Kittenmommy Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Y'know, the Bally Astrocade cartridges were in fact shaped almost exactly like cassette tapes. Let's see if I can find a more annoying color than Super Annoying Purple! You cannot. The purple is far more annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 There was a comic in Cracked magazine back in the 80's that showed how to care for your video games. One of the things to do was to remove the tape from the cart and clean it with a brush or somthing along those lines. I still have all those old Cracked's somewhere, i'll have to try and find it and scan the page. I of course knew there was no tape in there. This was confirmed one day when I threw my copy of Pac-Man against the wall in anger and it broke apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bountybob Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 No sorry I always called them Cartridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aftermac Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I've always just called them games or cartridges. Other (older) people in my family have called them tapes probably because of the similar size of 8-tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroogur Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I usually call them games. When we go flea marketin' i tell my buddies what i'm after that day so they can keep an eye out I tel them look for Colecovision games, Atari games etc..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratfink Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I never called them tapes and really got annoyed at people who did. The only cartridge I could understand someone calling "tapes" would be the Bally Astrocade's as they really look almost exactly like little audio cassettes. In fact, I used to find Astrocade games mixed in with boxes of audio tapes at thrift stores. Always pays to look cuz ya never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 cartridges But I am guilty of saying Legos WTF else would one call a box of uh.... Legos? Everyone I've ever known has called them that. What are they supposed to be... Legii? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aftermac Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 cartridges But I am guilty of saying Legos WTF else would one call a box of uh.... Legos? Everyone I've ever known has called them that. What are they supposed to be... Legii? Maybe he was calling the Atari games Legos... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRGilbert Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 cartridges But I am guilty of saying Legos WTF else would one call a box of uh.... Legos? Everyone I've ever known has called them that. What are they supposed to be... Legii? I'm sorry, but the correct term is "Lego Bricks" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keilbaca Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Mark one here too for Tapes. Now I call them Cartridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 My Precious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 cartridges But I am guilty of saying Legos WTF else would one call a box of uh.... Legos? Everyone I've ever known has called them that. What are they supposed to be... Legii? I'm sorry, but the correct term is "Lego Bricks" Okay, that makes sense. But seriously, who calls them that in everyday conversation? At least it's not just plain wrong like "tapes" is for cartridges. I've never ever ever heard anyone call them "Lego Bricks", ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRGilbert Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 cartridges But I am guilty of saying Legos WTF else would one call a box of uh.... Legos? Everyone I've ever known has called them that. What are they supposed to be... Legii? I'm sorry, but the correct term is "Lego Bricks" Okay, that makes sense. But seriously, who calls them that in everyday conversation? At least it's not just plain wrong like "tapes" is for cartridges. I've never ever ever heard anyone call them "Lego Bricks", ever. I guess I just remember reading that at a very early age, and it alwasy stuck with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 It's just a marketing thing. They wanted to avoid the same problem that struck "Band-Aid"...rendering a trademarked name basically irrelivant by the sheer numbers of people using it to generically describe a product (essentially, losing their trademark). Legos it is. "Lego Bricks" is unnecessarily awkward and gets you more noogies than just owning the damn things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 BTW do they even make "bricks" anymore? They are vastly outnumbered by the custom pieces these days. You'd probably need to go OEM to be creative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bretthorror Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I always called them games (and still do generally, but I also use carts). I mean, people always like to say carts, but how weird would it be if someone called Xbox games "Xbox DVDs" I can't get enough of people calling any game (unless they're on tape!) tapes. It's downright hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prodos8 Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 My mom used to call them 'tapes' and so did I for a while. Later, I called them 'games' or 'cartridges' after being rediculed by friends for saying 'tapes.' As far as Legos go, I always had Loc Blocs which were a knock-off brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aftermac Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 cartridges But I am guilty of saying Legos WTF else would one call a box of uh.... Legos? Everyone I've ever known has called them that. What are they supposed to be... Legii? I'm sorry, but the correct term is "Lego Bricks" Okay, that makes sense. But seriously, who calls them that in everyday conversation? At least it's not just plain wrong like "tapes" is for cartridges. I've never ever ever heard anyone call them "Lego Bricks", ever. I guess I just remember reading that at a very early age, and it alwasy stuck with me. Like the geek I am, I did some looking into this. Apparently, registered trademarks, such as LEGO, are adjectives and therefore can not be plural. With that said, I'm gonna go play with my Atari's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iangamer Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I have never called my games "tapes" because there IS no tape in there. I also never called them "Legos" or "Lego Bricks". I call mine "cartridges" or "carts". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleman jack Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I always called them cartridges once I actually owned a 2600. I think this stems from having an 8-bit first (Atari 800) and distinguishing between cartridges, casettes, and disks. Before I got a 2600, I simply called them games for the 2600, and the three names (cart/cass/disk) for the A800 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dauber Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 (edited) BTW do they even make "bricks" anymore? They are vastly outnumbered by the custom pieces these days. You'd probably need to go OEM to be creative. They certainly do make bricks. There's a Lego store in Chicago, and in addition to all the play sets, they have a candy-store-style pick'n'mix section where you do just that -- you can get bricks in various colors and just about any piece you could ever need. Wow...just realized last time we were there was before my wife got her job...now that we're both gainfully employed we might be able to afford to get some stuff from there. Oh...and I always called 'em "Legos." I also had another brand of building blocks in the same box that were incompatible, but I never called 'em "Legos." I'm very particular about things like that. I've actually heard my mother refer to Lee jeans as "Lee Levis." To me, only Levi's jeans get that name. Only Coca-Cola drinks can be called Coke. You can't Xerox something without a machine made by Xerox. A quiescently frozen confection is only a Popsicle if it's made by Good Humor. And where I work, we use those forms that you fill bubbles in with #2 pencils; I made it clear to people who work under me that they are NOT Scantrons because they're made by Pearson and NOT Scantron - however, Pearson recently bought out Scantron (or the other way around) and took on the Scantron name, so I've told everyone they can call 'em Scantrons if they want. Edited June 17, 2008 by Dauber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 The comparo to 8 tracks got me to thinking. And i just happen to have one of each sitting around! Thank you, I was looking for an 8track, but apparently I no longer have one. But as you can see from that photo, they're about an inch longer, and pretty much alike other thna that (other than, as I said, the tape on one end) You want a real screwy looking pair, put a Fairchild Channel F cart next to a VHS tape, I think their thinner, but almost the same otherwise... We did call some of our Atari games tapes, because that's what they are. Oh yeah, I should have taken a picture of my tiney Starpath collection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opeygon Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 cartridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Beard Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 They wanted to avoid the same problem that struck "Band-Aid"...rendering a trademarked name basically irrelivant by the sheer numbers of people using it to generically describe a product (essentially, losing their trademark). I've never quite understood the logic of this argument, since brand-name recognition seems to be a cornerstone of marketing practices as well as consumer habits. So, while I completely understand why Kleenex doesn't want Scott calling their tissues Kleenex (and thereby confusing consumers) I can't understand why they don't want consumers calling Scott tissues Kleenex, as it simply reinforces in the minds of consumers what the superior brand name is. I mean, isn't that the idea of branding - that when you're in the store buying tissues, your eyes (and consequently your pocketbook) will be drawn to the ones that say "Kleenex" because that's the name you're most familiar with? Isn't it in Legos best interest that everyone call toy bricks "Legos"? That way, when kids (who are clearly brand-loyalists) go to the toy store, if Mom tries to buy them some off-brand, they'll throw a tantrum and scream and cry "but I want Leeegggooos!!!" There must be an angle here I'm just not seeing. Is it written into trademark law that once your name falls into popular usage, it's no longer yours exclusively or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aftermac Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 They wanted to avoid the same problem that struck "Band-Aid"...rendering a trademarked name basically irrelivant by the sheer numbers of people using it to generically describe a product (essentially, losing their trademark). I've never quite understood the logic of this argument, since brand-name recognition seems to be a cornerstone of marketing practices as well as consumer habits. So, while I completely understand why Kleenex doesn't want Scott calling their tissues Kleenex (and thereby confusing consumers) I can't understand why they don't want consumers calling Scott tissues Kleenex, as it simply reinforces in the minds of consumers what the superior brand name is. I mean, isn't that the idea of branding - that when you're in the store buying tissues, your eyes (and consequently your pocketbook) will be drawn to the ones that say "Kleenex" because that's the name you're most familiar with? Isn't it in Legos best interest that everyone call toy bricks "Legos"? That way, when kids (who are clearly brand-loyalists) go to the toy store, if Mom tries to buy them some off-brand, they'll throw a tantrum and scream and cry "but I want Leeegggooos!!!" There must be an angle here I'm just not seeing. Is it written into trademark law that once your name falls into popular usage, it's no longer yours exclusively or what? It is rare, but yes you can lose a trademark. It happed to Bayer when the lost the trademark for Aspirin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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