HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

[Adrian M]

[Adrian M]

The one standing over the Defender machine (red plaid shirt) is especially funny looking!

 

[Vic George 2K3]

So what's so funny about a picture of guys standing behind coin-op machines and some cheerleaders posing in front of them?

[Adrian M]

So what's so funny about a picture of guys standing behind coin-op machines and some cheerleaders posing in front of them?

 

Many things! For starters, the classic 1980's style, from the hair to the clothes! Many of us grew up during this era so it is quite humorous to see what gamers looked like back then..specifically the "l33t" gamers of the era!

[Adrian M]

OMG!!!

THERE'S MORE!!!!!!!

 

 

 

LOL!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[candiru]

Funny pic. Where'd you find it? The guy 4th from the right seems to have some sort of plush good luck charm.

[gavv]

OMG!!!

THERE'S MORE!!!!!!!      

 

 

 

LOL!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!    

 

Amazing though that it's a complete lie, at least on the donkey kong score , might as well put Jeffrey Yee in the photo!

 

gavv

[Adrian M]

Funny pic. Where'd you find it?  The guy 4th from the right seems to have some sort of plush good luck charm.

 

The article can be found here!

http://www.classicarcadegaming.com/contests/Nov1982

 

Believe it or not, the guy with the plush toy is Billy Mitchell, the guy whose current claim to fame is the fact that he played the first perfect game of Pac-Man back in 1999. I've actually seen him in person at a recent Funspot Classic Gaming Tournament and the scary thing is he still looks the same (80's style clothes, etc) except he now sports a MULLET!!!!

[NE146]

I have those exact pictures in a magazine.. but it wasn't a Life magazine that's for sure. It's funny because I also have those pics of them posing in front of arcade cabinets.. but only a selected couple of them. Perhaps they were publicity shots that were distributed? I'm not sure which magazine(s) I have them in... but they are definitely in videogame magazines in my collection.

 

I dunno... it doesn't exactly look funny to me. I guess I just have such a poor aesthetic sense of style that these guys and their clothes still look 'normal' to me (I wouldn't think anything of it if I saw them today). Or maybe I'm just so used to constantly reading classic arcade mags of the time which have photos like it

 

....It's too bad Starcade stopped showing on G4 once they merged with Comcast, now THAT show had odd looking people

[joeybastard]

These pics should be subtitled, "These are the kids who get their lunch money taken by bullies every day."

 

Thanks for the laugh

[Adrian M]

 

Thanks for the laugh

 

Heh! Anytime!

[Stingray]

I only have eyes for the beautiful cabinets. :wink:

 

-S

[christianscott27]

laugh now, but the pics i've seen coming back from CGE dont look much hipper. at least these guys have the excuse of being 20 years out of fashion

[joeybastard]

Oh, believe me, I know I don't look cool either, that's why it's OK for me to laugh.

[Stingray]

Actually the guy second from the right in the back row is me.

 

Well not really. I'm still a dork, just not that particular dork.

 

-S

[+Cobra Kai]

My God, We really were nerds.

[Adrian M]

I wonder how much they paid the cheerleaders to participate in the photo shoot?

 

You can just tell by looking that they're thrilled to be there!

[Major_Havoc]

I just don't see what's so funny about the photo.. with the exception of Mitchell's dorky "15 bazillion" centipede shirt, the rest are wearing regular old t-shirts & jackets that could easily pass today. Hairstyles are pretty contemporary too, even in 2004. What's so funny?

[Adrian M]

I just don't see what's so funny about the photo.  What's so funny?

 

This! Specifically the Ms. Pac-Man and Defender champs! LOL!!

[cimerians]

I was confused as to why its so funny as well.

 

I see your points though, yeah, they look nerdy but if you really want to laugh, check the dress styles of the late 60's and 70's.....yiiiiiiikes!!

 

Most of which can be seen on shows like Brady Bunch, the Monkeys and Hawaii 5-O.

[NE146]

I found the article with the exact same pictures in my magazine.. it's in the Dec/Jan 1984 issue of "Computer Games" and is called "These Guns for Hire" and seems to be about how these guys can make lots of money playing arcade games

 

The one with them on top of the arcade games seems to be taken at a different moment in time however.

[PaulEMoz]

Did anyone see the VH1 (or MTV, can't remember which) show about the lives of gamers?

 

Billy Mitchell sells hot sauce now, and rather sneakily goes round supermarkets pushing competitors' hot sauces to the back of the shelves and arranging his at the front.

 

He also said he's working on something that will blow away the gaming community, and is even greater than his perfect PacMan game. That should be interesting....

[eldunko]

Everyone without glasses looks like a stoner. The government lied... Drugs are for winners.

[hattg]

I knew a lot of these guys personally as I was on the US National Video Game Team myself for a while. And I will tell you, a lot of them are laughing all the way to the bank! They got to travel around the world, Japan, Europe, the US for tournaments and such. Steve Harris, who is not here but ran in the same crowd, founded several of the old gamer mags and about 5 or 6 others. Today, many are game programmers making big bucks designing the games that most of us are playing today. Another person I knew worked in the aerospace industry programming flight simulators for the military, and this was when he was gaming.

 

And believe you me, in 20 years y/our kids are gonna be laughing at the way we/you look today. For some probably not even 20! :-)

[Adrian M]

And believe you me, in 20 years y/our kids are gonna be laughing at the way we/you look today. For some probably not even 20! :-)

 

Of course! That's why it's important for us to take the opportunity to laugh now while we still can!

 

Also, Steve Harris, founder of EGM in the late 1980's should be commemorated for his contributions to gaming. WIthout his publications, who knows how the industry would have turned out. It's grown, not necessarily for the better, since the 1980's and his mag has taken a huge nosedive after it sold out to Ziff Davis, but all in all, Harris will always be respected (and he did look funny too as there were pictures of him in some EGM issues!!)