The Video Game Crash of 1983 - Gaming Historian

Gaming Historian takes a look at the Video Game Crash of 1983, also known as the North American Video Game Crash of 1983. What was it and why did it happen?
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[@tjcvader32]

In 8 years, this video will be considered history itself. I love it. The "if you liked, rate" really dates this. It's a blast of nostalgia

[@orlandofurioso7329]

The stars are a relic from a more civilized age

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

Wow! It’s almost as if as things age; they recede back in time and become “historical” by way of being “history” to the observer!

[@BlackieBloomberg]

Guy: Makes observation Micropenis-haver: Tries to invalidate him for internet points by reiterating the same observation only sarcastically

[@gamelord9952]

in 8 years your comment will be an relic of the internet, which once was looking like today

[@Intrepid151]

Star rating > thumbs rating

[@pakcikjon2358]

Suggestion: do a remake of this video. The topic is still relevant & can interest today's gamers

[@aaronh499]

Agreed

[@Lexilove2016]

Why remake it? This is perfectly watchable.

[@derpinguin7003]

Dom the Bomb today’s gamers need more pixels. Otherwise it’s unwatchable for them

[@mattjohnson8090]

Fuck yeh 🇳🇪

[@bobbyunavailable]

Abg Jon yes, good idea, and give us those “boring” stock market and sales figures this time. :)

[@orlandofurioso7329]

For a 2009 video this is incredibly well made, this dude deserves way more subs

[@cgrooney9945]

Hes got 1 mill now!

[@Ballowax]

I think the gaming historion really needs to remake this video

[@xenxander]

Me too. Seeing game footage from 2007 - 2009 is so painful now. xD

[@Goldwelp]

Exactly what I was thinking. I had to check to see why it was giving me Auto 240. This cant be right....

[@erex0998]

Yeah

[@n1njahawkssecondchannel84]

Personally I think it’s fine the way how it is yes the quality isn’t the best anymore but it doesn’t stop me from enjoying this

[@Tretheperson]

I agree

[@TheInkPitOx]

Prehistory: 1947-1971 Early Days: 1972-1982 Dark Ages: 1983-1985 Golden Age: 1985-2000 Digital Age: 2000-2004 Interactive Age: 2004-2012 High Definition Age: 2012-2017 Smart Age: 2017-present

[@TheInkPitOx]

@ElyC West I start the dark age at 1983, the crash

[@n1njahawkssecondchannel84]

Keith Pixton the new dark ages is 2015-2019

[@Fondoofus5542]

I liked to think of the 90s as the beginning of the modern age.

[@TheInkPitOx]

@@Fondoofus5542 The modern age IMO began in 2000 and the launch of the PS2.

[@NetBattler]

2024 isn't a smart age unfortunately

[@wawazaza1785]

Me: why is the quality so low. Sees 2009: I'am sorry

[@Aydinnyc]

Chif6791 F. Yes

[@Usario321]

Chif6791 F. still, it’s low quality for 2009. It’s 2009, not 2005

[@wawazaza1785]

@@Usario321 but this was his channels early years.

[@nicewater894]

You can hear halo 3 from hear....

[@BigOlSmellyFlashlight]

1983: apple computers cost over 1000 dollars 2018: apple computers cost over 1000 dollars

[@FoamingPipeSnakes]

1000 1983 dollars is a hell of a lot more than 1000 2018 dollars.

[@AAmoroso]

@@FoamingPipeSnakes but it also costs a lot more nowadays to rent a room in a decent part of town

[@pastamaniac6794]

Add to inflation.

[@RazanAr51]

2019: an apple *monitor stand* that costs 999$

[@simpleton8554]

@Teddy James why you lyin...1000 in 4 days?

[@doctor7905]

It's 2022 and I feel history is repeating itself

[@sacredeight]

I like how it says "class dismissed" at the end of the video. Really drives the educational nature home.

[@sacredeight]

By "It", I mean the video. Not Norman himself.

[@georgef551]

Actually, people that knew people that worked in arcades, or read the paper (yes, even as a kid, usually for the comics), we did know about the crash. I was 11 when it happened. I remember one of my cousins worked at a local arcade, and the paper was doing a story on the crash. They asked her about the future of video games. I still remember her quite vividly: "...It is a fad. Video games will be obsolete in 2 years." Glad she was wrong, as well as everyone else. Still have my 2600, my E.T. cart, and my sister's PAC-MAN cart.

[@alexojideagu]

There was no crash in Europe or Japan

[@Alianger]

Interesting anecdote but you could dig up such quotes about a lot of things that didn't fade away, like the internet for example. AFAIK arcades did great up until the mid 90s, and longer in japan. This whole thing seems isolated to console gaming in north america only.

[@alexojideagu]

I am British and was alive in the 80's. Nobody in the UK even heard of any crash until Americans started talking about it on the Internet. We had 8 bit computers selling millions of games on the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC

[@sagittarius4765]

georgef551 yep proved her wrong lol now the video game industry surpasses even Hollywood haha!

[@georgef551]

Surpassed Hollywood by far.

[@sebwan]

6:32 When he says "take a look at this" and later "notice anything?", but the video is in 240p^^

[@semikruller]

I was 7 years old when this crash happened. I still remember owning a Coleco Gemini and how it seemed almost overnight we went from video games being $50 upper shelf items to literal 4$ bargain bins. We would go from store to store looking for cheap games; Zellers in Canada was selling off all sorts of stock. I still remember being so puzzled at how/why this was happening. All of this crazy expensive shit I had lusted after was suddenly being sold for almost nothing and my parents were buying dozens and dozens of games. In the end we probably ended up owning around 60-100 games (memory is fuzzy) - we had ALL of the Activision titles, which were great! but there we many of those knock-off games that just sucked! Thanks for the trip back in time - your videos are great!

[@sandal_thong8631]

I think kids in my neighborhood might have been "renting" video games. That is I saw a lot of game boxes that were taped up in Zayres like they'd been returned. I don't know what the policy was, but could imagine them buying one and returning it for an exchange in 30 days.

[@yukowl]

Gaming company published an unfinished product?........ as if that would ever happen.

[@yourepostedinthewrongneigh1545]

OWL Four years later that's still a thing unfortunately

[@MrMarinus18]

That always happens. There is a famous quote from Nintendo from Iwata where he says "One of the most difficult things new designers have to learn is to declare products that they feel need work complete". With modern games you can spend decades polishing it and still find flaws. That is what makes this a much more tricky thing than many gamers realize. All games have glitches, bugs and flaws in them somewhere; it's just a question of how much of that is acceptable. Since it's a relative thing there is no clear answer.

[@scottbreon9448]

Cough EA Cough Cough Ubisoft Cough

[@innactive8909]

*cough* Bethesda *cough*

[@brunor.1127]

@@yourepostedinthewrongneigh1545 How can a 5 year comment be so relatable

[@GameTesterBootCamp]

quick note: Chase the Chuck Wagon is worth a small fortune these days.

[@sanicyouth6540]

It was available only via mail by sending in proofs of purchase to Purina back then.

[@Tornado1994]

It's a terrible game.

[@TortureBot]

$60-130 loose, if you think that's a small fortune. But, yeah, complete in box about $1,000.

[@osurpless]

TortureBot Not only is it a terrible game, it’s highly derivative, which of course is one of the emblematic issues surrounding the Crash. It should be forgotten, even to the odd mindset that is the collector who solely wants to put games on their shelves...

[@guc_sl]

thx Nintendo for bringing gaming back to life

[@chargermaster586]

gucciboi Nintendo didn't do anything but make rules we use today does everyone forget there is a world outside of America.

[@anotherks7297]

charger master *facepalm*

[@joed5150]

charger master That's why this video is about the crash in NORTH AMERICA. He says it clear as day at the beginning of the video.

[@cbbblue8348]

Joe D i doubt hes underaged to even to be on youtube

[@PickleRick91x]

NightFans Animation you can be 4 on KZbin what the fuck are you even saying 😂 my neices were on KZbin when they were 4 and two 😂

[@doanphat1480]

Well, it's now 2023. Anyone considered this video needed a remake for the 40th anniversary of the crash?

[@fmusopp]

wow. i've learned about the crash from several places, but this is the best explanation i've come across. I didn't even know that all those systems were all out simultaneously.

[@ZA1US]

They may have been available, but that does not mean that every store carried every single one of them, Most people were only aware of Atari, Colecovision, Intellivison and the Odyssey. By the time the Colecovision came out, the Odyssey was pretty much done, so the information presented in the video is not entirely accurate.

[@sandal_thong8631]

Atari had something like 70-80% market share after Space Invaders (1980). So even though Mattel did TV advertisements for the Intellivision, (saying their sports games were better and they had space games too) they'd only sell 3 million compared to something like 15 million Atari 2600s, and 1 million Odyssey² (which was dead by 1980). In 1982 Atari released the 5200 which sold just 1 million compared to 2-5 million more 2600s (mainly due to reduced costs/prices and Pac-Man) and competed with ColecoVisions, also released in 1982, which would only sell 2 million 1982-3. They also faced competition from computers.

[@AlexeyFilippenkoPlummet]

The reasons of "the great game industry crash in 83" are actually so easy to summarize. It goes like this: "We don't give a shit about our game and its quality. All we care about is making money from selling it since it looks like the market is huge". For example, let's listen to what Atari has to say: "So, we are the leading company in the industry with tons of money, all the time in the world, wide market and endless possibilities? How about we hire just a few people to create a game from scratch in just 3 days, then invest millions into producing and marketing millions of copies for this game and face a tremendous financial failure. Wait, we didn't go bankrupt yet? Lol, then let's buy rights from the most promising title in the world, this time we will hire just ONE guy to do all the job in a few weeks and invest even MORE MILLIONS into producing the cartridges of this garbage. Are we bankrupt this time? Alright, weeee!"

[@folver91]

Maybe what we could face in the future is a decline of the AAA industry. Games are costing more than movies and the public satisfaction is lower every year. While minor developers are profiting relatively more with more finished and quality games. Even though, with the high success games of companies like Rockstar and Naughty Dog, and successful sh*t from Ubisoft, EA, this crisis scenario is nowhere to see in the near future.

[@tanall5959]

+Fernando Oliveira If there is a 'AAA Crash', it wont be nearly as abrupt as what happened in '83, which was more or less a perfect storm of vicious cycles. A theoretical 'AAA Crash' would more likely be a gradual decline due to consumer fatigue. At least that's the uneducated opinion of someone born in the era of the first crash.

[@GiordanDiodato]

+Alexey Filippenko There's also the computers becoming cheaper.

[@brandonselitetv1436]

well remember back then almost all of Coleco,Atari,Channel F. and intellevision games(good ones) were made by One person. so E.T. being made by one person isn't bad. plus Howard Scott(creator for ET) was chosen to develop it cause most of his games were a million seller so ATARI thought he wouldn't be a problem

[@Tornado1994]

'84, actually.

[@SunnyS5]

Nobody: KZbin recommendation feed: WATCH THIS VIDEO FROM 10 YEARS AGO

[@TortureBot]

Still relevant, as it's talking about history.

[@Prince_Luci]

The fact that the only decent video I’ve found on this topic is almost old enough to drive is wildly upsetting to me lmao.

[@SamEvansCOM]

It's not Tod Fry's fault it's Atari's fault for publishing the prototype

[@dr.awkward9075]

Toad Fry was shit. His game was shit & Atari was shit. And yes, i spelled Toad Fry.

[@davidv4018]

I don't think the video suggested it.

[@PinoyBowlerGS92]

On top of that shit, Ray Kassar was the shittiest President of Atari cause he denied deals and agreements to others. I don’t felt bad for Atari at ALL, I don’t care if people like Mike Matei from Cinemassacre that they are sad that Atari was forgotten. They are a bunch of idiots that they don’t get it that “Atari destroyed the industry”. Why would anyone collect games that one company made a lot of shit in the past ?. Nintendo, Sega, Sony and Microsoft deserves everything for the industry except for Atari.

[@llSuperSnivyll]

@@davidv4018 If anything, the video suggested the opposite. Frye: "Hey guys, I've made a prototype for the Pac-Man port!" Atari: "Ok, let me see **plays the game** Fine, let's publish it" Frye: "Ah, okay... wait, WHAT!?"

[@AllGamingStarred]

@@dr.awkward9075 the poor guy was given 3 weeks or so to make the game. can you imagine the stress? 6507 assembly is NOT easy. it's called a prototype for a reason. So no, Fry is NOT at fault, and you are a DICK to think so. It's fair to say it about atari though and yes, the game sucked, but hey, at least it wasn't raiders of the lost ark, or chase the fucking chuck wagon. I think the absolute worst title for the system would have to be Gravitar. If you want to hate a game, hate that one.

[@XtheshadowlegionX]

Hey Man, congratulations, 10 years and this vídeo still holds on quality and pacing!

[@orwell_fan]

Man this video is 10 years old, and its pure gold, your videos are great man!

[@FloatingSunfish]

Shipping the prototype as the final product? Ridiculous deadlines? These stories give us developers the creeps...

[@gemmeliusgrammaticus2509]

Great analysis; superb content, even back in 2009. It’s no wonder your channel has been so successful.

[@lukatnthelm4615]

Unfinished games been put out can’t imagine that happening now. Yep Of course Cyberpunk!

[@cmlegend88]

Watched 5 videos so far and I love your research and delivery. Good job man!

[@rizkaarifiandi5670]

im here in October 2019 holyshiet, 10 years.....

[@user-mf9by6rk8e]

it 11 years now

[@RadioactiveSkullSocial]

EA is gonna be the cause of a second video game crash

[@yourdissapointeddaddy2057]

Nuh uh G2A will...

[@ethanlaborde]

Radioactive Skull Nah, they’re just one company.

[@Howlingburd19]

Radioactive Skull they ruined freaking Battlefront -_-

[@Potato257.0]

Radioactive Skull lmao

[@carlweathers5714]

Radioactive Skull you should check out the creative director of rogue raven. That guy fucks shit up on all social media. Has an idea that no one else has and a silent hill style horror game. We as gamers need to get our shit together.

[@The_PokeSaurus]

Thank you for making this video! I'm doing a report on the video game crash of 83 at school and this helped a lot! You will get credit!

[@wwemonkey619]

The Poke'Saurus tit

[@jessikamiranda2306]

This is a late reply but how did it go?

[@pdx85]

I love these videos, Thank you for making all of them.

[@jaazminnrene]

I'm here in the future and I would love to see this video remade! I didn't realize it was an old video until you covered which consoles are the current leading consoles, lol!

[@FrostMonolith]

as Shigeru Miyamoto said, "Delaying a game's release is worth it, as long it can become the best it can be" Atari dealing with dumb deadlines just killed it and everything else

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

Atari would not allow anyone who worked on their games to be given any external credit, out of fear other video game companies may approach them with offers to leave Atari for them.

[@sandal_thong8631]

They did release some good games in January-April. But maybe they were still caught up in the idea of Christmas sales, and didn't get that video games could sell year-round.

[@spoonScribble]

Thank you for creating this video. Your knowledge assisted me in creating a documentary for National History Day.

[@darkomatterus309]

Loved the video. Simple, enjoyable and informative.

[@3dmonkeybizz]

I am old enough to remember these events and yet, as you pointed out, did not even realise that it happened! Great series. Thanks!!!!

[@animegurl23579]

Thanks so much for this video!! I'm writing my IB Extended Essay on the impact Nintendo had on the Video Game Industry in the 1980's, so this video helped a ton!! :D

[@arthurchase8988]

I can't believe you were making videos 10 years ago! (I discovered Gaming Historian recently)

[@hillerm]

I learn a lot from your channel and I think you always do a great job!

[@reamuji6775]

you can clearly felt the 2009 vibe on this

[@legoflyingpig]

I actually get emotional when I think about the nes, it saved my life! I couldn't live without video games. Thank you nes ❤️

[@reddude2873]

Gaming historian: *getting mad over crappy game's* Avgn:ay ay dont steal my stuff

[@theangryaustralian7624]

by far the classiest retro game show on youtube...keep it up game history man

[@bowhunter8532]

I'm watching this in 2018. Great content but your production value has really went up since! Keep up the good work

[@Slash27015]

10 years after upload, this is still a fascinating documentary.

[@Xpert74]

I appreciate that this video acknowledges that video games in general did not cease to exist; the crash was mostly centralized in North America, and for console at that. Some people continue to be under the mistaken impression that video games in general worldwide had a crash, regardless of the platform or region, which just isn't true.

[@alexojideagu]

Exactly, it's really annoying why Americans keep perpetuating this nonesne that Nintendo "saved videogames" as if we wouldn't have them. It shows how Nintendo did a complete number on America, almost a North Korean style brainwashing.

[@PhazonEnder]

I've never heard anyone claim that Nintendo saved the video game industry as a whole, however they were responsible for revitalizing the home video industry in America. If it wasn't for Nintendo there's a good chance that I never would have become a gamer, or at the very least, I would have become one much later in my life.

[@MRTOWELRACK]

@@alexojideagu Yeah, Nintendo did not save video games. However, Nintendo's business model (topdown quality controlled consoles) eventually eclipsed Europe's microcomputer market and revitalized North America's interest. In the background, home gaming PCs slowly came about but that's another story. Despite Nintendo's insights, both Nintendo and especially Sega alienated their devs to another Japanese titan, Sony. If Nintendo wrote the book on managing video games, Sony followed it up by distinguishing its developer relations through in-person tech support, funding third party studios, and improved censorship policies.

[@AlexOjideagu2]

Consoles eventual success in Europe was down to SEGA not Nintendo. The Sega Master System was the most popular console in the UK until 1996, just above the Megadrive. After which Sony took over. Nintendo didn't make a dent until the SNES in 1992. Although the Gameboy was popular that was in a niche of its own.

[@PhazonEnder]

ojideagu I'll say it again, Nintendo saved the home video game industry in America. In this context the European industry has nothing to do with this discussion.

[@JoeyFTL]

The most extensive and no nonsense video on the topic Thank you

[@alexmason4223]

Such a nostalgic video, and very well done. It made me think back when I was 7 and got my first console (N64)

[@2timesNOLA]

The video game crash of 2025: *micro-transaction*

[@joeb2588]

I was playing colecovision up until the NES came out. Believe it or not I wasn't impressed by the controllers or the unit so I held out a little bit. Then I went into a now defunct dept store called Caldors and saw the Sega Master System. That was impressive. That's what I got. Loved it.

[@someguy262]

The master system looks like a pretty good system despite it not being as well known as the nes. Although I have never played a master system game before.

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

However, the NES beat out the Master System in terms of lasting sales success.

[@joeb2588]

@ClassicTVMan1981X yes, they did use "dirty" monopoly tactics by telling 3rd party developers that they could not develop for anyone else. So Sega's in-house team had to make a lot of titles themselves.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I played the NES games at my uncle's house, but didn't like the feel of the controller. I didn't get the system, and didn't see others playing one in college, so tried computer games. My brother got the SNES by the time I got out of college and bought some games for it.

[@joeb2588]

@sandal_thong8631 I didn't like those controllers either. I thought that d-pad was uncomfortable and took the enjoyment out of the games

[@Retro90sgamer]

Cool look at the gaming industry back in the day! Great content yet again!

[@joelpaim]

Wow, i'm very happy to find this channel!!❤

[@nick-playercharacter8583]

Wherever there's a gold rush, there will always be ghost towns.

[@TyBarros_]

I watched this video when I was 8 years old and it genuinely helped shape me as a person. Because of this video as well as similar videos, I became very interested in gaming history as well as marketing and sales. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making such good content over the years.

[@jc.1191]

Awesome

[@override7486]

Wait... it's illegal..., isn't KZbin restricted to people under 13yo??

[@frankieordant2077]

Great video! Thanks lot man!

[@RobShine]

Thanks Norman, that was very interesting and well told.

[@bLaaaaaah20]

I was born in 1995 and I came out the womb straight to the PS1, man I had no idea about this video game crash but this was very interesting indeed.

[@alexojideagu]

The Crash was only in America. Europe had a massive computer game industry and Japan had a healthy video game industry

[@RhythmGrizz]

I was born in 95 and ps1 was my first console too. Although I gravitated towards nintendo as I got older.

[@scottbreon9448]

alex ojideagu America and Canada, although here in Canada we didn't get it as bad as they did in the US

[@bENOFFICIALMASSIVE]

Don't worry I was born 79 and didn't hear about till not long ago but I'm in Australia. Our first console was an Intellevision and then I got an Master System 2, Megadrive and I even was lucky to get a GameGear. Full SEGA but I love Nintendo more now. My bro had a Gameboy. I did play Nintendo as a kid but not many people had them.

[@GardenCelluloids]

6:06 This actually aged well… in a way

[@identityzeroce]

I dunno why but it always throws me when KZbin suggests a video from someone I've never heard of that's from back in the beginning of KZbin-time. Good video.

[@phoenixzappa7366]

Your videos are just incredible

[@toddhouchin3252]

I like the pic of the NES10 at 9:41 with the cut fourth pin.

[@MikeCantGame]

This is a great video, but I would love to see a remade version of this and some of the other older videos. Would be a fun idea i think...

[@ALL_that_ENDS]

So young! Great work brother, love your show..

[@aaronn0130]

Loving these vids!

[@UnknownPerson-wc7wf]

This could happen anytime right now since many company keep releasing broken launch game and people are slowly losing faith to those company. EA, Rockstar, Blizzard

[@_M41KU_]

Idk about that, back then most games were shovelware but in our current environment all triple a games differ from quality. Some are bad while others are good. Not to mention how popular indie games have gotten. I don’t see people that have invested years of their lives in videos games quitting just because of EA and some other bad companies.

[@DogeCoinInvestor]

Nah, too many consistently good games out already

[@Sumire973]

Quality games are still coming out, except in the mobile market, which companies like Voodoo have been ruining for a long time and flooded the market with hyper-casual, always-online, ad-heavy games. A crash in the PC and console gaming industry seems unlikely, but in the mobile market it is a very real possibility.

[@noneofyourbusiness1114]

I agree it seems like it's just Nintendo and the indies releasing quality

[@frankiecedeno3724]

Except that gaming is the biggest entertainment industry by a large margin. Sports would have to fail. Movies would have to fail. Books would have to fail before anything touched Gaming.

[@GabeTheLemurPlayed]

This hits differently in 2021

[@cristianasencio5063]

this video is going to be 10years old and for me, it was ahead of its time. Really amazing production. It helped me with homework!

[@btetschner]

Excellent explanation, thank you for the video.

[@RaxonXVI]

am I the only one that sees a lot of the mistakes that the 2600 had made in the mobile game scene today

[@leungchoihung2465]

no i see it too WE'RE ALL DEAD (also, the Chinese gaming market is kinda crashing)

[@cbbblue8348]

Leung Choi Hung 良采康 Because chinese is too willingly to spend money, My chinese friend spend like 1000 usd on Clash royale,note that he is 16.

[@davidv4018]

Mobile is usually free, they make profit with microtransactions: to get there, first you have to get a taste of the game you are going to be addicted for a while. I guess if the microtransaction in mobile gaming goes down, it will be in a slow fashion: it won't just crash.

[@OniLordMiki]

No there's lots of other mouthbreathers who parrot the same shit too.

[@pcpAnim]

A lot of parallels to the games industry today.

[@njclondon2009]

first vid i've watched of yours - your voice over makes me feel like i'm watching an episode of the wonder years. that's not a bad thing btw, i loved that show.

[@PrankZabba]

wow. even this old videos are really good. i think i'm hooked on your channel now!

[@TheTwitchkid]

Finally, a show where someone is genuinely informative without attempting to bullshit history with some fumbling jokes. You, sir, have acquired yet another subscriber~!

[@CannibaLouiST]

Big companies today are even censoring the old games, and claim they are "faithful to the original", "definitive edition". They shall be crushed HARD.

[@hououinkyouma3864]

Why is this amazing channel have only a 200 000+ sub? It deserves so much more!

[@thevideogamingchannel0]

Not everyone's interested in video game history.

[@leungchoihung2465]

+TheVideoGamingChannel DESERVES so much more

[@thevideogamingchannel0]

Aniyoyo Yeah.

[@Ta3iapxHs]

Great video!

[@LeviAckerman-lb3zr]

Now we’re bombarded with games with micro transactions.

[@MattMcIrvin]

A thing that accounts of this often miss is that the economy was also generally bad. There was a brutal US recession in 1981-82, and the unemployment rate was still really high through most of '83. Consumer confidence wasn't high. It's kind of amazing that the videogame business was booming for as long as it was.

[@MindBodyWhole]

Jesus, just came across your channel recently and had no idea you’d been going this long! Respect.

[@FollowingFootprintsMedia]

Great video about a fascinating subject. Nice work!

[@CraftyPeach1]

PC Master race in 1983. 8:03

[@BOTFGJSMJ]

Now days... I wish we could go back when the SNES, Gameboy, and N64 was at the top of the line. :/

[@yourdissapointeddaddy2057]

Please no, I don’t want to get my fat ass up just to blow on the cartridge to play a damn video game.

[@harikrish8112]

very informative video . Thank you

[@mimalex]

excellent video, thanks.

[@teresapflaumer5717]

I got an Atari 2600 with PacMan in Christmas 1982. Mom and I did not have much money at that time, but the effects of the "video game crash of 1983" allowed us to buy tons of games. I think I had over 30 by the end of 1984. So this "crash" was extremely beneficial to our budget. BTW, back then I was extremely obsessed with playing Asteroids, Megamania, Pole Position, and Star Raiders (I collected my scores in notebooks). And PacMan WAS a huge disappointment. But I played it anyway because 1. PacMan was not my favorite game, not even in my top 10, and 2. it was better than the original game that came with the Atari VCS...Combat! I stopped playing video games for awhile until 1993, the year my boyfriend bought me the original NES, which came with Duck Hunt/Mario Brothers. I preferred Duck Hunt, but when I discovered Legend of Zelda and Tetris, I spent the next few years playing those games for hours. I stopped playing home video games by the end of the 1990s. On a rare occasion I would play the arcade Galaga and Centipede games. Now, on Atari's 50th anniversary, I am becoming very interested in the history of not only Atari, but the video game industry.

[@e8root]

NES was successful because it was actually good console and had good games on it

[@rodrigofigliolini4963]

I showed my English students this video once, and we spent an entire class talking about it. Much better than boring exercises. Thanks a lot, man. Wish you the very best.

[@Rubberman202]

I've seen people, specifically Europeans, try to downplay the significance of the Video Game Crash of 1983, mostly because it was an American thing and the rest of the world wasn't affected by it. I certainly understand that line of thinking from a European perspective, but the fact that Nintendo, one of the major players in gaming to this day, made a number of business decisions, as well as creative decisions, based on the American market back in those days, I don't think it's as easy to dismiss as non-Americans realize.

[@neilh184]

5:14 I had this exact console growing up. With the Atari expansion on the front. Watching these vids is amazing. My sister and I grew up playing that exact pac-man And I even beat E.T. I was pretty young. 7 or 8. So they didn't seem like bad games to me at the time.

[@VezerloProductions]

Norm, you used the AVGN Joke at 6:05. Just pointing that out from his colecovision video which came out on the 25th of september.

[@Half-CockedG]

I love how this gaming historian video is now also history. Glad you kept up the work. I love your videos.

[@redapplefour6223]

wow, this is the most 2006-09 thing ive seen ever lol, your new content is unbelievably better in script, presentation and all that stuff. this isn't a bad video but dang, time really does wear

[@brpadington]

I enjoyed the Atari version of Pacman at the time. I love the chomping sound on it. Ms. Pacman came out later and it was a lot better and about as good as you could possibly do on that platform.

[@melvincordova7097]

You should either remaster this video or re-make it somehow to a better video quality. I like your work regardless.

[@ShokiNatsume]

Great production 👍

[@ab8588]

This channel is pure historical gold

[@navbuoy]

I recall as a kid around '84 - once packed arcades being completely empty even closing down. My friends with Atari systems had on average 5 - 10 cartridges already. As bad as the games were, they were still better than Pong. That was the standard at the time. Arcade games were to home console games like summer movie blockbusters were to weekly TV shows. We knew the home consoles didn't have the power that the arcade machines had but we accepted it. Home computers just blew away most of the consoles of that time. Soon, we all had home computers while our Atari systems collected dust.

[@WinVisten]

Music from FInal Fantasy VIII? That's AWESOME! I love that game!

[@83yomomma]

I love your channel.

[@TheWonderingEnglishman]

Whats the music at the start of this video? I recall it but I can't recall from where....??