| Smash TV began as a Williams arcade game; VideoGames & Computer Entertainment's September 1991 issue says Williams released it the year before and that it quickly became a hit, and Nintendo Power called it a Bally/Williams pay-per-play arcade hit. The NES manual dates the game ©1990 Williams Electronics Games. | printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Smash TV | Magazine |
| The NES version came out in North America in September 1991, with Acclaim as Nintendo's licensee; Nintendo Power's September 1991 issue previewed it, and its Powerline column described it. | printed p. 5 (PDF p. 6), Powerlineprinted p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Smash TV | Publisher |
| Acclaim Entertainment distributed and marketed the NES cartridge, and Nintendo Power's data box names Acclaim Entertainment. | printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Game Pak Data Box | Manual |
| Nintendo Power's data box gives the NES cartridge's memory as 1M × 1M and names the MMC3 chip. | printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Game Pak Data Boxprinted p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Game Pak Data Box | Magazine |
| The manual sets the game in 1999, when television game shows offer contestants their lives as the prize. Alone or in a pair, armed contestants are sent into a closed arena. Nintendo Power and VideoGames & Computer Entertainment give the same year. | printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Smash TV | Manual |
| Nintendo Power wrote that any pair of controllers works for the two-controller mode, and that a pair of NES Advantages, taped down and turned 90 degrees clockwise, gives the arcade's feel; with an NES Satellite or NES Four Score, two players can each use two controllers. | printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Play Modes Galore!printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Play Modes Galore!printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Play Modes Galore!printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Play Modes Galore!printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Play Modes Galore! | Magazine |
| Nintendo Power's September 1991 preview rated the NES version 2.6 for graphics and sound, 3.8 for play control, 3.3 for challenge and lasting interest, and 4.0 for theme and fun, out of 5. | printed p. 34 (PDF p. 36), Game Pak Data Box, Power Meterprinted p. 89 (PDF p. 91), Power Meter Ratings key | Magazine |