THIS
THIS IS
THIS IS NEW DAY NORTHWEST, HERE'S MARGARET LARSON.
>>> GOOD MORNING, FIRST UP
TODAY, WE'RE CELEBRATING
NATIONAL VIDEO GAMES DAY WITH A
FUN LOOK BACK AT SEATTLE'S
CONNECTION TO THE GAMING
INDUSTRY, WE WELCOME FROM THE
SEATTLE GAMING EXPO, ROBERT.
IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE.
I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT ALL OF
THIS AND KIND OF RELIVING IN MY
MIND THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME.
LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU
BROUGHT AND SOME OF THE BASIC
THINGS THAT SOME OF US
REMEMBER.
REMEMBER.
REMEMBER. >> YES, SO I BROUGHT THIS ATARI
400 FROM 1979.
THEIR 8 BIT COMPUTING ERA,
GETTING INTO 8 BIT VIDEO GAMES.
IT'S A VERY POPULAR COMPUTER,
ATARI RELEASED A FEW MODELS IN
THIS LINE.
THIS LINE. >> HOW MUCH DID THIS COST WHEN
IT WAS BEING SOLD.
>> THESE CAME OUT RELATIVELY
MODEST.
MODEST.
MODEST. A
MODEST. A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS.
ADJUSTING FOR INFLATION,
THEY'RE NOT AS INEXPENSIVE AS
COMPUTING AS TODAY.
>> WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT
THIS, WHAT IS THIS?
>> THE LEGEND WAS IN THE, YOU
KNOW, MID 80s.
THE VIDEO GAME MARKET CRASHED.
THERE WAS A PROLIFERATION OF
MANUFACTURERS MAKING CONSOLES,
RIDING THIS WAVE OF POPULARITY.
THIS CAME OUT IN 1983.
AND THE GOAL WAS TO GET
STUDENTS AND YOU KNOW, CHILDREN
TO NOT USE THE FAMILY TV.
SO THEY RELEASED THIS CONSOLE
RIGHT AS THE MARKET CRASHES.
AND THERE'S A FAILURE.
ATARI HAD THE SAME THING.
THEY HAD WAREHOUSES FOOL OF
ATARI 2600 GAMES AND BEYOND.
THEIR SOLUTION WAS TO TAKE
EVERYTHING OUT INTO THE DESERT
IN NEW MEXICO AND DUMP IT.
>> GOOD GRIEF.
>> THEY DIDN'T WANT TO PAY TO
STORE IT.
STORE IT.
STORE IT. >> WHY DID THEY BURY IT IN THE
DESERT.
DESERT.
DESERT. HOW DID WE FIND THIS OUT?
>> THIS WAS AN URBAN LEGEND FOR
MANY YEARS, WE THOUGHT.
I REMEMBER GROWING UP AND
HEARING ABOUT THIS.
AND WHEN I STARTED COLLECTING
GAMES IN THE MID 2000s OR EARLY
2000s, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS KIND
OF THE URBAN LEGEND.
AND THEN IN 2012, A PRODUCTION
COMPANY DECIDED TO FINALLY SEE
IF IT WAS TRUE.
AND THEY ACTUALLY WENT OUT TO
DIG UP THE GAMES AND MADE A
MOVIE ON THAT EXPERIENCE.
>> THAT'S REMARKABLE.
DOES SEATTLE HAVE ANY
CONNECTION TO THESE EARLY
THINGS.
THINGS.
THINGS. >> I MEAN, NOT QUITE THAT
EARLY.
EARLY.
EARLY. >>
EARLY. >> TELL US AGAIN WHAT THIS
THING IS.
THING IS.
THING IS. >> THIS IS A VETREX.
IT'S A VECTOR GRAPH.
>> LET MOM AND DAD WATCH THE TV
YOU CAN PLAY ON YOUR OWN
SCREEN.
SCREEN.
SCREEN. NOT TIE UP.
THERE'S ONLY 27 GAMES RELEASED.
IT WAS KIND OF THAT END OF
VIDEO GAME CRASH WHEN THE
MARKETED FAIL.
MARKETED FAIL. >> THE MARKET FAILED JUST
BECAUSE THERE WAS, YOU KNOW,
LIKE PONG, WE WERE TALKING
ABOUT PONG BEFORE.
ONE OF THE EARLIEST VIDEO GAMES
WE CAN THINK OF BEFORE THAT.
COMPANIES WERE RELEASING THE
SAME GAMES WITH DIFFERENT
FORMATS.
FORMATS.
FORMATS. SO YOU HAD MAYBE TWO-PLAYER
HOCKEY AND FOUR-PLAYER HOCKEY,
AND FOOTBALL, THESE WERE ALL
THE SAME KINDS OF GAMES, CAHICO
WOULD RELEASE 20 CONSOLES AND
THAT CAUSED PARENTS TO BUY
THINGS AND NOT GET A GOOD
EXPERIENCE.
EXPERIENCE. SO THE MARKET CRASHES.
WHAT IS THIS LITTLE GUY?
THIS IS A MODERN KIND OF
RECREATION OF TEMPEST.
WHICH IS A GREAT ARCADE GAME.
THIS ACTUALLY PLAYS, YOU KNOW,
YOU CAN HAVE THIS SITTING ON MY
DESK, I HAVE IT ON MY DESK, IT
WORKS FINE.
WORKS FINE. IT WORKS GREAT.
I CAN PLAY IT, I WORK
DOWNSTAIRS AT MUSEUM COMPUTING
MUSEUM --
MUSEUM --
MUSEUM -- >> THAT SOUNDS VERY FUN.
>> THIS IS THE NINTENDO
ENTERTAIN.
ENTERTAIN. SYSTEM.
SYSTEM.
SYSTEM. THEY WANT TO LAUNCH THEIR
CONSOLE, THEY COME OUT AS A TOY
COMPANY IN 1985.
THEY RELEASE ROB THE ROBOT.
BEING THAT MY NAME IS ROB, THIS
LAUNCHES THE VIDEO GAME MARKET
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
AGAIN. THEY HAVE A LOT OF SUCCESS.
RECENTLY THEY RELEASED THE NES
CLASSIC.
CLASSIC.
CLASSIC. YOU CAN GO OUT AND PURCHASE
THOSE GAMES AND PLAY THEM ON
YOUR HOME TV.
>> THE THINGS YOU REMEMBER FROM
PLAYING WHEN YOU WERE A KID.
AND THEN THE GAME BOY OF
COURSE, WHICH WAS LIKE LOTS OF
PEOPLE HAD THOSE.
>> THE GAME BOY WAS VERY
POPULAR, IT CAME WITH TETRIS
PACKED IN THERE.
NINTENDO BEING BASED IN SEATTLE
AND REDMOND.
AND REDMOND. AND THEN LEXI, THE CREATOR OF
TETRIS WORKS AT MICROSOFT.
SO LET'S LOOK AT PICTURES, WE
HAVE REALLY OLD GAMES.
I DON'T KNOW IF KIDS REMEMBER
WHAT THESE THINGS WERE LIKE.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THIS ONE,
WHAT IS THIS?
>> THIS IS TENNIS FOR TWO.
ESSENTIALLY THE FIRST VIDEO
GAME.
GAME.
GAME. >>
GAME. >> THIS IS THE THING THAT GOES
BACK AND FORTH.
>> IT'S PONG ESSENTIALLY.
SO THERE'S A SMALL NET IN THE
MIDDLE.
MIDDLE.
MIDDLE. AND THIS IS ALL ANALOG.
THERE'S NO DIGITAL COMPONENT.
THIS IS ALL AT THE HARDWARE
LEVEL.
LEVEL.
LEVEL. ONE OF THE ENGINEERS SPENT SIX
MONTHS, WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT
THE SCHEMATICS AND RECREATED
IT.
IT.
IT. FIX
IT. FIX ADD FEW ERRORS HE FOUND
WHAT HE THOUGHT THE GEOMETRY OF
A TENNIS BALL CAN BE.
YOU CAN PLAY THIS GAME AT THE
MUSEUM AND SEE THE FIRST VIDEO
GAME FROM 1958.
WHICH IS VERY EARLY.
>> CAN YOU PUT SPIN ON THE
BALL?
BALL?
BALL? AND
BALL? AND THINGS LIKE TENNIS WOULD
DO.
DO.
DO. >>
DO. >> IN
DO. >> IN A SENSE, THE GAME DOESN'T
PLAY LIKE WE WOULD THINK LIVE.
SO YOU KIND OF ADJUST YOUR SHOT
AHEAD OF TIME AND AIM AND
LAUNCH YOUR BALL AND SEE.
AND SO IT'S VERY SLOW.
THIS IS 1958.
WHEN COMPUTER WERE MASSIVE
EQUIPMENT -- COMPUTERS WERE
MASSIVE EQUIPMENT.
MASSIVE EQUIPMENT. >> I REMEMBER THE EARLY GAMES.
I WORKED AT SEARS IN THE
SPORTING GOOD DEPARTMENT.
AND PEOPLE WOULD JUST STAND
THERE AND WATCH IT.
IT WAS SO FACINATING FOR US AT
THE TIME.
THE TIME.
THE TIME. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE OF
THE GAMING INDUSTRY IS GOING TO
BE NOW THAT THINGS ARE SO
REALISTIC AND SO EVOLVING?
>> COMPETITIVE GAMING IS SEEING
A RESURGENCE.
A RESURGENCE. THERE'S ABOUT 100,000 PEOPLE
BEING BROUGHT IN TO PLAY VIDEO
GAMES.
GAMES.
GAMES. E
GAMES. E SPORTS OR SPORTS AS
ENTERTAIN.
ENTERTAIN. AND PEOPLE WATCHING.
AND FAMOUS STREAMERS THAT ARE
PLAYING VIDEO GAMES AND BEING
KNOWN FOR THAT IS DEFINITELY I
THINK ONE ARIANNA THE INDUSTRY
IS HEADING.
IS HEADING. -- ONE AREA THAT THE INDUSTRY
IS HEADING.
IS HEADING. >> AND BIG MONEY AT STAKE.
WHICH IS SHOCKING.
IT'S GREAT.
IT'S GREAT. I THINK THAT'S A PERFECTLY
FANTASTIC THING BUT IT BLOWS MY
MIND THAT YOU CAN WIN MILLIONS.
>> THE LARGEST ONE THAT I'M
AWARE OF IS THE INTERNATIONAL.
A VERY COMPLEX STRATEGY TEAM
GAME.
GAME.
GAME. AND
GAME. AND THAT CONTEST, THE AGGREGATE
PRICE POOL IS BETWEEN 25 TO $30
MILLION ON AVERAGE.
>> SO WHAT'S BEHIND US HERE?
>> BEHIND US IS SUPER MARIO
BROTHERS 3. ARGUABLY, MY
FAVORITE OF ALL TIME.
MARIO IS THAT RESURGENCE OF
VIDEO GAMES.
VIDEO GAMES. VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
THE FIRST LEVEL, IN SUPER
MOTHER BROTHERS, THE FIRST GAME
IN THE SERIES SHOWS YOU HOW TO
PLAY IT WITHOUT WORDS.
GAME DESIGN AND PEOPLE
RECREATING OLD GAMES.
LEVEL ONE-ONE IS SCENE OF THE
PINNACLE OF THERE'S SOMETHING
IN MY WAY, I JUMP OVER IT.
MARIO BROTHERS 3 IS THE
PINNACLE OF THAT SERIES.
THERE'S LOTS TO DO AND EXPLORE.
SHOULD WE TRY IT?
>> WE CAN TRY IT OUT.
I'M NOT A GAME PLAYER.
I'M A MARIO PLAYER.
YOU JUST TRIED TO TEACH ME.
PRESS START.
PRESS START. I KNOW I HIT START.
THAT MUCH I'M ON.
WE'LL GO TO THE FIRST LEVEL
THERE.
THERE.
THERE. HIT A AGAIN.
AND THEN NOW YOU'RE IN THE
GAME.
GAME.
GAME. SO
GAME. SO YOU'RE GOING TO TRY TO JUMP
OVER THAT GUMBA THERE.
YOU CAN LAND ON TOP OF HIM FOR
EXTRA POINTS.
EXTRA POINTS. >> THERE YOU GO, 100 POINTS.
>> NOW I'M GOING TO HIT THE
QUESTION MARKS.
QUESTION MARKS. >> HIT THE BLOCKS.
>> SO NINTENDO, WHEN THEY
RELEASED SUPER MARIO BROTHERS
3, THEY DECIDED TO MAKE A MOVIE
CALLED "THE WIZARD."
THEY MADE A FICTIONAL CONTEST
TO MARKET THE GAME.
THE MOVIE IS ESSENTIALLY A VERY
LONG COMMERCIAL FOR ALL OF
NINTENDO'S LATEST RELEASES THAT
YEAR.
YEAR.
YEAR. SO
YEAR. SO YOU CAN HANG IT.
PRESS A AGAIN AND JUMP OVER IT.
THERE YOU GO.
>> MY THUMBS ARE ARE SO
CONFUSED.
CONFUSED.
CONFUSED. >> WAIT FOR THIS GUY.
OH NO.
OH NO.
OH NO. >>
OH NO. >> HE GOT YOU.
[ LAUGHTER ] I GOT COCKY THAT'S
SO MUCH FUN, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WE APPRECIATE IT.
THERE'S SO MANY GOOD THINGS,
YOU KNOW, FOR US TO PLAY OUT