"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."
"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."
Old video game commercials from the 1970s through the 1990s evoke joyful nostalgia during the Christmas season. Contemporary streaming and ad-free services make traditional commercials rare, so archived uploads provide a unique sentimental experience despite low quality. Television commercials once made gaming feel novel and exciting in the 1990s and early 2000s, when games remained niche and mobile and esports were not ubiquitous. Holiday commercials raised hopes that a new game might appear under the Christmas tree or arrive for friends. Many vintage ads feel cheesy today, yet they recall a scrappy gaming era and warm shared moments playing with family.
Read at Kotaku
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