I felt like I was cheating on my BISH. That being the Atari 2600 VCS. It's the only hardware video game I ever had and I bought several more copies of it in the late 80's before they were nostalgia. This device kind of went the same way but had it's resurgence in price as well. Me and my Atari, also known as STELLA, had lots of fun as I manipulated Stella's paddles and joysticks. Yeah, I'll refrain from any more of the sexual humor. It was however, a lot of pulling and pushing on a joystick, but there was also a lot of mashing a red button which usually made a score. BOP!

Okay, what the hell was I doing with the NES? It pretty much took the world of video games and brought them back from the garbage heap where all the ET carts were buried. When I sold these, there were no less than 4 "8-Bit" video systems including Atari's also ran computer based 5200/7800. Nobody was buying. Everybody was seeing what Mario was jumping and what SONIC was well, whatever the hell he did. NEC's Turbografix machine was kind of that odd Monopoly playing machine. I don't think I ever sold one and their software held up other popular titles from Sega or Nintendeutsh. Again, why do I have this?

Mr Fat Hanz is showing the output area of this box. It was pretty much this way with every piece of electronics that connected to a TV. I'd say it was about 1970-1990 or so . We had a switch box on the back of the TV that slid one way when you wanted to play a game and back for regular TV. Nintendo advanced this a bit, making the switch automatic. Progress. Them Japanese. Ch3 and Ch 4. Our tech would seem so quaint to anybody less than 20 years old.  WTF is this POS? "It's a ashtray!" Ohhhh, well who needs that when we VAPE?"

AHA! Them Japanese. They cornered the market with their tiny Italians chasing mushrooms. When Tetris came out, there was a surge on this machine again. It really was this or maybe Sega or BOTH when you grew up in the early 90's. Plus, they were smart cookies over at NinTen, because they had audio/video connectors built into this machine as well. WOW. That meant if you had one of those new fangled TVs with audio/video in, you were one rich MF because I was still watching my 12" Panasonic B&W until I bought my Toshiba 20" TV a few years later. Really. A Tube TV, 20" for $300. It was an investment for me. Really. So, amusingly, this 25 year old device would play games on any TV made today and look 8-Bitty doing it.

But...where the F is the JOYSTICK? You mean there is no JOYSTICK? Oh sure they sell joysticks which are bulky and stupid, but there isn't one for the palm of your hand? What kind of BS is this S? The Atari VCS came with TWO joysticks and a set of PADDLES! This POS doesn't even have ONE joystick as standard equipment? F the paddles! What if there is a driving game?  I don't bet any NASCAR driver uses a pad, they use a circular device called a STEERING WHEEL which is simulated by the PADDLES! *Grumble* Really, this is the one part I hate about any modern video game. Oh sure, I could LEARN to PLAY without a JOYSTICK but that is FOREIGN to me.  Ever try learning FRENCH? I had my mom take me out of advanced FRENCH because I just couldn't get the verb tenses. HOW do you NINTENDNUTS expect me to play a game of River Raid or Reactor or Frogger or Indiana Jones without a JOYSTICK? Every try to pick up an ANK with a joyPAD? End of rant.  "Ank???" "Leave him alone, he's on a roll. " (Skitch, Animal House, Thanks.)

  Here's why I did it. I'll confess. The VCS version of Gyruss kinda sucks all kinds of sewage from the outlet of a local Taco Bell bathroom. I had played this version either in store or on someones home unit and I loved the game and music so much, that when I had a chance, I picked one up on the cheap and played it for a few months until boredom set in. I think I got the original Mario with it and a kids game of some sort, but I was all set with my Gyruss cart. I love the classical music played in all it's 8 Bit glory. So, while this is not really junk, the fact that I haven't played it in 20 years means.... JUNK BLOG.    -Ric