Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/09/19/atari-centipede-commercial-wit.html
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ok, do better, then.
shakes cane
stop crapping on the things of my youth!
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Yeah, the rap sucks, but I really like what they did with the rhythm of the gun shots sounds.
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Not as bad as Clapton doing JJ Cales’s “Cocaine”, that rap blows!
The mushroom/machine gun sound is an odd one to use. It sounds neat, but it also associated with the player loosing a life.
I’m betting, the people that put the advertisement together had little knowledge of the game.
And besides, no controller at home could compare to the arcade. All that mass and inertia of the “roller-controller”.
This has brought up the genre of poorly executed rap aimed at kids:
Don’t Copy That Floppy
Source: Youtube clip from Don’t Copy That Floppy, Software Publishers Association, circa 1992
Full video here
See also, the debatably fake:
Rappin’ For Jesus NSFW Language/content
Source: Youtube video: West Dubuque 2nd Church of Christ, upload 2013,
controversy explained by HuffPo.
See also Everything Is Terrible, #rap tag, because everything is terrible.
When does the bad 1980s rap start?
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Well, there’s this gem from Cheers, but on the other hand, they weren’t serious.
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I believe that there was a track-ball controller available for the Atari 400/800 computers. I have the computer and probably the cartridge down in the garage, but never owned the track-ball. I did have 2 of the deluxe arcade-tough Wico joysticks though- those things were awesome!
No, he’s saying it was good. In the 1980s if you wanted to call something good, you’d say it was “bad”. Shit was crazy!
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It’s actually pretty innovative given that bad rap doesn’t really take off until later in the decade. In 1983 most mainstream audiences (i.e. white people) weren’t familiar with rap. Bad rap only begins when white people think they know it and think they can do it.
By far the best song about the Atari 2600…
I was thinking that, too. 80s video game samples are a well of cool sounds to pull from.
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There was at least one, the ProLine Trak Ball (Scroll down the thread for photos). But it didn’t have the same mass, feel or stability that the arcade machine did. Nothing would have that stability.
On the other hand, having a roller-controller and playing at home in one’s underwear seems like a dream. I suppose as a kid in Underoos, nobody would have said anything on a hot day if I was playing video games in an arcade.
Now I have to build a time-machine and have a talk with myself. I also should have thanked my parents more for hunting for Underoos (even though I got Yoda) and buying us “space light swords” with only one set of batteries late at night. I loved that night but was ticked off that I didn’t get Boba Fett, not because I liked Boba Fett, but because it was the only one that didn’t have a face on it. I’d tell my young self to thank my parents, be grateful, and to ask to go to the arcade on my birthday with a roll of quarters. I’d also hand myself a few rolls of quarters and change the timeline forever.
But I digress…
[Edit to correct an error]
ATARI 5200 GRAPHICS SHOWN.
Yeah, the 2600 graphics are really crude.
The 2600 version is probably best played on a crt, as persistence is involved.
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Currently sold out, but…
https://underoos.com/collections/guys-1/products/star-wars-boba-fett-underoos
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I just looked to see if they had the Yoda ones when posted this. Thank you!
I thought about it for a moment, but remembered I have kids. I don’t want my love of some franchise, or past love, to become theirs just because I loved it. I want them to find their own loves and quirk to fall in love with. (Yes, an odd use of quirk.) I am happy that Star Wars is addressing slavery, that really pissed me off as a kid, but I am in no way happy with many of the messages of the story now.
At this age, I think I’ll just find a yeti or bigfoot jacket to wear when we go camping. That will be comfortable and far more relaxing than playing a video game, at least until the Coast-to-Coast crowd show up.
As someone who also asked for Boba Fett Underoos, but received Yoda, I’m happy to help! The Yoda and Boba Fett seem to be out of stock quite a bit, so I’m guessing that bit of nostalgia is strong for a lot of us.
My nephew, who is 9, loves the original trilogy but especially loves the Rebels cartoon and Rogue One. So some fandom can absolutely transcend generations.
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