Podcast Summary: HISTORY This Week — "When Nintendo (and Mario) Rescued Video Games"

Host: Sally Helm (The HISTORY® Channel)
Guest: Jeremy Parrish (Author, Co-host of Retronauts Podcast)
Release Date: September 22, 2025
Episode Date Covered: September 27, 1986 (U.S. NES Launch)

Overview: The Main Theme

This episode explores how the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and its iconic Super Mario Bros. game revived and transformed the video game industry in the mid-1980s, following the devastating U.S. video game market crash. Host Sally Helm, alongside guest Jeremy Parrish, traces Nintendo’s roots, its unconventional business strategies, and how Mario became the face of a new entertainment era. The episode reveals Nintendo’s pivotal decisions, quirks of the original NES launch, and the company's continued influence on gaming culture.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Scene: A Dying Industry and a New Hope

Timestamp: 02:42 – 05:18

• In the mid-80s, U.S. kids come home from school and see the first NES TV ad, which focuses on the "Nintendo Entertainment System," deliberately avoiding the word "video game."
• Jeremy Parrish describes the ad, emphasizing the "egg" motif and the novelty of Rob the Robot.
• Nintendo packaged the NES with Rob, a mostly useless toy robot designed to present the console as something more than a mere video game, appealing to parents and retailers who were wary after the game market crash.

2. Nintendo’s Early Days and Creative Grit

Timestamp: 05:23 – 10:14

• Originally a playing cards company (founded 1889), Nintendo began branding with Disney characters in 1959, then expanded into toys.
• Notable oddities like "Lefty RX" (a toy car that could only turn left) became hits, showcasing Nintendo’s knack for quirky, attention-grabbing ideas.
• Nintendo’s unusual ventures, such as converting empty Japanese bowling alleys into laser shooting galleries, show the company's willingness to adapt and experiment, particularly when faced with crises (e.g., the OPEC oil crisis forced them to innovate with less plastic).

3. The Donkey Kong Gamble and Mario’s Birth

Timestamp: 11:03 – 16:54

• Nintendo of America’s president, Minoru Arakawa, orders thousands of Radar Scope arcade machines, which flop upon U.S. arrival.
• Facing doom, Nintendo rapidly repurposes the cabinets, tasking young designer Shigeru Miyamoto (age 28) with inventing a new game.
• Originally intended to star Popeye, the resulting game (after IP issues) becomes Donkey Kong, with Bluto as a gorilla, and Popeye transformed into "Jumpman"—soon to be Mario.
• The whimsical story and engaging gameplay make Donkey Kong a massive arcade hit. As Parrish recalls:
  • “I ate Donkey Kong cereal. I had a Donkey Kong sticker book. My brother had a Donkey Kong junior Plush. So we were right there in the thick of Donkey Kong mania.” (15:42)
• Mario and Luigi follow as recurring hero figures, setting the stage for more world-building.

4. The Video Game Crash of 1983

Timestamp: 18:56 – 20:28

• Over-saturation of low-quality games and consoles, compounded by recession, destroys U.S. consumer trust.
• Parrish: “There was not really a press and certainly no Internet. So people could say, what's a good game?...It turned out to be terrible.” (19:13)
• Infamous failures like the E.T. game (buried unsold in a landfill) become symbolic of the industry’s collapse.

5. Vision and Risk: Sneaking Video Games Back Into Homes

Timestamp: 20:28 – 26:35

• Nintendo thrives in Japan’s home market and aims to bring a new console to the skeptical U.S.—but disguises it as an “entertainment system” rather than a “video game console.”
• NES design mimics VHS decks, and game boxes are made to resemble video cassette sleeves.
• Parrish: “They made them much bigger and filled them with empty space...If you line up VHS tapes...with NES games, they look exactly the same.” (22:00)
• Early consumer testing is abysmal ("This is S," exclaimed an 8-year-old), but Yamauchi (Nintendo Japan president) insists on a direct-to-consumer city trial.
• Arakawa launches NES in NYC with a money-back guarantee to retailers:
  • “If you don't sell these things, we'll buy them back at cost. You're not going to lose any money on this, but you might stand to make some money.” (25:59)

6. Super Mario Bros.: The Secret Weapon

Timestamp: 27:11 – 29:39

• NES launches with little fanfare for Super Mario Bros., but word-of-mouth and the game's expansive, mysterious world capture imaginations.
• Parrish: “Super Mario Bros...really pushed beyond what people had seen in a home system before...It had 32 levels...[and] mysteries that weren't explained...It just drew players in.” (27:41)
• NES gradually rolls out across the country, culminating in nationwide release September 27, 1986. By year’s end, over a million sold.
• Mario, not Rob, becomes the iconic pack-in—the face of the console boom.

7. Lessons Learned and Nintendo’s Enduring Influence

Timestamp: 30:04 – 31:58

• Nintendo enforces strict quality control through a lockout chip, preventing unlicensed games and preserving consumer trust.
• Arakawa and Yamauchi lead Nintendo until 2002; Arakawa later brings Tetris to Game Boy.
• Nintendo retains a playful, toy-like ethos, as Parrish notes about the modern Switch’s cardboard Labo kits:
  • “More than any other company...when I pick up a Nintendo game, I'm probably going to have a pretty good time.” (31:26)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Nintendo’s oddball creativity:
  “The Nintendo approach has always been sort of like that, you know, kind of looking to weird, unconventional ideas in order to sort of catch people's attention.” — Jeremy Parrish (07:57)
• On Donkey Kong Mania:
  “I ate Donkey Kong cereal. I had a Donkey Kong sticker book...So we were right there in the thick of Donkey Kong mania.” — Jeremy Parrish (15:42)
• On the post-crash strategy:
  “They made [NES games] much bigger and filled them with empty space...If you line up VHS tapes...with NES games, they look exactly the same on the shelf.” — Jeremy Parrish (22:00)
• On Super Mario Bros. impact:
  “Super Mario Bros...it was really a game that pushed beyond what people had seen in a home system before. It had, you know, this huge world that has 32 levels, which already, that's a lot. Donkey Kong had four. It just felt expansive, it felt huge.” — Jeremy Parrish (27:41)
• On Nintendo’s ethos:
  “More than any other company, especially the companies that make hardware, when I pick up a Nintendo game, I'm probably going to have a pretty good time.” — Jeremy Parrish (31:26)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Setting the Scene: 02:42 – 05:18
• Nintendo’s Early Business & Toy Experiments: 05:23 – 10:14
• Birth of Donkey Kong (and Mario): 11:03 – 16:54
• The U.S. Video Game Crash: 18:56 – 20:28
• NES as Trojan Horse: 21:02 – 26:35
• Super Mario Bros. Revolutionizes Home Gaming: 27:11 – 29:39
• Nintendo’s Revitalization Lessons & Long-term Impact: 30:04 – 31:58

Tone & Style

The episode combines a warm nostalgia with journalistic curiosity, punctuated by Jeremy Parrish’s lived experience and keen industry knowledge. Historical facts are blended with personal anecdotes, making the story as engaging for newcomers to gaming as for seasoned fans.

Closing Thoughts

The NES, once disguised as an “entertainment system” with an almost useless robot, ultimately rescued and redefined video games in America, thanks to visionary leadership, risky bets, and a mustachioed plumber named Mario. Today, Nintendo continues to innovate with a playful heart, never straying far from its origins as a company unafraid to experiment and surprise.