Slamfest '99

The Slamfest '99 logo

Slamfest '99 was a promotional event held at MGM Grand on April 21st, 1999. The game promoted Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. The game was streamed via Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). To access it, you would download a .ram file, which would expire after the event was done. To watch it, you could view the file while the event was underway. Since the file expired, there is no known video footage of the event.

Description

The event was basically a WWE match, but with Nintendo characters. The costumes used for the fighters were the same costumes as the U.S. commercials for Super Smash Bros. The fighters, split into two teams, were Mario and Yoshi (Red Team), and Donkey Kong and Pikachu (Blue Team). The match lasted for about 20 minutes, action-packed with punches and mayhem.

Slamfest was the brainchild of Nintendo of America and PR Firm Golin/Harris. The choreography potentially involved Cirque du Soleil actors. The costumes were provided by KCL Productions. These were the same costumes used in the US commercial promoting Super Smash Bros. However, there was the [[wikipedia:Columbine School Shootings|Columbine School Shootings] ]earlier that week, so Nintendo had to be cautious on how it played out.

The fight

The start of the match.

Starting off the match, off to a quick start, DK dominates Mario. He smashes him in the gut, knocking him down for a few minutes. Following in Mario's steps, Yoshi arrives, angered. He knocks out DK. But, DK isn't there alone. Pikachu, feeling upset at Yoshi, goes crazy, and knocks out Yoshi. But then, everyone stands up and looks at Mario. There went Mario, going crazy, knocking out everyone, even his own teammate. Even the ref got in on the action. Apparently, he took a bite out of Pikachu's ear and declared it tasted like chicken.

First-hand Accounts

The ticket from Slamfest '99

"Mario and Donkey would start the match. Donkey Kong, being much larger than our favorite plumber, quickly took Mario out. Yoshi came in and got his revenge on the gorilla. Pikachu would come in for the monkey only to be knocked down by Yoshi's lethal tail. Then, before anyone knew it, Mario went crazy. He wiped out Donkey Kong, Pikachu, and his own teammate, Yoshi. Ultimately, the match would end in a crash which knocked out everyone resulting in a draw. "Everyone's a winner!" the announcer yelled." - Zelda 64 Planet

Digital preservation

Since the presentation was broadcast on RealPlayer, digital preservation wasn't the best at the time. Enter Ed Espinoza, a professional photographer. He took first-hand photos of the event. The event was very obscure, even for fans. It wasn't heavily promoted beyond the initial stream. Nintendo has never referenced the event after it, so we do not know if Nintendo has video of it. However, it is very unlikely they did record it. The event is considered lost media.