Halo. Gears of War. Dead Island. Heck, even Madden.
These modern games all feature commercials of high quality production. They offer gameplay, pre-rendered FMV, and licensed music to showcase the games. What they don’t offer, however, is the undeniable cheese that came along with the commercials of the Eighties. You see, modern games advertising wants to be serious, fighting to be recognized as a meaningful art form along film and literature.
Back in 1987 it was all about blowing shit up. It was also about showing nerdy kids playing and enjoying the games, something you don’t see too often these days, sans Dance Central or Wii Sports Resort clips. That’s why today we look back at some of the best that games advertising on the boob tube had to offer in the days when MTV was relevant. The video above, obviously, is heavy on bad Zelda raps, while the one below scarred future Gen-Yers for life.
Here’s a little “Super Mayrio 2” for you. Now you’re playing with power:
Speaking of Mario… “Maaaaaario, where are you?” That’s the cry uttered by Luigi as he’s grabbed by a claw and pulled into a pipe, all for this advertisement for Mario Bros from… Atari?
Apparently, Nintendo of Australia was run by Daleks.
Mario + Zelda + marshmallows = The Nintendo Cereal System.
You can do the Pac-Man to his cereal, which was a far better taste than Nintendo’s.
Nintendo wasn’t the only console in town, and the Sega Master System looked much more appealing in this commercial than it did in real life. What level can YOU get to?
The Sega Master System featured some of the first 3D gaming, well before the PS3 and the 3DS.
Tetris came packed-in with the Gameboy, and had quite possibly the most infectious theme ever. To top it off, the Gameboy was the weapon of choice for dancing Cybermen.
We know there are more out there, so feel free to share in the comments below.
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