The U.S. National Video Game Team (USNVGT) was founded in July 1983 in Ottumwa,

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, United States by

Walter Day Walter Aldro Day (born May 14, 1949) is an American businessman and the founder of Twin Galaxies, an organization that tracks world records for video games and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. Biography Day was born in Oakl ...

and Jim Riley as part of the Electronic Circus tour, with Steve Sanders as the first captain. After the Circus folded, Day re-established the team with himself as the captain, taking the team on a bus tour. The team challenged the players of arcades across the country and attempted to challenge other countries through visits to foreign embassies. In the years that followed the team ran numerous competitive contests.

History

The first annual U.S. National Video Game Team competition was held in 1985.

Arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arc ...

s at the competition included the

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Karate Champ ''Karate Champ'', known in Japan as , is a 1984 arcade fighting game developed by Technōs Japan (which would later developing 1995 Neo Geo titles ''Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer'' with SNK) and released by Data East. A variety of moves can be per ...

'' (1984), the

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) leve ...

title '' Kung-Fu Master'' (1984), the run-and-gun shooter ''

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'' (1985) and the

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'' (1985). In 1986, the USNVGT continued on without Day under Jeff Peters and Steve Harris with Donn Nauert as team captain. The team extended their reach to include publishing the ''Top Score Newsletter'' and ''

Electronic Game Player Magazine ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' a short time later. Nauert appeared in television commercials for the

Atari 7800 The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a home video game console officially released by Atari Corporation in 1986 as the successor to both the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200. It can run almost all Atari 2600 cartridges, making it one ...

and served as the referee for Incredible Sunday on ''

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'', a three-game competition on the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

that served as a precursor to the Nintendo World Championships 1990. Walter Day and his Business Partner from the early 1980's

Publications

The U.S. National Video Game Team founded many publications in the 1980s. The first was the ''Top Score Newsletter'' (published by the Amusement Players Association), which was followed by the four-issue ''Electronic Game Player Magazine''. In 1989, the ''Electronic Game Player Magazine'' format was improved and relaunched as ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The ...

''. The USNVGT name appeared in the title of the magazine for the first several issues and within the magazine until 1995.

References

{{reflist Esports teams based in the United States Video game culture 1983 establishments in the United States