Back in the video game boom of the early ’90s, the attitude towards video games was more kid-friendly. They were not the AAA quality epics of storytelling starring a psychopath with a heart of gold. They were still thought of as toys, just with less batteries and fur to deal with. So how did kids find out about the latest releases? Through everyone’s favorite marketing tool, the TV. What show about video games do you miss the most?
This is probably completely lost to time now, but the weekly program dedicated to video games carries a huge dose of fuzzy feelings you can’t get anymore. Sure, you can look up your favorite wrestling game on YouTube, and somebody has done a complete retrospective about the series, but there is no magic to that. When you are stuck with maybe two shows a week that talk about the only thing you like, you try to steep and stew in it as much as you can.
My favorite example for these kinds of shows is GamePro TV. Hosted by J.D. Roth, this was a companion to the GamePro magazine that basically reflected what the book did, featuring tips and tricks, reviews and previews, and all around radness. It also had a major viewer feature, letting kids send in their questions or strategies for games. This time capsule of early ’90s programming is an amazing, if not ridiculous, blast from the past.
My other favorite go-to was Nick Arcade. This was a kid’s game show from 1992 that featured two teams winning prizes, answering questions, and, or course, playing video games. Although, the part where they actually played games was always a little bit off, mostly because they still treated points and high scores as the important factors. There’s four other things to collect in Sonic the Hedgehog that are way more important than the points. The other main selling point to the show was the final challenge, which was basically children wandering through a warehouse, covered in chroma key material, trying to figure out where they were at and what to do to win. It wasn’t impossible, but it was rare to win.
So what about you? Do you miss any of these shows? Which one am I forgetting? *cough* Video Power *cough* Let us drown in nostalgia on the Boss Rush Discord.
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The Boss Rush Podcast
The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, LeRon, Stephanie, Edward, and their friends from around the internet come together to talk their week in games, entertainment, and more while also bringing topics for conversation, answer listener and community questions, and cover major news and events happening in the video game industry. Watch The Boss Rush Podcast live on Wednesday Nights on Twitch at 8:30PM ET / 5:30PM PT or on Monday mornings at 7AM ET on YouTube and podcast services everywhere. Thanks for listening! You can also get this episode one week early on Patreon.
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