“Games are a trigger for adults to again become primitive, primal, as a way of thinking and remembering. An adult is a child who has more ethics and morals, that’s all. When I am a child, creating, I am not creating a game. I am in the game. The game is not for children, it is for me. It is for an adult who still has a character of a child.”
— Shigeru Miyamoto, video game developer
30/04/2020
Gaming
44 minutes
Hello and welcome to the first ever episode of Druid’s Exchange podcast! With this episode, we introduce ourselves briefly and then move on to more fun matters – Nintendo and video games!
To colour our perspectives, we recount some memorable moments from our gaming past, covering Super Mario Bros. 3 and Duck Hunt on the Nintendo Entertainment System as well as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64 games console.
To close this inaugural episode, Mr C tells us of the story of Owe Bergsten and Bergsala, and how the Nintendo Entertainment System was brought to Europe back in the 1980’s. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Listen to our first ever episode right here and we would love it if you shared this episode on your social media channel of choice. Enjoy!
For each episode, we will highlight the main topic discussed and share a video from YouTube we think is worth watching.
Check out this video about how Owe Bergsten ‘bent the truth’ to help bring the Nintendo Entertainment System to Europe in the 1980’s. “The story of a man, a lie, a video game handheld, and a business empire.” It is a fascinating insight into the budding video game industry, at a time when video games were still very much so seen as a kids toy and nothing like the multi billion dollar industry it is today.
Found something interesting discussed in this episode? Chances are, we found it interesting too and we went off and did a bunch of reading online about it.
So why not dive further into the topic! Here are some handy links we think you might like.
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an video game console by Nintendo, released in September 1986 in Europe. As one of the best-selling gaming consoles of its time, the NES helped revitalize the US video game industry following the video game crash of 1983. At this point, many retailers and adult consumers regarded electronic games as a passing fad. By the end of 2020, the video game industry is expected to be worth in excess of $90 Billion.
By 1990, 30% of all American households owned the NES, compared to 23% for all personal computers. It had also outsold all previously released consoles worldwide. Released alongside many iconic accessories such as R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy), the NES Zapper and the Power Glove, The NES had a long list of genre defining games such as Super Mario Bros 3, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Metroid, Excite Bike, Final Fantasy, Castlevania, Metal Gear… The list goes on!
Super Mario Bros. 3 is a platform game released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in August 1991 in Europe. It was widely considered to be one of the best games released for the NES, being described as “the Mona Lisa of gaming”. Computer and Video Games editor Tim Boone commented that the game is nearly flawless in its utterly “stupendous incredibility and absolutely impossible to put down for anything less than a fire alarm and even then you find yourself weighing down the odds.”
At the 2007 Game Developers Conference, the game was named one of the 10 most important video games of all time, being a member of a “game canon” whose inductees were submitted to the Library of Congress for having “cultural significance or a historical significance”.
The Nintendo 64 (N64) is a video game console by Nintendo, released in March 1997 in Europe. Upon release, Time Magazine named it Machine of the Year. The Nintendo 64 remains one of the most recognized video game systems in history and its games still have impact on the games industry. Designed in tandem with the controller, Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are widely considered by critics and the public to be two of the greatest and most influential games of all time. GoldenEye 007 is one of the most influential games for the shooter genre.
Other stellar games released for the system include Mario Kart 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Star Fox 64, Wave Race 64, 1080 Snowboarding, Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini, Mario Party and Super Smash Brothers. As it supported up to 4 controllers out of the box, it is considered by most gamers as the best ‘multiplayer console’ with night long sessions of Mario Kart 64 and Goldeneye forging and destroying friendships.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an action-adventure game released on the Nintendo 64 (N64) in December 1998 in Europe. It has been widely cited as one of the greatest video games of all time with numerous publications ranking it the greatest video game ever made. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a fantasy action-adventure game set in an expansive environment with music playing an integral role in gameplay. It is the first Legend of Zelda game to feature 3D graphics.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, who also created Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Metroid Prime, Nintendogs, F Zero, Star Fox, along with other major nintendo franchises. This entry in the Legend of Zelda series is hands down the favourite game of all time of both our hosts.
The ‘Mario Brother Effect’ although firmly rooted in the well-known Nintendo flagship video game, is an effect that we all know to be true in everything we successfully accomplish, from our early years of learning to walk to mastering anything we set our sights on.
This is the practice of repetition. Like in Super Mario video games, burning through lives until you master a particular obstacle. When applied to our own lives, repetitive, iterative improvements builds competency and mastery in whatever you desire to do. Your end goal.. level up, an extra life and hopefully you get the girl!!
Enjoyed this episode? Hopefully you found some of the additional information on this page interesting or useful. Why not check out one of our other episodes – we think you will like them too! 🙂
Input your search keywords and press Enter.