Atari Computer Demonstration Center, Circa 1980

Atari Center 1980

Everything points to 1980 except for Pac-Man, which came out for the 400/800 in 1982. Atari’s probably cheating a little. I don’t see a Pac-Man box. In fact, the only game boxes I see are Super Breakout and Kingdom. The screenshots on both sides of the TV fall under different headings. I think the one in the middle is “entertainment.”

I don’t remember seeing the display. It’s possible I blocked it out—there’s no way I would’ve been able to push my way to the front of the line for a chance to play. The big kids ruled the demo units. And by big kids I don’t mean the well-dressed, well-mannered couple in the ad.

The image is from James Vaughan, who has some of the coolest sets on Flickr, including one called Retro Tech.

2 Responses to “Atari Computer Demonstration Center, Circa 1980”


  1. 1 Jason January 9, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    I vaguely remember seeing these kiosks. I think they showed up mainly in department/catalog stores like Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Service Merchandise.


  1. 1 Sears Tele-Games Demonstration Center, 1977 | 2 Warps to Neptune Trackback on December 1, 2015 at 3:41 pm

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