March 1988 Computer Entertainer
We’ve secured the March 1988 edition of Computer Entertainer! Another new Nintendo third party licensee has been announced, and you may recognize the name: Milton Bradley. That’s right, the makers of board games are going to be making video games for the NES. On deck are: Marble Madness, World Games, and California Games. They are tentatively scheduled to be released in July, but with the microchip shortage in full swing, release dates seem to be slipping every day, so maybe we’ll see them by the end of the year?
Interestingly enough, Computer Entertainer hints at an unannounced NES game based on a 1987 computer hit. They’re not saying which game it is just yet, but will make an announcement soon.
Reviewed this month for the NES are: Town & Country Surf Designs, the NES Max controller, the Zinger Joystick, and Contra (our review here). In other NES news, Capcom has cancelled Speed Rumbler, which had been on its release lists for over a year. Instead they’re bringing out a hybrid overhead/side-scrolling shooter called Legendary Wings – which supports two-player simultaneous play.
As we mentioned earlier, there’s a severe chip shortage across the world that is having an impact on creating Game Paks. This is causing major shifts in release dates, with some games getting shoved completely out of this year and into the next. This is one of the major reasons we still haven’t seen Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on store shelves. The latest casualties of war include: Iron Tank (formerly known as TNK 3) and Fighting Golf being pushed back until June. All of GameTek’s lineup of games based on game shows have been delayed to the second half of this year. We’re also hearing that Nintendo is going to start pulling some of its older Game Paks out of production to allocate these precious chips to the newer games. So, if there are any games from the past several years that you’ve been waiting to pick up, you may want to act now before they’re sold out forever.
On a brighter note, Nintendo has increased production of its console to meet the massive demand. It’s now expected to ship 7 million systems instead of 5 million during 1988. Software output will increase from 15 million to 25 million cartridges for the year, which given the insatiable demand for new games we don’t think will be enough supply.
Download here or view the issue below!
Computer Entertainer - March 1988
Computer Entertainer Review Guidelines:
THE RATING SYSTEM:
4 SYMBOLS = EXCELLENT
3 SYMBOLS = GOOD
2 SYMBOLS = FAIR
1 SYMBOL = POOR
♦ = ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS (1st set of diamonds = quality of graphics; 2nd set = quality of game play and entertainment value)
Any program for a given system is compared only to other programs for the same system. In other words, all C64-compatibles are judged separately from Apple. Some programs, which are virtually identical for multiple systems, will be so noted. When we review software for more than one system, we will note differences and which system we reviewed.
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
