What were some of hidden factors that led to the fall of Atari and the  golden age of classic video game consoles?  Did the world at large really understand video games at all?  In this episode we set out to prove, through the lens of some truly awful products and ideas, that the industry might have killed itself.

The back pages and new products sections of Electronic Games magazine in 1982 and 1983 were filled with all sorts of products, services and offers that were dubious at best, and possibly, criminal at worst.   It appears that in the very early years of video games  all sorts of people jumped at the chance to try to sell all manner of items to the newly minted audience of “arcaders” and “joystickers” (the terms Electronic Games editors used to refer to “gamers” in  the early days).  Below are some the most useless/interesting and bizarre products that we could dig up in those pages:

Notes:

See "Enhanced" Youtube version:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDXF4-gpPhc

Read Full Story With Photos: http://www.8bitrocket.com/?p=8026