We've already listed some of the embarrassing, cringe-worthy video game commercials of the 1980s and '90s as well as a rundown of some of our favorite console war commercials from that era. In the final installment of our classic video game commercial trilogy, we've rounded up eight commercials that, at the time of release, really got us excited about gaming.
Check them out.
This 1982 commercial for the Atari 2600 was shown in movie theaters ahead of feature films. Any kid in the '80s would want one after this commercial.
Basically, in this one, Sony is telling guys to leave their girlfriends for Lara Croft. Sounds like a good life decision.
Even though consoles were battling each other back in the 1980s, they were all battling the arcades. So, when ColecoVision said, "Hey, you can play these arcade games at home," in 1982, what gamer wouldn't want to sign up? Donkey Kong on the TV? I'm in!
The Super Smash Bros series made its debut on Nintendo 64 back in 1999 and one of the commercials they used to introduce is pretty great. I've always wanted to trip Yoshi and kick Pikachu.
This 1982 Intellivision commercial was also shown in local movie theaters ahead of feature films. This animated newscast basically reports on all the games that were played that day as if it was the news of the day. So pretty much my life.
This 1995 promo video, which features a young Hal Sparks (Talk Soup, VH1 personality), pit Sega Saturn in direct competition with Sony's PlayStation which launched in North America just six months before. The commercial below sure gave Saturn a boost.
By today's standards, Activision's Ice Hockey (1981) on Atari looks terrible. But Phil Hartman's (Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons) performance in the commercial sure hyped us up! We're sold.
The '90s were rife with infomercials on late-night TV. So when Sega was bundling its latest franchise hit, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with its Sega Genesis, they decided to go the infomercial route. And it was perfect.
This article originally appeared on Gamerterra.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.