The 10 most "80s" video games.

[Kremmit]

http://www.thejadedgamer.net/articles_80sgames.shtml

Rad!

[JCL]

Interesting link. And  the first game may fit in my loved/hate games in arcade misc.

I still like Roadblasters, but I guess it has its rabid detractors.

[MaximRecoil]

That's a great link; very amusing article. There was a Road Blasters in a forgotten corner of Space Port, the Bangor Mall's arcade, back in the mid-to-late 80's. I watched some kid play that seemed to be pretty good at it. It looked interesting but the car's graphics looked like crap to me; it looked like it was hovering above the road rather than being in contact with it; and those too-wide wheels jutting out from the wheel wells looked corny, like some cheap Matchbox or Hotwheels knock-off. I played it once and thought it sucked. I immediately noticed that it didn't hold a candle to Spy Hunter (which I liked immediately the first time I played) and I never gave it a second chance.

[TurboC--]

Whoever chose those 10 has a warped mind and extreme fascination with "manly man" testostorone stereotype games (racing or fighting? grab your crotch and take your pick!)  Tetris the only exception.  Pac-man isn't 80's?  Whew.

[DaveMMR]

Interesting link. And  the first game may fit in my loved/hate games in arcade misc.

I still like Roadblasters, but I guess it has its rabid detractors.

Roadblasters is one of those games whose little nuances make the game a heck of a lot more enjoyable.  Gameplay-wise it's 'acceptable', but cool things like the way you spin out at the end of races and trying to save those nitro boosts so you can scoot past the checked road and into the distance was cool.  Plus the scoring system was cool (scoring higher gave you more reserve fuel).  And, I don't know, I'm still impressed by 80s video games with digitized voice even in an age where we're highering C-List actors to provide in-game banter.

[KenToad]

"That's how 80s games work -- if you're in the military, you fight the Soviets, and if you know a martial art, you fight a street gang. Unless you know karate AND work for the government, then you fight ninjas."

Classic.

Cheers,
KenToad

[NoOne=NBA=]

How can you have the 10 most "80s" games and not have Pacman, Donkey Kong, and Defender?

Tron and Star Wars are ineligible based on the "movie" clause.

[JCL]

How can you have the 10 most "80s" games and not have Pacman, Donkey Kong, and Defender?

Tron and Star Wars are ineligible based on the "movie" clause.

Well, it isn't a list of videogames from the 80s, or even videogames that defined the 80s, it is a list of videogames that most reflect the 80s.

And this guy has Reagan/Russia/etc on the brain, so he pulls in games that reflect that.

It's a one-joke list repeated ten times, not a serious videogame list.

[rdagger]

How can you have the 10 most "80s" games and not have Pacman, Donkey Kong, and Defender?
Tron and Star Wars are ineligible based on the "movie" clause.

Agree, most of the games on the list are very end of the 80's and none are before 85.

[MaximRecoil]

How can you have the 10 most "80s" games and not have Pacman, Donkey Kong, and Defender?

Tron and Star Wars are ineligible based on the "movie" clause.

Just compiling a list of the top 10 games of the 80's wouldn't be entertaining; all you would need to do is list the games along with their production numbers or revenue or whatever.

He made a list of games that reflected what was actually going on in real life in the 80's. The only place that a pizza with a missing slice was eating pellets and avoiding ghosts; or a plumber was avoiding barrels thrown by an ape and trying to rescue a girl was in the video games themselves. He strayed from his stated premise on a few of his choices but the article was still funny.

I think he should have included Missile Command myself, since that was the ultimate video game reflection of the 80's Cold War in my opinion.

I think Punch-Out was inspired by the Rocky movies which were some of the biggest movies going in the 80's; Rocky III in particular. Piston Hurricane is a dead ringer for Apollo Creed and Bald Bull has always reminded me of Clubber Lang (Mr. T) both in attitude and appearance. So, maybe that game could have made the list too.

[NoOne=NBA=]

Donkey Kong and Pacman were the epitome of 80's culture though.

You only have to look at the amount of "non-arcade" products they spawned to see how integral they were to life in that era.

Donkey Kong spawned the entire NES phase of the 80's, which was the largest event in 80's video games--bar none.

[MaximRecoil]

Donkey Kong and Pacman were the epitome of 80's culture though.

I don't know if I would say "epitome"; but either way, they were not inspired by existing 80's culture; they created their own aspect of 80's culture. They don't really fit into the theme of that article.

You only have to look at the amount of "non-arcade" products they spawned to see how integral they were to life in that era.

Exactly, which is the opposite of what the article was focusing on. He wasn't looking for games that spawned culture; but rather; culture that spawned games.

Donkey Kong spawned the entire NES phase of the 80's, which was the largest event in 80's video games--bar none.

How do you figure? Donkey Kong for the NES wasn't particularly popular and certainly not the main driving force behind its sales. Donkey Kong did a lot more for the success of the ColecoVision than it did for the NES. If any one game could be credited for the success of the NES, it would be Super Mario Bros. Now I realize that the Mario character debuted in Donkey Kong (as "Jumpman"), but that is pretty much where the similarities end between the two games. SMB would have been just as successful had DK never existed. I know that Donkey Kong never even crossed my mind the first time I played SMB.

[TOK]

Some of those picks were good, Rush N Attack is perfect. Others, not so much.
For me, it's somewhat ironic that the "most 80's" game was released a year to late Michael Jacksons Moonwalker.

Wrestling was huge in the early 80's, so the lack of any wrestling games is a pretty large oversight. Perhaps the whole TV/Movie liscense thing was a bad step, because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a much bigger relection of the 80's than Road Blasters. Interesting read, but flawed list.

[NoOne=NBA=]

Donkey Kong spawned the entire NES phase of the 80's, which was the largest event in 80's video games--bar none.

How do you figure?

Donkey Kong made Nintendo what it was (and is to this day).
It also introduced the character of Mario.
Mario was directly responsible for making the NES what it was, and has subsequently made every successive Nintendo console a hit.

If we are looking at 80's culture that spawned 80's culture, Donkey Kong spawning Mario/NES culture HAS to be included.
The key word in that is "spawn".
Fish don't "spawn" fingerlings, they spawn eggs that BECOME fingerlings, that BECOME fish.

[MaximRecoil]

Donkey Kong spawned the entire NES phase of the 80's, which was the largest event in 80's video games--bar none.

How do you figure?

Donkey Kong made Nintendo what it was (and is to this day).
It also introduced the character of Mario.
Mario was directly responsible for making the NES what it was, and has subsequently made every successive Nintendo console a hit.

If we are looking at 80's culture that spawned 80's culture, Donkey Kong spawning Mario/NES culture HAS to be included.
The key word in that is "spawn".
Fish don't "spawn" fingerlings, they spawn eggs that BECOME fingerlings, that BECOME fish.

First off, my point was fully made here:

Donkey Kong and Pacman were the epitome of 80's culture though.

I don't know if I would say "epitome"; but either way, they were not inspired by existing 80's culture; they created their own aspect of 80's culture. They don't really fit into the theme of that article.

You only have to look at the amount of "non-arcade" products they spawned to see how integral they were to life in that era.

Exactly; which is the opposite of what the article was focusing on. He wasn't looking for games that spawned culture; but rather; culture that spawned games.

Now, as a side note I disagreed with your claim of:

Donkey Kong spawned the entire NES phase of the 80's, which was the largest event in 80's video games--bar none.

And I replied to it as a separate argument. But, the point remains; Donkey Kong has nothing to do with the 80's. The designers of the game didn't give Mario a mullet or high-top sneakers or a giant boom box for example. The girl he is trying to rescue doesn't have big hair, tight-rolled acid washed jeans and aerobic shoes on. There was no ongoing problems with apes kidnapping women and holding them hostage upon large steel structures in the 80's. There is nothing about the game that ties it to 80's culture or social/political events. It got meshed in with 80's culture after it was a success but like I said before, that is the opposite of what the author of the article was [semi-succesfully] focusing on.

Now, about

[KenToad]

Maybe NoOne=NBA= was just making the point that, without Donkey Kong, Nintendo might still just be a card company (just as a possibility and not to put words in anyone's mouth).   Without Donkey Kong, the history of video games would definitely be different.  However, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man are more or less bizarre incarnations of Japanese creative genius.  So the affect vs. effect point that maxim_recoil is making ... makes sense to me.  Defender, however, would definitely be a game that could fit in the list, but it's less concrete idealogically:  Tiny man in dinky spaceship rescues huge helpless humanoid icons from Galaga rejects.

What surprises me is how cheesy most top ten lists are.  And that I'm constantly drawn to read them.  It's a simple hook for the most average journalist.

Cheers,
KenToad

[TurboC--]

Yes, it's a stupid list.  Glad you realized it.   

[MaximRecoil]

Lets see, not much variety when 5 of the games are the exact same genre (at least to me--perhaps it's because I dont like any of them)

2.5D Platform fighters:
Double Dragon
Bad Dudes
Final Fight
NARC
Rush N Attack

Vertical scrolling shooters:
Ikari Warriors
Tiger Heli

Aha.. at least 3 uniquely different ones made it:
Tetris
California Games
Road Blasters

Rush'n Attack and Bad Dudes = strictly 2D, in the manner of Contra or whatever.

[allroy1975]

Donkey Kong spawned the entire NES phase of the 80's, which was the largest event in 80's video games--bar none.

How do you figure?

Donkey Kong made Nintendo what it was (and is to this day).
It also introduced the character of Mario.
Mario was directly responsible for making the NES what it was, and has subsequently made every successive Nintendo console a hit.

If we are looking at 80's culture that spawned 80's culture, Donkey Kong spawning Mario/NES culture HAS to be included.
The key word in that is "spawn".
Fish don't "spawn" fingerlings, they spawn eggs that BECOME fingerlings, that BECOME fish.

First off, my point was fully made here:

Donkey Kong and Pacman were the epitome of 80's culture though.

I don't know if I would say "epitome"; but either way, they were not inspired by existing 80's culture; they created their own aspect of 80's culture. They don't really fit into the theme of that article.

You only have to look at the amount of "non-arcade" products they spawned to see how integral they were to life in that era.

Exactly; which is the opposite of what the article was focusing on. He wasn't looking for games that spawned culture; but rather; culture that spawned games.

Now, as a side note I disagreed with your claim of:

Donkey Kong spawned the entire NES phase of the 80's, which was the largest event in 80's video games--bar none.

And I replied to it as a separate argument. But, the point remains; Donkey Kong has nothing to do with the 80's. The designers of the game didn't give Mario a mullet or high-top sneakers or a giant boom box for example. The girl he is trying to rescue doesn't have big hair, tight-rolled acid washed jeans and aerobic shoes on. There was no ongoing problems with apes kidnapping women and holding them hostage upon large steel structures in the 80's. There is nothing about the game that ties it to 80's culture or social/political events. It got meshed in with 80's culture after it was a success but like I said before, that is the opposite of what the author of the article was [semi-succesfully] focusing on.

Now, about

[Tailgunner]

That's a great link; very amusing article. There was a Road Blasters in a forgotten corner of Space Port, the Bangor Mall's arcade, back in the mid-to-late 80's. I watched some kid play that seemed to be pretty good at it. It looked interesting but the car's graphics looked like crap to me; it looked like it was hovering above the road rather than being in contact with it; and those too-wide wheels jutting out from the wheel wells looked corny, like some cheap Matchbox or Hotwheels knock-off. I played it once and thought it sucked. I immediately noticed that it didn't hold a candle to Spy Hunter (which I liked immediately the first time I played) and I never gave it a second chance.

I've always thought of RoadBlasters as the sequel Spy Hunter 2 should've been.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I can see that I'm going to have to get more specific, with respect to the original link, as nobody but me apparently READ the list.

In spite of what the author CLAIMED his list was about, it started off with THIS support for his Number 10 pick, which negates his list.

#10 ROADBLASTERS

Year released
1987

What's so 80s about it?
About 9 billion RoadBlasters arcade machines were in circulation by 1989.

Why it made the list
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. It was at the movie theater. It was at the ice cream place, the pizzeria, the convenience store, and at the local bar...

It is pretty hard to imagine what life was like in the late 80s without picturing a RoadBlasters machine every 50 feet, and that's what makes it number 10 on the list.

By this definition Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Defender and Pacman should top the list.
I don't remember people running around in tricked out sports cars, with rocket launchers mounted on the hood during the 80's, do you?

[MaximRecoil]

I can see that I'm going to have to get more specific, with respect to the original link, as nobody but me apparently READ the list.

In spite of what the author CLAIMED his list was about, it started off with THIS support for his Number 10 pick, which negates his list.

#10 ROADBLASTERS

Year released
1987

What's so 80s about it?
About 9 billion RoadBlasters arcade machines were in circulation by 1989.

Why it made the list
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. It was at the movie theater. It was at the ice cream place, the pizzeria, the convenience store, and at the local bar...

It is pretty hard to imagine what life was like in the late 80s without picturing a RoadBlasters machine every 50 feet, and that's what makes it number 10 on the list.

By this definition Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Defender and Pacman should top the list.
I don't remember people running around in tricked out sports cars, with rocket launchers mounted on the hood during the 80's, do you?

Which is why I posted this:

There is nothing about the game that ties it to 80's culture or social/political events. It got meshed in with 80's culture after it was a success but like I said before, that is the opposite of what the author of the article was [semi-succesfully] focusing on.

And this:

He strayed from his stated premise on a few of his choices but the article was still funny.

Apparently you either want him to change his premise and just go with the top 10 most popular arcade games from the 80's; or stick with his premise and make a few more mistakes with his choices; you know, to keep the other mistakes company or something.

Road Blasters is a mistake according to his stated premise. Tetris' inclusion is debatable. The other 8 fit perfectly.

[NoOne=NBA=]

Apparently you either want him to change his premise and just go with the top 10 most popular arcade games from the 80's; or stick with his premise and make a few more mistakes with his choices.

Basically I was just pointing out that he had no clue what he was doing in the first place.
The main thing that set 80's culture apart from any other decade WAS the videogame itself--specifically the arcade craze.

[MaximRecoil]

Basically I was just pointing out that he had no clue what he was doing in the first place.

8 or 9 out of 10 isn't bad. He knew that Road Blasters didn't fit the list by the way:

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" like you do when you see Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure on TBS. Some might say the game is like Mad Max, but the only similarities are that it's set in the future and has cars.

Where he went wrong was here:

To understand what makes this an 80s game, you have to look at life in the late 80s[...]

He either thought [incorrectly] that his following logic was sound; or he just wanted an excuse to rail on Road Blasters for a while, lol.

[brain21]

Well, it isn't a list of videogames from the 80s, or even videogames that defined the 80s, it is a list of videogames that most reflect the 80s.

And this guy has Reagan/Russia/etc on the brain, so he pulls in games that reflect that.

Ah yes, many time I sit back and reflect on all those times in the 80's where I, for some unknown reason, found myself in some back alley smashing cars and fighting wave after wave of ninjas!  A reflection of the 80's indeed.  After all, weren't all of us fghting waves of ninjas & creatures in back alleys in the 80's.

The list is basically this guy remembering HIS favorite video games, regardless of the fact that they were 80's.  He contradicts himself in his criteria as well:

"Like music, movies and books, video games can't help but occasionally be a reflection of the time and culture in which they are made"

" in the same sense that there are "80s films" and "80s bands", there are also "80s videogames"."


OK, twice he makes the same contradiction.  On one hand he says that the great 80's games reflect the decade, and on the other hand he says that they ARE the decade (culture).  So which is it?  Are they part of the decade, or do they reflect it?

Now I understand some will say "Both"  They made up the culture, AND reflected the times. 

Well, Pac-Man may have not reflected the socio-political landscape of the time (yeah, like N.A.R.C. really does!  Come on!), but few games SCREAM 80's like Pac-Man.  Pac-Man WAS the cutlure of the 80's.  Just ask Buckner & Garcia.  Ditto with games like Donkey Kong & Galaga.  When someone in this thread mentioned DK someone else said something like it didn't qualify because Mario didn't have a mullet and generally didn't reflect the times.  The same arguement goes here.  Mario, because of his success and existance, very much BECAME the times.  Just as mullets reflect the times, so does Mario & Donkey Kong.  They were BOTH parts of the culture of the day.  One part of pop culture does NOT have to reflect upon another in order to be seen as part of that time.  In fact if it does it is often seen as an imitator, and NOT something integrally part of the culture of the time.

I knew more people that did NOT have mullets than I knew that DID have mullets back then.  Didn't see that many mullets in my H.S., but we all went to Putt-Putt on the weekends to play the newest games (and the not so new).  There were few sounds more instantly recognizable in an arcade than Mario jumping over a barrel or pac-man chomping on a pill, or the sound of the fire button on asteroids.  If that's not part of the ingrained culture of the 80's than I don't know what is.

I think the list is silly and self-serving.  "I'll make you a list of MY favorite games, but in order so that the list isn't 30 games long I'll artificially limit it by some fake criteria"  Yawn.  WE could come up with a better list of which games defined the decade, or whatever...

Brain21

[Minwah]

it looked like it was hovering above the road rather than being in contact with it; and those too-wide wheels jutting out from the wheel wells looked corny, like some cheap Matchbox or Hotwheels knock-off.

This comment made me laugh as RoadBlasters WAS based on a Matchbox series of cars!  Or at least the Matchbox cars were released at the same time as the game IIRC.

I disagree with the guy about RoadBlasters...I was 8 at the time and I absolutely loved the game, to the extent my cabinet now is based on the same cab (I'm not too keen on the other System1 games).  I was no good at it, and I couldn't reach the yoke very well but I can vividly remember trying to catch the special weapon (& failing most of the time).  I loved the gamplay, graphics & sound and still do    Must build my RB wheel panel...

[Skadar]

Hmmm... I *liked* Road Blasters.  Heck, a driving game where you could shoot using Star Wars controls.  I thought it was a really fun game.  Just a little bit weird though how that UFO would come down and mysteriously provide weapons for your car.

[MaximRecoil]

Ah yes, many time I sit back and reflect on all those times in the 80's where I, for some unknown reason, found myself in some back alley smashing cars and fighting wave after wave of ninjas!

[paigeoliver]

Donkey Kong doesn't compare very favorably with later games in the same genre. It's popularity is driven entirely by nostalgia. Kind of like Galaxian, when it was new everyone was so stoked about it, then the gameplay was totally eclipsed later on.

[paigeoliver]

Also, to be perfectly honest, the "80s" started around 1984, that is when the pop culture change seemed to happen.

Prior to 1984 the culture, music, movies, and even videogames were a holdover from the 1970s.

Around 1984 though the new wave 80s music really started taking hold, all those classic "80s" movies really started coming out, a new era of more complex video games emerged, and don't forget all that wonderful 80s fashions.

The early 80s are either a separate era, or an extension of the 70s. I vote 70s extension myself.

Now we have another 15 years until we have any sort of decade that can have an associated culture again. As the 0s and 10s have no easy way to reference them, thus they are ignored as a group.

[TOK]

Donkey Kong doesn't compare very favorably with later games in the same genre. It's popularity is driven entirely by nostalgia. Kind of like Galaxian, when it was new everyone was so stoked about it, then the gameplay was totally eclipsed later on.

Wow! I love DK and still play it a couple times a week. I generally prefer shooters too, but I think DK has held up fine. Never liked Mario Bros, and don't play DK Jr. anymore. Something about Donkey Kong keeps me coming back, but it's not nostalgia.

[Stingray]

I play DK often still. I also play many of the sequels and spin-offs regularly.

The '80s started January 1, 1980 despite contrary opinion. The author of this list compltely ignores the first half of the decade. I'm assuming that's because he was probably too young to remember it well.

-S

[SirPoonga]

It doesn't represent the 80s a whole, but as noted is represents the late 80s very well.

[cdbrown]

After reading the list on the weekend - I promptly started up final fight and played it to the end.  Lot's or credits and a sore wrist but I was happy with the result. 

[danny_galaga]

I'm assuming that's because he was probably too young to remember it well.

-S

as is paige  . there is plenty of stuff in the early 80's that is diferent to the late 70's. sure there is always a gradual changing of things as there is no reason things should suddenly change and thats certainly true of video games- they came out as they were developed. but you cant tell me 'ant music' sounds 70's...

[Minwah]

It doesn't represent the 80s a whole, but as noted is represents the late 80s very well.

I third that...the top 4 and RoadBlasters are 5 games I very vividly remember from arcades, they were very popular.  The others I am more familiar with from computer ports.  I was probably too young to remember any games pre-85

[SirPoonga]

ACtually what I meant is those games do a pretty good job of summig up the american attitude at the time, which is what I think was the point of the article.

[brain21]

Ah yes, many time I sit back and reflect on all those times in the 80's where I, for some unknown reason, found myself in some back alley smashing cars and fighting wave after wave of ninjas!  A reflection of the 80's indeed.  After all, weren't all of us fghting waves of ninjas & creatures in back alleys in the 80's.

It is a reflection of what was big for entertainment back then, remember ninja movies? Ninja cartoons? A ninja TV show ("The Master")? One of the games listed depicts "President Ronnie", remember him? Also, the fashions/fads of the day are reflected in the game characters.

My comments were tougue in cheek.  I didn't REALLY fight ninjas in the alley!  :-)

He takes shots at most of the games that he lists; indicating that he doesn't necessarily consider them to be "great" (other than in "tongue-in-cheek" fashion) and  they are most likely not his favorite games; which is in opposition to what you said here:

You are correct.  I missed it.  I read the article, but apparently not well enough or something...  D'oh!


Now:

On one hand he says that the great 80's games reflect the decade

(snip)

and on the other hand he says that they ARE the decade (culture).

Where did he say that? He said "in the same sense that there are '80s films' and '80s bands', there are also '80s videogames'"

This was following a statement about games reflecting "the time and culture in which they are made", so it stands to reason that that is what he meant when he said "80s videogames".

OK, an 80's film like the Osterman Weekend might have reflected the 80's political landscape, but VERY 80's films like E.T. or Ghost Busters really did not.  Instead of REFLECTING the culture, they BECAME the culture that OTHER things reflected!  Yes, there were words & dress of the time in those movies, but the movies were much more than that.  THere were plenty of movies in the 80's where people dressed like people in the 80's.  That will ALWAYS be the case unless the movie is trying to specifically reflect a certain time period.  However, few films really become part of the culture of the decade.  Ghostbusters & E.T. could easily have been made in the 90's, yet they became part of the pop-culture of the 80's.

Let me put it to you this way...

You agree that mullets were part of the culture of the 80's, but you say that something like Pac-Man was not.  What's the difference?  Pac-Man did not REFLECT the 80's.  Neither did mullets.  Mullets became PART of the culture, just as Pac-Man did.  There are things that REFLECT the culture, and then there are things that ARE the culture!  Pac-Man BECAME part of the culture of the early 80's.  "Pac-Man Fever", the Pac-Man cartoon, & tons of Pac-Man stuffed animals, etc. REFLECTED that part of the culture that was Pac-Man.  Just as mullets don't REFLECT the cutlre because they WERE the culture, Pac-Man was the same.

Well, Pac-Man may have not reflected the socio-political landscape of the time (yeah, like N.A.R.C. really does!  Come on!)

NARC was a reflection of the hyped up "War on Drugs" campaign that got its start in the 80's.

Yeah, OK, bad example on my part.

but few games SCREAM 80's like Pac-Man.  Pac-Man WAS the cutlure of the 80's.  Just ask Buckner & Garcia.  Ditto with games like Donkey Kong & Galaga.  When someone in this thread mentioned DK someone else said something like it didn't qualify because Mario didn't have a mullet and generally didn't reflect the times.  The same arguement goes here.  Mario, because of his success and existance, very much BECAME the times. 

Pac-Man and Donkey Kong reflected nothing of the 80's; period. Culture in part ended up reflecting those games; not the other way around. This is a "which came first?" scenario and it is not rocket science. Name a single cultural aspect of the 80's that Pac-Man or Donkey Kong was patterned after or reflected.

Pac-Man did not reflect the 80's (culture).  It WAS (part of) the 80's (culture), and a small cottage industry sprung up around it, REFLECTING it's cultural impact.

You have things mixed up here.  Above you say:

Pac-Man and Donkey Kong reflected nothing of the 80's; period.

True.  They don't REFLECT the 80's, they ARE (part of) the 80's (culture). Something does NOT have to reflect on another part of the culture to become part of the culture.  In fact, many things that become part of the culture do not REFLECT anything about the culture.  Those big Benneton sweaters & mia shoes that all the girls in my H.S. wore did not REFLECT on the 80's, but they were part of the culture.  Some designer came up with the design for those Mia shoes that were so damned popular, and probably did not think "how can my shoe designs reflect the current times?"  They simply designed what they liked.  Others liked it as well, they sold like hotcackes, and became part of the culture without reflecting upon it.  Ditto for Pac-Man.

Culture in part ended up reflecting those games;

So, the songs & stuffed animals & tunes that reflected Pac-Man were part of the 80's culture, as you stated, but Pac-Man itself was not?  Come on!  This is twisted logic, isn't it?

This is a "which came first?" scenario and it is not rocket science. Name a single cultural aspect of the 80's that Pac-Man or Donkey Kong was patterned after or reflected.

Again, you are following your twisted logic here (at least you are consistant!  :-} ).

You are basically saying, the game comes first, and then the culture imitates it, but the game itself is not part of the culture.  This is wrong.  IF the game was not part of the pop-culture itself, then the rest of the pop culture would not have attempted to capitalize on it!

Pac-Man & DK do not HAVE to REFLECT upon other aspects of the culture in order to become part of the culture themselves.  It's not rocket science. :-)

How does a mullet REFLECT on the times?  It doesn't really.  However, it did become part of the pop-culture of the times, just as certain video games did.

I knew more people that did NOT have mullets than I knew that DID have mullets back then.

Nearly kid everyone in the mid-80's had a mullet. Take a look at some '86 yearbooks if you want. Here's a picture for you - http://www.mulletlovers.com/images/team2.jpg

I count 13 mullets out of the 16 kids on that team. I supposed that was an isolated instance?

Gee, counting 13 out of 16 mullets on a site called mullet lovers...   THat is certainly an unbiased site reflecting on the times!  Perhaps I should google to see if there is a site called www.notallofushadmullets.com and show you that 13 out of 16 diid not have mullets :-) (i'm not being an a-hole here, just a little facetious humor!)

I still have all of my yearbooks from H.S. & Jr. High from around '82 to '86, and one of my college yearbooks from '88.

I would say that the % of mullets on ALL of those yearbooks amongst the male population was maybe 5%.  Maybe that's a product of growing up in the suburbs of Wash. D.C. , and maybe in the south the % would have been higher, but not by much.  Last time I looked at my cousins H.S. yearbooks (which admittedly was maybe 5 years ago) I don't remember an inordinate amount of mullets either.  My cousin attended High school in Georgia.  Why would I look at my cousins yearbook?  Because I knew quite a few people from his H.S. since my cousin and I were close and we would visit each other for extended periods of time during the x-mas & summer vacations, and many of his friends became mine as well.

Ahhh, but we digress from the whole article.

I agree that I may have missread or whatever part of that article.  I will conceed that point to you.  However on the topic of the tangent that we went on I put forth that something does not have to reflect on the times to become part of them, and even a somewhat definitive part of them.

Interesting discussion nonetheless!  Oh, and my post here was just WAY too long!  SOrry!

Brain21

[Kremmit]

Wow, I just thought it was kind of funny.   

[MaximRecoil]

I don't need to make this reply very long because you keep repeating the same error:

You are basically saying, the game comes first, and then the culture imitates it, but the game itself is not part of the culture.  This is wrong.  IF the game was not part of the pop-culture itself, then the rest of the pop culture would not have attempted to capitalize on it!

I never claimed that the game was not part of culture. Of course it was. The article wasn't focusing on games that necessarily became cultural icons themselves; but games that reflected the existing culture when they were created. Imagine this; if there was a game from the 80's where you navigate your character into an arcade and play Pac-Man and Donkey Kong; then that would have fit on his list. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong themselves however, do not fit on his list. Again, not rocket science. Missile Command would have fit though...

Gee, counting 13 out of 16 mullets on a site called mullet lovers...   THat is certainly an unbiased site reflecting on the times!

It doesn't matter who is hosting the image; the fact remains that it is a picture from an 80's yearbook. You aren't going to contend that the owner of the site went back in time and staged that photo are you? you know, in order to tilt the odds in their favor in case anyone ever questioned the prominence of mullets in the 80's? If mullets were as uncommon as you claim, what are the odds of finding any sports team photo from the 80's with 81% of the players wearing mullets?