The More Things Change,
The More they Stay the Same.
by Donald A. Thomas, Jr. (c)1997
A friend of mine dug up some old gaming magazines the other day. I'm
talking about the ones published in the day of "Worm War I" (Fox
Video Games, 1982) and "Fast Food" (Telesys, 1982) . . . early
"eightiesish". Popular publishers included Atari and Activision, of
course, but other names included CBS, Coleco, Data Age, Epyx, Froggo,
Games by Apollo, Imagic, Konami, Milton Bradley, M-Network, Mystique,
Mythicon, Panda, Parker Brothers, Sega, Spectravision, Tigervision,
U.S. Games, Vidtec, Xonox and ZiMag. Those were the days when words
like "sprites" and "pixels" were popularly used unlike terms like
"polygons" and "MIPS". Sixteen-kilobyte game cartridges were
accomplished by the virtues of bank switching and a slight screen
flicker was a small price to pay for extra colors or added
characters.
Just like my friend, I have some of those classic magazine issues in
my archives too. It is fun to dig them out and recollect how easily
impressed and challenged we were by raw simplicity. In fact, the
entire industry was, relatively, uncomplicated back then. People with
money flirted with a new generation of techno-tuned kids emerging
from computer science classrooms. Many never finished college. They
were romanced by the allure of dancing dots and the mystic way they
tricked consumers into playing with them for money.
Over the years, the dots have matured from their modest origins. Only
menacing paddles once accompanied them on screen. Now they have
evolved into virtual worlds which posses no apparent boundaries. The
monochromatic dots have been lost amongst their own collective mass
of texture-maps and shading. As fast as a score might advance in the
game of "Pong", beings possessed by virtual souls are now reborn by
the will of the almighty gamer. The gaming industry has put the Land
of Oz into everyone's grasp.
These magazines, the ones from the early eighties, are not just
decorated with reviews and advertisements of software. Some pretty
impressive peripherals and other related innovations abound as well.
Some of you may remember the Joyboard (made by a little known company
called Amiga). Gamers could stand on the Joyboard and steer skiers or
nudge racecars by leaning in the direction the player wished to move
in the game. There was the Game Brain as one of many devices that
allowed several cartridges to be connected simultaneously. A simple
switch could select any one of the installed cartridges.
There were video game organizers by ADI Electronics, joystick stands
by Cable Enterprises, trackballs and bat-style joysticks from Wico
and deluxe video game controllers from Starplex. There was the
PlayCable and The Game Network online systems to download and play
computer or Intellivision video games. There were wireless
controllers, keyboard add-ons, screen overlays, joystick extension
cords, system dust covers, light pens, 3-D helmets, printers,
associated toys, trinkets, action figures, record albums and so much
more.
As a sanity check, I breezed through my copies of "Video Games"
magazine (Pumpkin Press, Inc.); August 1982 through October 1983.
Every one of the items named above were advertised or reviewed in at
least one of the issues. Then late 1983 and early 1984 slammed the
shores of commerce and left an industry ghost town in its wake.
Stores couldn't give away the glut of cartridges they had in
inventory. In some cases, Drug Stores bought up the overstocks and
offered them for no more than fifty cents each in huge bins at the
front of their stores. Too many companies made too many titles all
too fast. The consumer couldn't keep up with the flood and, quite
frankly, had no interest anymore. The video games being spit out were
becoming too similar and rarely unique. Although many were still
relatively a challenge, there were only so many ways to make it fun
pushing dots around on a television screen. The world became
disinterested as companies such as Atari who reportedly buried
hundreds of thousands of "E.T.; The Extra-Terrestrial" cartridges in
remote landfills. One report I received stated that product was
dropped in front of a moving truck to prevent any salvage efforts
after Atari disposed of a stockpile of systems.
I don't know of any companies currently burying working product or
smashing components against the pavement, but there are plenty of
contemporary examples of products that didn't sell well on store
shelves. And the cycle continues. A great game system emerges as kids
begin to get bored with what they have. The world jumps ship from
what was and switches to more, better and faster. There is no real
brand loyalty. Each new system attracts enthusiasts, but the mass
market sways to the pulse of technology and hype. The money flows in
and out with the waves and the gaming industry benefits if they catch
the high tide.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
A friend of mine dug up some old gaming magazines the other day. I
realize I made that point earlier, but I didn't mention my friend's
observation. He said you could simply substitute the names from
yesteryear with the names from today and the news is about the same.
He's right.
Unlike the movie and music industries, the gaming industry has never
learned to grow up. The gaming industry continues to simply exist.
Most sizable institutions implement open or covert events to help
self-promote their own industry. The results mean that movie stars
and recording artists, directors and their cinematic projects,
concerts and premieres make news almost every day in popular media.
The sports industry, lawn and garden, cosmetics, apparel and jewelry
all have organizations established to make sure consumers are exposed
to their commercial cause every day. In the gaming industry, almost
everyone simply looks out for themselves.
Video gaming has become one of the world's most popular forms of
entertainment, but also one of the least recognized. Consequently, no
lasting compatibility standards have been established, new software
often costs as much as a major car repair and no one really knows
where the industry is headed for the long term.
So, what's new?
--END--
This text may be reprinted in its entirety with byline and copyright
without expressed permission from the author [DATJ@compuserve.com].
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