- Joined
- Jun 8, 2015
Or a Yard Sale, or left at someone's Grandma's house, because once the NES arrived? Well....If I had to hazard to guess: Bob may have seen the 2600 in a department store catalogue in in the late 80s because Atari was selling them as a budget option to the NES (likely aided by the fact that the 7800 was backwards compatible). I remember seeing them in the Consumers Distributing catalogue until around 1992 or so.
I remember entire 2600 systems, PLUS controllers, PLUS their entire game library, in a box, for sale for a pittance, that was the degree to which Nintendo rendered the Atari not just obsolete? But uncool and antique, overnight.
There was only maybe one marketing push to sell Atari as not just the 'budget' option, but the 'grown up' option as it specifically made fun of the "toy robot" (ROB) and "toy gun" (Zapper) that the original premium NES package shipped with. hinting you were a child if you played it. And as you may have guessed? It never caught. If anything, it gave Nintendo sales as it clearly showed you got peripherals whereas you got nothing from an Atari.
Our family 2600 did see sporadic use until 1990, and even then, only for the nostalgia of Game Night... by 1993? It was in a box where it would remain for old time's sake until I found a video game collector who was interested in it that I donated it to in 2010-ish.
Guarantee anyone who's earliest "kid" years were 1989 or later? NEVER played an Atari 2600 or 7800 unless they found one in a basement and plugged it in just to see if it would do anything.
You'd also think media-obsessed Bob would remember the Saturday morning cartoon based on it (Several popular arcade titles got one, Donkey Kong, Q-Bert, Pac-Man, etc etc ) that made it very clear that Mario and Pauline were mutual romantic interests if not friends. I.E. - the sameish age and maturity level.Bob had claimed that Pauline (from Donkey Kong) was OLDER than Mario. This is bullshit. Mario is Pauline's BOYFRIEND and appears WITH Pauline IN FUCKING DONKEY KONG. Which Bob COULD have played on the Atari 2600.
If Bob ever got into the Sporanos universe? He'd be Davey Scatino, a degenerate hiding behind false bravado, way in over his head, who doesn't know when to shut his trap and just makes things worse.I am reminded how grateful I am that Bob has never put his grubby paws on The Sopranos. If you think my Tolkien spergouts are bad, just you wait.