As kids we are always told not to judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to purchases this is a technique often used. Advertisers and game companies in the 80’s and 90’s knew this, and often dedicated a large amount of time and resources to produce the most appealing box art design. While this sometimes resulted in some amazing artistic images, it also produced many failures that can be looked back upon laughingly. Take a look at just some of the amizingly good and bad dos game box art to come from the 80’s and the 90’s!
Andromeda Conquest
Published by Microcomputer Games in 1982, this early dos game offers a simple, yet engrossing, space conquest game. The attractive art styling mixes aspects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and realistic lunar lander details to create a visually attractive cover that stood out from the often basic box art from competitors of the time. Continue reading “Exploring Dos Game Box Art:25 of the Best and Worst Dos Game Box Art”
While looking for some old computer related gear at a swap meet recently, I found a copy of a game I had never heard about. ET Phone Home for the Atari 8 bit computer line. This version was actually developed by a company called Childware, and released mid 1983, about 6 months after the 2600 version. With the huge infamy that surrounds the Atari 2600 version of ET, I was shocked I had never heard of this game, and was curious to know if it was any better than the terrible 2600 version.
When starting up the game you are greeted with a title screen of ET, while a decent rendition of the movie theme plays in the background. I made sure to not let this get my hope up though, as the 2600 version started similarly. ET looks ok, though what is that purple area in his chest? I don’t remember that from the movie.
Seriously, what is that pink blob? Is it supposed to be the glow of his finger?
For those who grew up or are familiar with the Commodore 64, it is common knowledge that the 64 had some rocking game soundtracks. Commodore 64 users were often the envy of Atari and Apple users, who were stuck with basic beeps and bops for their games. The Commodore 64, on the other hand, had the outstanding SID chip under its hood, which allowed developers to create musical masterpieces. Though this list is not all inclusive, here is a list of some of the top Commodore 64 game soundtracks of all time.
10: Outrun
While not the best port of the classic arcade game Outrun, the music did do a great job in capturing the sounds of the arcade, allowing Commodore 64 users to experience that same “wind in your hair” experience.
The Commodore PET Model 2001 from 1977 with built in tape drive.
Nowadays it would be hard to imagine a world without computers. From business to personal uses, computers have made completing tasks and gathering information easier and more convenient. While computers now are easily accessible by all, this was not always the case. Instead access to early computers was limited not only by difficulty in use, but their immense price as well.
Electronic computers had existed since the 1940’s, but these machines were massively expensive products used almost exclusively by the military and large universities. By the early 1970’s, technology had advanced enough for hobbyists and companies to develop very basic computers, but these were expensive and really only appealed to a small market of dedicated enthusiasts. However, by 1977 three larger companies showcased the first computers to appeal to a wide market. These were Apple’s Apple 2 Computer, Radio Shack’s TRS-80 Computer, and Commodore’s Commodore PET. While the Apple 2 and TRS-80 are remembered fondly by many, the Commodore PET has largely faded to obscurity.
The Commodore PET was showcased first at the 1977 Winter CES (Consumer Electronics Show), with the first large scale shipment of units in early 1978. The initial model, the PET 2001, came with either 4 or 8 kilobytes of RAM, priced at $495 and $795 respectively. The Commodore PET stood out from its Apple and Radio Shack counterparts in that the PET featured a built in monochrome keyboard. The PET also featured a built in tape deck, a popular storage format medium of the time. This was a stand out feature of the PET, as the APPLE 2 and TRS-80 only had external tape drives. The downside of this feature was that the keyboard size was reduced due to space constraints, and consumers complained about the small, rubbery keys. These complaints were addressed in the 1979 models, which added a full sized keyboard and 16 and 32 kilobyte RAM models. Continue reading “Commodore PET: The Forgotten Home Computer”
The goal of Tech Flashback is to provide our readers with unique insights into the history of technology. Primarily focusing on computers, Tech Flashback also reports on a wide range of consumer and industry products from the past, from outdated and forgotten media formats to unheard of products. Tech Flashback is always a source of interesting technology news!
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