In it to win it.
With Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition releasing a little later this month on the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo recently reached out to three previous Nintendo World Championship competitors and conducted a mini-interview with them, where three questions were asked. The competitors who took part Jeff Hansen (1990 Nintendo World Champion), Thomas G (2017 Nintendo World Champion), and YellowKillerBee (2017 Nintendo World Championships Competitor).
When asked about how each of them got in to gaming, the following answers were provided:
Jeff Hansen: I think I was 5 years old. We had an [older gaming system], but it had shorter games—not a lot of memory back then. The NES™ system was eye-opening because it had [different] worlds and levels. It was innovative and a lot of fun as a kid. The other thing is growing up in my neighborhood, not everyone had a game console. So, people would always go to my house and watch me play. We had bunkbeds, so we’d have 6 or 7 kids sit on multilevel “rafters” watching me play video games. It was a lot of fun to get together, all the kids in the neighborhood, going through games and playing together.
Thomas G: Most people may say that they asked their parents to buy them a system, but for me, my older sister had a Nintendo™ 64. So, as far back as I can remember, I’ve just always been playing games.
YellowKillerBee: My brother worked all summer to buy his first [gaming] system. My parents owned a resort and he worked all summer, bailing boats and picking up trash, to earn $100 to buy his first NES. Then, I saved up my money and I bought my first game, Mickey Mousecapade. The next summer, my brother decided he wanted a pair of shoes, and he sold [the system]! I was furious. So, when we bought our Super NES™ system, I made sure that I paid half so he couldn’t sell it. But my brother and I were always into gaming from a young age. Even now, like we both are still into gaming.
When asked about what lead them to compete, each competitor gave a different answer, which you can see for yourself here:
Jeff Hansen: I really didn’t think I was going to get into competing. I went to the original Power Fest 1990 thinking I was just going to play a couple of new games that nobody had ever played before. But it was my parents that saw that talent and said, “Hey, Jeff, you should really try your hand at this.” I think it really was a cool thing to experience because, honestly, it was the first time competitive gaming or anything like that had been done before. It was still a huge production—but not the level that competitive gaming has gotten to today.
Thomas G: I’d look on YouTube or Twitch and see people playing and think, “Yeah, I could beat that guy.” Then you try it and realize, “Oh…it’s harder than it looks.” Eventually, I went in person. After you enter you see the benefits of meeting other competitors and seeing what they’re all about.
YellowKillerBee: When I turned 30, I discovered speedrunning. It was almost a nostalgic way for me to experience old games, but in a different way. There’s a lot of exploits and tech that goes into the process. I thought, “I’m an adult with adult responsibilities, I can’t spend all weekend grinding.” But then I gave it a shot. I did a couple hours at a time and ended up loving it. So, I ended up getting invited to the Nintendo World Championships after volunteering at a charity doing speedrunning events.
Finally, when asked if either of them still felt that competative fire, each contestant’s answered it is still there in some part, but in much smaller capacities:
Jeff Hansen: It depends on the situation and what I’m doing. I don’t compete in video games much anymore. I feel like I’m getting a little older, but I still do like to get onto Tetris™ 99 every now and then to make sure I can get first place at least once. There’s a little bit of that, but I take that little bit of that fire, that desire, and that passion, and I apply it to other things in life. It’s not just video games, it’s how do I teach my kids things that are important in life, but also relax and have fun with them. Sometimes we’ll invite our neighbors to our house and have little competitions. I’ll bring out the old games and whoever gets the highest score will be invited over for dinner.
Thomas G: From time to time. I’m not at the level that I was before, but I do still like to play Chess or Smash. It really depends on the game though. If it’s anything other than Smash, I don’t think I would be willing to spend as much time to learn anything else.
YellowKillerBee: I’m not speedrunning as much because my business got really busy and became all-encompassing for a while. But I still game every day. I like to think I’m more competitive with myself than with other people. I’ll go play golf and try to beat my score each time.
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition launches exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on July 18, 2025.
About Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition:
BRING THE NINTENDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TO YOUR LIVING ROOM! – Test your speedrunning skills across more than 150 challenging moments from 13 classic NES™ games*! Compete against players around the world online**, challenge your friends on the couch***, or try to see how far you can push your personal bests.
Do you have what it takes to be a champion? The tougher challenges may truly test your limits!
PUT YOUR SKILLS TO THE TEST – Relive memorable moments with big and small challenges across 13 classic NES games*. You don’t need to master entire games to feel like a Nintendo World Champion. And don’t worry if you’ve never played a millisecond of the original games—newcomers are welcome!
SELECT A CHALLENGE – There are more than 150 challenges to choose from across multiple difficulty levels. Start small by seeing how quickly you can blaze through the first level of the Super Mario Bros.™ game or how fast you can gobble up an enemy in the Kirby’s Adventure™ game. You can grow the skills you need to take on tougher challenges as you go!
SEE HOW IT’S DONE – Before you get started, you can watch a video clip showing how to complete the challenge. Use this info as a guide for your own run.
SPEEDRUN LIKE THE WIND – Complete challenges to earn a letter ranking. If you play a challenge again, your previous best run will play side by side with your current run. See if you can set a new personal best!
UNLOCK MORE STUFF – Complete challenges to earn in-game coins. Use them to unlock even more challenges to take on!
GO BIG WITH LEGEND CHALLENGES – When you feel ready, take on longer and more difficult Legend Challenges! Speed your way through Super Mario Bros. using Warp Zones, the entire first dungeon of the Legend of Zelda™ game, and more in the ultimate tests. Check out the Classified Information for tips and tricks if you need a little help!
COMPETE AGAINST PLAYERS AROUND THE WORLD – Take your speedrunning skills to the world stage with any Nintendo Switch Online membership**!
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MODE – Aim for a spot on the leaderboards in five challenges that rotate each week. Compare your personal best times with others at the end of each week. You can also watch a replay of the fastest run in the world for each challenge.
SURVIVAL MODE – Choose your division—Silver for easier, Gold for harder—and match up against ghost data of players from around the world in this elimination mode. Can you outlast all seven of your rivals in your division’s three weekly challenges?
CUSTOMIZE YOUR PROFILE – Show off your accomplishments (and gaming taste) to other players! Customize your in-game profile with unlockable icons, earnable badges, and fun Hype Tags. Make it your own!
CHALLENGE YOUR FRIENDS IN PARTY MODE – Up to 8 players*** can enjoy Party Mode—all on a single system! Take on individual challenges or run through a series of moments in themed challenge packs. With an automatic rewind feature to undo mistakes, even completely new players can have fun competing.
TAKE ON CHALLENGES FROM 13 CLASSIC GAMES:
- Balloon Fight
- Donkey Kong
- Excitebike
- Ice Climber
- Kid Icarus
- Kirby’s Adventure
- Metroid
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Bros. 2
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
- The Legend of Zelda
- Zelda II – The Adventure of Link
Source: Nintendo
