forced me to forego all other video games except the NES, I would think you were a bad torturer. The most amazing thing is how many of these games are still playable today! Blades of Steel, NES Open Golf, Kirby's Adventure, Super Mario 3, Monopoly... anything you want, there's at least 3 good games for it.

[@mortenera4423]

Alright then, all videogames except the Atari 2600 😂

[@FreshTillDeath56]

God help you! 😂 ​@@mortenera4423

[@jessebaker2769]

Bit of a clarification/correction to one bit from this video: outside a six issue window (two regular issues and four themed issues that were dedicated to one game each (Super Mario 3, Nnja Gaiden 2, and Final Fantasy) and an issue promoting games for the four player controller splitter), Nintendo Power didn't hit Newstands until later in the late 90s, after the N64 hit the market. As such, Nintendo Power issues, especially 1988-1993 issues) were VERY VERY coveted by kids growing up since you had to have parents with money to get a subscription, let alone buy the back issue bundles that NP offered as the only way to get the earlier issues.

[@maxrage2104]

Man I love your videos bro!

[@fangjokerLS]

"Or makes comics about ZILLION." Dang, that one stung. I still got issue #2 of that ZILLION comic from that was just the OVA adapted.

[@misterknightowlandco]

In 89 I was 6. I remember all having to have all the crap that went along with the nes 😂. The cereal was terrible. Those novel sized tip books were all over my schools playground 😂. What a time to be alive. I can still see the big wood box tv, smell the Marlboros in the air, taste that nasty cereal and hear my sister blasting Whitesnake from the stereo in the basement… ‘Merica 😂

[@TheWorstThingEver]

It was the best time of my life. If only I'd had the money to buy all of the games that excited me so when I saw them in Nintendo Power.

[@whatamalike]

I do truly love me some off brand nintendo merchandise from the late 80s

[@AnarchistCookbookOfRiffs]

The golden years of renting VHS and Nintendo games, and buying music on cassette tapes!

[@2dskillz]

Incredible scripting throughout. Great video.

[@80sKids]

5:03 inspired me to make THAT video on scary NES Games 🎃🎃🎃 (You Know Which 😉😉😉)

[@Desmaad]

Is that a Hostess chips ad at 7:02?

[@darktetsuya]

it was a wild time, for sure. I have vague memories of the atari 2600 era stuff, but it was definitely nintendo that cemented my love of videogames! I did try the cereal, though my distaste for fruit flavored cereals didn't help matters, lol. definitely read as much nintendo power as I possibly could! (back at my old home I do have the final issue there somewhere) not to mention all of the other big name mags of the day: EGM, GamePro, VG&CE, with the occasional oddball like game player's. (especially with the impending new consoles from nintendo/sega/nec on the horizon things will definitely be heating up there!! )though most of that secondary merch I don't think I ever owned, though I'm sure I read one of the FX Nine books.

[@davidmreyes77]

The world peaked in 1989.

[@therealjaystone2344]

*1999

[@tec5x5]

First loved the early looks at gaming Mags Second things are about to get wild 1988 and the early months of 89 was the calm before the storm Begun the console wars has

[@Captureman]

For decades my head canon always had it that '89 was indeed the apex of the NES era but it seemed as though the popular thought had 1990 as the peak what with the release of Super Mario Brothers 3. Selfishly I'm pleased that my take on '89 being peak NES is agreed upon by one of the scholars of the 8 bit era.

[@Bubblun1]

Lest we not forget the December 1989 release of The Wizard, bringing that affable Fred Savage (and accompanying Nintendo marketing muscle) to the big screen nationwide. Every playground rumor mill was well stocked with fresh content after kids got their first glimpse of Super Mario Bros 3.

[@JeremyParish]

We are not to December 1989 yet.

[@noemedmedia]

1991: Peak PAL NES :)

[@bernardschaeffer8000]

Great video

[@otakubullfrog1665]

It's weird to think that kids who got into gaming later never got to experience this level of domination by a single console. The PS-2 is probably the closest example you could give them, but that was three generations ago so the youngest gamers probably weren't even around for that either. The Switch is an interesting example because, even though it's outselling other consoles, people don't really think of them as directly competing anymore since Nintendo's modern hardware offerings feel so distinct.

[@MichaelFranceschini]

Jeremy, are you going to come back to your coverage of the 7800 from 1988-onwards?

[@JeremyParish]

はい。

[@changkwangoh]

I most definitely agree! The best era of the NES!

[@switchstancegames]

Awesome video for a great console!

[@Dresdenstl]

Nintendo's merch game was on fire during this time. I remember exactly how that cereal tasted. It was a lot like Berry Kix if memory serves. I had some other things not shown here like the Nintendo Power Game 1990 calendar. It featured some lovably janky 1990s 3D art of characters. I had a board game where you had to spin ladders back and forth to get Mario or Luigi to flip down the rungs. Whoever makes it down to the bottom first wins. Then there were the McDonalds Super Mario 3 Happy Meal toys that most of us probably remember.

[@teruienages962]

I compared it more to Fruit Loops, but yeah that was generally close.

[@Sanqui]

Of course, in my post-eastern bloc country, the NES did not hit in this way, and neither would I have been alive yet to experience it, but I do see a lot of parallels with the well thought out franchising of the Pokémon series at the turn of the millenium. Thanks for the video as always, nobody does American video game history better.

[@mariusamber3237]

This is really interesting, because in Japan this was one of the weaker years for Famicom from what I've seen (in terms of games, at least). I guess the US market can't really be compared to the Japanese market though, what with all the different trends; and even less so with our European market (which I think is a fallacy in itself, since every country does its own thing over here, there's no 'unified' European market). Still, it can't be argued how important 1989 was for Nintendo.

[@JeremyParish]

Yep, PC Engine really caused Famicom to lose steam. I think there were only three or four Famicom titles that topped a million in sales after Super Mario 3 in Oct. 1988. Meanwhile, the NES was surging.

[@JeremyParish]

For context, there were 50-60 Famicom games that sold a million units before SMB3. The Famicom soldiered on until 1994, but the dropoff those last five or six years was real.

[@NEStalgia1985]

Does anyone know if miyamoto worked on the tv game 6 or 15

[@JeremyParish]

By all accounts, no, his first project was designing the case for the Breakout clone that came after the 6 and 15.

[@NEStalgia1985]

@@JeremyParish thanks I knew the video I watched was wrong

[@andremarc1275]

i was born at the perfect year for all of this : 1984

[@ginormousaurus8394]

I was born in the late 1970s and got to play the Atari 2600, the Colecovision, the NES, the Sega Master System, and the Sega Genesis. Video games changed a lot during the 1980s and I appreciate how Jeremy Parish puts games in historical context.

[@ihaveallthecoins2785]

Those were the days.

[@MrCalverino]

I was a 5 yr old kid living my best days of gaming 😀

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

11-12 for me.

[@RemnantCult]

I'm ready for some Sega action now.

[@therealthirst8099]

Sega in 1990 is to Nintendo what Buster Douglas was to Mike Tyson that same year.

[@willmistretta]

Cereal System wasn't a Lucky Charms knockoff, it was a Froot Loops knockoff. Like all supposed fruit flavor cereals, it tasted like I imagine scented candles do. Give me Pac-Man Cereal any day: Kix with Lucky Charms marshmallows!

[@MrCalverino]

I loved em 😹

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I miss Pac-Man cereal.

[@d.b.gaston665]

I had the Mario/Zelda cereal one time as a kid and thought it was pretty bad.