The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show: Nintendo Hotline Game Counselor Erich Blattner

This week on the Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show, Jeff talks to Erich Blattner, a former Nintendo Hotline Game Counselor. The Nintendo Hotline existed back in the late 80’s/early 90’s, for people to call in and get help if they were stuck on a Nintendo game.

They talk about how he got the job, what it was like to work as a game counselor, how well-versed in video games you had to be to do the job properly and at the end they also talk about what it’s like to be a video game tester, a job that Erich Blattner had after he stopped being a game counselor.

“It works in the short terms, but causes problems in the long term. If those connectors were not all seated properly, you would get garbage on your screen. By blowing on those connectors you are adding a bit of moisture from your breath, and that is often times helping make that connection, but in the long run it would corode those contacts. ” - Eric Blattner on what blowing in cartridges actually did.

“The perception was that it was mostly kids calling, but actually it was people of all ages. I would get calls from senior citizen centers where that was what they did to keep their brain active - they played video games. You would get calls from the parents that were playing the game.” - Eric Blattner on who called the Nintendo Hotline.

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The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show: Nintendo Hotline Game […]