When 9-year-old Brandon Kuzma ripped open the wrapping paper on his N64 console way back in 1998, little did he know that his infamous reaction would become an internet sensation a few years later.
The video recording of the most epic of all unboxings has been viewed over 17 million times on YouTube, and has generated all kinds of parodies over the past few years.
Just in case you're somehow not one of those 17 million people, here it is:
Living with that kind of fame must be hard, but you wouldn't know it from the way Brandon and his sister Rachel - who also stars in the video - are handling it. They're all grown up now of course, but rather than shunning their potentially embarrassing legacy they've embraced it by launching www.n64kids.com/, which includes bonus footage from that special day.
Recounting Christmas 1998, Brandon says:
It was a Nintendo! Video games equaled melted brains back then to most parents, and I had just gotten use to the idea that we'd probably never have one in our house. So after the first rip of ironically golden wrapping paper, when we saw the beginning of the 'Nin...,' it caught me so off guard. I went through stages...like the initial shock, happiness, disbelief it was even real. By the time I started smacking the box, I didn't even know what to do anymore. I was just super psyched.
His sister Rachel - often seen as a bit-player in this video - had this to say about the earth-shattering moment:
I think everyone assumes I was only copying my brother and excited for him — but really, the N64 was a huge deal to the both of us. It was something we both had wanted for so long. Getting the N64 really was like a dream come true.
The video has been mocked all over the web, but in our opinion it represents Nintendo fandom in its purest form: unadulterated and unbridled excitement.
Did you unwrap your Wii U on Christmas day to similar scenes? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source mashable.com, via n64kids.com]
Comments 40
"Did you unwrap your Wii U on Christmas day to similar scenes?"
Yeah, from me, except it was on launch
daynight.I was so excited I peed a little.
I completely relate to Brandon. I desperately wanted a Nintendo 64 when it came out and my siblings and I had to have a toy sale just to help raise some money to get one for Christmas. Even then, it wasn't guaranteed. But when I unwrapped that glorious machine on Christmas Day morning back in 1997, I was ecstatic. My sister and brother had wanted a PlayStation but I was adamant about a 64 and thankfully, they caved in.
It's probably hard to see it this way today but it was such an incredible leap forwards after the SNES that the excitement for it was astonishingly high. I didn't unwrap a Wii U this Xmas, but opening up an N64 game from the missus--even in 2012--brought back all the excitement of that awesome day back in 1997. Given how "standardised" gaming seems today, it just seems difficult to get as excited about gaming as we did back then.
/nostalgia
That was my reaction when I got the Wii U, also NINTENDO 64!!!!!!!!
I never did anything like this, perhaps I am dead inside... and I really wanted that GameBoy/Commodore Amiga/ Super Nintendo! But I extend greetings to both of them, they certainly lived up the Internet for quite a long time. Anyway, here is 10 hours of what I really think happened http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFifiAqFgDs My damage here is done, cya tomorrow people !
NINTENDO WII UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!
Ah, I remember when I got my Game Boy Color... spent sooo much time on Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. Even now, I still play a round of Deluxe with my spare time.
Still and best Christmas I've ever had, is when I got my N64
I was a Sony kid growing up... And I've bought all of my Nintendo Consoles myself, but I was excited when I took them out of the box! I walked my Wii U home from the local GameStop and each step filled me with more anticipation. The initial update didn't even ruin my happiness!
No, but I sure did unwrap my Gamecube to a scene like this. It's on video, too, which we didn't do a lot of back then. I don't know why my dad taking out the camera didn't make me suspicious.
my great-great-great grandson had a similar reaction to that. the shock, the happiness, the disbelief, the realization, etc. 'cept he didn't act like that, just a big fat smile.
I watch that video every Christmas! It is indeed the epitome of Nintendo Fandom in a single reaction. N64 Kids, I salute and thank you for encapsulating my entire Nintendo saturated childhood in one awesome Christmas moment.
Watch this:
Wii U Causes NERVOUS BREAKDOWN!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZatoTL9IMk&feature=player_embedded
This kid is very thankful with his dad.
@Nintendo Life: 'The video has been mocked all over the web, but in our opinion it represents Nintendo fandom in its purest form: unadulterated and unbridled excitement.
Did you unwrap your Wii U on Christmas day to similar scenes? Let us know in the comments section below'. I agree, we just live in a repressed society and are even more shocked than the kid himself.
I was veeeery excited when I got my Super NES and later on my Nintendo 64. I was excited with the GameCube and even with Wii, but that was a bit different. Let's try to make Wii U purchase a bit special, but it is going to be difficult, no Super Mario 64 but a 'New Super Mario Bros.' instead.
Great seeing that video again after many years. I imported most of my consoles before launch in Australia so I never got one by surprise but I can relate to the excitement.
I got an N64 when the DK64 bundle came out for Christmas. I had no idea what it was, except that it was a Nintendo. I just had an NES, and I played my grandpa's SNES when I went over there. I was 6 when my siblings and I got one, but I have some recollection of when my cousins got it on launch year(for Christmas). Kids these days don't usually even know any consoles before DS, Wii, XBox, PS2, etc...
My brother and I made a similar scene the day we got our N64.
Which coincidentally was a christmas-like celebration (Jan 6/Epiphany/The Day of Kings).
I got my N64 in 1998 for my 13th birthday.. I was so excited, but not that crazy excited the N64 was a really good system with many great titles. Didn't got my Wii U on xmas but the day before launch ^^ i was like: 'WIIIIIIIIII U OMG!!!' but thats just what i said in my head so
Haha, saw this video for the first time yesterday :S I guess I am late to the party!
metal version is best xD
the nintendo 64 made me the person i am today
My birthday fell just a few days after the Nintendo 64 launched in 1996. When my mom told me to go look for my present under the bed, and when I found it and unwrapped it I went hysterical. I was running through the house screaming in excitement. I think I actually put Nintendo 64 kid to shame.
Did you unwrap your Wii U on Christmas day to similar scenes?
No, we unwrapped it with dignity.
I wanted an nes real bad and my mother could not afford one at the time so my uncle came to the rescue! I couldn't stop smiling....
my mother years later got me a gameboy for christmas when I was much older...wasn't a surprise I picked out my gift before the 25th but of course had to wait till that magic date..
Brandon still looks like a kid stuffed into an adult body. And Rachel is pretty hot.
I had a very different experience when I got my Nintendo 64, It was the day when I transformed into a loyal fan of Nintendo and Zelda. Here's a vid of that day, http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BKEL4cUTOI4
Edit: @Shiryu aw you shown the video before me
Geonjaha wrote:
I lol'd.
Nothing like being a kid.
My Uncle gave us his N64 for no reason. He loved the thing and then he was just like, "Here, you can have it!" He also gave us Golden Eye which I wasn't allowed to play, but I played it when my parents weren't around.
I had a similar experience with unwrapping my Gamecube for my birthday back in 2002. Nintendo joy at its finest!
Well my first game was on a PC. My first "console" was a PS2. I owned a N64 (as a gift from cousins) but I don't think I ever got any games for it...
I wish I was little. Not 15. 16 in less than a month. Well junior and senior year in highschool might just be my magic moment.
Oh, too bad he didn't like it...
And yes, there were similar reactions to Wii U, except not on Christmas, launch day instead, no screaming, no box smacking, and more playing. EDIT: also, there was no wrapping paper, and the gift was from 3 people: me, myself, and I.
Got my N64 in '97, followed by SM64, & MK64 w/ Controller Pak for that (year's) Christmas. I didn't open my console, or later that year games, like this. I was excited for all of it, yeah, but never did I express myself like this. I was very happy, however.
@triforcepower73: Yes, she is alright looking.
As for the 2nd video, that just shows how parents are w/ games; the mom appears to not have known what GoldenEye 007 was, or @ least she did know, & was ok w/ her children playing that/it. Parents need to be more involved, & aware of what their children are playing, as well as other media exposure, but that's off-topic.
Nintendolife....you guys are simply the best lol
this was similar to my reaction when I got a GBA!
Man, I remember when I got MY N64 all thos Christmases ago...
My first game was Diddy Kong Racing, and my brother's first was...Clayfighter 63 1/3.
Yes.
However, we loved both games - regardless of what review scores they received. I still recall being amazed by all the speech samples and taunts the characters would throw at each other in Clayfighter, and the massive, cartoon world of DKR. Ah, those were the days...
I yelled out "YES!" the moment I unwrapped my Wii U ^_^
befor anyone else does let me say this:
NINTENDO SIXTYFOURRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My sis and I were a little younger than that when we got our first system, the Mighty Atari 2600, and yes, we flipped the eff out. We probably went bonkers for NES too (especially since some of our friends already had one, so we already knew how awesome it was), but I don't really remember opening it. By the time SNES came around, I bought it with my own money, so there wasn't any surprise unwrapping; but the experience was maybe even better b/c the system was such a huge leap and came packed with one of the greatest/prettiest games of all time. Great memories all around!
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