Fred Thorlin was Director of APX -- the Atari Program Exchange -- from 1982 through 1984. APX was -- and remains -- a rare software distribution model in which Atari would encourage end users to create software for their 8-bit computers, then sell the software through...

I remember picking up Joystick Nation at the oddly-named Little Professor book store in Green Bay late in 1997. I was so enthused at the thought that someone had written a book about video games then and now that I snatched it up and gladly paid the steep cover price...

It’s one of the legends of the Atari era – the famous “Coke Wins!” cartridge for the 2600, originally designed as a premium, mail-in-your-proofs-of-purchase type item from the Coca-Cola Company. But for those who have actually seen the game, it’s very easy to see that...

Any look back at classic video game merchandising would be remiss in its duties if it didn’t mention some of the most highly visible - and yet least memorable spinoffs: Saturday morning cartoons. Video games had quickly been picked up as a theme in cartoons; does...

Let's say you're a major toy manufacturer named Kenner. Let's say it's late 1983, and your last big license - a little summer flick called "Return of the Jedi" - is now but a memory, with no sequels in sight. TV is a barren wasteland of variety shows and programming...

Once upon a time, many years before Game Boy Color, MAME, and Namco Museum, there were low end console games and there were battery-operated LED-display games. Back then, it was roughly an equal trade-off. Did you prefer blocky, clunky graphics that moved with some...

In the summer of 1982, there was no hotter ticket in Hollywood than a new Disney movie that boasted impressive computer graphics, including some scenes created entirely with computer animation. The movie, of course, was Tron, and although it ended up as more of a cult...

Space Firebird is a game that seemed to taunt me for several summers. From the summer of '81 through sometime in '83, I would always run across a Space Firebird machine when I either didn't have a quarter or didn't have the time to stop and play. The 7-11 on the...

Imagine if there was one company that fulfilled all the needs of all gamers, classic and current. Imagine if one company owned the rights to all the classic games and reissued them in contemporary and classic editions. Well, before you get your hopes too high, you may...

I’ve never been a big fan of Superman. Call me crazy, but he has just never done anything for me. My roommate in college thought Superman was “The Best.” Superman was never “bitchen,” “rad,” or any other cool way of saying he liked him. My roommate, Phil, always...

Once your classic cartridge collection reaches a certain size, you'll discover you're finding few new cartridges at thrift stores. In order to "get their fix," so to speak, many collectors start collecting label variations to keep their number of "finds" up. “Label...

With Nintendo's announcement of their upcoming Game Boy Advanced, The Game Boy finally begins her journey into the sunset. Before historians and game players start writing their differing opinions about the Game Boy's place in our storied industry's history, a strong...

Throughout history, various mysteries have remained unsolved: The Riddle of The Sphinx, The Bermuda Triangle, The Missing Link, and even Bigfoot. But perhaps one of the most puzzling of all is the lack of a great Spider-Man video game. Not since Mickey Mouse and Bugs...

The recent death of Larry Linville, Frank Burns on TV's 'MASH,' saddened me. I'm sure many of us have fond memories laughing at ol' Ferret Face's antics on the long-running sitcom. However, Larry Linville actually has classic game-related memories for me. You see, his...

Like many classic gamers, I wasn't just into playing the games; I was into how they worked, how they “thought" and made their decisions. I originally lusted after my first computer (a gleaming, 64K, Apple II-compatible, one-ton - or so it seemed when I was merely...

Last holiday season, my fiancée, Seleen, and I took the day off from our jobs to finish up our Christmas shopping. We started early in the morning and finished late in the afternoon. At one point, our travels found us about 50 miles from home in a shopping mall I used...