Release Date: March 10th, 2023

I was looking through my notebook of topic ideas when I stumbled on one that I simply wrote as “BDL Express.” After a quick Google refresher, I decided to take a deep dive. The Express was a portable NES that was teased in a few video game magazines in the early 90s, including EGM and GamePro. Unfortunately, it never released. I spent a lot of time on this video trying to get a hold of Paul Biederman, the man behind the system. But sadly, I was never able to make contact.

How do you talk about a system that never released? For this video, we used the power of 3D animation. Old video game magazines had surprisingly detailed descriptions of the system. There was also one photo. With these clues, we were able to animate the Express in the 3rd dimension!

Oddly, my favorite bit of information I learned from this episode was about Camerica, the company who attempted to release The Express. Most wiki articles state the company “declared bankruptcy” in 1993. However, I was able to find a report stating that the Canadian government shut them down for illegally routing their 1-800 number through Cuba. Crazy!

Sources

Electronic Gaming Monthly. “BDL Express,” June 1990.
The Board Talk. “BDL Shuffle Advertisement,” May 1994.
Electronic Gaming Monthly. “BDL’s Nintendo Express,” April 1990.
Electronic Gaming Monthly. “Camerica to Release NES Games – Rumors of Portable Nintendo and Gameboy Converter Also Growing!,” June 1991.
GamePro. “Cutting Edge: Only from Camerica,” July 1991.
Electronic Gaming Monthly. “Gaming Gossip,” September 1990.
Electronic Gaming Monthly. “Gaming Gossip,” June 1991.
Halfhill, Tom. “Nintendo News: Simpsons, Yes; Hand-Held, No!” Game Players, July 1990.
Electronic Gaming Monthly. “Interface: Letters to the Editor,” October 1993.
Electronic Gaming Monthly. “New Convertor Allows Your To Play Gameboy Games On Your NES!,” December 1990.
Electronic Gaming Monthly. “New Peripherals Increase NES Abilities…,” May 1990.
RePlay. “Parts, Supplies & Services,” September 1990.
GamePro. “ProNews Report,” May 1990.
GamePro. “ProNews Report: No NES-Compatible Color Handheld…for Now,” October 1990.
Video Games & Computer Entertainment. “Reader Mail: Handheld Queries,” December 1990.
GamePro. “The Cutting Edge: New Handheld Game Systems,” December 1990.
GamePro. “The Cutting Edge: Turbo Blaster,” May 1990.
GamePro. “The Mail: From the Rumor Mill,” July 1990.
The Official 1990 World of Nintendo Buyers Guide, 1990.
Video Games & Computer Entertainment. “The VG&CE 1993 Phone Book,” January 1993.
Communications Daily. “‘We Shut Them Down’; TREASURY CLOSES CANADIAN OPERATIONS RESELLING TRAFFIC TO CUBA,” July 13, 1993, Vol. 13, No. 133 edition.
Worley, Joyce. “News Bits: BDL Denied License for NES Portable.” Video Games & Computer Entertainment, July 1990.
Video Games & Computer Entertainment. “Yea & Nay,” August 1990.