Again, I call the video game crash "bullsh*t".

[MrMaddog]

12 minutes ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

I get the impression the other end of this is some forum/Facebook/Discord/whatever going "HA YEAH I trolled them SO GOOD BRUH check the link all those FAT NERDS were getting SO MAD ha EBIN WEEEN bussin*"

 

*or whatever nonsense phrase the kids are using these days 

 

Well time for me to kick this thread, and OP, down my Ignore hole...

 

[+GoldLeader]

Yeah,

 

Why did I answer this one straight anyway?

 

I don't know...The mood just struck I s'pose...

[Video]

On a serious side...

 

Part of the issue is the world, or even just the US is really big, so the crash may not have been felt where you live. In my neck of the woods, games (console games) never went away, and were very seldomly even marked down hugely (no $1 bargain bin for us) considering most people in my area were poor, we didn't get a new game each month or whatever, so despite games becoming rarer, our purchasing of one or two top titles per year was still outpaced by the production of new titles.

 

It can look like the crash was bullshit from your perspective, but look at all the companies that folded, and even the severe reduction in cash flow among the bigger survivors and I can absolutely say the crash happened, we just may not have felt it personally.

[Cebus Capucinis]

I hear that all the NES don't like it when you stick it in them anyway......they all wanna get BLOWN.

[+bent_pin]

1 hour ago, Cebus Capucinis said:

I hear that all the NES don't like it when you stick it in them anyway......they all wanna get BLOWN.

*note to self: when searching "nes blow me" be sure to check image moderations settings first. Yikes!

*edit: I mean it was the whole damn barrel of pickles

Edited May 14, 2023 by bent_pin

[+KaeruYojimbo]

Well, after eleventy-million¹ "the crash wasn't real" threads started by members with a combined post count of 42², I've finally been won over. The anecdotal evidence presented in this thread completely disproves all of the evidence gathered from years of research done by scholars in multiple fields. I now firmly believe the crash never happened and refuse to be convinced otherwise³.

 

1. This is an exaggeration for humorous effect. I believe the actual number is closer to 650,000⁴.

2. This is also an exaggeration, but probably not much of one.

3. This is not true. The crash happened.

4. This is another exaggeration, but also technically true. Whatever the actual number of threads is, it's closer to 650,000 than it is to eleventy-million, which isn't a real number.

[Atariboy2600]

Even after the "Crash of 83" from 84 till 92 the Atari was still selling the VCS under the model name 2600 Jr a 1986 cost-reduced version but what many don't know is that the 2600 was in market from 1977 and did not discontinuation till 1992 even with systems from NES, SNES, Master System and Genesis.

 

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Atariboy2600

[MrTrust]

5 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

A little-known fact is that Atari's Video Music console was adapted into a disguise to allow for Resistance infiltration of the Visitors' army...

 

Those were just movies, dude...

 

...The purpose of which was to normalize within the public's mind the idea of your sensory experience interfacing with technology so they could mass install Atari MindLink in every American home.  Originally, the MindLink was going to be required in order to play any of your video games.  This is the Mark of the Beast as foretold in Bible Adventures for the NES.  What people don't understand is that this was not a read-only device.

 

A special edition of Yars' Revenge was to be packaged with every MindLink.  What appeared to be a normal between level explosion animation like this:

 

 

Was in fact a very cleverly encoded set of instructions to be read by the MindLink and imprinted, subconsciously, into the very brains of every child and adolescent in America.  You never notice this little graffito everywhere in the 80s:

 

 

It was everywhere.  Bathroom stalls, Trapper Keepers, sidewalk hopscotch courts.  All kids in the 80s drew this thing.  Why?  Atari was carefully seeding it in schools and roller rinks all across America to be the visual trigger of the MindLink programming.  Upon seeing this, these kids would spontaneously form a vanguard of skateboarding, Soviet ninja warriors who would disarm and imprison all American adults within days.  The Soviets, of course, being a mere front for the Yar themselves, who were behind the plot from the beginning.

 

The whole thing got abandoned in '84 because Jack Tramiel thought a planet of 5 billion Earth slaves would be far too expensive to maintain, and sold the whole thing off to the Chinese Government, who are really just a front for the Red Falcon organization from Contra

 

It's true!  Whistleblowers imprisoned deep within Atari headquarters have the classified documents on all this, but they've been suppressed.  They only have Atari computers, and they need parts in order to upload the information to the web, but there's a guy in California who said they accidentally gave hime a credit card number with too many digits and now they're banned for life from buying parts.

 

 

[+sramirez2008]

6 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Nobody really knows what happened to the glasses or the technology

[Cebus Capucinis]

37 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

[+x=usr(1536)]

15 hours ago, MrTrust said:

You never notice this little graffito everywhere in the 80s:

 

 

It was everywhere.  Bathroom stalls, Trapper Keepers, sidewalk hopscotch courts.  All kids in the 80s drew this thing.  Why?  Atari was carefully seeding it in schools and roller rinks all across America to be the visual trigger of the MindLink programming.  Upon seeing this, these kids would spontaneously form a vanguard of skateboarding, Soviet ninja warriors who would disarm and imprison all American adults within days.  The Soviets, of course, being a mere front for the Yar themselves, who were behind the plot from the beginning.

Good point.  One thing regarding that 'S': Soviet military documents originating from Tajikistan during the chaotic years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union reinforce that this was a result of Mindlink programming.  More accurately, drawing the 'S' was a side effect of the programming, and is believed to be a subconscious manifestation of the fact that the recipient of said programming is a sleeper agent - hence the 'S' and its symbolism in the psyche.  This was why Atari chose it as their hidden-in-plain-sight communiqué to the programmed: they would instantly recognise it at a subconscious level, thus allowing their programming to briefly take over and check for activity that may require their activation.

 

Interestingly, this same drawing behaviour was also seen in a number of peasant farmers removed from various kolkhoz in the region who were used for experiments during the early development of the sleeper agent programme.  They were not only observed drawing the 'S' - even using it as a substitute for the Cyrillic 'C' in certain cases - but also developing a prototypical form of Valleyspeak understood amongst themselves, a strong homing sense for malls, and a deep-seated need to be listening to New Wave music whenever possible.

 

Unfortunately for the farmers subjected to these experiments, most died unnaturally early deaths.  Details are hazy, but initial speculation was that they had been transported to the site of the Tunguska Event to see if there would be any effect on their popped collars and jelly bracelets.  We now know that the lack of malls and record stores carrying Devo cassettes in the Soviet Union was far more likely to be the cause of their deaths, so strong were the instincts to travel to and obtain these items.  In terms of nature vs. nurture, it's really a fascinating study as these subjects had no cultural or geographic contacts with the places they so strongly longed to be and the activities in which they wished to engage.

 

Incidentally, much of this would be used years later (albeit in a heavily-reworked form) for large parts of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things.  For the uninitiated, that show is attempting to activate the sleepers still walking amongst us.  It's a very long process due to their dormancy having lasted more than 30 years past its intended use date, but does explain why it's been renewed for another season.

[+GoldLeader]

3 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Good point.  One thing regarding that 'S': Soviet military documents originating from Tajikistan during the chaotic years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union reinforce that this was a result of Mindlink programming.  More accurately, drawing the 'S' was a side effect of the programming, and is believed to be a subconscious manifestation of the fact that the recipient of said programming is a sleeper agent - hence the 'S' and its symbolism in the psyche.  This was why Atari chose it as their hidden-in-plain-sight communiqué to the programmed: they would instantly recognise it at a subconscious level, thus allowing their programming to briefly take over and check for activity that may require their activation.

 

Interestingly, this same drawing behaviour was also seen in a number of peasant farmers removed from various kolkhoz in the region who were used for experiments during the early development of the sleeper agent programme.  They were not only observed drawing the 'S' - even using it as a substitute for the Cyrillic 'C' in certain cases - but also developing a prototypical form of Valleyspeak understood amongst themselves, a strong homing sense for malls, and a deep-seated need to be listening to New Wave music whenever possible.

 

Unfortunately for the farmers subjected to these experiments, most died unnaturally early deaths.  Details are hazy, but initial speculation was that they had been transported to the site of the Tunguska Event to see if there would be any effect on their popped collars and jelly bracelets.  We now know that the lack of malls and record stores carrying Devo records in the Soviet Union was far more likely to be the cause of their deaths, so strong were the instincts to travel to and obtain these items.  In terms of nature vs. nurture, it's really a fascinating study as these subjects had no cultural or geographic contacts with the places they so strongly longed to be and the activities in which they wished to engage.

 

Incidentally, much of this would be used years later (albeit in a heavily-reworked form) for large parts of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things.  For the uninitiated, that show is attempting to activate the sleepers still walking amongst us.  It's a very long process due to their dormancy having lasted more than 30 years past its intended use date, but does explain why it's been renewed for another season.

Yeah,

 

I thought that might be it.

[zzip]

On 5/13/2023 at 3:57 PM, CartridgeStealer said:

How can people say there was a "crash" when there was a huge selection of video arcade games cranking out?

Most of the arcades that sprung up outside malls started shutting down.   The arcade cabinets that sprung up in every supermarket, convenience store and laundromat by 82 started disappearing.   They may have still cranked out arcade cabinets, but there was much less of an outlet for them than there was just a year or two prior

 

On 5/13/2023 at 3:57 PM, CartridgeStealer said:

Did kids all of a sudden  say "hey, video games are boring and I would rather type on my computer!"

No it was more the kids started watching MTV or WWF Wrestling instead of playing videogames,  and VCRs and video stores were springing up everywhere which meant less time playing videogames.   Most families only had one or two TVs so everyone had to watch the same thing.

 

On 5/13/2023 at 3:57 PM, CartridgeStealer said:

Can someone find me someone that got sick of these games?

Yeah, most of my friends!   When I was in high school it was kind of uncool to be a gamer, at least until NES became popular which was around my senior year, and suddenly everyone was a gamer again!

[BassGuitari]

This thread never stood a chance, did it? 😂

[+x=usr(1536)]

11 hours ago, BassGuitari said:

This thread never stood a chance, did it? 😂

Nope!

 

Pro-tip for future readers: this is where taking the temperature of the room before stating that oh-so-deeply-controversial opinion that you hold might not be a bad idea.

[+thanatos]

16 hours ago, Atariboy2600 said:

 

 

Hah, I rode my bike to that Green Bay Toys R Us many many times back in the day!

 

 

[BassGuitari]

43 minutes ago, thanatos said:

Hah, I rode my bike to that Green Bay Toys R Us many many times back in the day!

I've been to the Appleton one a few times as a kid, but it would have been quite a haul by bike from Wausau. 😜

[Flyindrew]

As an 11 year old in 1983, I had zero clue that there was a “crash”. It wasn’t until 20 years later with online message boards that I was even aware there was such a thing as a “crash”. 

[roots.genoa]

20 minutes ago, Flyindrew said:

As an 11 year old in 1983, I had zero clue that there was a “crash”. It wasn’t until 20 years later with online message boards that I was even aware there was such a thing as a “crash”. 

And that's fine, but for example we were all adults during the dot.com bubble from the early 2000s and I'm pretty sure most of us were not impacted. Well, I was because that at the time I tried to find a job in the video game industry, but it didn't impact me as a gamer.

[+GoldLeader]

43 minutes ago, Flyindrew said:

As an 11 year old in 1983, I had zero clue that there was a “crash”. It wasn’t until 20 years later with online message boards that I was even aware there was such a thing as a “crash”. 

 

On the plus side, 

 

You didn't start a topic called, "Crash?  There was no Crash!" using all that 5th Grade Education and some 40 year old memories to try to disprove what was in the books...

 

Whether you or I were fully or only vaguely aware of it at the time,  doesn't change the facts with regard to whether or not it happened.

[zzip]

24 minutes ago, roots.genoa said:

And that's fine, but for example we were all adults during the dot.com bubble from the early 2000s and I'm pretty sure most of us were not impacted. Well, I was because that at the time I tried to find a job in the video game industry, but it didn't impact me as a gamer.

That's a good comparision,  I was in tech during the dot.com bust, so I couldn't miss it.  But everyone outside tech acted as though economic times were still good even though it was devastating to people who worked in tech.

 

52 minutes ago, Flyindrew said:

As an 11 year old in 1983, I had zero clue that there was a “crash”.

I don't think anyone outside the industry would have noticed the crash in 1983.   Video games still seemed hot in 83.   It took some time for the effects to reach us.    My memory was 1985 when I started high school was probably the worst of it.   By then most of the retailers had given up selling videogames or at least greatly shrunk their game selection,  the arcades outside of the malls had closed,  the videogame magazines had folded.  

 

But a lot would depend on how closely one followed gaming.  I used to bike to the arcades, would always check out the video game kiosks at stores, and had a subscription to a videogame magazine that folded.   So I couldn't miss the signs of decline.

 

But for someone who only occasionally bought new carts?  They could still do that and not notice.    

[+frankodragon]

I too didn't know there was a crash going on.  My mind was set on watching cartoons, playing model trains, and playing Atari with what carts I had, even though I didn't have many.  I did notice one time at Woolworths in the Northridge mall in Milwaukee a bin of Atari games with cheap prices but as a kid, I completely forgot about it. 

 

In an alternate universe, you could say the Sleestaks were good at covering up any mention of a crash.

 

[mickster]

On 5/13/2023 at 2:57 PM, CartridgeStealer said:

How can people say there was a "crash" when there was a huge selection of video arcade games cranking out? There is something more.  Did kids all of a sudden  say "hey, video games are boring and I would rather type on my computer!" Can someone find me someone that got sick of these games? I never did. Ok rant over. Prove me wrong. Home video.game systems had 100s of games to make a library every years.

I'm 53 and I definitely saw the growth of video games, the crash of video and the rise of computers, the crash of non PC computers and the slow take over to pc/windows that is now the norm.

 

There was a time, when arcade games were everywhere.  Every department store, Every grocery store, Every gas station,  and any other little cubby hole that had an outlet and kept enough cover to keep the game dry.  Every public swimming pool usually had a rec room with 3 to 30 games.  Also,  these games were in high rotation, so even a grocery store with 3 games, would have 3 different games every couple of weeks.    

 

Slowly all of these arcades (big and small) disappeared to pretty much one arcade per shopping mall.

 

I would say that the majority of my class (about 60 kids) in school either had an atari 2600 or access to one to play on a regular basis.  

 

Most people in my class  did not move on to other video game systems.  Once they were tired of the 5-10 games they had, that was it.

 

The die hard gamers instead of moving to new video game systems (like the coleco, 5200, etc...)  Moved to 8 bit computers for deeper gameplay and better graphics.

 

This is where my generation pretty much died on electronic entertainment.  The younger generations liked the NES, but my age was too old for that.

 

An even smaller number of people of my age bought 16 bit computers, but the costs were so much higher, that most people waited for PC's and the internet to buy anything.

 

I can remember seeing tons of games in bins that were on closeout, brand new priced as little as $1 a piece.  Retailers had to be getting royally screwed selling at that price point.  I am sure that is why it was so hard for the Nintendo to get into retail.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

46 minutes ago, mickster said:

I'm 53 and I definitely saw the growth of video games, the crash of video and the rise of computers, the crash of non PC computers and the slow take over to pc/windows that is now the norm.

 

There was a time, when arcade games were everywhere.  Every department store, Every grocery store, Every gas station,  and any other little cubby hole that had an outlet and kept enough cover to keep the game dry.  Every public swimming pool usually had a rec room with 3 to 30 games.  Also,  these games were in high rotation, so even a grocery store with 3 games, would have 3 different games every couple of weeks.    

 

Slowly all of these arcades (big and small) disappeared to pretty much one arcade per shopping mall.

 

I would say that the majority of my class (about 60 kids) in school either had an atari 2600 or access to one to play on a regular basis.  

 

Most people in my class  did not move on to other video game systems.  Once they were tired of the 5-10 games they had, that was it.

 

The die hard gamers instead of moving to new video game systems (like the coleco, 5200, etc...)  Moved to 8 bit computers for deeper gameplay and better graphics.

 

This is where my generation pretty much died on electronic entertainment.  The younger generations liked the NES, but my age was too old for that.

 

An even smaller number of people of my age bought 16 bit computers, but the costs were so much higher, that most people waited for PC's and the internet to buy anything.

 

I can remember seeing tons of games in bins that were on closeout, brand new priced as little as $1 a piece.  Retailers had to be getting royally screwed selling at that price point.  I am sure that is why it was so hard for the Nintendo to get into retail.  

 

55 here, in CANADA and this pretty much sums up my recollections as well. 🤷‍♂️

[+bent_pin]

52 minutes ago, mickster said:

I can remember seeing tons of games in bins that were on closeout, brand new priced as little as $1 a piece.  Retailers had to be getting royally screwed selling at that price point.  I am sure that is why it was so hard for the Nintendo to get into retail.  

I'm a little bit younger than you. I remember the deep discounts though. That's how I got so many 2600 games. I also remember buying a Sega Master system and a dozen or so games from KB toys for $20. I mowed a really big lawn, made $25, got the game and a soft pretzel and cheese sauce. 

 

A market crash is a loss of confidence in said market. A dollar buys you what they next guy thinks he can buy with it. If he thinks he can buy less, he will give you less quo for your quid. Same was apparently quite true of video games in markets with any regular activity. Imagine a single bin of games such as you might have found in K-mart. It might have 1500 games when filled. If they were sold for a dollar, then that bin represents a loss of $21k of potential money and probably $10k of real money. You could buy a fleet of nice used cars for $10k in 1983-4-5. Now that was just one of 2000ish K-marts. 1 company 20-40 million in losses, many others followed. That is a crash.

Edited May 16, 2023 by bent_pin