Showing posts with label Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64 print ad (1996). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64 print ad (1996). Show all posts

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64 (1996)

Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64 advertisement


Original ad published in the October 1996 issue  

of Electronic Gaming Monthly (no. 87).

Read below for the full HD version of the file.


A 3-D revolution for the non-CD gaming masses


What can I possibly say about Super Mario 64? It’s only the most influential video game of all time, having spawned thousands of 3-D action-platforming clones between 1996 and the publishing date of this entry. It’s also, without any doubt, the best pack-in game for any console. Having said that, and hoping you can understand where I’m coming from, I must confess I’ve never really sunk my teeth into it. Let me explain.

You see, about 20 years ago I stopped playing video games. Different personal matters where involved in that decision, most importantly my lack of economic means to buy yet another console by Nintendo, a brand I had loved since the NES days. The attractive $199 launch price of the Nintendo 64 was not enough to rekindle my interest in the pixelated world. I had recently found other, less healthy hobbies and relations that where quite expensive. 

I’m sure everyone has passed through this phase one time or another. It’s the young adulthood stage of life, where nothing makes sense yet everything seems incredibly important lest you miss what everyone else is doing. The cool kids where obviously not playing video games. So I pushed my favourite hobby away. I also pushed some good friends and family members away.

Fortunately, I now find myself in a much calmer, more mature period in life. Maybe I’ll knock the dust off my little sisters Mario 64 cart and fire up the venerable grey machine. Maybe I’ll even play another game called “The Legend of Zelda. Ocarina of Time”. It also seems pretty good ;] , but, just as Mario’s foray into the third dimension, I’ve never had the time to play it as it deserves.




And we’re back…

Here’s a random list of superb Mario games I found on the net. I will obviously have the 64 chapter in the higher spots. Oh, and here’s a comprehensive Mario database of absolutely everything you ever wanted to know about the moustachioed Italian plumber. 

The ad you see above features impressive marksmanship from Nintendo. They were not kidding when they advertised their new Mario by calling it a revolution. It was featured in paged A2 and A3, just after the cover the magazine, slots reserved for the more expensive ads of practically every published material. 

The ad manages to capture you attention by making Mario move in positions you never had seen him up to 1996. This is a 3-D Mario, not the usual 2-D sprite you had burned into your retina for the last 10 years!

It also presents gamers with a completely new controller for the more powerful 64 bit console, an evolutionary leap from the conventional d-pad included with Nintendo’s 8 and 16 bit machines. Just check out those magnificent screen shots from the actual game at the bottom of the page (and Bowser's peek-a-boo stance at the top right). Typography is also standout, very identifiable.

The advertisement was intriguing, to say the least. And even though Nintendo’s non-CD system lost out to Sony’s PlayStation, the campaign leading up the launch to the Big N’s machine became a mouth-watering proposition.

Here's the full HD version of the Mario 64 print ad you see above.




Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64 print ad copy


The way he moves now, you better have a double-jointed thumb.

Introducing Super Mario 64. A total revolution in more ways than one. Coming Sept. 30 to a screen near you.

Nintendo 64