From: anamr@cats.ucsc.edu (Ana M Rodriguez)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: Nintendo Grand Champion... Vegas
Date: 13 Jan 1993 03:27:18 GMT
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: am.ucsc.edu



01/09 1318  JEFF HANSEN RETAINS NINTENDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AT ...

LAS VEGAS (JAN. 8) BUSINESS WIRE - Forget the slot machines, blackjack and 
craps tables.  The biggest winner in Vegas Friday is Jeff Hansen, the 
12-year-old video game master from Murray, Utah, who retained the title of
World Nintendo Champion in a heated rematch staged at the Nintendo Booth at
the Winter Consumer Electronics Show. 
   Hansen retained the title after scoring 4,672,250 points.  His opponent,
Yuichi Suyama from Tokyo, scored 4,231,650 points, making the rematch a close,
well-played battle in a grueling six-minute competition of "Super Mario World,
" "F-Zero" and the skydiving portion of "Pilotwings" on the 16-bit Super
Nintendo Entertainment System. 
   The rematch was charged with the excitement of international competition as
Hansen and Suyama faced off for the first time since last summer when Hansen
beat Suyama on the same three games. 
   Hansen credits months of practice in achieving this monumental goal:  "I
know what an excellent player Yuichi is from our past competitions, so I
worked on all these games, day and night, to improve my speed and accuracy.  I
felt really confident when I walked in there today." 
   Hansen and Suyama met originally on Sept. 21, 1992, in Tokyo to compete in
the First World Famicom Championship (Famicom is the name for the Super
Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan).  Hansen, then reigning U.S. champion,
defeated Suyama, the Japanese champion, by a score of 4,590,000 to 2,800,000. 
   In 1990, Hansen competed against 30 other 10-year-olds and became the U.S.
Nintendo Champion.  In addition to his recent success in Las Vegas, Hanson,
the eldest of five children, has many other accomplishments including two
spelling bee championships (local and regional).  Since the age of six, he has
been playing the piano and programming computers.  He also loves playing
basketball and football as well as composing music on his synthesizer. 
   Suyama, the oldest of three sons, is an excellent student at Shibaura
Public School where his favorite subject is arithmetic and his least favorite
subject is Japanese.  Besides playing video games, Suyama enjoys jigsaw
puzzles and soccer. 
   The Nintendo World Championship title rematch was played on a specially
designed game cartridge combining portions of the Nintendo games "Super Mario
World," "F-Zero" and "Pilotwings." 
   "Super Mario World" sends Mario, the world's most popular plumber, on a
wild adventure to save Princess Toadstool.  In "F-Zero," four photon-powered
hovercars from throughout the galaxy meet in an exciting high-speed race, and
"Pilotwings" is a precision game in which players must master skydiving to
gain their license from an exclusive flight school. 
   Nintendo of America Inc. is based in Redmond, Wash., and is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Nintendo Co. Ltd., Japan, the world's largest. 
    CONTACT:  Berkhemer Kline Golin/Harris, Los Angeles 
    Alison Holt Brummelkamp or Eileen Tanner, 213/623-4200 
    (WCES Booth No. 6999/South Annex)