Hit Save!
@hitsave.org
Video game history & preservation non-profit, focused on global preservation efforts and community building. www.hitsave.org
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/TCKT6uA
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/TCKT6uA
We're down to the final two presents left to open! Join our Discord if you want to vote on which comes next!
January 3, 2026 at 4:47 PM
We're down to the final two presents left to open! Join our Discord if you want to vote on which comes next!
We were expecting much more footage on this tape, as the label says it has a duration of over 30 minutes, but sadly we only found 3 min in our capture. We’re going to be recapturing with different equipment down the line to see if there’s anything that was missed! Stay tuned!
January 3, 2026 at 4:47 PM
We were expecting much more footage on this tape, as the label says it has a duration of over 30 minutes, but sadly we only found 3 min in our capture. We’re going to be recapturing with different equipment down the line to see if there’s anything that was missed! Stay tuned!
Interestingly, the tape also contained a minute of footage from the original Ninja Gaiden on NES! Perhaps the production team was working on a trailer comparing the reboot to its roots?
January 3, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Interestingly, the tape also contained a minute of footage from the original Ninja Gaiden on NES! Perhaps the production team was working on a trailer comparing the reboot to its roots?
We're not familiar enough with Ninja Gaiden to be able to positively ID it as beta gameplay ourselves, but we have no doubt the preservation community will be able to verify this rather quickly, so please free to share with any Ninja Gaiden enthusiasts you know! We can't wait to learn the verdict!
January 3, 2026 at 4:47 PM
We're not familiar enough with Ninja Gaiden to be able to positively ID it as beta gameplay ourselves, but we have no doubt the preservation community will be able to verify this rather quickly, so please free to share with any Ninja Gaiden enthusiasts you know! We can't wait to learn the verdict!
Happy Day 10, everyone! Today our community unwrapped a gift that seems bland at first, but could end up being very special: a Tecmo tape holding Ninja Gaiden (2004) footage...dated October 2002! That predates release by a year and a half, meaning this could be beta footage! Watch the video below!
January 3, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Happy Day 10, everyone! Today our community unwrapped a gift that seems bland at first, but could end up being very special: a Tecmo tape holding Ninja Gaiden (2004) footage...dated October 2002! That predates release by a year and a half, meaning this could be beta footage! Watch the video below!
We're in the final countdown now, with just three tapes left to open! Tune in tomorrow to see what's next, or join our Discord at the link in our bio to vote on which present to open!
January 2, 2026 at 6:32 PM
We're in the final countdown now, with just three tapes left to open! Tune in tomorrow to see what's next, or join our Discord at the link in our bio to vote on which present to open!
While much of the content varies, there's enough similar footage to once again highlight the improved quality present on the Betacam tape!
January 2, 2026 at 6:32 PM
While much of the content varies, there's enough similar footage to once again highlight the improved quality present on the Betacam tape!
It's possible that different versions were always intended, or this could be an older version of the trailer that didn't reach the internet at large. The date on the card places it two months prior to the launch of the game, so that fact could support this idea.
January 2, 2026 at 6:32 PM
It's possible that different versions were always intended, or this could be an older version of the trailer that didn't reach the internet at large. The date on the card places it two months prior to the launch of the game, so that fact could support this idea.
This version of the trailer seems to have been intended to be played in stores as part of their promotional video loops.
January 2, 2026 at 6:32 PM
This version of the trailer seems to have been intended to be played in stores as part of their promotional video loops.
Happy New Year and happy Day 9, everyone! Today's present is a sales reel for X2: Wolverine's Revenge that varies substantially from the version already online! Watch the full trailer below.
January 2, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Happy New Year and happy Day 9, everyone! Today's present is a sales reel for X2: Wolverine's Revenge that varies substantially from the version already online! Watch the full trailer below.
We've got four tapes remaining to reveal, so keep an eye out for more posts tomorrow! And as always you can join our Discord if you want to vote on which present to open next! discord.gg/TCKT6uA
January 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
We've got four tapes remaining to reveal, so keep an eye out for more posts tomorrow! And as always you can join our Discord if you want to vote on which present to open next! discord.gg/TCKT6uA
We expected every comparison to look exactly like the above, but then we stumbled upon @windycornertv.bsky.social and their Windy Corner Archive channel, where we found a copy of this trailer that made our jaws drop!
January 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
We expected every comparison to look exactly like the above, but then we stumbled upon @windycornertv.bsky.social and their Windy Corner Archive channel, where we found a copy of this trailer that made our jaws drop!
We were relishing visual comparisons the moment we saw that storm! Motion like this is an absolute nightmare for video compression, especially back in the mid 2000s!
January 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
We were relishing visual comparisons the moment we saw that storm! Motion like this is an absolute nightmare for video compression, especially back in the mid 2000s!
The trailer is too long to upload here, but here's a preview in the form of a gorgeous Team Ninja opening animation! Watch the full trailer on our archive page: archive.hitsave.org/ark:/78322/1...
January 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
The trailer is too long to upload here, but here's a preview in the form of a gorgeous Team Ninja opening animation! Watch the full trailer on our archive page: archive.hitsave.org/ark:/78322/1...
It’s Day 8 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and the next present has been unwrapped! This time we’re serving up a 4 minute extended trailer for Ninja Gaiden…but we’ve been served a slice of humble pie! Read on to see why!
January 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
It’s Day 8 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and the next present has been unwrapped! This time we’re serving up a 4 minute extended trailer for Ninja Gaiden…but we’ve been served a slice of humble pie! Read on to see why!
We're now more than halfway through our pile, with 5 presents left to open! Join our Discord at the link in our profile if you want to vote on which to open next!
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
We're now more than halfway through our pile, with 5 presents left to open! Join our Discord at the link in our profile if you want to vote on which to open next!
Before we wrap up, we wanted to highlight the electrifying easter egg we found on the current website of Lightning Media, the post production house tasked with putting these trailers to tape. Is it dated? Yes. Is it delightful? Also yes! It's refreshing to see a bit of whimsy on a website in 2025! ⚡
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Before we wrap up, we wanted to highlight the electrifying easter egg we found on the current website of Lightning Media, the post production house tasked with putting these trailers to tape. Is it dated? Yes. Is it delightful? Also yes! It's refreshing to see a bit of whimsy on a website in 2025! ⚡
Check out the improved quality on that early DS hardware concept! Spyro: Shadow Legacy released nearly a year after the launch of the DS, so it's a bit of a surprise that they still used this early DS artwork here, especially considering that we know they updated this trailer at least once!
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Check out the improved quality on that early DS hardware concept! Spyro: Shadow Legacy released nearly a year after the launch of the DS, so it's a bit of a surprise that they still used this early DS artwork here, especially considering that we know they updated this trailer at least once!
This one seems to be a finalized version of the same trailer that already exists online, with only a few small changes such as the updated ESRB rating and end card.
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
This one seems to be a finalized version of the same trailer that already exists online, with only a few small changes such as the updated ESRB rating and end card.
Up next is the trailer for Spyro: Shadow Legacy, which was produced for the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA).
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Up next is the trailer for Spyro: Shadow Legacy, which was produced for the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA).
Sweet, sweet digital-to-digital transfer. This video is absolutely gorgeous, and contains zero analog tomfoolery! Better yet, we have more than just a muddy YouTube rip to compare this time! This comparison comes directly from the same trailer included on a bonus DVD from issue 49 of Cube Magazine!
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Sweet, sweet digital-to-digital transfer. This video is absolutely gorgeous, and contains zero analog tomfoolery! Better yet, we have more than just a muddy YouTube rip to compare this time! This comparison comes directly from the same trailer included on a bonus DVD from issue 49 of Cube Magazine!
First up is the Crash Tag Team Racing trailer, which was produced for E3 2005.
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
First up is the Crash Tag Team Racing trailer, which was produced for E3 2005.
It's Day 7 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and the Discord votes are in: the streak of Activision tapes has been disrupted by a Digibeta tape from Vivendi Games containing trailers for Crash Tag Team Racing and Spyro: Shadow Legacy! Watch the trailers below!
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
It's Day 7 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and the Discord votes are in: the streak of Activision tapes has been disrupted by a Digibeta tape from Vivendi Games containing trailers for Crash Tag Team Racing and Spyro: Shadow Legacy! Watch the trailers below!
Our Discord community has unwrapped 5 Activision tapes in a row now! There's still 3 from Activision, 2 From Tecmo, and 1 from Vivendi Universal left to open, so keep an eye out tomorrow for the next one, and join our Discord if you want to vote on which present to open next!
December 30, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Our Discord community has unwrapped 5 Activision tapes in a row now! There's still 3 from Activision, 2 From Tecmo, and 1 from Vivendi Universal left to open, so keep an eye out tomorrow for the next one, and join our Discord if you want to vote on which present to open next!
But back to our video! Anyone eager to read the freshly legible legal text on the end card? No? That’s ok, neither were we! A screenshot wouldn’t do the quality comparison justice in this case anyway, so we cut together a video showing just how much better this footage looks!
December 30, 2025 at 5:49 PM
But back to our video! Anyone eager to read the freshly legible legal text on the end card? No? That’s ok, neither were we! A screenshot wouldn’t do the quality comparison justice in this case anyway, so we cut together a video showing just how much better this footage looks!