Britishcar Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 A website called plaidstallions.com appears to be about 70's toy and game culture. One of their interesting features covers game stores from the 70's and early 80's. I was fascinated by some of the photos as it really took me back to the early 1980's when one could stroll into a mall game store and witness the full battle between Atari and Intellivision, later adding the ColecoVision and home computers, 800, 400, TI-99/4A, VIC-20, etc. Does anyone else have any photos such as these that are shareable on this forum? I'd love to see them. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperboy Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Those are f'n great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I like this thread and the concept. I'm having 80's tech flashbacks! Hopefully some people will have and post any personal pictures like these that may have survived over the decades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Looking back from 2015 is not exactly like we thought, huh? The future is almost here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britishcar Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 The Floppy Wizard! Is that the store (once upon a decade) in Houston? They sold a lot of Atari ST stuff for a while I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Tyler Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 How I wish I could've been an adult during those days. Instead, I was born in 1980! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Teams Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Ah, memories! I worked in/managed Musicland stores from 1982-86 and we had some of those kiosks including Colecovision and Vectrex. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I for one am glad we don't use floppy's anymore. But coming to the end of physical media entirely is a strange thought . Also not having a brick and mortar retail outlet loses some of the joy of the gaming experience for me. Thanks for the pics. I was born in 1981 so I don't remember stores like these. Software etc and EB were the earliest stores I can remember for gaming. Of course radio shack was around but not really a gaming store to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tep392 Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I would love to be able to walk through one of those old stores again. My first encounter with an Atari computer was at a Magnavox store that mainly sold TV's and Stereo's. They had some furniture setup with one of those big CRT front projector's and a large screen. It had an Atari 800 hooked up with Star Raiders playing on it. Seeing the starfield affect on the big screen blew my mind. I was instantly an Atari fan. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Man, those were the BEST days ever! Walk into any department store and find an entire AISLE dedicated to Atari stuff (with a tiny end section for Intellivision and ColecoVision. ) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800Lover Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Cool photos. I am old enough to remember when video games and computer games weren't kept behind locked cabinets. I'm sure many of us are that old too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 I for one am glad we don't use floppy's anymore. Me too! I'm glad this replacement is available. I could physically get every piece of software known to exist for my classic computer on it if I wanted to. Boy have have times changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Cool photos. I am old enough to remember when video games and computer games weren't kept behind locked cabinets. I'm sure many of us are that old too. Yeah, I still remember the first time I saw games locked up and thought wtf? (sms and nes) they had a card you could look at and bring to the counter which was insanely annoying. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) Wow they had Viagra stores back then? Edited November 2, 2014 by AtariLeaf 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 I would so much love to see some photos of TurnStyle, Venture, and Minnesota Fats. If anybody has any I would be eternally grateful. I am old enough to remember when video games and computer games weren't kept behind locked cabinets. I'm sure many of us are that old too. I recall both. I fondly remember trolling through Sears kicking stuff, pushing stuff off the shelfs, swearing for no reason, and generally being a nuisance. I kicked one of these black cabinets with long sliding draws on the bottom and it bounced back open to reveal thousands upon thousands of VCS cartridges. All lined up in a manner to put the best collections to shame. I discovered the ultimate stash! And right on top of these filing draws was of course a display with VCS console boxes and Intellivision stuff too. Me too! I'm glad this replacement is available. I could physically get every piece of software known to exist for my classic computer on it if I wanted to. Boy have have times changed. In some of my emulation stories and musings, written in 1979, I envisioned such a device. But I went a step further and also imagined a briefcase-styled contraption that could play every game ever written for every system ever made, past, present, and future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwalla Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 How I wish I could've been an adult during those days. Instead, I was born in 1980! I was born in '68 and was still to young to get a job. If only I was a couple of years older I could have been working part-time doing stock at one of the local supermarkets in order to finance most of the game systems of the time - I REALLY wanted an Atari 5200 and ColecoVision in particular. Can't complain too much though because my Dad bought me a used Atari 2600 system with games, then a VIC-20, and then a C64 with a color monitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I was born in '68 and was still to young to get a job. Nonsense! I was still under 10 years old then when I wanted an Apple II. I helped mow lawns and cleaned up garbage and helped the old lady do gardening. I took out the trash and cleaned up leaves and did all the simple outside stuff. I was even the only kid in town that could hose down a driveway without screwing around un-necessarily. Later when I could ride BMX "cross-country" and down to the stores I added shopping errands to my list of services and earned even more money.. I was on-call and ready to go into town for one or two items for people that didn't want to take out the family cruiser or whom had just returned and forgot 1 item. This service usually came with a big tip. Now I was able to afford all the peripherals like drives and modems and joysticks and memory cards. Or at least have enough that the parents would pick up the remaining balance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntavio Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Yeah, I still remember the first time I saw games locked up and thought wtf? (sms and nes) they had a card you could look at and bring to the counter which was insanely annoying. That was annoying because it took the customer service aspect out of the picture. Back until 1983, I bought 2600 games from a shop called Video Connection. They would call me when they got a new game in and I always got to "test drive" any game before I purchased it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army Of 2600 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Great thread and super pics. Thanks for the leisurely stroll down memory lane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Wow they had Viagra stores back then? Yea... it would be a great name for a niche store selling all of those herbal remedies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwalla Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Nonsense! I was still under 10 years old then when I wanted an Apple II. I helped mow lawns and cleaned up garbage and helped the old lady do gardening. I took out the trash and cleaned up leaves and did all the simple outside stuff. I was even the only kid in town that could hose down a driveway without screwing around un-necessarily. Later when I could ride BMX "cross-country" and down to the stores I added shopping errands to my list of services and earned even more money.. I was on-call and ready to go into town for one or two items for people that didn't want to take out the family cruiser or whom had just returned and forgot 1 item. This service usually came with a big tip. Now I was able to afford all the peripherals like drives and modems and joysticks and memory cards. Or at least have enough that the parents would pick up the remaining balance. That's great, but for me doing most of those things was all part my measly allowance Couldn't complain though, many of my friends had less and I was thrilled to play what I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Wow! what a great thread this is! The pics bring back a lot of great memories of when i would go to the stores in the malls and department stores that were packed with the games. Radio Shack, now renamed "THE SOURCE" here in Canada was a great place to get games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 (edited) Yea... it would be a great name for a niche store selling all of those herbal remedies. Oops, sorry wrong post. Edited November 11, 2014 by Rik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 (edited) Nonsense! I was still under 10 years old then when I wanted an Apple II. I helped mow lawns and cleaned up garbage and helped the old lady do gardening. I took out the trash and cleaned up leaves and did all the simple outside stuff. I was even the only kid in town that could hose down a driveway without screwing around un-necessarily. Later when I could ride BMX "cross-country" and down to the stores I added shopping errands to my list of services and earned even more money.. I was on-call and ready to go into town for one or two items for people that didn't want to take out the family cruiser or whom had just returned and forgot 1 item. This service usually came with a big tip. Now I was able to afford all the peripherals like drives and modems and joysticks and memory cards. Or at least have enough that the parents would pick up the remaining balance. Agreed, besides the usual mowing lawns/etc I had one great turnkey operation... To finance game purchases I started a "chain" on lemonade stands. I would pay neighborhood kids 10% of the profits to sit at the stands (none of them understood percentages, ahh, knowing math at a young age is a good thing) I would say to get the job you needed to have your parents supply you with one bag of sugar. They would usually grow tired of selling lemonade before the price of the sugar was reached with their pay so I would come out ahead no matter what. I had an endless supply of kids begging to work at my stand. If you left your post early it was ok, but to rejoin another bag of sugar had to be supplied. I had 3 of them going before angry parents shut me down claiming I wasn't paying the "workers" enough and was being greedy, I wasn't holding a gun to their head or anything, my Mom being a super hippy agreed with them and said I had to share everything equally, was an early lesson in economics Still managed to get 3 full price game purchases out of it though That was annoying because it took the customer service aspect out of the picture. Back until 1983, I bought 2600 games from a shop called Video Connection. They would call me when they got a new game in and I always got to "test drive" any game before I purchased it. Yes! +1 Edited November 11, 2014 by Crazy Climber 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YANDMAN Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 i absolutely adore these pics , i often scour the web for things just like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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