Video Games | 2 Warps to Neptune

Archive for the 'Video Games' Category

A 30-Year Ban on Video Games… in America

Published September 5, 2012 Moral Panic , Video Arcades , Video Games 3 Comments

Photo: Kevin Twombly

The photos above are from an unidentified 1983 story about a ban prohibiting the use of “any mechanical or electronic amusement device, whether coin-operated or not” in the coastal town of Marshfield, Massachusetts. (Exceptions were made for devices used in the home.) The ban, initially passed by a “smut”-conscious minority of residents in 1982 and immediately appealed by Marshfield business owners whose game cabinets were removed by police, was upheld the following year by the Massachusetts Supreme Court.

It was upheld by Marshfield residents again in 1994 and one more time, by a vote of 655 to 544, in 2011. Apparently Marshfield doesn’t understand that (1) we live in a free country, and (2) it’s the 21st century and everyone is holding an “electronic amusement device.” Maybe they’ll ban iPhones next.

It’s like all those apocryphal stories of Japanese (or German) soldiers trapped on a deserted island for 20 years who, after getting rescued, refuse to believe that the war is over and their side lost. It’s also a real life version of Footloose, which might be even more desperately sad. Where’s Kevin Bacon on a tractor (or reciting applicable biblical verses) when you need him?

You can read about the original ban in the December 1983 issue of InfoWorld magazine. And check out the 2011 decision in The Patriot Ledger.

(Image source: Lexibell Vintage Photos)

Arcade Zen (1983)

Published September 5, 2012 Tron , Video Arcades , Video Games Leave a Comment

July 17, 1983. (Photo: R. Sennott)

(Source: Lexibell Vintage Photos)

Microvision (1979 – 1981): Not to Be Confused with Protovision

Published July 25, 2012 Electronic Handhelds 1 Comment

Microvision, first released in 1979, was “the very first handheld game console that used interchangeable cartridges.” I don’t even remember this thing being on my radar as a kid, but it looks fun, and you can play some games at The Microvision Simulation Project.

Benj Edwards has more photos and details at his great site, Vintage Computing and Gaming. Also check out Benj’s cool slideshow on the history of handhelds at PCWorld.

Thanks to Steve Austin’s bionic eye for identifying this artifact in my last post.

(Image via the Handheld Museum)

Atari’s C-380 Video Pinball (1977)

Published July 6, 2012 Atari , Home Consoles , Video Games 1 Comment

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.

Arcade Cabinets: Pleiades/Pleiads (1981)

Published May 31, 2012 Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops , Video Games 2 Comments

(Images via EMDKAY, Pinball Rebel, Dragon’s Lair Fans, The Arcade Flyer Archive)

Video Game Cabinet Art: Lunar Lander, Missile Command, Crystal Castles, Sinistar

Published May 15, 2012 Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops 2 Comments

Here are just a few samples from TM520‘s awesome Paper Arcade set on Flickr (click images to enlarge). How many of these bad boys can I fit on my desk?