Parker Brothers Video Games of the early 1980s

Posted on February 21, 2023 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Q*Bert by Parker Brothers. US. House of Mystery. 1983.

What the actual flying @!#?@!!! Parker Brothers made some eye-catching adverts for its range of video games available on the Atari and Sears platforms in the early 1980s. Adverts were often adapted from the game box artworks and given a house style that made them instantly recognisable to buyers.

TVTA is pleased to present a selection of print adverts as seen in comic books back in the day. Enjoy.

: Frogger by Parker Brothers. Weird War Tales. 1982. US.

: Frogger by Parker Brothers. Alpha Flight. 1984. US.

Star Wars Jedi Arena by Parker Brothers. The Defenders 119. 1983. US.

Continue reading →

Retrogaming ads 1982 – 1985

Posted on September 18, 2019 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Pink Panther hand held electronic game by Orlitronic. France. 1984.

TVTA is pleased to present a selection of retrogaming ads from 1982 to 1985 … featuring The Pink Panther, Mickey Mouse and The Smurfs hand held games from Orlitronic … Atari … Coleco Vision … Parker Brothers … CBS Electronics … and the not-much-known-about French electronics company ITMC.

Mickey Mouse hand held electronic game by Orlitronic. France. 1984.

Smurfs hand held electronic game by orlitronic. France. 1983.

Atari. France. 1983.

CBS Electronics / Coleco Vision. France. 1984.

CBS Electronics / Coleco Vision. France. 1983.

Amidar by Parker Brothers. US. 1982.

Pole Position by Atari. UK. 1983.

Scott Adams presents Hulk, Spider-Man and Fantasic Four home computer games. US. 1985.

Atari video games. France. 1984.

Let’s get dizzy…

This 1983 ad for Solar Fox does its worst to perpetuate the sexist trope of the dumb blonde. CBS Electronics… what space cadets!

Solar Fox by CBS Electronics. US. 1983.

In. The. Mystery. Corner.

We end with these colourful and fun adverts for hand held pocket games from hard-to-track-down French company ITMC. When researching ITMC I found very little information other than these 1983 hand helds were made in Japan and sold in France along with other ITCM-branded gaming consoles. There is also a connection to the French toy chain JouéClub, either in promoting or co-producing certain models.

Panique Spatiale / Space Panic by ITMC. France. 1983.

Guerre des Astres / War of the Stars by ITMC. France. 1983.

That’s all for now. Thanks for looking 😎

Retro Gaming Galore!

Posted on April 30, 2017 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Video games consoles, cartridges, hand-held games, computers and electronics – as featured in the 1983 Hamleys Christmas catalogue.

Warning: TVTA cannot be held responsible for any sensory overload you may encounter as you feast your eyes on 80s electronic heavy-hitters like Atari, Coleco Vision, Vectrex, Texas Instruments, Bandai, Philips, C.G.L., Parker carts, and classic games like Frogger, Q*bert, Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Galaxy Invader, Snoopy Tennis, Pitfall!, River Raid, Space Invaders and more!

Gary Larsen thought he had all the answers… and other retrogaming goodies!

Posted on December 24, 2013 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Riddle of the Sphinx

Poor Gary… look at him, a veggie, zonked out. Totalled. This 1983 ad for Atari’s Riddle of the Sphinx tries to convey how hazardous video gaming can be.

USA. The Defenders 1983.

Freedom! No more wires…

The Camerica Freedom Stick needed no cumbersome, tangly old wires, and was happy to interact with a number of different console brands.

USA. Groo 47. 1989.

Bubble Bobble…. a classic!

I spent a good many hours tackling this fun game. Also included on this ad are the titles Operation Wolf, Sky Shark, and Renegade.

USA. Groo 47. 1989.

Video excitement in the palm of your hand…

I love the artwork on this 1989 ad for Double Dragon from Tiger Electronics.

USA. Groo 57. 1989.

Another ad for Double Dragon –

Hawk & Dove N°11. 1990. US.

Parker Brothers… Frogger, Popeye, and Q*bert

Poor Q*bert… in this ad he’s suffered damage to his nose from a removed price sticker – ouch! Shame he doesn’t have his usual little speech bubble above his head with his expletive written inside. Maybe Frogger is the culprit responsible for the price sticker removal… and Popeye is racing off to exact a swift punishment? 🙂

USA. Marvel Alpha Flight. 1984.

UK. 2000 AD. 1983.

UK. Eagle. 1983.

France. Pif Gadget. 1988.

UK. Eagle. 1983.

SEGA video games system

Posted on September 19, 2013 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Sega Eternal Champions. Die Cut N°4. 1994. US.

Founded in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1940 as Service Games, later renamed SEGA and famous for Sonic the Hedgehog, the Master System and MegaDrive.

One of my favourite MegaDrive games was Altered Beast. Long gone are the days when I still had my console but I somehow managed to keep hold of this game.