Popular Game Consoles and Computers of the 1980s

The 1980’s saw the decade when consumers started the world trend of the game console. Every kid on the planet that had seen these plastic boxes wanted one. The game play was so addictive, that weeks were spent locked away in the childhood bedrooms. Dishes would pile up by the side of the door. Friends would pop in to sit and watch, and your mum and dad never had so much peace since the days of babyhood.

The Sega Master system was responsible for the sore thumbs and deluded minds of the eighties. The graphics were state of the art and the game play was extreme. The game cartridges were rather expensive compared to other up and coming computers on the market. They retailed at around £9.99 for a new release.

Sega re-launched itself several times with Sega 2 and other various versions. But the Master system looked great, even with today’s standards.

The Sega master System

The commodore 64 and Spectrum had a huge impact on the modern market of the 80’s. These great computers rivalled the game consoles. Who could have guest these bits of plastic were the birth of the modern computer today.

You could type, make small programmes, change the colours of the fonts, and play games. The multi coloured horizontal and vertical bars burst across the screen while it took around 5 minutes to load each game. flimsy cassette tapes retailed at around £2.99, but the keen buyer always knew they would get a free one with the monthly magazine. The difference between the two systems was simply style. The graphics on the commodore were slightly better and you could whack in cartridges at the back RAM port. These were later developed for the new version of the 64.

The Sinclair ZX Specrum

The Commodore 64

Before the big push there was many version of the famous Pong. Atari and Telestar cornered this market sector. They developed many versions of the game, which kept the youth going until the early 1980’s. Atari were responsible for the first home game console with detachable cartridges and joy sticks for awesome game play.

One of the famous Atari consoles

The Nintendo entertainment system (Nes) was a joy for the Mario Users. The sound of mushrooms bouncing around and little Mario getting bigger was an instant hook. The game play was special and saw hours of crazy fun. The first Nes was released in 1983. If a kid on your street had one of these babies he was a celebrity that year.

The Nintendo entertainment system

Sega lost a lot of ground to this new-engineered phenomenon. With a 2-year development plan they finally launched the Sega Mega drive. And what a ride for the kids of the late 1980’s. This console let you play all the arcade classics from the comfort of your own home. Double dragon, altered beast, Sonic the hedgehog and many others were the pride of the white chipboard sleeved shelves. 

The Sega Mega Drive