Someone let the GameStop social media intern out of his cage, he made a funny. Following yesterday’s trailer of the iconic couch co-op legend Battletoads, plenty of fun was to be had on the internet. Most notable of the celebration was GameStop leaning into a decade-old 4chan meme.
To give a quick history of Battletoads and context to the joke, the game is a beat ’em up title from the early 90’s. Developed by fan-favorite studio Rare, the game is best known for the original NES reveal that got relatively great reviews for the time. The series petered out in 1994 with the arcade cabinet Battletoads Arcade as Rare moved on to create their now-classics like Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, and Goldeneye 007.
Why is this quarter-century old game making a resurgence? 4chan. In the late 2000’s, 4channers were running a campaign to have members of the site call their local GameStop to try and pre-order Battletoads. This would soon evolve, with prank campaigns to call the Church of Scientology to see if they had available pre-orders. All things considered, pretty harmless fun for the oft-controversial imageboard.
To the shock and awe of the gaming scene, Phil Spencer, Microsoft, and Rare began teasing a new Battletoads project — trademarks were dropped and cameos in other games began appearing. Finally, it was revealed that Battletoads would be coming to PC and Xbox One at the Xbox E3 2018 Press Briefing.
While we are still without a launch date in the latest trailer for Battletoads, it didn’t stop GameStop from jumping in on the fun. In a Tweet following the game’s announcement, GameStop said it formally had no comment:
NO COMMENT YOU GUYS. pic.twitter.com/TsqgoiYv5s
— GameStop (@GameStop) June 9, 2019
Not to mention a few other Twitter users who jumped in on announcement:
when you call gamestop and ask for battletoads and they actually have it pic.twitter.com/GTvMv5bV6Y
— Angie (@Scarletwktk) June 9, 2019
A WHOLE NEW ERA OF CALLING GAMESTOP ASKING IF THEY HAVE BATTLETOADS HAS BEGUN
— Ultima (@UltimaShadowX) June 9, 2019
rest in peace to every single fucking gamestop employee with the new battletoads. pic.twitter.com/oHYTKHBkN3
— akihiko propaganda (@eonael) June 9, 2019
Definitely an excellent callback to a memorialized internet meme.
Battletoads should be coming sometime soon for both PC and Xbox One. Not a ton else is known about the game, but we will keep you updated on any developing reveals.
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