October 1983

Video Game Newsroom Time Machine

The Boom is over, Texas Instruments is out & Nintendo becomes stock market darling

These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM

This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in October 1983.

As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events.

Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here:

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Links:

Complete links can be found at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/94392565

7 Minutes in Heaven: Kool-Aid Man Video Version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/7-minutes-in-aid-94380376 https://www.mobygames.com/game/16706/kool-aid-man/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/40671/kool-aid-man/ https://youtu.be/mpbaznILT3s?si=oGZ8BCrVkhGu_aeG

Corrections: September 1983 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/september-1983-92463308 Ethan's fine site The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nio3hYAx_Tc https://youtu.be/zONxBXLw4YY

1973-10 Sega joins pong craze https://archive.org/details/cashbox35unse_16/page/n108/mode/1up

Midway announces Space Race clone https://archive.org/details/cashbox35unse_14/page/52/mode/1up?view=theater.

Kee Games plant opens https://archive.org/details/cashbox35unse_14/page/52/mode/1up?view=theater

Video game sales exceed 45,000 https://archive.org/details/cashbox35unse_17/page/59/mode/1up?view=theater

1983-10 Supreme Court refuses to hear speed up kit case "Economy At A Glance, United Press International, October 3, 1983, Monday, AM cycle, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SJB-F6H0-001X-R0FX-00000-00&context=1516831. By ELIZABETH OLSON, United Press International, October 3, 1983, Monday, BC cycle, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SJB-F6M0-001X-R0W3-00000-00&context=1516831." https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/23/business/the-gavel-comes-down-on-computer-copycats.html

Lasermania grips coinop Replay Oct. 1983, pg. 8 Replay, Oct. 1983, pg. 97, 41, 136 Coleco catches Singe https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-2-7

SENTE is a go... Replay Oct. 1983 pg. 22, 8

Nintendo dividend tops charts NINTENDO INCREASES ANNUAL DIVIDEND BY 6.5 YEN, Copyright 1983 Jiji Press Ltd.Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 11, 1983, TUESDAY, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SJD-P7J0-001B-N4KX-00000-00&context=1516831. Copyright 1983 Jiji Press Ltd., Copyright 1983 Jiji Press Ltd.Jiji Press Ticker Service, OCTOBER 11, 1983, TUESDAY, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SJD-P7G0-001B-N4GD-00000-00&context=1516831. Matsushita Electric tops 807 firms in consolidated earnings figures, The Japan Economic Journal, October 11, 1983, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3S8H-1PT0-000H-H1RH-00000-00&context=1516831. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43294923

Konami opens US operations Replay Oct. 1983 pg 136

Atari opens Chicago dealership Replay Oct 1983 pg. 10

Harry Williams, RIP Replay Oct. 1983 pg. 28

Bars need not fear arcades PR Newswire, October 5, 1983, Wednesday, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SJB-2S40-000D-81GN-00000-00&context=1516831.

The boom is over https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/17/business/video-games-industry-comes-down-to-earth.html

Warner loses $122.4 million in third quarter New York Times, October 15, 1983, pg. 37

Warner cuts 250 jobs at New York HQ https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/14/business/warner-cuts-corporate-staff-by-250.html

2600 being sold off for $60 Playthings, Oct. 1983, pg. 24 Activision supports 5200 https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-2-7/page/105/mode/1up

Mattel revenues collapse By James E. Braham, Profit's a question on home screens, Industry Week, October 3, 1983, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SPF-0RB0-0010-M0WW-00000-00&context=1516831. Mattel Computer Adaptor tested https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews032-19Oct1983/page/n19/mode/1up?view=theater

Coleco revenue plummets https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/25/business/declines-sharp-for-apple-and-coleco.html https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/05/business/market-placedaniel-f-cuff-coleco-s-adam-betting-heavy.html https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews031-12Oct1983/page/n5/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-2-7/page/108/mode/1up https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews032-19Oct1983/page/n5/mode/1up

CBS posts gains https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/13/business/cbs-inc-profits-surge-3-groups-help-results.html

Toys R Us sees drop in video games and computers https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/13/business/toys-r-us.html

Apple earnings plummet https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/25/business/declines-sharp-for-apple-and-coleco.html https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews032-19Oct1983/page/n3/mode/1up

Commodore numbers surge https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/27/business/results-are-mixed-for-xerox.html

MacNeil Lehrer Newshour interviews Jack Tramiel https://youtu.be/U5skpKlVOqc?si=6vDkO5DnwZJZIbrd https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_507-mp4vh5d74j#at_2421.316381_s TI drops out https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/29/business/retreat-set-by-texas-instruments.html https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/31/business/ibm-may-benefit.html https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1983-10_OCR/page/n8/mode/1up?view=theater

David Ahl presents Price Wars, the Graphic Novel https://archive.org/details/Creative_Computing_1983-10/page/n187/mode/1up?view=theater

IBM profits up https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/15/business/ibm-net-up-24.8-in-quarter.html

IBM welcomes Taiwanese imitators https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews033-26Oct1983/page/n3/mode/1up?view=theater

Apple cuts price of Lisa by 15% https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews030-05Oct1983/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater

Formats, formats everywhere https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_3.5/page/n4/mode/1up

Japanese show off at SICOB https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews031-12Oct1983/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/Interface2/Cartridges/Interface2_RC_Cartridges.htm https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews032-19Oct1983/page/n62/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews033-26Oct1983/page/n19/mode/1up?view=theater

Tandy introduces Coco2 "https://oldcomputermuseum.com/tandy_coco2.html NEW PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET, United Press International, October 5, 1983, Wednesday, BC cycle, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SJB-F670-001X-R50S-00000-00&context=1516831."

Tandy introduces the MC10 https://archive.org/details/Creative_Computing_1983-10/page/n42/mode/1up?view=theater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_MC-10

Osborne effect postulated as cause of death https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews030-05Oct1983/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater

Computer industry shakeup not affecting jobs https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/16/jobs/computer-industry-more-jobs-despite-layoffs.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-150

UK computer makers want to make Acorn a standard https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews030-05Oct1983/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater

British homes in love with micros Computer buying bonanza awaited; Jason Crisp reveals problems behind the Christmas surge, Financial Times (London,England), October 8, 1983, Saturday, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3S8H-2PT0-000F-54WF-00000-00&context=1516831. By BARNABY J. FEDER. (October 10, 1983, Monday, Late City Final Edition). COMPUTER MARKET STRONG IN BRITAIN. The New York Times. https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3S8G-J7J0-0008-Y1B4-00000-00&context=1516831. Teenage programming superstars blossom in the UK Joan Gray, A world of asteroids and whizz-kid programmers, Financial Times (London,England), October 10, 1983, Monday, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3S8H-2PS0-000F-54VH-00000-00&context=1516831.

Spectrum goes cartridge https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews031-12Oct1983/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/Interface2/Cartridges/Interface2_RC_Cartridges.htm https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews032-19Oct1983/page/n62/mode/1up?view=theater http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/Interface2/Cartridges/Interface2_RC_Unreleased.htm

Microdrive weakness becomes more apparent https://archive.org/details/nzbitsandbytes-2-03/page/n5/mode/1up?view=theater sinclair recommends photocopying printouts https://archive.org/details/nzbitsandbytes-2-03/page/n3/mode/1up?view=theater

Game software prices begin to drop in England https://archive.org/details/Computer_Video_Games_Issue_024_1983-10_EMAP_Publishing_GB/page/n90/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_3.5/page/n4/mode/1up Martin Wheeler - Virgin, BITS, Recluse https://www.patreon.com/posts/72185638 Jerry Wolosenko - Synapse - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42014024

Guild of Software Houses forms https://archive.org/details/CommodoreUserIssue011983Oct/page/n5/mode/2up

CGW hates on the c64 https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_3.5/page/n26/mode/1up http://www.kultmags.com/mags.php?folder=Q1BVLzE5ODM= CPU 10-1983 pg. 30, 25, 1 https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_3.5/page/n39/mode/1up

Cmmodore User magazine debuts https://archive.org/details/CommodoreUserIssue011983Oct/page/n5/mode/2up

Atarisoft launches https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/27/business/atari-s-new-games-fit-other-machines.html https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-2-7 https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-2-7/page/105/mode/1up

Trip is bringing the hotness https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1983-10_OCR/page/n101/mode/1up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_3.5/page/n11/mode/1up Epyx launches the "Preview Disk" https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-2-7/page/108/mode/1up https://archive.org/details/a8b_Epyx_Preview_Disk_1983_Epyx_US

Computer games go 3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RoNTTPcPwI https://archive.org/details/Computer_Video_Games_Issue_024_1983-10_EMAP_Publishing_GB/page/n18/mode/1up?view=theater

Turn your micro into an animation studio https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1983-10_OCR/page/n357/mode/1up?view=theater

Tom Carter Productions goes interactive Replay Oct. 1983 pg. 137 https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/hucks-landing/

Animated features are dead... except for Disney TODAY'S TOPIC: Little Life Left In Full-Length Animated Feature Production, The Associated Press, October 3, 1983, Monday, PM cycle, available at https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SJ4-M6D0-0011-523X-00000-00&context=1516831. Activists go after commercial length TV shows aimed at kids https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/12/arts/eight-children-s-tv-shows-assailed.html Wherehouse goes public (October 6, 1983, Thursday). WHEREHOUSE; Public offering. Business Wire. https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3SJD-MK90-001B-R0VJ-00000-00&context=1516831 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wherehouse_Entertainment

First commercial cellphone service introduced https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/14/business/cellular-mobile-phone-debute.html Best Quote of the month: https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerNews/PersonalComputerNews032-19Oct1983/page/n5/mode/1up

Recommended Links:

The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Retromags.com: https://www.retromags.com/ Games That Weren't - https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/

Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play.

Copyright Karl Kuras