10 Atari Games that caused the Crash of 1984.

[gamevet]

Even a lot of C64's were sold in bundles with GEOS and various applications, and the Commodore 128 sold a few million as well. But I think most people would still use them for gaming, even if that wasn't the #1 reason they bought it.

I believe that's the point we've been trying to make. Our parents quit buying 2600 games and started buying computers. The kids quit playing the 2600 and started playing around with computers and their games. The consoles were starting to be considered cheap toys with simple games, while the computers offered games with depth.

[sheath]

Everything I've seen has the NES nation wide launch in the US in 1986, I think it was test marketed in NYC and Los Angeles though. Gamefaqs and Digitpress do have Super Mario Bros as an October 1985 release though.

I also got the impression that the test market had Famicom style carts that were viewed as too small and toy like. Game Over describes that in some detail, and how it led to the toaster NES and huge cartridge shells.

[Cross]

When did 200 bucks become a cheap toy in the 80's? I can't say much on what has more "simple" games bc all games out side of RPGs was simple back then.

[j_factor]

I also got the impression that the test market had Famicom style carts that were viewed as too small and toy like. Game Over describes that in some detail, and how it led to the toaster NES and huge cartridge shells.

The test market was the same as a regular NES, just earlier. You're probably thinking of the prototype Nintendo showed in 1984.

[sheath]

The test market was the same as a regular NES, just earlier. You're probably thinking of the prototype Nintendo showed in 1984.

That could be it, it has been about five years since I've read that book or anything else on the topic.

[tz101]

Everything I've seen has the NES nation wide launch in the US in 1986, I think it was test marketed in NYC and Los Angeles though. Gamefaqs and Digitpress do have Super Mario Bros as an October 1985 release though.

For all the 'experts' on this thread, I really do not care. I met my wife in spring of 1984 and vividly remember her buying me a NES Control Deck set with SMB pack-in for our second Christmas together. That would have been Christmas of 1985, I don't care what any supposed 'industry expert' sites say.

[gamevet]

Everything I've seen has the NES nation wide launch in the US in 1986, I think it was test marketed in NYC and Los Angeles though. Gamefaqs and Digitpress do have Super Mario Bros as an October 1985 release though.

I also got the impression that the test market had Famicom style carts that were viewed as too small and toy like. Game Over describes that in some detail, and how it led to the toaster NES and huge cartridge shells.

There's a picture of it at the 1984 CES in that video I posted on the other page. The keyboard almost looks like an Atari XE computer.

When did 200 bucks become a cheap toy in the 80's? I can't say much on what has more "simple" games bc all games out side of RPGs was simple back then.

Cheap as in poor graphics and small games. The 2600 wasn't $200 in 1982 either. I played my friend's Colecovision with the 6 games he had. We burned through them pretty quick and the game Venture, just repeated the same 3 or 4 levels over and over.


Some of the computer games that were coming out in 83 and 84 had a lot of gameplay. Seven Cities of Gold had you exploring continents and interacting with natives for goods. Archon had a lot of replay value because of the way you could challenge other players. Bruce Lee was an action platformer with various levels to complete by defeating the enemies and gathering the lamps. Zaxxon wasn't missing parts of the arcade game like the Colecovision version.

[Cross]

Well don't think i would call Zelda a small game or one with poor graphics I know it came out in 86 that maybe a little to far up the time line, same thing with FF1.

As for the games you listed the only one i think i know is Zaxxon and I don't recall how much replay that had. Can't speak for the others as I never played them but I can't really see them being that deep in game play.

[gamevet]

I'm not talking about the NES, because it's games had a ton of depth. I'm talking about the consoles that were around in 82-84.

[MrSega]

For all the 'experts' on this thread, I really do not care. I met my wife in spring of 1984 and vividly remember her buying me a NES Control Deck set with SMB pack-in for our second Christmas together. That would have been Christmas of 1985, I don't care what any supposed 'industry expert' sites say.

There's plenty of evidence that shows that the NES was the hottest Toy of the Holiday season of '85. In addition to being able to find one in a costal town like Cape May,NJ. I was 3 years old & remember it being the very first time I had ever seen a video game.

1. The Control Deck was more common then the Action Set simply because it was cheaper. Retailing for $199($400 in 2013) More people brought these sets along with 4 Head VCRs & Compact Disc players during Christmas 1985.

2. The Marketing. There was only one ad about R.O.B. That was filmed in late 1984 but aired during the Spring & Summer of '85.

This ad mentions ROB, but goes out of their way to avoid mentioning the word "Video Game".

This ad mentions "Gyromite,Duck Hunt,Stack Up,Hogan's Alley & Kung Fu". All copyrighted 1984. The SKU box is completely different. This suggests that the test marketing date is much earlier than commonly known. Which is May, not October.

There are 3 NES adverts all dated 1985 with the air dates as "Fall 1985".

In these ads, ROB is mentioned only once. But key words like "Nintendo Challege","Arcade Hits" & this time they boldy declare "Video Game Hits". Footage from ,SMB,Wild Gunman,Excitebike and NES Baseball are also added.

This time, the ad has a slogan in bold letters "NOW YOU'RE PLAYING WITH POWER".

3. The name "Nintendo Entertainment System" was to hide the fact that it was a video game system. ES reffered to a Stereo set and the design was so that it would look.something like a VCR.


From the adverts, there were a total of 22 games released for NES in 1985 & 5 launch titles: Gyromite,Stack Up,Duck Hunt,Hogan's Alley & Super Mario Bros.

I do know this: In 1985 nobody was calling it a "video game system" yet. People were calling it "A Toy Robot Video System" or "Computer Game System".

There were even magazine articles like the December 1985 issue of "BOY'S LIFE" that refers to Nintendo as a new "Home Computer System".

[j_factor]

Cheap as in poor graphics and small games. The 2600 wasn't $200 in 1982 either. I played my friend's Colecovision with the 6 games he had. We burned through them pretty quick and the game Venture, just repeated the same 3 or 4 levels over and over.

Some of the computer games that were coming out in 83 and 84 had a lot of gameplay. Seven Cities of Gold had you exploring continents and interacting with natives for goods. Archon had a lot of replay value because of the way you could challenge other players. Bruce Lee was an action platformer with various levels to complete by defeating the enemies and gathering the lamps. Zaxxon wasn't missing parts of the arcade game like the Colecovision version.

Yeah, I find that most Atari and Colecovision games are fun for about five minutes. Even the better ones, a game won't last very long, but you might come back to it a little more.

Those computer games of 1983-84 are the first crop of games that I think still hold up well today. Even games that were relatively simple, on computers, tended to have more going on. I wouldn't call Lode Runner super complicated, but compared to something like Donkey Kong Jr., there was a lot more meat to it.

[gamevet]

It would have been easier, MrSega, to just post the youtube videos. The top one is the first commercial for the system, while the lower one is when they started showing it more as a videogame console.

For all the 'experts' on this thread, I really do not care. I met my wife in spring of 1984 and vividly remember her buying me a NES Control Deck set with SMB pack-in for our second Christmas together. That would have been Christmas of 1985, I don't care what any supposed 'industry expert' sites say.

I stand corrected then. I do remember seeing commercials for the thing somewhere between 1985 and 86. I know it was before I'd left home to move to Pheonix in the fall of 86, where I saw the console for the very first time. I thought it was interesting at the time and I loved the Nintendo arcade games.

[MrSega]

It would have been easier, MrSega, to just post the youtube videos. The top one is the first commercial for the system, while the lower one is when they started showing it more as a videogame console.









I stand corrected then. I do remember seeing commercials for the thing somewhere between 1985 and 86. I know it was before I'd left home to move to Pheonix in the fall of 86, where I saw the console for the very first time. I thought it was interesting at the time and I loved the Nintendo arcade games.

I just conducted some research and this is what I found.

http://www.sacnews.net/adamcomputer/09.html

The NES was indeed first Test Marketed in New York on October 18,1985 but it quickly spread to major West Coast Cities and according to this Trademark document became available in most retailers by Christmas of 1985.

http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer...20061023083937

The term "Interstate Commerce" means that its availability gradually spread across America. Its possible that there were still smaller less populated areas of the United States that didn't get NES until '86.

This "Super Mario Bros" trademark shows that it was available during Christmas of '85:

http://trademarks.justia.com/757/20/...-75720625.html

This of course is the GBC re-release of "Super Mario Bros. DX" but the document states its first use in Commerce as 19851018.

http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer...20061023083937

Nintendo also started displaying Super Mario Bros. in an NES10 Arcade Cabinet in early 1986:

http://trademarks.justia.com/735/94/...-73594455.html


So I can say from that we can conclude this:

The Nintendo Entertainment System first arrived for Test Marketing in NYC in the Early fall of 1985 about 4 months after it was displayed at the Early Summer 1985 CES show in June, and was quickly also test marketed in the major West Coast cities of Seattle,Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Soon after, Nintendo decided to distribute to most retailers across the Country in order not to miss the Holiday Season of 1985 meaning depending on where you lived, if it was close to a populated city, the NES could easily be purchased. So in that case, my mother's friend purchased one for her 4 year old son in Atlantic City.

They then being selling the console across the remaining less populated parts of the US and Canada in early 1986 with the newly Established "Nintendo of America" division But by then, the system had already been available in majority of the country in late 1985.

So technically, the NES' US launch counts as late 1985, and the reason why most sources keep saying February '86 is because they keep missing an important detail of history: The NES wasn't exclusively test marketed in NYC, it BEGIN test marketing there and was quickly "Railroaded" to the major West Coast cities(Which was a common test marketing practice for new Computers at the time) and THEN launched in the populated areas of America in time for Christmas.

[Armoured Priest]

I would like to point out, that with the nature of department stores in the US, it wasn't uncommon for a small percentage of test market items to get shipped to other stores and sold outside of their test markets (its these same quirks in the distribution model that allows things like a brand new pair of roller skates from the 1970's to show up in a random Toys R Us in the midwest in 2006. Sometimes the inventory rationing system makes odd decisions).

I'm willing to accept that tz101's wife got a NES in 85. (I had a friend who also got one for Christmas in 85). I'm going to guess that not many other people in your area had one (or even the option to get one for several months if they didn't live in the test markets). It was prossibly the only one in the store, or maybe there were one or 2 more.

[gamevet]

I'm guessing that the test market stories may be wrong, with it being test marketed in the middle of the year and pushed nationwide during the 85 holidays.

Who in the media really kept track of it?