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How prominent was the Lynx in stores?


atari2600land

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When I was a kid, I went to Toys R Us a lot. I got a Super Mario Bros. 3 guide there and the August 1992 issue of Nintendo Power (which started my subscription beginning in '93), but I don't remember seeing a Lynx anywhere, nor did any of my friends have one. I swear, if I knew there was a Lynx when I was about 8 or 9, I would've begged my parents for one. Instead, for my birthday in '91 I got a SNES, which was/is nice, but man I wish I could have known about it. Maybe if Atari made commercials and actually showed their product and what it could do, it might have done better?

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I had only seen them in the mall at Babbages and Electronics Boutique; and only learned about the Lynx from EGM #28 (Nov '91) where Atari had a multipage ad in the middle of the magazine. From then on I was hooked and had to have one.

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I recall seeing them in Toys 'R' Us in 89-90. I wanted one but didn't have the money at the time. :(

 

 

I got my original Lynx as a Valentine's Day gift from my ex wife in 95 I believe...It was at EB in the mall. The package came coupled with a Lynx II, Checkered Flag, Shadow of the Beast, Pinball Jam, and Pit Fighter. Ill never forget the display...they had like FIFTY of the sets climbing up the back wall, and it was $64.99. :)

 

-Joe

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Atari Lynx was technically a great system, but it was going against a Juggernaut called the Gameboy. I dont think there could be anything the Atari Lynx could do differently to sell better. I personally had both back in the very early 90s, and have to say that I was happy with both. As a kid, it was easier to hide my Gameboy from my Teacher, but I do have to admit....I did play the Lynx in the bathroom like the commercial! Also the battery life sucked, which kind of defeated the whole portable thing. As for buying my games....Toys R US was the place. They were a huge supporter of the system, and it had all the cool titles. Gosh, I miss playing it more now, but alas I have moved on to the DS and PSP.

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Well.. it was pretty prominent!

 

I mean.. think of any Gamestop. You see the PSP section when it started out? That's how the Lynx section was.

 

In my local Electronics Boutique and Software Etc. the Lynx section was right there along the wall. And that's where I'd go to buy my Lynx games. It wasn't treated much differently from any other console there..

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I never got into the gameboy, i had a gamegear :) Why the hell was the display not colour? I still don't know why people would choose that over a lynx or gamegear.

 

Because some of us don't choose. I personally don't know how anyone wouldn't not stand to have a Lynx, a Gamegear, and a Gameboy all at once. I mean, that gave me all the choices of software to buy without feeling limited ;)

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Many UK stores had Lynx, Virgin, TrU, HMV, Origin, Macro, Daniel, Rumblelows...etc. Of course, many independents like Computer Cavern, Video Game Centre, Bracknel Computer Shop, carried Lynx too. You just couldn't get them in shops like WHS, Boots, Woolworths, Currys

 

Actually thats not correct as I bought my first Lynx from Curry's and I also bought Blue Lightning, Ms. Pacman, Viking Child and others from my local Boots.

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Many UK stores had Lynx, Virgin, TrU, HMV, Origin, Macro, Daniel, Rumblelows...etc. Of course, many independents like Computer Cavern, Video Game Centre, Bracknel Computer Shop, carried Lynx too. You just couldn't get them in shops like WHS, Boots, Woolworths, Currys

 

Actually thats not correct as I bought my first Lynx from Curry's and I also bought Blue Lightning, Ms. Pacman, Viking Child and others from my local Boots.

 

 

I stand corrected (my local Boots never had any A8, Lynx, Jaguar softs, only ST (besides the Spectrum/C64/CPC stuff), not fair...

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They were around but tended to be squeezed out by the Nes and Master Systems. I can only recall one tv advert which was shown rarely with the bulk of adverts being in mags and comics but when compared to the Game Gear and Game Boy it severly lagged behind the opposition ;)

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I never once saw a Jaguar or a Lynx in stores when I was a kid. I live in a town of about 10 000, and maybe it's because I am Canadian, but I never saw anything in the larger centers here either. I went to North Dakota a lot as a kid and again never saw anything Jag/Lynx/Neo Geo/3DO/etc... related.

 

I once saw a TG-16 here at a Radio Shack for $50. I wanted it, but the parents said nadda. Damn it. :(

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I never got into the gameboy, i had a gamegear :) Why the hell was the display not colour? I still don't know why people would choose that over a lynx or gamegear.

Tetris

IDK, but I think the gameboy was cheaper.

 

I think the Game Boy was only $89.95 at launch. That's a pretty superb deal for a console, especially with the library it went on to have. This was a great thing because poorer people could get games at a lower price. I was lucky enough to get an NES, GB, GEN, SNES, SAT at Christmastime, and I am sure a lot of the less fortunate got Game Boys, and what a wonderful gift it would have been!

 

I'll never forget when I got my GB... my dad put my game in backwards (Super Mario Land) and I almost died because it was stuck.

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Guess I wasn't very observant. When I bought my first handheld gaming system in 1994 when I was a kid with my very own money, the only choice at the local Fred Meyer's department store was a Game Boy.

 

Hmmm, interesting... Around Salem the ONLY place you could find a Lynx was Toys R Us.... I remember to this day it being on display, on the top shelf in the corner with Blue Lightning Demo playing... You're right, Fred Meyer only carried the GB... To my knowledge I don't think any other place had it... not even Babbages downtown... Although I can't quite remember when Babbages opened its doors... maybe in 91-92? I want to say the other place that had the Lynx was "Best" over on Lancaster, formerly Jafco... wow.. does anybody remember Jafco?

 

Oh man, I had to google it and got a reminder how cool it was to be a kid in the 80's

 

http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/205/

Edited by Trip_Cannon
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They were around but tended to be squeezed out by the Nes and Master Systems. I can only recall one tv advert which was shown rarely with the bulk of adverts being in mags and comics but when compared to the Game Gear and Game Boy it severly lagged behind the opposition ;)

 

I never saw nes' in shops as a kid, although i remember seeing everything else under the sun.. CPC, ST, Amiga, SMS and even Speccy!

Although the only place i remember seeing lynx or jaguars was in tandy. My guess is tandy must have bought stock before EB got their hands on them.

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