Episode 51: An oral history of the NES

Jeremy Parish October 27, 2015 5:19 AM Read + Mission control for ; former EIC of http://1UP.com and http://USgamer.net ; taking dapper (and frogs) back from the Nazis.

Hi kids, sorry this episode is a day late going up here on the ol' blog. I ended up folding this Retronauts into a not-so-coincidentally timed USgamer cover story, because it dovetailed so well with that feature. But of course, you cool people are all subscribed to our podcast feed or back us on Patreon, right? So you've already listened to this episode and the post here is a mere formality, I'm sure.

Anyway! This episode covers a topic near and dear to everyone's heart, I have no doubt: The U.S. launch of the NES. Yeah, we talked about the system's Japanese debut waaaay back in Season III Episode 1, but this is (1) a different facet of the console's life, and (2) this episode features and entirely different cast of expert opinions. And I do mean expert! Guests this time around:

Frank Cifaldi, now of Digital Eclipse and once and former Retronauts co-host (returning at long last to the show, although we actually have already recorded an episode with him that simply has yet to be published);

Steve Lin, who does work in the media but has a remarkable collection not just of classic games but also of the sort of valuable historical ephemera that no one else really keeps up with—flyers, ads, and even more esoteric and cool stuff (as you'll hear in this episode);

Gary Butterfield of Watch Out for Fireballs, returning guest with lots of brilliant insights into classic NES games;

and Bob Mackey, obviously. I mean, come on.

Sadly I wasn't able to wrangle everyone into a single room, because this was recorded guerrilla style at Portland Retro Gaming Expo last weekend. Instead, the episode features a series of one-on-one conversations between myself and each guest. I think this format works a little better for Micros, but it's still a pretty good episode, with lots of great insights and anecdotes from each participant. I apologize for the occasional overlap in my own remarks... kind of hard to avoid that given the nature of the show. But if you can bear with the occasional rehashed remark, I think you'll find lots to enjoy here. So, please do enjoy.

Download Links

Libsyn (1:34:26 | MP3 Download | SoundCloud )

Episode Description

Live at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, Jeremy speaks one-on-one with podcast friends Frank Cifaldi, Gary Butterfield, Steve Lin, and of course our own Bob Mackey about the weekend's big commemorative event: The NES's 30th anniversary.

And please, for the love of all that's good, be sure to check out my Masayuki Uemura profile/NES retrospective/expanded oral history cover story at USgamer. As I said on Twitter, I've written a lot about the NES over the years (A LOT), but this is by far the single best piece I've ever put together. If this thing doesn't get 100,000 views, it's because the world is a cold and empty shell of bitter regrets that deserves to explode. So be sure to share the link with your friends, for the benefit of all life on this planet.

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