8-Bit Legacy: The Rise of Mr. Nintendo - Ep. 4 now live

Live now, Watchable’s newest series 8-Bit Legacy: The Curious History of Video Games unlocks the untold, true stories behind the world’s most beloved video games with in-depth oral histories with the creators.

Tune in today to watch the fourth installment of the series 8-Bit Legacy, The Rise of Mr. Nintendo. In this week’s episode viewers follow the story of Howard Phillips, who went from the position of shipping warehouse manager, to being known as one of the first “Game Masters” and paid video game player.

Howard’s enthusiasm and love for video games led him to be selected as the voice for consumers in the United States, testing every new Nintendo game that came out. But how did parents take to their children's new obsession of Nintendo’s greatest hits, such as Donkey Kong and Mario? Not so lightly.

Episode 1: The Gunslingin’ Greatness of “Mad Dog McCree”
“The first live action video arcade game so terrible it’s great.” Want to play a game “so bad it’s good”? Look no further than the light gun game: Mad Dog McCree, a haphazard video game using amateur actors and a script that B-movie directors could only dream of. It’s a miracle that it exists at all.

Episode 2: The Hunt for “The Hobbit” Hero
The Hobbit. It was a global hit with gamers. Even if you’re not one of them, you’ve probably heard of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Well, the person responsible for programming the video game version, wasn’t a gamer either. She was a student. Unaware of her creation’s success, she moved on to another career. Years went by and die-hard fans started a global hunt to find their master.

Episode 3: The House That Cheese Built
Nolan Bushnell is often cited as “the father of the video game industry.” He is best known as the founder of the Atari corporation, but there is one more thing he created… and it has to do with melted cheese. We meet the man whose inventions permanently shaped the ways Americans entertain themselves.

Episode 4: The Rise of Mr. Nintendo
This is a story about the untold legends of Nintendo. Howard Phillips used to be a warehouse manager, and turned into a game master celebrity.

Episode 5: Gaming’s Most BIZARRE Urban Legend
Legend has it that in the ‘80s a mysterious unmarked arcade cabinet was installed by the United States Government in Portland. The game allegedly gave night terrors, seizures and induced hypnosis. Though the arcade cabinet probably never existed, it’s legend was inspired on real events and keep on inspiring others.

Episode 6: Searching for the First Street Fighter King
Enter California circa 1992: Street Fighter II has just been released and became a massive sensation almost overnight. In San Diego, a teenager is drawing large crowds, who just want to watch him play. Tomo Ohira - the undisputed king of Street Fighter - dominates over his rivals. Then one day, he vanished without a trace. Early internet chat rooms wondered what happened to their hero and to this day, it remains a mystery.

Episode 7: The Real Story Behind Mario
Whether you’re a gamer or not, you’ve definitely heard of Mario. He is the most iconic video game character of all time. But do you know what inspired his creation? We tell the untold story of Mario’s birth.