Christmas is almost here and so this is a time when many of us gather around and do certain things we feel are traditions. Maybe you watch a particular film or bake some sweet cookies. Personally, I like to get in the Christmas spirit by watching old video game commercials from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
These days I don’t really encounter commercials anymore. I mostly watch Hulu, YouTube, and Netflix. (And I pay to remove ads whenever possible.) But there is certain joy and happiness that pops into my head when I go back and watch these ads.
Just a heads up, some of these uploads are low quality. You might need to turn your volume way up and squint a bit.
I remember seeing (some of) these ads on TV and getting excited about video games. (The ones from the 80s and before are a bit before my time.) Not even excited about the particular game that was being advertised, just excited to see video games on TV.
Today it might be hard to remember a time when games weren’t everywhere. But in the 90s and early 2000s games were still a somewhat niche thing. We didn’t all have phones with console-quality games on them or giant eSport competitions getting millions of views on streaming sites. So seeing a commercial for a console or games pop up on my TV was exciting.
And during the holidays the excitement was even higher. Maybe some of these games would be under my Christmas tree or maybe my friends would get some. Soon I too will get to play that cool looking game!
Looking back today, a lot of these commercials are cheesy and silly. But then again, most ads, even in 2019, are cheesy and silly. But watching these brings me back to a time when gaming seemed small and scrappy. It also reminds me of the great holidays I spent playing games with my brother or finding that perfect game under the tree.
What gaming commercials from around the holidays do you remember?
This story was originally published on Dec 22, 2019. We’re re-upping it today for the holiday.