mideast

Lol I just looked up what that is. That's why I didn't use listings from FuncoLand and Play It Again, you never know what they're listing  especially when you used to have to send a check in the mail and hope for the best.

List of Advertisements for Unreleased NES Games

This is a list of 100+ games that were advertised and featured in various magazines and catalogs to be released during the NES lifetime. Some were just mentioned as Coming Soon in ads for other games, while some came so close to release that cover features were printed for them. Many reviews came right after the Winter & Summer CES when publishers would show off their “upcoming” releases. If an advertisement came direct from the publisher it was included with only a mention of the title, but if it came from an article it was included if a screenshot or prototype box accompanied it. This was in order to make this list more visual and not just dozens of title mentions and rumors. There are also times when the journalist may have mistakenly claimed a game was upcoming for the NES when the publisher actually intended for a Game Boy release. 

When it seems that the NES game mentioned was actually released under a different name I didn’t include it (meldac’s Darc Seed became Zombie Nation), but if the whole direction of the game was changed I did include it (Sunsoft’s The Terminator became Journey to Silius). All sources come from US or Canadian publications that were intended for release in the North American market. Games that were given a Famicom or PAL release, while also being advertised in North America, are listed at the end in sub-categories. Found prototypes are indicated in the last column where you can click for more information. Also included is a list of a few alternate covers for released NES games. Some look completely different, while some are just rough sketches put together for the purpose of advertisement. There are also a couple of games that were advertised by one publisher and released under another.

You can click on the name of the magazine for a link to the photo. Many thanks to this comprehensive list by Jeff Davidson from 2002 for help researching!

Unreleased All Regions

Unreleased North America / Released Famicom

Unreleased North America / Released PAL

Alternate Box Covers

Alternate Publishers

Just looked at my issues and it also looks like from issue 65+ they started printing card 140+. I don't see any high numbers before that issue, but I don't see an announcement lol

On 5/20/2020 at 12:53 PM, acidjaguar said:

There is no direct correlation between issue numbers and card numbers unfortunately.  They were just put in randomly to the back of issues.  I would make a guess that there may be certain issue ranges that may contain higher number cards, but never dove into that theory.  

 

Yup it looks like they switched over to the "second set" in issue 53 from October 1993. That's when they stopped doing the contest too. They did cards 1-72 in NP41-52 and cards 73-170 in NP53-69, and it was only for subscribers. This website has more info.

The Bantam Game Mastery Series and World of Power

Another one from Hayden books. From Video Games & Computer Entertainment #21, October 1990.

Were these the absolute first books Prima published? Or were there other video game or non-video game books before this?

Just thought I'd post this here! An early advertisement for the NES/SNES/Genesis era Prima Guides. Found in Game Players issue 56 from February 1994. Thanks to @acidjaguar for the invite to the club!

Great list! I have some additional info. The Acclaim Masters of the Game with Bart vs. The World was included in EGM #90 December 1991 as a supplement. Although, there's an alternate cover with slightly different art and without the "advertising supplement" on the bottom. FCI Screenplay have v.3 Ultima: Quest of the Avatar and v. 4 Ultima: Runes of Virtue covers. Sunsoft Game Time News has a Summer 1990 issue with a Journey to Silius cover. Namco Newsflash's first issue has 1991 in the copyright. Inside EASN's first two issue seem to be from 1992, and the last two from 1993.

I love these kinds of publisher newsletters! That and old video game store catalogs

1 hour ago, scaryice said:

I though I remembered this card being in Game Players Magazine as well, so I looked through my collection and it appears that GP actually got a door hanger instead. However, one seems to have sold for a decent amount too:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MEGA-RARE-1994-Michael-Jordan-EA-PROMO-Chaos-In-The-Windy-City-UNPUNCHED-/402591696506?hash=item5dbc55c67a%3Ag%3AZS0AAOSwsttfy9KX&nma=true&si=BCMgIJd5H%2BZBIZuQT0tWs%2FUjenQ%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Wow I've never seen that one. Any idea what issue? I love early Game Player's Nintendo Buyers Guide. Their format was so unofficial it's endearing.

25 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Lol famicom cart too stronk.

True, I'm proud of my new charms! Lol I just noticed even though you started the website, you didn't cheat your way past anything but Subscriber Level 1 charm.

Looking to get the 50 import games & video game tattoo charms 

19 hours ago, acidjaguar said:

Glad to see you sharing the info @mideast!  I want that Earthworm Jim strategy guide, though.  I don't have that one yet.  That thing looks awesome.  

Gotta spread the wealth of information! Lol there's many strategy guides in your collection I want so we're even

Nice! I kept a good condition copy with the card still attached too. The card doesn't have any sentimental value to me, but it's always nice to have Nintendo Powers and such with the complete posters, maps, and cards attached.

Just a heads up for the magazine collectors out there! There's an issue of GamePro from December 1994 with a Donkey Kong Country cover that has a rare Michael Jordan Upper Deck card included in an uncut sheet. It's a promo card for the SNES game Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. I believe it's considered rare by Michael Jordan collectors because it wasn't sold in packs, it was only available through this issue of GamePro. I was selling a video game magazine lot a while back on eBay and had a Michael Jordan collectibles account suspiciously message me asking if the card was there, so I looked it up. They go for about $150+ on eBay as seen here. I ended up removing the uncut sheet and selling it separately from the lot. Although, it was a slow sell and took many months.

It's funny how video game collectors and sports card collectors may not overlap. So even though you think you know the value of the collectibles you're selling, there might be hidden value in there somewhere! 

I saw your SMB chip post! It seems to me Super Mario Bros was probably intended to be released with the launch titles since they printed PCBs and advertised it with the other ones. Whether it actually hit the shelves on October 18 at FAO Schwarz in NYC seems a mystery. This letter which was posted on NintendoAge from April 24, 1986 lists all the 17 titles including Super Mario Bros as "current game paks" and not "future game paks" coming in 1986.

On another note, these 1988 1st Half Nintendo Merchandising Binder photos have Dragon Warrior listed in the order form for stores. Which seems really early for its August 1989 release.

Nice Target ad! Do you have any info about the date? Looks to be somewhere in 1986 maybe?

And here's Howard Philips full AMA from two years ago. He seems like a real genuine guy and was a great personality for the job. It's kinda funny how it gives the impression it was just a career for the guy, he doesn't know the answer to every "nerdy" Nintendo question. Like in The Simpsons when they're asking the Itchy & Scratchy panel questions at the comic con. Lol

I've been looking up old Nintendo marketing from the NES and SNES days and wanted to post this advertisement that seems to be the first one after the New York launch on October 18, 1985. Credit goes to Frank Cifaldi here for posting the magazine it was from. I found it in the November 4, 1985 issue of New York magazine on Google Books, it's on page 8-9. He thought it was the first NES advertisement at the time but a couple years later he found what he believes to be the first true one from Consumer Electronics magazine January 1985 documented here. That advertised the unveiling of the Advanced Video System, which would become the NES, at the 1985 Winter CES. After more unveiling at the Summer CES and the October 18 limited launch they seemed to have advertised it in New York magazine.

On another note, I'm interested if anyone has scans of early Nintendo Merchandising Binders? I found a bunch of photos sourced from ebay auctions but I'm wondering if any members here have an actual binder that they have hi-res scans of or happen to have better scans in their database. Thanks in advance!

Consumer Electronics - January 1985

New York - November 4, 1985

Nintendo Ad Template for Stores - Christmas 1985

The last template shows 15 games advertised, plus the two pack-in games Duck Hunt and Gyromite to make 17 released in 1985. Interestingly enough Howard Phillips believes Super Mario Bros was released post-launch as answered on a Reddit AMA here. Admittedly, even though a game is advertised it doesn't mean it was actually launched. There's a copy of one of the templates being used by JCPenney in New Jersey, purportedly during Christmas 1985, here in Frank Cifaldi's archive. I would check out the other files in his archive too, they're great.

Great post! I've found your guides very helpful for my collection.

I just wanted to point out though my copy of NFL Quarterback Club 96 does have a wide Acclaim case.

And I've searched ebay and found 3 others with it as well.

Is it possible they released it with the regular Acclaim case and wide case at different times? Thanks!