1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:12,120 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tex Stuff from Hey there, 2 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm Jonathan Strickland and joining 3 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: me again is Chuck Bryant from Stuff You Should Know? 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:19,759 Speaker 1: How do you do? How do you do? To you, Chuck. 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: If you tuned into our last episode, you heard the 6 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: beginning of the epic tale of the rise and fall 7 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: of Atari. We talked about Atari's founding up to the 8 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,199 Speaker 1: point where it's founder, Nolan Bushnell, sells the company to 9 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 1: Warner Communications, and now we're going to talk about where 10 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: things went from that point forward. Yeah, I should say 11 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: I almost said hello by doing my impression of the 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,639 Speaker 1: home version of pac Man, but I didn't do it. 13 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: I appreciate that. I'll do that when we talk about 14 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: it in ten minutes. Yea, we will get there. So 15 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy seven, this we were teasing it at the 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: end of the last episode. This is when Atari release 17 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: is the revolutionary and I mean that sincerely. I am 18 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: not being snarky. Revolutionary Atari Video Computer System a k 19 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: A the Atari vcs a k A. Yeah, and where 20 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,199 Speaker 1: I didn't even know, but I saw that you research 21 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,399 Speaker 1: where the name came from. Yeah, So all right, when 22 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: you're a company and you make stuff, you give units 23 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: part names, right, So like in a hardware store, you 24 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: might have a typical like a type of screw of 25 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: a certain length, that's a Phillip's head screw, and to 26 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: describe the whole thing would take you like five lines 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,039 Speaker 1: of text because you're talking about the length, the type 28 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: of screw head, you know, how how close the treads are. 29 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: Or you could just give it a part name and 30 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: then you say, I need fifteen of hc X blah 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: blah blah blah blah. Well, the part name for the 32 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: this unit, this this system was the c X to 33 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: six hundred. So they just said, all right, we're just 34 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: gonna call it the AY because it sounds, you know, futuristic. Yeah, 35 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: whereas the rest of us are thinking, like where we're 36 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 1: atari's one or two. I always thought that, yeah, so 37 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: this this is just an identifier that that makes it 38 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: easy to refer to a part. Now in this case, 39 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: it just made a really compelling sounding device. Uh. And 40 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: it goes on sale in the United States for a 41 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 1: hundred ninety nine on the low end. The high end 42 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: was to twenty nine. It chipped with two joysticks. I 43 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: guess the two nine version came with the paddles. I guess, 44 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,519 Speaker 1: so I had that. I had the paddles. Yeah, I 45 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: had the paddles. There's no other way to play Breakout 46 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: properly without paddles. Um, and uh, it came with Combat. Yeah, 47 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,399 Speaker 1: it came with one game, which was really I can't 48 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: remember actually how many variations there were, right, because they 49 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: had the tanks, they had the airplane jets. I told 50 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: you in the last episode. My brother and I were 51 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: playing Combat last week at his house on and we 52 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: were kind of cracking up at um. You know, like 53 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: here's one version where it's the two tanks, and then 54 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 1: the next version is it's the same thing, but they're invisible, 55 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: and the next version is it's the same thing, but 56 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: the bullets bounce off the wall. So that was my 57 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: favorite one. Yeah, where you could bank shots into each 58 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: other and or you could hit yourself. Oh I didn't. Yeah, 59 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 1: if you if you bake it, if you bank it 60 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: so that it it bounces back and hit goes through 61 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: your tank and it actually hit yourself, And that was 62 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: really yeah. And then of course they had the air 63 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: combat games of you know, you could be fighter pilots 64 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: or you could be biplanes, you could be that giant 65 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: whatever that was. And there were clouds in some versions 66 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: you fly behind clouds, not in other versions. So they 67 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: managed to really milk combat for many, many different versions 68 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: of essentially the same game. Yeah, And as I recall, 69 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 1: the way you would play that is there were physical 70 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: switches on the atari itself that you you could manipulate 71 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: and get different versions as well. It was there one 72 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: that was it Like, it wasn't a menu system, right, 73 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: it was. It was a menu. It was a toggle 74 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: on the front of the game, just toggle through the 75 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: different versions, which is kind of interesting. Like it was 76 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: the actual console itself that had physical switches in the 77 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: upper down position and that's how you could determine which 78 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: version you were playing. And um, yeah, so those days 79 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: of having that video screen with the menu where it's 80 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: like start, load game, save game didn't exist. And and 81 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: once that game, like we mentioned in the previous episode, 82 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: once you turn that console off, all that information disappears 83 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: because it's only in read only memory. That's right. And 84 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,919 Speaker 1: I think any of us that got three quarters of 85 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: the way through Raiders of the Lost Art and someone 86 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: accidentally flicked the reset switch, bad Yeah, oh man, And 87 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: that and that game was one of the most complicated 88 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: Atari games that I can recall. And what we're talking 89 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: about it, Yeah, we'll save that, we'll save it. We'll 90 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:47,679 Speaker 1: we'll talk on our reflections of some of our favorite 91 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: games later on. But technically the system was ready for 92 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: shipping a year before it came out, but Atari sat 93 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 1: on it. And the reason they saund it was causes. 94 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: Something we mentioned in the last episode that that big 95 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: agreement they had with Magnavox. Part of that agreement was 96 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: they would give Magnavox the rights to anything Atari produced 97 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: within that year, and so they thought, well, if we 98 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: wait a little longer, we don't. Yeah, we won't give 99 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: them the rights to the all will retain them ourselves. 100 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: So they sat on it and released it a year late. 101 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: And originally they were only going to create ten titles 102 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: for this thing. They thought that the market for it 103 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: would be something that would last two or three years, 104 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:36,799 Speaker 1: and they would just produce it for that before moving 105 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: on to something else, and therefore you would have more 106 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: flexibility because you could switch out titles. But they thought, well, 107 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: there's there's no real market here. We're not gonna go 108 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,799 Speaker 1: beyond that. But some of the programmers started playing around 109 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: with and said, wait a minute, we have the opportunity 110 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: here to make stuff that has never been in the 111 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: arcades that that could be totally new, groundbreaking. There's a 112 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: lot more potent chill with this hardware. Like here's where 113 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: the money is. Yeah, fellas, how about two hundred titles 114 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 1: right that you can sell for thirty dollars a piece. Yeah, 115 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: And so they said this sounds like a good idea. Well, yeah, 116 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: but Uhara was not was not a smash hit right 117 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: out of the gate. No. It actually there's a couple 118 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: of years were sort of lackluster because people didn't really 119 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,480 Speaker 1: get that it was more than Pong at first, and 120 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: One Communications didn't really market it well either, So there 121 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 1: was there was some some downfalls in the market. They 122 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: weren't a video game company, they didn't really know what 123 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: to do with it. And it was expensive. I mean, 124 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: you know, hundred dollars that that doesn't sound like it's 125 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,799 Speaker 1: expensive today, but keep in mind we're talking nineteen seventies money. 126 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: You know, that's like more than seven hundred bucks for 127 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: this thing that at least at first was only going 128 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: to play ten titles. That's not that's not a big 129 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,159 Speaker 1: selling point for someone who's I'm gonna I'm gonna shell 130 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: out the better part of a grand to get a 131 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: machine that can play ten games. Yeah. Remember my brother 132 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 1: and I how, um, you know how you would submit 133 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 1: the Christmas list to the to the parents. Yes, here's 134 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: what Scott wants, here's what Chuck wants. We had to share. Um, 135 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: we had to both go in all in on Atari. 136 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: Like this Christmas all both of us went together is 137 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: this one item. And my parents are like, all right, 138 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: well you better play it. It's funny because I actually 139 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: got may Atari fairly close to the um not not 140 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: too long before the Great video game Crash, which we 141 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: will get to, which meant that the price had actually 142 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: come down because there was a lot of competition in 143 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: that space pretty early on. Yeah, I could remember what year, 144 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: but um, I don't think it was seventy eight, but 145 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: I bet I bet it was eight. Yeah, my I 146 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: was probably closer for me. Uh so in that's when 147 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: Nolan Bushnell leaves Atari. Yeah, and we talked a little 148 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: bit in the last episode about the corporate structure at 149 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 1: Warners and um, how it just did not jib at 150 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: all with these creative sort of pot smoking hippie the 151 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: game designers, and um, he just got more and more 152 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: upset and discontented and or discontent discontent. He felt discontentment 153 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: to where he basically tried to get himself fired to 154 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: and he had a huge fight with a Warner executive 155 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: in front of the board of directors. And that was 156 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 1: that he was told to pack his things and go. 157 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: So he leaves. Um, and uh, it was a big 158 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 1: bummer after that. I mean it was already sort of 159 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: a bummer, but him leaving was a very symbolic deal 160 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: for Atari's sort of the downfall of Yeah, some people 161 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: refer to the sale of Atari to Warner as the 162 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,679 Speaker 1: first quote unquote death of Atari. Yeah, some people refer 163 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:55,719 Speaker 1: to Nolan's departure as the first death. But at any rate, 164 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:57,320 Speaker 1: they were kind of tied. I think it was. It's 165 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: a big change. I mean, they did happen fairly close 166 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: one another in time. He didn't last. There was a 167 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:06,559 Speaker 1: c E. The new CEO of Attari is Ray Kassar. Yeah, 168 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: he was not well liked, but now developers no. In fact, 169 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,679 Speaker 1: at least his name would be used for a famous 170 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: Attori title later on. What was it yards Revenge? It's 171 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: just ray backwards. It's pretty yards revenge. And then apparently, 172 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: uh Cassar said that's clever. So it must have been 173 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: a few moments where at any rate, al Alcorn, Harry Jenkins, 174 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: and Roger Hector at this time begin to work on 175 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 1: a handheld electronic game system that used holography as its display, 176 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,959 Speaker 1: so so a holographic display, and it was called the Cosmos. 177 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: I heard of that. Yeah, it was a handheld thing. 178 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 1: It was supposed to have nine games with all the 179 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: game information actually on the device itself, but you would 180 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,679 Speaker 1: switch cartridges out because the cartridges had the information for 181 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 1: the holographic display. Yeah. I had a Merlin, remember that. 182 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: I do remember the Merlin, a little red. It looked 183 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: like a telephone. Yeah, and then I can't remember the 184 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:08,839 Speaker 1: name of it again. If someone knows this, I know 185 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 1: you'll right in. It was a really great handheld um 186 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: that had a dial on the bottom and it was 187 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: about nine inches tall about three inches wide, and I 188 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,719 Speaker 1: had a screen and it had cartridges you load had 189 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: like Breakout. I can't remember the name of it, but 190 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 1: it was really advanced for the time. Yeah. I did 191 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: a tech Stuff episode, a series of them. Actually about 192 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: a lot of the consoles and handheld consoles that came 193 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:39,359 Speaker 1: out during this time, um, which fairly extensive but not exhaustive. 194 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: We didn't can't cover everything. There's just there's a lot 195 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:43,839 Speaker 1: of no name ones that sort of came and went, 196 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: Yeah ones that or or they had like, uh, you know, 197 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: a very limited release in South America, and they're like 198 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:52,199 Speaker 1: three people in the United States who have one. That 199 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: kind of thing. Yeah, I can't. I think I want 200 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: to say that they were both named after cats, and 201 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 1: one of our one of our listeners through me as 202 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: one of the two cat uh characters using this and 203 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,559 Speaker 1: Lauren was the other one. So I've I've got I've 204 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 1: got that picture somewhere. Uh. Nineteen seventy nine, one of 205 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,719 Speaker 1: the great arcade games of all time comes out from 206 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: Atari Asteroids. That's right, that's you know, fantastic game, addictive gameplay, 207 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 1: the one that still holds up. Very challenging still once 208 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,160 Speaker 1: you start flying that spaceship around, right because because it 209 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: actually used inertia and momentum, right, you you had to 210 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: actually turn your ship and thrust in the opposite direction 211 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,599 Speaker 1: to stop yourself at the plan ahead. Yeah, the Asteroids 212 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: when you would when you shoot them would break apart 213 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: into different directions. And if you were flying around and 214 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 1: if you've got going too fast and those asteroids you 215 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 1: start shooting them, you broke apart into little sticks. They 216 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:51,720 Speaker 1: have that little teleport button that you could use like 217 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: once a game and yeah, but that would often drop 218 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 1: you right in the path of a big asteroid. Yeah, 219 00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 1: it wasn't necessarily a way to to save yourself. This 220 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: is also when Atari would release a game for the 221 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: home game market that that chuck, I think you have 222 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,080 Speaker 1: a few things to say about. It's a little game 223 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:13,719 Speaker 1: called Adventure. Oh talk about my favorite thing ever? Yes, 224 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: please do, let's do that. Yes, Adventure was was created 225 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 1: by Warren Robinette and it I played it yesterday online. Um, 226 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:31,079 Speaker 1: had a great time. Still holds up, Well, maybe it's nostalgia. 227 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: Playing a little is definite role. It does hold up 228 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 1: in a way though. But when you look at it now, 229 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,080 Speaker 1: and if you're younger, you will scoff at the square 230 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: that represents the night, and the arrow that represents a sword, 231 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: and the ducks that represent the dragons. Um. But at 232 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,680 Speaker 1: the time it was, there was nothing like it there. 233 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: It was the first game that put you. Uh. It 234 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 1: was the first first person adventure game. Yeah, it's the 235 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:05,439 Speaker 1: It's considered the first action adventure game ever. It spawned 236 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: a genre of games. Yeah, and but I don't think 237 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: we can get across like when we were kids playing 238 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 1: this game, we didn't see a square in an arrow. 239 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: We had imagination to go along with it. And it 240 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: sounds corny, but you really did, in your mind's eye 241 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 1: see the dragon, the red dragon, coming at you, and 242 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: you felt like you were the night and you had 243 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:30,720 Speaker 1: this great big sword. So it really played on kids imagination, which, um, 244 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: I mean, I love the games. Now, don't get me wrong. 245 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:34,720 Speaker 1: I'm not saying you should go back and do things 246 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: like this anymore, although there are some games that have 247 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:39,960 Speaker 1: come out recently that have more of this old school 248 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: feel to it and they're phenomenal. For example, if you 249 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 1: want a game that looks like it was made back 250 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: in the early this would be more like in the 251 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 1: early computer game era. Papers Please, Now, let me tell 252 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: you what Papers pleases, and you're not gonna believe that 253 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 1: this is a game. In Papers Please, you play the 254 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 1: part of a border patrol agent who reviews documentation of 255 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 1: people passing from one Soviet style nation to a different 256 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: Soviet style nation. But it's fantastic and it's done in 257 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: this style. And like I said, it's more of a 258 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: computer game style than the video game like the home 259 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 1: video games is very retro. But the gameplay is phenomenal. 260 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:28,160 Speaker 1: The style is perfect, the oppressive Soviet music and and 261 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 1: uh and game. The writing in the game is fine. 262 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 1: So we're seeing some people who are kind of going 263 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: back to it, maybe a little later in the development 264 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: cycle and adventure, but they're going back to those basics 265 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 1: of gameplay is really important, and imagination can make up 266 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: for a lot of of what other people would see 267 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,240 Speaker 1: as like a drawback. You know, this idea that the 268 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: graphics are not uh realistic or or or you know, 269 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: they they're very abstract. These days, I'm seeing developers say 270 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: that's not a problem. You know, that's something you can 271 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: embrace if the game is good. Yeah, exactly. And an 272 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: Adventure was that. I mean, there are three big things 273 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 1: that Adventure brought to the table um. There was a 274 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: large space for the first time, UHL, thirty rooms and 275 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: eight regions. Yeah, you moved from screen to screen and 276 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 1: it would take you into a new region with new 277 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: new things that you had to maneuver around. You could 278 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: pick up objects and drop them and move them around 279 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: and use them and manipulate them. That was a new 280 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 1: thing one of the time, as I recall well, which 281 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:34,480 Speaker 1: turned out to be brilliant because it's us of the 282 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: lost Ark made things very convoluted, right. Yeah. It meant 283 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: that you didn't have to have an inventory screen. All 284 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: the action could take place within that game, like you 285 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 1: had to plan out what you needed, like are you 286 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: going to need the sword on that next screen? If 287 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: you don't, do you want to move? The whole point 288 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: of the game was getting the chalice exactly so you 289 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: might not need your sword, so dropping the sword, moving 290 00:15:57,800 --> 00:15:59,960 Speaker 1: the chalice further along might be the best thing to do. 291 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: But there was also another element that could really mess 292 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: with you if you yes. The bat. Yeah, there was 293 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: a bat that would fly around and there were several 294 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: levels of difficult from three I think, and I think 295 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: the bat came out of number two. UM, but either 296 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: on level two or three, the bat would just fly 297 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: around and you would be so close to getting what 298 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: you needed, and it took work. This game time. There 299 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 1: was no timer, which was another genius move UM and 300 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 1: it would take a lot of figuring out to to 301 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: find your way through these mazes and catacombs, and sometimes 302 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: you would have to use this bridge to get through 303 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: a wall, and it was really pretty genius. And then 304 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: the bat would come and steal the things and steal 305 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: the thing you wanted, or occasionally it would fly away 306 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: with like a dragon, which was funny. Yeah, and then 307 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: basically then you had to go on a quest to 308 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: find this bat because the bat had the key to 309 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: the Black Castle. Black Castle had you know, the chalice exactly, 310 00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: so it was it was levels of complexity. Also, another 311 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 1: really cool thing about Adventure, it's the first video game 312 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: that I know of to have an Easter Egg in it. Yeah, 313 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,479 Speaker 1: it is the first game. I'm reading Ready Player one 314 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,920 Speaker 1: right now. Fantastic. They talk a little bit about that. Um, 315 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 1: there's actually a game inside Ready Player one. Oh really, Yeah, 316 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,640 Speaker 1: there was this game within the book itself that if 317 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: you figured it out, you could win a prize. I 318 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 1: can't remember the details. Yeah, that's it's actually one of 319 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: those things where they released the information that that there 320 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 1: was stuff hidden in the book that if you figured 321 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: it out, would lead you down a pathway where you 322 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: could want a prize at the end. That's pretty cool. 323 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 1: It was a neat idea. Yeah, the Easter eggon Adventure 324 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,359 Speaker 1: though at the time, and we'll talk about this in 325 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: a minute. With UM developers not getting credit, they didn't 326 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 1: get credit at the time, and so he hid a 327 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 1: he hit his name. Basically, there was this little invisible 328 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: dot that you can only find in certain rooms, hidden away, 329 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: and you could pick up this dot and bring it 330 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 1: to a certain place and it would basically take you. 331 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: It would it would show his name on the screen 332 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: as the creator of the game. And it was the 333 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 1: very very first Easter Egg. Pretty neat story, really cool, 334 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:11,160 Speaker 1: really cool. I could talk about Adventure for the next hour, 335 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 1: so we'll have to move on, but we need to 336 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: go back in time to Space Invaders and an instrumentally 337 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:23,439 Speaker 1: important video game, one of the most UM popular arcade 338 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: games to ever come out, in fact, Asteroids in a 339 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: way was Atari saying how can we capitalize on that 340 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:32,199 Speaker 1: same kind of level of of of obsession and it 341 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: was a Tito Tito game in the arcade And I 342 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,680 Speaker 1: think the last we left off with the home unit 343 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:44,119 Speaker 1: was it wasn't selling super well UM and everything changed 344 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 1: when they brought licensed and it was the first licensed 345 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: game when they licensed Space Invaders, it was a huge hit. Yeah, 346 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: and also it was a very faithful port of the game, 347 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: Like it was a good representation of what the Arcade 348 00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 1: game was. You know, it wasn't as as uh, if 349 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:01,959 Speaker 1: you look at a space and very game game, you're 350 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,160 Speaker 1: not going to think of it as being slick or sophisticated. 351 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: But the Atari version was you know, a little a 352 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 1: little slower, a little block here, But it was pretty 353 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:14,200 Speaker 1: good version though. Yeah, it was very The gameplay was there, 354 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 1: the important elements were there, and so while it might 355 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,879 Speaker 1: not have been quite the same experience as the ArKade, 356 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: it was a good representation of it. So it was 357 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: a great move on Atari's part, very savvy and ended 358 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: up really turning things around. Started helping with the push 359 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: to market this. And also we should point out another 360 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,639 Speaker 1: interesting thing was in the early days, Atari strategy was 361 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 1: really to just market around the holidays. This was like 362 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:43,879 Speaker 1: a Christmas line. Because it was such an expensive thing, 363 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,400 Speaker 1: they thought, well, this is big ticket, this is when 364 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,120 Speaker 1: people are going to be buying something for their kids. 365 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 1: That was when I got my cartridges. I didn't like 366 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: buy one in June Yeah, it would only be later 367 00:19:55,119 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: on when they said why don't we promote this all 368 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 1: year round? And that start had to really boost the 369 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: sales to Also, around this time, they were debuting home 370 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: computer systems, the Atari four hundred and the Atari eight hundred. 371 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:12,440 Speaker 1: Now these were both eight bit home computers, so you know, 372 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 1: keep in mind they were based around that same microprocessor 373 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 1: technology that there used, although the version that they years 374 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: was technically the six five oh seven, which had fewer 375 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,920 Speaker 1: pins than the six five oh two microprocessor. Um they 376 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: could only address or the vcs rather, the twice center 377 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,679 Speaker 1: could only address eight kilobytes of memory. So we're talking 378 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:38,200 Speaker 1: really really simple stuff here. Now between the four hundred 379 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 1: and the hundred, you might wonder, what's the difference. Is 380 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: the eight hundred twice as good as it twice as powerful? No? 381 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: Maybe a little more expensive, yeah, but it was this 382 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 1: was these were two of the units that had code 383 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,439 Speaker 1: names that were named after women in the office. We 384 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: mentioned that previously. So the four hundred was marketed more 385 00:20:56,359 --> 00:20:59,439 Speaker 1: as a gaming console and the eight hundred was marketed 386 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 1: more as a home computer. So the four hundred had 387 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: essentially the same stuff as the eight hundred, but a 388 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: lot of it was inaccessible to the users. So for example, 389 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: your memory slots are closed off the four hundred, so 390 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: what you buy, all the boxes, what you get, whereas 391 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: the eight hundred had things where you could swap stuff out. Yeah, 392 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 1: I remember seeing that, but only to a certain degree. 393 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 1: It had like five available slots. Yeah, it wasn't It 394 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,479 Speaker 1: wasn't like you could just continuously upgrade this. Obviously the 395 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:29,600 Speaker 1: hardware itself had a limitation too, but it did mean 396 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,720 Speaker 1: that you could uh customize they hundred more than you 397 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 1: could the four hundred, which is a big deal at 398 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 1: the time. Yeah, so, uh, seventy nine is a big 399 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: year for them. They make twenty million dollars in nineteen 400 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 1: seventy nine. Yeah, the hundred units started basically, you know, 401 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: they sold three hundred thousand, then five hundred, then a 402 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,640 Speaker 1: million and two million, and they basically started doubling every 403 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:59,120 Speaker 1: year upon year until they hit ten million in UH 404 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:04,239 Speaker 1: units sold. And for Warners, they made up seventy of 405 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: their income of a company that also oversees music and movies. Yeah, 406 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: that's just crazy. Yeah, the rest of their business was 407 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: only thirty percent of their revenue. It is hard for 408 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: me to wrap my mind around that we talked about 409 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:22,199 Speaker 1: the video game industry being big today. It was enormous 410 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: back then, relatively speaking. I mean, the pie size is differently, 411 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: but the portion of the pie was huge, unbelievable. And 412 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:35,960 Speaker 1: it was that time that the CEO Casar started to 413 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: do some really dumb things with the company, namely, hey, 414 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,040 Speaker 1: let's um, let's lay off some of these developers, let's 415 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: shut down the R and D department, and let's think 416 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 1: all our money into marketing this stuff. And this was 417 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:54,159 Speaker 1: bad timing because just before he started messing around with 418 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: the internal structure of the company, there were already defections 419 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: from Atari. Right you had you had four engineers from 420 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: Attari who left the company and they formed their own 421 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:10,920 Speaker 1: company to create games. Sure please do, David Crane, Bob Whitehead, 422 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: Alan Miller, and Larry Kaplan. And The Crane, by the way, 423 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 1: one one of the best games from But they formed 424 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:25,560 Speaker 1: you said, Activision, Huge, huge, So that there were two 425 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,120 Speaker 1: big reasons why they left. One is just that the 426 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,960 Speaker 1: developers weren't getting a share in the profits made from 427 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: the games. Yeah, no money. They were being paid. They 428 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: were being paid on a make this game basis. But 429 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: if a game was selling really well. They didn't get royalties, no, 430 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: and they started to see these sales. They're like, I 431 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,359 Speaker 1: make twenty grand year. Yeah, I'm the one. I'm the 432 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,360 Speaker 1: guy that made the thing, that invented it that that 433 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:50,679 Speaker 1: that you're selling, and I'm not getting any of that 434 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: the proceeds. They yeah, sort of in a vacuum like 435 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:57,439 Speaker 1: they were from what I read, sort of singular creators. 436 00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,919 Speaker 1: Think there wasn't a team of people. Yeah, it was 437 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: like a dude being up with an idea and then 438 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 1: seeing it through. Pretty much every game in these days, 439 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:10,320 Speaker 1: you're talking about one person or maybe two people working 440 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 1: on a game, but more often than I was a 441 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,920 Speaker 1: single person per game. The other reason was the one 442 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,400 Speaker 1: that you had mentioned earlier. They weren't getting any credit 443 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 1: for it, so they weren't getting paid, and they weren't 444 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 1: their names weren't appearing on the packaging, it wasn't appearing 445 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: in the game, and they just wanted to have these 446 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: two elements things they thought that they were over and 447 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: so they went off and formed Activision with that, and 448 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: they decided they were going to continue to make games 449 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 1: for the Atari, but they obviously wouldn't be Atari games 450 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: like they they'd be Activision games for the AD, and 451 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:47,639 Speaker 1: this caused some friction. Atari resisted this. Atari did not 452 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: want other companies making games for really p oed about 453 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: the defection to begin with. Um I saw an interview 454 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,120 Speaker 1: with Crane where he said that he at one point 455 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: when they were at first they went to ask like, 456 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,159 Speaker 1: maybe we should get some of this revenue, maybe we 457 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: can get credit as developers, and he said, you guys 458 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,200 Speaker 1: aren't any more important than the guy on the assembly 459 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: line putting these things together. And they were like, screw you. 460 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: But yeah, I guess what have fun having that guy 461 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: on the assembly line putting together empty cartridges? So yeah, 462 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: they all leave. Uh. Some of the games they create 463 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: sell better than first party Atari games, Pitfall being a 464 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,880 Speaker 1: great example of that, and Atari would sue Activision trying 465 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: to prevent them from producing six D games. But all 466 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,240 Speaker 1: of that, by two all that had been decided third 467 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 1: party games would be completely allowed, and that was both 468 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,480 Speaker 1: a good thing and a bad thing for the video 469 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 1: game industry. It was a good thing because companies like 470 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,639 Speaker 1: Activision we're making some really good games. It was a 471 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,439 Speaker 1: bad thing because anybody else could make whatever crap they 472 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: wanted to. There were some bad, bad, bad games out. Yeah, 473 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:55,360 Speaker 1: we'll get to them. The Uh. One of my favorite 474 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 1: games arcade games was released in nine eight. Two of 475 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:03,879 Speaker 1: them actually, Um. One of them was Missile Command. Loved it, 476 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 1: which brilliant. Also one of the things I love about 477 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: Missile Command is when Atari went to the developers to 478 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: make Missile Command, they had one demand. They said, this 479 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,680 Speaker 1: game can only be a defensive game. That's right, because 480 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: it was about essentially the Cold War and the Nuclear war. 481 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: And they said, yeah, we don't want to We don't 482 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: want to have this be a game where you drop 483 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,360 Speaker 1: in nukes on people. Know, it can be about we're 484 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:30,399 Speaker 1: shooting down missiles to stave off a nuclear attack, but 485 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:32,160 Speaker 1: we're not going to have anything in the game where 486 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 1: we launch a counter attack. Yeah, it was kind of cool. 487 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 1: Missile Come In to Me still holds up because version 488 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: was really good. Uh. It moved it from a track 489 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 1: ball in the arcade to the joystick. Um, but it 490 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 1: didn't matter. No, it still worked really well. And as 491 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:49,520 Speaker 1: as anyone who played Missile Command knows, as you progress 492 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 1: through those screens, it gets really really hard because stuff 493 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,800 Speaker 1: starts coming down pretty fast. So the other big game 494 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 1: that came out in the one that I also loved 495 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: the arcades, battle Zone. Man mind blowing the dual joystick 496 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 1: controllers to control the movement of a tank and you know, 497 00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: push both controllers forward to go forward, pull one back 498 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:14,919 Speaker 1: to start turning in that direction. Three d uh. What 499 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:17,800 Speaker 1: do you call that? Vector graphics? Graphic? Yeah, so what 500 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: they would do is for vector graphics, you plot two 501 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,960 Speaker 1: points and it draws a line between those two points, 502 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:25,920 Speaker 1: and then you draw another point. It draws a line 503 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: between those and that's how you could create basic shapes 504 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:31,359 Speaker 1: and they'd be you know, kind of at least wire 505 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:33,960 Speaker 1: frame look that you would you know, that was famous 506 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 1: for battle Zone and also my favorite Atari arcade game 507 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: of all time, which comes out I'm gonna save it, 508 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,399 Speaker 1: but battle Zone. It also had a scope view for 509 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,159 Speaker 1: some versions of the game. Not all of them had 510 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: the scope view. Some of them were just the basic 511 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,919 Speaker 1: monitor and then you had the control post, so did 512 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 1: I because that you had to put your face up 513 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: to like a binocular type thing, man, And and it 514 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 1: cuts away all of the traction. Yeah anything. Yeah, And 515 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,040 Speaker 1: this is a good lesson too. We talk about immersion 516 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: and things like virtual reality and talk about how people 517 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,400 Speaker 1: say over and over, graphics matters, but it doesn't matter 518 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: as much as you think it does. That you can 519 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,920 Speaker 1: feel immersed in something has very simple graphics if it's 520 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: a convincing experience. These were green lines, and uh it 521 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:27,880 Speaker 1: was totally immersive. Great, great game. Loved that game. Always 522 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: very disruptive, as someone would tap on your shoulder while 523 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,119 Speaker 1: you're in that game, like what's going on? How did 524 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: you get in my tank? Uh? So nine one they 525 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: would come out with another phenomenal arcade game, one of 526 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 1: the best in the world. I know I keep saying that, 527 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: but it's absolutely true. Tempest. Yeah, that was my favorite game. 528 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: Well that in Galica, but those are both great games. Yeah, 529 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 1: and Tempests was just it didn't look like any other 530 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: game that had come out before it. Um if the 531 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:00,040 Speaker 1: gameplay was different, full color vector graphics, so it is 532 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 1: just green or white lines. Actually yeah, and uh it 533 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,239 Speaker 1: had a feature too. I remember where you could at 534 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 1: the very beginning of the game you could skip forward. 535 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: Um because when you completed different levels in Timpots, he 536 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: would get a certain amount of bonus points. But you 537 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 1: could opt to start later in the game and higher 538 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: up on a higher level and uh, immediately if you 539 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 1: finished that when you had immediately like fifty points. Yeah, 540 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: because you were you were you were jumping ahead, jumping 541 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 1: to a level that mirror mortals such as myself could 542 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 1: not hope to complete. It was tough, though, Man, it's 543 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 1: still tough. Well yeah, because I mean, you know you 544 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: you're doing like that's task management right there, you know, 545 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: figuring out Okay, well, this is the one that moves 546 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: around in a circle as it climbs up, so I 547 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: gotta keep an eye on that one. But this other 548 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: one is one that chimmy's up super fast, so I 549 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 1: gotta get that one first. And you can only fire 550 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:51,800 Speaker 1: and bursts. I remember, it wasn't like a continuous fire game, 551 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:54,719 Speaker 1: and uh man, you would just see people just spinning 552 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 1: that disc like crazy to get the tempest to you know, 553 00:29:57,200 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 1: the ship to go around to the right part of 554 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:02,640 Speaker 1: the the board in order to show Yeah, or when 555 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 1: you warp to the next um, when you work to 556 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: the next one. I remember that was where you had 557 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,080 Speaker 1: to avoid the spikes to the next level, and sometimes 558 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,280 Speaker 1: that was just luck of the draw. The other big 559 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: game that came out in the Arcades Centipede. Yeah, Centipede 560 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: was huge because it appealed to women and girls, and 561 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,360 Speaker 1: it was very colorful, very fun. It had a great 562 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:27,280 Speaker 1: game play with the roller ball really maximized that. And 563 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,479 Speaker 1: I think it was the first game actually written and 564 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: developed by a woman. Oh wow, I didn't know that. 565 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:35,520 Speaker 1: That's cool. That's super cool. Well. Nine one was also 566 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: when Atari would show off The Cosmos. That was that 567 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:43,000 Speaker 1: handheld game that used holography and we talked about previously. 568 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 1: They showed it at the New York Toy Fair. They 569 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:48,920 Speaker 1: ended up accepting eight thousand pre orders, but by the 570 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 1: end of Attari would reverse its decision to release the 571 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: game console. The project is canceled, so we never get 572 00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:01,240 Speaker 1: to see what the Cosmos actually looks like. Um yeah, 573 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,479 Speaker 1: I'm very curious how this holographic type stuff was supposed 574 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 1: to work from what I understand, Like the description I 575 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 1: read was that you would only get two different images 576 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: and it wasn't it wasn't um important for gameplay, And 577 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,200 Speaker 1: I thought, well, what is important for gameplay? That maybe 578 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,280 Speaker 1: there's like a permanent type screen and and whatever you're 579 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:25,520 Speaker 1: looking at is interacting with the quote unquote holographic image, 580 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,360 Speaker 1: which would be kind of like some of the overlays 581 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,200 Speaker 1: that that existed for other game systems, where you would 582 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:33,480 Speaker 1: have to put overlay either on the controller or sometimes 583 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 1: on your TV. Yeah, it's very bizarre. Attari would launch 584 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: Dig Doug in the arcades, big fan yep, and it 585 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 1: also distributed one of Namco's games, a very popular game 586 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 1: pool position. Yeah. So Atari is basically kicking butt on 587 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 1: two levels. Here they're owning UM while they're sharing ownership 588 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,000 Speaker 1: in the arcade along with the big boys UM, and 589 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: they're uh, kind of owning the home system at this point. Yeah. Um. 590 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,560 Speaker 1: They have, you know, some competition with Clico Vision and Intelltelevision, 591 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 1: which we're both i think more advanced with the controls 592 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 1: and some of the graphics. But Tari had such a 593 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,360 Speaker 1: strangle hold on people at that point it was tough 594 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: to kind of put a chink in their arms. I mean, 595 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,440 Speaker 1: they just they defined the market right in television was 596 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:25,680 Speaker 1: interesting because it was this was one that had overlays, 597 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:28,000 Speaker 1: like I was talking about, not necessarily for the screen, 598 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,360 Speaker 1: but for your controller. The controller it kind of like 599 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: a remote control with a little joystick at the base. Yeah. Yeah, 600 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: I had a wheel that you could snap a joystick onto. 601 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 1: So the joystick would move the wheel around, which in 602 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 1: turn operated whatever you know, sent the commands to the 603 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,320 Speaker 1: game system. And then you had a number pad, but 604 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:46,840 Speaker 1: you had a little overlays. You would slide into the 605 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: number pad depending upon what game you're playing, so that 606 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,640 Speaker 1: would tell you, you know, which number of corresponds to 607 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 1: what command. Yeah, I remember in television was for me 608 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: the Rich Kid game because they were the only ones 609 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 1: that whose parents would let them get a new one. 610 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: Everyone else's pants were like, you've got the atari. I 611 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:07,040 Speaker 1: think that's you're not going to get a different game now. 612 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: I inherited it in television from my cousin sometime around 613 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: like the late eighties. So well after the well after, 614 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:16,240 Speaker 1: there's nothing else coming out for it, right, this is 615 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:18,720 Speaker 1: that that game system whe had been dead. So the 616 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,280 Speaker 1: things I had, and it was funny because the collection 617 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:24,000 Speaker 1: I games of games I had and the collection of 618 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 1: overlays I had, it was kind of like a Venn 619 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: diagram with about coverage and then there was overlap, and 620 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,520 Speaker 1: then for everything else. I either had an overlay for 621 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,040 Speaker 1: a game that sounded awesome but I didn't have it, 622 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:38,120 Speaker 1: or a game where I'm like, I have no idea 623 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: what these buttons are supposed to do, but at any rate. 624 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:46,400 Speaker 1: Getting back to Atari two was also when some some 625 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 1: things happened that would end up hurting the company in 626 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: the near future. One is that they rushed a home 627 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:58,120 Speaker 1: video game port of a smash hit in the arcades 628 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 1: pac Man can do my impression now, please don't go? 629 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:09,320 Speaker 1: Got got gone? That it really sounded about that bad. Yeah, 630 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,600 Speaker 1: it didn't look like pac Man. It didn't sound like 631 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:14,399 Speaker 1: pac Man. It barely played like pac Man. I mean, 632 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:18,080 Speaker 1: you had a maze and you ate dashes instead of dots, 633 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:21,240 Speaker 1: and ghosts would chase after you. They wouldn't turn blue 634 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:23,200 Speaker 1: if you ate a power pellet, they would just start 635 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:27,800 Speaker 1: flashing um. And it didn't sound like it. The colors 636 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:31,799 Speaker 1: weren't even the same it was. They botched it on 637 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:34,839 Speaker 1: almost every single level. But I was one of those 638 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:38,840 Speaker 1: kids who bought it on Christmas Day that year because 639 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,960 Speaker 1: it was the most exciting thing to come out. Well, 640 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,640 Speaker 1: pac Man was groundbreaking in that He's like, yeah, we 641 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:47,880 Speaker 1: had a whole song about it, legit there was a 642 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,839 Speaker 1: dance and everything. Yeah, yeah, it Uh. The worst thing 643 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,200 Speaker 1: to me is that they could have done it right, 644 00:34:55,280 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: because later on released a miss pac Man, which actually 645 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 1: wasn't bad. Yeah, that's one of the one of the 646 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:04,919 Speaker 1: better games. Actually. Yeah, it's kind of crazy that Miss 647 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: pac Man was. You know, it just showed that they 648 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:09,959 Speaker 1: could have done it better, but they rushed it through 649 00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:14,200 Speaker 1: and uh that ended up being a big, big downside. 650 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:17,240 Speaker 1: Now it's sold well. They I think they produced twelve 651 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,560 Speaker 1: million copies and they sold seven million of them or something. Yeah. 652 00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 1: They at the time there were ten million hundred units 653 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,719 Speaker 1: and they said every single person is going to buy one, 654 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:29,200 Speaker 1: and then two million more people will go out and 655 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:33,200 Speaker 1: buy to play pac Man. That is some hubris. Yeah, 656 00:35:33,239 --> 00:35:36,279 Speaker 1: and then when backfired in a big way, word comes 657 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:38,320 Speaker 1: round that the game is not so good. People started 658 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:40,239 Speaker 1: to put the brakes on that. But they also in 659 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:44,080 Speaker 1: two released Yars Revenge. That was the one that took 660 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:45,600 Speaker 1: a good game. Yeah, it was a good game, and 661 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,439 Speaker 1: they took Ray Kassar's name and reversed the first three 662 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:53,279 Speaker 1: the reverse Ray to Yar. They eventually would ship I 663 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:59,120 Speaker 1: remember um with pac Man instead of Combat. That's how 664 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:02,319 Speaker 1: low it, right. I'm glad I got but I got 665 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:06,880 Speaker 1: mine in the combat day. Uh So the game Yards 666 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,359 Speaker 1: Revenge was developed by a guy named Howard Scott Warshaw, 667 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,080 Speaker 1: who also developed two other games that are notable. One 668 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:16,839 Speaker 1: is one we talked about before the Indiana Jones raised 669 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,240 Speaker 1: lost Our game was developed by him, which was fun 670 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:24,799 Speaker 1: but yeah, totally uh confounding. Yeah, it was hard game 671 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,479 Speaker 1: to play. It was I I was talking to Chuck 672 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,880 Speaker 1: before we recorded. In fact, I was talking to you 673 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,399 Speaker 1: earlier this week about how Um. I played that game 674 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:35,720 Speaker 1: a lot, and I remember being stuck on the first 675 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:38,319 Speaker 1: couple of screens for really like how snake would come 676 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,480 Speaker 1: out of behind a rock and bite me and I die, 677 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 1: and and I think, well, I've got this gun, but 678 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:45,320 Speaker 1: I'm almost certain this gun is going to be important 679 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:47,560 Speaker 1: for something else. So if I shoot the snake, is 680 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,759 Speaker 1: that a good idea? Should I? Should? I whip the 681 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 1: snake did well. And it was the first game where 682 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:57,560 Speaker 1: you use both joysticks to play, and um, the first 683 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,080 Speaker 1: game I think where you could pick up multiple things 684 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:04,279 Speaker 1: and had like an inventory. Uh. It was just really confusing, 685 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:08,360 Speaker 1: um and and challenging, but confusing. Yeah. When I finally 686 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:10,799 Speaker 1: watched the playthrough, it was maybe a year ago. I 687 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,120 Speaker 1: watched the playthrough of it. Yeah, I kept thinking, well, 688 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:14,880 Speaker 1: now as I was watching, was like, oh, yeah, I 689 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:17,560 Speaker 1: got that far because I kept forgetting how far I got. 690 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:19,640 Speaker 1: I just remembered the frustration of not knowing what was 691 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:22,480 Speaker 1: going on. Well, I realized later on that I actually 692 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: played that game, if not to completion, nearly to completion, 693 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:36,120 Speaker 1: I don't know. I really stuck with that game. Warshaw 694 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:40,120 Speaker 1: is probably most famous poor Guy, for a game that 695 00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:43,440 Speaker 1: is often talked about as being the worst video game 696 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:45,760 Speaker 1: ever made. In fact, Tech Stuff we did an episode 697 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:47,720 Speaker 1: about the worst games ever made, and this was number 698 00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:49,799 Speaker 1: one on our list because it was voted on by 699 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: the listeners e T. The Extraterrestrial. Yeah, I saw a 700 00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:56,080 Speaker 1: list that UM did not even listen in the top 701 00:37:56,080 --> 00:38:01,000 Speaker 1: ten worst because they're saying it gets unnecessarily ribbed even 702 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,400 Speaker 1: though it is bad. People don't know about the worst 703 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:06,520 Speaker 1: of the worst games. They were produced by these third 704 00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:09,600 Speaker 1: party companies. Et was produced by Atari, right, this was 705 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:12,439 Speaker 1: not one of those little third party Probably the worst 706 00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:14,480 Speaker 1: Atari game for sure. I could tell you what the 707 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:18,080 Speaker 1: worst what I think, at least from a concept point 708 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,440 Speaker 1: of view, what the worst game that was made for 709 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:25,400 Speaker 1: the Atari No Custers Revenge. I don't think any of 710 00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:27,919 Speaker 1: that one. You you need to look that up later 711 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:31,759 Speaker 1: and for all my listeners who are furiously looking up 712 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:38,160 Speaker 1: Custers Revenge at I'm sorry it is a racist, misogynistic 713 00:38:38,239 --> 00:38:46,319 Speaker 1: game that uses awful graphics to depict um violating Indian ladies. Yeah. No, 714 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:49,160 Speaker 1: there was a third party that made and because Atari 715 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:54,360 Speaker 1: didn't have a process to uh to approve or deny 716 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:57,719 Speaker 1: games on its system, people could make stuff like that, 717 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:01,200 Speaker 1: or companies, like I said, kool Aid could say, hey, 718 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,800 Speaker 1: let's make a game that's sort of a TV commercial. Yeah, exactly, 719 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:07,160 Speaker 1: we can make a commercial that's interactive and convinced people 720 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:09,319 Speaker 1: to buy our stuff more. And we can even make 721 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:11,080 Speaker 1: it so that the only way you can get this 722 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,480 Speaker 1: game is by buying our stuff and sending proof of 723 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,400 Speaker 1: purchase in to get the game just to play crappy. Yeah. Well, 724 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,320 Speaker 1: at any rate, et was a huge setback for the company. 725 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,040 Speaker 1: They had spent an enormous amount of money to get 726 00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:24,880 Speaker 1: the license, like between twenty and twenty five million dollars. 727 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,840 Speaker 1: Yea for for Spielberg to give that up, it was 728 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:30,719 Speaker 1: a big deal. Yeah. They produced four million copies of 729 00:39:30,719 --> 00:39:34,480 Speaker 1: the game, and about three and a half million were 730 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:39,439 Speaker 1: returned to Atari, either unsold or people had returned their 731 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:41,960 Speaker 1: copy to the game store. Yeah, and the legend, and 732 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:45,000 Speaker 1: I should say I've never ever played it. Yeah. I 733 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 1: don't know why it got by me because I was 734 00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:49,640 Speaker 1: so into all that and I love DT. I don't know. 735 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:51,840 Speaker 1: Maybe I heard it was crappy and I just don't remember, 736 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:54,839 Speaker 1: but I never played it. Um. But then the story 737 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:58,520 Speaker 1: gets kind of interesting because for many many years that was, uh, 738 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:00,160 Speaker 1: what was thought to be an urban legend, and that 739 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:03,680 Speaker 1: Atari took those in other games and buried them in 740 00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:07,520 Speaker 1: a landfill in New Mexico and covered it with concrete. Um. 741 00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:09,839 Speaker 1: And for many years that was like, now, that's just 742 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,319 Speaker 1: an urban legend. But wasn't it last year that they 743 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:17,640 Speaker 1: finally dug them up? It was actually April April. It 744 00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:20,919 Speaker 1: was true. Yeah, they found in fact part of the legend. 745 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,239 Speaker 1: At one point was saying, all right, yes they did it, 746 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:25,000 Speaker 1: but first they crushed all the games, so all they're 747 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:28,600 Speaker 1: gonna end up finding is black plastic and pieces of circuitry. 748 00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:32,399 Speaker 1: Not true though. No, they found full intact cartridges. Whether 749 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:35,839 Speaker 1: or not they still play is another question. The yeah 750 00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:38,359 Speaker 1: and the truest irony. Those things were fetching some good 751 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:40,839 Speaker 1: money on eBay. Man, it makes me wish I had 752 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:42,759 Speaker 1: held onto my copy and just put a little dirt 753 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:44,960 Speaker 1: on it and then said, like straight from New Mexico. 754 00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:51,919 Speaker 1: They still play. Um yeah, but uh because granted, psychological 755 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:55,279 Speaker 1: scars never healed, but the money would have helped, right. Yeah. 756 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:58,560 Speaker 1: So so that was not the death knell for Atari. 757 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:01,600 Speaker 1: Some people like to say, but um, I saw one 758 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:04,680 Speaker 1: writer put it, it may have been the final straw. Yeah, 759 00:41:04,719 --> 00:41:07,239 Speaker 1: I think. I think it's a great thing to point 760 00:41:07,239 --> 00:41:10,239 Speaker 1: out as a symbol of the issues that were that 761 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,040 Speaker 1: came about with the video game crash. But that's way 762 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:15,960 Speaker 1: more complex. Also, this is two we're talking about. The 763 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:18,680 Speaker 1: video game crash happened in eight three. Yes, two big 764 00:41:18,719 --> 00:41:21,000 Speaker 1: flops though with pac Man and et and a lot 765 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:26,080 Speaker 1: of money. You know, if Atari hadn't a squandered money elsewhere, 766 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,680 Speaker 1: they could have survived the financial impact of both of 767 00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:31,719 Speaker 1: these flops, and they didn't themselves kill it off. On 768 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,799 Speaker 1: top of that, we have the added problem that Atari 769 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:38,640 Speaker 1: was trying to push a news system onto the market, 770 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:43,120 Speaker 1: the Atari fifty two hundred super system coming out two. 771 00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:45,680 Speaker 1: It was based off the four hundred slash eight hundred 772 00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:49,400 Speaker 1: line of Attari computers. The controllers had a joystick and 773 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:53,399 Speaker 1: a number pad. They were big and hard to use, 774 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:57,960 Speaker 1: and they broke pretty easily. But the joystick was interesting. 775 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:03,239 Speaker 1: Like the old Atari joystick were eight point analog joysticks UM, 776 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:05,920 Speaker 1: which meant that it could only detect if the joystick 777 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,719 Speaker 1: was pressing down on any of those eight points. This 778 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:11,759 Speaker 1: one was a three D sixty degree analog joystick, giving 779 00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:15,040 Speaker 1: you much more precise control. But it was also non centering. 780 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:16,840 Speaker 1: There was no spring to have it moved back to 781 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:18,520 Speaker 1: the center. Yeah, they had a lot of problems with 782 00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:21,960 Speaker 1: the joystick. Yeah, and apparently Atari um had so many 783 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:25,400 Speaker 1: problems with the joystick while the game was released. In release, 784 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:28,520 Speaker 1: they they tried and reshipped like I don't know how 785 00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:32,080 Speaker 1: many versions of the joystick, like six or eight different Well, 786 00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:35,919 Speaker 1: and on top of that, it couldn't play games. So 787 00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,600 Speaker 1: if if you are a deal, yeah, if you had 788 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:41,600 Speaker 1: your library of games, I mean we all we anyone 789 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:45,200 Speaker 1: who plays video games knows about issues with backwards compatibility. 790 00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:48,040 Speaker 1: We love it when a system is backwards compatible with 791 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:51,000 Speaker 1: earlier systems, and we hate it when it's not. Because 792 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:55,480 Speaker 1: you spend all this money accruing a library of games 793 00:42:56,239 --> 00:42:58,640 Speaker 1: and you don't you know, you only have so many 794 00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:01,439 Speaker 1: options to hook things up your TV. You don't want 795 00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:06,279 Speaker 1: to negate all that. So another blow against it was 796 00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:11,080 Speaker 1: that the games, in large part, we're just updates of games, 797 00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:13,239 Speaker 1: So you have to buy the same game twice. You 798 00:43:13,239 --> 00:43:15,920 Speaker 1: have to buy a new which people who buy who 799 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:18,040 Speaker 1: have the Xbox One are probably laughing right now because 800 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:20,960 Speaker 1: that's what's happening over there. Also the PS four. Yes, 801 00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:22,239 Speaker 1: several of the games that have come out for the 802 00:43:22,239 --> 00:43:25,080 Speaker 1: PS four and the Xbox One over the last year 803 00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:29,239 Speaker 1: or so have been a remasters of games that came 804 00:43:29,239 --> 00:43:31,560 Speaker 1: out for the previous systems, like Grand Theft Auto five 805 00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:36,839 Speaker 1: is coming out this year for the Xbox One. Um, well, 806 00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:41,160 Speaker 1: they're higher quality graphics. Sometimes there's also some added gameplay elements, 807 00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:43,560 Speaker 1: so it's not the exact same game. It is an enhancement. 808 00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:46,320 Speaker 1: But it does mean that if you had an Xbox 809 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:48,479 Speaker 1: three sixty and a copy of Grand Theft Auto five, 810 00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:52,160 Speaker 1: now are you going to go and purchase a Grand 811 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:55,239 Speaker 1: Theft Auto five for your Xbox One? Because even with 812 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:58,560 Speaker 1: the enhancements, there's something in your brain that's saying, you 813 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:02,520 Speaker 1: bought this once already, you know, like you know, yeah, 814 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:04,439 Speaker 1: I might have more stuff in it. But you still 815 00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:07,239 Speaker 1: did buy it already. H. This was also the year 816 00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:10,520 Speaker 1: when Pitfall came out, so insult to injury for Atari 817 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,960 Speaker 1: because we're having all these issues and and meanwhile Activision 818 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:18,040 Speaker 1: puts out Pitfall. Also, j Minor, who designed the Atari 819 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:21,719 Speaker 1: eight hundred chip set, left Attari to design a new 820 00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:26,120 Speaker 1: computer called the Amiga, which was based off similar chip 821 00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:28,759 Speaker 1: set idea UM and that was originally going to be 822 00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:31,240 Speaker 1: a video game console, but was reimagined as a general 823 00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:37,920 Speaker 1: purpose computer. Because now we're the video game market comes 824 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:42,400 Speaker 1: crashing down, especially the home video game market, specifically the 825 00:44:42,440 --> 00:44:44,880 Speaker 1: home video game market, and tech Stuff did a full 826 00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:48,799 Speaker 1: episode on the Great Video Game Crash. Uh. We're still 827 00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:51,640 Speaker 1: going to talk about some because obviously it was monumentally 828 00:44:51,719 --> 00:44:55,840 Speaker 1: important in the history of Atari. Part of the issue 829 00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:59,200 Speaker 1: was that you had this enormous number of crappy games 830 00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:04,640 Speaker 1: coming from all the third party UH companies. Plus Atari 831 00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,319 Speaker 1: had already made some really bad first party games like 832 00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:11,719 Speaker 1: the Pact Making version and the et game so well, 833 00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:13,359 Speaker 1: not only that, and not just the games, but there 834 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:17,920 Speaker 1: were um, there was console I mean, if you look 835 00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:21,000 Speaker 1: at the the list of the console games that came 836 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,680 Speaker 1: out UH that were just barely even made a register 837 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:28,320 Speaker 1: in the market. Uh, it was just it was flooded 838 00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:30,040 Speaker 1: with it. You know, It's just a glood of bad games, 839 00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:32,439 Speaker 1: bad consoles. Yeah yeah, I mean, you know, we talked 840 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:34,920 Speaker 1: about the Intellivision, the Click of Vision, and the Atari 841 00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:39,600 Speaker 1: twenty s there were lots of other consoles that had 842 00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:42,120 Speaker 1: hit the market because everyone saw this as a way 843 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:44,680 Speaker 1: to make huge amounts of money. I mean, Atari had 844 00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:48,960 Speaker 1: proven that this was a multimillion dollar industry and everyone 845 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:50,919 Speaker 1: wanted a piece of that. But the problem was now 846 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:54,799 Speaker 1: you had a glut of consoles and games. It was 847 00:45:54,840 --> 00:45:57,520 Speaker 1: there was confusion in the marketplace. I mean, imagine Chuck 848 00:45:57,560 --> 00:46:01,800 Speaker 1: for a moment, your parents owing to the toy store 849 00:46:02,080 --> 00:46:04,680 Speaker 1: and thinking, this is the game he wants, and it 850 00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:08,440 Speaker 1: says in television across the top, not Atari, and they 851 00:46:08,520 --> 00:46:11,320 Speaker 1: buy it, not knowing that this was for a totally 852 00:46:11,360 --> 00:46:14,640 Speaker 1: different game console system. I mean it was and only 853 00:46:14,680 --> 00:46:17,520 Speaker 1: that we had all these elements. You also had the 854 00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:21,479 Speaker 1: burgeoning personal computer market. Yeah, that's the thing. It wasn't 855 00:46:21,560 --> 00:46:27,160 Speaker 1: like the home tech was was bottoming out. Computers were 856 00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:30,000 Speaker 1: more popular than ever, and they started to market. Hey 857 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:33,720 Speaker 1: you can play games and do home computing on these things. 858 00:46:33,719 --> 00:46:36,160 Speaker 1: So why just get this console that just plays games. 859 00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:37,440 Speaker 1: You could get this is going to be the thing 860 00:46:37,480 --> 00:46:39,279 Speaker 1: in the past, exactly. You can get this thing that 861 00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:42,799 Speaker 1: lets lets your kids waste hours and hours staring at 862 00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:45,120 Speaker 1: the TV as they move a little dot around. Or 863 00:46:45,719 --> 00:46:47,959 Speaker 1: you could get our thing which lets them play games 864 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:49,560 Speaker 1: that they want to but it also lets them do 865 00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:53,040 Speaker 1: their homework. Yeah, exactly, and you can do your taxes 866 00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:55,480 Speaker 1: and all this kind of stuff. And I mean it 867 00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:59,320 Speaker 1: was a very compelling argument. So this combination of events 868 00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:03,080 Speaker 1: caused the market to just bottom out. You had stories 869 00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:08,560 Speaker 1: of games discounting, or stores like toy stores discounting games 870 00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:11,279 Speaker 1: putting them in bargain bins where you get, like, you know, 871 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:14,880 Speaker 1: a dollar or two bucks to pick up these cartridges. 872 00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:18,600 Speaker 1: So was I quality was not an issue. I was like, 873 00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:22,200 Speaker 1: I want quantity because the game stun bucks for you. 874 00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:25,000 Speaker 1: All right, Well you know that was I mowed the 875 00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:28,279 Speaker 1: lawn for that. The lawn will regrow and I will 876 00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:32,720 Speaker 1: mow it again. Um and uh. Also Atari made another 877 00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:38,399 Speaker 1: dumb mistake, which I can't completely blame them for. All right, 878 00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:42,480 Speaker 1: So there were some issues that happened. The video game crash, 879 00:47:42,640 --> 00:47:45,000 Speaker 1: the et plan, the pac Man plan. There was also 880 00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:49,520 Speaker 1: supposedly some questionable stock dealings that led Attari to the 881 00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:53,480 Speaker 1: border directions to fire the CEO, Ray Kassar. Yeah, and 882 00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:56,359 Speaker 1: I don't know if Kassar was He had not made 883 00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:59,320 Speaker 1: the best moves for that company anyway. So it wasn't 884 00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:03,120 Speaker 1: like bush now leaving, but um it was. It definitely 885 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:05,839 Speaker 1: made the company unstable. Yeah, so he was pushed out. 886 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:09,880 Speaker 1: A guy named James J. Morgan would take over as CEO. 887 00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:12,800 Speaker 1: But here was something else that was going on behind 888 00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:19,240 Speaker 1: the scenes, EDITORI that could have totally helped the company 889 00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:22,800 Speaker 1: coast through the video game crash and rise to new heights. 890 00:48:23,560 --> 00:48:27,240 Speaker 1: There was a company in Japan, company that started out 891 00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:31,880 Speaker 1: selling playing cards. That's how it started. It made a 892 00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:37,880 Speaker 1: game console in Japan referred to as the Famicom. We 893 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:42,160 Speaker 1: know it as the Nintendo Entertainment System. In the nine three, 894 00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:46,200 Speaker 1: Nintendo and Atari were in talks for Atari to be 895 00:48:46,280 --> 00:48:51,600 Speaker 1: the United States distributor of the Famicom Entertainment System. They said, well, 896 00:48:51,640 --> 00:48:54,719 Speaker 1: we'll keep Japan. Yeah, Atari's big over there. You guys 897 00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:57,040 Speaker 1: do a great job. Let's partner up. Yeah, you can 898 00:48:57,080 --> 00:48:59,760 Speaker 1: put your branding on it. We'll have it all planned 899 00:48:59,760 --> 00:49:03,440 Speaker 1: out be a partnership and Nintendo was moving forward with 900 00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:06,480 Speaker 1: our Atari and Nintendo were moving forward with this, but 901 00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:09,200 Speaker 1: there are a couple of things that caused some hiccups. 902 00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:12,320 Speaker 1: One of them was that Kaliko was shipping the Clico 903 00:49:12,440 --> 00:49:16,479 Speaker 1: Vision with Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong is a Nintendo game, 904 00:49:16,520 --> 00:49:19,640 Speaker 1: and under this agreement, this partnership agreement, Attari was supposed 905 00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:24,400 Speaker 1: to get exclusive rights to Nintendo games, and so the 906 00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:28,280 Speaker 1: fact that a Nintendo game was appearing on a Collico 907 00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:33,480 Speaker 1: product caused this deal to slow down. Meanwhile, Kassar, who 908 00:49:33,520 --> 00:49:35,840 Speaker 1: was kind of the moving force of this deal, this 909 00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:40,440 Speaker 1: could have been his redemption. He's fired. Now there's no 910 00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:42,360 Speaker 1: one at the ship who was actually in charge of 911 00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:46,399 Speaker 1: this deal. And yeah, and there's no one for them 912 00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:48,560 Speaker 1: to talk to anymore. So they said, you know what, 913 00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:52,480 Speaker 1: we're gonna try this ourselves. We're gonna work on this 914 00:49:52,680 --> 00:49:54,120 Speaker 1: and in a couple of years, we're gonna lunch in 915 00:49:54,120 --> 00:49:56,839 Speaker 1: the United States under our own brand name. And that's 916 00:49:56,840 --> 00:50:00,560 Speaker 1: what they did. But with just a all of changes 917 00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:06,000 Speaker 1: in history, Atari could have been Nintendo Nintendo. Yeah, it 918 00:50:06,040 --> 00:50:09,719 Speaker 1: could have been the Atari Entertainment System and uh and 919 00:50:09,800 --> 00:50:12,520 Speaker 1: by the way, the reason it's called the entertainment system 920 00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:15,720 Speaker 1: is because by that point Nintendo had seen the video 921 00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:18,200 Speaker 1: game market crashed and there was now this kind of 922 00:50:18,280 --> 00:50:20,719 Speaker 1: stigma against video game So they said, let's call it 923 00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:23,680 Speaker 1: an entertainment system. We won't call it a video game system, 924 00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:26,360 Speaker 1: and we'll make it look very you know, boxy and 925 00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:29,480 Speaker 1: r Yeah, and it'll sit on the shelf and your 926 00:50:29,480 --> 00:50:31,560 Speaker 1: parents won't mind it. It won't look like some crazy 927 00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:35,760 Speaker 1: game and very savvy move. As it turns out, Nintendo 928 00:50:35,840 --> 00:50:40,160 Speaker 1: made all the right decisions. There so really rough times 929 00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:43,960 Speaker 1: for Atari um And this is also when the arcade 930 00:50:43,960 --> 00:50:48,759 Speaker 1: branch of Atari released the licensed first person space simulator game. 931 00:50:48,840 --> 00:50:51,759 Speaker 1: That's my favorite arcade game of all time, Chuck, what 932 00:50:51,800 --> 00:50:54,680 Speaker 1: do you think it is? Oh? Gee, I don't know. 933 00:50:54,920 --> 00:50:59,080 Speaker 1: It's a first person game, first person. It's a space setting, 934 00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:07,399 Speaker 1: vector graphics, voices from a movie. Yes, my favorite arcade game, 935 00:51:07,440 --> 00:51:11,120 Speaker 1: Real Time Star Wars. Yeah, you know, I didn't. Oddly enough, 936 00:51:11,239 --> 00:51:14,160 Speaker 1: I didn't play that that much. I if I found 937 00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:17,760 Speaker 1: an arcade that had the cockpit version where you sat 938 00:51:17,840 --> 00:51:21,440 Speaker 1: down and you held onto that yoke and the music 939 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:24,120 Speaker 1: would come up, and you know, keep in mind, guys, 940 00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:28,120 Speaker 1: this is not like orchestra level music, but it sounded 941 00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:32,600 Speaker 1: good at the times, and it actually had the voices 942 00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:34,160 Speaker 1: of the actors in there too. You would hear O 943 00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:36,840 Speaker 1: bi Wan say the Force will be with you always. 944 00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:43,200 Speaker 1: I loved this game without reservation, my favorite game of 945 00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:46,759 Speaker 1: all time. If I could actually find a version of this, 946 00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:50,839 Speaker 1: I would buy it for you. Yeah. The hardest thing 947 00:51:50,880 --> 00:51:53,080 Speaker 1: would be talking to my wife and saying, you know, 948 00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:54,600 Speaker 1: where are we going to put this in the limited 949 00:51:54,640 --> 00:51:56,320 Speaker 1: space in our house. I know it would have to 950 00:51:56,360 --> 00:51:58,200 Speaker 1: go in my office. I just don't know how I 951 00:51:58,239 --> 00:52:00,759 Speaker 1: would make room in their room. I would make room. 952 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:02,440 Speaker 1: I couldn't get the cockpit version. That would be way 953 00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:03,919 Speaker 1: too big. I'd have to get the stand up version. 954 00:52:03,960 --> 00:52:05,560 Speaker 1: But hey, if you've got a stand up cabinet version 955 00:52:05,560 --> 00:52:07,400 Speaker 1: of Star Wars you're looking to unload and it works, 956 00:52:07,560 --> 00:52:09,879 Speaker 1: let me know. Or let Chuck no, because he's gonna 957 00:52:09,880 --> 00:52:15,359 Speaker 1: buy it foray um. Also, two other games would get 958 00:52:15,520 --> 00:52:18,520 Speaker 1: Atari to release them in Europe, not in the United States. 959 00:52:18,520 --> 00:52:20,879 Speaker 1: The United States a different distributor. But there were two 960 00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:23,520 Speaker 1: other games that were really important in the history of 961 00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:28,239 Speaker 1: video games, dragons Layer and Space Ace. Yeah, dragons Layer, 962 00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:32,439 Speaker 1: remember was that was the first game that used um LaserDisc. Yeah, 963 00:52:32,440 --> 00:52:36,200 Speaker 1: it was. It was the graphics. It was animated cartoon. Yeah. 964 00:52:36,239 --> 00:52:38,920 Speaker 1: Don Bluth did all the animation. Uh. He was a 965 00:52:39,080 --> 00:52:41,040 Speaker 1: Disney animator for a long time that worked on Oliver 966 00:52:41,120 --> 00:52:44,200 Speaker 1: and Company and the other game movies also did uh 967 00:52:44,560 --> 00:52:47,439 Speaker 1: five Old the five Old movies like American Tale those. Yeah. 968 00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:50,480 Speaker 1: The gameplay I remember wasn't great though, because you couldn't 969 00:52:50,520 --> 00:52:54,680 Speaker 1: really control live wasn't didn't you make moves and then 970 00:52:54,680 --> 00:52:56,640 Speaker 1: it would play it out. Yeah. The way the way 971 00:52:56,640 --> 00:52:58,959 Speaker 1: it would work is there would be a moment where 972 00:52:59,080 --> 00:53:02,359 Speaker 1: you had to put in command whether it was left, right, up, 973 00:53:02,400 --> 00:53:05,760 Speaker 1: down or sword swing whatever. Uh, and if you didn't 974 00:53:05,800 --> 00:53:08,400 Speaker 1: do it at the exact time with the right move, 975 00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:10,960 Speaker 1: you died. And if you did, you would progress to 976 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:13,520 Speaker 1: the next scene. And it was essentially play out like yeah, 977 00:53:13,600 --> 00:53:16,520 Speaker 1: I remember now. I remember thinking, man, that looks amazing 978 00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:19,080 Speaker 1: when you put my quarter in and then stand, this sucks. 979 00:53:19,080 --> 00:53:21,160 Speaker 1: I'm going to play gat like right, Well, you'd you'd 980 00:53:21,200 --> 00:53:23,600 Speaker 1: put your your four quarters then right, because it was 981 00:53:23,760 --> 00:53:25,600 Speaker 1: really expensible. It was either I think it actually might 982 00:53:25,600 --> 00:53:27,399 Speaker 1: have been the first game to go fifty cents. Well, 983 00:53:27,440 --> 00:53:30,200 Speaker 1: it was. It was tokens at the time. I remember 984 00:53:30,239 --> 00:53:33,120 Speaker 1: you would go on Tuesdays to battle Zone and you 985 00:53:33,120 --> 00:53:35,960 Speaker 1: would get like twenty tokens for a dollar. I remember, 986 00:53:36,040 --> 00:53:37,919 Speaker 1: what was it? The good deal going? Was the one 987 00:53:38,120 --> 00:53:40,759 Speaker 1: the gold nuggets something like that. There was there was 988 00:53:40,840 --> 00:53:43,840 Speaker 1: one that there was I think it was a Gwynette 989 00:53:43,840 --> 00:53:47,680 Speaker 1: actually um because oh no, North Lake Mall had the 990 00:53:47,680 --> 00:53:51,640 Speaker 1: the gold Mine, gold Mine, that's it. Gold Mine. That 991 00:53:51,719 --> 00:53:54,280 Speaker 1: was one of the great mall arcades. Yeah, in Atlanta, 992 00:53:54,320 --> 00:53:58,439 Speaker 1: and then Fantastic. Well, you know what we is gonna 993 00:53:58,440 --> 00:54:00,000 Speaker 1: be a three partner. It's gonna be a three partner. 994 00:54:00,160 --> 00:54:01,840 Speaker 1: We we talked about the possibility of it being a 995 00:54:01,880 --> 00:54:04,920 Speaker 1: three partner at the beginning. And we are now fifty 996 00:54:05,040 --> 00:54:08,800 Speaker 1: five minutes in and we still have the rest of Atari. 997 00:54:08,880 --> 00:54:11,840 Speaker 1: We we just hit three. But here's here's the good news, folks. 998 00:54:12,160 --> 00:54:16,000 Speaker 1: From four to the present day, a lot of stuff happens. 999 00:54:16,040 --> 00:54:18,120 Speaker 1: But we don't have a whole lot to say about 1000 00:54:18,160 --> 00:54:21,520 Speaker 1: each individual part. We just have to explain what goes 1001 00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:24,239 Speaker 1: on from a corporate level. But I think we can 1002 00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:27,399 Speaker 1: clearly say that the video game crash. If you don't 1003 00:54:27,400 --> 00:54:32,000 Speaker 1: consider Bushnell selling Atari to Warner as being its first 1004 00:54:32,040 --> 00:54:34,640 Speaker 1: death this has got to be the first death because 1005 00:54:34,680 --> 00:54:39,800 Speaker 1: the company was absolutely devastated by this. Uh, the arcade 1006 00:54:39,920 --> 00:54:43,000 Speaker 1: business was still going fairly well, but the home video 1007 00:54:43,080 --> 00:54:46,719 Speaker 1: game market completely bottomed out. So when we pick up, 1008 00:54:46,960 --> 00:54:51,000 Speaker 1: we'll pick up in nineteen eight four when another dramatic moment, 1009 00:54:51,160 --> 00:54:55,120 Speaker 1: another death of Atari happens immediately, and then we'll just 1010 00:54:55,280 --> 00:54:59,520 Speaker 1: have the sad tale of sinking lower and lower from 1011 00:54:59,560 --> 00:55:02,319 Speaker 1: that point forward. So for those of you up there 1012 00:55:02,320 --> 00:55:06,719 Speaker 1: who want to know how some other technological thing works 1013 00:55:07,239 --> 00:55:10,080 Speaker 1: that's not Atari, and you're looking forward to hearing about it, 1014 00:55:10,080 --> 00:55:12,120 Speaker 1: you need to let me know. First, send me an 1015 00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:15,160 Speaker 1: email my addresses tech stuff at how stuff Works dot com, 1016 00:55:15,360 --> 00:55:17,759 Speaker 1: drop me a line on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumbler to 1017 00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:20,400 Speaker 1: handle it. All three is tech Stuff hs W. You 1018 00:55:20,440 --> 00:55:23,080 Speaker 1: can find Mr Chuck Bryant. Was Stuff you should know, 1019 00:55:23,840 --> 00:55:26,040 Speaker 1: and you should because it's an awesome show. Thank you, 1020 00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:29,880 Speaker 1: You are welcome, and we will tup you again really 1021 00:55:29,920 --> 00:55:35,640 Speaker 1: soon for more on this and thousands of other topics 1022 00:55:35,680 --> 00:55:46,920 Speaker 1: because it has staff works dot com