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"We've taken a trip back in time to look at the video game consoles of yesteryear. \nThese 16 commercials represent the early home video games market dating from 1972 all the way up to the late '80s. We even managed to dig up the world's very first video game commercial.\nTake a look through our video gallery, in roughly chronological order, and let us know your memories of early home computer gaming \u2014 and your opinion on how they were marketed \u2014 in the comments below.\n\n\n16 Vintage Video Game Console Commercials [VIDEOS]\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. Magnavox Odyssey \nPre-Pong, the 1972 release of the \"Odyssey\" was the world's first home TV game system - or, as the ad calls it, the \"electronic game of the future.\" The games are laughably bad, but it was a seminal release initially thought up by video game guru Ralph Baer.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Coleco Telstar \n\"The most exciting game you'll ever see on your TV set.\" That's the not-very-forward-thinking verdict from this 1976 advert which sees a happy couple merrily twiddling their knobs.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. Atari Pong\nAlthough the quality isn't great, Atari's first commercial for Pong deserves an entry on this list. By all accounts, the cowboy in the ad is telling \"Darlene\" (said to be the console's production codename) that she can come back from the arcade as they now have Pong at home. The role of the camp houseboy in the background is open to your own interpretation.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. Atari VCS\nWe don't know what the maniacally happy family in this circa 1980 ad is on, but we'll take a week's supply of it for sure.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. Atari 2600 \nThe 2600 was the same model as the VCS in the previous clip, but we had to include this commercial just to share the awful rap in which \"Atari\" is rhymed with \"yes siree.\" Cringe! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Intellivision \nMattel's Intellivision was a commercial success competing with Atari and other rival products. It eventually fell victim to the video game crash of 1983. How the graphics in this ad can be described as \"realistic\" seems bizarre from a modern point of view, but they were pretty good for its time.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. Vectrex\nVectrex's unique selling point was a built-in screen, so little Johnny could game away while mom and dad watched Dallas on the big screen TV.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. ColecoVision \nThis clip offers an interesting look at the peripherals available for \"the only system you'll ever need,\" including a coming-soon home computer add-on. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Coleco Tabletop Donkey Kong\nStandalone games were popular in the '80s, and none more so than Donkey Kong. Just imagine, a mini arcade in your own home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. NES\nIn Nintendo's first NES commercial, we see R.O.B., the system's \"Robotic Operating Buddy.\" Sadly, R.O.B. was only compatible with two games and was soon dropped from NES bundles. The NES' launch was a notable milestone for the industry. As well as helping to rejuvenate the video game market after the '83 crash, the system introduced major game franchises such as Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n11. Atari 7800\nThe 7800 competed against the NES and the Sega Master System. Backwards compatible and competitively priced, its initial reception was good, but the lack of decent software due to Nintendo's restrictive terms for third-party developers meant Atari ultimately lost out in the home video game battle.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n12. Sega Master System \nThe Sega Master System suffered the same fate as the 7800 due to a lack of decent games. Despite what voiceover man promises, the excitement did stop.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n13. Atari XE \nWould bickering video game company execs in bad suits and worse acting skills make you want to buy a console? Us neither.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n14. GameBoy \nAs much as we love it, we're not sure Tetris could really ever be described as \"outrageous,\" but the GameBoy was a revolutionary launch. Initial U.S. stock sold out in a matter of weeks. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n15. Atari Lynx\nThe Lynx went head-to-head with the cheaper GameBoy and boasted a color screen versus Nintendo's monotone option. That wasn't enough, however, for it to win the majority of the handheld market share. The \"portable video arcade\" was eventually condemned to the scrap heap of video game history.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n16. Sega Genesis \nIt's interesting that in 1989, Sega's marketing bods were still trying to convince consumers of how arcade-like their gaming experience was. The Genesis, or Mega Drive as it was known outside of the U.S., competed with the NES at launch although it wasn't too long before Nintendo laid a smackdown with the release of the SNES.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInterested in more Video resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics. \nImage courtesy of Flickr, Jamie"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/04/21/vintage-video-game-commercials/>