During 1988, a shortage of ROM chips, along with Nintendo's preparation of Super Mario Bros. 2, prevented Nintendo from performing various North American game releases according to their original schedules. The delayed products included Super Mario Bros. 3 and, according to Nintendo Power, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The delay, however, presented Nintendo with an opportunity to promote the game in a feature film. In 1989, Tom Pollack of Universal Studios approached Nintendo of America's marketing department about a video game movie; inspired by Nintendo video game competitions, Pollack envisioned a video game version of Tommy for younger audiences. Nintendo licensed its products for inclusion in what would become the film The Wizard. During the movie's production, the filmmakers requested and were granted approval from Nintendo regarding the script and the portrayal of the company's games. Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of the products shown in the film and was used in a final scene involving a video game competition. The film was released in December 1989, between the home console releases of the game in Japan and North America.
During 1988, a shortage of ROM chips, along with Nintendo's preparation of Super Mario Bros. 2, prevented Nintendo from performing various North American game releases according to their original schedules. The delayed products included Super Mario Bros. 3 and, according to Nintendo Power, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The delay, however, presented Nintendo with an opportunity to promote the game in a feature film. In 1989, Tom Pollack of Universal Studios approached Nintendo of America's marketing department about a video game movie; inspired by Nintendo video game competitions, Pollack envisioned a video game version of Tommy for younger audiences Nintendo licensed its products for inclusion in what would become the film The Wizard. During the movie's production, the filmmakers requested and were granted approval from Nintendo regarding the script and the portray.al of the company's games. Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of the products shown in the film and was used in a final scene involving a video game competition. The film was released in December 1989, between the home console releases of the game in Japan and North America.