Shmups

Was it STARCADE? I guess that was before Neo Geo though...what show?

Waitaminute...were you on Double Dare?

Double Dare? Haha, nope, it was en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Power !!

Whatever happened to the video games television show? Considering how popular video games are these days it is strange that there are next to no mainstream TV shows dedicated to them. The only one I can think of hear in the UK is late night cult show videoGaiden. Gamesmaster and Knightmare were huge when I was a kid. Is it the same in the US?

We have the channel G4 (Games, Gear, Gadgets and Gigabytes) but when I flip to it, they're usually showing Ninja Warrior or Cops, strangely enough.

I see CHEATERS on there all the time.

We used to have a show called STARCADE in the early 80s, I swear they played either DRAGON'S LAIR or SPACE ACE every show.

Then there was that one that NeonPeon was on...that was the one that had the cartoon with characters from NARC on it, right? Brilliant idea, that one...

Anyone remember Nick Arcade?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Arcade

Loved that one as a kid, but I wanted em to play REAL video games the whole time - not just in the first round. Also, I DESPERATELY wanted to some day be IN a video game like they were in the final round. But thinking back now, it was probably a lot cooler watching it.

Michael Barnes wrote:

Then there was that one that NeonPeon was on...that was the one that had the cartoon with characters from NARC on it, right?

Yeah that was the first season of Video Power. Half the show was a cartoon called The Power Team featuring obscure and/or lame-ass characters from Acclaim games: The NARC guy, Kuros from Wizards & Warriors, "Tyrone" from Arch Rivals (whose catchphrases were "awww man!" and "it's slam dunkin' time!" ), and a few others. The other half of the show was hosted by Johnny Arcade who would review games and offer tips, cheats, etc.

Seasons two and three (I think they stopped at three) were formatted as a game show. No more Power Team. Four players would play an NES game that wasn't designed for competitive play, with a weird time limit - I believe it was 1 minute 44 seconds. Usually they were playing four separate single-player games, the winner being the player who got advanced the furthest. The worst two players were eliminated. (These guys would play Euros later on.)

The two contestants still standing played a trivia round next, which consisted of 3 questions worth 10 points each and one worth 20. Then it was another round of video gaming - this round worth 50 points, essentially making the trivia round moot except in the rare case of a tie.

The winner of the show got to run through the "Video Power Mall" and stick empty game boxes to their velcro vest and helmet. He would be sent these games a few months later via UPS. There was one secret prize per show which was a hidden game that would earn you a bigger and better prize if you found it. I found Pat Riley's Basketball for Genesis which won me the Neo Geo.