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Hello ladies! It's game time. Yes it is!

Join me, if you will, for a trip back to 1982. Disco was essentially dead, Pac Man was cutting edge, Kool and the Gang was actually considered to be cool, and ET was the all time highest grossing movie EVAR. Another sign of the times was that Atari had 80% of the market share, thus giving Atari free reign to do pretty much whatever they wanted, since they were publishing their own games (save for Activision that is) they profited off of every piece of software that was put out. Smelling a cash cow, the head of Warner Bros. Interactive, who owned Atari at the time, negotiated a deal to get the rights to the ET franchise for a game since it would only make sense to get the rights to the biggest movie at the time onto a game for the greatest console at the time. It was a win-win situation for all…or was it?

Back in the late 70’s, arcades were associated with smoky bars and bowling alleys where drunk guys would test their mettle and settle scores through games of Pong, of course I wasn’t of age then but that’s how I think it happened. As the shoulder pads and big hair of the 80’s approached, arcades moved out of the dives and into dedicated buildings where entire families would go to relieve the stress of their mundane lives. It’s safe to say that Pac-Man was one of the main reasons for this change. Not only was Pac-Man the most popular arcade game of the time (and eventually, of all time), but he became an American icon of sorts. Soon, America’s big yellow orb was gracing magazine covers, toys, lunch boxes, Saturday morning cartoons, and a little song called Pac-Man Fever was #9 on the Billboard. Pac-Man was the poster boy, not just for arcades, but also for video games in general. Although like every well-known celebrity, Pac-Man has skeletons in his closet. No matter how much he slipped up, nothing will ever beat what happened one dark holiday season back in 1982. Pac-Man was insanely popular in the arcades and was in the midst of munching his way into the hearts of kids, adults, and gamers everywhere. Of course, there comes a time in every game mascot’s life where they have to start thinking of bringing their antics home. Enter 80’s gaming juggernaut Atari, whose 2600 system was pretty much the only real game in town…no pun intended. A deal was struck to develop and publish Pac-Man on the 2600 machine just in time for Christmas 1982. This proverbial deal with the devil would end up being a huuuuuuge mistake for everyone involved. Despite the warning signs and with a thundering “ballyhoo!” the hype train pulled out of the station, picking up everyone in its way. The biggest arcade game of all time was finally coming home.