FRANKS GEEKDOM SATURDAYVIDEO GAME 'CRASH' OF 1983Guest writer Tom Sherlock.Here it is in all it's glory, Tom's blurb on an incident I think we're all glad didn't stick.
The video game crash of 1983. It's a good thing the industry recovered, I'd be bumbed without my video games. Links are included. Tom really did his research here, and I think you'll all enjoy.
The video game crash of 1983 refers to the sudden
bankruptcy of a number of companies marketing
home computers and
video game consoles in late
1983. The term "shakeout" would be a more accurate description of what happened, but because of its sudden and unexpected nature the term crash has stuck.
The crash has been attributed to a weak economy, poor quality of games (particularly the
Atari 2600 versions of
Pac-Man and
E.T.), and to very aggressive marketing of inexpensive home computers such as the
Commodore VIC 20,
Atari 800XL,
Commodore 64,
Tandy Color Computer and
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A, the crash was probably caused by a combination of three factors.
Up until the early
1980's,
personal computers had primarily been sold in specialty computer stores and at a cost of more than $1,000. The early 1980's saw the introduction of inexpensive computers that could connect to a television set and offered color graphics and sound. Since they generally had more memory available than a console, they permitted more sophisticated games and could also be used for tasks such as
word processing and
home accounting.
Commodore International went so far as to target video game consoles in its advertising, offer trade-ins towards the purchase of a Commodore 64, and unlike most other computer manufacturers, it also sold the machines in the same outlets as video game consoles: discount, department and toy stores.
Commodore's veritcal integration allowed it to engage in some predatory pricing; it's margins were much higher than that of
Texas Instruments,
Coleco and
Atari, and, making matters worse, Commodore's
MOS Technologies subsidiary actually manufactured many of the chips used in Atari computers and video game machines. The situation was similar to the
calculator market in the early
1970's, when companies found themselves buying chips from Texas Instruments but having to compete with TI's calculators.
The result was a massive shakeout of the industry.
Mattel,
Magnavox, and
Coleco all abandoned the video game business. Computer sales were also affected, as the
Coleco Adam, TI-99/4A, and the line of
Timex-Sinclair computers were withdrawn from the U.S. market, along with a number of other smaller players. Atari nearly went bankrupt and was sold off by its parent company Warner Communications (now part of
Time Warner).
The longest-lasting result of the crash was the shift of dominance in the home console market from the
United States to
Japan. When the video game market recovered in
1985, the leading player was
Nintendo's NES, with a resurgent Atari battling
Sega, also of Japan, for the #2 spot. Atari never truly recovered, and eventually exited the hardwar business in
1996. It wouldn't be until
Microsoft entered the arena with the
Xbox nearly 10 years later that the United States would have another contender in the console market.
Ironically, 1983 is by some considered a peak time in the history of
arcade games, the home video game consoles' bigger stand-alone brethren located in diners, malls and, yes, arcades. For example, the first real-time
3D arcade game was created that year (called
I, Robot).
There ya go brother... what I've been work on putting together.
Take care,
Tom
So there you have it. A little run down on what could have been a dark time for all of us geeks, particularly those who like video games. Fortunantly it didn't last, and Nintendo saved us.
Thanks for the post Tom.
And for the rest of you, I'll see you later next week here on FRANKS GEEKDOM SATURDAY!
Well Bruce, I gotta tell you: just read your review for the trailer and I am stoked.
I wish I had seen the trailer.
Sadly, no t.v. made it not possible.
I'm all in geek mode now.
I know that the next film is going to be awesome either that or the worst film Lucas ever made.
There is no in-between with this one.
There can't be.
This is the movie that all the fans have been waiting for.
Palpatine, Vader, Obi-wan, Yoda....
This is their story, the part we've been waiting for.
The fight between Obi-wan and Vader.
The hunting of the Jedi (which sounds like they are going to do).
The seperating of the twins.
Yoda hiding on Dagobah.
Ohhhhhhh yeahhhhhhh....
I'm in geek mode alright.
Tomorrow's Geekdom should be Tom's spiel on video games.
If not... more on my rpg history.
more later.
HI EVERYBODY
How's everybody today?
Morose? Unhappy? Unfullfilled?
Yeah, me too.
Such is life.
Sucks to realize it, but it is true.
I could complain.
I could bitch about being broke, or about being fat, or about being bored, but I'm not gonna.
I'm not going to complain about how despite my job being ok, I'm disenchanted with it.
I'm not going to complain how I need a break in routinue.
I'm just not going to do it, so don't ask.
Bruce, I too need a break.
A chance to get away.
Memorial day weekend is Joel and Deanne's wedding weekend.
So plan on it.
I am.
I keep meaning to get my Xbox back. I lent it to a friend because he bought a game for it and I wasn't using it at the time.
Now he's finished with the game, and I'm itching to play some video games.
Don't know what I'll play yet.
I have a long lists of games to play, alot of them are Toms (thanks Tom), but I don't know what I'm itching for.
I think I might just finish KOTR and then make Skinner hand over KOTRII,
Yeah. That might hit the spot.
Hey folks.
Why don't you check out the new link over to the side.
It belongs to my buddy Justin's blog.
He's a cool and interesting cat, you should check him out.
How's everybody doing today?
Well I hope.
I'm ok.
It's in the fourties today, and that's awesome.
I know some of you don't feel that way...
but I'm stoked.
The snow continues its breakdown into water and vapor.
Oh yeah.
I didn't have early morning rehearsal today.
That made me happy.
I got to sleep in to 9:15.
I'd would have liked to stay in bed another hour or two, because hey that's the kind a guy I am.
But I didn't.
Cause I had to go to work.
I've got some work to do yet on either script, but I'm getting to a comfortable point where I just need to read through them a couple of times a day, and run lines once a day.
That makes me happy.
Hey Joel and Deanne, aren't you two coming up pretty soon?
Keep me updated.
Tom, you are right about that Shadows of Rome game.
I'm ancy to play it some more.
Even though I suck ass at the stealth stuff.
I've decided that I'm getting the Xbox back from Skinner tonight.
Because I'm itching to play some video games.
More later.
Ahhhh
Yep, it's that time again.
It always comes around about this time everyday.
Amazing how that works.
It has a mirror time too, aproximantly 12 hours from now.
It's diametrically opposite at that time.
Or perhaps a better way to put it would be chronometrically.
I think to myself "Boy, it sure would be great if I was a morning person, then I wouldn't be so angry at the morning."
I just ate breakfast though.
A poptart and a bananna.
It's a bananna.
mmmm bananna.
So there is a stack of books books sitting next to me, just begging to be priced.
Yay!
Annette, I'm sorry you got harrassed at work. I am sometimes mentally assaulted at work, but it is not the same thing.
Kyle, just let me know when you want to write a something for Geekdom and is shall be your saturday.
I've got all sorts of fun stuff planned for it, mostly consisting of my geek history and an examination, an in depth examination on game mechanics. So yeah, just let me know.
Gen, I was not aware that it was INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY, now that I know, happy belated Women's Day to all of you who qualify.
Teej, you don't qualify, just because you're my bitch, that does not mean you are a woman.
The rest of you... ahh hell you've heard it before, I don't really feel like repeating myself.... you know what I mean.
So another early morning.
I'm not really a morning person.
I know the old adage "the early bird gets the worm", but you think about the flip side about that; "the late worm don't get eaten."
That's my motto.
I did manage to go to bed rather early last night, 10:00.
I know, I know you don't have to say anything, I know that's an awful time for me to go to bed.
But I did it anyway, cause i was sleepy.
I did manage to get some things done though.
Like watching several episodes of the Aqua-Teens.
And doing a small amount of shopping.
I still need to pick up a few more food items.
I'm nearly out of bread and I've no fruit in the house.
After picking up a few things like that, I'll be good for a week or so.
Yay!
Annette, I'm glad to see that I've sold you on the idea of the 45 minute hour. One down, only 6,001,234,187 to go.
I am all for your idea about being paid for what we love to do.
If I could spend my entire day composing, writing, acting and geeking out with the occassional meal and movie thrown in and have that count as a work day... hell yes!
That's all I have to say about that.
Sadly I don't see that happening anytime soon.
I do have a job that, for the most part I like.
It has it's down side, but at least I don't recieve death threats like some people I know, and it sure beats factory work.
As far as my job goes, it's nice.
Well more later, or not who knows.
A couple of notes, first off.
One, apparently Tom thought he was doing this coming Saturdays ' Geekdom article.
Well my apologies Tom, I had my wires crossed. I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say...
and second, what Tom has to say is about the "1983 Video Game Crash" not 1984 as I originally put. Apparently two completely unrelated events. One having to do with the economics of video games, the other having to do with a large stack of video games falling over.
Annette, I think you win my monthly non-prize for most "ahhhh" moment with the Barbie gig.
Kids are cute, and sometimes I don't even mind them.
So I'm feeling dim right now.
No, really dimmer than normal.
I had a 7 a.m. rehearsal for "Last Tuesday" this morning, and needless to say (why am i saying it?) i'm really tired.
I'm really looking forward to going to bed tonight, I'm evening planning on going to bed early, despite my hatred of doing so.
I've decided that there aren't enough hours in a day. So I'm proposing, now bear with me here, that we change the standard hour time from sixty minutes, to fourty-five minutes.
This will increase the number of hours in a day from 24 which is old and standard, to 32 which is a happier number more condusive to getting things done.
That way the hours at work won't drag by.
You'll be getting payed for the same number of hours, but will have more hours to do things with after work.
Now granted, this will increase the number of hours somethings are, such as movies, or drives, or airplane flights.
But I think the good out weighs the negative in this case.
A fourty hour work week can still be standard, but instead of only having 128 free hours after work for things, you'll have a whopping 184 hours.
Sure things like eight hours of sleep won't be quite as fulfilling, but, you could always sleep an extra hour or two, you'll have them free to do so.
Can you imagine it though?
Hours upon free hours of things to do, and all we have to do is make one little adjustment.
Seems reasonable.
