Today sees the arrival of the NES Classic Mini in North America and Europe, a modern-day reimagining of the classic 1985 system which truly kick-started Nintendo's dominance of the living room.
As you excitedly rip open the packaging on your shiny new NES console, it's worth taking a vintage look back at how Nintendo really made Christmas for some players. With that in mind, iretrogamer.com's Tyler Esposito has yet another home movie to share, this time for 1990 festive season.
Having secured his NES from Saint Nic the year before, the young Esposito had a solid list of titles in mind for Santa to bring. Like pretty much every major event in the Esposito household, this was filmed by his late father and Esposito has been kind enough to share this heartwarming moment with the world.
Do you have any fond memories of NES-related presents from back in the day? Feel free to share them below, and also let us know if your NES Mini has arrived and made you just as happy as Tyler was on Christmas day, 1990.
Comments 23
As you get older,many memories from your youth start to fade but you never forget that special Xmas you got a brand new console.Magical stuff.
Awesome vid!
Ah...so Retro. Remind me my childhood about NES.
What's Christmas.
A day off. Woooohooo
Jesus I would have been lucky to get 2 NES games, let alone all his!
It warms the cockles.
I have to agree with Emperor-Palpsy here, a couple of games at christmas was all I got. Although I was glad to get them regardless.
Here's something written a few years back, but it's still kind of relevant to the price of games between now and back in the days of cartridges. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2010/10/an-inconvenient-truth-game-prices-have-come-down-with-time/
@dizzy_boy good read. Thanks
I am 45 and have been there from the start, I can't fathom how much money I have spent on Nintendo.
But Nintendo will never get another penny from me. I will still buy Nintendo products, but I will only buy used from Amazon Warehouse Deals. I am fed up with their crap.
Wow I envy him. I had to Mow lawns for my games in 1990 but in 1987 when I got the NES for Christmas; I only got Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt, KidIcarus, Metroid and Zelda. This was OK because those were the foundation of most of the video games I love today. I did however get Willow and Final Fantasy that Xmas. I was mad at Willow when I looked at the box because I saw it on sale at Toys R us for 14.99 so i thought it was going to be generic. Boy, was I wrong.
@Captain_Gonru I just remember movies that are video games suck. I'm looking at you Back to the future 1,2,3 and everything LGN(don't remember) had made. It is a shame about Willow though, not being able to get it on VC and all. I'm going to try and nab it later today and see if it stood the test of time.
I remember the Christmas when my siblings and I received Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros. 2 and The Battle of Olympus. That was one great Christmas morning. Another great Christmas was getting my GBA. Lots of great Christmas/Nintendo memories!
Growing up with almost no money and without extended family in the same country, we got one 'big' thing like a game each year. But that didn't make my Christmas any less magical, in fact, having this one thing that you were looking forward too so much was amazing. We sat an did presents one by one, and opening up my game or a shared console or something and hugging everyone who bought it was so great Then it's scoffing down christmas breakfast as fast as possible so I can run up to my room and boot up the Wii!
What is that last game called? I have memories playing that game at my cousins house.
@Captain_Gonru Thanks for the update. I (along with many others) have been predicting the usual VERY limited supply nonsense from Nintendo from the moment this thing was announced.
Unbelievable yet soooo predictable.
He must have had very rich parents. I only had a couple of games, but no complaining there!
Dang, his parents must have been freaking loaded lol. They have good taste though. The games they got him of their own volition were better than the ones he asked for.
@Captain_Gonru - That was good. i never got to beat it because it was my friend's and he was stingy with it. We'll never get that one again. There are exceptions, but not many. Hudson Hawk made me vomit and swallow some of it. Thank goodness it was a rental. Total Recall was just awful another rental. One of the worst games ever was Bill and Ted's excellent adventure. That game belongs in a toilet where you continually want to flush it. I thought it was going to be good because I saw it in an issue of Nintendo Power and it had that Zelda looking vibe. That was the worst. I should of known better but again it was a rental. Notice the theme of rental. I would never buy a movie game because my friend had gotten burned on Friday the 13. It was another awful and the graphics. Yuck. He was even stupid enough to buy Jaws after that.
I've received every nintendo console as a Christmas gift from NES to WIIU-from age 7 (Xmas '89) to age 30 (Xmas '12). I'm just as excited every time, lol.
There are actually many good or great licensed games across many platforms. It's just that there are many more bad ones, and often with bigger licenses. It's worth keeping an open mind. Batman the Movie for NES was mentioned, and I think that's among the very best on the NES. I love that one. Just went back and played it a ton about four months ago. But underneath, it's just a solid game — I think it's basically a ninja game — regardless of the license. It usually comes down to who the developer is, Sunsoft here. It's why I've always favored Japanese games even when western games were getting popular. It's why I still enjoy the likes of Wayforward and Yacht Club who stick to the old principles.
Maybe he had rich, or fairly well off parents. More importantly, he seemed to have a father who had a similar enthusiasm for the games himself, which I think is very cool.
That is why I would rent the movie games. I still wanted to try them but when your 10 you don't have enough money to buy a game on a whim that may or not be crap. I am so looking at you Top Gun. I'm referring to the NES era. I'm pretty sure I can come up with some more but I learn at a young age to not touch them. Can we please forget Superman. Don't even get me started about Spiderman.
Batman the movie was great, Willow was spectacular and Goonies 2 was pretty ok. Those are the only diamonds in the rough I can remember.
Edit: Wow this auto correct is killing me today
Awesome video again man!! Christmas isn't Christmas without Nintendo that's the magic.
Am i the only person who can't believe how many games this kid got for Christmas? His family must have been fairly well off....
Total respect, great video, just sayin, your family really gave a lot of gifts.
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