SUPER MARIO'S DAZZLING COMEBACK

NINTENDO'S GAMBLE ON A 64-BIT VIDEO-GAME PLAYER JUST MAY PAY OFF

Michael Kelbaugh, 31, had already put in a long day on a job that millions of teenage boys would kill for--play-testing video games for Nintendo in Seattle. But he and half a dozen colleagues were happy to stick around late one night two weeks ago until a certain piece of software arrived from corporate headquarters in Japan. When it finally showed up--packeted across the Pacific over a high-speed data line--they could hardly wait to dive in. "We were here until 2:30 a.m. playing it," said a groggy Kelbaugh the next morning. "I had to physically unplug it so we could finally...

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