‘Punch-Out’ NES News & Update: Nintendo Game Secret Revealed After 30 Years

Mike Tyson's "Punch Out," a game released for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), has an easter egg that was finally spotted after almost 30 years. The Nintendo game secret is a cleverly hidden cue related to two characters in "Punch-Out."

"Punch-Out" was released by Nintendo in 1987. "Punch-Out" was one of Nintendo's most popular games of that generation. "Punch-Out" required the player to control the diminutive Little Mac and fight his way up the ranks through a number of characters all the way to Mike Tyson himself.

Engadget reports Redditor Midwesternhousewives found that during two fights against Bald Bull and Piston Honda, a "Punch-Out" crowd member gives cues for when a player can land a knockout punch. After almost three decades, and probably for some time to come, this "Punch-Out" easter egg may be the longest kept secret that has ever been hidden in a video game.

According to Ars Technica the timing cue in "Punch-Out" revealed by Midwesternhousewives is the first time that the easter egg has been publicized. "Punch-Out" developers pointed out that many similar easter eggs exist in the NES game. A number of these remain undiscovered by "Punch-Out" players.

“But this is what life is about: We have to laugh at ourselves or we never get over our trauma.” - #MikeTyson https://t.co/Qsb3emoBTt

— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) April 11, 2016 

As early as 2009, developers Makoto Wada and Kensuke Tanabe "Punch-Out" revealed one of these secrets to former Nintendo CEO, the late Satoru Iwata in "Iwata Asks."

"In 'Punch-Out!!,' the game gives you a lot of hints about effective timing of punches," Wada shared. "There is a big boxer called Bald Bull in the NES version as well and a light flashes to the right in the audience when he charges [in his first fight]. If you punch when it flashes you will land a body blow."

Wada said that he had been wanting to reveal that "Punch-Out" NES secret for, at that time, 22 years. In this same interview, Wada promised that "Punch-Out" has many other surprises hidden in the game.

Alongside "Punch-Out," other known contenders up to this point are "Final Fantasy" IX's Nero Brother's quest, which was undiscovered for 13 years, and "Halo" 3's "Happy Birthday Lauren," which remained a secret for seven years. The "Halo" 3 easter egg can only be activated on Christmas Day via clicking both control sticks on a loading screen.