A brief history of home consoles, as seen through tv ads

Xisiqomelir · Post by **Xisiqomelir** » 2006-12-22 04:31pm

Picked this up on /., figured some of you would like it (espec for the 2600 commercial).

EDIT: Fixed link

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-12-22 08:19pm

Good stuff. It really makes it clear how awful video game commercials were and still are. I'm not sure I've ever seen a competent video game commercial.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2006-12-23 04:30am

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Good stuff. It really makes it clear how awful video game commercials were and still are. I'm not sure I've ever seen a competent video game commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W26dIkqHOU8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2WoP51iXHw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9hC6TirbmY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FFdC5QeqWQ

Elaro · Post by **Elaro** » 2006-12-23 05:17pm

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Good stuff. It really makes it clear how awful video game commercials were and still are. I'm not sure I've ever seen a competent video game commercial.

I thought the Wii ads were quite competent.

LordShaithis · Post by **LordShaithis** » 2006-12-23 07:43pm

Phil Hartman screaming at the Atari 2600 was pretty awesome.

EDIT: Most of these cheezy old commercials actually talk up... gasp... the system's features and games. That's a hell of a lot better than this PS3 "crying baby doll" horseshit.

Covenant · Post by **Covenant** » 2006-12-23 08:41pm

I really liked the Gears of War TV commercial.

It was so quiet and the world seemed dead, and it seemed to stark. It seemed like there was this real despair about that gameworld, but I know that it's a shooter, which seemed to hit a perfect balance between showing me drop-dead-gorgeous action and giving me a world in which that kind of violence didn't seem out of place. Anyway, I thought it was a beautifully shot little ad!

Note, I really haaaate Donny Darko crap, so there was no nostalgia factor there. Ugh.

LordShaithis · Post by **LordShaithis** » 2006-12-23 09:01pm

I've never played Gears of War or heard that song before, but the broken statue at the beginning and the choice of music were brilliant. Set that running around to generic sci-fi actioney music and it becomes totally forgettable.

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-12-24 02:21pm

Elaro wrote:
Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Good stuff. It really makes it clear how awful video game commercials were and still are. I'm not sure I've ever seen a competent video game commercial.
I thought the Wii ads were quite competent.

OK, so I exaggerated. But you have to admit that most game commercials to this day are headscratchers.

Utah Jak · Post by **Utah Jak** » 2006-12-24 03:03pm

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:
Elaro wrote:
Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Good stuff. It really makes it clear how awful video game commercials were and still are. I'm not sure I've ever seen a competent video game commercial.
I thought the Wii ads were quite competent.
OK, so I exaggerated. But you have to admit that most game commercials to this day are headscratchers.

Very true. The PS3's commercials generate an instant What the Fuck?! reaction every time I see one.

18-Till-I-Die · Post by **18-Till-I-Die** » 2006-12-24 03:51pm

I remember every one of those commercials from the Nintendo 'Power Pad' one onward. Looking back i must have got my first game system around the time that came out, since that 'Power Pack' with the running pad and teh zapper was the one my mom got. Jesus i must have been one.

Now i feel old.

It's even worse that i remember clearly using words like "rad" in general conversation.

Now you're playing with POWER...Geriatric Power!

Siege · Post by **Siege** » 2006-12-24 04:15pm

I've always been a fan of David Lynch' PS2 add myself.

Also, that Golden Sun add rocked.