Just recently, we caught a sneaky glimpse at the dedicated workers testing and packing NES consoles back in 1989. While it hardly contained any surprises or revelations into how consoles were manufactured back in the day, it was nevertheless a fascinating look at the fine folks who worked tirelessly to ensure your beloved NES arrived in your hands in pristine condition.
Now, it's time to take a look at the SNES. In a new video posted by video game historian John Andersen, we get a lovely glimpse at a SNES assembly line in the UK, with new consoles being bundled with none other than Street Fighter II. Towards the end of the video, we're also given a peek at Nintendo's Gameplay Counsellors.
Now, if you're unfamiliar, the Gameplay Counsellors were effectively folks hired by Nintendo to take calls from customers who needed help with their games. The service ran from 1987 to 2005 and effectively became obsolete when the internet became more prevalent, leading players to seek help from online FAQs and walkthroughs.
What an interesting peek into history! It makes us yearn for the good ol' days, when games were shipped in complete forms, no updates required; just plug in and play. Ahh...
What do you think of this little slice of history provided by John Andersen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
[source twitter.com]
Comments 33
Unboxing videos? Get out! I love boxing videos and you gotta love the hair styles
2 years later I would get the SF2 Turbo console bundle for Xmas 94! I really want to get that big purple box in nice condition to put on display.
It can't be over stated how much the SNES getting Street Fighter 2 first made even hardcore Sega fans like myself start wishing for a SNES. Star Fox and DKC were the other 2 games that created the "holy trifecta" for me that made me finally relent and beg for one, and by 94 the prices had come down a bit It was still expensive for our family but the SNES ended up being my combined Birthday and Christmas presents from my parents, grandparents, aunts etc all pooled together to make it possible. Totally worth it, SF2T was an incredible port.
Talking of days before online walkthroughs. I remember years ago at school one of my teachers, the one everyone was afraid, asked anyone with a Megadrive to stay behind after class. We though he was a Nintendo fan boy and wanted to punish us. Turns out he needed help with a level on The Immortal. I have never felt so relieved in my life. I helped him and asked for his help a few weeks later.
Still my favourite console ever !!
Super Nintendo and the mega drive was a fantastic time. Fantastic games.
Very lifelike looking robots there.
Best console ever!
PS.: They're packing faster than that 50hz thing inside the package.
I love me a good throwback! I remember getting the SNES with Super Mario All-Stars bundle. Not only did I get that for X-mas that year, I even got The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past along with it. It was the best X-mas ever!
I think I still have callouses on my fingers caused by getting one of those SF2 SNES packages.
@abdias Ouch! 😥 Cries in European
Man what I wouldn’t give to go back in time, be an undercover packing agent at the end of the line and take off with one of those beauties! Lol
There were update revisions to a lot of those games but it was done seamlessly and since the games were tested with better accuracy they were minor revisions so you never noticed them.
I got that world warrior snes pack - sold everything to raise some cash; my transformers, sega master system and games etc. Being able to play it in your own home was an amazing feeling!
Nintendo Gameplay counselor, what a title to have.
@samuelvictor While I can't find the SFII Turbo bundle, there are certain sellers on Etsy who sell produced console boxes - I can't vouch for the quality as I haven't brought any, but judging by the reviews, there are a lot of happy customers...
Been wanting to get NES, SNES, N64 and GameCube console boxes for a while now for my collection...
@1UP_MARIO ah, the 90s...
Always get nostalgic for the 90s as it was the era I grew up in; the magic of Christmas' as a child, action figures, far less political correctness...take me back there...
Street Fighter II was such a revolutionary release for the SNES. It was the first time I ever felt like I brought an arcade game home.
Street Fighter II Turbo being a bundle game with the Super NES was news to me, over here in the US only Nintendo first party titles got the bundle treatment. Really nice that Capcom had step in to give UK gamers that arcade SFII experience home. Speaking of Street Fighter II this old commercial for a late 90s handheld really made me mad cause in it they actually throw away a perfectly good Street Fighter II cartridge in the trash in favor of the garbage system.
@Andy77mk Thanks! I've seen repro game boxes, didn't know people were making console ones too. I like to have console boxes of the exact bundles I originally bought, and have them in good as new condition, to recreate that feeling of when you're first unwrapping them, or travelling home from the shops looking at them excitedly. SNES is the only one I don't currently have - its quite pricey to get a mint one on the rare occasions they turn up on ebay, especially when I dont actually need the console etc... though I guess I could sell them. It's something I'll get eventually to complete my set!
They're not exactly being gentle with those boxes are they??? I'm also sure that on assembly lines nowadays, everyone wears gloves so that nothing gets fingerprints.
I really do miss those days though. Maybe it's because I was a kid but that generation is the time I was most excited about video games.
@samuelvictor absolutely - most the time i've seen boxes on eBay for older consoles they're slightly tatty or battered, so finding one in good condition can be difficult..
I'm not sure how protected buyers are on Etsy in relation to buying a product and it not meeting expectations, but it might be worthwhile seeing if there are any YouTube videos of people buying console boxes from Etsy sellers to get an idea of what to expect outside of the reviews given.
May well give in and start collecting some of the boxes - in hindsight, I wish i'd kept all my old console and game boxes, and manuals..
@__jamiie to be fair, I think most kids in the 90s wouldn't of been too concerned as to whether or not their console boxes were in pristine condition when they got them at Christmas or whenever else - as a child I threw away all my console and game boxes, and as an adult, it mortifies me..
The era that won't be coming back anymore. As Sheldon Cooper states, "Ah nostalgia, thou art a heartless b*tch".
@Andy77mk wow. I loved reading your post. Made me remember the time I had hair 👍🏻
@Andy77mk Haha yeah I'm sure we all wish we'd held on to things! Thanks again, I'll keep an eye out on Etsy.
@Andy77mk I'm kind of proud to admit it but, I kept every one of my consoles and boxes in immaculate condition so it really would have bothered me. I was always jealous that my Sega owning friends had a far easier job in keeping their cartridges safe.
@1UP_MARIO carefree days without the pressures of having to raise a family and pay bills and a mortgage, hey...
Think the only way any of us are going to get back to those carefree times is if we won the lottery..
As it stands though, taking a nostalgia trip back to the 90s is usually my safe, happy place.
Hard to imagine humans doing that job in 2022.
man this takes me back to 5th grade...
and yet when you opened them they looked like so much care had been taken with the packaging.
Who can remember just how purely magical it was t o have SF2 on your home console? I will never forget the day I went to my friend Adam's house, walked up the stairs towards his room and could hear the title music coming from within his room. His cousin had imported a NA copy as it wasn't out in the U.K for another couple of months. When I left that room I begged borrowed and possibly stole to get my own copy and one of those big import cart pass through devices to allow me to play it. Me and my friends spent an entire summer just playing SF2. Now when Turbo came out, that was an entirely new level of amazement. Fantastic, golden memories.
@Serpenterror The original world warrior was also a console bundle.
It's so hard to watch them get slammed down like that, but I know it's a factory, and when something is brand new, it seems less valuable.
I still cant believe my parents paid $128 AUD way back then to get a copy of SF2 for my SNES. That is so expensive compared to game prices these days (excepting Tecmo Koei maybe lol). Fair to say that me and my mates got our value out of the game though! We'd play for ages, and add or remove one star of the handicap each time there was a win or loss! Made it really interesting
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