WPTV and WSM to become ABC affiliation in the 80s

[DucNguyen0131]

March 31, 1989

Atari is coming close to release the Atari 10400, a new VHS-based console, combined with the 16-bit graphics of the Atari ST, when it was demonstrated at the Summer CES 1989 by Atari Corporation.

It is reported that Epyx was in negotiations with Atari to release a handheld console of the same name.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is coming close to develop a Vectrex-style vector monitor adapter for the Nintendo Family Computer.

Nearly a few months away, Sony Interactive Entertainment had high hopes to release Quinty on the Nintendo Family Computer Disk System.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

April 4, 1989

Bandai America is unveiling a new FMV-based title for the Nintendo Cassette System, titled Martial Warriors. It will be designed by Frank Ward and Marlene Sharp, which are employees of Bandai America.

Silicon Video Software would develop the video title, and has plans to start shooting this month.

The new title would be announced ahead of the Summer CES 1989, of which Bandai was a Nintendo licensee.

Bandai America had previously worked with Silicon Video Software on the highly-profitable Nintendo Cassette System title Charlotte, along with a line of fashion dolls.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

April 6, 1989

Nintendo announced that the Famicom Vector System was schedule to be released as late as 1989, to be engineered by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a fast-rising Japanese video game company.

Sony Interactive Entertainment was formed in 1986 by Sony Corporation as an authorized Nintendo developer.

The Famicom Vector System, an add-on console for the Famicom would have a cathorade ray tube that runs vector graphics, similar to Vectrex.

The Famicom adapter made its first new title developed by Sony, Solar Attack!, which was set to be programmed within the Vector System.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

April 10, 1989

New promotion is set for the brand-new Nintendo Game Boy handheld in the Japanese market, with the Western renditions of the Game Boy are set to follow once it succeeded very well.

Nintendo is also promoting television advertisements for the Famicom Game Boy TV Adapter in Japan.

Sony is also planning on to develop a stereo audio adapter for the Nintendo Famicom, set to be announced that year.

Four titles are about to arrive on the Game Boy, which are Alleyway, Baseball, Super Mario Land and Yakuman. With the Game Boy, it required a link cable, and for the TV adapter on the Famicom, required two Famicom controllers for two-player games.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

April 13, 1989

KDSM-TV, the Fox affiliate for the Des Moines area is signing up for Electronic Gaming Monthly: The Show, the second weekly program all about video game subjects and ask all viewers with a toll-free hotline.

It is reported that EGM: The Show would get full clearance ahead of the fall 1989 start date.

Bandai America is signing up for a new toyline that was based on the unscripted program Emergency Control.

It is reported that Bandai would receive deals with Saban Entertainment and DiC Animation City to handle merchandise tie-ins.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

April 17, 1989

The Miami/Fort Lauderdale television station WDZL-TV is getting clearance from the new syndicated weekly show Electronic Gaming Monthly: The Show, which is all about video game topics.

EGM: The Show gained 70% of full access clearance, and made it important.

WNYB in Buffalo also gained clearance of the program, and it expands throughout the reach of EGM.

Warner Bros. stated that EGM: The Show would be the best of the 1989 weekly syndicated shows, along with College Mad House.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

April 21, 1989

The Game Boy is officially launched by Nintendo Co., Ltd. of Japan, designed by Nintendo R&D1. And Nintendo also developed the Game Boy TV Adapter on the Famicom in cooperation with Sony Interactive Entertainment, a company that supplied sound kits and development tools for the Famicom.

Here's the monochrome Game Boy BIOS (on original hardware):

Here's the full color Game Boy BIOS (on the Game Boy TV Adapter):

The Famicom Game Boy TV Adapter could be equipped by two NES controllers, while the regular Game Boy gets a link cable option for two-player games. The Game Boy has four colors, while the Game Boy TV Adapter on the Famicom has full 56 colors, as determined by Sony themselves.

The four Game Boy titles on launch were Alleyway, Baseball, Super Mario Land and Yakuman. Through Sony, we requested all game developers to require enhancements for the Game Boy TV Adapter, for play on the Nintendo Famicom.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

April 24, 1989

All store sellers told Sega that Tetris would became a smash hit, even for the new and powerful Sega Mega Drive, in the Japanese market. Tetris would soon have its own handheld version for the Nintendo Game Boy in the next two months.

Tetris would be critically acclaimed and even destined to be powerful by Sega in its own standards.

Tengen held the Western console rights to the Tetris game, and it signed a deal with Bandai to distribute the NES games for the European market.

Sony had strained good relations with Nintendo, with the support of developing a vector graphics adapter for the NES, with its own vector cartridges, think of the old Vectrex in the early 1980s.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

April 27, 1989

Sony Interactive Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation, whose contributions include soundchip adapters for the Famicom, as well as the Famicom Cassette System, Famicom Compact Disk System and the Game Boy TV Adapter, is promising to do more toolkits.

Sony is dedicated to producing Nintendo Family Computer toolkits.

Sony is working in collaboration with Nintendo for the soundchip of the upcoming Super Famicom console, which is due out next year.

One of the new toolkits is an expanded voice speech dedicated for the Nintendo Famicom as Sony provided more storage and expansion kits for the Famicom.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 2, 1989

Fox is launching a new Friday night lineup with Hockey Night in Canada, which was destined to be Fox's flagship series, with Saturday going to the new reality shows Cops, The Reporters and Beyond Tomorrow.

The Game Boy and the Game Boy TV Adapter became the world's fastest growing game products of 1989, with the monochrome Game Boy, and the Sony-engineered, full color adaptation of the Game Boy TV Adapter for the Famicom.

The reason why they play the Game Boy TV Adapter a lot is because of the color screen Sony accepted for the Famicom, but Gunpei Yokoi refused, wanting a long battery life.

Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony Interactive Entertainment said that the Game Boy TV Adapter was in full color, as understandable by the four launch titles, which could be shown in monochrome on the handheld and in full color on the TV adapter.

Here's the original monochrome versions of the launch titles (as shown on the mono Game Boy):

Here's the full color versions (as shown on the Game Boy TV Adapter):

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 4, 1989

The Game Boy is planning for an American launch this fall by Nintendo of America, alongside the counterpart, the SIE-developed Game Boy TV Adapter on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Its launch price cost $89.99.

The Game Boy TV Adapter, which is about to be shown, soon at the Summer CES 1989 in Chicago, would have a launch price of $99.99.

Both combined would have a $189.98 launch price.

To coincide with the Game Boy launch, Nintendo also planned a new version of the Nintendo Entertainment System with the Game Boy TV Adapter attached, as well as two NES controllers, and a Tetris game pak. Some games on the TV Adapter also have a Zapper included with the enhancements.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 8, 1989

Sega-based developer Odyssey Video is joining the Mega Drive to supply its plans for a VHS-based console. The Mega Drive Cassette Adapter, and the Mega Drive Disk Drive would be schedule for release this year.

It is noted that Howard Lincoln, and Howard Phillips, of Nintendo of America said that the Game Boy TV Adapter for the NES would have 56 colors.

Games on the Game Boy would be played in monochrome on the Game Boy, in full color on the NES Game Boy TV Adapter.

By the end of May 1989, Nintendo would present its newest sports title on the Game Boy, Tennis, which was a tennis simulator, to be out in Japan.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 10, 1989

Nintendo is giving a proof-of-concept for executives, dubbed the Super Famicom, it would be as pure as the Mega Drive and the new NEC PC Engine, both of these were due out for release in 1989 in the Americas.

The Game Boy TV Adapter was Nintendo's newest in the Summer 1989 CES (instead of OTL's Nintendo NES version of Tetris).

Sony reached out to develop more toolkits and audio editors designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

All stations required 75% of its clearance for Electronic Gaming Monthly: The Show, with the EGM being already out in several months ago.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 12, 1989

Sony Interactive Entertainment, a primary Famicom developer is receiving all of the toolkits he received for the Famicom, plus Sony is developing a new vector graphics adapter developed for the Famicom.

Sony also wanted to ask Nintendo to develop a vector graphics adapter for the Game Boy, demonstrating 3D graphics.

Camerica became a Nintendo licensee, butterflying its unlicensed status away, in order for Camerica to produce their own creative material.

Howard Phillips and Sony were pleased of Camerica's work by Nintendo, so Camerica must use the Nintendo Seal of Approval.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 15, 1989

Record label/distributor Warner-Elektra-Atlantic is heading for a new Nintendo licensee under the branding WEA New Media, which was designed to publish video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System as well as its three adapters.

WEA New Media would have its first Nintendo-licensed title The Black Onyx, scheduled for release in the late of 1989.

Other titles planned by WEA included Ballblazer, a title licensed from Lucasfilm Games, which was originally released for the computers, and Toobin', a title licensed from Tengen, originally released for the arcades.

Seismic Software, a Sega licensee emerged as a new Nintendo licensee, had a licensing agreement with Sega Enterprises to license four Sega titles Shinobi, After Burner, Fantasy Zone and Alien Syndrome, which would grant the company the official Nintendo Seal of Quality.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 18, 1989

The Game Boy and the four launch titles, and the Game Boy TV Adapter became more successful, with the blocky monochrome Game Boy screen and the full color TV Screen adapter for the Nintendo Famicom.

The Famicom could have high hopes in order to produce more titles by 1989 after the success.

Instead of OTL's Nintendo NES version of Tetris, the Game Boy TV Adapter would be a centerplace for the Summer CES 1989.

Thanks to the full color power on the TV screen, hoping that Nintendo would receive more licensees such as Seismic Software, and WEA New Media, in addition to existing licensees that include Tengen and Color Dreams.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 22, 1989

EGM: The Show has just signed up KTZZ in Seattle as its market clearance for the station, opting the show for a higher and bigger viewership in order to be watchable for a new generation of its own gamers.

The show Electronic Gaming Monthly: The Show would be a weekly, and it would be sanctioned by the EGM magazine.

The show is produced by the same producing team who did the Fun House series.

Electronic Gaming Monthly: The Show expected a wide 75% advantage of its own clearances from audiences.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 25, 1989

It is reported that the sales of the first four Game Boy games, on the original monochrome Game Boy, and the Famicom Game Boy TV Adapter would work great in the Japanese marketplace, so we hope that they would have five games in America.

The American launch titles on the Game Boy were Alleyway, Baseball, Super Mario Land, Tennis and Tetris.

The Mega Drive came close to release in North America as the Genesis in the fall of 1989, as well as the TurboGrafx-16 (the westernized PC Engine).

Both the Mega Drive and the Game Boy have a strong reputation for having the Tetris title, with the handheld rights going to Nintendo. Tengen had the console rights of Tetris, instead of OTL's Nintendo.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 29, 1989

The adaptation of Nintendo's famous tennis game Tennis on the Game Boy is finally out! Game Boy's version of Tennis means 1 players vs two players, with the Game Boy link cable was used for multiplayer mode (or the second Famicom controller for the one with the TV adapter).

Here's the original monochrome version (as shown on original Game Boy):

Here's the full color version (as shown on the Game Boy TV Adapter):

The Game Boy TV Adapter version of Tennis allows two Famicom controllers for play with the multiplayer mode. The title was also already out for the Famicom and the Famicom Disk System, with superior gameplay.

 

[DucNguyen0131]

May 31, 1989

Sega and NEC America is introducing their new 16-bit glory with the planned arrival of the two new consoles the Sega Genesis and the TurboGrafx-16 at the Summer CES 1989, as well as the unveiling of the Game Boy, and the Game Boy TV Adapter for the NES.

The Game Boy TV Adapter, engineered by Sony Interactive Entertainment is a full-color implementation of the monochrome Game Boy for the NES.

Whereas the Game Boy had only four colors, the Game Boy TV Adapter for the NES had a full-color experience of playing their Game Boy games.

Broderbund showed promise to the upcoming new NES title The King of Chicago, which was acquired and licensed from Cinemaware Corporation.