joined them at the warehouse and at retail stores, once running a TV up a flight of stairs just to follow in the whole team's footsteps. While unloading their products into stores, the Nintendo of America crew was confronted by strangers who resented any Japanese-influenced company in a time of international trade issues and cheap Japanese clones of American products. A security guard reportedly said, "You're working for the Japs? I hope you fall flat on your ass." Gail Tilden said, "I remember one woman coming up to me, and I don't know what sparked her to do this, but she came up to me and said, 'Nintendo. That's a Japanese company, right? ... I hope you fail!'". Retail staff resentful of the disastrous video game market rolled their eyes at Nintendo staff, with one manager looking at Nintendo's inventory and saying "Somebody told me I've got to sell this crap." The first sale came soon and quietly, of a Deluxe Set and the 15 additional games, to a gentleman who the team later realized was employed by an unspecified Japanese competitor. Sales were not high but encouraging throughout the holiday season, though sources vary on how many consoles were sold then. In 1986, Nintendo said it had sold nearly 90,000 units in nine weeks during its late 1985 New York City test. 460,000 game cartridges were also sold in 1985. Following its success in the New York City test market, Nintendo planned to release it gradually across different US states over the first six months of 1986, starting with California at the end of January 1986; Nintendo cited production capacities and other considerations as reasons for the gradual rollout. In January 1986, an independent research firm commissioned by Nintendo delivered a survey of 200 NES owners, showing that the most popular given reason for buying an NES was because children wanted R.O.B. the robotfollowed most strongly by good graphics, variety of games, and the uniqueness and newness of the NES package. R.O.B. is credited as a primary factor in building initial support for the NES in North America, but the accessory itself was not well received for its entertainment value. Its original Famicom counterpart, the Famicom Robot, was already failing in Japan at the time of the North American launch. The NES was also credited with bringing arcade-style gaming to homes. For the nationwide launch in 1986, the NES