U.S. National Video Game Team

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U.S. National Video Game Team
FoundedJuly 1983; 40 years ago (1983-07)
U.S.
Websitewww.USNationalVideoGameTeam.com

The U.S. National Video Game Team (USNVGT) was founded in July, 1983 in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States by Walter Day and Jim Riley as part of the Electronic Circus tour, with Steve Sanders as the first captain. [1] [2] After the Circus folded, Day re-established the team with himself as the captain, [3] taking the team on a bus tour. The team challenged the players of arcades across the country and attempted to challenge other countries through visits to foreign embassies. In the years that followed the team ran numerous competitive contests.

In 1986, the USNVGT continued on without Day under Jeff Peters and Steve Harris[4] with Donn Nauert as team captain.[5] The team extended their reach to include publishing the Top Score Newsletter and Electronic Game Player Magazine a short time later.[6] Nauert appeared in television commercials for the Atari 7800[7] and served as the referee for Incredible Sunday on That's Incredible!, a three-game competition on the Nintendo Entertainment System that served as a precursor to the Nintendo World Championships 1990.[5][8] The USNVGT also endorsed various video game products with a Player's Seal of Approval from 1988–1989 and released a series of videocassettes with video game tips in 1989.[9] The team name continued to appear in the Electronic Gaming Monthly masthead until January 1995.

On August 7, 2015 Patrick Scott Patterson obtained ownership of the U.S. National Video Game Team and registered a trademark (86718839) with the United States Patent Trademark Office.[10]. Patterson and previous member Tim McVey are co-owners of the modern organization, which contains a mix of alumni and members new to the team. The announcement of the team revival came at Fantastic Fest 2015[11] with the premiere screening of Man VS. Snake, a film about McVey and team alumni Dwayne Richard. The current team as appeared at events such as E3, the Portland Retro Gaming Expo, and Mo Game Con II. Monthly updates on team activity appears in Play Meter.

Walter Day and his Business Partner from the early 1980's
Billy Mitchell and Pac-Man
Billy Mitchell and Steve Sanders outside the original Twin Galaxies arcade location in Ottumwa Iowa, 2014
Mark Hoff outside the original Twin Galaxies arcade location in Ottumwa Iowa, 2014
File:Ben Gold and Todd Rogers.jpg
Former team members Ben Gold and Todd Rogers provide commentary during the Twin Galaxies Entertainment Festival in Banning California, 2015

Publications

The U.S. National Video Game Team founded many publications in the 1980s. The first was the Top Score Newsletter, which was followed by the four-issue Electronic Game Player Magazine. In 1989, the Electronic Game Player Magazine format was improved and relaunched as Electronic Gaming Monthly. The USNVGT name appeared in the title of the magazine for the first several issues and within the magazine until 1995. [12] [13]

Secret Video Game Tricks, Codes & Strategies

In 1989, a three-volume set of videocassettes were released featuring U.S. National Video Game Team members teaching viewers how to perform secret codes, glitches and tricks on a variety of Nintendo Entertainment System games. [14] [15] [16] According to the current USNVGT, these serve as the first known examples of Let's Play videos. [17] A segment from one of them was featured on the July 18, 2016 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. [18]


Members

[19]

  • Chris Tang
  • Donn Nauert *
  • Jeff Peters
  • Lonnie McDonald
  • Martin Alessi
  • Patrick Scott Patterson
  • Tim McVey

Alumni

[20]

  • Ben Gold
  • Brent Walker
  • Chris Emery
  • Darren Olson/Chris Steele
  • David Nelson
  • David White
  • Dwayne Richard
  • Ed Semrad
  • Eric Ginner
  • Gary Hatt
  • Jason Reynolds
  • Jay Kim
  • Jim Allee
  • Ken Williams
  • Leo Daniels
  • Mark Bersabe
  • Mark Hoff
  • Perry Rodgers
  • Scott Rogers
  • Steve Harris
  • Steve Ryno
  • Steve Sanders *
  • Trickman Terry Minnich
  • Tim Collum
  • Todd Rogers
  • Tom Asaki
  • Walter Day * (co-founder)
  • William James "Billy" Mitchell, Jr.

[*] = former team captains

Historic dates and events

  • July 1983: Team founded as part of Electronic Circus tour with Steve Sanders as Team Captain. Author of The Video Masters Guide to Donkey Kong and noted Joust and Pac-Man champion.[21]
  • July 25, 1983: Team re-established in Ottumwa, Iowa by the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard with Walter Day as Team Captain.
  • August 11, 1983: Embarked on a national tour to conduct the 1983 Video Game Masters Tournament
  • Cystic Fibrosis Video Game Challenge Week in Ottumwa, August 8, 1983
  • Letter from Michigan House of Representatives. Harold Sawyer to USNVGT, August 16, 1983
  • "They're masters of Video Games", Spokesman-Review, August 24, 1983
  • August 24, 1983: U.S. National Video Game Team inspired Civic Proclamations around the USA.
  • Proclamation for Cystic Fibrosis Video Game Challenge Week, Lake Odessa, Michigan, August 8, 1983
  • September 15, 1983: Conducted a tour of the East Coast of the United States on behalf of Video Game Player Magazine to verify excessive high-score claims submitted by players.
  • September 24, 1983: Hand-delivered official documents to the Japanese and Italian Embassies in Washington, D.C., challenging these countries to an International Video Championship.
  • "Benefit Hones Video Game Skill", Chicago Suburban Tribune, August 24, 1983
  • "U.S. vs. Japan Video Tournament", CashBox Magazine, August 27, 1983
  • "U.S. Video Team Forming, Plans Call for Match with Japan", RePlay Magazine, October 1, 1983
  • November 15, 1983: Ottumwa Proclamation to the People of the Country of Italy, November 15, 1983
  • Ottumwa issues a Proclamation, challenging the Country of Italy on behalf of the U.S. National Video Game Team, November 15, 1983
  • January 14, 1984: Working with the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard, the USNVGT conducted the 1984 Coronation Day to crown the 1983 players, manufacturers and magazines of the past year.
  • Twin Galaxies' Coronation Day Crowns Video's Best of '83:RePlay Magazine, February 1, 1984
  • February 12, 1984: The U.S. National Video Game Team attends the February, 1984 AMOA Expo in New Orleans, beginning a long tradition of reviewing new games for the video game industry.
  • "U.S. National Video Game Team Rates Games", PlayMeter Magazine, March 1, 1984
  • February 10-February 12, 1984: Canada-USA Video Game Team Conference is organized by USNVGT.
  • Canadian Video Team Being Formed: CashBox Magazine, March 10, 1984
  • U.S. National Video Game Team at 1984 AMOA Expo:Vending Times, December 1, 1984
  • April 12, 1985: The Red Cross Video Game Team Invites President Ronald Reagan to Join The Team
  • The U.S. National Video Game Team organizes a fundraiser for the Red Cross and announces plans to create a Red Cross Video Team to take to Washington, DC.
  • April 8, 1986: The U.S. National Video Game Team is authorized by the Guinness Book of World Records to organize contests.
  • Guinness sends letter to U.S. National Video Game Team, April 8, 1986
  • April 1, 1987: U.S. National Video Game Team Announces its 1987 "Best Games" at the ACME.
  • U.S. National Video Team Picks its Favorites, Vending Times, New York, NY, April 1, 1987
  • April 1, 1987: U.S. National Video Game Team Conducts 1987 Video Game Masters Tournament for Guinness.
  • Video Game Masters Match Will Help March of Dimes, Vending Times, New York, NY, April 1, 1987
  • July 12, 1987: The U.S. National Video Game Team organizes 1987 Video Game Masters Tournament for Guinness Record Book.
  • Video game champ buys 40 hours of play with 25 cents: Torrance Daily Breeze, Torrance, CA, July 12, 1987


References

  1. ^ All In Color for a Quarter page on the Electronic Circus history
  2. ^ Official Team History Page
  3. ^ All in Color for a Quarter Team History Page, citing re-establishment
  4. ^ Official U.S. National Video Game Team Website
  5. ^ a b Patterson, Patrick Scott (June 25, 2015). "ICONS: Donn Nauert is one of the fathers of eSports competition". SyFy. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  6. ^ "ICONS: Jeff Peters has left his mark on multiple aspects of gaming culture - Part 2". Syfy. May 8, 2015.
  7. ^ Owen Good (13 Apr 2012), There was Once a U.S. National Video Game Team, and This Guy Was Its Captain, Kotaku, retrieved 7 Aug 2013
  8. ^ Greenland, Drew (January 1983). LIFE Magazine http://www.twingalaxies.com/content.php/626-Ch-04-LIFE-Magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ IMDb
  10. ^ "Patrick Scott Patterson Assumes Ownership". trademarks.justia.com.
  11. ^ New ownership press release
  12. ^ GamingMagz history of US Team publications
  13. ^ Interview with Jeff Peters - May 8, 2015
  14. ^ Secret Video Game Tricks, Codes & Strategies Volume 1 on IMDb
  15. ^ Secret Video Game Tricks, Tips & Codes Volume 2 on IMDb
  16. ^ Secret Video Game Tricks, Codes & Strategies Volume 3 on IMDb
  17. ^ USNVGT History Page
  18. ^ July 18, 2016 episode of The Tonight Show on IMDb
  19. ^ Official Website Members Page
  20. ^ Official team alumni page
  21. ^ Official Team website
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