He's the daddy

As you'll know if you've read the recent Console Wars, back in the early '90s Nintendo was still very much the king of the hill when it came to video games. Sega's time in the sun was yet to come, but the 16-bit Genesis (Mega Drive if you're outside of the US) was already making some waves and by the time Sonic turned up, the tables had turned — Nintendo was on the back foot and Sega was in control.

Before all that occurred however, Tyler Esposito and his father created a home video promo which was intended to convince his relations in New York that they should ditch their NES and pick up the Genesis. Never seen before now, the video is a light-hearted slice of retro-gaming brilliance which is made all the more poignant by the fact that Tyler's father has sadly passed away since its recording in September, 1991.

It's almost impossible not to melt a little inside when you see the five-year-old youth watch in admiration as his energetic father tries to whip up some enthusiasm for the likes of Altered Beast and Last Battle — clearly for the benefit of his offspring. It's also clear that Tyler's dad is the main reason he's still a gamer today — in the footage he describes Alien Storm as one of the best arcade games ever made, something we personally agree with here at Nintendo Life. There's also some amazing dancing at the end, which we highly recommend you stay tuned for.

On a serious note, it's refreshing to watch something about video games which is so disarmingly innocent and free of baggage — something which could prove to be the perfect tonic given the recent issues surrounding our beloved hobby right now.

Give it a watch and let us know if your heart strings were adequately tugged, and also share your own memories of this period of upheaval in the video game industry, when Sega took the fight to the mighty Nintendo — and succeeded against all odds.

[source youtube.com]