Classic Gaming Consoles
The late seventies and early eighties transformed the way we entertain ourselves. Arcades became the in thing and, of course, they changed their MO. It wasn’t Coney Island anymore. The video game replaced the mechanical contraptions that had entertained crowds for years. I remember when the authorities closed arcades because they weren’t following the zoning laws. I went looking for info about the closures and I found this archived NY Times article that captured the moment.
In the day my favorite game was
the stand-up
Star Wars shooter. I was a master on the Death Star. I
put a small fortune into that game. It is on my wish list.
The cock-pit version was hot as well. Some of them had a 25
inch monitor. I don’t have the space for the cock-pit
version, also I didn’t get to play the sit-down game that
much- it was horded by the larger, older kids. I had to be
content with the stand-up game and I was.
I’ve looked at a few of these games with the hope of
purchasing one for myself. There aren’t many that are in
good shape for sell. For now I am content finding and
buying home consoles.
The first home video game system was the Magnavox
Odyssey. It paved the way and it is on my wish list.
I have Pong, not the arcade version, I have an Atari Pong and
compared to what came later it isn’t the most
fascinating game, but it did set the tone for the
future.
The Atari 2600 changed
the home gaming world. I still have the machine that my
parents bought for me in 1982. By that time the 2600 was
very popular, however, it was on its way to
obsolescence. It was the first game to have a cpu and a
cartridge ROM so they called it the Video Computer
System (VCS). The console was retailed in 1977. It took
two years for its popularity to grow to the point where
it was a “must have”. By 1984 the home market for Atari
had crashed. I played on.
In 1985 the Nintendo
Entertainment System was released. This time my
parents were in the vanguard of purchasers. The new
standard was set with this system and it effectively
brought the home video game world back to its feet. I
don’t have the original unit that I played continuously.
I found a NES unit a few years ago. It was a fun
purchase. Fortunately I still had the games. It is an
interesting comparison to play the new and then show
teens what we used to play. They aren’t that impressed.
They kind of look at me like I had to be crazy to like
that. I start to explain the situation and then back
off. Their time will come.