3:27 PM
Kinsz
For today's parent, raising kids in a world filled with hand-held electronic gadgets has meant dealing with the challenge of incorporating the cost of owning video game systems in the household budget. Kids and parents alike delight in spending hours carrying out military missions with their buddies, playing simulated sports against each other, or imagining themselves in fantasy realms where they possess magical powers.
Web surfers have the luxury of accessing a massive and ever-growing store of media materials and if their search engine skills are good enough, they can find what they're looking for in nearly an instant. Much of that material is available free of charge. Computer games have become a popular form of web content for passing the hours, but prior to the online revolution, the level of sophistication and quality of graphics available in free online flash games for kids could not be obtained without paying for it. But the market has proven itself willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for video game systems in the past, and game makers are more than happy to bring out newer, more powerful systems to feed this demand.
From the start, it's taken quite a few gold pieces to afford the luxury of interactive fantasy. The very first home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, which used stick-on overlays for its pong-like gaming surfaces, and the figures looked like bouncing square lights. Its $75 price tag in 1972 works out to $391 today. Atari's home version of Pong, released in time for Christmas, 1975, retailed for $99, approximately $401 in today's economy.
We've grown accustomed to game consoles that use individual cartridges or discs to contain the data for different games, but that concept was novel when the Fairchild Video Entertainment System was released in 1976. The Channel F, as it became known, which also introduced the 'hold' function which was the first 'pause' button, set back families $170, which equates to $650 after inflation. Games for the system, encased in plastic cartridges tinted bright yellow, ran for $20 apiece, or $77 in today's figures. In the wake of the Fairchild, competition was stiff--a little too stiff. Magnavox revamped the Odyssey. Coleco released the Telstar, a Pong game that sold for only $50, or $190 today. And Atari launched the now-legendary Video Computer System with a big push from Sears stores. There simply wasn't enough business left over, and most systems failed in the market crash of 1977, with only Atari emerging as a profitable games maker.
The market crashed in large part because many of the potential buyers of gaming systems were still enjoying their pricey Pong units, and making another large financial commitment to a similar unit. It doesn't help when you've seen so many of the kids' toys end up tossed in a corner with all the other fleeting fancies of days past.
If you can't bring yourself to plunk down a few hundred dollars on a game system that you can't see your kids committing to, or if you'd rather not see them drain their lives away on games that last for hours, days, weeks even, there are countless free kids games online, available to play at no cost. Flash games for kids don't require any cartridges, extra controllers or any other peripherals beyond a mouse and keyboard.
Whatever ends up being the right choice for your family, know that video game systems take a lot of initial investment for the hours of fun they provide.
Web surfers have the luxury of accessing a massive and ever-growing store of media materials and if their search engine skills are good enough, they can find what they're looking for in nearly an instant. Much of that material is available free of charge. Computer games have become a popular form of web content for passing the hours, but prior to the online revolution, the level of sophistication and quality of graphics available in free online flash games for kids could not be obtained without paying for it. But the market has proven itself willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for video game systems in the past, and game makers are more than happy to bring out newer, more powerful systems to feed this demand.
From the start, it's taken quite a few gold pieces to afford the luxury of interactive fantasy. The very first home video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, which used stick-on overlays for its pong-like gaming surfaces, and the figures looked like bouncing square lights. Its $75 price tag in 1972 works out to $391 today. Atari's home version of Pong, released in time for Christmas, 1975, retailed for $99, approximately $401 in today's economy.
We've grown accustomed to game consoles that use individual cartridges or discs to contain the data for different games, but that concept was novel when the Fairchild Video Entertainment System was released in 1976. The Channel F, as it became known, which also introduced the 'hold' function which was the first 'pause' button, set back families $170, which equates to $650 after inflation. Games for the system, encased in plastic cartridges tinted bright yellow, ran for $20 apiece, or $77 in today's figures. In the wake of the Fairchild, competition was stiff--a little too stiff. Magnavox revamped the Odyssey. Coleco released the Telstar, a Pong game that sold for only $50, or $190 today. And Atari launched the now-legendary Video Computer System with a big push from Sears stores. There simply wasn't enough business left over, and most systems failed in the market crash of 1977, with only Atari emerging as a profitable games maker.
The market crashed in large part because many of the potential buyers of gaming systems were still enjoying their pricey Pong units, and making another large financial commitment to a similar unit. It doesn't help when you've seen so many of the kids' toys end up tossed in a corner with all the other fleeting fancies of days past.
If you can't bring yourself to plunk down a few hundred dollars on a game system that you can't see your kids committing to, or if you'd rather not see them drain their lives away on games that last for hours, days, weeks even, there are countless free kids games online, available to play at no cost. Flash games for kids don't require any cartridges, extra controllers or any other peripherals beyond a mouse and keyboard.
Whatever ends up being the right choice for your family, know that video game systems take a lot of initial investment for the hours of fun they provide.
About the Author:
The fun never ends with games for kids at YTV Games, with dozens of games based on your favourite YTV shows.
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