The Movies Database

Movie: Tetris (1989/I) (VG)

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• Release Date: 17 May 1989 (USA)
• Genre: Action

Tagline: The Soviet Mind Game

Trivia: This version of Tetris, which was made for the NES, is the most controversial one. Tengen, a division owned by Atari that made games for third-party consoles (as a way to make money after Atari’s unit was sold off by Warner Communications in 1984). Tengen bypassed a lockout chip designed by Nintendo to block unauthorized third-party games (as it was announced that Tengen would make games for the NES behind Nintendo’s back) and Tetris was among the games. However, Tengen faced a lawsuit involving distribution of its own Tetris game. It was discovered that Tengen bought the rights from a company called Mirrorsoft, which did not own the rights in the first place. As a result, Tengen lost its case, the Tengen Tetris was recalled from stores, and Nintendo released their own legitimate version for the NES after that.