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Game Ads of Yesteryear

60 bits of olde tyme game propaganda we dug out of our closets

Words: Henry Gilbert, GamesRadar US

All the editors at GamesRadar are huge nerds and have been since birth. For example, during the holiday break we visited our parents and dove into the closet to read our old comic books. What we found was both disappointing and exciting. Even though the ROM comics were embarrassingly made and much worse than we remember, the ads for video games inside were also much worse and poorly made than we recalled, but in a good way.

So we scooped up our memories, took them on the flight home, scanned them over several hours, and share them with you now. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Special thanks to Chris Antista for his amazing additions.



Above: No game has ever made anyone that happy

 


Above: You had a “helped wanted” ad for your secret Death Star mission? No wonder the Emperor saw it coming

 


Above: But then Larsen realized his life was a hollow lie based around games and riddles. His body was found in his studio apartment this morning

 


Above: That’s right kids, to get strong like Popeye play Atari and punch glass bottle every day

 


Above: We prefer Kool-Aid points to Microsoft Points. And yes, those are controllers they’re holding

 


Above: Battlezone trained child soldiers the world over

 


Above: "Simply remove the cart from all eight of your consoles"

 


Above: A future with lasers, but they never improved on the helicopter

 


Above: Is this an ad for a game or the Yellow Submarine?

 


Above: This ad proposes that being on the moon is just like an arcade. A bold stance indeed

 


Above: One word says more than a screenshot ever could

 


Above: Live your dream of riding a jet ski while extremely close to a sci-fi Christ figure


 
37 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
babo_u_da  - 9 months 18 days ago 
i can't choose which one is my favorite out of these the mario ad or the final fantasy mystic quest ad..
lava_lamp  - 9 months 18 days ago 
A KOOL-AID MAN GAME!
THATS AMAZING!
Gahmah  - 9 months 18 days ago 
I thought Henry Gilbert was the guy on the star wars box for a moment
ssj4raditz  - 9 months 18 days ago 
FABIO! I just knew Iron Sword had to be in this.
Corsair89  - 9 months 18 days ago 
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest ad was my favorite.
RebornKusabi  - 9 months 18 days ago 
*Sees Silver Surfer ad for the NES*

Oh my GOD I hate this fucking game!!!!! Seriously, if you value your soul then you might want to stay the fucking hell away from this devil-spawn of a game!
kingpin202  - 9 months 18 days ago 
Is it sad that I remember a few of these? lol.

Especially the TNMT one. lol.
ELpork  - 9 months 18 days ago 
Kwirk makes me think of the 7 up dude.
GamesRadarCharlieBarratt  - 9 months 18 days ago 
"Danny Wimpasinger"? That is the best name ever.
lava_lamp  - 9 months 18 days ago 
>Is this an ad for a game or the Yellow Submarine?

lmao i love that movie
PCG_Evan  - 9 months 18 days ago 
Good stuff. I like when Robocop strangled the dragon to grab his book of the shelf.
reyalejandro13  - 9 months 18 days ago 
GASP!!! Mario, in a movie AND a ceral?!?!? That's impossible? and incredibly disturbing. I never knew that mario tasted like fruit. Oh, and all badass final fantasy games had something to do with cows...
HungryBeaver  - 9 months 18 days ago 
Kool Aid game? I wanna play that. Holy crap cool!
CountFenring  - 9 months 18 days ago 
That is NOT a Super Cobra. They look like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AH-1_SuperCobra It was around for 12 (!) years before the game.
Craza  - 9 months 18 days ago 
I love these old school articles you have GR, it really helps me get in touch with the era of gaming that I wasn't alive for. :P
mrmak  - 9 months 18 days ago 
"Ready, Aim, Punish!"

No other phrase flows as well as this.
FourMe2PoopOn  - 9 months 18 days ago 
I want that Kool-Aid game......Like seriously.
zymn  - 9 months 18 days ago 
when that one ad said Gary Larsen, i thought they meant Gary LARSON...
you know, the guy who made The Far Side...
it was a comic strip in the 80s/90s?
never heard of it?
then go die.
zymn  - 9 months 18 days ago 
ahaha, i should scan in the ads from my old Nintendo Power mags. you guys forgot the dude in the ballerina outfit! :P

and the SNES in the ice cube!
may.be.vital  - 9 months 17 days ago 
I lol'd at the Mario breakfast and Decapattack ads
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