Quotes from the history of video games

[mollipen]

Looking through part of my vast old video game magazine collection, and decided I'd post some interesting quotes from different issues. May post more later as I find more.

Billed as the world's first CD-ROM entertainment program, The Manhole, by Activision, is a greatly enhanced version of the original HyperCard program. Manhole CD-ROM has additional 3D graphics plus digitzed voices of the characters who meet (sic) on the fantasy trip. It also boasts an original musical sound track composed by Russell "Heroes of the Lamp" Lieblich in collaboration with Ed Bogas, a prominent commercial composer.

The CD-ROM format provides more than 56 megabytes of information on one CD disk, equivalent to approximately 68 floppy disks. The Manhole CD-ROM requires a none-megabyte Macintosh Plus, SE, II or IIx, an Apple CD SC (or compatible CD-ROM drive), and a hard drive. It retails for $59.95.
-Video Games and Computer Entertainment, August 1989


Conceived as a joke on the intelligence of mankind, this soon to be extinct contraption is strictly too difficult and painful to play. 20/20 vision and optimum lighting are necessary for a good time. Sorry!
- Sushi X rates the GameBoy, EGM Buyer's Guide 1991

[NeoZeedeater]

I remember those issues. The VG&CE has a Genesis on the cover, right?

[mollipen]

Yup, Genesis cover. Good memory. ^_^


Modem Capability - Telecommunications has grown rapidly in the computer field, but the main inspiration is the Nintendo GameBoy. Its success has made linking for multi-player contests a hot concept.

Computer-game companies figure that if people like playing across a room, they'll enjoy competing against somebody across the country at least as much. Heavy ownership of this peripheral makes it resonable to aim products at modem users. Companies like 360 Degree Software are incorporating modem capabilities in as many products as possible. Armor Alley, for example, even lets computerists play on any combination of Macintosh and IBM PC machines.
- #3 on list of Ten Hot Gaming Trends, Video Games and Computer Entertainment, Oct. 1990


It's not the absolute hardware numbers that matter, it's how much software is going to be consumed. For say, a machine like the Sega Genesis, by the time the installed hardware base got to half a million, software sales were at two million per year. Well, we've already gotten to 2 million software sales in less than a year and with a worldwide installed base of 200,000. So one of the things that says about 3DO is that the software is better, the users are buying more software and so economically it's going to be a more attractive business on a smaller installed base than a cartridge machine.
- Trip Hawkins, Next Generation #1


Well I liked to tease Trip in that I said, "Gee Trip, I found out with $3 million dollars what has cost you more than $100 million to find out!"
- Nolan Bushnell, Next Generation #4

[StriderKyo]

Originally posted by shidoshi

Armor Alley, for example, even lets computerists play on any combination of Macintosh and IBM PC machines.[/i]

Sometimes my computerist chaps and I ride our pennywheelers to the computarium and pharmaceutecist's shop down on corner 'nigh.

[Low]

I always wondered what the big thing was with "The Manhole". A PC Engine guide I have gave it amazing scores, sounds like they were tripping on the "wow" factor of the CD storage. *-neo

[mollipen]

Originally posted by StriderKyo
Sometimes my computerist chaps and I ride our pennywheelers to the computarium and pharmaceutecist's shop down on corner 'nigh.

*laughing*

[Tracer]

Crikey, that made me change my sig...

ºTracer

[NeoZeedeater]

Here's a couple I dug out of my closet.

EGM #2, Quartermann

"Both NEC and Sega have announced spiffy new names for their next generation game machines. NEC has come up with the very descriptive TURBOGRAFX-16 and Sega has come up with the colorful title of Genesis."

"...Nix on Howard Phillips! The bow-tie boy blew it in his recent Newsweek interview when he said that Konami's fantastic Super Mario-ish Babyland game was not good enough for the American market."

EGM #3

I can't believe Ed gave The Guardian Legend a 5/10

Here's Quartermann again-

"The super Namco 16-bit that my main man and editor Steve Harris wrote about last issue almost became the P.C. Engine 2! A feud between Namco and Hudson (the designers of the original P.C. Engine and the Japanese Famicom), however, called the deal off."