1986 Nintendo (NES) North American release...
Item # 728690
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THE NEW YORK TIMES, June 4, 1986
* Early Nintendo home video gaming system
* Montgomery Ward - Los Angeles advertisement
* Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) included
* Test market city before nationwide release (Sept., 1986)
Page 15 has a 10 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch advertisement for a test market sale for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) at Montgomery Ward department store. (see images) Los Angeles and New York City where chosen to be test market locations for this newly released gaming system, three months prior to it's nationwide release.
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Los Angeles Times own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive.
Complete with all sections (80+ pages), light toning to upper half, nice condition.
Background: This June 4, 1986 Los Angeles Times Montgomery Ward print advertisement serves as an extraordinarily rare primary source from the initial Los Angeles regional test market, capturing the exact historical moment before the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) achieved full nationwide launch in September 1986. Following the catastrophic video game crash of 1983, skeptical major department store chains refused to carry traditional gaming hardware, forcing Nintendo to execute a brilliant "Trojan horse" strategy by positioning the NES Deluxe Set as a futuristic toy rather than a console. Featuring the novel Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.), NES Zapper light gun, and its two accessory-specific pack-in games—Duck Hunt and Gyromite—this early print circular documents the pioneer retail partnership with Montgomery Ward that proved consumer demand in key metropolitan trial zones, ultimately paving the way for the NES to resurrect the North American video game industry and transform home electronic entertainment into a multi-billion-dollar modern industry.
* Early Nintendo home video gaming system
* Montgomery Ward - Los Angeles advertisement
* Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) included
* Test market city before nationwide release (Sept., 1986)
Page 15 has a 10 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch advertisement for a test market sale for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) at Montgomery Ward department store. (see images) Los Angeles and New York City where chosen to be test market locations for this newly released gaming system, three months prior to it's nationwide release.
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Los Angeles Times own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive.
Complete with all sections (80+ pages), light toning to upper half, nice condition.
Background: This June 4, 1986 Los Angeles Times Montgomery Ward print advertisement serves as an extraordinarily rare primary source from the initial Los Angeles regional test market, capturing the exact historical moment before the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) achieved full nationwide launch in September 1986. Following the catastrophic video game crash of 1983, skeptical major department store chains refused to carry traditional gaming hardware, forcing Nintendo to execute a brilliant "Trojan horse" strategy by positioning the NES Deluxe Set as a futuristic toy rather than a console. Featuring the novel Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.), NES Zapper light gun, and its two accessory-specific pack-in games—Duck Hunt and Gyromite—this early print circular documents the pioneer retail partnership with Montgomery Ward that proved consumer demand in key metropolitan trial zones, ultimately paving the way for the NES to resurrect the North American video game industry and transform home electronic entertainment into a multi-billion-dollar modern industry.
Category: The 20th Century
Price
$58
100% Authentic: Original printing, never a reproduction.