I’m the Lead Video Game Cataloger here at Heritage Auctions, but I’m a big film buff as well, so I always find our VHS sales compelling. While scrolling through our upcoming Showcase Auction, I noticed there are four video game-related movies (actually, one of them is a game—you’ll see what I mean) up for grabs to the highest bidder, so I thought it would be a cool idea to highlight them here. Viva la video games and VHS tapes!
The Legend of Zelda: The Ringer (1989)
“The Ringer” was the first episode of The Legend of Zelda animated series, which originally aired as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! The evil Ganon plans to sabotage the Amateur Magician’s Contest in the Hyrule Castle and abscond with the Triforce in the process. Only Link and Zelda can stop him. I haven’t seen a copy of this VHS tape in the wild in many years, let alone a factory-sealed example, so this is a treat to be sure. For any Legend of Zelda collector, this would be an excellent display piece to place alongside the games.
RoboCop VCR Game (1988)
Back in the ‘80s, the only game I had that used a VHS tape was The VCR Quarterback Game, which I bought for my dad so we could play it together. It was fun, but I’m sure I would have enjoyed this one based on RoboCop (1987) even more. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, RoboCop is a masterpiece of dystopian science fiction, and it holds up extremely well to repeated viewings, thanks in part to the greatness of lead actors Peter Weller and Nancy Allen. Along with a game board, playing pieces, cards, an instruction booklet, and a six-sided die, RoboCop VCR Game includes a 30-minute video cassette tape with footage from the movie. “I’d buy that for a dollar!” Many dollars, actually!
Super Mario Bros. Demo Tape (1993)
Back in 1993, when Super Mario Bros. starring Bob Hoskins in the title role debuted in theaters, my girlfriend Charis (now my wife) and I took our nephew Chris and niece Cara to see it. Afterward, we went back to Charis’s apartment for ice cream sundaes. I must admit that my favorite part of the day was the frozen dessert topped with goodies, but it was cool seeing a live-action representation of one of my favorite video games onscreen. Plus, my nephew really enjoyed it, which is always a plus. In recent years, especially with the release of the animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the original has been fun to revisit, and I own it on DVD. The VHS copy we’re offering is truly special as it is a rare advance demo tape.
WarGames (1983)
WarGames is more about computer games than video games, but that’s too fine of a distinction for these purposes, is it not? Plus, there’s a great scene where David (Mathew Broderick) plays Galaga, with Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) looking on. Back in 2020, I rewatched the film ahead of my appearance on a podcast called Staff Picks, where we waxed eloquent (or at least verbose) about the movie for almost two hours. I’ve loved the film since I was 16 years old when it came out, and I was happy to discover that it holds up remarkably well. It remains intense, relevant, well-acted, and more fun than a pocket full of quarters on a rainy day at the arcade.
