The video game crash of 1983-1984

videogames were and still are a strong icon in our nation's society. Millions of people had enjoyed countless hours and billions of dollars in quarters playing tons of classic arcade games. When the arcades started to come into the area, they had the latest and coolest arcade hits available at the time. Everyone lines up to get their hands on the top classic hits. I still have memories of a line going out the door to play Space Invaders 1978. But the life of an arcade game lasted only for about 6 months, and they were taken away and replaced with a newer game. The arcades had to keep up with the times and bring in newer games to make a profit. So it was the late 1970's that the Atari 2600 had began it's home video game introduction. Of course let's not forget Magnavox which predated everything. But the Atari did have a it's games programed onto a chip and placed into a cartrige, and well it was a breakthrough for it's time, and a chance to play the videogames at home for free. Although limited to nothing more than a few k's and a bleeps, buzzes, and a somekind of music, it passed off as a great home videogame system. But with the other home gaming consoles soon to come promising better graphics, more gameplay, and even speech, the competition was there. But the ultimatum was Colecovision, which out did all the other home gaming systems, as they had the best home versions of the arcade hits.
            But in 1983, videogames began to go downhill, and companies had a hard time making a profit in the video game market. New games were very hard to think of, and at best, the games were hacked in an attempt to market a new game. Remember how popular Pac-Man was in 1980? I remember tons of hacks made to that game like Piranah, or adjusting the outlay of the maze or altering the Pac-man character or the ghosts. When the videogame crash was announed on the news, my dad even told me "That's it, no more videogames, ever, that's the end of it, you can't play videogames ever again." I can't tell you how heartbroken I felt after hearing this, as videogames were my life. But you have to admit that even with the Atari's last ditch effors for more games with better graphics like Activision, Imagic, coming up with a new hit game was impossible. But a point of note was that the Atari 2600 was the first system to have X-rated videogames made for it, but with the blocky graphics, who could tell? However varous news reports of women being offended strongly and outraged that such games and content would ever be made into a videogame were aired on the tv news as well.
     Then sadly, the video arcades that ruled the malls had closed it's doors forever, leaving a big emptyness in our gaming hearts, as the arcades were a main reason to go to the mall. But surprisingly, arcade games showed up in  indoor Flea Markets, Pizza places, and various fast food restaurants, and grocery and department stores. However, I wondered how I was going to survive if videogames were gone forever. I missed the classics so much and the classic gaming console I had Colecovision had seen better days and I had to get rid of it, as well as the games for it.  But with the development of home computers back in the 1980's, maybe there was a little hope afterall, as videogames were being made for them as well, and the adaption of classic arcade hits for them wasn't so bad. So it was 1985 that the NES had made it's debute and saved the videogame industry, and the videogame market opened up to a whole new generation. As graphics got better, and the consoles performed faster action and intense gameplay, gamers would continue the next stage of home gaming. And even since the arcades had closed, there were a few of them still operating, but with not too much business, but with a few exceptions like Twin Galaxies, the classics just keep on going. These days the arcades have giant sized consoles featuring  games of 3-d Racing, Hunting, or some kind of dancing or hip hop thing. I have to admit that with advanced technology like touch screen, game companies see the potental and revive their original games and give a major graphical update, which does make the game more fun. But I have to admit that videogames these days are getting too violent as it's now all shoot em up and blast em and killem in a 3-d virtual world. Gamers spend countless hours playing these games, and interacting with other gamers for competitions. This is fun, especially when I had the online gaming competition of Bejeweled. Who knows, from the moview Tron, the future of videogames may become like that, as you get into the game beyond the screen, and as real as it seems, nobody would really get hurt or die. In terms of people saying that you get no exercise with videogames, doesn't know about Nintendo's Wii and Wii U, as it gets the players more active with the controllers giving them a more interactive experience.