Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
striking out repeatedly in trying to place the system with retailers, Atari
ended up in discussions with the Sears sporting goods department. Placing
a home electronic game with a sporting goods retailer may seem odd, but
the deal had substantial benefi ts for both sides. Atari did not have access
to the same kinds of large-scale specialty retailers that currently exist, so
they needed to fi nd another outlet. Sears of ered a much wider means of
distribution than partnering with a particular television manufacturer. For
the sporting goods department of Sears, Atari of ered a known, desirable
intellectual property that people would be able to consume in a new way.
Further, the sporting goods department often struggled with winter sales,
as so many of the sports for which they sell products are best played in the
spring, summer, and fall. Yet the winter, with its accompanying Christ-
mas catalog, of ered huge opportunities for Sears and the sporting goods
department wanted to take advantage of the catalog's wide distribution.
Home Pong, in conjunction with the growing size of U.S. households and
the inclusion of designated rooms for entertainment, of ered a product that
would fi ll the gap and give the department the opportunity to dramatically
increase their winter sales. Originally released under a Sears Tele-Games
brand, Home Pong
was tremendously successful, becoming one of the big-
gest sellers in the history of the famed Sears catalog. Home Pong addressed
the issues the Odyssey faced, changing the context for video games and
shifting the space in which video games were played. No longer exclusive to
public places, Home Pong brought games into the home, a dynamic which
was continued with Atari's follow up product, the Atari Video Computer
System or VCS.
The Atari VCS was a leap forward from Home Pong. Of ering inter-
changeable cartridges, the system enabled players to play a wide variety
of games and enabled Atari to sell the console with thin margins, as they
sought to make money from the games they sold. This business model,
based on King Gillette's approach of making money from razor blades
instead of razors, seemed to be a sustainable business model. The com-
pany would only need to keep making successful games to have a constant
money-spinner. Though the system reached great heights, Atari was chart-
ing new ground and unforeseen obstacles arose. Three key dynamics high-
lighted the rhetorical implications of the VCS
on where people sought to
play video games: competition, licensing, and age.
Two of the three biggest problems with the VCS were tied to a 'quality
problem' that proved to be a massive issue for Atari. First, the economic
potential demonstrated by both Home Pong and a rapidly growing arcade
market meant that many companies sought to establish themselves in the
home console market. As a result of the success of Home Pong, the VCS,
and video games in general, many companies developed their own consoles.
Over the life of the VCS it competed with a console made by a semiconduc-
tor company, the Fairchild Channel F, a company that began its existence
making shoe leather, the ColecoVision, and a host of other competitors
