Hey dad, it still works
September 13 2004
I was recently scavenging through my old
stuff at my mom's house, and came across this blast from the past. Yes,
my first electronic game... the classic Coleco Electronic Quarterback.
It's amazing how engaging a bunch of LEDs with almost no intelligence
can be. I powered it up yesterday for the first time in what was
likely 20 years... resulting in a final score of 91 to 73.
This little game was also responsible for my first ever press interview
-- I was playing it in a hospital waiting room in Chicago, and a stringer
for the Los Angeles Times happened to be there as well (how random). Since
this was one of the first hand-held games, the Times story was a big deal
-- and my dad and I ended up on page one of the LA Times. It's been
all downhill since then :)
Post a Comment
- 2
Bill http://www.bloglines.com/blog/zizzybaloobah | 9/13/2004 3:50:47 PM
All my friends had the Mattel version of the hand-held football game. I hit the bigtime when "Santa" brought me a Merlin - a red phone-handset-shaped device that played something like 6 different games (all on a blinking number pad -- oooh so modern!) I think my mom still has it in her basement in working condition: the grandkids are not impressed.
- 3
Christopher Byrne http://www.controlscaddy.com/ | 9/13/2004 4:18:23 PM
We have the "reissue" of this game and my daughter loves to fo one on one with me on it.
- 4
Thom Rosario | 9/13/2004 4:40:27 PM
Oh my gosh!
I was *just* talking to some friends about this exact game and how it was so much better than the Mattel version that had no pass option.
Wish I'd kept mine, heh.
- 5
Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 9/13/2004 6:11:07 PM
We're having a whip-round now, if we get enough we'll buy you a Gameboy for Christmas.
- 6
Gregg Eldred | 9/13/2004 10:02:45 PM
Scanning my local PBS station, I started watching this show, and had my 13 year old watch most of it with me:
{ Link }
Talk about seeing your life through the vidoe games they went over! Try explaining how you used to sit and play "Pong," "Space Invaders," and the rest as he compares them to his PS2. Not fair.
- 7
Kevin http://www.DominoPreacher.com | 9/14/2004 7:54:22 AM
I had the exact same one! I used to play that thing non-stop!
Because I had gotten so go at the game (and a baseball one as well) my dad thought I'd be good at the real thing and signed me up for a whole bunch of sports.
Important life lesson to dads out there... just cause your kid is great at electronic football doesn't mean he can actually catch a football! :) Video game skills and sports skills don't necessarily mix! :)
- 8
Chris Castellani | 9/14/2004 9:53:03 AM
I still have my old Mattel Electronic Football II (the green one, that allowed passing). What really amazes me when I look back at the game is that each player was represented by a single pixel. I'm not sure how that compares to todays xBox/PlayStation sports games, but it's SEVERAL orders of magnitude off. Still, I think the Mattel game is more fun and engaging than the newer ones.
- 9
jonvon http://jonvon.net | 9/14/2004 1:05:07 PM
i think i used to have that thing. in fact i'm 95% sure (it was either that or something very similar), and i do remember it being rather addictive...
way too cool. :-)
- 10
Adam | 9/15/2004 10:07:24 AM
What really got me was coming across this product:
{ Link }
It looks like an original Atari joystick, but plugs directly into the TV - it actually includes 10 "classic" Atari games, with no hardware other than the joystick.
Ed, what happened? You were on the path to being such a great geek -- and its like the sales & marketing people got a hold on you at some point. Is it pods like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" ?