Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
Score. Coleco Vision came with Donkey Kong, and I see a Donkey Kong Jr. cartridge as well. Word Yahtzee? Please. That box was “lost” before the day was over.
We’ve got a G.I. Joe box, but I can’t tell what it is. Bigfoot is a monster truck toy from Playskool. You turned it on with a key and it had forward and reverse gears.
(Photo via colorcritical/Flickr)
(Video via RetroTY/YouTube)
The combination of space, “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” and video games is genius, and it must have cost a pretty penny to make back in the day. The spaceship looks great, and I love how everything is cold (how about those miserable but sleek-looking sleeping quarters?) and drab until Santa shows up and starts playing all those beautiful games.
This is the first and longest version of the spot. The second version is here, and the third version is here. All of them are from ’83.
(All videos via MYSATURDAYMORNINGS/YouTube)
Christmas, 1980. Short but classic video via Earl J. Woods/YouTube. Watch for the stuffed E.T. at the end.
The Magnavox Odyssey was “the world’s first commercial home video game console. It was first demonstrated in April 1972 and released in August of that year, predating the Atari Pong home consoles by three years.”
This thing is a trip. There was no sound whatsoever, and the only graphics to speak of were plastic overlays you put over your TV screen. Check out the commercial.
I like how every game is essentially the same. It’s also interesting that there are no kids in this spot.
(Image source: Kyma Labs)
(Video source: ohbutyes/YouTube)
Speaking of Atari, this is the first console I ever had, the C-380. My dad found it in the garage when we moved into our new house and dropped it in my lap—my eyes might have actually boggled. This is the second version of the C-380; the first had a tacky wood finish, like most everything else in the ’70s.
There were 7 games total: 6 variations on Breakout and Pinball, and 1 basketball game. (Screenshots via www.old-computers.com.)
It’s hard to believe I squeezed so much fun out of this thing. I never had a 2600, so it held me over until I scored my Atari 800. I salute you this day, Video Pinball! Gaming Gods willing, we shall meet again.
2 Warps to Neptune 