Back in the 1970s and 1980 I was a teenager growing up in a small town. Video game consoles, in their most basic forms were starting to hit the market, but they we just not as cool as the arcade games. There were so many more spectacular games you could play at all of the arcades popping up everywhere.
I do not remember what our first home game system was called, but it basically had three different versions of pong. Each game had a very creative name. Do not ask me why, but the version of pong where we each had two paddles was called Hockey. That makes complete sense right?
The other feature I remembered about the console is that it also came with a pistol that you used to shoot like a crazy person at the bouncing pong square on the screen. Not sure why people were so fascinated by the movement of these very simple little white squares. It did however influence me in another way. It was the start of a habit of visiting the video arcades on a regular basis to donate some quarters.
Before the game arcades started popping up you would usually go to local store or even gas station to et your gaming fix. The store owners would then usually buy only one game and it would normally be either Asteroids or Pac Man. These were tucked into some dark corner and were used to supplement the owners income.
Wherever you found one of these arcade game machines, you would have been met with scores of boys crowded around the machines frantically playing in an attempt to win. There would be a jerking at the red joystick and slapping of the buttons in an attempt to survive and come out victorious. A constant stream of quarters would also be consumed by the machines. These machines at the local stores started to get less popular as video game arcades started to pop up everywhere and their huge variety drew the crowds.
About the Author:
Many of the arcade classics are available as online games with newer variations like parking mania getting their roots from these early games.
Google
Facebook
Twitter
Myspace
Yahoo
Digg
del.icio.us
Windows Live
Reddit
Blogger
Rain Concert
