What if Kool-Aid Man was never released in stores?

[kyle]

At first Kool-Aid Man was only available by mail order. But then later it was released in stores. But what if it were never released in stores? Most mail order games are incredibly rare. But being this game is actually a lot of fun to play and Kool-Aid Man is such a popular comercial icon I think it would have become one of the most sought after games for collectors. But being it was released in stores and sold reasonably well it's just a fun but common game.

[Vic George 2K3]

I never saw Kool-Aid Man until my sister Vicky had it on an Atari 2600 she and her first husband used to own.

[Crazy Climber]

It was thought of as rare for awhile back in the day. My friend down the block had it and used to brag about how you had to "know someone" to get one. Then one day the IGA grocery store (yes I said Grocery store) got about 500 copys of it for $3.99 each. Wasn't that rare anymore

[Mindcircus]

OHHHHH YEAHHHHH!

 

I remember reading old Marvel comics as a kid and they used to advertise the hell out of this game. I think it had the back page ad for 4-5 months in a row in some series. No surprise it sold so well

[shadow460]

I played it right after it came out. A friend of my dad's got it through the mail, then loaned it to us after a while. It was the only cart the was played the couple of days we had it.

 

I never knew it had been released in stores until now. I was under the assumption that word of mouth and Kool-Aid's popularity back in the day had sold enough copies to make it common now. Guess I learn something new each day!

[Crazy Climber]

I never knew it had been released in stores until now.

I think it was kind of a late release "get rid of all this extra stock now!!" kind of thing. They probably never planned on it. When I saw it I would guess it was around 84 or 85 and they had a TON of them for cheap.

[HP Atari King of Michigan]

If it never came out in stores, it'd probably be as rare as Magicard.

[+atari2600land]

Even I have one. I cheated, though, because I got it off the internet. I like the drink better than the game, though.

[kyle]

No way! The game is much better than the drink!

[+remowilliams]

If it never came out in stores, it'd probably be as rare as Magicard.

Heh, that'd be something - I got mine free as a kid through through the UPC send in promotion. Still have it

[Godzilla]

I still want one that was 'mail order only' is there any way to tell? If so, I'd bet that it would have a lot more value to it...

[Crazy Climber]

If it never came out in stores, it'd probably be as rare as Magicard.

Probably more like Tooth Protectors or Chuckwagon. I think Magicard is ultra rare since it was a programming tool so most people (including myself) had no interest in it back then or now for that matter. The advertising was much better for KAM as well, you never saw Magicard ads in comic books

[Crazy Climber]

I still want one that was 'mail order only' is there any way to tell? If so, I'd bet that it would have a lot more value to it...

Yes, you can tell by the shipping box it came in. I beeleive the fifth ghost had an extra one for sale at one time...not sure if he still does

[Deteacher]

I got mine through the mail order promotion. I think you had to collect something like 150 Kool Aid Points. Each packet was 1 point, as far as I can remember. It took us for freaking EVER to collect those things, but it was a sweet (no pun intended) day when we got our KAM in the mail. We played the hell out of that game. Still one of my favorites today.

[PressureCooker2600]

Game sure is hard as hell though.

[homerwannabee]

If it never came out in stores, it'd probably be as rare as Magicard.

Probably more like Tooth Protectors or Chuckwagon. I think Magicard is ultra rare since it was a programming tool so most people (including myself) had no interest in it back then or now for that matter. The advertising was much better for KAM as well, you never saw Magicard ads in comic books

I would say it would even be more common than that. I would put the rarity at that of Crazy Climber or video cube. Kool Aid is pretty populor now and back then so I am sure a lot of kids knew about the mail order thing. In fact I think I have vague memories of this being advertised on a kool aid comercial back in the day.

[CHIP72]

My family drank a lot of Kool-Aid back in the day, and my parents were compulsive about saving the points on products, so we easily had enough points to get the game for free when the promotion was first announced. I think it took something like 4-6 months for Mattel (or the Kool-Aid company - don't remember who we had to contact) to send us the game; I think we sent away for the game in mid-1983 and didn't get until late 1983 or something like that. What a strange but cool game; I always liked that game. It was kind of amusing to see your guy bounce around all over the screen when the game was over.

Edited March 1, 2007 by CHIP72

[The Eyeball Mural]

I was a compulsive collector of many things when I was a youngster. One of those things was empty Kool-Aid packets. I kept them in a neat stack, rubber-banded, in a quiet corner of the kitchen, and instructed my mother to always add empty packets to my hoard. This drove her a bit nuts and she often encouraged me to trash my collection. I always told her that I might use them for something someday. Imagine her chagrin and my pride when the Kool-Aid Man cartridge promotion was announced! A few minutes with scissors and a jaunt to the post office and I was all set! I received my game and enjoyed it very much, but it did take a few months to reach me.

[Ranthulfr]

It woulda been nice if they changed flavors for the store release. Like the mail order Kool-Aid Man was Cherry (red) so in the later release he could've been Grape (purple). Or even Lemonade.

[godzillajoe]

I remember the comic book ads and we bought Kool-Aid so I ended up with the cart.

 

Not having a dog, never knew about Chuck Wagon

 

And I never knew about Tooth Protectors else I would have had mom buy what toothpaste sponsored that one just to get it

[atarilovesyou]

OOOOOOOOOOH YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

(crashes through wall closest to you)

 

*sorry guys

[tremoloman2006]

I got mine through mail order. You needed to collect so many Kool-Aid points. My buddy and I did a sneaky thing: We went to the convenience store in my neighborhood each day and one of us would buy something at the register. While that person talked to the cashier and was distracted, we peeled the points/proof of purchase off of one of the large cans which had 15 points if I remember correctly. We did this for 2 or 3 weeks until we got enough points to order the game through the mail.

 

I'm sure at one point they looked at all their cans and wondered why they were all torn in the same spot.

[+save2600]

^

 

Now that's funny!

 

We were big consumers of Kool-Aid BITD, so was easy for us to save up the points legitimately.

[atarilovesyou]

I've always followed this advice: don't drink the Kool Aid

[+bennybingo]

I've always followed this advice: don't drink the Kool Aid