Author Carlo Carrasco

Welcome back readers, fellow geeks and electronic gaming fans!

In this edition of the Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) series, we will take a look at another batch of retro gaming print ads from the 1980s to the 1990s.

For the newcomers reading this, Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) looks back at the many print ads of games (console, arcade, computer and handheld) that were published in comic books, magazines, flyers, posters and newspapers long before smartphones, social media, the worldwide web and streaming became popular. To put things in perspective, people back in the 1980s to the 1990s were more trusting of print media for information and images about electronic games and related products.

With those details laid down, here is the newest batch of retro gaming print ads for you to see and enjoy…

1. Taito’s 4-in-1 Print Ad

There is nothing like taking the clever approach of promoting multiple video games using only one single print ad in the size of a single page. Taito did exactly that in the 1980s when it promoted Elevator Action, The Legend of Kage, Arkanoid and Renegade for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) promising excitement as the mentioned games were making the jump from arcade to console. What is very notable in Taito’s single-page print ad was that it did not show any screenshots of the games. Instead, they used hand-drawn artwork to emphasize each game’s theme or setting, and leave it up to the viewers’ imagination as to how those games would look like on NES. This old ad is intriguing and amusing at the same time.  

2. Chase H.Q. II: Special Criminal Investigation Print Ad

Following the huge success of the original Chase H.Q. on both arcade and consoles in the late-1980s, the sequel Special Crime Investigation was released in the arcades in 1989 and ported to game consoles and computers in the early 1990s under the title Chase H.Q. II: Special Criminal Investigation. To promote Chase H.Q. II: Special Criminal Investigation for home computers, game publisher Ocean came up with a colorful print ad showcasing a few cars, a city background and elements of gun-related action presented in nice art. The ad has an image of the original arcade machine to remind gamers that they are playing the sequel to Chase H.Q.

3. Dancing Eyes Japanese Arcade Flyer

Released by Namco in Japan in 1996, Dancing Eyes is a puzzle arcade game that became notorious due to its overtly sexual nature. With the way it was designed, players control a small monkey called Urusu-San and crawl along a 3D grid mapped over characters (mostly ladies) or various objects. If the 3D grid is mapped over a young lady, any tile of the grid destroyed by the player exposes the lady’s underwear or skin. Such sexuality is reflected in the arcade flyer of Dancing Eyes which has a suggestive hand-drawn art on the front while the game’s mechanics are explained in the rear. Even the rear of the flyer shows sexual nature of the game with screenshots. While the game was officially released only in Japan, Dancing Eyes actually was made available for gamers to play at the arcade of X-Site amusement center inside Festival Mall in Alabang during the early 2000s and it attracted a lot of guys. I bet Namco did not know about that.

4. Sega Saturn North American Print Ad

When the Sega launched the Saturn console in America roughly four months ahead of schedule in 1995, the company suffered as the sales were disappointing, ties with business partners were strained and the available Saturn games were very few. By the fourth quarter of that year, more games became available for the Saturn and this gave Sega the opportunity to aggressively market the console as the one that gamers should get for their enjoyment. To promote the Saturn, Sega came up with a two-page print ad that had a dominant image of a naked woman whose private parts were cleverly covered by screenshots of the available games. Since most gamers were predominantly male from teenagers to adults, it made sense for Sega to come up with an eye-catching sexy ad to promote their console and the video games (including those from other companies). This old ad is considered by the woke and rabid feminists as very offensive today.

5. Blockbuster Video Print Ad

Back in the late 20^th century, Blockbuster Video was the dominant retailer that offered customers movies in home video format for sale and for rent. Along the way, the company offered video game rentals and attracted millions of gamers around the nation. Given the tremendous growth of video gaming in America in the 1990s, Blockbuster got itself more involved by launching the Games of Summer Sweepstakes in 1996. Utilizing print ads, the sweepstakes offered the Ultimate Game Rooms – composed of a 41-inch big-screen TV, Surround Sound speakers, hi-fi VCR, NBA Jame Extreme arcade game, the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation, a gaming chair, Acclaim games for Saturn and PlayStation, and a 1-year free Blockbuster Video game rentals privilege – as the grand prizes. Do you know anyone who won in Blockbuster’s sweepstakes?

6. Independence Day (ID4) Print Ad

Remember how big a blockbuster Independence Day (ID4) was in cinemas in 1996? The film grossed over $800 million worldwide and it revived the disaster movie genre using modern filmmaking techniques and the latest technologies of the decade. Given the massive success of the movie, it was not surprising that an official video game adaptation was released in 1997. To promote the game, Fox Interactive (the video game company of the movie studio behind the film) came up with a 2-page print ad using official artwork from the movie showcasing the alien spaceship being attacked by a military fighter plane. The ad showed only 3 screenshots and the descriptive text was written to make gamers feel like they have the role to lead Earth’s fight against the aliens. While the art looks good, it can only go so far to hide the mediocrity of the game itself.

7. GoldenEye 007 Print Ad

When GoldenEye achieved both critical and financial success in movies, it revived the James Bond movie franchise big-time and Pierce Brosnan was easily accepted by the public as the newest Agent 007. Several months before the movie was even released, an official video game adaptation started development. After much revisions and hard adjustments, the project evolved into a first-person shooting game for the Nintendo 64 console titled GoldenEye 007. To promote the game, Nintendo came up with a 2-page print ad that cleverly showed Brosnan as James Bond on the left and displayed the screenshots and other details on the right. This ad was easily eye-catching and it made lots of gamers excited. As history showed, GoldenEye 007 got released in 1997 and became a huge critical and commercial success while also proving that first-person shooters on game consoles can be a lot of fun.

8. North American Sega Saturn Games Promo Print Ad

As mentioned earlier, the Sega Saturn had a bad launch in America in 1995 which caused a lot of problems for the company. In 1996, Sega of America went on the offensive to really capture gamers’ attention by launching their Saturn games promo. The message of this 2-page print ad was very clear…Sega offered one free first-party game (limited to four specific games including Nights into Dreams) to those who bought two games (from a lineup of twelve specific titles). It should be noted that the Christmas season of 1996 was the most successful sales period of the Sega Saturn in America as gamers really responded to the promo. Even though some called this promo an act of desperation, nothing changes the fact that Sega succeeded during the most critical sales season of 1996.

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