firebottle Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Anybody remember being in a Kay-Bee toy store (usually in a shopping mall) back in the day and seeing a couple dozen titles of cheap generic-box disk games being sold for $5? Never bought one, but I suspect they are the same as: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-general-masters-corporation_developer_89_8_G.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Yeah Ben at Bravo Sierra Computers has a bunch of those for $10, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 I remember Kay-Bee, but I don't recall ever buying Atari 8-bit software at one, I might have. I definitely remember buying some bargain-bin Jaguar games for about that price in the late 90's. Most of my Atari 8-bit software was either purchased at Electronics Boutique, book stores or privately owned computer & software dealer's shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 By the time I was driving and collecting for systems, it was Jaguar games in the $5 bin. I do remember as a kid though, a huge glut of 2600 games going for next to nothing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 23 minutes ago, Stephen said: By the time I was driving and collecting for systems, it was Jaguar games in the $5 bin. I do remember as a kid though, a huge glut of 2600 games going for next to nothing. Ah, yes, I do remember bargain bins full of 2600 games that I used to buy at Kay-Bee before I got my Atari computer, around '83/4 during the video game crash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Electronics Boutique, there's a name I've not heard in a long time, I seem to remember going into one in Florida Mall back then, I think I also brought my first EGM magazine in there, had never seen it in the UK.. Nice times... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Mclaneinc said: Electronics Boutique, there's a name I've not heard in a long time, I seem to remember going into one in Florida Mall back then, I think I also brought my first EGM magazine in there, had never seen it in the UK.. Nice times... Probably Paul, although now, not only is EB long gone, but probably the mall you shopped in too! Most malls in America have been abandoned due to Amazon and others on the net. There are lots of videos showing the mall ghost-towns in the states on Youtube. Amazing and very sad at the same time, a by-gone era. There are a few malls left, but the few I've been in are 1/2 or 3/4 empty (store fronts and people) these days too. Edited August 31, 2020 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Such a shame, the mall was where you met people while shopping, back in the old days when you actually spoke to the person who was there with you. I miss the standing in the game shop, watching others play and then picking up the game I wanted. Sure the internet makes up able to get more bargains in an easier way but the tactile side is missed.. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 11 hours ago, firebottle said: Anybody remember being in a Kay-Bee toy store (usually in a shopping mall) back in the day and seeing a couple dozen titles of cheap generic-box disk games being sold for $5? Never bought one, but I suspect they are the same as: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-general-masters-corporation_developer_89_8_G.html I remember we bought so many games from the bargain bin at Kay Bee. Sometimes they weren't bad. But my friend did buy this awful game that was only a few dozen lines of BASIC code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo-Torch Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Kay-Bee actually had games for my TRS-80 Model III on disk in the 99¢ bin which really surprised me. I bought a few and they were worse than most BASIC games I typed in; although, the plastic cases and artwork were very nice. I still have them and I bet the rarity is way up there. That 99¢ bin also had software for Apple, Commodore and Atari and the dreaded 2600 Mythicon games (which I also bought that day). I miss the great deals on failed systems at places like Kay-Bee, Big Lots and EB. 7800 bundled with 5 games for $30, Virtualboy for $20, Dreamcast for $50 and Jaguar for $25. I think the first virtual bargain bin would be O'Shea. Site is still up and you can still see the 2600/7800 remnants from over 2 decades ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebottle Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 31 minutes ago, zzip said: I remember we bought so many games from the bargain bin at Kay Bee. Sometimes they weren't bad. But my friend did buy this awful game that was only a few dozen lines of BASIC code. It's possible they might've been BASIC games... I remember seeing the Roklan games & CBS K-Razy titled carts for less than $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 I don't ever remember Kay-Bee having computer games at all. I remember when they had 2600 games, and maybe even some Jag games, but that was right around the time they closed them all up around here, though it's been a while, so I may be remembering that incorrectly... The sad thing is, that shitty GameStop seems to be the only physical store around anymore that sells games. I mean you can find an assortment of PC games at Wal-mart still, but GameStop doesn't really sell PC games, and they charge close to new prices for used games for consoles... But for sure, there were bins of cheap console games at Kay-Bee. Actually I think my last memory of them may have been seeing Dreamcast stuff there, now that I think of it. Software Etc was where we used to get Amiga and then just PC games from, but they're all long gone now as well. Granted we don't have any cool places like Fry's in Utah. All the big chain computer stores are long gone. Online shopping killed all of them that weren't smart enough to open online shops before they lost all of their customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 1 hour ago, firebottle said: It's possible they might've been BASIC games... Back then, my attitude was that professional games were written in Assembly or at least a compiled language. So when I encounted a retail game that was written in Basic, especially if it was a game I could have easily written myself, it felt like a rip-off. Even though I think this particular game was selling for less than $2. That's why my friend bought it. 1 hour ago, firebottle said: I remember seeing the Roklan games & CBS K-Razy titled carts for less than $10. Oh yeah, they always had tons of those "K-Razy" titles. I never took a chance on those, but I did pick up Roklan's Wizard of Wor, which was a decent port. I also remember they had a bunch of "Thorn-EMI" games on cassette. I remember we got "Darts" and a Rubiks Cube game. I think Darts was worth the price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 (edited) I remember purchasing a floppy disk collection of programs that came in the clear plastic,, similar to what Video61 sells their original cartridges in, for the Atari 8-bit from the "bargain rack" at some computer store for about $5. I never did that again, as they were worse basic programs than what I could get from magazines and BASIC computer program books. Worse than any public domain software I ever tried too, I used to order PD disk collections a lot from Analog/Antic ads or classifieds. Off subject a bit, that was also the way I first stumbled into piracy, in the early 90's, when I found a classified for UK games that were never released in the U.S. I justified it since I could not get them any other way. I always bought originals before then. Not necessarily because I was anti-piracy in my youth, but simply because I was a solitary Atarian around my home-town (as far as I knew) with everyone else I knew owning C64's, Apples and Co-Co's. So no opportunity to step on the dark side...and I didn't have copiers like Chipmunk software or Happy/Duplicator hardware to copy C64/Apple/Atari "flippy" disks I used to trade-borrow with friends that had the C64's and Apples. Edited August 31, 2020 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebottle Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 2 hours ago, leech said: I don't ever remember Kay-Bee having computer games at all. I remember when they had 2600 games, and maybe even some Jag games, but that was right around the time they closed them all up around here, though it's been a while, so I may be remembering that incorrectly... The Atari 800 games I saw at Kay-Bee were being sold sometime between 1984 to 1986. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebottle Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 1 hour ago, zzip said: I also remember they had a bunch of "Thorn-EMI" games on cassette. I remember we got "Darts" and a Rubiks Cube game. I think Darts was worth the price. Yeah, I remember seeing the Thorn-EMI's too. I'm pretty sure I bought Computer War at a Kay-Bee. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 4 minutes ago, firebottle said: The Atari 800 games I saw at Kay-Bee were being sold sometime between 1984 to 1986. Sounds about right. I only had a 410 cassette drive until I got a 1050 in 85, and was able to get several cassette games from the Kay-bee bargain bin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 40 minutes ago, firebottle said: Yeah, I remember seeing the Thorn-EMI's too. I'm pretty sure I bought Computer War at a Kay-Bee. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I saw Thorn-EMI games anywhere else besides Kay-Bee? I think it was a British publisher and maybe not widely distributed in the US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickJock Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 I think I got my Atari TrakBall at Kay-Bee for $5. Maybe my 130XE? I don't actually remember at the moment where I got it from. I did pick up a couple of Worlds of Wonder Lazer Tag sets there for $10 each! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Absolutely I remember KB. They were the only place in town that carried obscure game stuff: INtellivision. Atari 800/XEGS etc (which in fact was the only time I ever saw A8 related stuff in a retail store in my old home town). They were also a fantastic source for late release Atari 2600 games. A big chunk of my scarce/rare stuff that I randomly picked up fback in the day came from KB toys. Great store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 7 hours ago, firebottle said: Yeah, I remember seeing the Thorn-EMI's too. I'm pretty sure I bought Computer War at a Kay-Bee. Me too. I picked up Submarine Commander (really underrated game!) and Jumbo Jet Pilot cartridges from KayBee bargain bin BITD. I think Darts on cassette. I don't remember ever seeing anything disk-based there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Toys R Us also wasn't afraid to dump Atari stuff cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Strangely, I always walked pass Kay-Bee many time in 1 of those malls in those heyday. But I never knew they does selling "left-over" Atari stuff in Kay-Bee ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 3 hours ago, redman said: Toys R Us also wasn't afraid to dump Atari stuff cheap. You got that right. I remember waiting in the checkout line with A8/C64 flippies of Karateka and Lode Runner for dirt cheap.. the guys behind me in line remarking "I didn't know they released those for Atari!".. Also remember picking up 2600 Missile Command brand new from TrU for literally a dollar or two when they blew that line out in the early 1990s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Yup. Remember all those times, and more. They were even dumping other computer stuff besides Atari. And my local mall's Kay-Bee was the place to go if you wanted cheap Trash-80 material. And Commodore stuff. But by far and away their biggest liquidations were 2600/7800. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.