Mike Tyson’s “Punch Out” is one of the most fondly remembered and cherished video games of all time. You would have to look really hard to find someone that dislikes it. Although, it turns out that when the game came out almost 30 years ago (!!!!!), there was someone quite famous that didn’t like the game: Mike Tyson.
Tyson said he had no idea the game would be such a big hit, and still 30 years later, people bring NES cartridges of the game to sign to Tyson autograph sessions to this day. In terms of NES standards and classics, there aren’t much more fondly remembered games than this one.
Who is Tyson’s favorite opponent in the game? Glass Joe, he says, because “he’s the only one I could beat,” the boxing legend told TMZ. I bet Tyson could beat just about everyone in the hands of a good player.
So Mike Tyson didn’t like “Punch Out” at all when the game first came out. Seems amazing in hindsight, but thankfully, he has come around and joined the rest of the world in an almost unanimous sentiment: “Punch Out” is amazing and eternal.