Atari announces mass layoffs,
Time names the personal computer the man of the year &
Nintendo launches the Game and Watch in North America
These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM
This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in February 1983.
As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events.
Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here:
https://www.theycreateworlds.com/
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https://www.theycreateworlds.com/book
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Links:
7 Minutes in Heaven: Spider-Man
Video Version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/79440858
https://www.mobygames.com/game/9960/spider-man/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/1870/spider-man/
https://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/2018/06/podcast-512-interview-with-atari-2600-spider-man-game-designer-laura-nikolich/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Nikolich
Corrections:
January 1983 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/january-1983-78434711
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Supercade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Lair_(TV_series)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betamax#Launch_and_early_models
https://joeclark.org/beta/BetterBetaList.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrm5VedvD2Q
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kildall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzdCyWY3GCI
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/_Books/101_BASIC_Computer_Games_Mar75.pdf
https://www.mobygames.com/game/5050/jumping-flash/
1973.02
Pong gets more notices
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94010891/pong-noted-in-orange-mall-in-los-angeles/
Odyssey gets write up in Popular Electronics
https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/70s/1973/Poptronics-1973-02.pdf pg. 64
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magnavox-Odyssey-Video-Cable.jpg
1983.01
Al Lowe enters gaming biz
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=AjAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA16&ots=7EFL48Dot0&dq=Bop-A-Bet%20computer%20game%20Al%20Lowe&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q=Bop-A-Bet%20computer%20game%20Al%20Lowe&f=false
https://www.mobygames.com/company/25974/sunnyside-soft/
Al Lowe - Sierra https://www.patreon.com/posts/29977733
1983.02
Atari profits nosedive as Coleco ascends
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/17/business/warner-s-profit-falls-by-56.5.html?searchResultPosition=10
Kevin Hayes - Atari - Namco htttps://www.patreon.com/posts/50612798
The Video Game Crash 40th Anniversary - Part 2: Everyone Else https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-game-crash-76259421
The Video Game Crash 40th Anniversary - Part 1: Atari https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-game-crash-75643983
Atari lays off 1,700
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62352386/atari-inc-mass-layoffs-begin/
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/23/business/atari-moving-most-production.html?searchResultPosition=15
Editors plead not to give up on games
https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 1
Double Dragon C64 https://www.mobygames.com/game/1839/double-dragon/screenshots/c64/
Atari snags microchip Intel luminary
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/01/business/atari-hires-inventor-of-microprocessor-chip.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcian_Hoff
Leonard Tramiel - Part 2 - Atari https://www.patreon.com/posts/71643153
Leonard Tramiel - Part 1 - Commodore https://www.patreon.com/posts/leonard-tramiel-69195513
https://engineering.stanford.edu/news/ted-hoff-birth-microprocessor-and-beyond
Showbiz turns Apple iis into coinops
Play Meter Feb. 1, 1983, pg. 54
https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2015/09/peek_through_time_showbiz_pizz.html
https://www.facebook.com/showbizpizzacom/photos/a.307884760553/10156663089730554/?type=3
Kiddie rides meet video games
Play Meter Feb. 15, 1983 pg. 68
https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n15/page/n2/mode/1up
https://www.kiddieridesusa.com/
Atari announces "My First Computer"
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/10/business/atari-game-converter.html?searchResultPosition=2
https://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue36/020_Ataris_New_Add-On_Computer_For_VCS_2600_Game_Machine.php
Mattel shows off Intellivision 3 behind closed doors
https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n14
https://history.blueskyrangers.com/hardware/intellivision3.html
Coleco announces Gemini
https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update
The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 11
The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 14
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleco_Gemini
Add-ons are the new name of the game!
https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update
The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 6, 10, 11
https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n15/page/n7/mode/1up
Toy & Hobby World Feb. 1983
http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-crash-that-almost-was/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleco_Adam
Amiga's Joyboard brings motion controls to the VCS
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/13/business/what-s-new-in-the-toy-industry-exercising-with-video-games.html?searchResultPosition=9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyboard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Meditation
Atari goes after pre-schoolers
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/13/business/what-s-new-in-the-toy-industry-exercising-with-video-games.html?searchResultPosition=9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTp_wBnSW9k
The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 5
https://www.mobygames.com/game/22900/alpha-beam-with-ernie/cover/group-97061/cover-265056/
Sega enters cartridge market
Leisure Time Electronics Feb. 1983 pg. 22
https://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/company:8665/platform:atari-2600/sort:moby_score/page:0/
Playthings Feb. 1983
Fox announces MASH game
https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update
The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 5
https://www.mobygames.com/game/19861/mash/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/22975/porkys/screenshots/
Video game rentals take off
https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Fun_with_Computer_Games_Vol_01_No_04_1983-02_Fun_Games_Publishing_US/page/n89/mode/1up
Toy retailers plan shift from consoles to computers
Playthings Feb. 1983
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHujs7ka_K0
Time crowns the computer Man of the Year
https://archive.org/details/TeleMatch.N02.1983.02-KCz.pdf/page/n9/mode/1up
https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html
CES and Toy Fare see new computers galore
https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update
Toys Hobbies and Crafts Feb. 1983
http://www.atarihq.com/museum/nonatari/ultravision.php
https://www.samdal.com/sv318.htm
https://www.samdal.com/svhistory.htm
http://www.atari-computermuseum.de/1200xl.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattel_Aquarius
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-99/4A#TI-99/4A_successors
Byte looks at the Lisa
https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n34/mode/1up
ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lisa
https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n87/mode/1up
PC upgraders pose a problem for IBM
https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n430/mode/1up
IBM goes abroad
https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n15/page/n3/mode/1up
https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-02-17/page/n9/mode/2up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer
Intel begins work on 386
https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n433/mode/1up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I386
Tandy cuts CoCo price
https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n434/mode/1up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Color_Computer
ZX Spectrum hits retail
https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-011/page/n14/mode/1up
https://youtu.be/-BLM1naCfME
https://youtu.be/kUSHiHmOdvE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum
TI 99 could go B-O-O-M
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/23/business/texas-instruments.html?searchResultPosition=1
Michael Katz moves to Epyx
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/28/business/business-people-a-new-chief-for-epyx-game-software-maker.html?searchResultPosition=2
https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n14/page/n7/mode/1up
Michael Katz Part 1 - Coleco - Epyx - Mattel https://www.patreon.com/posts/35169258
https://www.mobygames.com/game/10151/gi-joe-a-real-american-hero/
Cosmi announces Tri-compatible cassette
The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 16
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmi_Corporation
Broderbund goes multiplatform
https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n14/page/n2/mode/1up
Gary Carlston- Broderbund https://www.patreon.com/posts/50036733
TSR gets into video games
https://archive.org/details/BlipMagazineCollection/Blip%2001%20%28Feb%201983%29%20TV%20Star%20Matthew%20Laborteaux/page/n34/mode/1up
https://www.mobygames.com/game/53549/theseus-and-the-minotaur/screenshots/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/93453/dawn-patrol/screenshots/
https://www.mobygames.com/game/99272/dungeon-computer-adventure-game/
Virgin gets into games
https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-02-24/page/n4/mode/1up
https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-02-03/page/n4/mode/1up
Brian Fargo's first gets reviewed
https://archive.org/details/softalkv3n06feb1983/page/133/mode/1up
https://www.mobygames.com/game/1795/the-demons-forge/
Save money on "expensive adventure game dice"
https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n15/page/n4/mode/1up
https://archive.org/details/syncmagazine-v3_n1/page/n97/mode/1up
Nintendo launches Game and Watch in North America
Leisure Time electronics Feb. 1983 pg. 26
Replay Feb. 1983 pg. 75
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_%26_Watch
https://nintendo.fandom.com/de/wiki/Panorama
Massachusettes judge calls game content "inconsequential"
Games People Feb. 19, 1983 pg. 1
https://casetext.com/case/caswell-v-licensing-commission-for-brockton
GCC seeks a piece of Pacman merch pie
https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_Volume_1_Number_05_1983-02_Pumpkin_Press_US/page/n97/mode/1up
https://pacman.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_Ms._Pac-Man_legal_issues
https://pacman.fandom.com/wiki/Ms._Pac-Man#Pac-Mom
Ronnie Lamm on MacNeil/Lehrer
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-507-6d5p844g0b
Xrated games to feature in movie
Games People Feb. 19, 1983 pg. 1
http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/03/rare-games-more-1975-atari-photos-and.html
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085764/?ref_=hm_rvi_tt_i_2
First US cases of video game induced seizures reported
Games People Feb. 19, 1983 pg. 1
Sega gets into robots
Play Meter Feb. 15, 1983 pg. 69
https://sega.fandom.com/wiki/Sega_Chan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.O.B.
Leisure Dynamics announces Crossbows and Catapults
Toy & Hobby World Feb. 1983 pg. 197
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2129/crossbows-and-catapults
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Wars
Recommended Links:
The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/
Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/
They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/
Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/
The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/
Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/
Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/
Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/
Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/
Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/
Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play.
Copyright Karl Kuras
Find out on the VGNRTM
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