After the player plays a round of each game, their scores are totaled. Yet, the Warp takes you back a few feet, which was the bad part about it. But the real tournament treasures come in the form of commemorative World Championships Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges. As everyone probably knows, you have a time limit of 6 minutes, 21 seconds. The following many-paged publicity piece regarding the NWC stop in Cleveland, Ohio tells about the work that went into conceptualizing and building the “multi-million-dollar spectacle.” Producer Danny Socolof of the Manhattan-based MEGA, an entertainment marketing and live-event production company, teamed up with EMCI organizers Jay Coleman and Steve Grossman to make the NWC “THE EVENT OF 1990.” Nearly two years in the making, with “tens of thousands of man-hours” behind its construction, including the “high-tech” NWC Competition Arena, which was designed by the California-based FM, “the same people who created the set for the Opening Ceremonies at the Los Angeles Olympics,” the article emphasizes how the NWC is far more than a gaming contest; Nintendo and 17 of its most popular licensees would also be giving players the chance to demo new and upcoming game releases in The Power Walk, while The Super Stage would showcase the act of “rock magician” Jarred Parker “who helps visitors from Nintendo’s Hyrule world escape pursuit from arch demon Gannon.”. I just became suicidal and ran, thinking that this was my only chance to do anything for the win. Pretty easy match, but the computer was a tad harder. All original content copyright © 2001-Present Nintendo Player. When the round ended, I waited for the final screen to pop up, and there was my score: 625,000! The characters looked interesting, the plot was great, and best of all was being able to crack your enemies with lead pipes and bike chains! What most people don’t know about me is that I attended and was a competitor in the 1990 Powerfest held at Universal Studios in southern California. The announcer made everyone cheer and the game was on! They are given 99 lives, and are required to collect 50 coins in the shortest time possible. This encourages the players to reach Tetris as quickly as possible as it is the best way to achieve high scores. I went through the pipe before the 1-up spot and landed on all the coins and proceeded to complete the challenge. Meanwhile, the other guy was raking in the points, and there was no hope of catching up to him. Now off to 1-2! Off to the next game! He won a pin with Mario on it. 1990 Nintendo world championship nwc reproduction new NES Rad Racer Tetris Mario. Nintendo World Championships 1990 is the cartridge used in the 1990 edition of the Nintendo World Championships. The following is a synopsis of my qualification: Mind you that I had no idea what the games were before playing, so I had to read the game cart as it was being displayed on the screen quickly. They are given 99 lives, and are required to collect 50 coins in the shortest time possible. I had to sign some card with my name, and for my work, I picked between a Mario and Luigi plushie (I chose Mario, of course. He was walking around on the stage, and changing the two big screens every so often, to show different players. I’m sure I was nervous a bit at the time, playing in front of an audience like that, but when I concentrated on the game, I was fine. Nintendo World Championships 1990 (USA) Start Game. An additional 26 were mailed out from Nintendo Power in its magazine-sponsored contest. I believe there was some sort of fruit snacks that were sponsoring the Mario Rap–you pay a fee, make a rap video with Mario, and then they give you some fruit snacks. Walking into the HUGE room, the first thing we came across was the . Halfway through the level, I became Raccoon Mario and racked up some major points jumping on the green Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas that were there. I was obviously nervous when we signed up with the tournament director. More and more NWC cartridges have been coming to light because of the prices they command these days from deep-pocketed collectors wishing to relive that fateful competition. The epilogue of this story is that my dad purchased River City Ransom and Super Mario Bros. 3 and I beat the former in 6 days and the latter in 2 weeks (by warping), but I’ll always remember the weekend I had. The original pool of competition carts numbered at 1,200 to accommodate the need for more tournament stations for larger cities such as Dallas, etc. I was ready to conquer the game that everyone wanted to play… Super Mario Bros. 3! A cartridge originally produced as a balanced, multi-discipline competition test for the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, this game cart featured scoring challenge stage samplers of … After qualifying to the next round, I was handed an NWC Semifinalist Cap (I’ve seen Semifinalist shirts in some pictures, but Milwaukee wasn’t that lucky I guess! These are more guest passes as well as some working crew passes. No more wondering if your emulator is giving you the correct time limit. Prizes given to the contestants ranged from event t-shirts and baseball caps to even college scholarship money. In Super Mario Bros. (NES), you must collect 50 coins in the fastest time possible.In Rad Racer (NES), you must complete the first stage the fastest. In the show where they were doing Nintendo trivia, I won a prize and my friend won a prize (two separate shows). It was not released outside America. I had to wait about two hours until my match and it felt like the longest two hours of my life. Challenge your friends to a Nintendo World Championship without spending thousands This NWC 1990 Reproduction cart plays exactly like the original so you can see how you stack up against the best on real hardware. The 1990 Nintendo World Championships ran across 29 cities and was based on competitors scoring the highest in Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer and Tetris within a time limit of 6 minutes and 21 seconds. Top reviews. ), and I received a pass for competing in the semi-finals. When the timer neared the 10-second mark, the audience started counting down along with it. My friend and I tried out various games in the Power Walk area, but never stood in line for the very popular ones (didn’t want to wait in line that long). There was a huge line of semi-finalists. In 1990, Nintendo embarked on an epic road tip across the continental U.S. to find the greatest Nintendo Entertainment System player. Final game: play Tetris till time expires. The center had the days’ semi-finalists playing Super Mario Bros. 3, and hidden behind them, was the qualifying screens. Front cover of Nintendo World Championships booklet, This article is about the cartridge used in the Nintendo World Championships. About 10-15 second goes away using up the World screen. This cart makes for a great conversation piece and is perfect for friendly competition amongst fellow retro gamers, friends and family. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock. For the next round, they let you up on the stage, where they had a total of seven gaming stations set up. I begged my parents, and on one October weekend, we did. According to her, the video is like an untelevised commercial of the final event. Finally, you get as many points as possible starting at Level 0 in Tetris. Ninety of these copies exist as the official gray cartridge and were given out to finalists after the championships concluded. Also from the contest in Oakland Coliseum, this is a guest pass for a backstage look at every little gamer’s dream, the NWC. Nintendo World Championships 1990 was a game that was used in a Nintendo competition around 29 cities in the United States (despite the name of the game being World Championships.The cartridge features three games, each with their own separate goals. I was ready to play in front of a crowd. They flashed a shot of Willow on the screen, but absolutely nobody in the audience was raising their hand (I didn’t know it, either). 195,500! The emcee came over, and I answered Mega Man 2, and won a shirt. Nintendo World Championships 1990 (Game Pak), the Game Pak used in the competition. I spent very short time in 1-2, as I reached the 50 coins right there. The player starts out in Super Mario Bros. In addition, they had two huge video screens displaying two competitors at a time. Then they called out for people scoring 900,000, and then 800,000, and by that time, they had their seven people. In that group, they had some more people that scored over 1,000,000, so unfortunately, for the guys that scored 800,000 and 900,000 in our group, they were out of the top 7. It was pretty much the same exact instance from the movie The Wizard, so you know what I had to go through in order to win. In fact, before the opening, so we had to wait outside. Thanks to this sub for all of your help over the last couple weeks. His stack of blocks was nearing the top, and he realized that he had to get rid of some lines quick, because that long one was not coming. While originally not intended to be given away, the competitors (and others) were eventually given the Game Paks they used in the competition (90 were made). The competition returned for its 2015 edition on the weekend before E3 where sixteen competitors flew to Los Angeles to compete in the competition with the winner receiving the coveted trophy and a New Nintendo 3DS XL signed by Shigeru Miyamoto. Take note of the times: 10AM-9PM. The game started, and I was in the zone. I had learned that I would have to score the most points in Super Mario Bros. 3 in 5 minutes out of a group of three opponents to continue in the tournament. Then came Tetris, and they were going for big points. Search. We arrived at Universal Studios pretty early in the morning. The time was winding down, so I didn’t want to waste it in one area for so long. I know I tried out some Solstice, an RPG with first person view (Swords & Serpents), and many others. After completing this, the cartridge moves on to Rad Racer where the player has to complete the first track, again in the shortest time possible. The full game There are only 26 copies in existence of this gold-colored limited edition cartridge of 1990 Nintendo World Championships. The player has a total of 6-7 minutes to play all three games but this can be changed by DIP switches on the cartridge. The three games were put on the 100+ Grey version NWC carts designed specifically for the contest, some of which were awarded to finalists. He announced our names, hometown, age, and our hobbies (from the stat sheet they made us fill out previously). The game requires players to play Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris.. Competition rules. Time was ticking and I was losing patience because I hit the flag on 1-1 and had to wait crucial seconds for Mario to go in and out of the castle and into the pipe for 1-2. The Nintendo World Championships in 1990 was the first nationwide video game competition hosted by NintendoNintendo Add to Wish List. For Nintendo World Championships 1990 on the NES, GameFAQs has 62 guides and walkthroughs. The first game that I played was World Class Track Meet. Anyways, level 1-2, as you know, has massive scoring if you use Raccoon Mario to jump continuously and hit the Goombas over and over again. About 30 minutes later, I got into my seat and had the controller in my hand, practicing button and direction reflexes to warm my hands up as they were dead cold from the waiting time. The audience did the count down again, and when he was done, his score was over 2,000,000! Rich Ambler, a 1990 Nintendo World Championship Tampa Bay Finalist in the 12-17 age group and Runner-Up Hollywood in the 12-17 age group, explains: “The 90 gray carts given away to the contestants of the 1990 Nintendo World Championships were randomly selected from the overall pool of available Powerfest tournament carts of the actual touring competition. It was amazing to watch. The Nintendo World Championship cartridges are considered the "Holy Grail" of NES Collecting by many fans. 1 global rating | 1 global review There was a problem filtering reviews right now. The Nintendo World Championships 1990 cartridge, which was originally produced for the competition and later also made in gold to give away to winners of a Nintendo … It has been requested that this article be rewritten. Six were up in front, and then there was the throne, which was an actual chair to sit in, and it was in the back of the stage. The final price was $23,000. I ended up taking an old friend of mine along, and we headed out on Saturday morning. A few minutes later, we obtained our tickets and went into the complex. Text, image, video. It wasn’t you against the competition, it was you against the baseline score of 195,000 set by the tournament committee. To help promote the event, the NWC’s national PR firm, Roger & Cowan, sent out a series of press releases. This is a genuine ticket from when the event was held from October 5-7 1990 in Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. Now, I had a choice with the less than 60 seconds left on the timer. I was on the far-end console, and unfortunately, he never had my game screen shown on the big screen, even though I was the highest scoring player of that group of 7. Nintendo World Championships 1990 may refer to: Nintendo World Championships 1990 (Competition), the competition itself. The Nintendo World Championships (“NWC”) 1990 cartridge is revered by many to be the holy grail of Nintendo items. Nintendo assumed full distribution and marketing from its partners and rebranded its competitions as the Nintendo World Championships. The beginning looked similar to Super Mario Bros., so I just walked moderately through the level. Pretty simple here. As of this post, the deal is done. After completing this, the cartridge moves on to Rad Racer where the player has to complete the first trac… McWilliam, Click to Enlarge), Other press releases focused more on individual tour stops. We all left to an applause and my parents did the normal “You did a good job” blah blah blah bit. I did go into the pipe where the P-Switch was located and reaped the coins from below, so that was good. In fact, in the 12-17 age category, they could only let in half the people at a time, even with those hundreds of NES stations in the pre-stage area. This was a modified game and the lady let me keep my shoes on. This is the cartridge that was used for the Nintendo World Championships held in 1990 in 30 cities across the U.S. and Canada. I recall Mega Man 3 being a big highlight, with one of the longest lines. Filter by. Embed Code Hard to know the dimensions, but it seemed like 1/2 a football field to me as a kid. Somehow, he made eye contact with me, and then turned his camera around to face me. I was shocked and didn’t even know what to do. I just had to go! The following photographs show Thor Aackerlund, the eventual champion of the NWC, battling it out with Rich Ambler in the final round. My friend didn’t fair as well, and was done. Then, our group exited, and they let in the second half of the 12-17 age group of semi-finalists. The gold carts were simply repackaged in Zelda-style cases with handmade 300dpi NWC logo stickers for the Nintendo Power Promo. I noticed right away on the pass that the semi-finals took place the next day, so I was a bit disappointed, but overjoyed once my parents said I could come back. It features the three games: Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris. Although some of us remember that there were more tournaments such as the local Captron ones (which I did participate in one for F-Zero), the Blockbuster SNES/Genesis, the Starfox tournament, and the 1994 Powerfest (which I didn’t go to because they weren’t playing anywhere locally to my knowledge), the first ever national tournament that started it all was the best. Grey carts were handed out to the NWC semi-finalists (90 in all) while 26 Gold carts were handed out to the NWC finalists and some to the winners of a Nintendo … I was just placing lines everywhere and getting lucky by scoring a couple of lines before time expired. McWilliam, Click to Enlarge), (Submitted by R.W. Yay for gunfights, going inside studios, and of course King Kong. Anyways, there wasn’t anything else interesting about this level other than getting the Starman and running through the rest of the level and finishing it. Five minutes to reach the goal of 195,000. 1990 Nintendo World Championships Gold , the rarest one, that got given away in a Nintendo Power competition.The Nintendo World Championships competition was based on a custom NES cartridge by the same name. This page was last edited on September 8, 2019, at 20:43. It was nothing much, just some rules about the competition. “Side note: The number of gold carts more than likely exceeds 26 due to individuals converting the gray carts into gold carts and auctioning them off as originals. Nintendo World Championships 1990 NWC NES CIB 25th anniversary video game repro Her husband placed second the first weekend, and she won first place in the 18 and up division the second weekend. Each station had a TV display on the front, so the audience could see what was going on with all of the competitors. My opponents were also doing the same thing. This particular certificate would have been awarded to a quarter-finalist. Today’s Classic Tetris tournaments are played on that same version of Nintendo Tetris, using original NES … Comes with everything shown in the pics for this item. Authentic-looking and pristine. I knew I had to get the most points, so I bopped almost every Question Box that there was, getting credit for obtaining the coins and power-up items. Special offers and product promotions. Everyone stayed at their machine, and one of the officials started calling out “If you scored more than 1,000,000 points or more, please raise your hand.” A few people raised their hands. In 1990, Nintendo embarked on an epic road tip across the continental U.S. to find the greatest Nintendo Entertainment System player. Similar video gaming challenges would later follow, but none have managed to match the amount of brouhaha and hype of the Nintendo World Championships. There is a market out there doing this, so be aware at auction and only buy gold if it is verified/documented back to the original Power Poll Winners; anything less should be considered highly suspect.”. I was only two steps away from the NWC! I could either go to level 1-3, level 1-4, or go to the first fortress. [citation needed] Gold cartridges are the most sought-after NES cartridges in the history of video gaming and may go for over $10,000. The Power Pad had its own area, where you walked up some stairs, played World Class Track Meet, and then went down the stairs on the other side–not very busy (I think they were expecting a large line). Extract the zip file and put the image into your gear folder to install it. They got going, and throughout Super Mario Bros. and Rad Racer, they were neck and neck. As an adult, Hansen states that winners received a $10,000 savings bond, a Geo Metro convertible, a big screen TV, and a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood. It features the three games: Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris. I entered the level and instantly got smacked by a Podoboo since I was panicking and had to run through the level. See All Buying Options. Strategy Adventure Driving/Racing Compilation. They had a large stage set up on the far end of the room, with shows happening every so often. Unfortunately, the height of the blocks was too great, and his game came to an end. I got the mushroom at the beginning to have that power-up. I had not heard of them before that, and didn’t know what to expect.  Below is a basic fact sheet of the schedule of events at the Cleveland, Ohio stop: I believe it was my mother who discovered an article in the newspaper advertising the Nintendo World Championships happening in Milwaukee (about an hour drive away). For my friend’s prize, they did the same sort of question. Bah, I hate that. 1990 Nintendo World Championships Gray , the ones that were given away to the finalists of the competition.2. These games would automatically reset every few minutes, so the next person in line could get their turn to play. It took them about less than a minute to write down the scores and verify them, but I wasn’t announced as the winner. Nintendo World Championships 1990 (Game Pak) [Edit] [Talk] The Nintendo World Championships 1990 Game Pak was a game used exclusively at the Nintendo World Championships 1990. I breathed out a large sigh of relief and just stretched by arms back awaiting the result. The first game played is a version of Super Mario Bros. in which the player is given 99 lives and the goal of collecting 50 coins in the first level. I contacted Colleen to inquire about a VHS tape that she had picked up from the event. In Super Mario Bros., I just ran as fast as I could through the game, collecting coins at an alarming rate. To qualify past this round, you needed 200,000 points. I did become one of the top 10% of NES players in the US presumably by reaching this far in the Powerfest. This site is not affiliated with Nintendo. While the Nintendo World Championships 1990 cartridge is often reported to have had a limited run of 90 grey cartridges and 26 of those in gold, Pink Gorilla Games Owner and … Players had to complete an objective in a game and then move on to the next one, all the while collecting as many points as possible within the six-minute time limit. This can be substantiated by the resurfacing of the Campus Challenge game-pak which was never meant to be circulated into the public through any promotion whatsoever. All of my games have been tested on my equipment and should be in great working order. Later on, my friend gave it another go with trying to qualify, but unfortunately, he did a little worse the second time (he lost a life in Super Mario Bros., which hurt him). It was Sunday and we went back to Universal Studios, Hollywood for the semi-final showdown. Roger & Cowan released the following tip sheets to share some helpful pointers from Nintendo Game Counselors: 1990 Nintendo World Champion and Top-Scorer Scores: Colleen Cardas was among the contestants who competed in Los Angeles. At this point, it was my first time ever playing this dreaded game. How are ratings calculated? There were costumed characters that came out every once in a while, who we greeted. I continued playing this game till they shut off all the systems for their “45 minute reboot.” Oh well, we went off to the gaming center to start the competition. I can’t say that anyone made the video that weekend. Silly me, that wasn’t the smartest thing to do. The player had a total of 6 minutes 21 seconds to play all three games, but this can be changed by DIP switches on the cartridge. I got through Super Mario Bros. very quickly, drove through Rad Racer in a very respectable amount of time, and then it was time for Tetris. The Nintendo World Championships (“NWC”) 1990 cartridge is revered by many to be the holy grail of Nintendo items.. The original Nintendo World Championships began on March 8–11, 1990, in the Fair Park’s Automobile Building in Dallas, Texas, and ended up touring through twenty-nine City Championships across the United States. Discussion. They had a similar set up with a Game Boy section, but they were not nearly as popular. I decided to go after watching several local promotional ads and a show that showed what the place was like. It was incredible to watch the speed of these guys compete on Tetris. The player starts out in Super Mario Bros. Of course, I didn’t know that, as it was my first time, but I did get some points off that method. Turbeville for his tale, and Tom from VideoGex for his permission to use his pictures. Obviously, in order to do well, you have to be a Tetris whiz. It was like the down arrow was held down constantly, with a little maneuvering left and right. I was able to qualify with a score of about 175,000. In 1990, Nintendo held the Nintendo World Championships, which toured around the US and gave kids in 30 major cities the opportunity to compete in Super Mario Bros, Rad Racer, and Tetris. UPDATE on the Nintendo World Championship 1990 Cartridge! I remember seeing one of the higher-scoring players on the big screen at one point. Taking the normal tram ride as always through the place was the first order of business following our tradition. The following day, my parents brought me back to the competition mid-day, close to the time when the semi-finals would begin. When you went into the competition area, there were hundreds of competition stations lined up in rows. The Power Walk featured dozens of games set up that were either brand new, or not even released yet. Also, I would be playing the newest NES game, Super Mario Bros. 3, and I couldn’t even practice, so I’d be playing the tournament with no experience in the game and would be rusty as I didn’t practice that morning. The winner, Thor Aackerlund, is still seen by many as the best to have ever played. My mom had to force-feed me so that I could have proper nutrition. The 26 cartridges were awarded to the winners and runner-ups of Nintendo's Power contest. The Nintendo World Championships was a lot like this. Every new and upcoming game imaginable, every Nintendo character to shake hands with, and every memory to cherish for ages! I’ve played this game enough times at the dentist’s office to have no problem with it. Thus, the journey to the NWC was over and my hand at one of those cartridges was lost. They started the finals with the adult age group, and then the under 12 age group. The player's score in Super Mario Bros. are not adjusted, their score in Rad Racer is multiplied by ten, and the score in Tetris is multiplied by 25. Special thanks to Frank Westphal for sharing his story, J.D. The other 26 gold carts were recycled and drawn from the same pool of carts. Well, two hours passed and the director found me with my parents and called me over to prompt some instructions. Nintendo World Championships 1990 is an exceedingly rare American NES cartridge, with only 116 cartridges in existence. It was very similar to the gaming stations commonly found in stores today, but back then, there was nothing like it in stores to let you test new games. Each score is adjusted. There are two variations of the cartridge, gray and gold, with the latter being far more sought after. A private collector and my friend have worked out a deal. Collect 50 coins in Super Mario Bros. (Once finished, x1 to scored points in objective), Finish level 1 of Rad Racer (Once finished, x10 to scored points in objective), Play Tetris for the remainder of the time (Once finished, x25 to scored points in objective). Certificates with printed signatures of Nintendo Gamemaster Howard Phillips and “Mario” were given out to participants. The dude congratulated me and escorted me to my parents, explaining the process that would have to take place tomorrow: Meet coordinators, find your playing time, etc. The player had a total of 6 minutes 21 seconds to play all three games, but this can be changed by DIP switches on the cartridge. I was rapidly improving, and after this round, I qualified again with over 400,000 points. It is narrated by one of the stage commentators who wore fancy suits and yelled out scores as people were competing, all in an effort to increase the drama and excitement for the players and keep the audience involved. Because of this, it is a particularly rare cartridge and is valued by video game collectors. Recall, for a moment, the memorable scene in The Wizard when Jimmy Woods and the two other competing game players go head-to-head in the Video Armageddon showdown. I pretty much just ran the rest of the level and ended it. 90 gray cartridges were given to the ninety finalists, and 26 gold cartridges were given away in a Nintendo Power contest. My friend and I went to try the competition. Pretty big place as expected. Nintendo World Championships 1990 (USA) 1,200 2 1 0 . They took the top two guys, and had them compete head to head to determine the final champion. One of the shows featured Nintendo game counselors giving away tips that could help out in the competition, and a question/answer segment where the audience could try to stump the pros. Platform : Nintendo NES 4.7 out of 5 stars 2 ratings. The final score? There was a small fee to compete, and I’m guessing it was necessary to keep people from competing over and over just for the heck of it. If you have any issues whatsoever please let me know. Sort by. Players from three separate age groups (11 and below, 12–17, and 18 and above) competed across three days. The announcer then told everyone our game was Super Mario Bros. 3 and we had 5 minutes to play through it for qualification. There was two versions of the cartridge created.1. Currently unavailable. This same guy was on stage in Denver and Georgia, as Colleen’s husband traveled to both of those cities while trying to win one so he could also compete in the finals. My mouth and body was shivering, although it was a hot day. After the chat with the tournament official, I understood that I had to be there strictly at a certain time or I was disqualified from further competition. Using the knowledge that I have now, I probably would’ve went to level 1-3 because I could run through the level since it was short and score the timer bonus, but I went into the fortress probably thinking I was going to get through all of World 1. One last thing to add… your Super Mario Bros. score is multiplied by 1, your Rad Racer score is multiplied by 10, and your Tetris score is multiplied by 25. Nintendo World Championships 1990. by Nintendo. Both versions usually sell for several thousand dollars on eBay. The 1990 Nintendo World Championship Cartridges Explained High Score mostly glosses over the fact that Nintendo released special edition cartridges for the 1990 World Championships.