Gaming on the Margins

Video games are an expensive hobby, but the truly determined among us find ways to make it work, even on a tight budget. In an interview with My Retro Life, John Hancock talks about a special Christmas when he received a TurboGrafx-16. His mother was ashamed that a clearance priced game console at Toys 'R Us was all she could afford, but the price didn't concern young John... all he wanted was fun, not a status symbol to show off to his friends.

I had similar experiences as a gamer. I couldn't afford an NES until the summer of 1988, but did that stop me from playing video games? Of course not! I just played older ones, made affordable by the industry crash of 1983. Intellivisions and Atari 2600s were in abundant supply at garage sales, and games for those two machines could still be purchased at retail, for a small fraction of what NES games cost. (And Winter Games on the Atari 2600 was at least ten times better than its NES counterpart anyway.)

The 1980s were a smorgasbord of gaming delights for young, cash-strapped gamers. You just had to be willing to slum a little.