DidntKnowJack
Member
As far as games go, still playing my Atari 2600, 5200, and Colecovision. And messing around with programming on my crude but fun commodore Vic 20. I was 19 years old.
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If you were around during the 83 video game crash, what are your memories of it?
- Thread starter Barkley's Justice
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djSyndrome
Member
davidjaffe
The Fucking MAN.
Agree-if we wudda had the internet perhaps we would have known but in 83/84 there was Coleco and Apple //e + Gauntlet, NARC, and Indy Jones & Temple Of Doom in the arcade.
Come to think of it- unless the press hadn't mentioned there was a crash, I never would have known about it.
David
I was 11, but I don't really remember the crash. I had an Atari 2600 and played games at the arcade in the mall and roller skating rink. I had a friend who owned a colecovision, and we played donkey kong there. The next year we got an apple 2c, and my friends had a c64.
The crash was bad for business, but as a child I never noticed it. I've been gaming without interruption since the late 70s.
The crash was bad for business, but as a child I never noticed it. I've been gaming without interruption since the late 70s.
I think that's what my dad did in the lead up to my birth.
12 years old, just got a Commodore Vic20 - crash never made much of a splash over here
Hawk269
Member
Wasn't the ColecoVision such a kick ass system for it's time? I loved it. WarGames was an awesome game and the sports games were killer as well. It was the first system I bought on my own and it felt great! One of my favorite consoles of all time.
RetroGreg
Member
I was 9. My stepdad brought an Intellivision with like 30 games with him when he married my mom. I played those 30 games and whatever 2600 games I had at that point to death until the NES release. My parents bought me the deluxe NES set with 3 extra games for Christmas the year it released. I think they just wanted me to shut up about how amazing the NES was. I remember that was all I would talk about once I heard it was coming out. I had some 3 page brochure that I clung onto for dear life that showed a single screenshot of some of the launch NES games. This was TRUTH to me of video game greatness. I guess I couldn't have been more right considering how bad the games were that I'd been playing for years at that point, lol.
ipukespiders
Member
Sounds like some kind of dowry.
I was 11, didn't know about the crash until... maybe the late 90s?
Squirrel Killer
Member
11. I was playing the hell out of my ColecoVision and Intellivision. I remember playing AD&D: Treasure of Tarmin for hours on end, I'd get to the final boss and just not engage him and keep going down in the dungeon and keep powering up. It got to the point that I'd encounter the end boss multiple times per level, and when I was finally done with the play session, I'd be so overpowered that I'd beat him with ease.
I knew about the crash from reading the magazines, but it didn't really phase me. I moved on to programming our VIC-20 and Coleco Adam, and drooling over my friend's C-64.
I knew about the crash from reading the magazines, but it didn't really phase me. I moved on to programming our VIC-20 and Coleco Adam, and drooling over my friend's C-64.
not_so_special
Banned
making spectrum games with some good mates
Pimpbaa
Member
It easily had the best arcade ports.
Squirrel Killer
Member
By design. Coleco ported most of them themselves, so it stands to reason the CV port would be best. Seriously, their port of Donkey Kong to the 2600 (late '82) looked like a launch Atari game (~'77,) even Activision's first games (early '80) blew it away.
Petrae
Member
I was 11 years old and was transitioning to becoming more of an arcade game player. My grandmother had the Atari VCS and we still played games on it-- and her Apple II-- but whenever I could scrounge a few dollars, I'd beg for rides to the mall to hang out in one of the two arcades there.
Arcades really were my safe haven. Even if I ran out of tokens, I still benefitted from the experience by watching others play and getting to know the arcade attendants. I'd occasionally get a free game or three after the attendant would clear out a coin slot or run a diagnostic. Saturday afternoons flew right by.
I wound up getting a VIC-20 the next year, and then a Commodore 64 soon after. Consoles were out of the picture for me for a few years until a friend let me play games on his "Nintendo". That changed everything, and set the stage for my life as a console video game guy after that.
Arcades really were my safe haven. Even if I ran out of tokens, I still benefitted from the experience by watching others play and getting to know the arcade attendants. I'd occasionally get a free game or three after the attendant would clear out a coin slot or run a diagnostic. Saturday afternoons flew right by.
I wound up getting a VIC-20 the next year, and then a Commodore 64 soon after. Consoles were out of the picture for me for a few years until a friend let me play games on his "Nintendo". That changed everything, and set the stage for my life as a console video game guy after that.
Puppet Shadow
Member
I was 20, and probably doing something lame like picking out a skinny tie thinking that this would help propel my long term keyboard career.
The Take Out Bandit
Member
It was pretty awesome.
I didn't know why (being 8, pre-internet, pre-game media), but suddenly Revco had a bunch of Atari 2600 games for 99¢ a pop!
It wasn't until years later that the explanation for that feast of games came along.
I didn't know why (being 8, pre-internet, pre-game media), but suddenly Revco had a bunch of Atari 2600 games for 99¢ a pop!
It wasn't until years later that the explanation for that feast of games came along.
I was a little kid who knew nothing of the video game industry except that I loved going over to my friend Jeremy's house to play Pac-Man on the Atari or Justin's house to play The Smurfs on Coleco and that home video games weren't as good as arcade games.
My brother and I got Nintendo in '85 or '86 and grew up playing it. Had no idea that there had been any kind of crash until many years later.
My brother and I got Nintendo in '85 or '86 and grew up playing it. Had no idea that there had been any kind of crash until many years later.
DiscoJer
Member
I remember KB Toys having a massive sale on games - $1 a cartridge.
And Tunnels & Trolls never came out for Colecovision.
But bear in mind, while there was a crash for consoles, home computers took their place. So pretty much everyone just got a C-64 or Atari 400 (or if you were rich, an Apple II).
And then those eventually fizzled out in favor of PCs about 5 years later. Europe longer, but the Amiga and Atari ST never really caught on the US, though I did have a roommate that had an Apple II GS, which was comparable.
And Tunnels & Trolls never came out for Colecovision.
But bear in mind, while there was a crash for consoles, home computers took their place. So pretty much everyone just got a C-64 or Atari 400 (or if you were rich, an Apple II).
And then those eventually fizzled out in favor of PCs about 5 years later. Europe longer, but the Amiga and Atari ST never really caught on the US, though I did have a roommate that had an Apple II GS, which was comparable.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Moderation note: I took the liberty of deleting the 166 identical self-important posts that consisted of some variant of "lol hey guys look at me i was born just before or after 1983!!!! lol!!!".
I think everyone will agree the signal-to-noise ratio is more than a little bit better, and now all those people who were too busy posting about how they weren't born can actually read some of the interesting stories that got posted in the thread in the mean time.
I think everyone will agree the signal-to-noise ratio is more than a little bit better, and now all those people who were too busy posting about how they weren't born can actually read some of the interesting stories that got posted in the thread in the mean time.
I got a C64 in 1985 when I was 20. I hadn't noticed a video game crash in 1983 (which was primarily a US thing), but I did notice a home computer boom with dozens of relatively new systems springing up out of nowhere. And there certainly was no games drought. The C64 must have had thousands of games.
People are talking about how this thread makes them feel old! It makes me feel so young! I'm 25 years old and when I was 12, the Sega Dreamcast came out!
I've always loved hearing people say that they never noticed the crash though. I wonder if kids would notice if it happened these days with the way indie development has been going.
I've always loved hearing people say that they never noticed the crash though. I wonder if kids would notice if it happened these days with the way indie development has been going.
Mutanthands
Member
I remember being able to get Atari 2600 carts from the failure bin of my local ghetto Thrifty Drug Store for 5 bucks each. It was cool for me at the time, since we could not afford very many games before the crash. Atlantis and Tron were my favorites.
Jive Turkey
Unconfirmed Member
Yeah so was I. My local arcades didn't really see any changes that I noticed.
pslayer666
Member
6 year old.
I was addicted to the only game that I knew:
I didn't start PC gaming until 85
I was 7. I was playing the exact same game!!!
And being jealous of all them rich fuckers that had a 2600.... :-( Back then here in Cyprus having a home console was like a luxury thing. I think we didn't even have a colour tv at our household either yet, back then.
5 years old and played the crap out of my 2600. Choplifter, Pac-Man, some word safari game and several others I am forgetting were in my rotation.
Mattered little because a few years later a better console arrived....and a robot named ROB that never worked for me.
Mattered little because a few years later a better console arrived....and a robot named ROB that never worked for me.
Jive Turkey
Unconfirmed Member
What the hell? I don't remember the Best near me being anything but an ugly box. Those are really cool.
Now that I think about it it probably would be better for those of us too young to actually have experienced that time to say what, if anything, our parents did and maybe how we were effected as a result.I took the liberty of deleting the 166 identical self-important posts that consisted of some variant of "lol hey guys look at me i was born just before or after 1983!!!! lol!!!".
I think everyone will agree the signal-to-noise ratio is more than a little bit better, and no all those people who were too busy posting about how they weren't born can actually read some of the interesting stories that got posted in the thread in the mean time.
So, yeah, I had a nice big pile of Atari 2600 games to play (occasionally) as early as I could remember before the NES came and made its splash on my life. Yars Revenge, Pac-Man, and some game with astronauts that Amazon used for its retro game banner stick out to my mind at this moment, and I had some number pad thing that I can't even recall what game I had it was useful for. Maybe said astronaut game?
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
1983 Catalogue for Sears (last pre-crash catalogue, video games don't show up again until 1988)
http://www.wishbookweb.com/1983_SearsWishbook/index.htm
Games are listed from $29-44. Here's an Atari page as an example
thelurkinghorror
Member
Maybe they don't notice but someone will tell them
2600 games were easy to find until about 1990 in various clearance houses and consignment shops and the like.
I had nearly the entire catalog of games for the system by 89 or so and my family probably spent less than 30 bucks on it. I remember being real young and getting a 25 cent allowance and that being able to buy a game from a bin! If I saved that or worked hard and got a dollar here or there I remember being able to buy an entire cardboard box at a yardsale with a system or two in it and a pile of games.
Even when the NES started to be seriously closed out in the late 90's I never experienced anything like the joy you'd get from your twentieth copy of Pac-Man or that one game you heard about and always wanted to try.
I had nearly the entire catalog of games for the system by 89 or so and my family probably spent less than 30 bucks on it. I remember being real young and getting a 25 cent allowance and that being able to buy a game from a bin! If I saved that or worked hard and got a dollar here or there I remember being able to buy an entire cardboard box at a yardsale with a system or two in it and a pile of games.
Even when the NES started to be seriously closed out in the late 90's I never experienced anything like the joy you'd get from your twentieth copy of Pac-Man or that one game you heard about and always wanted to try.
I was a kid, and had a 2600, but I can't remember the crash for the life of me. I had an "Electronics Games" subscription, and I think it just became a computer game mag. I think I got into text and graphical adventure games, though my timeline could be way off.
OMG. Having flashbacks. I remember this catalog vividly. I would stare at this thing for hours on end.
Count Dookkake
Member
.
I remember massive bargain bins of 2600 games for 99 cents to 4.99 at virtually every store. I also specifically remember my parents refusing to buy me Atari 2600 Double Dragon because it cost a whopping $9.99.
In the years after the crash, I recall going with my mom to yardsales and routinely buying tons of 2600 games for a quarter or so each. Often I'd buy big lots of games for a few dollars, which meant I eventually had, say, 6 copies of things like Asteroids and Pac-Man.
In the years after the crash, I recall going with my mom to yardsales and routinely buying tons of 2600 games for a quarter or so each. Often I'd buy big lots of games for a few dollars, which meant I eventually had, say, 6 copies of things like Asteroids and Pac-Man.
Jinfash
needs 2 extra inches
Thanks. That puts things in slightly more perspective (inflation is still a variable though).
Freshmaker
I am Korean.
Basically...
Played games on my Apple 2e while longing for an Amiga. Didn't really notice a crash.
BluePigGanon
Member
I was 8 years old, and had enjoyed my 2600 for a couple years. Then games got super cheap, and then it was over. I hadn't been gaming long enough to really miss it too much, I just switched gears to G.I. Joe, Voltron, Transformers, and so on.
The NES was frankly so much more exciting than anything before it, anyway. It did more than simply bring the console market back; more like, the 2600 was a prototype, the NES a finished masterpiece.
The NES was frankly so much more exciting than anything before it, anyway. It did more than simply bring the console market back; more like, the 2600 was a prototype, the NES a finished masterpiece.
I was 8 at the time and recall digging through bins in Pittsburgh drug store filled with copies of Swordquest Fireworld and other overproduced titles for the Atari 2600 that were going for just a few dollars. I remember there being nothing in the bin that I was interested in spending what little money I had at the time, sharing in the general public apathy.
The year prior, when Pac-Man for the 2600 came out, that my parents had purchased it at a gas station of all places, perhaps getting it for free because of some promotion. I remember thinking that was weird. The game turned out to be the only video game my dad ever played, but he played it obsessively until he'd just figured out some game-crushing pattern that made the game completely unenjoyable after a couple of weeks.
I remember thinking Pac-Man for 2600 looked like shit.
The year prior, when Pac-Man for the 2600 came out, that my parents had purchased it at a gas station of all places, perhaps getting it for free because of some promotion. I remember thinking that was weird. The game turned out to be the only video game my dad ever played, but he played it obsessively until he'd just figured out some game-crushing pattern that made the game completely unenjoyable after a couple of weeks.
I remember thinking Pac-Man for 2600 looked like shit.
Liberty4all
Banned
I was 7 ... I remember Christmas I got SO many coleco games for Christmas. It wasn't until years later I realized why that year was so special. For a little kid the crash was amazing. 10 games for Christmas instead of 1.
Incitemaybe
Member
I remember huge bins of Atari games on sale, my dad let me get 4 or 5 at once.
evil_ash_xero
Banned
I was VERY young, but I remember being able to buy Atari games for like 2 dollars, at the mall.