-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
90's Toys R Us Holiday Ad
- Thread starter fluffydelusions
- Start date
Sectorseven
Member
I can't say I remember ever paying more than $60 for a game back then. $59.99 really sticks out in my mind for some reason, and I remember how jealous I was that Playstation owners got cheaper games.
cj_iwakura
Member
samus4ever
Banned
Man I keep forgetting how bad the N64 game drought was. My bro and I survived on Mario 64 for 6 months no problem. I think the second game we got was Wave Race.
Dreams-Visions
Member
I probably would have had one had I not felt fucked by Sega for buying the SegaCD and 32X. Wasn't going to be screwed again, so those were my last Sega systems.
I don't know if I would say it was better, as it was much easier to get hyped for a really shitty game back then. But, I can agree that it really did add to the anticipation of a game.
As an aside, this is a really great way for the younger generation out there to see why the PS1 stole the show when it came onto the scene. The price gap between disc based and cart based games was massive, especially when you were a kid/teen with limited funds.
Man, I had like a small fortune of games back in the day looking at those ad prices.
Since my dad used to be the warehouse manager for a major retailer, I'd often get the games and systems that people would return.
(Most of what I got actually worked too. Think the only games I got that didn't work were Primal Rage for Genesis and an incomplete 32X set w/Doom that was missing some cables and crap.)
Of course, now that I think about it, I remember wanting DKC3 for the longest time, but my mom would never get it for me since it cost like $60.
(As well as MMX3, which was like $70-80 new, $50 used.)
Also didn't help that it operated off like 6 AA batteries, and it burnt through those pretty damn quickly.
The one I had was always hooked up to AC power.
Since my dad used to be the warehouse manager for a major retailer, I'd often get the games and systems that people would return.
(Most of what I got actually worked too. Think the only games I got that didn't work were Primal Rage for Genesis and an incomplete 32X set w/Doom that was missing some cables and crap.)
Of course, now that I think about it, I remember wanting DKC3 for the longest time, but my mom would never get it for me since it cost like $60.
(As well as MMX3, which was like $70-80 new, $50 used.)
Also didn't help that it operated off like 6 AA batteries, and it burnt through those pretty damn quickly.
The one I had was always hooked up to AC power.
Hellshingu
Member
I always love seeing these ads from back then. Gaming was expensive then and for some reason people seem to think it's the most expensive now. I always try to tell people things cost a lot back then but no one really believes me.
I remember getting donkey kong country for almost $80 at sears once it was released. I played that game to death over and over. I think I appreciated games more back then because I got them so few and far between. It made me appreciate the games much more than nowadays
I remember getting donkey kong country for almost $80 at sears once it was released. I played that game to death over and over. I think I appreciated games more back then because I got them so few and far between. It made me appreciate the games much more than nowadays
samus4ever
Banned
Yikes just noticed the Saturn modem for 199 dollars. Wonder how bad that sold.
Because they were carts and memory was expensive.
InsaneLuchador
Member
Makes me realize game prices are pretty reasonable today. But yeah, this ad tugs at my heart strings. I was probably staring at this very ad 20 years ago.
I got my Saturn with those 3 free games too.
It really was. As a broke kid I was somewhat pissed you didn't get a gun for Virtua Cop though.
Yeah I think Video Game hardware is still priced too high for too long.
I miss the 16-bit and 32-bit days with all the hardware pricedrops.
Sakura
Member
Don't a ton of people complain about 3DS games being $40~ even though they are also cartridges, and this is 2014 money?
I remember begging my Mom for Star Fox 64, and her not budging because of the 69.99 price games were at Toys R Us for N64 back then. I finally convinced her, don't know how, but then she gets there and because of the rumble pack addon it was 79.99. She bought it for me, but she was PISSED. I had to do all the yardwork for weeks!
Memory is a lot cheaper now than it was then.
I've seen this so many time, but it always brings back memories of me and my parents going to Toys R Us every now and then and I'd just rush to the video game area. I specifically remember the N64 setup and I'd try out whatever game they had there. For whatever reason, the Starfox 64 demo always stuck out to me, yet I never wanted it until recently :/ Good times though
Also, those prices make me grateful that I had awesome parents for having to put up with them
Also, those prices make me grateful that I had awesome parents for having to put up with them
I miss game slips..
Oh man, me too! I remember getting my first snes and Mario all stars with those slips. Bringing it up to the counter and then going into the magical back of the store to bring out your game was awesome.
93xfan
Banned
Yes! That's why most kids, including myself, only got a few games a year and played them to death.
SketchTheArtist
Member
So much nostalgia. Loved those days.
Don't know about most of you, but I miss the days without the internet where you had to read up on magazines, check out the stores and ask clerks about game news. All those rumors and hear-say were so fun to hear. Yup, time really flies by.
Don't know about most of you, but I miss the days without the internet where you had to read up on magazines, check out the stores and ask clerks about game news. All those rumors and hear-say were so fun to hear. Yup, time really flies by.
After the N64 came out and there was only Mario and Wave Race to play, we got a cassette tape (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0i_SI63I70) in the mail from Nintendo. It was mostly about Star Fox and it did a number on me, getting me excited for that game. I don't think I've ever been so hyped for a game in my life (well maybe FF7, but that's another story for another thread). I must have watched that tape a hundred times. It also had previews for other 64 games like Goldeneye and Cruisin' USA. And the rumble pack!! Man was I excited for that.
Point being, yeah, I remember staring at pics in gaming magazines and just imagining what the game would play like. And that excitement of going to the video store and seeing a brand new game on the shelf that you didn't know was coming out. It makes me sad that my kids will never get to experience that.
IrishNinja
Member
go cop a Dreamcast ASAP
man i saw one in san fran like 10 years back that still used this system & it made me so happy, id die if i saw it in 2014
$70 SNES games were the main reason I had to rent the majority of them as a teenager. Buying a game was real treat, usually limited to birthdays and Christmas gifts. At the end of the 16-bit era I owned 6-7 games at most. I could not have imagined that my adult self would have hundreds of games in my collection, all obtained (relatively) cheaply. In this regard I think my kids are going to be extremely spoiled.
SatoAilDarko
Member
I just bought Street Fighter Alpha 2 for $8 on the Wii U Virtual Console last week. Seeing it for $69.99 puts thing in perspective.
I remember this ad being posted on Neogaf before too.
I remember this ad being posted on Neogaf before too.
Christ I'm having flashbacks to my local Toys R Us circa 1997.
-When they had game slips instead of glass cabinets.
-Where they had a Super Gameboy kiosk set up and you could play Donkey Kong on a huge screen (and in color)
-Where the consoles themselves were displayed in a glass cabinet with the slips for them right below.
When the PSX kiosk was so popular that there was always a line...
-When they had game slips instead of glass cabinets.
-Where they had a Super Gameboy kiosk set up and you could play Donkey Kong on a huge screen (and in color)
-Where the consoles themselves were displayed in a glass cabinet with the slips for them right below.
When the PSX kiosk was so popular that there was always a line...
Polioliolio
Member
I agree w/ this.. Every game release had so much more impact. The Internet and social media have us spoiled. Word of mouth and magazine snippets on upcoming games in a society where games hadn't permitted pop culture yet created such a rare and magical atmosphere for being a gamer. There are just too many options now, and none of them feel all that satisfactory. Call me mad, but I wish we could take things back to a more personal level, with games. Two popular consoles competitors, fewer game releases, nothing digital, all physical, w/ full bodied cases, manuals, posters, dust protectors, etc.. No Internet patches, no DLC, no fee to pay.. Ahh.. I miss it, man.
...Scatter...
Banned
Yeah, true. Those ROM carts were expensive to produce. Game needed more memory? Increased cost. And they didnt sell as many units.
Cross platform Sonic holding Saturns graphics back. Preorder canceled.
I still remember when the N64 came out and you couldn't find them ANYWHERE..... I was at walmart on Christmas Eve Day with my Mom doing some last minute shopping, and knew she had gotten me the Sega Saturn + 3 games deal, and I was all set to get that and be ridiculously happy. Then Over the loud speaker I hear "we have 6 Nintendo 64's in stock" so I run back there and hold on to mine to make sure nobody takes it from me, I literally sit there with it in my hands making sure they don't run out while my Mom goes home, Un-wraps the Sega Saturn, Returns it and uses the Money for an N64.
The sad part is because we got it so late in the season the only game I could find in stock anywhere (which was like 3 stores to me I'd imagine) was the MK Trilogy game out for it at the time. I played Mortal Kombat all Christmas Day; looking back I probably would've had a better time with the Saturn at the start, playing Virtua Fighter, Nights, and other games that were actually good.
The sad part is because we got it so late in the season the only game I could find in stock anywhere (which was like 3 stores to me I'd imagine) was the MK Trilogy game out for it at the time. I played Mortal Kombat all Christmas Day; looking back I probably would've had a better time with the Saturn at the start, playing Virtua Fighter, Nights, and other games that were actually good.
For those gasping at the game prices now, bear in mind that they were much worse in Canada. I distinctly remember seeing ads for Banjo-Kazooie being about $120, which would translate to $165 today.
I'm pretty sure that's almost the price of a 360 or a PS3. (As well as being the price for "Refurbished" Wii U's.)
I'm pretty sure that's almost the price of a 360 or a PS3. (As well as being the price for "Refurbished" Wii U's.)
IrishNinja
Member
*fistbump*
Petrae
Member
There was a lot less public in-fighting between members of the gaming press... or gaming press telling its readership how entitled/whiny/etc it is, too.
In fact, because magazines only had so much space to fill (after ads), stories were about the games and companies themselves. These weren't tabloids or anything. It was enthusiast press, which in turn made me excited for what was new and for what was on the horizon.
Each month gave us new stuff to read and more stuff to look forward to. While it was frustrating sometimes to be on a controlled dip of information, new issues of magazines were full of new content that we ravenously consumed. New mags hitting newsstands (or our mailboxes) were like renewal of enthusiasm. Personally, I bought every magazine I could find-- including imports-- and read them all from cover to cover.
Things are super-saturated now. There's more space to fill than content directly relating to games. Hence we get the social topics thrust into play. We get rumors reported as fact. We get full stories based on something this one guy said to this other guy. Thousands of websites, all saying the same thing, striving to win the traffic battle.
There's no more looking forward. Information is instantaneous. In fact, just by reading this post, you probably missed something else gaming-related that's happening. We know about games, see them in motion, and know how they end before they're even released in many cases.
Personally, I'd go back to the magazine age, if I could. But that's me.
friskykillface
Banned
Think I'll give my mom and dad another hug for all the money and begging I wasted growing up, damn at those prices
I still remember my dad taking my brother and I all around town to find an N64 for Christmas , when we found it in a sears in Cambridge we were hyped
Nostalgia
I still remember my dad taking my brother and I all around town to find an N64 for Christmas , when we found it in a sears in Cambridge we were hyped
Nostalgia
evilromero
Member
Just seeing Mario 64 in that ad still gets me excited to play it. I'd fucking still be all over retro games in the N64 style from Nintendo.
drotahorror
Banned
8bit and 16bit era destroyed wallets. I remember picking out Mega Man 5 in a sears or JCpenny catalogue and it was $80.
spookyfish
Gold Member
This. When you compare disc prices, it's about the same, I guess, accounting for inflation.
Big Papa Husker
Member
A Toys R Us I was at 2 weeks ago is still set up like that. I'll have to take a picture next time.
Consumers Distributing, 1991:
$150 for a GameGear TV Tuner
sega must've sold 3 of those in canada
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
But that's the garbage version of the controller.
BeatnikGunsoo
Member
Looking at these ads I feel so dang silly complaining about how expensive games are now
yeesh 98 dollars for toe jam and earl what the fuck
yeesh 98 dollars for toe jam and earl what the fuck
Ya I got one of these back then... it sucked... really bad, can't believe my parents had to spend that much
Anyone remember how much the powerglove was at launch? Practicaly forced my parents to get me one, ended up using it like 3 times :/
Similar threads
- Locked
- Poll