Let’s be clear: if you get stuck in a game today it’s almost because you want to. I assure you first-hand that it is possible to solve all the puzzles in the Silent Hill 2 remake without any help other than what the game itself gives you, although you can always find a quick solution with a couple of internet searches. But, of course, there was a time when The Legend of Zelda solutions weren’t there and there were still decades before YouTube or Reddit existed. The solution to all this was a phone number. Specifically that of Nintendo Power Line.
At the end of the 80s and late 90s, telephone services known as hotlines or direct lines. The reason for the existence of Nintendo Power Line was, in essence, for players to get in touch with a team of experts authorized by Nintendo capable of instantly solving any doubt, puzzle or challenge of the games released on NES and other consoles. As crazy as it sounds. But, How much did the call cost?
How Nintendo Power Line worked
First things first and it is worth putting it in perspective: hotlines were not something exclusive to the United States, and although in Europe neither flat rates nor unlimited calls had been standardized at the time, the price for calling any direct line was superior to traditional calls. As you might expect, this also applied to Nintendo Power Line rates.
Unlike other contemporary hotlines, the main purpose of Nintendo Power Line was very specific: to offer an official channel specifically dedicated to offering any solution to players. A direct line that had up to 33 experts selected by Nintendo itself.
So the operators, called Game Counselorsthey not only had to be experts, but also respond concisely to the questions raised. Anticipating the needs of the person on the other end of the phone and interpreting what they want to say, even if they have been stuck for three whole days on something very simple.
With that established the price of the call per minute It was $1.50. in the United States and 2 dollars if calling from Canada. If we apply inflation and call from North Dakota, for example, today it would be 2.54 US dollars per minute and only a little less if we also convert to dollars.
An expensive price? Logically, whoever is on the other end of the call is working, is assisting you in a personalized way and is nothing less than an expert. But sometimes it was the only alternative to move forward. And yes, there were alternatives and Nintendo also provided them.
What options did you have when you got stuck (besides the Nintendo Power Line)
An additional point must be made: Nintendo was not the only video game company that offered a hotline. In fact, those who have played Monkey Island know it well since the LucasArts one is a recurring gag in the saga. However, both then and now Nintendo was not just a brand, it was a commitment to the consumer.
In other words, going to a Game Counselor was about having any doubt about your games resolved. Well, actually you could ask him all the questions you wanted since you paid by the minute. Perhaps $1.50 at the time for a minute on the phone seems excessive considering the facilities we have today, but if you don’t know how to beat a final boss of a very specific game, the other options at the time included:
- Waiting for someone you know to achieve it before you and explain it to you.
- Cross your fingers that the solution appears published in a specialized magazine.
- That a specific guide appears in your usual bookstore, whether official or unofficial. On paper, of course.
And for this reason, Nintendo Power Line It had to be the definitive solution if we were truly stuck, even if we had exhausted all other alternatives. With that in mind, Nintendo had its official magazines. In Europe we had Club Nintendo, which was received by those who sent the form included in the games, and in the United States there were several, highlighting Nintendo Power.
Magazines that, by the way, also had sections dedicated to tricks and boards in which readers could make queries and which included maps and secret codes. Although, of course, as a medium they did not resolve your doubts about all your games or extremely specific questions.
And that, whether you like it or not, brings us to the final question: did these experts really know all the Nintendo games inside out?
The great secret of those who knew all the secrets
The dynamics of Nintendo Power Line are explained in a single sentence: you call, ask whatever you want about a video game and they tell you the answer immediately, precisely and in an understandable way. Depending on the game, you have to specify what point in the game or adventure you are at, of course, but the so-called Game Counselors knew it all. But, How is it possible that they knew all the answers?
As reported in Nintendo Power magazine, up to 800 people applied to work at Nintendo Power Line and the attitudes that were valued were excellence in dealing with customers, the ability to write quickly, having at least the title high school and reside in the Seattle metropolitan area. And, well, it is also important that you are passionate about video games. But, as you will see, playing was more of a recommendation.
The volume of games published at the time could not be compared to today, but even then it was practically impossible to recruit a team of Game Counselors who mastered every game released on the launch NES plus those already available. And not only that, since we have to assume that the person on the other end of the line had all the dungeons of each game memorized and, in addition, what is in each room of each phase. Luckily for everyone, even the trick experts had their own trick.
In each Game Counselors cubicle was what we can consider the guide of all guides: the Nintendo Game Counselor Guide. A colossal archive in which each and every one of the data and secrets of dozens of games were found, including very complete and detailed maps, annotations and extensive tables. Logically, when a new game arrived, new pages were added so it was not necessary to edit reviews and, in addition, tips were included to make the explanations simpler.
These super-guides were complemented by the employee manual that was reviewed annually and that, ultimately, had less to do with the content for the games and more as a guide when it came to helping and offering the service. So the caller feels like they are wasting their time and the Game Counselor knows how to proceed even with the least frequently asked questions.
Which did not prevent them from receiving questions that were impossible to answer since there are challenges that, for one reason or another, can only be overcome through skill. What did the Game Counselors do about those? Let’s say that, even in those, they had phrases to get by.
“The only thing I can do is wish you luck and cross my fingers. And I assure you that I will keep them crossed”
In fact, and to be fair, Game Counselors were “strongly encouraged” to play each video game rather than sit back and blindly trust that the solution to each question would be on one of these pages.
Why Nintendo Power Line disappeared before the Wii was released
The direct line of Nintendo Power Line It was active in the United States between 1987 and 2005. Many of the Game Counselors, in fact, wrote for other magazines including Nintendo Power and even had their own section called “Counselors’ Corner”. However, in the last years of the service there was a big change in player habits: hotlines were a thing of the past and the future was the internet.
After the turn of the millennium and a year after the launch of the Wii, Nintendo itself came to the conclusion that the use of the Internet had spread enough to be able to offer a faster and more concise type of help. You didn’t have to describe maps, you could show them in great detail, and players themselves began to create and share their own definitive guides. As a matter of fact, and to put ourselves in context, YouTube opened in February 2005.
Europe was no exception, for the record. If we go to the Nintendo Guides website We will see that the first ones there are dedicated to the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS or Wii catalog and the degree of detail is the same as what could be expected from the telephone service. The two advantages for the consumer: access is free and you can consult 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
Which, by the way, has not been at odds with continuing to release paper guides in the days of Nintendo Switch.
And what happened to the Game Counselors? Nintendo of America reassigned them to other departments. Because perhaps the arrival of the Internet solved many mysteries, currently it gives us the solutions at the moment and in the palm of our hands, but it is the master touch of those who work there and the ability to anticipate consumer problems that really ends up marking the difference.
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