The Unreadables

post from Gaming After 40 on 20 March 2010 04:00:00 PM. © Gaming After 40

In the late 8-bit/early 16-bit era, Ocean was known primarily for publishing movie-based games. Usually these titles were generic platformer designs with artwork inspired by the movie license slapped on top. And usually these games were released just in time for the movie to hit the big screen, with ads prominently featuring the movie logo.

For one such game, things were different.

First, this game didn't make it to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System until 1994, seven years after the movie's theatrical release.

Second, the logo was almost hidden in the ad:

See it? Wrapped around two of the three shiny, shiny bullets? Brian de Palma's The Untouchables?

The logo is actually quite a bit easier to spot in this scan than in the original print ad -- I found myself staring at the page in Video Games & Computer Entertainment for a long, confused moment, wondering what the ad was promoting, before I spotted it.

Remember, kids -- when you're advertising a game based on a license that's no longer current, the last thing you want to do is hide the name.