‘Playing With Power’ Documentary Is a Nostalgic, Educational and Entertaining Look At Nintendo’s History

I know this isn’t exactly Disney or Universal, but since Nintendo is working with Universal on park expansions I’m going to say it fits!

Previously I mentioned that this series was coming out, and recently I watched the 5-episode “Playing With Power” documentary on Crackle.

This article is because I want to recommend it. It’s a fantastic look into the history of Nintendo, the origin of games and characters, and a look at video game history.

The documentary is written and directed by Jeremy Snead and executive produced and narrated by Sean Astin. It’s free to those that would like to watch it.

It premiered on March 1st, with all five parts dropped at once.

Here’s the trailer:

The Episode List:

  • Episode 1: Play Your Cards Right -Talks about where the company came from and leads up to their Donkey Kong arcade cabinet hit!
  • Episode 2: A Trojan Horse – This episode looks at the fall of the video gaming industry and how Nintendo came in and turned it around with the NES.
  • Episode 3: A Sleeping Giant – This episode looks at the CD shift in gaming and how SEGA came onto the scene.
  • Episode 4: Forward Motion– A look at the 90’s-early 2000’s when Playstation and X-box came onto the gaming scene and Game Cube didn’t perform nearly as well.
  • Episode 5: Reset Button – The Wii took the world by storm. The Wii U confused and underperformed and then the Nintendo Switch put them back on top.

Here’s the write-up from IGN:

Playing With Power: The Nintendo Story​peels back the curtain on the famously-secretive Japanese company that would eventually take the global videogame industry by storm. Discover the humble beginnings of a gaming business that began many decades before the invention of television, and ride along the bumpy road of hits, misses, and wild ideas that turned Nintendo from a local playing card maker into a worldwide household name. Narrated by Sean Astin, the electrifying story is presented by an ensemble of Nintendo personnel, celebrity icons, and industry veterans including Wil Wheaton, Alison Haislip, former Nintendo CEO Reggie Fils-Aimé, and head of Xbox Phil Spencer.

If you are a Nintendo fan like we are, you will likely enjoy this series. It was very well done and worth the watch!

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer’s point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*