Game Ads Through The Ages

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I remember this ad campaign more for it being for a game I was really looking forward to than the controversy surrounding this particular entry. There were a couple others that seem to be ignored when bringing this one up, one of them being a man sitting in a chair with his throat slit and a cello lying on the ground in front of him with the tag line “Classically Executed”. Can’t really remember the other(s).  Still, Hitman, as a series, always seems to have at least one controversial ad leading up to the release of a new game, the latest being the “put out a hit on your Facebook friends!” app for smartphones. 

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Is this advertising the Game Boy Pocket or nightmares? The world will never know for sure.

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Star Wars The Arcade Game TV Commercial (1983) Atari 2600 + Atari 5200

http://digthatbox.com/ - Star Wars The Arcade Game TV Commercial (1983) Atari 2600 + Atari 5200

This is the face of a man who should never be allowed outside of his padded room. 

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Nothing special here beyond the historical significance of Tengen and their  unlicensed NES games.  More info on Tengen  Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengen_(company) Gaming Historian (check out his other videos as well, they’re really good): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLA_d9q6ySs

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Oh Sega, name calling’s not nice, especially when the people being insulted are potential customers. In fact, it only showed your desperation in trying to sell your overpriced battery discharger (that could also play games). 

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Not really game related but I felt this deserved sharing nonetheless. 

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Sure, the implication is a bit weird (who enjoys having a live animal shoved down their pants and why would Nintendo want to cater to these weirdos?) but the look on this person’s face manages to push the WTFometer way into the red. 

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Okay, no. THIS is so 90′s it hurts. 

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Seriously, WHAT’S WITH THE LIVE-ACTION MASCOT COSTUMES?!

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THIS is how you do an ad for a video game

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Not really sure what this has to do with the PS2 but whatever

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So early 90′s it hurts. 

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What was Nintendo’s obsession with live-action ads using costumed mascots? 

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Okay, so the early 20000′s were weird too

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*sigh* Moving on

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Ah yes, the “gamers like boobs but not as much as games” trope. This one will be popping up here a LOT