Satellaview
Nintendo’s 1995 Satellaview beamed games via satellite into Japanese homes, with most titles only existing during their broadcast window before preservationists salvaged them.
Nintendo
Donkey Kong
Born from a salvage job on surplus Radar Scope cabinets, Shigeru Miyamoto’s 1981 Donkey Kong became a $280 million arcade hit that rescued Nintendo of America.
Donkey Kong Jr.
In 1982, Nintendo flipped the script: you play Donkey Kong Jr. rescuing his caged father from a now-villainous Mario, marking Mario’s only turn as a video game antagonist.
Mario Bros.
Mario Bros. (1983, Nintendo) introduced Luigi and recast Mario as a sewer-dwelling plumber, with the green brother’s name reportedly borrowed from a Redmond pizza parlor.
Popeye
Popeye, the 1982 Platform game arcade game by Nintendo. History, gameplay, hardware, ports, and where to play it (or find a cabinet) today.
Punch-Out!!
Built from surplus Donkey Kong monitors, Nintendo’s 1984 Punch-Out!! stacked two screens—one for stats and portraits, the other for boxing—and became 1984’s top US arcade game.