S2:E4: Top-10 Worst Real-Life Products For Classic Video Gamers

Episode 4 April 26, 2019 00:19:51
S2:E4: Top-10 Worst Real-Life Products For Classic Video Gamers
Into The Vertical Blank
S2:E4: Top-10 Worst Real-Life Products For Classic Video Gamers

Apr 26 2019 | 00:19:51

/

Show Notes

What were some of hidden factors that led to the fall of Atari and the  golden age of classic video game consoles?  Did the world at large really understand video games at all?  In this episode we set out to prove, through the lens of some truly awful products and ideas, that the industry might have killed itself.

The back pages and new products sections of Electronic Games magazine in 1982 and 1983 were filled with all sorts of products, services and offers that were dubious at best, and possibly, criminal at worst.   It appears that in the very early years of video games  all sorts of people jumped at the chance to try to sell all manner of items to the newly minted audience of “arcaders” and “joystickers” (the terms Electronic Games editors used to refer to “gamers” in  the early days).  Below are some the most useless/interesting and bizarre products that we could dig up in those pages:

Notes:

See "Enhanced" Youtube version:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDXF4-gpPhc

Read Full Story With Photos: http://www.8bitrocket.com/?p=8026

Other Episodes

Episode 8

May 04, 2020 00:42:44
Episode Cover

S3:E8: Westworld Redux 1976: Our First Venture Into An Arcade

In this episode we discuss the affect the movie Westworld had on us as kids, and try to figure out why its' "anti-technology" message...

Listen

Episode 6

June 20, 2021 01:17:36
Episode Cover

S4:E6: Top-10 Atari 400/800 Games Atari Should Remake For The VCS

In this episode we have a great story about the Atari 8 bit computers from Tony Longworth (and also his song "Star Raiders"...we should...

Listen

Episode 14

November 03, 2019 00:51:23
Episode Cover

S2:14: Asteroids 40th Anniversary

We salute Asteroids 40th anniversary with a discussion of how things have changed since 1979, and with a rebroadcast of the story "Escape To...

Listen