February 1983

Atari announces mass layoffs, Time names the personal computer the man of the year & Nintendo launches the Game and Watch in North America These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in February 1983.  As always,  we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost.  Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/book Get us on your mobile device: Android:  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS:      https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM Send comments on Mastodon @[email protected] Or twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or [email protected] Links: 7 Minutes in Heaven: Spider-Man     Video Version:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/79440858     https://www.mobygames.com/game/9960/spider-man/     https://www.mobygames.com/game/1870/spider-man/     https://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/2018/06/podcast-512-interview-with-atari-2600-spider-man-game-designer-laura-nikolich/     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Nikolich      Corrections:     January 1983 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/january-1983-78434711     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Supercade     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Lair_(TV_series)     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betamax#Launch_and_early_models     https://joeclark.org/beta/BetterBetaList.html     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrm5VedvD2Q     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kildall     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzdCyWY3GCI     http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/_Books/101_BASIC_Computer_Games_Mar75.pdf     https://www.mobygames.com/game/5050/jumping-flash/ 1973.02     Pong gets more notices         https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94010891/pong-noted-in-orange-mall-in-los-angeles/ Odyssey gets write up in Popular Electronics     https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/70s/1973/Poptronics-1973-02.pdf  pg. 64     https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magnavox-Odyssey-Video-Cable.jpg 1983.01     Al Lowe enters gaming biz     https://books.google.com.au/books?id=AjAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA16&ots=7EFL48Dot0&dq=Bop-A-Bet%20computer%20game%20Al%20Lowe&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q=Bop-A-Bet%20computer%20game%20Al%20Lowe&f=false     https://www.mobygames.com/company/25974/sunnyside-soft/     Al Lowe - Sierra https://www.patreon.com/posts/29977733      1983.02     Atari profits nosedive as Coleco ascends     https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/17/business/warner-s-profit-falls-by-56.5.html?searchResultPosition=10     Kevin Hayes - Atari - Namco htttps://www.patreon.com/posts/50612798     The Video Game Crash 40th Anniversary - Part 2: Everyone Else https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-game-crash-76259421     The Video Game Crash 40th Anniversary - Part 1: Atari https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-game-crash-75643983 Atari lays off 1,700     https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62352386/atari-inc-mass-layoffs-begin/         https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/23/business/atari-moving-most-production.html?searchResultPosition=15 Editors plead not to give up on games     https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 1     Double Dragon C64 https://www.mobygames.com/game/1839/double-dragon/screenshots/c64/ Atari snags microchip Intel luminary     https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/01/business/atari-hires-inventor-of-microprocessor-chip.html?searchResultPosition=1        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcian_Hoff     Leonard Tramiel - Part 2 - Atari  https://www.patreon.com/posts/71643153     Leonard Tramiel - Part 1 - Commodore  https://www.patreon.com/posts/leonard-tramiel-69195513     https://engineering.stanford.edu/news/ted-hoff-birth-microprocessor-and-beyond Showbiz turns Apple iis into coinops     Play Meter Feb. 1, 1983, pg.  54         https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2015/09/peek_through_time_showbiz_pizz.html         https://www.facebook.com/showbizpizzacom/photos/a.307884760553/10156663089730554/?type=3 Kiddie rides meet video games     Play Meter Feb. 15, 1983 pg. 68     https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n15/page/n2/mode/1up     https://www.kiddieridesusa.com/ Atari announces "My First Computer"     https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/10/business/atari-game-converter.html?searchResultPosition=2     https://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue36/020_Ataris_New_Add-On_Computer_For_VCS_2600_Game_Machine.php Mattel shows off Intellivision 3 behind closed doors     https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n14         https://history.blueskyrangers.com/hardware/intellivision3.html      Coleco announces Gemini     https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update       The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 11     The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 14     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleco_Gemini Add-ons are the new name of the game!     https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update      The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 6, 10, 11        https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n15/page/n7/mode/1up     Toy & Hobby World Feb. 1983     http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-crash-that-almost-was/     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleco_Adam Amiga's Joyboard brings motion controls to the VCS     https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/13/business/what-s-new-in-the-toy-industry-exercising-with-video-games.html?searchResultPosition=9        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyboard        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Meditation Atari goes after pre-schoolers     https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/13/business/what-s-new-in-the-toy-industry-exercising-with-video-games.html?searchResultPosition=9        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTp_wBnSW9k     The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 5     https://www.mobygames.com/game/22900/alpha-beam-with-ernie/cover/group-97061/cover-265056/ Sega enters cartridge market     Leisure Time Electronics Feb. 1983 pg. 22        https://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/company:8665/platform:atari-2600/sort:moby_score/page:0/        Playthings Feb. 1983      Fox announces MASH game     https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update      The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 5     https://www.mobygames.com/game/19861/mash/     https://www.mobygames.com/game/22975/porkys/screenshots/ Video game rentals take off     https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Fun_with_Computer_Games_Vol_01_No_04_1983-02_Fun_Games_Publishing_US/page/n89/mode/1up Toy retailers plan shift from consoles to computers     Playthings Feb. 1983      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHujs7ka_K0      Time crowns the computer Man of the Year     https://archive.org/details/TeleMatch.N02.1983.02-KCz.pdf/page/n9/mode/1up     https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html CES and Toy Fare see new computers galore     https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-video-game-update     Toys Hobbies and Crafts Feb. 1983     http://www.atarihq.com/museum/nonatari/ultravision.php     https://www.samdal.com/sv318.htm     https://www.samdal.com/svhistory.htm     http://www.atari-computermuseum.de/1200xl.htm     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattel_Aquarius     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-99/4A#TI-99/4A_successors Byte looks at the Lisa     https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n34/mode/1up         ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lisa     https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n87/mode/1up PC upgraders pose a problem for IBM     https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n430/mode/1up IBM goes abroad     https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n15/page/n3/mode/1up     https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-02-17/page/n9/mode/2up     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer Intel begins work on 386     https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n433/mode/1up         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I386 Tandy cuts CoCo price     https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1983-02-rescan/page/n434/mode/1up     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Color_Computer ZX Spectrum hits retail     https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-011/page/n14/mode/1up     https://youtu.be/-BLM1naCfME     https://youtu.be/kUSHiHmOdvE     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum TI 99 could go B-O-O-M     https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/23/business/texas-instruments.html?searchResultPosition=1 Michael Katz moves to Epyx     https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/28/business/business-people-a-new-chief-for-epyx-game-software-maker.html?searchResultPosition=2     https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n14/page/n7/mode/1up     Michael Katz Part 1 - Coleco - Epyx - Mattel  https://www.patreon.com/posts/35169258     https://www.mobygames.com/game/10151/gi-joe-a-real-american-hero/ Cosmi announces Tri-compatible cassette     The Video Game Update Feb. 1983 pg. 16     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmi_Corporation Broderbund goes multiplatform     https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n14/page/n2/mode/1up     Gary Carlston- Broderbund  https://www.patreon.com/posts/50036733 TSR gets into video games     https://archive.org/details/BlipMagazineCollection/Blip%2001%20%28Feb%201983%29%20TV%20Star%20Matthew%20Laborteaux/page/n34/mode/1up       https://www.mobygames.com/game/53549/theseus-and-the-minotaur/screenshots/        https://www.mobygames.com/game/93453/dawn-patrol/screenshots/         https://www.mobygames.com/game/99272/dungeon-computer-adventure-game/ Virgin gets into games     https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-02-24/page/n4/mode/1up     https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-02-03/page/n4/mode/1up Brian Fargo's first gets reviewed     https://archive.org/details/softalkv3n06feb1983/page/133/mode/1up     https://www.mobygames.com/game/1795/the-demons-forge/ Save money on "expensive adventure game dice"     https://archive.org/details/arcade_express_v1n15/page/n4/mode/1up     https://archive.org/details/syncmagazine-v3_n1/page/n97/mode/1up Nintendo launches Game and Watch in North America     Leisure Time electronics Feb. 1983 pg. 26     Replay Feb. 1983 pg.  75         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_%26_Watch     https://nintendo.fandom.com/de/wiki/Panorama   Massachusettes judge calls game content "inconsequential"     Games People Feb. 19, 1983  pg. 1     https://casetext.com/case/caswell-v-licensing-commission-for-brockton GCC seeks a piece of Pacman merch pie     https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_Volume_1_Number_05_1983-02_Pumpkin_Press_US/page/n97/mode/1up     https://pacman.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_Ms._Pac-Man_legal_issues     https://pacman.fandom.com/wiki/Ms._Pac-Man#Pac-Mom Ronnie Lamm on MacNeil/Lehrer     https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-507-6d5p844g0b Xrated games to feature in movie     Games People Feb. 19, 1983  pg. 1     http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/03/rare-games-more-1975-atari-photos-and.html     https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085764/?ref_=hm_rvi_tt_i_2 First US cases of video game induced seizures reported     Games People Feb. 19, 1983  pg. 1      Sega gets into robots     Play Meter Feb. 15, 1983 pg. 69     https://sega.fandom.com/wiki/Sega_Chan     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.O.B. Leisure Dynamics announces Crossbows and Catapults     Toy & Hobby World Feb. 1983 pg. 197     https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2129/crossbows-and-catapults     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Wars Recommended Links: The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/ Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/ Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play. Copyright Karl Kuras Find out on the VGNRTM   commodore atari mattel vcs intellivision spectravision colecovision nintendo gamenwatch pacman dnd tsr spectrum ibm sega spiderman