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 Two
things happened back in 1983, I got my first real full time job working as a
technical specialist for an alarm company, KASTLE security in Philadelphia.
Second, I bought my first video game system. A Coleco. Still have it. Not sure
where I got the Adam controller for it though :) Sure Atari had the edge
with a million games and intellivision had the better graphics. But the Coleco combined both of these and added better sound. Not to mention more memory for
the cartridges. The joystick was a hybrid between the Atari stick and the
intellivision joypad. But the thing that sold it the most was because it came
with donkey kong. Donkey kong was still one of the most played arcade games and
the Coleco version was the closest home translation of any video game. I
remember paying $150.00 for the Coleco. It had already been out for almost a
year and had come down about $50.00. I didn't by any other games because the
video store I went to had them to rent. The first two games I rented were Smurf's
rescue and venture. It was expensive to rent back then. The games were 2
bucks a day. I don't remember much exactly from my early Coleco days except
there was a job layoff 3 months after I got it and I had a lot of time on my
hands. My mother had given me the Atari and it was 1983 and the video game
industry seemed like the biggest thing going. Some time late in 83 I had just
got another job so I had some money finally. I remember spending a few hours in
an arcade playing this older game called Mr. Do, similar to dig dug, and then
seeing it come out for the Coleco. $36 dollars later I had my first full priced
game. Then came frenzy and Frogger and Qbert. All
between 30 and 35 bucks each. Then 1984 came around and the video store started
selling used video games for $5 and $10. I spent way too much money the next few
months. I bought Smurf's, space fury, pepper, ladybug, carnival, and about a
dozen others. Then the first so called educational game came out for the Coleco.
Face maker. Since I had kids I was guilted into spending the $30 on that :)
About the same time I got jumpman junior and got addicted. The 7 year old was
playing games at that time so we had to split the TV. I picked up the roller
controller on a close out for $30 and since slither didn't compare to centipede
I had to buy that also. That was the most money I paid for any Coleco cart. $39.
Now that I look back I can see I spent more money on Coleco cartridges than I
have spent on games for any other system to date even. Hmm, what else do I
remember from the Coleco. One day I remember was a forth of July I wasn't
feeling too well and the family went out for the entire day I ended up playing
wing war for almost 10 hours. I also remember having dreams about that game. The
graphics were other worldly. I remember BC's quest for tires was the first game
that really looked like a cartoon. Wargames was a fun strategy game. Tarzan got
exciting for a while. Gateway to Apshi wouldn't work and the store wouldn't take
it back. Turbo worked with the roller controller. I spent $20 for the worst
shooting game I had ever seen called cross force. The only redeeming quality of
that game was the incredible music for the first 10 seconds of the game. And the
last game I bought new from a store was in 1985 and it was cabbage patch kids.
 I
toyed with the idea of getting a Coleco Adam because I only had the Sinclair computer then. But something held me back from spending that 300 bucks. I'm glad
:) I had picked up 2 other Coleco games with the super controllers and the Atari
2600 attachment. And dozens of games at yard sales, between then and the early
90's. I hadn't
played a Coleco game in 7 or 8 years until I found a mention of an emulator.
This was unbelievable. Being able to play games that I hadn't seen in 15 years.
Talk about a flashback. I didn't realize Sega had so many games on the Coleco.
And so much fun packed into simple ideas. Sure first person games like doom are
advanced now. But back then games like subroc and dam busters were just as fun
and intense. By the way. The cartridge pictures are actual scans
of my carts. The first and last Coleco games I bought. And for some strange
reason the only 2 I have duplicates of :) And here is the rest of my Coleco
setup. Yes I have 2 Coleco's but only one power supply.
times I mentioned COLECO today!
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