Shopping at Egghead Next Time I Get the Chance (August 11, 2011)

Bandit LOAF

Bandit LOAF

Long Live the Confederation!
Here's a blast from the past courtesy of Joe Garrity and the Origin Museum. Back in 1991, Origin decided to photograph their 'rock star' developers buying their newly released games at local stores. Here are Richard Garriott, Chris Roberts and Warren Spector buying copies of Wing Commander II, Savage Empire and Martian Dreams! Just looking at the shelves in the stores fills me with nostalgia. You can also download a zip of high resolution versions (four times as large!) here.





















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Original update published on August 11, 2011
 
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Got first world problems?

Nah man, I've got Math Word Problems!

Math%20Word%20Problems.jpg
 
Back in the day when I worked at one of these stores, software like this was really popular. We had a whole educational section. Then in the span of just a few years, the entire PC section collapsed into the size of the educational shelf.
 
I truly miss the days of the big box software stores. I miss them and the chain booksellers like Waldenbooks and B. Dalton; without either of them, I hardly have a reason to go visit my local mall anymore (the whole reason why those are closing left and right nationwide, IMHO). Don't know what I'll do if the local B&N ever goes under...

DOS 5 and Lotus 1-2-3 - I remember many a night my dad working on that particular piece of software.

I think I may still have a copy of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing somewhere in my collection...
 
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I remember having that 'Toy Shop' package for the Apple ][ when I was a kid! I don't think I ever actually printed/built any of the toys, but I thought it was the coolest thing in the universe to thumb through the manual for...
 
Those shelves behind Richard...! What a time to be alive. I too very much miss buying software in a box. A zip file full of .pdf manuals included with a game bought for download just doesn't cut it. Wing Commander was a superb example of how to fill a box with goodies. Those times are behind us but that was inevitable, sadly.

I also miss those magazines where games wholesalers would list their titles in big whole page advertisements, each title with a corresponding number so you could call and order like a menu at a Chinese restaurant. Mail order games brought me so much happiness.

Fun story: Not long after Prophecy was released I couldn't get hold of it for months as I grew up in quite a rural area of England, and the one local game store never had it. Nor did Staples. My parents were reluctant to drive me 75 miles to the nearest GAME store (now defunct, I think)

So instead, I called up directory enquiries, asked for a number for EA UK and wrote down the first one the operator gave me, she said there were too many to list.

This is how a 12 year old's mind works: I want a game, I can't find it anywhere, so I'll just call up EA and they'll just send me it if I ask...and they did! Ridiculously cheaply too, think I paid about £5 altogether, had to use my mother's credit card.

Not sure why I decided to share this, I guess it reflects changing times. Things just don't work like this now.
 
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