What would the world of video games without Nintendo? Yet Mario’s house was not always well known. Indeed, in 1980 it was so unknown in the West that the authors of her first US commercial also avoided naming her. The reason is quite clear: doing it or not would not have changed the sales of the product, which moreover had been licensed. Which product, if so? This is a Game & Watch LCD, originally called Ball, better known by enthusiasts of these devices as Mego “Time-Out” Toss-Up in its US version.
A nice find
The commercial was recovered by Chris Kohler of Digital Eclipse and The Video Game History Foundation. According to Kohler, Nintendo licensed the game to Mego along with those for Exterminator (Vermin), Fireman Fireman (Fire) and Flag Man (Flagman). The Mario house logo was engraved on the back of each Mego Game & Watch, but is not visible in the commercial.
Kohler said that Mego made TV commercials for these games, with Ball’s being probably the first for a Nintendo product to be broadcast outside of Japan. “While browsing eBay one day, I came across a reel containing a commercial for Time-Out, the first game in the series,” Kohler said. “I made an agreement with the seller and delivered the film to VGHF immediately after receiving it. The box states that the film is attributed to “Lion Rock Ltd.”, which was a division of Mego. It is dated June 25, 1980, a few months after the formation of Nintendo of America.”
The Video Game History Foundation believes this to be “the first American commercial for a Nintendo product” and explains that “the footage was in poor condition, but our film supplier, Movette Film Transfer, was able to digitally restore most of it part of the color”.
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