The 10 most "80s" video games.

[Skadar]

I would say that the % of mullets on ALL of those yearbooks amongst the male population was maybe 5%.

Seriously.  I graduated from high school in New Hampshire in 1989 and I had never even heard the word "mullet" until the mid 90s.  Maybe the term didn't come into popular [sic] usage until after-the-fact, but there you have it.

[brain21]

As I noted at the end of the article, we did go off on a tangent.  I conceeded the point about misreading the article, but the discussion digressed into Pac Man was not part of the culture of the 80's (but that mullets for example, were) REGARDLESS of the article.  THAT is the point that I was argueing.  CHeck out the post again and I think you'll see that.  You stated that Pac-Man reflected nothing of the 80's, but then you insinuated that mullets did cause every kids had a mullet (or many did).  If Pac-Man did not REFLECT the culture of the 80's, then exactly how do mullets REFLECT the culture of the 80's?  They don't.  They are PART of it, not a reflection of it.  Same goes for Pac-Man.  That was my point.  I see the point you are making in your last post as well, but you actually did insinuate that Pac-Man was not part of the culture by saying that mullets were and Pac-Man was not.  You see what I am getting at?

As far as the mullets, I never suggested that the photos were faked or whatever.  What I am saying that a site like "mullet lovers" is simply not going to post lots of pics of of soccer teams with no guys with mullets.  They are going to look at all of the team photos that they can find, and pick the ones with the highest percentage of mullets.  THAT site and that picture is NOT representative of everyone growing up in the 80's.  It certainly is not representative of where I grew up, or where my cousing grew up (in the south where mullets were more pervasive, and you still see a lot today).  That's what I was saying about that.

Now to argue specifics about the article (since I re-read most of it):

Look at #10, Roadblasters:
What's so 80's about it?
About 9 billion RoadBlasters arcade machines were in circulation by 1989

Then he says under why it made the list:
It's hard to imagine a game that takes place in a futuristic setting to really be an 80s game. In fact, while playing the game, there is very little that makes you think "Man, this is sooooo 80s"

followed by

To understand what makes this an 80s game, you have to look at life in the late 80s.  During the last few years of the decade, RoadBlasters was inescapable... It was at the arcade. It was at the bowling alley. (then he goes on to reinforce this point)

So, basically what's so 80's about it is that it was everywhere.  The game reflects nothing of the culture other than it is a video game and it was everywhere.  Well, so were Pac-Man & Galaga.  They were at pizza places, movie places, ALL the places that he mentioned that Roadblaster was at in the article.  That right there contradicts his own criteria set forth on the previous page.  By virtue of the criteria for Roadblasters, so many other games should have made the list.

Next game, California Games.  I can almost give it to him.  He mentions
This game is packed jam-full of everything that was cool on the West Coast during the late 1980s.

True, but I was also wearing Ocean Pacific, billbong, SexWax, & other surfing related clothing in the late 70's, well before the game ever came out.  I got my first BMX bike (a mongoose) in the late 70's.  A lot of these sports REALLY took off in the early 90's too.  I would put forth that this game could have been released in the late '70's or even the early '90's and have been fairly reflective of those times as well.  I admit that MUCH of the culture reflected in the game permeated the 80's, but it was there before & after as well, the author just isn't aware of it I guess...  A tough call...

Next one, Tetris.  He basically states that the fall of the Berlin wall was an 80's event.  He says
came to an end in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. And as a gift to show their newfound goodwill, the Soviets gave the world Tetris, that little gray cartridge

OK, a couple of mistakes here...  THe wall fell at the beginning of November, 1989 (the 9th I think).  So basically this was an 80's event for about 1.5 months.  THat's 1.5 months out of 120!  He then mentions the gift to show their newfound goodwill (stating through grammar that the game was gifted after), however the game hit the arcades in 88, long before the wall fell.  That's all fine and dandy, and I'd give that to him, but the game itself didn't really reach popularity until it came out for the NES and the PC in the very early 90's.  When *I* think of Tetris, I think of Egghead Software stores in the beginning of the 90's and seeing it on their shelves there.  I remember playing it on my roomates NES in the early 90's.  Maybe I was just behind the times too?  :-)

Final Fight:  His explanation:
You take the law into your own hands and go on a one-man crusade against crime, there's a shirtless hero, a street gang full of punks, and a kidnapped daughter. And if that isn't enough 80s movie clich

[MaximRecoil]

I would say that the % of mullets on ALL of those yearbooks amongst the male population was maybe 5%.

Seriously.

[MaximRecoil]

but the discussion digressed into Pac Man was not part of the culture of the 80's (but that mullets for example, were) REGARDLESS of the article.

Pac-Man and mullets were both a part of the culture in the 80's. I never claimed otherwise. Neither Pac-Man nor mullets themselves contain any intrinsic properties which reflect upon other aspects of the culture of the 80's.

All 80's arcade games were part of the culture of the 80's by default. Not all of them reflected upon existing aspects of the culture when they were created. This article chose to focus on the games that reflected upon existing aspects of 80's culture when they were created.