Top ten Xmas toys from my childhood #1

Atari 2600 Video Computer System (1980)

This is it. The big one. #1. I think many in my generation would agree that the Atari 2600 was the best thing to happen to toys and technology at the time. Long before the days of the Xbox360, Wii, and PS3, this granddaddy started it all as far as switchable video games went. The Atari came with 2 joysticks, 2 paddles, and a pack-in game of Combat. Nowadays you get one controller and no game with a brand new latest generation system. Oh yeah – don’t forget the awesome RF modulator switch you had to slide to “game” or “tv” depending on what you wanted to do. It had the 2 leads you had to screw down to the back of your television. That was tech. It’s hard to believe, but the Atari went for $199 retail. That’s nuts. There were also a couple of versions. First generation models had six switches on the console and were much heavier. Later they were streamlined to just 4 main switches and less RF shielding to make them lighter. Atari really hit it big when they started buying the licensing for arcade games. Space Invaders was a mega-hit for Atari even though it was inferior to the coin-operated machine.

Do you remember? – Pitfall, Combat, Pinball, Kaboom, Breakout, Adventure

When I got this for Christmas it turned into family fun time. Rarely do you see families hang out together in the same room and play a game together let alone a video game. My family was the same way. That’s what we did that Christmas. On a 13″ color tv (Dad didn’t want to screw up the big one.) Me, mom, dad, Jon, Pam, Jerry, Cindy, Jenny, Rob, & my nephew Nick. We played Space Invaders until 2am. I threw up in the middle of the night that night. Mom thinks it was from too many video games. I think it was just the flu. For the past few Christmases we had the Kirk family Christmas at my brothers or sisters house in Columbus or Sidney respectively. Our family is much bigger now. We played Wii bowling till all hours on an inflatable screen in the basement as a giant family. I believe this is why I picked the Atari as my number one. It brought my family together for a moment from our hustle and bustle lives. It’s really more about family and friends than all the super cool toys from my youth. This is very Clark Griswold, but it’s about the times and memories you have and those times and memories you will still make.
I hope everybody enjoyed my top ten list. I wanted to get back into the blog again, and saw this as a great motivator to write again. I’ll try and keep it updated with interesting anecdotes and adventures. Most of all, thanks for reading. Have a great Christmas Day today. Enjoy your family, watch your kids open presents, and curse the toys you have to assemble. Merry Christmas everybody!