+-------------------------------------------------------------+ | GAME URARA MAGAZINE | | [Extreme Tech Reviews] [Adult PC Software] [Mail Order] | +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | v +-------------------------------+ | HAPPYSOFT ADVERTISEMENT | | "Hong Kong 97 - Unlicensed!" | +-------------------------------+ | v +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | DISTRIBUTION LOOP | | 1. Reader mails cash payment directly to HappySoft. | | 2. Kurosawa ships game on standard 3.5" Floppy Disk. | | 3. User plays on Super Famicom via Floppy Drive Copier. | +-------------------------------------------------------------+ The Genesis of "The Worst Game Ever Made"
The print ads confirm that very few physical copies were ever produced. Most buyers ordered the game on floppy disks, making original physical cartridges of Hong Kong 97 some of the rarest, most expensive collector's items in existence. The Legacy of Hong Kong 97 hong kong 97 magazine link
The hunt for the Hong Kong 97 magazine link highlights how much of the early internet has become "lost media." What started as a joke ad in a niche Japanese tech magazine evolved into one of the internet's most enduring gaming mysteries. Today, while the original links are long dead, the scans of those bizarre 1995 magazine ads stand as historical proof of the strangest era in indie gaming history. Kurosawa ships game on standard 3