10 Landmark Wrestling Video Game Firsts
8. Ability To Edit A Wrestler's Move Set (WCW Wrestling, 1990)
Today, players are accustomed to being able to tweak each wrestler's array of moves as they like and see fit. In WWE 2K16, for example, it's entirely possible to change rudimentary actions for each character, as well as copy an entire move set to created characters. Things weren't always so accessible.
WCW Wrestling was released in 1990 on the NES. The previous year, the same game had effectively been released in Japan, albeit with a different roster of wrestlers. Given that WCW was a brand of the Alliance at that time, this title holds the distinction of being the only video game released as an official product of the NWA,
Most notably, upon choosing from the roster of characters available, players can then piece together their own set of moves. That was something new to wrestling games at the time. It had even seemed special if a game featured each performer's trademark finisher, never mind the ability to play around with different options.
WCW's first foray into the video game market hardly set the world alight, but it did have this radical feature.