The 1990s were something of a golden age for video game advertising. Adjectives like “extreme” were thrown around a lot, and images of TV screens showing amazing things shocked gamers, who were literally getting blown away.
Today, Nintendo announced that later this year, it’ll release the SNES Classic — a mini version of the 1991 hit gaming console Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The announcement of the SNES Classic is giving plenty of people a nostalgic trip to the 1990s and some of the most beloved and well-regarded video games ever made.
But it’s also a great reminder of what the video game landscape was like, including a different era of awesome ads — like the one above.
The ad shows a Super Nintendo hooked up to a giant screen at a drive-in theater, with its amazing video game offerings drawing awestruck people from all over to come witness the Super Nintendo in action.
A bunch of amazing, new SNES titles were promoted, like “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past” and “F-Zero.” It’s almost creepy how prescient the ad is, since many of the games would go on to be some of the best-regarded titles in video games. In fact, several of the games featured in the ad are included in the newly announced SNES Classic.
But the best part is how the ad presents a look into the early career of actor Paul Rudd, who plays the lucky gamer who gets to put hands on the SNES. And featured as the narrator of the ad is the late, great Tony Jay, well-known for his voice acting roles in “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
It might be more than 25 years later, but the games Rudd used to blow the socks off all the kids in the neighborhood are still major draws… just ask everyone who’s excited about Nintendo’s SNES Classic announcement.