Gallery: 12 Games That Existed Just to Sell You Junk Food
01001-KOOLAID
Given their [prominence in the new console's marketing materials](https://www.dewanddoritos.com/), one would be forgiven for thinking that the killer apps for the Xbox One are Mountain Dew and Doritos. Games that assume their customers must be junk food-gobbling teens are nothing new, though. Since the days of Atari, videogames have been used to deliver food advertisements. Sometimes the games themselves are based around a popular food product, restaurant or mascot. McDonald's had its own Nintendo game called [M.C. Kids](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.C._Kids); more recently, [Burger King sold custom Xbox games](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/news/2006/12/72217) featuring its creepy plastic-headed monarch. But the story of games and junk food doesn't end there. Several lesser-known games from around the world have real-life food products buried in them. Some are rare promotional items, some are existing games that have had ads inserted into them, and some just tried in offensive ways to bombard us with surprise hidden ads after we'd already paid for the game. Here's our look at the semi-secret history of junk food and videogames. __Above:__ Kool-Aid Man (Atari 2600, Intellivision) ---------------------------------------- The intrepid pioneer of a long line of games prominently featuring sweetened beverages, Kool-Aid Man gave children worldwide the opportunity they dreamed of to smash through walls, scream "OHHH YEAAAAAH!" and tout the values of new Sharkleberry Finn flavor. At least, that’s probably what they hoped they would get, but the actual game was a dull-as-dirt affair where you try and stop blobby things called "Thirsties" from drinking all the water in a pond. You could obtain the game via the tried-and-true method of mailing in Kool-Aid Points, but if you were lacking in back-of-the-package currency you could also get it in stores for traditional bills. Either way, you still felt ripped off. *Screengrab: [VGMuseum](http://www.vgmuseum.com)*
02002-PEPSI
Pepsi Invaders (Atari 2600) --------------------------- A common thread among many of the more interesting food-themed game is that many were promotional items of some stripe. Among these is Pepsi Invaders, a game that reminds us of a time when we were eager to ignore actual world conflict in favor of the "Cola Wars." Coca-Cola commissioned Atari for a game to give away at the soft drink maker's 1983 sales convention, and Atari obliged by giving Pepsi an altered version of Space Invaders in which some of the aliens were replaced by the letters P-E-P-S-I. Only around 125 copies of the game were made and distributed, making it an instant rarity and object of desire to Atari collectors then and now. *Screengrab: [VGMuseum](http://www.vgmuseum.com)*
03003-CHUCK
Chase the Chuck Wagon (Atari 2600) ---------------------------------- Like Pepsi Invaders, Chase the Chuck Wagon was a promotional game. But instead of being a private corporate giveaway item, Chase the Chuck Wagon was only obtainable by sending in proofs of purchase to the manufacturer. If the name doesn’t call up any associations, then you’re probably under the age of 30, as the game is based on a [popular series of ads for Purina's "Chuck Wagon" brand dog food](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BBqgMQluDM). Purina contracted developer Spectravision to make a promotional game, seeing opportunity in the early-80s Atari boom days, and the company produced this game over a single weekend. Seeing as how the bottom fell out of the Atari market soon after that, and the product’s target audience was more apt to chew on joystick cables than play games, Chase the Chuck Wagon didn’t set the gaming landscape of 1983 on fire. Nowadays, though, it’s considered among the rarest cartridges for the 2600. *Screengrab: [VGMuseum](http://www.vgmuseum.com)*
04004-KAETTEMARIO
Kaettekita Mario Bros. (Famicom Disk System) -------------------------------------------- Nintendo Entertainment System was the hottest thing imaginable in North America during the late 80's, yet the Famicom was somehow even more ubiquitous in Japan. Advertisers were ready and willing to strike deals with the folks behind the platform’s hottest titles. Nintendo itself was more than happy to lend some virtual billboard space from time to time. Kaettekita Mario Bros. (roughly, "The Mario Bros. Return") is a re-release of the original Mario Bros. with some tweaks to make it more faithful to the arcade original… and a whole mess of ads for food products from a company called Nagatanien. Pick the "Nagatanien World" mode and you'd see ads for [*ochazuke-nori*](http://www.amazon.com/Nagatanien-Ochazuke-Nori-1-69-Ounce-Units/dp/B001AYD7BO), fried rice seasoning, or even Super Mario-branded [*furikake*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furikake) and curry rice (pictured). *Screengrab: Wired*
05005-GRADIUS
Gradius Archimendes Hen (Famicom) --------------------------------- Scrolling shooters were the hottest game genre in Japan in the mid-80's, and one of the biggest was Konami’s Gradius. Gradius Archimendes Hen was a contest prize tied in with the Archimendes brand of instant cup ramen. In the game, the traditional Gradius power-up capsules have been replace with an indistinct brown trapezoid that is intended to look like the Archimendes package. Yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds, but it’s also exceptionally rare to find today. *Screengrab: Wired*
06006-NOID
Yo! Noid (NES) -------------- Japan wasn't the only country getting revamped advertising-laden games, though. [Domino’s Pizza ads from the late 80's](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bri0SA7FTf4) and early 90's featured a Claymation mascot called the Noid. He starred in two games of the era: Avoid the Noid for Commodore 64 and DOS computers and Yo! Noid for the NES (pictured). Yo! Noid is undoubtedly the more interesting of the pair because it is a complete reskin of a pre-existing title done solely for advertising purposes: The game was originally developed and released in Japan as Masked Ninja Hanamaru, featuring a completely different set of graphics, a manga-like setting and story, and no extra cheese. *Screengrab: Wired*
07007-ZOOL
Zool (Various) -------------- We won't blame you if you don’t remember this game – it’s really only noteworthy if you lived in the U.K. and owned an Amiga in the early 90's. Zool hails from a time when every platform wanted its own competitor to Sonic the Hedgehog, and Gremlin Games delivered that to speed-starved Amiga owners with Zool. But the devs seemed to think speedy platforming wasn’t all gamers were hungry for – the first level is riddled with Europe’s popular Chupa Chups lollipops. The advertising was so visible, in fact, that it drew criticism from consumer groups. *Screengrab: Wired*
08008-BIKERMICE
Biker Mice From Mars (Super Nintendo) ------------------------------------- This licensed racer based on a barely remembered, totally-not-inspired-by-Ninja-Turtles-we-swear cartoon only has one really memorable thing going for it. The European version of Biker Mice features some of the first truly intrusive advertising in gaming’s history, plastering banners for Snickers brand candy bars all over the place. Snickers bars replace armor upgrades for your bike, due to the miracle power of peanuts and nougat to nullify collisions. Win a race to see your man-rodent brandishing a candy bar whilst spouting, "Even winners need something to satisfy their hunger!" Then remember that European cartridge prices were regularly around $100 after exchange rates, and imagine paying that sort of scratch for a mediocre ad-fest. *Screengrab: [VGMuseum](http://www.vgmuseum.com)*
09009-MOTOKO
Motoko-chan's Wonder Kitchen (Super Famicom) -------------------------------------------- One surprising truth about Japanese cuisine: They LOVE mayonnaise. Witness Motoko-chan's Wonder Kitchen, a game that is all about mayonnaise. Not just any ol’ mayo, either, but Ajinomoto brand mayo, The food maker produced this Super Famicom game as a piece of edutainment, teaching players about the history of mayonnaise and its health benefits through cooking mini games. *Screengrab: Wired*
10010-CHEX
Chex Quest (PC) --------------- If there’s a king of reskinned advertising games, it would be Chex Quest. Yo! Noid, for all of its extensive graphical alterations, was based on a fairly obscure platformer, but [Chex Quest was a reskin of levels from DOOM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chex_Quest), one of the all-time PC classics. Packaged with boxes of Chex cereal, many elements of the game are ported straight from Ultimate Doom. The devs, however, cleverly altered many of the assets to reference the original game in a non-violent, kid-friendly fashion. Players who received the game as a promo tie-in with their Chex cereal as youngsters remember it fondly, and many have since grown into experienced modders who want to revisit the title, giving rise to a small but dedicated community who still support Chex Quest through mods to this day. *Screengrab: Wired*
11011-VIPERS
Fighting Vipers (Arcade, Sega Saturn) ------------------------------------- One of Sega's first post-Virtua Fighter martial arts games came with Pepsi sponsorship. The Japanese arcade edition featured Pepsi logos in the backgrounds and on characters' weapons, with cans scattered here and there. But it’s the Saturn version of Fighting Vipers that’s most remembered for its inclusion of Pepsi's Japanese mascot character – [Pepsiman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTGifrYPTas) – as one of the combatants. The ad deal didn’t extend outside of Japan, however, so Western versions of the game have no Pepsi presence whatsoever. (Pepsiman would later appear in his own Sony PlayStation title.) *Screenshot courtesy [Gaminghell.co.uk](http://gaminghell.co.uk/)*
12012-SKYE
Darkened Skye (GameCube, PC) ----------------------------- Perhaps the most outright deceiving game on this list, Darkened Skye looks like a fairly generic fantasy adventure from a glance at the box and the description. But the game was in fact developed under the title Skittles: Darkened Skye. That's right: This is an adver-game for the rainbow-colored candies. By the time it hit store shelves, it dropped the overt Skittles branding. You might not even notice it while playing, but… [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/gamelife/2013/08/DARKSKYE4.jpg) Yes, Skittles are used to power up your magical attacks. *Screengrabs: Wired*
