AWWWE man atari the good old days. I still have this one called ummm I think its called like koliko vision or something my mom bought it for me long time ago haha well of course it was a long time ago... Anyways that thing was the shit when it came out!!!!!
Far out, Wil! Is that the new self-contained version with the 10 built-in games? I bought myself one for Xmas, from Avon.com (??). Pretty cool retro carpel-tunnel fun, but doesn't the joystick action seem even jerkier than the old Atari to you? I'm gonna dig mine out of the basement for comparison.
Great. We are all turning into our parents and grandparents with all this reminiscing. I can see it now... "Gahh..we did not have any of that video card gee whizz bangery. Pixles, big, fat ass pixels is what we had, on an ole TV set, no flat screen monitors like you whipper-snappers. Optical mouse? Try a track ball. Optical drives. BAH! I had a' tape recorder to run my copy of "Pyramid of Doom" on my Atari 400. Miliseconds? Try minutes. Cable modem? How 'bout a telephone attached to a plate with suctions cups, so slow you could see the data move through the line. Had to walk to the software store uphill both ways in the snow. And we liked it that way... You punk kids don't know how good you got it..."
Dude, I still own my atari 2600 and I have around 20 different games (some of them I bought recently at a goodwill store) I love those old games, I used to play them until I was exhausted, lol. I am a total pro at asteriods and defender. Mt feiends laugh at me because sitting on my entertainment center next to my moderm DVD machine and my new playstation 2 sits my proudly preserved atari 2600 in its place of honor, lol. I have all my game cartridges sitting next to my movie DVD collection on my book shelves in my home library
I forgot to mention a moment ago that when I read the caption for this pic you have up today "shall we play a game" the very first thing that hit my mind was that same line in the movie "war games" when the computer "joshwa" (yes I know I spelled that wrong) says to mathew broadwick after he breaks into the national defense computer control system at norad "shall we play a game" and then (as those who have seen the movie already know) all hell breaks out as the computer tries to start a nuclear world war for real, I doubt anyone else reading this caption you choose thought about that movie, but I am quite a movie buff so don't feel bad, lol
I recently got myself the DVD of War Games, and it was great listing to the directors comment track, as it was recorded last year or so. They of course had 15 years of history to compare to what was in that movie, stuff like hacking tools that where made up, or real, how old dial-up bbs went to the internet and all that.. and of course lots of talk about the cold war. Very very interesting! When I was 8, I used to be able to recite the entire script of that movie from memory, absolutly loved that film.
The old railroad captain leaned forward slowly, his three flannel shirts bunching up at his waistband like a tidal swell. His eyes narrowed. The young assistant charged with monitoring the Internet for important messages from the goddess Kali quivered as he held the laptop aloft, hiding behind its thick, armored casing in case the old man should spit.
His eyes took on more and more life, examining the enigmatic message before him - then he froze, and sat back. The look of beatific, almost resigned, decision on his craggy face would have chilled even the fiercest of his opponents, but none were there to see it, save the terrified assistant.
"Yes, Mister Wheaton," hisvoice like an antique wicker chair came. "Yes, I believe we shall."
Then the laughter, the terrible laughter that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere while the old man's body quaked and seized.
The assistant cursed under his breath. He didn't care what his advisor said - five credits at the community college were not worth this.
I loved my Atari, hours of playing Pac-man and Asteroids and Pitfall. My 13 yr old son doesn't believe how simplistic the joystick is, he was shocked when he saw it.
The voice of the W.H.O.P.P.E.R. is the only voice my brain can read those words in. Hey, I was 23 and had the hots for both Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. And don't forget the last thing the W.H.O.P.P.E.R. said about the game of Thermonuclear war, after reeling off thousands of simulations in a couple minutes...."A strange game. The only winning move is not to play..... How about a nice game of chess?"
OK, indra & rob, come on, Wil's a geek, a lot of us are geeks, I'm sure most of us got the reference, and I'm betting it was intended. Geez, give us a little credit. Or am I special that I caught it?
OK... that joystick totally just took me back to my early childhood... Anyone remember the Atari System with the wood paneling on it? I had that when I was little... there was a game where you were a knight and I could never get far, the dragon always ate me before I got the key, but I didn't get a game over. Does anyone know the name of my mystery game and how I should've gotten past the dragon? Mebbie I'm just on crack...
AHAHAHA!! Thank you Wil! Your timing is absolutely impeccable! LMAO!!!!
With bad memories always come good memories...
I remember being particularly fond of a game I had...called "Frogs n Flies". The concept was absurdly simple, whereas you were a frog, and you jumped from a lily-pad on one side of the screen to one on the other side, attempting to slurp up flies that were unfortunate enough to be flying by. hehehe I would spend hours playing that game. I would often adjust the difficulty setting a bit highr than "novice" just so I could jump my frog into the water and hear that nifty "digital splash" as I called it back then.
Ah in spite of a few bad experiences, those certainly were the good old days! You rock Wil! :)
I got that 10-in-controller for christmas, I had forgotten just how annoying centipede was on the 2600! I still have my 2600 and 60 or so games, but I haven't hooked it up in awhile. This new toy is great fun, even if it is frustrating as heck!
would you look at that? you don't have to say anything at all and the fans will still comment away happily awaiting the next thing you do or don't say. interesting test wil. excellent. i should be #48 or 49. can't wait to see how many you get on this.
I like to come to this site as much as the next guy, but does anyone else think that there is just a little too much Wil-worship? He shows a picture of an old Atari controller and writes a quote from an old movie, and many (not all) twist it into some attempt at Wil-love instead of a reminiscing of old-world video gaming. I don't mean to be rude to anyone, I think it just gets to be a little too much sometimes.
I have 2 of those connected to my atari 2600 over there by my tv that connects to the SNES, NES, PS1, Xbox. the PS2 gets it's own tv :D
but uh yeah. . . . my point? oh yes. why the joystick and not the paddles? or the driving wheels?
of course i have all of those and a newer set of joysticks :D
Oh. My. GOD. HOURS of wasted time in college. HOURS, I'm telling you. I had one of those things in my dorm room at Penn State. Turned the place into Grand Central Station.
Oh, Breakout progressive. I swear to you, there's no better game ... *nostalgic smile*
This is a good way to solve some major problems in the world.
To solve the Iraqi situation Saddam Hussein and George Bush can play Space Invaders.
North and South Korea can play Missle Command.
For a better Economy, breakout!
I used to have an Atari 800XL, which was pretty cool because it was a computer AS WELL as able to play the cartridge games like Frogger and Pitfall. When I told people that I had an Atari computer I was always careful to clarify for people that it was a "real" computer and not just a game playing machine. For some reason to my twelve year old brain, that made a lot of difference. :)
An amigo just sent me this, I thought it nicely matched today's theme, enjoy :)
When I was a kid adults used to bore me to
tears with their tedious
diatribes about how hard things were when
they were growing up;
What with walking twenty-five miles to school
every morning uphill both
ways through year 'round blizzards carrying
their younger siblings on
their backs to their one-room schoolhouse
where they maintained a
straight-A average;
Despite their full-time after-school job at the
local textile mill where
they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help
keep their family from starving to death!
And I remember promising myself that when I
grew up there was no
way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap
like that on kids about how
hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But....Now that I've reached the ripe old age
of thirty, I can't help
but look around and notice the youth of
today. You've got it so damn easy!
I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a
damned Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids
today you don't know how good you've got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The
Internet-we wanted to know something, we had
to go to the library and look it up ourselves!
And there was no email! We had to actually
write somebody a letter with a pen!-- and then
you had to walk all the way across the street
and put it in the freaking mailbox and it would
take like a week to get there!
And there were no MP3s or Napsters! You wanted
to steal music, you had to go to the record store
and shoplift it yourself!
Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off
The radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the
Beginning and screw it all up!
You want to hear about hardship? You couldn't just
download *orn! You had to bribe some homeless dude to
buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11!
It was either that or jack off to the lingerie
section of the J Penney catalog!
Those were your options! We didn't have fancy
ship like Call Waiting! If you
were on the phone and somebody else called they
got a busy signal!
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes
either! When the phone rang,
you had no idea who it was it could be your
boss, your mom, a collections agent, your drug
dealer, you didn't know!!! You just had to pick it
Up and take your chances, mister!
And we didn't have any fancy Sony Play station
Video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders"
and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked butt! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination!
And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just
One screen forever! And you could never win, the game
just kept getting harder and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
When you went to the movie theater there no
such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were screwed! And sure, we had cable television, but
back then that was only like 20 channels and there was
no on screen menu! You had to use a little book called
a TV Guide to find out what was on!
And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get
cartoons on Saturday morning... ...D'ya hear what the hell I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little
bastards! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You
Kids today have got it too easy You're spoiled, I swear to
God! You guys wouldn't last five minutes back in 1987!
Hmmm... well my first reaction is "yes". However, I can't say as I've seen War Games and so have missed the reference.
So since I have nothing else to say... yes.
If you can believe this - my friend from Toronto just bought me an entire Atari 2600 system that she picked up at a garage sale for $10. Mine broke in the mid-1980s. I'm hoping this one will work! :)
I miss playing "Breakout" with the paddles instead of the computer and mouse.
I feel like this in the Natural History museum. A sense of wonder at how we used to live. This picture reminds me of the opening scene for 2001 with the apes.
aaaah War Games **sigh**... gotta love the massive floppy disk drive.... the modem where you kinda plug the phone handset into it... going to "Defcon 4"...
Cool, Wil. This is really good timing as I *just* finished downloading some old arcade ROMs for use with MAME. I was just playing Tutankham and realizing that I suck when I broke for supper and sat down to check your page. And then I see the Atari joystick! I'm going to go out and find a ROM of Dig Dug next.
Does anyone remember that Atari game (Fantasy?) where you were a knight and you had to rescue the chalice from the dragons in the castle? It had really chunky graphics but I loved that game. I even remember finding the secret spot that made you invincible...
Was it just me... or did the Atari joystick seem much more responsive if you ripped that black vinyl cover off? Ok.. I admit. It looked really really stupid, with this white plastic thing sticking out instead of the sleak looking black vinyl, but I swear the thing worked better that way. Always seemed sluggish with the black cover on.
And good old Space Invaders. If you toggled the on/off switch just the right way you could get your ship to fire twice with every press of the button.
Yes my very first video game boy does this bring back memories. Does anyone remember any of these games. Haunted House, Air Sea Battle, Combat, Bezerk, River Raid, Circus Atari, Vanguard, Star Wars (You know the one where you had to blow up the At At's) Chopper Command, Fast Eddie, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Defender, Missle Command, Laser Blast, Star Master, Indy 500, and of course Pac Man. Anyone else have any of these games.
Oh.
My.
God.
The day I write about old school, he goes old school. *L* I may be 22 but I DO have the Atari 2600 given me by my now 32 yr. old cousin back in 1986. I spent hours playing his old collection of games like Frogger, Keystone Cops, and the like. I just find it so odd that on the same day I post on my weblog about old school music, Wil goes old school gamer.
What a madd, mind-reading pimp. *L*
I still have an Atari 2600... and my old Vetrex... I just wish I could get my hands on the PONG module where you could play 8 different games, but they all looked the same!
If you still have a 2600 lurking around for retro gaming fun, you might be interested in one of Sean Kelley's multicarts. One cartridge, 255 of those ol' school games:
Geez. Takes me back to the good ole days on Commodore 64s using Atari joysticks. Friends and I spent many hours wearing them out on games, then I would tear them down, rebuild, and we'd going back to wearing them out yet again. Got to be pretty handy with soldering iron, plastic molding compound (when the pivot would finally crack) and silicone lube. The knowledge came in pretty handy with the Nintendo Advantage later.... :-)
I wait 3 damn days for a post and all I get is a picture of a joystick, no update on how Anne is doing........Oh well I guess I will just keep playing a game till you decide to write to us again....lol.
Quote----------------------------
Haunted House, Air Sea Battle, Combat, Bezerk, River Raid, Circus Atari, Vanguard, Star Wars (You know the one where you had to blow up the At At's) Chopper Command, Fast Eddie, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Defender, Missle Command, Laser Blast, Star Master, Indy 500, and of course Pac Man. Anyone else have any of these games.
Posted by Josh Sol at January 7, 2003 04:50 PM
------------------------
I had all of those games. Haunted House had to be my all time favorite! There was something about guiding a pair of square eyes through a "house" that appealed to me...But I think I liked it best when you got "scared to death" and your eyeballs started spinning around real fast and the screen flickered and that wonderful "thunder/wind" sound blared from the TV speaker.
OMG now I just *have* find an Atari on eBay or something! LMAO!
Wil, I seem to remember a Star Trek game for the 2600 that I had...years before Wesley Crusher was a gleam in Gene Roddenberry's eye. I remember playing that and thinking about how much I wished I could actually be on the Enterprise, roaming throughout the galaxy in search of Klingons...And you actually got to live my childhood fantasy! LOL
You had to do it? You showed the Atari 2600 joystick, and that brought back memories. Visiting my cousin at his home, he started with a Atari 2600, then got a Atari 7200 (remember those?). I see you are still a console gamer, as I look at one of the games that you play, The Lord of the Rings--The Two Towers.
I have seen the first movie of the trilogy, and I am reading the Lord of The Rings trilogy right now, it's a blast for me, and I remember when I checked it out of the library as a kid to read it after seeing the cartoon on one Saturday afternoon.
Darn Wil, I checked out your biography, and you were a film actor before being *ahem* pigeonholed into Wesley Crusher.
I liked that character at the beginning, but later I hated the way they used him to fill up some episodes when they had no original material for Star Trek-The Next Generation.
And I'm glad that you are a geek. Take care of Anne, she sounds like a special lady Wil.
I'm sorry that I have been behind in the posts in here, but your appearance on The Screen Savers made me want to check out your web site and try to post to it.
My family and I were geek royalty in the 1980s: we had an Atari 7800 AND an Intellivision. I still have the Atari, though I've given it to my 8-year-old son to use. When I was 12 or so, my dad, my uncles and I would have Intellivision baseball tournaments on weekends.
Some friends of mine were having a retro-gaming type nite.. a friend found her old Atari 2600 at her parents' place, so everyone came over to play. Included in the group was a 21-year old. They sat down to play Q*bert and said 21 year old was getting pissy 'cause he couldn't get Q*bert to go where he wanted to go.. he kept jumping off the grid and whatnot.
The funny part?
Said 21-year old was holding the joystick upside down.
He had NO IDEA which end was up!!!
Everyone kept the secret to themselves for most of the night until finally breaking down and telling him he was holding it upside down (button towards him instead of toward the TV).
Recognize it? Hell, I *collect* for it! Retro-gaming has a HUGE fanbase right now. Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision, Vectrex... There are new games coming out (in cart form!) for the old game systems and there's a Classic Gaming Expo held every year in Vegas for fans of the old systems. No sense just grasping onto those old videogame memories, when it's just as easy to fire the 2600 up for an hour of Kaboom or Pitfall!
Sigh. Atari 2600 was the only system I was good at. I'm pathetic, I know!
Speaking of pathetic, I've been a bad "lurker" monkey on and off again since July (whereas from Jan-June, I was a regular). Can anyone enlighten me as to when Wil left G4? Please e-mail or contact via soapbox due to Mr. Wheaton's desire to keep this non-BBS. Sorry, SIR!
Hey I think Atari should make another system that is based on the old one...for us nostalagic children of the 80s generation. I love Frogger and Tank and Ping Pong, and pac-man and just about all of them.
You Lucky Lucky Bastard! I lived in a farking shoebox in middle of road - and I was lucky! Seriously, we only had 2 television stations in Canberra (our National Capital City - not Sydney) Australia, up til the late 80's, we didn't get 'satellite' TV until late 90's and even then only about 20 channels!! We are only now looking at wideband internet and TV (just coming on line). So back in your box I say!!!! You spoilt bratt!! :-)
Yes, High School - we had 'Micro B's' and they were the ducks guts! We had 1 Apple Mac (1) for the whole school (850 kids) in the early 80's and that was the shit! Ohhh Memmooorieessss.
Ahh...the days of Adventure. For some reason, I could finish the game in about four minutes, yet I played it over and over again. And still do! Cause SOMEBODY PUT IT ON THE WEB!
My family has been telling me for years to get rid of my brother's old Atari 2600 and I refused! Go me! I even have all the low-quality versions of Pac Man, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders! Here's to the good old days and the best old toys...
Ok, this is gonna show how freaking young I am but...I remember playing Atari once. Yup, once. And when I got home from the friends house I was playing in my room and I wanted an atari too so I drew one wih markers on the side of my dresser. Seriously. I think I was 4. Hehe.
The 2600 was a great system, but those joysticks were deadly. My sister got really pissed at me one time and hurled one of those things at my head. It managed to gash my skull so bad I lost about a pint of blood. (no stitches though)
thanks wil, now i had to break out my 2600....im even thinking of getting a 7800 console now (from ebay of course)....great fun...sometimes you want to go back to the sprite gaming of the 80's.
Wow, I still have my Atari set-up. Though it's kinda sad these days. Kids with their new games babbling about blowing things up and "Ooo look at the how high the resolution is" and other such nonsense. I remember Pac-man, Pong, and Donkey Kong being the coolest games everyone wanted. Then Final Fantasy I came out...wow...back in the day. Anyway, lest I rant anymore, it's good to see someone still knows what real fun is.
...the first Atari game I ever played was a Smurf game. God, I was like 2 or 3 years old, and I STILL remember it!
Of course, I lost.
But the Kings WON'T this year!!! Boomer and The Dave will win the bet if they make one! I hope. Anywho, that's where I saw you for the first time, Wil. I asked to have a picture taken with you, and you were nice enough to let me. =)
My Dad picked a hissy fit, though. He's a nerd, too!
Oh, man, it's been a long while since I played an Atari. I've been tempted to get those 10+ in one game machines.. but, alas, I'm stuck with Sega Mega Collection for GameCube (Genesis collections are okay...) and MOOs, MUDs and MUSHs (text based games shall rule forever).
Atari! Atari! Atari! (thus ends my little comment and back to your normal lives)
Holy cripes you get a lot of comments. Anyway, my "hubby"'s first computer was a Timex. One of the little ones that you hooked up to your television. I think he had 64 kilobytes of memory. Beat THAT :P
Ah, yes. The immortal words of Joshua. Voice of the War Operations Planned Response computer. "I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good, let the boy in there Major". I still have an Atari 2600 also, with the fake wood trim. That, and the Avon 10 games in one Joystick. I am still trying to find Pitfall and Pitfall 2 though... Awesome post Wil. ..."Yar's revenge is new for Atari, have you played Atari today?"
Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little. Posted by Trend Trading
No diet will remove all the fat from your body because the brain is entirely fat. Without a brain, you might look good, but all you could do is run for public office.
One day, after a man had his annual physical, the doctor came out and said, "You had a great checkup. Is there anything that you'd like to talk about or ask me?""Well," he said, "I was thinking about getting a vasectomy.""That's a pretty big decision. Have you talked it over with your family?""Yeah, and they're in favor of it 14 to 3."
A man went to visit a friend and was amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watched the game in astonishment for a while. "I can hardly believe my eyes!" he exclaimed. "That's the smartest dog I've ever seen.""Nah, he's not so smart," the friend replied. "I've beaten him three games out of five."
Comments
Of course!
Posted by: Reena | January 7, 2003 10:56 AM
yay! fun
Posted by: johnkilo | January 7, 2003 10:56 AM
OOOH...a joystick
Posted by: Miriam | January 7, 2003 10:57 AM
sigh...one button, yet limitless possibilities
Here's to the old days.
Posted by: Gray | January 7, 2003 10:59 AM
Mmmm....Combat....
Posted by: Joseph J. Finn | January 7, 2003 11:00 AM
Wowzers....I miss my old Atari.
Posted by: irascible | January 7, 2003 11:01 AM
AWWWE man atari the good old days. I still have this one called ummm I think its called like koliko vision or something my mom bought it for me long time ago haha well of course it was a long time ago... Anyways that thing was the shit when it came out!!!!!
Posted by: Steve | January 7, 2003 11:05 AM
damnit. makes me want to pull my 2600 out of storage and start playing. and me with no RF adaptor.
Posted by: james | January 7, 2003 11:06 AM
I'd p1ss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good!
Posted by: LittleGuy | January 7, 2003 11:07 AM
Far out, Wil! Is that the new self-contained version with the 10 built-in games? I bought myself one for Xmas, from Avon.com (??). Pretty cool retro carpel-tunnel fun, but doesn't the joystick action seem even jerkier than the old Atari to you? I'm gonna dig mine out of the basement for comparison.
Deed-lableeb, deed-lableeb, deed-labloop.
Posted by: braxis | January 7, 2003 11:08 AM
Great. We are all turning into our parents and grandparents with all this reminiscing. I can see it now... "Gahh..we did not have any of that video card gee whizz bangery. Pixles, big, fat ass pixels is what we had, on an ole TV set, no flat screen monitors like you whipper-snappers. Optical mouse? Try a track ball. Optical drives. BAH! I had a' tape recorder to run my copy of "Pyramid of Doom" on my Atari 400. Miliseconds? Try minutes. Cable modem? How 'bout a telephone attached to a plate with suctions cups, so slow you could see the data move through the line. Had to walk to the software store uphill both ways in the snow. And we liked it that way... You punk kids don't know how good you got it..."
Posted by: JimmyT | January 7, 2003 11:10 AM
The good ald joysticks that move a few millimeters each way.....
Posted by: Moonbeast | January 7, 2003 11:15 AM
Nice joystick.
Space Invaders. To the death.
Posted by: scaryduck | January 7, 2003 11:16 AM
Are you gonna sign it and sell it on eBay?
Posted by: Drakensykh | January 7, 2003 11:16 AM
Question: How many feedback posts can a five-word, non-update update generate?
Posted by: BroiledProvocateur | January 7, 2003 11:17 AM
http://slashdot.org/~CleverNickName/journal/20695 ?
Posted by: AntiFreeze | January 7, 2003 11:20 AM
Dude, I still own my atari 2600 and I have around 20 different games (some of them I bought recently at a goodwill store) I love those old games, I used to play them until I was exhausted, lol. I am a total pro at asteriods and defender. Mt feiends laugh at me because sitting on my entertainment center next to my moderm DVD machine and my new playstation 2 sits my proudly preserved atari 2600 in its place of honor, lol. I have all my game cartridges sitting next to my movie DVD collection on my book shelves in my home library
Posted by: Rob | January 7, 2003 11:21 AM
Question: How many feedback posts can a five-word, non-update update generate? Posted by BroiledProvocateur at January 7, 2003 11:17 AM
one more :)
Posted by: wil | January 7, 2003 11:21 AM
I hope all of you got Wil's intent when you read the line....not "Shall we play a game" in your own voice, but
"SHALL...WE...PLAY...A...GAME?" , in the immortal modem-computer-tin voice of Joshua, from the 80's movie WAR GAMES.
Greetings, Professor Falken :)
Posted by: Silmarillion | January 7, 2003 11:24 AM
Games are nice.... ;)
Posted by: Indra | January 7, 2003 11:26 AM
I forgot to mention a moment ago that when I read the caption for this pic you have up today "shall we play a game" the very first thing that hit my mind was that same line in the movie "war games" when the computer "joshwa" (yes I know I spelled that wrong) says to mathew broadwick after he breaks into the national defense computer control system at norad "shall we play a game" and then (as those who have seen the movie already know) all hell breaks out as the computer tries to start a nuclear world war for real, I doubt anyone else reading this caption you choose thought about that movie, but I am quite a movie buff so don't feel bad, lol
Posted by: Rob | January 7, 2003 11:28 AM
I recently got myself the DVD of War Games, and it was great listing to the directors comment track, as it was recorded last year or so. They of course had 15 years of history to compare to what was in that movie, stuff like hacking tools that where made up, or real, how old dial-up bbs went to the internet and all that.. and of course lots of talk about the cold war. Very very interesting! When I was 8, I used to be able to recite the entire script of that movie from memory, absolutly loved that film.
Posted by: Jemimus | January 7, 2003 11:30 AM
Isn't it "Would you like to play a game?" Or am I referencing the wrong reference?
Posted by: Broiled Provocateur | January 7, 2003 11:31 AM
Yar's Revenge (nothing to do with Tasha, thank goodness) was the most kickest-assest game EVER. Nuff said.
Posted by: The Slice | January 7, 2003 11:34 AM
The old railroad captain leaned forward slowly, his three flannel shirts bunching up at his waistband like a tidal swell. His eyes narrowed. The young assistant charged with monitoring the Internet for important messages from the goddess Kali quivered as he held the laptop aloft, hiding behind its thick, armored casing in case the old man should spit.
His eyes took on more and more life, examining the enigmatic message before him - then he froze, and sat back. The look of beatific, almost resigned, decision on his craggy face would have chilled even the fiercest of his opponents, but none were there to see it, save the terrified assistant.
"Yes, Mister Wheaton," hisvoice like an antique wicker chair came. "Yes, I believe we shall."
Then the laughter, the terrible laughter that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere while the old man's body quaked and seized.
The assistant cursed under his breath. He didn't care what his advisor said - five credits at the community college were not worth this.
Posted by: misuba | January 7, 2003 11:34 AM
So will are you ripping off my site ;)
Jake of 8bitJoystick.com
Check this one out
Posted by: Jake | January 7, 2003 11:40 AM
What did you have in mind?!!:P
Posted by: Mamajessy | January 7, 2003 11:44 AM
I loved my Atari, hours of playing Pac-man and Asteroids and Pitfall. My 13 yr old son doesn't believe how simplistic the joystick is, he was shocked when he saw it.
Posted by: Jennifer | January 7, 2003 11:45 AM
The voice of the W.H.O.P.P.E.R. is the only voice my brain can read those words in. Hey, I was 23 and had the hots for both Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. And don't forget the last thing the W.H.O.P.P.E.R. said about the game of Thermonuclear war, after reeling off thousands of simulations in a couple minutes...."A strange game. The only winning move is not to play..... How about a nice game of chess?"
Poignant-especially these days
Posted by: ChaosInOrder | January 7, 2003 11:48 AM
Even when he writes a little, Wil still manages to say a lot. Well done!
Posted by: Jay | January 7, 2003 11:49 AM
OK, indra & rob, come on, Wil's a geek, a lot of us are geeks, I'm sure most of us got the reference, and I'm betting it was intended. Geez, give us a little credit. Or am I special that I caught it?
(not attacking, just being a smart ass) ;)
Posted by: the_goddess | January 7, 2003 11:49 AM
Hey Wil,
When is your tv movie on PAX coming out?
Keith
Posted by: Keith | January 7, 2003 11:51 AM
All About Yars' Revenge!
Posted by: Jeremy | January 7, 2003 11:56 AM
Oh... My... God!
I haven't seen one of THOSE in a LONG time. Especially not in excellent condition!
All I can think of now is Adventure! YAY!
Posted by: Ian | January 7, 2003 11:58 AM
OK... that joystick totally just took me back to my early childhood... Anyone remember the Atari System with the wood paneling on it? I had that when I was little... there was a game where you were a knight and I could never get far, the dragon always ate me before I got the key, but I didn't get a game over. Does anyone know the name of my mystery game and how I should've gotten past the dragon? Mebbie I'm just on crack...
Posted by: Jessie | January 7, 2003 12:04 PM
That's so lame.
All these minions await your words of wisdom, and all they get is a picture of a cold-war era toy.
Posted by: Nobody | January 7, 2003 12:06 PM
AHAHAHA!! Thank you Wil! Your timing is absolutely impeccable! LMAO!!!!
With bad memories always come good memories...
I remember being particularly fond of a game I had...called "Frogs n Flies". The concept was absurdly simple, whereas you were a frog, and you jumped from a lily-pad on one side of the screen to one on the other side, attempting to slurp up flies that were unfortunate enough to be flying by. hehehe I would spend hours playing that game. I would often adjust the difficulty setting a bit highr than "novice" just so I could jump my frog into the water and hear that nifty "digital splash" as I called it back then.
Ah in spite of a few bad experiences, those certainly were the good old days! You rock Wil! :)
Posted by: WebNuT! | January 7, 2003 12:09 PM
How about...
Global Thermo-Nuclear War
Posted by: Joe | January 7, 2003 12:20 PM
I got that 10-in-controller for christmas, I had forgotten just how annoying centipede was on the 2600! I still have my 2600 and 60 or so games, but I haven't hooked it up in awhile. This new toy is great fun, even if it is frustrating as heck!
Posted by: Eagle Archambeault | January 7, 2003 12:24 PM
Defender and Adventure--must go to the basement and dig them out!
Posted by: kimw | January 7, 2003 12:25 PM
Wil,
Blatantly displaying your phallus on your website is both disgusting and irresponsible.
Chris
Posted by: Christopher Feyrer | January 7, 2003 12:27 PM
POWER PILL
Posted by: john | January 7, 2003 12:29 PM
Please!
D.
Posted by: Denise | January 7, 2003 12:32 PM
WONDERFUL. Simply wonderful. Wil no longer needs to write. Just post photos, to satisify the monkeys.
Posted by: Huh | January 7, 2003 12:33 PM
"How about Global Thermonuclear War?"
Posted by: Christal | January 7, 2003 12:36 PM
War Games : one excellent film.
Posted by: ionicus | January 7, 2003 12:47 PM
Whoa... Talk about a blast from the past... Good ol' Atari
Posted by: Wolfman | January 7, 2003 12:50 PM
would you look at that? you don't have to say anything at all and the fans will still comment away happily awaiting the next thing you do or don't say. interesting test wil. excellent. i should be #48 or 49. can't wait to see how many you get on this.
Posted by: Kat | January 7, 2003 12:55 PM
Dude, I was too lame for Atari. We were an Intellivision family, straight up. Long live SNAFU!
Posted by: Ham Salad | January 7, 2003 12:56 PM
NO.
Posted by: bluecat/redblanket | January 7, 2003 12:57 PM
Denise/roguewench, don't I know you?
Posted by: The Slice | January 7, 2003 1:02 PM
Omigod, I just read the link from Antifreeze. What an asshole. You did the right thing. It's all about the principle baby.
Tiana
Posted by: Tiana | January 7, 2003 1:13 PM
Antifreeze is not the asshole. Guess I need lesssons in grammar ;]
Posted by: Tiana | January 7, 2003 1:14 PM
I like to come to this site as much as the next guy, but does anyone else think that there is just a little too much Wil-worship? He shows a picture of an old Atari controller and writes a quote from an old movie, and many (not all) twist it into some attempt at Wil-love instead of a reminiscing of old-world video gaming. I don't mean to be rude to anyone, I think it just gets to be a little too much sometimes.
Posted by: Enough Already | January 7, 2003 1:14 PM
ATARI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I still have one sitting around here somewhere. Now if only I had the cables to hook it up to my TV....*drools*
Posted by: Joseph A Nagy Jr | January 7, 2003 1:15 PM
I have 2 of those connected to my atari 2600 over there by my tv that connects to the SNES, NES, PS1, Xbox. the PS2 gets it's own tv :D
but uh yeah. . . . my point? oh yes. why the joystick and not the paddles? or the driving wheels?
of course i have all of those and a newer set of joysticks :D
Posted by: Kittee | January 7, 2003 1:17 PM
Prepare to Joust
Posted by: shrednfred | January 7, 2003 1:22 PM
Anyone still have their Activision patches. I sewed them all to my denim jacket - then beat myself up!
Posted by: Dwayne Hoover | January 7, 2003 1:24 PM
Yes...a game...right....
Posted by: Fred | January 7, 2003 2:01 PM
"Is that a joystick in your hand, or are you just happy to see me?"
Kudos on leaving G4, Wil. I work in entertainment also and the type you described is far to common in the industry.
Ethics and professionalism don't seem to be required traits.
Posted by: wehotom | January 7, 2003 2:17 PM
Oh. My. GOD. HOURS of wasted time in college. HOURS, I'm telling you. I had one of those things in my dorm room at Penn State. Turned the place into Grand Central Station.
Oh, Breakout progressive. I swear to you, there's no better game ... *nostalgic smile*
Posted by: Janis | January 7, 2003 2:39 PM
This is a good way to solve some major problems in the world.
To solve the Iraqi situation Saddam Hussein and George Bush can play Space Invaders.
North and South Korea can play Missle Command.
For a better Economy, breakout!
Posted by: bloggerben.com | January 7, 2003 2:48 PM
I used to have an Atari 800XL, which was pretty cool because it was a computer AS WELL as able to play the cartridge games like Frogger and Pitfall. When I told people that I had an Atari computer I was always careful to clarify for people that it was a "real" computer and not just a game playing machine. For some reason to my twelve year old brain, that made a lot of difference. :)
Posted by: Nicole | January 7, 2003 2:48 PM
Old School!! NICE! Wow, the days before Nintendo. Who's up for a round of pong?
Posted by: kelly | January 7, 2003 2:52 PM
My God, the memories that picture brings back!!!
Posted by: vladimir10 | January 7, 2003 2:55 PM
Posting a picture of your joystick on the Internet! How scandalous! What would your mother say? :)
Posted by: Laura | January 7, 2003 2:57 PM
Thanks for reminding me what a REAL joystick looks like Wil! :)
Posted by: Sara | January 7, 2003 3:02 PM
Well that reminds me...
Posted by: Ali | January 7, 2003 3:05 PM
Hey, I have that!
Posted by: Samantha | January 7, 2003 3:14 PM
I still have my Atari. Sadly, it got pushed aside to make way for the Playstation 2. But someday...
Posted by: MagikSpork | January 7, 2003 3:18 PM
So what was your favorite 2600 game Wil? Did you ever play Defender and shoot all the people just to make all mutants like I did?
Chris
Posted by: Christopher Feyrer | January 7, 2003 3:24 PM
Oh my gosh. When I saw the pic of the joy stick, it was such a flashback. I remember playing the atari at my friend's house all the time.
Well, I never owned the Atari. But I always had access to one.
Posted by: Deejay | January 7, 2003 3:25 PM
An amigo just sent me this, I thought it nicely matched today's theme, enjoy :)
When I was a kid adults used to bore me to
tears with their tedious
diatribes about how hard things were when
they were growing up;
What with walking twenty-five miles to school
every morning uphill both
ways through year 'round blizzards carrying
their younger siblings on
their backs to their one-room schoolhouse
where they maintained a
straight-A average;
Despite their full-time after-school job at the
local textile mill where
they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help
keep their family from starving to death!
And I remember promising myself that when I
grew up there was no
way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap
like that on kids about how
hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But....Now that I've reached the ripe old age
of thirty, I can't help
but look around and notice the youth of
today. You've got it so damn easy!
I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a
damned Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids
today you don't know how good you've got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The
Internet-we wanted to know something, we had
to go to the library and look it up ourselves!
And there was no email! We had to actually
write somebody a letter with a pen!-- and then
you had to walk all the way across the street
and put it in the freaking mailbox and it would
take like a week to get there!
And there were no MP3s or Napsters! You wanted
to steal music, you had to go to the record store
and shoplift it yourself!
Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off
The radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the
Beginning and screw it all up!
You want to hear about hardship? You couldn't just
download *orn! You had to bribe some homeless dude to
buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11!
It was either that or jack off to the lingerie
section of the J Penney catalog!
Those were your options! We didn't have fancy
ship like Call Waiting! If you
were on the phone and somebody else called they
got a busy signal!
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes
either! When the phone rang,
you had no idea who it was it could be your
boss, your mom, a collections agent, your drug
dealer, you didn't know!!! You just had to pick it
Up and take your chances, mister!
And we didn't have any fancy Sony Play station
Video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders"
and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked butt! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination!
And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just
One screen forever! And you could never win, the game
just kept getting harder and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
When you went to the movie theater there no
such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were screwed! And sure, we had cable television, but
back then that was only like 20 channels and there was
no on screen menu! You had to use a little book called
a TV Guide to find out what was on!
And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get
cartoons on Saturday morning... ...D'ya hear what the hell I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little
bastards! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You
Kids today have got it too easy You're spoiled, I swear to
God! You guys wouldn't last five minutes back in 1987!
Posted by: Silmarillion | January 7, 2003 3:29 PM
Hmmm... well my first reaction is "yes". However, I can't say as I've seen War Games and so have missed the reference.
So since I have nothing else to say... yes.
Posted by: Karina | January 7, 2003 3:42 PM
What game? I'm in! :)
Posted by: Anne | January 7, 2003 3:45 PM
Sorry, way too phallic for me. Must be all the pregnant hormones.
Posted by: Gette | January 7, 2003 3:49 PM
You got a left-handed one of those?
What about some super-glue as a temporary fix for the broken plastic thing on the inside? I can't seem to go left so well.
Posted by: Roughy | January 7, 2003 3:50 PM
If you can believe this - my friend from Toronto just bought me an entire Atari 2600 system that she picked up at a garage sale for $10. Mine broke in the mid-1980s. I'm hoping this one will work! :)
I miss playing "Breakout" with the paddles instead of the computer and mouse.
Posted by: Christine | January 7, 2003 3:52 PM
My thumb hurts just looking at it! I broke about 5 of those white plastic pieces inside in the 3 years I played Atari. Ow.
Posted by: Raschied | January 7, 2003 3:56 PM
Woohoo! What game, and can I borrow one of the new 10-in-1 joysticks to play it? Sweeetness Wil! :)
Posted by: Moonie | January 7, 2003 4:07 PM
Wow.
I feel like this in the Natural History museum. A sense of wonder at how we used to live. This picture reminds me of the opening scene for 2001 with the apes.
*is in awe*
Posted by: EnglishBen | January 7, 2003 4:14 PM
i always broke my atari joysticks :(.
Posted by: christy | January 7, 2003 4:19 PM
Yay for old-school Atari joystick!
Posted by: Angie | January 7, 2003 4:24 PM
aaaah War Games **sigh**... gotta love the massive floppy disk drive.... the modem where you kinda plug the phone handset into it... going to "Defcon 4"...
Posted by: Danielle | January 7, 2003 4:27 PM
Cool, Wil. This is really good timing as I *just* finished downloading some old arcade ROMs for use with MAME. I was just playing Tutankham and realizing that I suck when I broke for supper and sat down to check your page. And then I see the Atari joystick! I'm going to go out and find a ROM of Dig Dug next.
Does anyone remember that Atari game (Fantasy?) where you were a knight and you had to rescue the chalice from the dragons in the castle? It had really chunky graphics but I loved that game. I even remember finding the secret spot that made you invincible...
Thanks for the memories, Wil!
Posted by: Pat | January 7, 2003 4:43 PM
Ok... Ok...
Was it just me... or did the Atari joystick seem much more responsive if you ripped that black vinyl cover off? Ok.. I admit. It looked really really stupid, with this white plastic thing sticking out instead of the sleak looking black vinyl, but I swear the thing worked better that way. Always seemed sluggish with the black cover on.
And good old Space Invaders. If you toggled the on/off switch just the right way you could get your ship to fire twice with every press of the button.
Oh God.. I can't believe I remember that!
Posted by: Ironwolf | January 7, 2003 4:46 PM
That reminds me of days spent with swollen fingers from hours of playing Pitfall.
Damn, I miss my childhood.
Posted by: BlazingHussy | January 7, 2003 4:48 PM
Wil
Yes my very first video game boy does this bring back memories. Does anyone remember any of these games. Haunted House, Air Sea Battle, Combat, Bezerk, River Raid, Circus Atari, Vanguard, Star Wars (You know the one where you had to blow up the At At's) Chopper Command, Fast Eddie, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Defender, Missle Command, Laser Blast, Star Master, Indy 500, and of course Pac Man. Anyone else have any of these games.
Posted by: Josh Sol | January 7, 2003 4:50 PM
I knew if I hung out here long enough I'd get to see your joystick.
Posted by: Rick | January 7, 2003 4:50 PM
Wil,
Atarwhat?
FG
Posted by: Fabian | January 7, 2003 4:54 PM
Oh.
My.
God.
The day I write about old school, he goes old school. *L* I may be 22 but I DO have the Atari 2600 given me by my now 32 yr. old cousin back in 1986. I spent hours playing his old collection of games like Frogger, Keystone Cops, and the like. I just find it so odd that on the same day I post on my weblog about old school music, Wil goes old school gamer.
What a madd, mind-reading pimp. *L*
Posted by: MystikMuseJen | January 7, 2003 4:55 PM
I still have an Atari 2600... and my old Vetrex... I just wish I could get my hands on the PONG module where you could play 8 different games, but they all looked the same!
(bloop.... bloop.... bloop)
Posted by: sjistarr | January 7, 2003 4:59 PM
Hey Wil -
If you still have a 2600 lurking around for retro gaming fun, you might be interested in one of Sean Kelley's multicarts. One cartridge, 255 of those ol' school games:
http://home.xnet.com/~skelly/multis.htm
Good gaming...
Posted by: Shemp Mo-Din | January 7, 2003 5:05 PM
For both Pat and Jesse - the game was called Adventure. I both loved and hated that game, because I could never win.
Posted by: Charles Farley | January 7, 2003 5:07 PM
Geez. Takes me back to the good ole days on Commodore 64s using Atari joysticks. Friends and I spent many hours wearing them out on games, then I would tear them down, rebuild, and we'd going back to wearing them out yet again. Got to be pretty handy with soldering iron, plastic molding compound (when the pivot would finally crack) and silicone lube. The knowledge came in pretty handy with the Nintendo Advantage later.... :-)
Posted by: Jonathan | January 7, 2003 5:21 PM
how much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood I ask you?
Posted by: hops | January 7, 2003 5:26 PM
Wil,
I wait 3 damn days for a post and all I get is a picture of a joystick, no update on how Anne is doing........Oh well I guess I will just keep playing a game till you decide to write to us again....lol.
best to you and yours Wil,
Matt......
P.S.
Yes I want to play a Game!!
Posted by: matt | January 7, 2003 5:29 PM
AUTHOR: tanyak
EMAIL: frenchfry519@hotmail.com
IP: 65.93.35.157
URL:
DATE: 01/07/2003 05:41:44 PM
Posted by: tanyak | January 7, 2003 5:41 PM
Pitfall! Haunted House! Space Invaders! Breakout!
Oh, man... I wasted so much time palying those games. Anyone ever play Kaboom!, with the paddles? I got unhealthily good at that one.
Lara
Posted by: MsRetro | January 7, 2003 5:48 PM
Asteroids......Atari's best.
Posted by: Logan | January 7, 2003 6:03 PM
Atari rawks! I think I'll bring mine along...
Posted by: hal97 | January 7, 2003 6:10 PM
Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!
Whaaaaa!!!111!
210.18.215.204
Posted by: Jude Walden | January 7, 2003 6:20 PM
Aww c'mon Walden. Just because he isn't gay like you, doesn't mean you have to be a troll.
In fact I think I had an old Atari game about trolls. Tempest Walden....man in drag!
Nice site Wil. Keep'um coming!
HB
Posted by: Homer Gunther | January 7, 2003 6:31 PM
Quote----------------------------
Haunted House, Air Sea Battle, Combat, Bezerk, River Raid, Circus Atari, Vanguard, Star Wars (You know the one where you had to blow up the At At's) Chopper Command, Fast Eddie, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Defender, Missle Command, Laser Blast, Star Master, Indy 500, and of course Pac Man. Anyone else have any of these games.
Posted by Josh Sol at January 7, 2003 04:50 PM
------------------------
I had all of those games. Haunted House had to be my all time favorite! There was something about guiding a pair of square eyes through a "house" that appealed to me...But I think I liked it best when you got "scared to death" and your eyeballs started spinning around real fast and the screen flickered and that wonderful "thunder/wind" sound blared from the TV speaker.
OMG now I just *have* find an Atari on eBay or something! LMAO!
Wil, I seem to remember a Star Trek game for the 2600 that I had...years before Wesley Crusher was a gleam in Gene Roddenberry's eye. I remember playing that and thinking about how much I wished I could actually be on the Enterprise, roaming throughout the galaxy in search of Klingons...And you actually got to live my childhood fantasy! LOL
Posted by: WebNut! | January 7, 2003 6:32 PM
Woah there Jude, take a chill pill! Go punch a wall or something!
By the way it's "Star Trek", not "Star Treck"
Posted by: Danielle | January 7, 2003 6:34 PM
Wil,
You had to do it? You showed the Atari 2600 joystick, and that brought back memories. Visiting my cousin at his home, he started with a Atari 2600, then got a Atari 7200 (remember those?). I see you are still a console gamer, as I look at one of the games that you play, The Lord of the Rings--The Two Towers.
I have seen the first movie of the trilogy, and I am reading the Lord of The Rings trilogy right now, it's a blast for me, and I remember when I checked it out of the library as a kid to read it after seeing the cartoon on one Saturday afternoon.
Darn Wil, I checked out your biography, and you were a film actor before being *ahem* pigeonholed into Wesley Crusher.
I liked that character at the beginning, but later I hated the way they used him to fill up some episodes when they had no original material for Star Trek-The Next Generation.
And I'm glad that you are a geek. Take care of Anne, she sounds like a special lady Wil.
I'm sorry that I have been behind in the posts in here, but your appearance on The Screen Savers made me want to check out your web site and try to post to it.
Now back to your regular posts.
Posted by: Shannon Freeman | January 7, 2003 6:35 PM
Ahhhh... the memories. Getting frustrated with Pitfall and throwing the joystick down on the ground... this happened A LOT.
Frances
Posted by: starboardfrannie | January 7, 2003 7:01 PM
My family and I were geek royalty in the 1980s: we had an Atari 7800 AND an Intellivision. I still have the Atari, though I've given it to my 8-year-old son to use. When I was 12 or so, my dad, my uncles and I would have Intellivision baseball tournaments on weekends.
Posted by: Vanessa | January 7, 2003 7:19 PM
Dude that's So Cool-- Man I miss my youth and my mind- don't know which is worse? ;P
Posted by: gypsy_girl | January 7, 2003 7:24 PM
Okay I have to share this story!!
Some friends of mine were having a retro-gaming type nite.. a friend found her old Atari 2600 at her parents' place, so everyone came over to play. Included in the group was a 21-year old. They sat down to play Q*bert and said 21 year old was getting pissy 'cause he couldn't get Q*bert to go where he wanted to go.. he kept jumping off the grid and whatnot.
The funny part?
Said 21-year old was holding the joystick upside down.
He had NO IDEA which end was up!!!
Everyone kept the secret to themselves for most of the night until finally breaking down and telling him he was holding it upside down (button towards him instead of toward the TV).
Too funny ;)
Posted by: Kethryvis | January 7, 2003 7:40 PM
My current one has a throttle-thingy at the bottom of the stick, and to simulate rudders I can twist the stick. And loads of buttons to program.
Oh, the good ol' days of simple pleasures and crappy joysticks.
Posted by: Don | January 7, 2003 7:47 PM
Recognize it? Hell, I *collect* for it! Retro-gaming has a HUGE fanbase right now. Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision, Vectrex... There are new games coming out (in cart form!) for the old game systems and there's a Classic Gaming Expo held every year in Vegas for fans of the old systems. No sense just grasping onto those old videogame memories, when it's just as easy to fire the 2600 up for an hour of Kaboom or Pitfall!
Posted by: Tim | January 7, 2003 7:53 PM
WoW! I have an atari and yes it still works and yes i still play frogger all the time
Posted by: Makaya | January 7, 2003 8:12 PM
P.S. I also have a Magnavox 2000 and it still works... ohh ya Pong baby! with the analog turn dials... whoooooo talk about fun.
Posted by: Makaya | January 7, 2003 8:16 PM
Sigh. Atari 2600 was the only system I was good at. I'm pathetic, I know!
Speaking of pathetic, I've been a bad "lurker" monkey on and off again since July (whereas from Jan-June, I was a regular). Can anyone enlighten me as to when Wil left G4? Please e-mail or contact via soapbox due to Mr. Wheaton's desire to keep this non-BBS. Sorry, SIR!
Posted by: Kimberly3 | January 7, 2003 8:17 PM
http://www.gameworks.com/index.html
:D
Posted by: Susan H. | January 7, 2003 9:00 PM
"Darn Wil, I checked out your biography, and you were a film actor before being *ahem* pigeonholed into Wesley Crusher."
I think that being pigeonholed as Wesley is far better than being cornholed as Wesley..Although I could be wrong.
Posted by: AtariNut | January 7, 2003 10:53 PM
Wasn't it all so much simplier when we only to had to learn what ONE button did?
Posted by: jodilyn | January 8, 2003 5:17 AM
Hey I think Atari should make another system that is based on the old one...for us nostalagic children of the 80s generation. I love Frogger and Tank and Ping Pong, and pac-man and just about all of them.
Posted by: Artisticspirit | January 8, 2003 5:19 AM
I refer Mr Silmarillion 7 Jan:
You Lucky Lucky Bastard! I lived in a farking shoebox in middle of road - and I was lucky! Seriously, we only had 2 television stations in Canberra (our National Capital City - not Sydney) Australia, up til the late 80's, we didn't get 'satellite' TV until late 90's and even then only about 20 channels!! We are only now looking at wideband internet and TV (just coming on line). So back in your box I say!!!! You spoilt bratt!! :-)
Best regards
G.
Posted by: Bones | January 8, 2003 6:01 AM
Depends, which of us gets the joystick, and which has to use the power of their brain to make the game work? :p
Posted by: Ryan_W | January 8, 2003 6:14 AM
Yes, High School - we had 'Micro B's' and they were the ducks guts! We had 1 Apple Mac (1) for the whole school (850 kids) in the early 80's and that was the shit! Ohhh Memmooorieessss.
Posted by: Bones | January 8, 2003 6:21 AM
Ahh...the days of Adventure. For some reason, I could finish the game in about four minutes, yet I played it over and over again. And still do! Cause SOMEBODY PUT IT ON THE WEB!
http://www.scottpehnke.com/programming/adventure.html
Have fun, and don't overload the site so I can't play...
Posted by: Michelle | January 8, 2003 8:23 AM
My family has been telling me for years to get rid of my brother's old Atari 2600 and I refused! Go me! I even have all the low-quality versions of Pac Man, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders! Here's to the good old days and the best old toys...
Posted by: Valkyrie | January 8, 2003 9:09 AM
Hi Wil,
Still waiting on 8x10s of you un-Starfleeted-out or stuck-in-a-Stand-By-Me-pose...
Are they here yet?!
-Jocelyn
Posted by: jozjozjoz | January 8, 2003 11:26 AM
Ok, this is gonna show how freaking young I am but...I remember playing Atari once. Yup, once. And when I got home from the friends house I was playing in my room and I wanted an atari too so I drew one wih markers on the side of my dresser. Seriously. I think I was 4. Hehe.
Posted by: Jenny Finster | January 8, 2003 11:46 AM
Oh yeah, good times....
Wargames was a great movie (mental note: add it to my wishlist)
The Atari games are the only ones I ever spent any time playing, and the only ones I ever had any proficiency with. Breakout, that was my game.
Posted by: AngelGypsy | January 8, 2003 11:48 AM
Oooooooooo!!!!
A real joystick.
An artifact of years past.
The benchmark for where my video-game prowess ended. (;
Posted by: kendoka | January 8, 2003 12:03 PM
Ahh, our old Atari 2600. I miss it so. I think we still have the 40 something games that my dad left with it. I wonder if I can get a new one. Hrm.
~runs off to check Ebay~
Posted by: Karen | January 8, 2003 12:05 PM
We are all incredibly old, geeky, and need to get a life. That said, who wants to play Pitfall?
Posted by: CS | January 8, 2003 12:40 PM
Aaaggghh! Decathlon, my fingers are blistering up just looking at that picture
Posted by: Chris | January 8, 2003 1:20 PM
The 2600 was a great system, but those joysticks were deadly. My sister got really pissed at me one time and hurled one of those things at my head. It managed to gash my skull so bad I lost about a pint of blood. (no stitches though)
But the games were fun.
So many memories.
Posted by: Colin | January 8, 2003 1:52 PM
thanks wil, now i had to break out my 2600....im even thinking of getting a 7800 console now (from ebay of course)....great fun...sometimes you want to go back to the sprite gaming of the 80's.
Posted by: bryan | January 8, 2003 7:58 PM
Wow, I still have my Atari set-up. Though it's kinda sad these days. Kids with their new games babbling about blowing things up and "Ooo look at the how high the resolution is" and other such nonsense. I remember Pac-man, Pong, and Donkey Kong being the coolest games everyone wanted. Then Final Fantasy I came out...wow...back in the day. Anyway, lest I rant anymore, it's good to see someone still knows what real fun is.
Posted by: The Epyon Avenger | January 8, 2003 8:05 PM
Websites like Atari.org and atari-history.com keep the original Atari products alive!
I still love seeing the Atari logo on new video games and knowing that at least the name still carries on!
Have you played Atari today?
Posted by: RetroRandy | January 8, 2003 9:46 PM
I totally miss my Atari now... =(
Posted by: Christy | January 8, 2003 11:25 PM
Jeez, how archaic. I'm a fan of the 8-bit NES, myself. Now that's where the high-tech fun is at.
;)
Posted by: marrasaff | January 9, 2003 6:54 AM
...the first Atari game I ever played was a Smurf game. God, I was like 2 or 3 years old, and I STILL remember it!
Of course, I lost.
But the Kings WON'T this year!!! Boomer and The Dave will win the bet if they make one! I hope. Anywho, that's where I saw you for the first time, Wil. I asked to have a picture taken with you, and you were nice enough to let me. =)
My Dad picked a hissy fit, though. He's a nerd, too!
Posted by: Cricket | January 9, 2003 9:32 AM
but did any of you notice it is left handed?
Posted by: dba | January 9, 2003 4:14 PM
Atari rocks. Gimmie the original 2-bit monster anyday. This new 128 bit stuff is masturbation.
Posted by: Plaidman | January 10, 2003 12:56 AM
SWEET! An Atari controller. I'm 19 years old, but I DEFINATELY remember those beauties! I loved Atari, especially Pac-Man! He kicks major ass!
Posted by: Erica | January 10, 2003 10:02 AM
Chii!
Oh, man, it's been a long while since I played an Atari. I've been tempted to get those 10+ in one game machines.. but, alas, I'm stuck with Sega Mega Collection for GameCube (Genesis collections are okay...) and MOOs, MUDs and MUSHs (text based games shall rule forever).
Atari! Atari! Atari! (thus ends my little comment and back to your normal lives)
Posted by: Chii | January 12, 2003 1:21 PM
Holy cripes you get a lot of comments. Anyway, my "hubby"'s first computer was a Timex. One of the little ones that you hooked up to your television. I think he had 64 kilobytes of memory. Beat THAT :P
Posted by: Pam | January 12, 2003 2:18 PM
"Where did you dig up that old fossile??"
Posted by: mike | January 12, 2003 9:55 PM
Yes! Why Not?
Posted by: Agi | January 14, 2003 12:23 PM
Ah, yes. The immortal words of Joshua. Voice of the War Operations Planned Response computer. "I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good, let the boy in there Major". I still have an Atari 2600 also, with the fake wood trim. That, and the Avon 10 games in one Joystick. I am still trying to find Pitfall and Pitfall 2 though... Awesome post Wil. ..."Yar's revenge is new for Atari, have you played Atari today?"
Posted by: Fishonabike | January 14, 2003 12:44 PM
playing with your joystick is fun!!!!!!
Posted by: Phil | January 15, 2003 6:55 AM
i love it very much
Posted by: hassan | February 25, 2004 10:35 AM
no comments
Posted by: sanjay | April 23, 2004 10:42 PM
No comments
Posted by: ajay | April 23, 2004 10:51 PM
No comments
Posted by: rakehs | April 23, 2004 10:53 PM
rape incorporated http://www.rapestoriespics.com/
Posted by: rape and torture stories | November 2, 2004 3:54 PM
So what WAS the top story of 2004?
Posted by: Best of 2004 | January 4, 2005 5:47 PM
Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little. Posted by Trend Trading
Posted by: Trend Trading | January 5, 2005 10:39 PM
In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity.
Posted by: Alesse | January 6, 2005 12:51 PM
No diet will remove all the fat from your body because the brain is entirely fat. Without a brain, you might look good, but all you could do is run for public office.
Posted by: Cheap Cialis | January 6, 2005 6:27 PM
One day, after a man had his annual physical, the doctor came out and said, "You had a great checkup. Is there anything that you'd like to talk about or ask me?""Well," he said, "I was thinking about getting a vasectomy.""That's a pretty big decision. Have you talked it over with your family?""Yeah, and they're in favor of it 14 to 3."
Posted by: Yasmin | January 8, 2005 12:35 PM
A man went to visit a friend and was amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watched the game in astonishment for a while. "I can hardly believe my eyes!" he exclaimed. "That's the smartest dog I've ever seen.""Nah, he's not so smart," the friend replied. "I've beaten him three games out of five."
Posted by: Cialis | January 9, 2005 4:44 PM