''Stadium Events'' is a

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

fitness game Fitness game, exergame, and gamercise (portmanteaus of "exercise" and "game") are terms used for video games that are also a form of exercise. Fitness games rely on technology that tracks body movement or reaction. The genre has been used to chal ...

developed by

Human Entertainment was a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1983. The company produced games for a number of platforms, including home consoles, portable consoles, and personal computers. Human declared bankruptcy in 2000 ...

and published by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

. This and ''Athletic World'' are the two games in the ''Family Fun Fitness'' series, designed and branded for the short-lived ''Family Fun Fitness'' mat accessory for the NES. ''Stadium Events'' allows players to compete in four different

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

inspired sporting events, using the mat to move as they compete in running and jumping focused gameplay. The North American version was rebranded by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

after its 1987 release. The game was re-released as ''World Class Track Meet'' and the new mat was titled the

Power Pad The Power Pad (known in Japan as Family Trainer, and in Europe and briefly in the United States as Family Fun Fitness) is a floor mat game controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a gray mat with twelve pressure-sensors embedded b ...

. Original North American copies of ''Stadium Events'' are now considered to be among the rarest video games, leading to high prices in the secondary video game collecting market.

Gameplay

''Stadium Events'' is a

that allows the players to compete in four different sporting events: 100M dash, 110M hurdles,

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

. The game utilizes the ''Family Fun Fitness'' control mat which supports up to two players simultaneously, although up to six alternating players can be registered for each event. The left side of the mat must be used for the dash and hurdle events, while the other events can use either side. The top speed of the player's runner is dependent upon which row of buttons on the mat is used. If the player lifts their feet slightly before the starting signal, it is considered a false start. The 100M dash event places two players against each other in a race. The 110M hurdles event is similar to the dash, but the players must jump when white box markers appear along the edge of the screen. The long jump has the players running and then jumping and staying in the air as long as possible to record a longer distance. The triple jump is similar to the long jump but includes three separate jump markers. In tournament mode, the player must compete against computer players at the 100M dash and 110M hurdle events. The player must beat each of the six computer players at both the dash and hurdle events in order to win. In this mode, three false starts results in a disqualification. In another mode, "

The Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competiti ...

", numerous players can compete in all four events consecutively. In this mode, the

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

1982 world track record is used as a reference for scoring standards.

Release

''Stadium Events'' was released for the

in North America in September 1987.

saw promise in the ''Family Fun Fitness'' technology, so purchased the mat and re-branded it as the

. ''Stadium Events'' was also re-released as ''World Class Track Meet''. The North American version of ''Stadium Events'' is considered one of the rarest NES games. The total number of copies sold to consumers is unknown. The standard minimum initial run for an NES game was around 10,000 copies, but collectors believe the game's scarcity is much higher. A popular rumor that the game was sold at one

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses Australia and New Zealand * Woolworths Group (Australia), the largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand; named after the American F.W. Woolworth company, but unrelated * W ...

store was proven false. Howard Phillips, a former spokesman for

Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company to p ...

, did not believe the cartridges were destroyed and claimed that reworking all of the cartridges would have been impractical. ''Stadium Events'' copies have been sold for up to in the video game collecting market.

Notes

References

External links

* {{moby game, id=/stadium-events 1986 video games Athletics video games Bandai games Fitness games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Nintendo games Olympic video games Pack-in video games Video games developed in Japan