Pac-Man Day: Why the Atari 2600 Version Release Date Got Lost (…and How it was Found Again)

[@harunal-muhajir5555]

This was really well made. Surprised it only has a few thousand views.

[@GTV-Japan]

+Harun Al-Muhajir thank you! I wish it had more views too but that’s just how it goes when you’re not mainstream I guess

[@wanghotangho5803]

I played the hell out of that Atari 2600 PacMan cartridge and loved it even though it wasn’t close to the original. And that ARTWORK on the cartridge is just as iconic as the original PacMan arcade game artwork

[@GTV-Japan]

The art department was just as skilled as the programmers. I loved it too!

[@Cetega]

I always feel like people who say the Atari 2600 was not powerful enough to handle Pac-Man have never played the 2600 version of Ms Pac-Man. That one did a much better job of replicating the experience. Interesting video!

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks, It can clearly handle it because the game doesn't crash! Thats why I threw that little jab in there about people born long after 1982 commenting on the game. They have no concept of what it was like back then. Yea, MsPacMan was much better for sure but I clearly show, people really wanted to original too.

[@AndrewAmbrose]

Cetega the only reason it was even crap was because the corrupt greedy bastards at Atari didn’t give Todd Frye enough time to make the game and fix all the bugs by the end of 1981. They were convinced that people would still buy and play it because it was Pac-Man. Poor Todd couldn’t even finish his damn game.

[@jcchaconjr]

Even better is Jr. Pac-Man, which not only looked as good as Ms. Pac-Man, but even had a scrolling playfield, similar to the arcade original, except that it scrolled vertically instead of horizontally.

[@GTV-Japan]

That’s my fav one! The Atari could do vertical scrolling easy for some reason but not horizontal. Go figure!

[@RobertJohnson-mn3br]

I didn’t even know the 2600 made a Mrs Pac-Man. The reason for this is after Pac-Man and the abysmal mess that was the 5200, I was done with Atari. And shortly after so was everybody else

[@harunal-muhajir5555]

Pac Man pasta was available for a long time after the game lost popularity, maybe even into the 90s. A bit unusual for a video game food. Super Mario cereal only lasted a couple years.

[@GTV-Japan]

+Harun Al-Muhajir yea I know. I remember

[@AnarchyDragon6]

I remember that so well. My friend said to come over, he'd just got Pac-Man! I hung out with him and his brother playing it on Atari VCS for a while, then when my mom came home from work I asked her to take me to the store to buy it (Yes, even though I'd played it,... So much hype on this one, but we still had no idea when it'd hit the stores). Instantly it seemed to be sold out Everywhere. We went to 3 stores before finding it! Ironically I found it at a store called 'Pay and Save' and spent $37.95 on it!! (Which was more than I'd ever spent on a video game up to that point). I still have it of course :)

[@GTV-Japan]

Wow! That’s a fortune! Great story!

[@rockmanrespect]

And years later, Brian Doyle-Murray would play the owner of Noah's Arcade in the movie "Wayne's World."

[@GTV-Japan]

I know! He’s a true gamer!

[@afriend9428]

*Pac-man and Space Invaders were fantastic back then* ⭐️

[@GTV-Japan]

Absolutely! Asteroids and Missile Command too!

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

It's always a Wisconsin newspaper that gives you the primary sources on this stuff! Ed Semrad (later EGM's first EIC) used to write a column called Video Adventures for the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel papers in the mid-to-late-'80s, when there weren't many videogame magazines around. Also, as of the last time I was in Madison, that Copp's off the Beltway in Monona is still there!

[@GTV-Japan]

Cool I didnt know that about Ed Semrad. Yea Copps is still there! I thought about tracking down the managers and asking them about it but they might be retired by now

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

Yeah! And the Journal and Sentinel archives used to be part of Google's archive service, but JS Communications took them down last year, which is super lame, but some sites have some of them archived. Nintendo Times has several, I know.

[@georgehenson2412]

It's available on Genealogy Bank, though I'm convinced they don't have the full run.

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

Oh, dang. That's awesome. I'll have to investigate. Thanks!

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

@@GTV-Japan Copps Department Stores went out of business in the 1980s, but their legacy lives on through their supermarkets, the Copps Food Centers. Copps is now a subsidiary of Kroger. Copps is named after its founder, Egbert Morton Copps, who founded the store in 1892 as E.M. Copps & Co. Copps introduced a forerunner to the superstores of today in the 1960s and 1970s, but they phased them out sometime in 1983 to focus more on the grocery side of their business.

[@TheSentinel3000]

I can also confirm that it was in March 1982. Although, it is great to have the actual day, as well. I was 14 and could hardly wait to have PAC-MAN at home. I was able to preorder a copy through our local Sears store. When the day came in March, my Dad picked it up on the way home from work. I was pretty gutted when he finally got home and I was able to actually play it. It didn't seem like Atari even tried to replicate the arcade version. Also, my birthday is April 2nd. So, if it had initially been released on April 3rd, there's no way I would have gotten the game without it being a bday present.

[@GTV-Japan]

+TheSentinel3000 nice! I do think the difference of home and arcade is something you just deal with but when looking at ms. and jr. Pacman and how good they are in comparison you have to wonder what was up

[@Musicradio77Network]

The game was released in April 1982 along with the re-released 2600 console. In addition to previous games in the Atari 2600 catalog, Atari re-released the older titles that same year in 1982, or was it?!

[@GScottChaosnaut]

I remember the hype around this, and getting it on launch day from a family member working at Sears. These sounds bring back such memories. They even appear in Superman 3.

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks for watching! Yes I love the pacman death sounds it’s in a lot of tv and film

[@GuardYourFlanks]

I loved the VCS version of Pac-Man when I originally got it. I even remember the first day when I was able to pass stage one.

[@GTV-Japan]

Great! I know not everyone loves this Pac-Man but lots of us did!!

[@PanickedPixel]

So glad I was part of such a great video and on Pac-Man too! Very well-researched and informative. Always love your stuff! ❤

[@GTV-Japan]

+PanickedPixel thanks! I hope we can work again sometime

[@swk38]

That was pretty good, had me captivated throughout the whole video ... Good work...

[@GTV-Japan]

+SwineCraft thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it

[@Revegelance]

Dude, that's awesome! Pac-Man 2600 released on my first birthday!

[@GTV-Japan]

haha cool! I snuck my birthday in there when I showed a different game. ~_^

[@scottiejordan1064]

Got it on PRE ORDER. When my parents picked it up they came home telling me the salesman said tell him this is NOT Pacman like you know it at the arcade. This is for home and you can still enjoy Pac man ibn the ARCADE. Even at release date they KNEW.

[@GTV-Japan]

+Scott Nelson yea one of the things I found when researching were some news clippings that tried to spin or soften the truth that the game was not going to be anything near arcade perfect

[@mrneilesq]

Yet another scintillating video! It really was a fascinating journey that managed to present the information in a really entertaining way! As obsessed as I am with finding things out about Pac-Man, you've proven that there's always so much more to learn! Please know how much your videos are appreciated, enjoyed, and looked forward to!

[@GTV-Japan]

I'm glad you liked! All I can ask of you is to spread word as much as you can and help get a bigger audience. I'll keep making videos and have one major video, like this one, planned each month for the rest of the year, with smaller ones to fill in the spaces until they are ready. The bigger the "day one" of a video, the better its life on youtube is, so I hope I can keep expanding as I put these out. Thanks and check my twitter and FB, I'll be posting the newspaper scans so you can read them yourself.

[@neoasura]

Thank You! People don't realize back when Pac Man came out on the Atari 2600, it was a fun game! Me and my dad played that game for hours all the time. Mayve its bc Im older, but the people bashing it now obviously didnt play it when it came out. Gamers weren't as snooty back then.

[@GTV-Japan]

Same here!! I had Pac-Man in 1982 it was a blast!! Don’t forget arcades we’re kinda for teenagers and up. At least where I was, it was a little strange for a small kid to play video games. But yeah people born after the fact simply can not relate. I agree. Snooty, snarky. Everything that’s a review has to be a list complaints! Why? Thanks for watching I appreciate it

[@almostliterally593]

I was born in 1995. Even I, who didn’t grow up with the 2600 at all, can find some fun to be had with 2600 pac man. It’s not really as bad as people make it out to be. Could it have been better? Yeah, if the developer was given more time to work on it. Considering everything that happened though, it really isn’t that bad. In fact it’s a lot more fun than a lot of other 2600 games from the era, to be completely honest.

[@GTV-Japan]

Great assessment! When it’s the only game you had, like I had, you learn to love it

[@creativecatproductions]

Man, your content is so good. I watched this year ago and loved it. It’s so good....still no clue where or when you interviewed Mick Foley

[@GTV-Japan]

Well I actually interviewed him in 2003. Heck of a guy

[@nivaldowesley666]

this one was my first pac man ever, and I'm still love it! even before I knew was a arcade version, I used to play with my older brother!

[@GTV-Japan]

I love it too! If you were born between 1975-1980 maybe younger too you certainly didn’t complain Atari Pac-Man wasn’t arcade perfect. You were happy unbelievably happy to have it at home. I was too! Honestly from my experience I rarely saw original Pac-Man cabinets. As ms Pac-Man was way more popular and many were probably converted out. Thanks for watching ⭐️

[@inkfire2236]

Never have I have see the day that a release date would be lost and be found again...

[@GTV-Japan]

It’s coming up on the big 4-0

[@chrispacheco8590]

Loved the news articles of people's accounts of how well this little cartridge did, and your extensive research into the matter is greatly appreciated, always fun and hugely entertaining,..I actually didn't get my own Pac man 2600 cartridge until November of 85' way after as a gift along with a 2600 console and about 12 other games (sort of a hand me down) but I absolutely loved it, Pac man itself was a joy to have at home although I dont remember noticing the difference from the arcade maybe because I was like 6 and just played the heck out of it, but my favorite game of that little gift was Star Wars Empire Strikes Back..appreciate your passion and hard work,thank you😊

[@GTV-Japan]

I didn’t think much about the difference either. Arcade and home were so separate I don’t think anyone from then could complain. Also despite Pac-Man fever I never saw any Pac-Man cabinets though ms Pac-Man was everywhere. I guess they all got refitted and there’s less pacs out there than before?

[@holotape]

Second time watching. Excellent work! The research...the video editing and composition...everything

[@GTV-Japan]

+holotape thanks! For long videos especially I try to make the best ones possible. Gotta outdo the big channels ya know!

[@Replayability]

The release date never seemed to be lost to me. I got the game when it was new and I also got this in the mail before the game was released: www.atarimania.com/pubs/hi_res/pub_Red_Hot.jpg And this "'82 in review" page was in Atari Age magazine at the end of 1982 which seemed to pretty much line up with what I saw in stores that year: www.atariage.com/magazines/magazine_page.html?MagazineID=4&CurrentPage=15 I think I've been linking to those pages from my web site for over 10 years: www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-history-1982.html#pac_man I didn't know anyone thought the release date was lost.

[@GTV-Japan]

+Replayability I think for anyone with only modern memories of gaming it could seem like it's lost. Also not many sites were clear about it so maybe now they can be.

[@betaman7988]

Only just discovered your channel and really love all the content of yours I’ve seen so far (being this, the Atari 2800 and the Sega SG1000 videos). Although now I feel compelled to research to find the British release date for PacMan, because we got EVERYTHING ages later

[@GTV-Japan]

Hey thanks! I don’t know about in the UK but maybe a newspaper clipping tells. I’ll be starting new videos in a month. Hope to see you again 🍺

[@betaman7988]

@@GTV-Japan Thanks for responding! I've looked in the newspaper archive for the UK and on April 23 1982 in the Reading Evening Post there is an ad proclaiming 'The Atari TV Game cartridge Pac-Man is here!'. Much like you, I'm not so sure whether this is the actual date of release or afterwards but its a definite start.

[@GTV-Japan]

That’s awesome. I can’t imagine Atari waiting long with Pacman fever at its peak

[@betaman7988]

Gaijillionaire Thanks. I was quite surprised to see it being released so soon after the American launch. I also looked into the console itself and the launch date for that. So far the earliest publication of an advert for it I’ve found is from October 19 1978 meaning that it took a whole year between launching in the States and launching over here. Probably the worst delay is for the NES, though, which didn’t make it into the UK into quite late into 1987.

[@KnowYourVideoGames]

As I recall, I saw Pac-Man as a pack-in for the 2600 before I saw it sold individually. But that was 40 years ago. I could be remembering wrong.

[@GTV-Japan]

It’s ok if you’re wrong because your Nei avatar makes up for any shortcomings!

[@ClintKubowMusic]

very well done video! I love this kind of stuff. subscribed!

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks! Check out some older videos too. I'll keep making new ones

[@daisukegori2112]

"None of these people were alive in 1982". That is exactly what comes to mind when kids these days say foolish things about Zelda 2 and Mario 2. Or Altered Beast. Or even Keith Courage.

[@GTV-Japan]

Yep! They can all take a hike!

[@GTV-Japan]

There were some people who thought these were actually real KZbin channels and I was making fun of them ah ha ha… really they were two friends who we making fun of what these channels are like

[@8bitDNA]

those commercials during the pause were really neat :)

[@GTV-Japan]

+8bitDNA thanks. There's 1000 like that online but I chose those because I have the Arby's glass and used to eat the spaghetti and cereal. There's one for Pacman vitamins I found that's funny but I never actually had them. No they didn't call them power pellets aha

[@RockandrollNegro]

I had the Pac Man vitamins. They conveniently disappeared around the time that He Man vitamins came on the market. I ate a lot of pop culture as a child.

[@GTV-Japan]

Ya I’m sure they just changed the shape!

[@JoPeTuYaTroJoueY]

another wonderfuly resolved enigma ! Detective Gaijinton strikes again ! ;) Very good stuff man, congratulation for all the research.

[@GTV-Japan]

Haha yea I am kind of like a detective. Thanks. It won't be the last one I do either ! That's a promise

[@JohnDoe-ec1mz]

I was 16 and living in Antioch, CA. I loved frequent the near-by Longs Drug Store (kinda like mini-Walmart) back then around 1980. I couldn't tell you enough the cheer joy of checking out new title of Atari games (and Intellivision's) that seemed to come out at least once a week (if not more). Man !! ... I missed those good old days. You 're likely to find out about new game releases days even before they were advertised on TV. (We're living just fine without the internet.)

[@GTV-Japan]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your memories from the good old days!!

[@Hologhoul]

AT LAST someone remembers correctly that those of us around at the time DID enjoy Pac-Man on the VCS! Even as kids we understood it wasn't the same as arcade, but that it was a fun version nonetheless (and yes I'm aware later versions were much closer to the arcade).

[@GTV-Japan]

Of course! The hype was real and I was very happy to own that game. I guess you just had to be there right? Thanks for watching 👻

[@Hologhoul]

Cheers! I'll watch more of your vids, very classy job! The other game I think similarly of with regard to the 'common view' is Defender, we *loved* it and thought it was brilliant how they got all the gameplay elements in (and made it much easier!) And again, this was of course well before the later version which did a stunning job of looking more like the arcade game (I've only played the later one on Stella).

[@GTV-Japan]

Illuminated Skeletons I loved that one too but I’ve never heard anyone complain about it. I also liked star raiders. Couldn’t believe how they fit that game in there. On my channel I have 95 videos so go see em and comment on what you like. I always reply

[@Hologhoul]

Wow, yes Star Raiders was impressive. Seemed so futuristic with the add-ons. I'll check out some more vids, for sure, look forward to it... :-)

[@GTV-Japan]

Awesome

[@DW3010]

Under 1 minute in and hearing that Atari pac man intro and dying sound hit the nostalgic button. We couldn’t afford an Atari so we played at my cousins house a few times a year.

[@GTV-Japan]

I’m glad you liked that. And that sound effect is in almost everything and will live on forever

[@losalfajoresok]

your videos are getting more and more interesting!

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks! Check out more when you have time! I love sharing the information I have

[@Schimnesthai]

Ok, subscribed, i watched like 5 videos, and i'm more than convinced, great video... should i say as always? haha

[@GTV-Japan]

I don't mind if you do ^-^

[@edwarddillon5886]

I remember getting this for my 5th birthday . When I went to the arcade, I did not want to play Pacman because I could play it at home.

[@GTV-Japan]

Cool! Same here. But I remember Ms Pac-Man cabinets every where and Pac-Man cabinets were actually pretty scarce. Thanks for watching

[@CarolinaDiggers]

I remember getting an Atari PAC-MAN button when I went to the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. The PAC-MAN character was roaming around the building too.

[@GTV-Japan]

I found an 82 world fair banner with pacman on it years later so thats really cool to hear!

[@raydeen2k]

I got my copy on my birthday (3/82) and it had been out for probably a couple of weeks or a month before I got a copy.

[@GTV-Japan]

When is your birthday? if you have prrof it out before 3.16, like a photo let me know, I'd love to hear about it

[@raydeen2k]

+ GTV Memory is not what it used to be. The more I thought about it, my parents probably got a pre-order ticket or something and I received it later. It's been many years and many beers since I was 13. :D

[@GTV-Japan]

+raydeen2k since you were 13? Haha well I know what you mean. Still doesn’t matter when or how were all from that time and you can’t get those days back. That eta is gone. Just the memories left

[@segaunited3855]

Several Months actually.

[@Joeyboots80]

I played this game and loved it. As a little kid, I had no idea there was anything wrong with it mechanically. I knew it wasn't as graphically impressive as the arcade version, but even at that age I understood that one piece of hardware could be more powerful than another and produce better visuals than another piece of hardware. Bringing arcade games home was the holy grail back then, and I was amazed that I could even play the game at all at home on my television, so I probably enjoyed it more perhaps than an older person who was expecting visuals closer to the arcade. When I got older, I realized that it wasn't the best port and it was rushed, but I don't regret for one second all the hours I spent playing Pac-Man on my Atari 2600 all those years ago.

[@GTV-Japan]

You and Me both, ham!

[@SkyCharger001]

Perhaps the second date was for when supply would be at capacity instead of just the trickle from before. We could also be dealing with release day vs ribbon day. (As a G1er on both of my previous apartments I've experienced this gap twice.)

[@PatTheRedMonkey]

Loving the investigative journalism meets gaming vibe - absolutely could not look away

[@GTV-Japan]

Cheers!

[@h15c0r3r]

l really enjoy these videos, particularly seeing the old adverts. I rented Pac-Man from our local video library for the Atari. Loved it at the time.

[@GTV-Japan]

For this one I felt like I was going overboard but I needed to show how crazy Pac-Man tie ins became because Pac-Man fever was so high! Thanks for watching

[@segaunited3855]

Super Mario Bros. DOES have an official US Release Date: October 1985.

[@GTV-Japan]

At the time this was made it wasn’t proven though. Thanks for watching

[@Rationalific]

A citation in Wikipedia (the third one now) has that article. Did you put that there? If not, I know that whoever added that was watching your video just prior.

[@GTV-Japan]

It was not there until after I made the video. I did not put it there. But this came about a year after. Three days after the video was out someone added it and told me some gatekeeper took it down! So I was happy to see it was out back eventually

[@Rationalific]

Good to hear that it stuck!

[@Sci-Fi-Mike]

Awesome video! Great investigative journalism! I didn't have Pac-man, but I had the Atari 2600. I'm happy I learned this!

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks I’m glad you liked it! I’ll be releasing a video about Atari in japan on January 28th so I hope to see you again for that!

[@Sci-Fi-Mike]

@@GTV-Japan , count on it! 😀

[@gamewizardks]

Amazing video. I absolutely loved growing up in this era. In the late 70's, a cousin of mine introduced me to SNL when I was just 8. Longtime fan of the show and always a game buff.

[@GTV-Japan]

I saw the 80s reruns on Comedy Central in the early 90s where they played 5x a day. The 70s episodes are somehow managed differently and so they rarely appear on tv

[@sa3270]

There's also a less commonly mentioned glitch where you can get Pac-Man to move vertically up and down through the walls in line with the escape route. You invoke it by entering the escape route and moving the joystick up and down real fast and exiting downward, so Pac-Man emerges at the top of the screen. It takes trial and error. When successful, Pac-Man will "paint" onto the top screen when he emerges, and you will be able to move him up and down through the walls. If I recall, you can enter the escape route again to recover from the glitch. There's actually a screenshot in your video where someone apparently invoked this glitch, at 7:50.

[@GTV-Japan]

Wow! I’ll have to try that

[@CoyoteSeven]

@@GTV-Japan If a ghost gets you while you're moving up or down in this glitch mode, Pac-Man will do the dying animation while still moving. At least I remember it happening that way.

[@GTV-Japan]

Oh yeah. I’ve done that. That’s funny

[@yuberus]

You should look up the Computer Entertainer newsletters too - they're a great resource for getting down to the month on a LOT of games from the 80s. For example, on Pac-Man here they listed its release date as March 1982 (which is reasonable given, as Warshaw said, they didn't really have "release days" at the time).

[@GTV-Japan]

Thats cool! I can pass that on to the Random Terrain site, which is really good at record keeping. One thing I couldn't prove, but could guess was that Atari spent 6 months (september to March manufacturing the game) which seems like a long time for that

[@zackschilling4376]

A lot NES games have a "release month". Is that cuz of stores releasing them at different times or just poor record keeping/ lack of info?

[@GTV-Japan]

I think it was hard to line up when the carts would arrive, which took months to assemble and ship. Then there’s the lead time of the magazine which was also printed months in advance. That’s just my opinion!

[@segaunited3855]

Correct. It was mostly both. NES first started its Trial Release in NYC on 10/18/1985, but people miss the fact that the NES release was a Cross Country Limited Market Rollout and mistakenly believe that it was only available in the New York area in '85 which makes no sense at all. The NES was rolled out to the West Coast after the first two weeks of its Trial release in the New England/Mid Atlantic Area. Dating its first non Mid Atlantic Area availability in the West Coast as 11/1/1985. Throughout the Fall and Late 1985, NES was released to the larger more populated parts of the US, and to those who didn't have it yet purchased it through Catalog and Mail Order. SMB. was a NES launch title, dating its release date as October 18,1985. NES came with 27 available titles at release. 27 was because Nintendo figured that would be the extent of NES' US library, they didn't release any more titles and 3rd party games until the Early Autumn of 1986. Pac Man 2600 was published on Black Friday 1981. But it didn't hit the public conscious until Spring 1982. The reason why before 1991, games release dates are so sketchy, is because they didn't reach the mainstream and public mindset until a few months after release. The Reason why people think Mario 3 came out in February 1990 is because its original US launch of November 16,1989 was overshadowed by its International Launch, as it became the very fist video game to be released Internationally in the remaining regions simultaneously. People forgot that America got SMB 3. one year after Japan, that The Wizard was released to Promote the new game and that Throughout 1989, SMB 3. was playable as a Trial Version in Retailers all across America. BTW, Pac Man was terrible and shoddy. The OP forgot to mention buyer's remorse which set in later with that clunky port.

[@KatriceMetaluna]

Now for a bigger challenge. What was its UPC number? ;P

[@GTV-Japan]

Oh man! Whew. I don’t know! But some copies of Metroid 2 have SR388 in the code

[@GTV-Japan]

Oh and by the way, I never met a Luna I didn’t like

[@8bitDNA]

21:26 it's the only way to get him on what mode? i didn't catch it

[@GTV-Japan]

Attract mode. Sorry if it wasn't clear. Actually I was super sick during the whole time I made this. Part of why I didn't do anything on cam.

[@otakunthevegan4206]

How come we know more about Adolf Hitler's childhood then we do about 2600 games release dates? TBH I am almost obsessed with the release dates of my favourite 2600 games (such as centipede, missile command, breakout, space invaders).

[@GTV-Japan]

+Otakun The vegan there are hints in game manuals and labels. But sadly we may never know exactly when for all of them. Hope you liked the video

[@d.vaughn8990]

Great comment - I’m cry’in here!!😂

[@GTV-Japan]

It’s been two years and I’m still thinking of how to reply in a tasteful manner 😆

[@aegisofhonor]

the first famous game to have an official release date that is well known and established today and significant hype behind it's release was Dragon Quest II for the Famicom in Japan on January 26th 1987 (a non-holiday Monday). The release of this game was infamous in Japan as kids took that day off school and adults took that day off work to wait in line for game and get a few hours to play the game. After the release of Dragon Quest 3 also released on a non-holiday work/school day caused a similar issue, a "rule" was made about these sorts of games that they could not be released during the week on non-holidays. and must instead be released on either holidays or weekends.

[@GTV-Japan]

But kids go to school on Saturday to build character and sprit! Thanks for watching

[@jasonwohlers6151]

I agree with your statement. Half the people bringing the game down weren't even thought of when it was released. They have no idea how big of a deal it was.

[@GTV-Japan]

If you go through the comments you can easily guess how mold everyone is because bus old old timers (40+) always comment like this. That it was a huge deal and the game was fun and that we didn’t care if it wasn’t arcade perfect because we knew that was impossible, especially when considering all the other arcade ports that already existed. Then you’ve got the younger set who don’t even care about this topic and just regurgitate and drone the same pablum of “worst game ever” crash crash crash and have no idea what they are even saying. It’s funny to me! But it’s good to know there are some of us out there that remember how exciting pac man at home actually was!😃

[@jasonwohlers6151]

@@GTV-Japan honestly, that era Kickstarted what was to be. The younger generations can only read or hear about and comment on it without experiencing it. To me, there was a certain amount of joy to finding new games in arcades or in stores

[@GTV-Japan]

It also comes across as there’s a point of view for anyone younger that before the NES gaming was this antediluvian world, a dark age. Primordial and unknown. Its weird. Can’t understand it

[@Tracks777]

Awesome video

[@somedude5414]

I still have a Pac-Man Frisbee from that day. And possibly the baseball cap, too.

[@GTV-Japan]

That’s awesome!

[@TheAtariCreep]

AMAZING video bro!!!

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks! I was doing a lot of Nintendo stuff because I could translate it but wanted to take a break and go back to my roots. Tell every Atarian you know. Cheers!

[@aliaspseudonym525]

What music starts at 8:28? Also, what music starts at 12:23?

[@GTV-Japan]

These songs are the museum theme from Namco Museums volume 1,2,4 and 5 for Sony PlayStation specifically 828 is from pac land and 1233 is from pacmania thanks for watching!!

[@aliaspseudonym525]

Ah thank you very much! It was kinda frustrating since the songs weren't listed in the credits, nor the description!

[@GTV-Japan]

I’m sorry! I didn’t think anyone would be that interested and also I’m Always here to answer questions but I’ll Put it in the description for the future

[@aliaspseudonym525]

Thanks a ton! I understand if you feel it's not worth the effort or if not enough viewers would appreciate it, though! But thank you if you do!

[@GTV-Japan]

Well this is an older video and so we all learn as we go. One thing though is that I slowed the music down by 10% so in the game it will sound a little faster

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I sorta wonder if that Madison, WI release could be seen as a test market just before it's national expansion, since it's obvious they did this piece by piece. That's how they did a lot of things back then like movies.

[@GTV-Japan]

Atari had a regional office in Illinois, not too far away. Many of the news items I found came from WI MI or IL a few from CA. There was one that did not get put in the video from PA. There was no way to verify the date for that one. RT said he was from VA but wasn't available in March there. Some stories were AP and so I didn't bother to save one from from each city but it was not all WI, but most were.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Whatever the case, I found at least the JCPenney locations in my area got them on the 23rd (Toledo, OH).

[@GTV-Japan]

+Christopher Sobieniak there's also a Pacman/ JCPenney commercial out there. Being from Pittsburgh Penneys was always 3rd place behind Hornes and Kaufmanns but I think all 3 are gone now.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

My town still has Penneys at a mall and another south in a "lifestyle center", though as a kid, there used to be one a mile or two from my house at a outdoor shopping center!

[@GTV-Japan]

Christopher Sobieniak ah ok. I haven't lived in PA since 2005 so I'm not sure but Hornes and Kaufmanns ended in the 90s. Don't know if those were in Ohio but it's possible. Whenever I went back to America the last few times I don't do anything but see family so I have zero idea what shops are around now. There was what was empty woods when I was kid that got turned into a mega development and I just couldn't believe it

[@NoelComiX]

Love this channel! Awesome commercials.

[@wildbilltexas]

I was a DJ at a small town AM radio station in the Spring of 1982. One weekend (most likely in march) the station did a big promotion with a local TV dealer that sold Atari consoles and games for the new Pac Man Cartridge. They had made a commercial using the "Pac Man Fever" song and I remember playing it three times an hour the whole afternoon. After my shift was over around 6pm I drove over to the TV dealer to check the game out. They had a demonstrator going, but after playing it I was very disappointed with the quality of the game play, graphics and sound. I was very disappointed with Atari, and felt sorry that we were promoting such a bad game, but I didn't tell anyone at the dealer or station that.

[@GTV-Japan]

+wildbilltexas wow! Awesome! Wish I could have put that story in the video!

[@wildbilltexas]

I wish I had a made an audio recording of that day. But I dont remember the exact day it happened. BTW I also remember reading a bad review of it in Electronics Games magazine shortly after. My family got our Atari in 1981 and Atari and Activision blew me away with most of their new games...and then they dropped this turd. Luckily several people with AtariAge have been created new versions since. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nH3ViqCEeKaIeM0

[@GTV-Japan]

+wildbilltexas yea I know. Activision was the best. They were all with Atari and they basically made their own competition. I go in and out of Atari age. Used to be real into it but always check the news now and then. This video got posted in the forums there but not the main page. When I was 20 I also worked in radio. I wish I had saved everything but only have about 7 tapes surviving

[@wildbilltexas]

Me too. Besides a few cassettes, photos and a bumper sticker not much exists from my days working at that station. The station has moved to another town and the building it was in burned down about 15 years ago (It was in a building built in the early 1900's). I had a boombox back then and should have brought it along and made tapes when I did my show. And I wish I had bought a good camera and taken lots of photos of where I worked too.

[@GTV-Japan]

+wildbilltexas yea I feel ya. We don't think of these things till it's too late. I don't like the opposite way though and saving everything and rewatching it all the time. To me it's important to forget over time and when the things that were left behind are found it makes it much more special. I did save shirts and mugs from different places I worked though.

[@RebeccaGunn]

When you consider the 2600 was developed at a time when there were very few defining titles to really drive it's development, it's kind of impressive it did keep up. But from what I gather - that's because the 2600 hardware could be hacked and poked a lot to be tricked into doing more than it was really designed to do. Also man that Pac man costume is so fluffy!

[@GTV-Japan]

I like to read interviews from Atari designers and they all say kind of the same thing. That programming for the 2600 is hard but when you master it, you can do anything with it. The last few years had some really amazing games and those hacks really kept the life going. Thanks for watching

[@segaunited3855]

And as for Super Mario Bros. 3? It had 2 US release dates: November 16,1989 and February 13,1990. The International Launch was February 13,1990.

[@blackphoenix77]

After all these years, I still don't understand why they drew Pac-Man like an upside down letter U with big red eyes and feet on the sides of the original arcade cabinets.

[@GTV-Japan]

Probably it was drawn based on a description without seeing the game in actual

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I wouldn't doubt this at all.

[@mickael486]

My parents bought Pac-Man in December of 1981.

[@GTV-Japan]

82! I thought it was great! I still remember that first day. Thanks for watching

[@mickael486]

@@GTV-Japan I still remember signs outside of stores in malls saying Pac-Man is here! As a kid I definitely played it but the look of it and the speed... Did you see the documentary about how it was just a prototype beta that he showed and Bushnell said it's fine just ship it. crazy.

[@GTV-Japan]

No I never saw that!

[@pikachu0Z]

These videos are so entertaining and informative but what music is playing at 08:29 I like it

[@GTV-Japan]

+pikachu0Z thanks! Happy you enjoy them. The song there is the theme from pac land as it appears on namco museum 4 on ps1

[@mattwrlh1905]

Somewhere buried in my collection it's possible I have the date 2600 Pac-Man was released in the Richmond Virginia area. You see, I pre-ordered the game from Sears (the first time I ever did so for a video game). At the time I thought it meant I would get it early but it was sold by Sears on the same date it was sold everywhere. So I got the Sears Tele-Game version of Pac-Man on the official launch date, and if I am not mistaken I still have the original dated receipt, probably inside the empty box or with a bunch of of instruction manuals or catalogs. Unfortunately I have no idea which box it would be buried in. Something to look for the next time I clean.

[@GTV-Japan]

neat!! If you ever find it, please let me know!

[@glennshoemake4200]

Typically, i would get a single Atari 2600 game for my birthday and maybe 1 or 2 more for Christmas. Release dates really didn't matter as I was living in a fairly rural area in Alaska and most everything was ordered from a catalog anyways.

[@GTV-Japan]

I bet you treasured those games! I often wonder about more rural places and how ordering by mail affected perception of what was popular. Anyway maybe the dates aren’t important but I found it strange Pac-Man wasn’t documented. Thanks for watching!

[@glennshoemake4200]

@@GTV-Japan Atari 2600 Defender and Pole Position were probably my favorites but Pac Man and Space Invaders weren't far behind. They were great to play when It was too cold to play outside.

[@SaturdayNightSlamMaster1980]

Oh my goodness, older video I’m commenting on , but Gajillionaire, you could work for the FBI. Amazing detective work.

[@GTV-Japan]

Haha ! Who’s says I don’t? 🕵️‍♂️ thanks for watching!

[@GTV-Japan]

By the way it’s an old video but I always reply so comment away!

[@SaturdayNightSlamMaster1980]

GTV Japan It popped up in my recommendations and I was in a video game documentary mood. It delivered. Once again, awesome work. 🤙

[@GTV-Japan]

SaturdayNightSlamMaster1980 great! 🍺

[@Tubewings]

Is there any significance to Channel 33?

[@GTV-Japan]

Yes. It's the 33rd video I've done so far. I number all of them but switched from the red stripe style to the 70s tv theme only recently

[@wallacelang1374]

The distribution companies usually prefer to have a gap of about two to three days between delivery and sales dates.

[@GTV-Japan]

yeah, that is very true too

[@BENULTIMAN2000]

Did the Pre-NES Ports of Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Frogger and/or Q*Bert have confusing launch dates ????

[@GTV-Japan]

I don’t know what those were, sorry

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

Great video. Excellent research. Pac-Man is a great video game.

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks!

[@thetreblerebel]

September 9th 1981 is exactly one year before I was born

[@adventurebloc]

What’s ironic here is March 16, 1982 was a Tuesday

[@GTV-Japan]

yea i know! anyone could have said, "yea its only on tuesday when we release games" no one would have questioned it. thanks for watching

[@segaunited3855]

November 27,1981.

[@lmoore3rd]

11:16 Oh man, I miss the Pac-Man Pasta with Meatballs. Tasted like Spaghetti-O's.

[@GTV-Japan]

They were good. My elementary school had Pac-Man pizza with one pepperoni for an eye too

[@dealeronetime]

I have no idea where all this pacman music came from, but they're amazing.

[@GTV-Japan]

Are you Robert Smith of The Cure? That's my favorite band! The Pacman tracks all come from Namco Museum 1-5 on PlayStation 1.

[@DanJackson1977]

Pac Man and E.T were the first 2 games I got when my Atari circa 1983, age 5 or 6. I loved both, still love both. Dont care that they're the poster children of "bad games" and the "Video Game Crash"... to me they're just great memories of playing my first home video games with my dad.

[@DanJackson1977]

On a weirder, sadder note... my dad bought my Atari at the same Sears and same video game kiosk in Hollywood FL that Adam Walsh disappeared from a year and a half prior (at the Hollywood Mall)... becoming one of the most infamous missing child cases ever.. and he was only slightly older than I was.

[@GTV-Japan]

Same! That crash stuff is just Nintendo-istas rewriting history in their favor anyway. Game on!

[@denniseudela411]

Hi. Flashbacking!... The Pacman game was good in the Atari 2600 for the technology in those days, however, I enjoyed it much in the 5200 version! They were miles apart in graphics & sound! I wonder why the Atari 5200 seems to gave been forgotten!? Kindly enlighten me. ■Thanks.

[@GTV-Japan]

+Dennis Eudela I think mainly that the 2600 was much more popular and lived all the way until 1990

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

- On the game itself, a young Tod Frye (the infamous 2600 game's programmer) explains why it came out the way it did, here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4WnhnWVfM6HgaM - Here is a homebrew version of Pac-Man created not too long ago by a very talented guy, DINTAR816 on AtariAge. It is truly amazing and really shows what is actually possible with enough time and effort: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHKWnnyNr9ylkM0 (actual game starts at 25 second mark). - And here is the original and slightly older Tod Frye admiring this amazing homebrew: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKLIq3mVgdtja7s

[@willmistretta]

Is there any practical value to knowing a specific release date versus a loose approximation? Other than the potential enjoyment of hunting down obscure facts? Not that there's anything wrong with just doing things for fun. For what it's worth, I played the hell out of 2600 Pac-Man as a kid. I didn't encounter its supposed infamy until I got online. Internet hive mind is such trash sometimes. Hey, it's gotta be pretty good if it's the source of the "generic videogame sounds" that every TV and film foley artist has been putting in their background tracks ever since. ;) Also: I keep an Arby's Pac-Man glass on my nightstand. I didn't know there was a commercial for them. So great.

[@GTV-Japan]

+Will Mistretta no real value other than just to say we know it. But it does sound nicer to have it nailed down to a single day. I put those commercials in because I have the glass myself and ate the Che Boyardee and the cereal way back when.

[@willmistretta]

Yeah, the Pac-Man Fever era in the early 80s is where my gaming memories start and I can't get enough of artifacts from the period. I used to crave those pasta things so much, even though I'm sure they were completely identical to Spaghetti-Os in every way. Marketing is powerful stuff.

[@GTV-Japan]

Will Mistretta yea I know me too! My elementary school even sold pacman pizza on Friday with a pepperoni for an eye

[@georgehenson2412]

Sounds like an easy way to cut down on the ingredients price ;)

[@chrispacheco8590]

I remember loving this version, no matter what, I was like 6 back in 1985 when someone gave me a 2600 along with this and 12 other games as a hand me down, and me just being so excited and generally just so appreciative of the gift I didn't have ANY complaints...your totally right about the hive mentality.., I for one don't sucome to it.

[@ichigokarasu]

It's really hard to explain to anyone who wasn't around in those days, how games weren't always this "legacy" thing that they've become. Sure, today it's second nature to be able to see how many of any product is on hand at almost any store in existence. But back then, that case of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with only one Sewer Surfin' Michelangelo per (damn you, Hills, you weren't, "Where the toys are," that day) arrived when it arrived. No one had a computerized lockdown on UPCs, showing how many Popples sold that month. So naturally, games that were viewed as "other toys", alongside action figures and Pound Puppies, were treated with no more deference than what I just mentioned. i.e. - Ain't no "release date" for Pound Puppies, ain't no release date for Packy-man computer machines. Stock comes in, sells, more comes in. E.T. goes to the clearance bin. Granted, they got their own cage at Toys R Us; but that's because they were $60 a piece, and fit well under a jacket or in a pants pocket. Strange side note: when Toys R Us was going out, a friend that worked there let me go through their back catalog of SKUs, and they still had SNES and Genesis games along with sales figures (presumably only for that store, but who knows), going all the way back to late 1993.

[@GTV-Japan]

That’s pretty cool to hear about! I know even for music, sales were not counted per sale until 1991! How far we’ve come.

[@csharpner]

Great investigative work! My first home pac-man version was KC Munchkin on the Odysee 2000, then TAX-MAN on the Apple 2 (I actually had a Franklin Ace 1000... an Apple 2 Clone). All 3 were "not the real thing". Although, whoever made Tax-Man on the Apple 2 got sued and they had to give the game, profits, & source code to the legal copyright owners of PacMan. They changed the name to Pac-Man and re-released it exactly as it already was.

[@GTV-Japan]

While I was making this video I learned that KC was ordered to be pulled off the shelves by the time PacMan came out. I found an article dated March 19, 82 saying that (paraphrasing) the last copies of KC were removed earlier this week! It would explain why the game started to be sold prior to pac man day, but I found no hard proof of that so I left it out.

[@Tubewings]

10:10; Look, it's Mr. Looper!

[@yesticles]

Glad I found your channel today! Your content is great. Keep up the good work!

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks! Leave a comment on any video you like. I like to see what everyone thinks

[@yesticles]

@@GTV-Japan I binged like all of your videos the night I left that comment. I would love another Hogan manga episode if you have more material for one

[@GTV-Japan]

Awesome thanks! I will do another hogan book but only when I can find an affordable copy. I. E. Under 40$! But I’m always looking

[@writeronfire]

Is that Punky Brewster in the Pacman commercial? And why do 80s cartoon characters always have a Brooklyn accent?

[@GTV-Japan]

No I don’t think so. This commercial is well known because grandpa is Mr. Hooper from Sesame Street. But I’ve never heard that the girl was Punky Brewster

[@Jedihho]

I love these videos!

[@GTV-Japan]

thanks

[@writeronfire]

I was maybe 4 when I first played Atari Pacman in 1987. Maybe it's because we didn't have anything else but man does that game and the glitchy graphics and music bring me back to my roots. Holding that joystick in my hand and that funky rubber that made it feel like you were playing with a plunger 😀

[@GTV-Japan]

After enough playing that rubber tears off. You can stick it to the wall like a plunger. The joystick still works even though it’s just a white tube at that point

[@mightyfilm]

The Atari 2600 Pac-Man was my introduction to the game via a sort of hand me down Atari system. And frankly, by that measure just cannot hate that version as the limitations made it easier for a really little kid playing. The first time I played the proper version, I felt it jarring that the ghosts would leave their prison square before the power pellet wore out. That and the fact it was the go to video game sound effect for every cartoon in the 80's and in some cases, well into the 90's. I rewatched that episode of Rescue Rangers with the robotic cat recently, and those Pac-Tari sounds were unmistakable.

[@GTV-Japan]

Pac tari! I love that. I even hear those in Japan nowadays. It’s funny you bring up the differences. I mean obviously we just accepted home and arcade were different but I’ve had this talk with a few people, that Pac-Man was undeniably popular but I rarely saw the arcade game especially after ms. Pac-Man was out. Something that can’t be explained. Thanks for watching 🥨

[@mightyfilm]

I can't exactly say there wasn't an arcade sort of near me at the time, but the only one I frequented, barely at that, was by a beach town. I mean, we didn't even get Chuck E. Cheese places close to where I lived until I was older. I can't remember when or where I played the actual Pac-Man, but I don't remember it at that arcade. It's totally there now and I still play it when I actually can get there. I think my first real exposure could have been the NES version. All I remember was the gap in difficulty.

[@GTV-Japan]

That’s cool though I had three arcades near me in the good old days

[@jamesborlan2850]

​@mightyfilm my first exposure to pac man was a handheld electrocnic game by mga entertainment (the same company behind the Bratz dolls) I would later play the original arcade classic on namcomeuseum 64 on the n64 Yeah it was miles better than that handheld game I got As for the atari 2600 version, as a pac man port it really wasn't the best but as a game it's not the spawn of Satan either Now Granted thanks to homebrew game makers it is possible to make an arcade accurate pac man game on the atari 2600 but back in the 80s they most likely didn't have the time, nor the resources, nor the understanding of the hardware to make an arcade accurate pac man port. So instead they redesigned the game to make it work on the atari 2600 Pac man 2600 I feel should be remembered as a game that is a product of its time (a game that tried to bring home pacman but in a different way)

[@flamsey]

I loved my pac man Atari game

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks chuck!

[@bfish89ryuhayabusa]

Brian Doyle Murray also just provided proof that he didn't always sound like an old man.

[@GTV-Japan]

He’s a legend! Gus from Get A Life being his greatest role

[@bfish89ryuhayabusa]

@@GTV-Japan I'm partial to him as the mayor in Groundhog Day.

[@GTV-Japan]

That’s a good one too. He’s been in like 100 things

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

The only 2 questions 1) Did all us cities get the carts & release them the same day or did some cities get them later making for a staggered release? If staggered can we really say there was just one release day? But regardless good detective work!

[@GTV-Japan]

After this video was released, other came to me with clippings from papers in other states that had similar reports of the game being released on March 16th! So yes it was several cities, though probably not everywhere. Thanks for watching!

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

@@GTV-Japan awesome! More thanks to you for taking the time to research & make the video!

[@GTV-Japan]

No problem-o!

[@CEEPMDEE]

I was alive in 1982. I was super hype that my older brother's friend Maurice had Pac Man for Atari and I could not wait to go upstairs to play it. I would keep asking Maurice if we could go up to his place and play. Finally he agreed. We all went to Maurice's (Mom's) apartment and I will never forget the disappointment I felt when he hit the power switch to the Atari 2600. Atari 2600 Pac Man looked and played like CRAP! I hated it. So it was back to the arcades for me.

[@gooeydude574]

I hate that so many release dates can’t seem to be found. I’ve been working on a list of games listed by release date, and there’s so many early video games I want to include but can’t due to either having no date found, or finding contradictory ones. It seems we’re not sure of Metroid 2’s North American date. So frustrating

[@GTV-Japan]

I hate it too!! and we will never be able to prove them all sadly. Thanks for watching

[@freddymentos8378]

My parents had an old faux wood grain 2600 with Pac-Man and like, 40 other games for the system. I used to play the hell out of that game and I have a weird nostalgia for it. Mostly because of the sound and music. It's not a good version of the game, though. Not even by 2600 standards, and Ms. Pac-Man did it better.

[@GTV-Japan]

Agreed and Jr. Pac-Man is really good too

[@RCfromtheNYC]

As a kid, I played Pac-Man to death when my cousin and I chipped in to buy a cart (it was pricey in New York stores at that time). Even though it deviated in appearance and gameplay from the arcade version, I loved playing it. And I have no shame in saying I play both homebrew "upgrades" as well. Great job on the research! 👏👏👏👏👏👍👍

[@GTV-Japan]

Best I recall the game was 30-35$ while most Atari games were much less. Usually 25-20. Jr Pac-Man is the gold standard to me. But the fan remakes are impressive. Thanks for sharing your story!!

[@RCfromtheNYC]

@@GTV-Japan The chain stores here were selling them for $30 and up. The mom-and-pop stores charged more since they always asked for a non-refundable "hold deposit". Toys-R-Us had it on sale for $27.99 a few weeks after it's release and we bought it there.

[@GTV-Japan]

That’s not so bad considering the demand

[@GTV-Japan]

Something else I’ve learned is that despite the narrative that Pac-Man was so bad, Atari Corp. reprinted the game in 1985! The time when supposedly this game along with ET (also reprinted in 86) were so bad video games were worthless and couldn’t be sold anymore. Well someone was buying them!

[@RCfromtheNYC]

@@GTV-Japan Meanwhile, Nintendo had a "hold my beer" moment and produced one of the best version of the game for the NES.

[@KnickKnacksPlasticPlanet]

We got Pac-Man a long with our Sears 2600 Atari console for Christmas of 1982. I didn't know it sucked as I rarely ever played the arcade version and had little to compare to.

[@GTV-Japan]

Hey that’s a good point! So many people not around in 1982 act like we had a daily side by side comparison but a lot of us were kids whose parents said no to the arcades or there just wasn’t a machine around. Even older smarter kids knew the home version would never match the arcade. That’s the way it was. Thanks for watching! 🕹

[@gerryforrester2211]

Brilliant work

[@GTV-Japan]

Thanks! I’m glad you liked the video 🍓

[@Fuuntag]

Great work!

[@GTV-Japan]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Fuuntag]

@@GTV-Japan 👏🏻

[@Fuuntag]

@@GTV-Japan no problem, I really appreciate the well researched consistent content and reserved yet upbeat delivery of your videos.

[@GTV-Japan]

@@Fuuntag thanks! Actually I remember making this one and it’ll at the time I was extremely sick. It still stuck it out to get it done ✅

[@Fuuntag]

@@GTV-Japan I’m glad you did, this was a genuinely interesting video and it documented an event that like so many others in this industry could have been lost to time.

[@GShumway132]

Sad that Atari couldn't even make a circle.

[@georgehenson2412]

6:28 The end of the article (updated section) shows a photo that was later printed in Console Wars of a display used in the New York test launch that has Super Mario Bros. on it. Therefore, Super Mario Bros/ launched October 20th, 1985. People still assume that we don't know because he didn't update the article saying "WE KNOW NOW" explicitly. 8:23 Oddly enough, there is no Copyright for the Atari 2600 version of Pac-man. Copyrights sometimes get affixed to products that don't have them, I've seen it before. Probably no reason to register it when Bally already owned it. They copyrighted the Atari 8-bit computer version as 1982. Here's the thing about people getting it in March, even though there was a release date, there's no embargoes to stop retailers from putting it on their store shelves. Often as soon as you got a game, you'd put it on the shelf, and they needed to be shipping them in March in order to prepare for this date. 18:31 Nice. Good work. I have been very vehement about getting release windows for games, since what I'm working on currently relies heavily on chronology. I have so many dates to correct, extending all the way back to old mainframe games.

[@GTV-Japan]

+George Henson thanks for your comments. I wish every game could have its release date confirmed but at least the big ones can.

[@segaunited3855]

The release Date of Super Mario Bros. In the US was Friday October 18,1985 in the Mid Atlantic,November 1,1985 in the West Coast and November 22,1985 mostly everywhere in the US. SMB was a launch title for NES. In The Autumn of 1985, 27 Games came with the Nintendo Entertainment System which started its Cross Country Trial Release in New York on Friday October 18,1985. Mid America didn't get NES for a few more weeks. Los Angeles first saw NES on November 1,1985. NES was a hit because it was purchase mostly through catalog to parts of the US that didn't carry it in stores yet. By Christmas '85, NES was available in ALL the Major American cities. PAC MAN 2600 was published on Black Friday 1981, NOT 1982. It became more of a mainstream focal point during Spring 1982 as that's the time that Pac Man Fever hit.

[@GTV-Japan]

Evidence?

[@segaunited3855]

@@GTV-Japan "IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: [ GAME EQUIPMENT, NAMELY, ELECTRONIC GAME EQUIPMENT FOR PLAYING A VIDEO GAME, ] ELECTRONIC GAME PROGRAMS [, TOY ROBOTS, ] [ TOY ROBOTS USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PLAYING OF A VIDEO GAME, AND A TOY LIGHT GUN INTERACTIVE WITH A VIDEO GAME DISPLAY ]. FIRST USE: 19851018. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19851018" "Nintendo Entertainment System" is/was classified as a "1A" Trademark. 1A means "In Commerce Use Prior To Registration" "Interstate Commerce Use" is a term that shows up in USPTO Registration of the mark "Nintendo Entertainment System" which means the Mark was gradually released and distributed in Commerce. "SUPER MARIO BROS. IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: use with video game software, video game programs, video game cartridges, electronic game software, electronic game programs, electronic game cartridges. FIRST USE: 19851018. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19851018" Regarding Pac Man 2600's release date. 11/27/1981 is likely the publication date because if the ROM was dated September 1981, and especially since the port was released in Alpha Prototype form and was never finished. It is beyond doubtful that Atari sat on a ROM Cartridge like that for that long, when you consider Ray Kassar's lack of QC, the nonsense pulled by E.T. the following year which was developed in August in just 5 weeks and released December 7,1982, who's to say Pac Man 2600 didn't receive the same treatment? Except that its original 11/27/1981 release was overshadowed by the fledging success of Pac Man in the Arcades throughout '81 and its fairly obvious that consumers had no clue that a Home Conversion was already out and that Atari didn't realize the profitability potential of the IP until the FY 1981 Fiscal results were in? Because that's likely what happened. The Game got published in limited assembly form on November 27,1981 and was certainly available in the West Coast that early, but Atari decided to mass sell the game in the Early Spring 1982 when they saw how phenomenal Pac Man had performed in Arcades across the world so it saw a full release Date on March 16,1982 and suffered likely supply constraints . You did forget to mention that Pac Man in Early '82 suddenly had a MASS supply and Demand and that Atari actually produced FAR more Pac Man 2600 Cartridges than 2600 SKUs themselves. Also, Atari was so Ashamed of how shoddy the port was, they used footage of it to mock the Colecovision in 1983.

[@GamingDelight]

@@segaunited3855 The LA test market for the NES didn't start until Q1 1986 (up until then, it was *only* available in the New York metropolitan area), and the full nationwide rollout didn't start until the summer of that year. And up until the nationwide rollout, only 17 titles were available: Duck Hunt Wild Gunman Hogan's Alley Gyromite Stack-Up Baseball Tennis Soccer 10-Yard Fight Golf Wrecking Crew Excitebike Pinball Kung-Fu Clu-Clu Land Ice Climber and Super Mario Bros.