Back in the early 1990s, I was one of several anchors on a local kids news program called Kidsmag! That is not in and of itself an interesting fact (unless you're among the many rabid Justin McElroy historical completionists). But Kidsmag! producer Chuck Minsker was an old-school game nerd who jammed the show full of gaming coverage, which is the reason I'm able to share the above tour of the 1992 Consumer Electronics Show with you.
CES, if you weren't aware, was the trade show for gaming until E3 launched in 1995. It was also a far less flashy affair, as you'll soon see. The clip is loaded down with too many amazing moments to list, but to highlight a few:
- A Sega rep saying that "CD games" made video games look like "puppet theater"
- The disembodied voice of Charles Martinet greeting Kidsmag!
- The reveal of Mario Paint
- Booths for Sunsoft, Ocean and Tradewest
- CHAKAN THE FOREVER MAN
I could go on, but you're really going to want to watch for yourself. Also, here's a double super bonus — my review of The Rocketeer, also for Kidsmag!
While not as nostalgia-packed as the CES clip, I manage to pack in:
- Complaints about how much space it took on my hard drive
- A synopsis of every level in the game
- Cheat codes
- Giant, warning-free spoilers for The Rocketeer movie
- The phrase "the infamous zeppelin"
Enjoy.
