MR. VIDEO GUY uncovers the Grand Video-Gaming Conspiracy

This was taken off of Delphi by STReport, an Atari oriented newsletter:

 Ctsy Delphi

 13361 14-FEB 01:33 General Information
      Stoned
      From: VGHOWARD     To: ALL

 (Miscellaneous mail to VG&CE that can't be answered in the magazine for various reasons -- usually legal -- will be done so here whenever time permits by MR. VIDEO GUY.  In this installment, MR. VIDEO GUY uncovers the Grand Video-Gaming Conspiracy.)

 Dear VG&CE:

     I'm a 16-year-old video-game player and was wondering if you could
 shed light on the first "Golden Age" of video games, the time when Atari
 was king.  What ever happened to this company?  How did they lose their
 position in the business to what it is today? Thanks, and I also wanted
 to write to tell you what a fantastic job you guys are doing!

                                        --Debbie Debs   Rainsalot, CA


 MR. VIDEO GUY RESPONDS:

     Upon losing millions by the end of 1983, Atari was sold by its  parent, Warner Communications, and, thus, the Golden Age of video games  came to an abrupt end.  Supposedly, this "crash" came due to Americans'  waning interest in playing video-games with blocky graphics and dinky  sound.  Nintendo revived the industry in 1985, through careful marketing  and keen observation of what went wrong the first time around.  This is  the "truth" according to many, including VG&CE's Arnie "Mr. Video-Gaming  Know-It-All" Katz.

     Don't believe any of this for a second, Deb.  This textbook fairy tale  is the biggest perpetrated lie in video-gaming today.  How could Atari  Inc., one  of the top American corporations in the early 80's, be deemed a  financial loser even though its losses didn't come close to overcoming its  past profits, taking inflation into account as well?   Why did Warner act  uncharacteristically jittery about these losses?  Couldn't one of the  world's biggest media conglomerates absorb Atari's losses for a lot longer  than they actually did?  Consider the smaller company NEC and their  TurboGraphX-16.  In the book ZAP! -- THE RISE AND FALL OF ATARI,  mismanagement is blamed for the video-game giant's demise.  But even if  this were the case (which is dubious), why didn't Warner execs just ax the  boneheads in charge of Atari and replace them?  And who says mismanagement  itself justifies the dismantling of an entire industry?  Look at the  American auto industry.  I know what you're thinking..."Whoa, Mr. Video  Guy has gone off the deep end because of his bitterness from not getting a  promotion where he works."  Yet before you write me off as another  conspiracy paranoic, ask yourself these questions:

          (1) Who would've benefited from Atari's death?
          (2) Who could've pulled it off?
          (3) Who could've covered it up?  Who?

     Atari didn't die, Miss Debs.  It was killed -- by NINTENDO.  Some  facts:  From the late 1970's to early 80's, Atari dominated the coin-op  scene.  Clearly, the beginning of the video-game industry was not only  American invented but influenced, too.  The only stride that the Japanese  made during these times was Space Invaders, but they were still too busy  hawking pachinko, their lame-o answer to pinball.  Eventually, it was  clear to the Japanese entertainment industry that America, along with the  rest of the world, would never be hip to Japanese pop music and Akira  Kurosawa flicks.  Already the masters of consumer electronic gadgetry.,  they, naturally, wanted to produce a cultural export.  After all,  America's most profitable export is its culture, in the form of bad  movies, dumb TV shows, and tone-deaf pop songs.  How else do you explain  Jerry Lewis and the French?

     There was only one avenue left for Japanese entertainment to try  pervading; video-games.  But one thing stood in their way, Atari. Not eve  n the American companies Mattel and Coleco could topple Atari's grip.  Competing coin-op game makers also failed to break the company's equally  tight hold in the arcades, among them Sega.  So, you see, Debbie, lots of  companies on both fronts wanted Atari dead.

     Let us now SPECULATE the events that might have occurred leading up to
 that tragic day in 1983...

 * - Japan's #1 cheesy LCD "card" game maker Nintendo (overconfident by the
     success of their Donkey Kong coin-op and sequels) forms a secret
     alliance with Japan's #1 coin-op game company Sega (producers of
     pretty looking but quickly boring-to-play arcade games) to look at the
     possibility of unseating Atari in the video-game marketplace.

 * - Atari sells over five million units of Pac-Man for their 2600 unit.
     Sears declares the cartridge the second fastest selling item they've
     ever carried.  Seeing how Atari is so powerful that it can literally
     slap together an atrociously bad arcade translation and make nearly a
     billion dollars unsettles the Nintendo/Sega alliance.  Prompted also
     by the fact that Mattel's superior Intellivision still isn't taking
     off (despite TV endorsements by boring George Plimpton and what
     Nintendo/Sega feels is its excellent pad controllers), they decide to
     back off for now.

 * - (Late 1982)  Nintendo cohorts with Coleco to bring Donkey Kong to the
     former leather company's new ColecoVision system, and Sega
     contributes their equally bland Turbo.  Despite much fanfare and
     moderate consumer interest, the system only does slightly better than
     mediocre.  The Atari 2600, primitive as it is, still manages to
     maintain its majority share in the industry.  The Nintendo/Sega
     alliance seems to be going nowhere.

 * - (Middle 1983)  Atari reports losses in the millions since its
     ownership under Warner Communications.  This is not unusual
     considering that the early years of the Reagan era were a time of
     recession for most American businesses.  To bring them out of this
     slump, Atari has big plans for the 5200 and even bigger ones for the
     still-on-the-drawing-board 7800, which promises to outperform all
     video-game systems.

 * - In a desperate move, the Nintendo/Sega alliance makes a deal with
     Warner Communications:  Sell off the consumer division of Atari to an
     idiot who would likely run it to the ground.  In return, the alliance
     would insure that its powerful lobbyists would petition Congressmen to
     lighten up on antitrust laws barring Warner from acquiring or merging
     with other media companies.  This should be a cinch to do, considering
     the Reagan administration's "free trade" and "hands off" policy
     regarding business.  Executives at Warner, preferring to control one
     big pie rather than having to worry about several pies, accepts the
     deal.

 * - (Late 1983) Warner publicly announces the financial losses of Atari
     for the year and states misgivings about the video-game business.
     Among their statements is that America is tiring of video games.  The
     mass media jumps on the bandwagon, adding that Atari's games are
     "blocky looking" and "dinky sounding", too. Atari stock plummets.

 * - Warner announces the sale of Atari's home division to Jack "The Patsy"
     Tramiel.  Tramiel, the mastermind behind the Commodore Vic-20 fiasco,
     declares that the new Atari, Atari Corp., will be in the business of
     selling computers which everyone can afford.  He fails to add,
     however, that hardly anyone will want them.

 * - Warner retains the coin-op division of Atari, renaming it Atari Games.
     Two years later, in keeping to their agreement with the Nintendo/Sega
     alliance , they sell it for a killing to the Japanese company Namco,
     the inventors of Pac-Man.

 * - In the same year, Nintendo introduces the NES.  After "careful
     evaluation of the previous market", they state that the time is right
     for a new generation of video games.  Among the NES' selling points
     are Robbie the Robot and its pad controllers, which are essentially
     improved versions of the Intellivision's.

 * - Having accomplished their mutual goal, Nintendo and Sega cease their
     alliance.  It's agreed that Sega will stick to the arcade coin-op
     industry , where it has become #1 after Atari's demise, and stay out
     of the consumer market.  Likewise, Nintendo promises to concentrate
     only on home video-gaming and keep out of the arcade scene, except for
     an occasional, badly produced coin-op such as Super Mario Bros. and
     Rad Racer that will only be available for play in kiddie "pizza-time
     theater" restaurants.

 * - Jack Tramiel nearly runs Atari Corp. into the ground, thanks to his
     purchase of the Federated electronic stores and saying stupid, already
     known facts such as Apple computers being "too expensive" and IBM
     systems as "inefficient".

 * - The temptation for Sega is too strong, and so they ally themselves
     with Tonka Toys and jointly enter the home market with the Sega Master
     System, sparking a blood feud with their former ally that continues to
     this day.  This venture fails, but Sega is even more determined to "do
     it all".

 * - (1988)  Warner Communications merges with Time Inc., forming the Time
     Warner company.  The new company acquires controlling interest in
     Atlantic Records.  Time Warner is responsible for the Batman motion
     picture and its inevitable, upcoming sequels.

 * - In the January 9th, 1992 issue of Rolling Stone (with Michael Jackson
     on the cover trying to look like a man) there's an article on Sigeru
     Miyamoto, the twisted genius behind Nintendo's "Mario" games.  David
     Sheff writes, "...Japanese software, such as books, movies and
     recordings, has had little impact outside Japan.  The exception is
     video games.  One Japanese writer. ..has noted that Nintendo is
     Japan's largest cultural export, 'bigger than Akira Kurosawa.'"

     Ever wondered how Nintendo got off so easily in their recent court  settlement with California's Attorney General?  Killing off Atari was by  no means easy for Nintendo, but they did it.  Thus, having their sentence  reduced to a paltry $5 rebate plan couldn't have been that difficult for  them to do.  And look at their past court cases against Tengen, the home  division of Atari Games, and their attempts to acquire the Seattle  Mariners.

     Also, why has Sega -- like their trademark mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog  been such an annoying, arrogant pest to Nintendo?  Because they're  aggressive competitors?  Right.  They're still resentful over their former  pact because they felt they got the raw end of the deal.

     The one thing that didn't go as planned for Nintendo and Sega was that  Atari didn't die completely.  Today, Atari Corp. would probably be  nonexistant if it weren't for the Lynx, originally designed by Epyx, which  has turned out to be their lifesaver for the time being.  Otherwise, the  Nintendo/Sega alliance pulled off the perfect coup.  Software support has  always been a problem for Atari Corp.'s hardware since the company doesn't  have the resources of an arcade division.  "Divide and conquer" as the  saying goes.

     I'm not the only one who knows of this insidious plot.  I suspect that  Arnie Katz and the Game "Bill Kunkel" Doctor know it as well, have known  about it all along, and are keeping mum.  However, I doubt they're doing  this because they're covering up for Nintendo and Sega.  Rather, they  might've been warned to keep their mouths shut by the perpetrators.  You  have to remember that in the latter years of Electronic Games (just before  the magazine was retitled Computer Entertainment), Katz and the Doc were  mysteriously absent from its pages, for reasons they care not to  elaborate.  Had they discovered the truth and already knew of Nintendo's  plans as early as 1984?

     I'll bet Steve "Arnie Katz Lookalike-and-Wannabee" Harris of  Electronic Gaming Monthly knows a lot about all of this, too.  His  magazine has been bankrolled by Japanese investment from the very start  (when it was originally Electronic Game Player).  Ever noticed how Harris  and Quarterman are a lot like Katz and the Doc in terms of concept, though  radically different in style?  I doubt this is coincidence rather than by  design.

     Another whom I believe knows a lot more than he's willing to tell is  Howard "TV Weatherman Dress-Alike" Phillips, the former Nintendo  spokesperson who left his position for a conspiciously ambiguous role with  Lucasfilm Games.  Did he learn the truth, too, and decide to get out for  his own safety, thus, depriving Nester someone to be a sidekick for?  A  while ago, I got a phone call from someone who sounded suspiciously  familiar:

     "V-Video Guy!  Listen -- you've got to get out!  You're way over your
     head!"

     "Who is this?  Howard??  Is this Howard Phillips?!"

     "Didn't you read the ***damn business section today??  They got the
     ****ing California Attorney General?!  The ****ing Attorney General of
     California!!  Not even Larry Flynt's ****ing lawyers can protect you!
     I'm warning you as a colleague -- just drop it if you know what's
     ***damn ****ing good for you!!"

     Well, I'm not going to drop it, Howard (or whoever you are).  The  assassination of Atari was the single most horrible event for an entire  generation of video-gaming.  It tore the heart out from what promised to  be a new age of electronic entertainment - - never mind that it had  primitive graphics and anemic sound.  It robbed the dreams of those who  were the first to put their hands around a joystick.  And, by golly, you  can be sure that I'm going to keep at it -- till all the files and other  relevant papers that are locked away in some big government building  sort-of-place are released so that the video-gaming public can decide for  themselves what really happened on that fateful day in 1983.

     So there you have it, Debbie.  The TRUTH.  Now you know why  video-gaming is in the state it is.  And why movies and pop music have  especially sucked lately.  I'll tell you, every day I wonder how safe it  is to live in the U.S. of A. when even our own video games are dripping  with corruption and greed.  Oh, and thanks for the kind words.  We at  VG&CE always strive to do our best for readers like you!
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