Not pictured: line of five other kids
February 25, 2010 11:52 PM Subscribe
These bring me back. I used to skip lunch in high school and go play new Sega releases at the nearby Toys R Us' kiosks. You had to do it during the day because then the only other people there would be adults and real little kids- nobody interested in video games. It was great. No competition, no charge. A free, personal arcade.
I would do this alone, making me probably the only dude playing in the toy store who drove himself. To add to the creepiness, I would usually have a nice smoke outside after a particularly satisfying game of Sonic. But the prospect of playing brand-new video games with no lines for free made it totally worth it.
posted by joechip at 12:26 AM on February 26, 2010
I would do this alone, making me probably the only dude playing in the toy store who drove himself. To add to the creepiness, I would usually have a nice smoke outside after a particularly satisfying game of Sonic. But the prospect of playing brand-new video games with no lines for free made it totally worth it.
posted by joechip at 12:26 AM on February 26, 2010
I may just be remembering a standalone demo unit but I'm pretty sure there was an in-store kiosk for the Channel F at The Broadway when I was a kid.
Sears definitely had a kiosk for their Searsified edition of the VCS -- in the sporting goods section. Right across the aisle from the George Carlin LPs. Down the way from the camera department, where they were selling (or trying to sell anyway) the Polavision systems.
posted by Lazlo at 12:49 AM on February 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
Sears definitely had a kiosk for their Searsified edition of the VCS -- in the sporting goods section. Right across the aisle from the George Carlin LPs. Down the way from the camera department, where they were selling (or trying to sell anyway) the Polavision systems.
posted by Lazlo at 12:49 AM on February 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
Hm.
I remember playing at a number of these different kiosks and not wanting to share because I didn't want others to feel all of the sweat I'd left on the controller. It wasn't my fault!
Gross? Maybe. Worth it? Definitely.
posted by hempgranola at 2:45 AM on February 26, 2010
I remember playing at a number of these different kiosks and not wanting to share because I didn't want others to feel all of the sweat I'd left on the controller. It wasn't my fault!
Gross? Maybe. Worth it? Definitely.
posted by hempgranola at 2:45 AM on February 26, 2010
The Atari home computer kiosk has a MULE package on display!
I've always been kind of fascinated by these displays, and am kind of sad that they go obsolete and disappear. These are video games. They're emblematic of newness and the cutting edge! They shouldn't just disappear, that might mean they're just like everything else in this tired old world.
This is the same kind of melancholy I felt today when I turned on the Dreamcast and noticed that I have save files on a memory card on which the save date is February, 2000.
posted by JHarris at 3:18 AM on February 26, 2010
I've always been kind of fascinated by these displays, and am kind of sad that they go obsolete and disappear. These are video games. They're emblematic of newness and the cutting edge! They shouldn't just disappear, that might mean they're just like everything else in this tired old world.
This is the same kind of melancholy I felt today when I turned on the Dreamcast and noticed that I have save files on a memory card on which the save date is February, 2000.
posted by JHarris at 3:18 AM on February 26, 2010
How come everyone's talking about these like they don't exist anymore? I see them in toy stores here all the time, with Xbox 360s and Playstation 3s, mostly, I don't think I've ever seen one with a Wii, perhaps because the controller doesn't really lend itself to being bolted to the end of a stiff rod.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 3:56 AM on February 26, 2010
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 3:56 AM on February 26, 2010
doesn't really lend itself to being bolted to the end of a stiff rod.
That's what she said.
Sorry. I saw the Atari 2600, and all of a sudden I was twelve.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:37 AM on February 26, 2010 [3 favorites]
That's what she said.
Sorry. I saw the Atari 2600, and all of a sudden I was twelve.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:37 AM on February 26, 2010 [3 favorites]
I have amusing memories of seeing little kids trying to play the giant Game Boys that only ran video clips.
posted by Servo5678 at 9:02 AM on February 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Servo5678 at 9:02 AM on February 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
This is the same kind of melancholy I felt today when I turned on the Dreamcast and noticed that I have save files on a memory card on which the save date is February, 2000.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure my Seaman is dead. I haven't fed him in over a decade, after all.
posted by Talanvor at 3:45 AM on February 27, 2010
Yeah, I'm pretty sure my Seaman is dead. I haven't fed him in over a decade, after all.
posted by Talanvor at 3:45 AM on February 27, 2010
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I did once.
posted by Balisong at 11:56 PM on February 25, 2010