National Video Games Day
When I think of National Video Games day I think of arcade games and Atari even though the day is probably celebrating more current choices, like the ones my bf stays up all night playing (yes, present tense) while cursing and swearing so loud I’m pretty sure the neighbors think he was calling me, and not the game, an obsenity (I cleared up any confusion at the communal mailboxes).
Atari Home Console
Anyone still have their Atari? I wish. It probably went the way of many childhood toys and was sold off in a garage sale. Johnny from Cobra Kai still had his Atari, selling it to a pawn shop for $10 which just doesn’t seem right.
It was a big deal when I was a kid and my parents brought home the Atari 2600. Sure, I had spent many pockets full of change at the arcade, but having games at home was the ultimate (Atari came out in ‘77 but I’m pretty sure we didn’t get one until at least ‘80).
The Atari 2600, 1977 - 1992
According to Wikipedia the cost of an Atari 2600 at launch in 1977 was $199, which is $839 in 2019 dollars. There must’ve been a price decrease that came with consumer demand as there is no way we would’ve had any kind of child “toy” that was equal to $839.
The Atari logo is a reference to the letter “A” with the middle line a nod to “Pong” their first game.
What was the very first Atari game? Pong. This simplest of games, you moved your “paddle” back and forth to hit the ball back to the other person. We played this for hours. Kids these days don’t know how good they have it with games that do more than one thing. Pong was hypnotic. Possibly migraine-inducing.
What is the best-selling Atari game? Pacman at last count (2006) selling 7 million copies. (Not to be confused with the Pacman arcade game). Rounding out the Top 5 Best Selling Atari games are Pitfall!, Asteroids, Missile Command and Space Invaders. (Frogger comes in at #6 for you amphibian fans)
Arcade Games
You can still purchase table top games, like this Ms. Pacman version from Best Buy
‘80s kids spent many hours in an arcade that our parents were only too happy to bring us to. They’d give us some ones or random change and tell us “stretch it out, I’ll be back in 2 hours.” if you didn’t have enough dough to keep you playing until the station wagon came by to pick you up you had to watch other people play. Which is worse- watching people play or having someone breathing down your neck as you played? Part of the arcade dilemma was finding the perfect ratio of money and time.
Pacman and Ms. Pacman were my favorites and it was awesome when they had an offspring: Baby Pacman, half video game half pinball machine. That game ruled! It didn’t quite take off, or maybe was born at the end of the video game era, but it should not be overlooked in its awesomeness. Part video game. Part pinball. Rad.
When was the “Golden Age” of video games? 1978 - 1986. Space Invaders is considered the first “blockbuster” video game.
What is the highest grossing arcade game? No surprise here, Pacman brought in billions of dollars, followed by Space Invaders, Street Fighter II, Donkey Kong and Ms. Pacman.
If you’re into video games, check out “High Score,” a 6-episode series about the history of video games, on Netflix.