My introduction to video games came with the aquisition of an Odyssey game console, which came complete with 3 built-in games and two sets of three knobs fixed to the console itself. I remember it being off-white, very dirty and unreliable. One of the three games available was Pong, which was fun for 20 minutes every couple of months. I remember busting it out of Mikey’s closet in years past, only to boot it up and play but eventually, it got tossed out with some old tennis sneakers and/or football equipment.
Here’s a chronological list of video game memories. I know you have yours, and our kids memories will include much more than this, with more detail.
In the 80’s I played video games:
- Intellivision: Pitfall, Auto Racing, Space Armada, Donkey Kong, Blackjack. Got good at Blackjack, would come in handy later in Vegas. At the time, other people had Atari or Colecovision.
- Nintendo: Mike Tyson’s Punchout was the favorite. Played before and after school almost every day. Finished it after months of trying. Russian dude with master fast punches was difficult, but not impossible as once thought.
- Zaxxon full size arcade video game. My dad won this full arcade size game, which we kept in the basement. It was a bootleg, actually titled “Jackson”. We finished this game many times, on the same quarter, and rumbled the basement for months.
In the 90’s I played video games:
- Sega Hockey: When the Genesis came out Sega Hockey became an obsession in college. We had tournaments at the local bars. Boston and Detroit were by far the best team to have. Letterman ruled it for some time at St Mike’s.
- From there it was Playstation time and this is when my video gaming slowed to a halt. I had taken up fishing and between that, working and motorcycles, I had my activities dialed. There was little time for video games, and that’s what they really need to flourish, is time on your ass.
Into the 21st Century, video games have blown up and grown up. Second Life has taken the idea to a whole new level. You can live an entirely new life outside of reality in a human video game. You can live, buy, sell, move and collect money, they even have banks. In Second Life, you can even go to jail.
We’ve been talking about Second Life a lot lately, mostly related around advertising and marketing opportunities. But really, what’s bizarre is the opportunity to make real money in Second Life, and use it in your First Life. Mind-bender, I know. I have plans to open a string of pubs in Second Life (Justin knows the name) and franchise them all over the place. Let you know when we go live.
Lately, I’ve been playing a lot of two games for PS2: Socom and Splinter Cell. That’s all I play. I’ve tried other games, but none last more than 15 minutes before boredom sets in.
Don’t worry, I don’t yet play online, and I am not a complete gamer nerd. But the fact is, video games have played a large role in my life and in some respects haved helped define the times in my life.
Like movies for my parents, video games reflect people’s attitudes, desires, needs and frustrations. I believe the film industry and Hollywood system are doomed for failure without alternative distribution methods in the face of the gaming world.
People only have so much recreation time (IE: time to waste) on their hands. There are many choices, and crappy movies today just don’t cut it when you can log into Second Life and become the swinging Manhatten advertising executive you always wanted to be.
Actually, is there a bassmaster tour on Second Life? I wonder how the bass fishing is in there? I could earn my way up the ranks and fish to my heart’s content. In fact, I heard I can pay some Indian firm to play my character in Second Life for me, so I don’t even have to do anything to get ahead in there!
I had a thought today: What about creating a reality TV show about people playing Second Life. Like you’re just watching them sitting in front of the computer. And in their Second Life, those people are watching TV shows, like “The Office” on Tivo! Run that back through your mind for a bender. Talk about advertising on all levels…
The world is moving faster than we think. You need to think faster than ever to stay ahead of the game. That’s just the truth.
6 responses so far ↓
1 J. O'Shea // Nov 21, 2006 at 9:01 am
You’re so lucky to live near a place like Ground Kontrol.
Tron rules.
Laura and I would play Ms. Pacman, at the Roundtable Pizza in Truckee, for hours. Each person’s turn would take 15-20 minutes.
When I was younger, Dragon’s Liar scared me.
Bye bye,
Max Paine
2 Vince LaVecchia // Nov 21, 2006 at 9:33 am
Justin, you should be a gay talk show host in Second Life. Or a Hell’s Angel bike gang leader.
PS: Dragon’s Lair freaked me out too.
3 John Boone // Nov 21, 2006 at 12:02 pm
When I was a kid my favorite thing to do was get a $5 roll of quarters and ride my bike to midtown Anchorage, to blow the whole thing on video games at a place called the Space Station. The best comic book store in town as a block from there, too.
Maybe if I had put all that money in the bank instead and let it earn interest for 25 years, I would now have enough money for a PS3…
4 Vince LaVecchia // Nov 21, 2006 at 12:11 pm
In South Orange, NJ, the place was Moto-Sport. It was a seedy arcade downtown that closed because of drug deals or something. Wasted mucho time there, and my older brothers did too.
5 J. O'Shea // Nov 21, 2006 at 2:12 pm
Vin, is it possible that I could be both?
In the summer of 1993, I spent several hundred dollars on NBA Jams.
Boom-shakalaka, bitch.
I can’t wait until you open those bars, but I’m going to inspect my brews carefully before I consume them.
6 catzel // Nov 27, 2006 at 6:30 am
Vin – wasn’t the game in the basement called QuestStar? Or something like that? And the real name was Zaxxon? I think dad got it after a case against companies that made those knock-offs because he had the most kids. I Remember playing that with David Wilms.
It was loud.. we stuffed the back with a rag because you could hear it in the attic.
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