Where were Atari games sold?

[Philflound]

I thought about this when reading a thread that someone started stating, "what do you collect?" and saw someone mention they like to save receipts or something to that effect. That got me thinking about all the price tags I've seen over the years from various stores on Atari boxes. So why not do a small thread on different places that sold games. I took part of the game box with the price sticker to show. I'm interested in seeing how much of a variety is out there. There are many games with miscellaneous price stickers, but I'd like to get the ones that have the store names/logos on them. Here is a batch that I came up with.

 

Child World, Clover, Fedco, JC Penny, KayBee, LaBelle's Longs, Odd Lot, Pamida, Sears, Variety Stores, and W (Walgreens?). I put all scans at 400 pixels wide.

[Jaynz]

You know, if you were in retail AT ALL in 1980-1983, you sold Atari games. Even Hook's Drugs, etc. had some in their toy ailses. It would be shorter list of who DIDN'T sell them, honestly.

[+frankodragon]

Atari games were also sold at the former Zayre stores, Kohls department stores, Radio Shack (I think), K-Mart (where I got my first Atari 2600), Toys R Us...the list goes on.

[Jaynz]

Let's see, I know I got some from Ayr*Way, Woolworths (which I remember had an amazing 2600 display with a multi-cart switch), Kroger Supermarket, Sears (of course), Children's Palace, Service Merchandise.

[cvga]

You know, if you were in retail AT ALL in 1980-1983, you sold Atari games. Even Hook's Drugs, etc. had some in their toy ailses. It would be shorter list of who DIDN'T sell them, honestly.

 

I bought a game at Hook's Drug Store. I also bought a game (Fire Fighter) at an electric supply company, a game (Gopher) at our local supermarket and a game (Donkey Kong) at Lowery's Music (they primarily sold pianos if I remember correctly). I also drank enough Kool-aid to send away for my free Kool-aid Man. You could literally buy games almost everywhere!

[Miss 2600]

I like seeing price tags from back in the day. Some of the those prices I'd consider expensive now, let alone 30 years ago. No wonder it took years of whining before my parents bought me an Atari.

[Jinks]

Zellers and Woolworth's and Later Woolco I remember had the best Atari set ups to play. Every saturday we drove into the city 64km drive and I would always want to get a game...

Um Toys R Us?? in Minot?? Or am I dreaming??Sure I got Battlezone Dig dug moon patrol there at heafty prices of course!!

Edited September 1, 2012 by Jinks

[dendawg]

I think maybe the more accurate question is, where weren't they sold?

[godzillajoe]

Child World, Bradlee's, Stuarts, Caldor, KayBee, literally everywhere. I liked Child World best because they had a whole wall with empty boxes that you could actually flip over and look at the mock screen shots. Most places kept them behind the counter and you had to ask the cranky old person to open the case and let you look at them. They hated you.

[+Nathan Strum]

7-11 was carrying Activision games for awhile. Most video stores (pre-Blockbuster era) carried them. I remember walking the mall during Christmas time, and few stores weren't carrying at least some. The big stores had huge displays - Sears, JC Penny's, etc. I could spend hours in there playing games.

[onthinice]

Cool idea Philfound! I have a 2600 game from Revco and my Heavy sixer though not a game is from Mr. Wiggs.

[Philflound]

I like seeing price tags and then seeing more price tags on the box with lower prices. How low would they go? The Star Wars ESB in my collection is sealed. I got it from a friend who loves Star Wars. He had nothing to do with Atari, but since it was Star Wars picked it up. Actually he bought 5 copies. He paid 25 cents each or 20 cents each at Toys R Us when they were dumping them. I got 4 of the 5 from him many moons ago.

[OBO]

Bought most of my atari 2600 games in the 80's at my local furniture store.

The display rack for 2600, coleco, etc was in the "high tech" section, beside tape player, huge&heavy CRT TVs, and brand new 2-heads VCRs.

Ah, good old times.

[Schizophretard]

I remember going to Toys R Us with my dad to pick out a game. The Atari section was an isle that was the length of the building. It was like two giant long walls on both sides of me of nothing but Atari. The game I picked out was Taz and when I got home I discovered that I made the right choice. Anyway, I was born in 81 and even though I can't recall my age, I definitely wasn't a toddler. So, this massive collection that I had to look though to find Taz existed after the video game crash. I also remember them at a bunch of other stores. It was at enough places that I didn't know the video game crash happened. It was as easy to find Atari as it is to find all of today's modern systems. The stores were full and Toys R Us was like Best Buy today. The flea markets were full and they were like Game Stop today. So, at Atari's peak the games must have been everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if I found a price tag on a Raiders of the Lost Ark box that said,"First Baptist Church $19.99".

[schuwalker]

Some ones that I found in my stash: Jewel/Osco, Dominicks, Montgomery Wards, Service Merchandise, Zayre, Toys By Rizzi (mall exclusive stores), Kmart, Camelot

Music, Turn Style?, Mervyns, Child's World, Mcdade's, Perry Drugs and of course Sears...

 

While Toys R Us had the long aisles of games... to this day, I still believe Sears had the best and the most memorable setup for the 2600 - I'll never forget it!

Edited September 1, 2012 by schuwalker

[+Atari_Warlord]

Like most people said, a list of who didn't sell them would be shorter. I do remember on a trip to Texas to visit my grandparents we stopped for gas at a Texaco and I was surprised they had a bunch of 2600 games for sale. I really wanted to buy one but didn't have any money at the time.

[sqoon]

Around my area:

 

Ames

Ayr Way

Hill's

Hook's

Kay Bee

Montgomery Ward

Osco

K-Mart

Radio Shack

Sears Roebuck

Woolco

Venture

Zayre

[Philflound]

I wasn't really looking for a list but rather scans of actual labels. Seeing price stickers gives more of a history rather than someone remembering a store that had games.

Phil

[Unbeliever]

We bought them at Sears & Roebuck quite often, but there were two other stores in our area that have long since gone out: King's and Rich's. We frequented those two store more often than Sears as they were cheaper. But, back in the day, there were no lack of Atari 2600 games pretty much everywhere.

[onthinice]

Not real good deals but Kmart and Revco. 2600 Tennis, sealed Asteroids and Joust. DK sealed for 7800.

 

Edited September 1, 2012 by onthinice

[Scrabbler15]

Bought this Jr. new at Big Lots in the '80s (actually we got two of them),

 

$16.88 (Compare to 59.99! )

 

.

[onthinice]

That is a good deal!

[Jaynz]

Most places kept them behind the counter and you had to ask the cranky old person to open the case and let you look at them. They hated you.

 

Gods, that reminds me of one trip of K*Mart. My uncle took me there and we snagged the 2600 version of Defender. The old woman there really hated the desk, and really hated those 'Atari Games'. She lectured my uncle on wasting his money raising me to play those things... he bought Defender anyway, and also Pitfall! just to piss her off. ... I miss him, honestly. :S

[AtariLeaf]

Here in Canada, I got a lot of my 2600 (as well as NES games) at Consumers Distributing

[+save2600]

Some of my favorite stores back in Chicagoland that sold Atari games include:

 

A&P grocery

Ben Franklin

Child World

Eagle grocery

JC Penney

K*Mart

Kay*Bee

Montgomery Ward

Osco Drug

Petranek's Pharmacy ?

Sears (had a kick ass video game section forever)

Service Merchandise

Suncoast Video

Toys R Us

Venture

Woolworth

Zayre

 

...and yeah, the list of stores that did not sell Atari stuff back then would be much smaller.

 

I don't remember Marshall Fields or Silo ever selling Atari. Same with Highland Superstores, Rose Records or Stereo Studio. There was a nice independent store in Lib, IL that rented VHS tapes, Laserdiscs and CED discs too. Pretty sure they also had Atari games. Lots of the smaller rental stores back then did.

 

And my memory is super fuzzy about the like of Ames, Cost Plus 10 and Costco... I think the old Zayre in Waukegan became an Ames. Cost Plus 10 was in Wheeling, IL I believe and not exactly sure where there might have been a Costco. Super familiar name for whatever reason...