November 1981

Nov 29, 2021

Atari kills the Cosmos,
Commodore bets on games &
British retail discovers computers

These stories and many more on this episode of the Video Game Newsroom Time Machine

This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in November of 1981.
As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events.

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Links:
7 Minutes in Heaven:
Video version - https://www.patreon.com/posts/59272714
https://www.mobygames.com/game/arcade/galaga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaga
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/12/loading-screen-game-patent-finally-expires
http://www.indieretronews.com/2021/07/galaga-arcade-classic-as-early-c64_7.html

Corrections:
October 1981 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57968823
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagatelle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachinko
https://memorymachinepod.com/2021/06/30/the-memory-machine-59-the-birth-of-pinball-w-ethan-johnson/
https://memorymachinepod.com/2021/02/22/the-memory-machine-52-the-era-of-the-penny-arcade-w-ethan-johnson/
https://memorymachinepod.com/2021/05/03/the-memory-machine-57-the-70s-video-arcade-game-preservation-society/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qix
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunchback_(video_game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Cobra
http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/vector-lights/
Michael Katz Interview Part 1 - https://www.patreon.com/posts/35169258
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Castle_Wolfenstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7X6Yeydgyg
https://archive.org/details/1981-11-compute-magazine/page/n5/mode/1up

1951:
Man challenges machine to a game of chess
https://www.nytimes.com/1951/11/12/archives/mere-man-defies-a-robot-at-chess-so-unbeatable-electric-brain.html?searchResultPosition=2
https://www.nytimes.com/1951/11/13/archives/machine-spurns-chess-electronic-brain-to-be-too-busy-at-defense.html?searchResultPosition=3
https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/nachrichtenfoto/washington-dc-donald-jacobs-bethesda-maryland-nachrichtenfoto/515303124

1971:
Stanford Daily reports on the Galaxy Games
Standford Daily January 5, 1972
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Game
http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-galaxy-game/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Space

MITS introduces their digital calculator
http://www.decodesystems.com/pe-71nov.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Instrumentation_and_Telemetry_Systems#Calculators
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_8800

Intel launches the 4004
https://www.edn.com/intel-4004-is-announced-november-15-1971/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_4004

PayTV is coming to a hotel room near you
https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/14/archives/payasyouview-movies-for-hotels-firstrun-films-are-shown-on-tv-in.html?searchResultPosition=22
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_television_systems

1981:
Cosmos cancelled
https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGames/Electronic%20Games%20Issue%201%20%28Winter%201981%29/page/n17/mode/1up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Cosmos
https://www.patreon.com/posts/47987060

Gaming is coming to a writst near you
Toy & Hobby World November 1981
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69501320/game-time-electronic-game-watch-profile/
https://www.handheldmuseum.com/GCE/GameTime.htm https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69501320/game-time-electronic-game-watch-profile/
http://vectrexmuseum.com/vectrexhistory.php https://www.polygon.com/a/smartwatch-history-guide-evolution/watch-history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microvision

Mattel grabs D&D license
https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGames/Electronic%20Games%20Issue%201%20%28Winter%201981%29/page/n16/mode/1up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_Computer_Fantasy_Game
https://www.handheldmuseum.com/Mattel/MU.htm https://www.handheldmuseum.com/Mattel/D&D.htm
https://www.mobygames.com/game/advanced-dungeons-dragons-cartridge
https://www.mobygames.com/game/advanced-dungeons-dragons-treasure-of-tarmin-cartridge

TSR advertises Dungeon!
Playthings, November 1981
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S8YbfoUzLw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon!

What is the best game?
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/21/style/the-videogames-how-they-rate.html?searchResultPosition=1

Atari admits to easter egg in Adventure
https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGames/Electronic%20Games%20Issue%201%20%28Winter%201981%29/page/n15/mode/1up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Robinett

Asteroids brings bankswitching to the VCS
https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGames/Electronic%20Games%20Issue%201%20%28Winter%201981%29/page/n15/mode/1up
https://web.archive.org/web/20180716082851/http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/articles/longevity/longevity.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20180716082851/http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/articles/longevity/longevity.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_switching

Commodore licenses Bally games
Play Meter, November 15, 1981 p. 32
https://books.google.de/books?id=3UDbCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=bally+commodore+deal&source=bl&ots=nVnqsVhSoU&sig=ACfU3U2v0rJQNf7QjSNQl7BAaBPXJNoiTw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8lI3v7p70AhWMh_0HHVhoA7EQ6AF6BAghEAM#v=onepage&q=bally%20commodore%20deal&f=false
https://tcrf.net/Star_Battle
https://tcrf.net/Radar_Rat_Race_(Commodore_VIC-20)

Metamorphic Systems wants to make your Apple ii a PC compatible
https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1981-11_OCR/page/n514/mode/1up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-80_SoftCard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_III
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_processor_cards

HP launches the 125
https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1981-11_OCR/page/n519/mode/1up
http://hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=41
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VEB_Robotron
http://rechenwerk.halle.it/usr/digital-ag/projekte/andere/museum/

Compute! magazine profiles the state of Japanese micros
https://archive.org/details/1981-11-compute-magazine/page/n43/mode/1up
http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-japanese-pc-industry/

British drug store chain to become computer retailer
https://archive.org/details/your-computer-1981-11/page/13/mode/1up
https://archive.org/details/your-computer-1981-11/page/37/mode/1up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_(company)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHSmith

Acorn gets approval for 50% grant for UK secondary schools
https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1981-11/page/n25/mode/1up
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1984/nov/27/computers-in-schools
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Computers

Computer & Video Games launches in the UK
https://archive.org/details/Computer_Video_Games_Issue_001_1981-11_EMAP_Publishing_GB
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_and_Video_Games

Electronic Games launches in the USA
https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGames
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Games
January 1981 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/46769496

Rubick's Cube is taking the toy world by storm
Playthings, November 1981
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik%27s_Cube

Recommended Links:
The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/
Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/
They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/
Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/
The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/
Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/
Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/
Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/

Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play and Enzo Maida.