CHEGheads Blog

Holiday Geek Gift List

Although the electronic games of my youth have since evolved into something different, one thing has remained the same: savvy marketers continue to cash in on the popularity of electronic games through non-electronic merchandise. In addition, Internet storefronts allow innovative individuals to create and market their own electronic game-related products. The breadth of available items (and the oddity of said items) has grown exponentially.

As a tween in the 1980s, I owned various Pac-Man themed objects. I had the Pac-Man bed sheets and pillowcases and an assortment of Pac-Man character pillows, hats, and t-shirts. And yes, I more than occasionally ate Pac-Man cereal.

Sadly, I no longer own any of these items, let alone remember how or when I parted ways with them. Fortunately, NCHEG not only collects games and consoles, but it also acquires artifacts related to electronic game culture, and as a result I can more easily reminisce about my childhood. Some of my favorite objects in our collection remind me of the holiday season: the Pac-Man board game, Pac-Man keychain, and of course the Pac-Man Halloween costume. We don’t have Pac-Man cereal boxes in the collection, but we do have a box for Super Mario Brothers cereal.

If you truly want to impress the gamer in your family or circle of friends, forego  the games and get them something from the following list of holiday geek gifts courtesy of the CHEGheads:

• Electronic Game Tree Ornaments – How can you possibly invite your gamer friends over during the holidays without having a game controller or vintage arcade game ornament hanging from your tree? And don’t forget to trim the tree with Mario Mushrooms.
• Electronic Game Underwear – Yes. Seriously, and not just for kids. Wal-Mart, Target, and other major retailers are carrying popular game title-branded underwear, such as Halo, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero, to keep you warm this winter.
• Electronic Game Bling – Perhaps a simple ID bracelet to identify yourself as the individual who rocked the high score on Ms. Pac-Man. Or for those looking for a little more street cred, you can don a Playstation 18k solid white gold pendant covered with black diamonds.
• Electronic Game Soap – After a long day (or night) of gaming you need to feel refreshed, but you might not be able to let go of the game controller. Well, here’s your solution: Nintendo Wii Remote replica soap. Get nice and lathered while practicing your tennis backhand in the shower. For those with other platform preferences, you can also get the Mountain Dew scented Nintendo NES controller soap or the grapefruit-jasmine scented Xbox 360 controller soap.
• Electronic Game Wallpaper – A great way to decorate. Make your walls into your favorite platformer environment with these vinyl wall decals, which when your spouse or roommate doesn’t share your redecorating taste, can easily removed.

These are just a few examples of odd gifts available in the broader worldwide marketplace of electronic-game-related artifacts today. On behalf of the NCHEG staff, I welcome any of these as institutional gifts, as well. I can verify that we’ve all been very good this year.  Of course, I also welcome each of you to share your own thoughts on gamer gift oddities as you come across them. Meanwhile, I hope you all have a happy holiday and  get the gamer gifts that are on your lists!

Finnish Question Sends NCHEG Deep Into Archives

A recent e-mail inquiry from a researcher in Finland gave me a great opportunity to mine our vast trade catalog collection for information about the prehistory of electronic games. The researcher wanted to know more about the origins of pre-computer electric quiz games of the 1940s and 1950s.

Most books on the history of electronic games start the story in the 1960s, with Steve Russell’s creation of Spacewar! (1962). Others begin with Ralph Baer’s development of television-based video games. Some discuss the evolution of pinball machines in the context of the development of arcade cabinets, but few discuss electric quiz games. It’s not surprising, then, that the researcher wanted more concrete evidence. Fortunately, Strong’s collection of more than 10,000 trade catalogs provides plenty.

Revisiting our collection, I found catalogs from the 1940s and 1950s that showcased numerous types of electric games for sale. Football games, baseball games, and even one called, Robot Sam the Answer Man all harnessed electricity to drive game play. Furthermore, our trade catalogs point to a much earlier origin for these games. A 1949 Electric Game Co. trade catalog notes that Jim Prentice Electric Baseball has “The Electric Twirler,” which the catalog says is the “greatest feature ever to be incorporated in an electric game since their creation 20 years ago.” This indicates that these games dated back to at least 1929.

Trade catalogs from the twenties and thirties confirm that time frame. A 1933 trade catalog from the distributor Butler Brothers advertised two Electric Questioners games—Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Knapp. And Butler Brothers’ Christmas catalog from 1928 promoted an Electric Questioner featuring the face of a fortune teller. The 1928 Butler Brothers’ catalog trumpeted that “Now—for the first time—an item of this kind is offered as a possible $1.00 retailer—the biggest buy in the country.”  Clearly these items were still novelties, but they must have been around for a few years to allow the price point to descend under a dollar.

Electric Questioners are clearly not computer-powered games but they form an important part of the prehistory of electronic games. Games like these acclimated people to playing games powered by electricity in their homes and paved the way for the popular embrace of home video games in the 1970s. For these reasons you’ll see some of these games in future NCHEG exhibits here at Strong.

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International Center for the History of Electronic Games^® • Strong National Museum of Play • One Manhattan Square • Rochester, NY 14607 • USA