{"id":40269,"date":"2018-08-14T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/08\/feature_the_day_i_met_donkey_kong_on_live_tv"},"modified":"2018-08-14T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T14:00:00","slug":"feature-the-day-i-met-donkey-kong-on-live-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/08\/14\/feature-the-day-i-met-donkey-kong-on-live-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: The Day I Met Donkey Kong On Live TV"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/080bf03a7f318\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/080bf03a7f318\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a title=\"GWL 06\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/080bf03a7f318\/gwl-06.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/080bf03a7f318\/gwl-06.900x.jpg\" alt=\"GWL 06\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><em>In this special one-off piece, reader Alex Norton explains how he ended up being the first gamer to get his hands on Donkey Kong Country, way back in 1994.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Back in 1994, I felt like the luckiest kid alive. I was the one-millionth caller to the Nintendo Hotline in the UK and had won my height in computer games, as well as the first copy in the world of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/snes\/donkey_kong_country\">Donkey Kong Country<\/a><\/strong>. To top it all off, a program on Sky TV called Games World was going to cover the whole thing, and shoot live from my house.<\/p>\n<p>I have Princess Toadstool to thank for this; when she overtook me right on the finish line of the last stage in the special cup in <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/snes\/super_mario_kart\">Super Mario Kart<\/a><\/strong> on the SNES &#8211; a move which ultimately robbed me of the cup &#8211; I was so infuriated I had to ring the hotline for any tips. Little did I know that I would end up being the one-millionth person to have done so since the Hotline opened &#8211; thanks, Peach!<\/p>\n<p>A team from Hewland International &#8211; the producers of both Games World and GamesMaster, the latter being perhaps the most famous TV show dedicated to games the UK has ever seen &#8211; came to my house to do some preliminary filming for the show which would be added to the live broadcast. On the day of the show, a much larger team arrived and packed out our house with all kinds of equipment; there was a large satellite on a trailer set up outside, with cables and monitors all over the place.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a title=\"GWL 03\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/00ef9e5cc59c9\/gwl-03.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/00ef9e5cc59c9\/gwl-03.900x.jpg\" alt=\"GWL 03\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The scene was set on a cold November evening in the Shropshire hills, both myself and the presenter Andy Collins poised in front of a camera while the TV crew counted down to transmission in 3, 2, 1. <em>Gulp<\/em>. I was live on Sky TV, which was absolutely terrifying but an experience I didn\u2019t want to end.<\/p>\n<p>After the introduction, the show went back to a studio where phone-in challengers were picked to play against my team using a telephone keypad as a controller. It was difficult to play as there was some lag between pressing a button and the character on screen responding. The first challenge was to collect as many marbles as possible in <strong>Bubsy the Bobcat<\/strong> on the SNES in a set time. Luckily, I happened upon a bag of marbles on my playthrough, easily beating my opponent.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"GWL 05\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/5661d0cf101ed\/gwl-05.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/5661d0cf101ed\/gwl-05.445x245.jpg\" width=\"445\" height=\"245\" alt=\"GWL 05\" \/><\/a><a title=\"GWL 01\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/fe173066a37f8\/gwl-01.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/fe173066a37f8\/gwl-01.445x245.jpg\" width=\"445\" height=\"245\" alt=\"GWL 01\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"GWL 09\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/02ec03cbcd90e\/gwl-09.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/02ec03cbcd90e\/gwl-09.445x245.jpg\" width=\"445\" height=\"245\" alt=\"GWL 09\" \/><\/a><a title=\"GWL 04\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/17c482addc255\/gwl-04.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/17c482addc255\/gwl-04.445x245.jpg\" width=\"445\" height=\"245\" alt=\"GWL 04\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>What followed next completely took me by surprise, as I had no knowledge whatsoever that I was to be presented &#8211; live on British TV, no less &#8211; with the first edition of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/snes\/donkey_kong_country\">Donkey Kong Country<\/a><\/strong> by none other than Donkey Kong himself (who turned out to be a lady in a suit). Nintendo had sent some representatives to award me the game and officially invite me to their HQ in Hampshire; this was an absolute dream come true, as you can imagine.<\/p>\n<p>We had breaks in between studio scenes and then continued to play phone-in challengers with both me and my sister getting through to the final, while my friend Rowan was unfortunately knocked out, meaning he had to face a rather nasty forfeit (watch the video at the bottom of this page to see).<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a title=\"Kong fans, look away now. You can't handle the truth.\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/05637101b5daf\/kong-fans-look-away-now-you-cant-handle-the-truth.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/05637101b5daf\/kong-fans-look-away-now-you-cant-handle-the-truth.900x.jpg\" alt=\"Kong fans, look away now. You can't handle the truth.\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Kong fans, look away now. You can&#8217;t handle the truth.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>I was only allowed to play Donkey Kong Country for a short time under the watchful eye of a Nintendo employee, as they would be taking it back to their office where I would pick up during my upcoming visit. By this point, I had won my height in Nintendo games <em>and<\/em> a Sega Mega Drive with <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/megadrive\/sonic_and_knuckles\">Sonic &amp; Knuckles<\/a><\/strong> (which I gave to my friend Rowan) so the little time I had with Donkey Kong is a little bit of a blur; my head was spinning, as you can no doubt\u00a0appreciate.<\/p>\n<p>To be the first gamer to play it outside of Rare and Nintendo\u00a0was a massive honour, and I am so pleased that I still have it; out of all my games, it remains the jewel in the crown and I would never part with it. I still have all the games, consoles and accessories I won, along with an official Nintendo Hotline\u00a0jumper and various other things from Nintendo.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Nintendo HQ 01\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/983189c2f282c\/nintendo-hq-01.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/983189c2f282c\/nintendo-hq-01.292x245.jpg\" width=\"292\" height=\"245\" alt=\"Nintendo HQ 01\" \/><\/a><a title=\"Nintendo HQ 03\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/7f5705cfdfb00\/nintendo-hq-03.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/7f5705cfdfb00\/nintendo-hq-03.292x245.jpg\" width=\"292\" height=\"245\" alt=\"Nintendo HQ 03\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Nintendo HQ 02\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/59df44639ecf0\/nintendo-hq-02.original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/59df44639ecf0\/nintendo-hq-02.603x495.jpg\" width=\"603\" height=\"495\" alt=\"Nintendo HQ 02\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>I would say that after that experience of being on TV and receiving all those games did change me a little but I felt incredibly fortunate and would like to say it didn&#8217;t go to my head (although it probably did). When the show was over, the crew packed up and said their goodbyes, leaving behind a very quiet house which was incredibly surreal.<\/p>\n<p>Following on from the game show I visited Nintendo&#8217;s HQ in Hampshire, which was an absolutely magical experience. I met the Hotline team and the editor of the Nintendo Magazine System Andy McVittie, as the magazine was writing a small article on me. One of the most amazing experiences I had there was being asked what I would like to play, after which I was taken to a room with <em>every<\/em> Nintendo game under the sun. My choice? <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/snes\/legend_of_zelda_a_link_to_the_past\">The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past<\/a><\/strong>, this was when my obsession with all things Zelda started.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a title=\"Alex with his pile of games today. As you can see, he's grown a bit since 1994.\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c881e83b097f2\/alex-with-his-pile-of-games-today-as-you-can-see-hes-grown-a-bit-since-1994.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c881e83b097f2\/alex-with-his-pile-of-games-today-as-you-can-see-hes-grown-a-bit-since-1994.900x.jpg\" alt=\"Alex with his pile of games today. As you can see, he's grown a bit since 1994.\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Alex with his pile of games today. As you can see, he&#8217;s grown a bit since 1994.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>My interest in computer games goes back to the late &#8217;80s when I was playing on the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, but this experience really solidified me as a Nintendo fan; I always felt a sense of belonging to Nintendo and also part of its history, albeit in a small way. Life was not easy for me before all of this happened and I would like to thank Nintendo, Rare and the production company for making a 13-year-old boy&#8217;s world light up. I&#8217;m now 37 and still a massive gamer, as well as a big kid at heart &#8211; and don&#8217;t see that ever changing. Thanks, Nintendo.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<div class=\"youtube\">[embedded content]<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this special one-off piece, reader Alex Norton explains how he ended up being the first gamer to get his hands on Donkey Kong Country, way back in 1994. Back in 1994, I felt like the luckiest kid alive. I was the one-millionth caller to the Nintendo Hotline in the UK and had won my [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}