It's time to nominate the best video game cameo in a movie!

[DaveMMR]

The word 'nominate' is such a poor choice to use in the subject as no ultimate winner will be chosen and no award will be given out.

Anyway... I was just reading about the Computer Space cabinet is Soylent Green and I was thinking of some good appearances of video games (arcade or home system) on celluloid (add to that I was really bored).   Feel free to add to my list but remember that movies based on the videogame of the same name don't count.  

- PACMAN for his appearance in Tron (a video-game inspired movie, but not based on Pac-Man, so it kinda, sorta counts... or maybe not).

- MS. PACMAN for her appearance in Man on the Moon (even if it was totally anachronistic - check IMDB)

- KARATE CHAMP for it's appearance in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (played by two women no less - totally blowing gender stereotypes out of the water).

- POLE POSITION for it's appearance in D.A.R.R.Y.L. (betcha never knew robots could totally manipulate a video game to increase it's frame rate 500% on an ancient computer)

And just to add a little seasoning, here's some sub-catagories (feel free to add more):

MOST BAFFLING VIDEOGAME CAMEO IN A MOVIE OR TV SHOW:

- Some guy playing Atari 2600 PacMan on an NES (listen to the sound effects) in My Blue Heaven.

- The episode of You Can't Do That on Television (ep title escapes me at this time) in which everyone in the cast actually wanted to play Atari 2600 PacMan (one of them even mentioned it was their favorite game).  

BEST VIDEOGAME APPEARANCE ON TV:

Three way tie:
- A depressed PacMan trying to be cheered up by three of the ghosts (who later give up and go to Q*Bert's house) in Family Guy (ep: Stuck Together, Torn Apart).

- Trying to keep a Frogger machine powered up to maintain George's high score in Seinfeld (ep: The Frogger).

- Every episode of Silver Spoons (lucky rich brat with his wall of arcade cabs).

BEST VIDEOGAME APPEARANCE IN A MUSIC VIDEO:

- TEMPEST for it's appearance in Rush's video for Subdivisions. (probably not the best but the only I could think of)

BEST FICTIONAL VIDEOGAME IN A MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT I'D MOST LIKE TO PLAY FOR REAL:

- SPACE SUCKERS: the cause of fierce compition between Arnold and Willis in Diff'rent Strokes.  

[Odonadon]

- RC Pro AM in Wizard (Fred Savage)

MOST BAFFLING VIDEOGAME CAMEO IN A MOVIE OR TV SHOW:

- Some sort of Pacman type game Chevy Chase uses to map out their vacation route for the movie audience - Vacation

BEST VIDEOGAME APPEARANCE ON TV:

- Spacfe Invaders in Futurama - Lower altitude, change direction and increase speed!  

BEST VIDEOGAME APPEARANCE IN A MUSIC VIDEO:

- I swear I hear the Super Mario theme in the background of almost every dance song...

BEST FICTIONAL VIDEOGAME IN A MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT I'D MOST LIKE TO PLAY FOR REAL:

- The Last Starfighter - The Last Starfighter.  

Odonadon

[DaveMMR]

I dunno about the Wizard... wasn't that just a 90 minute Nintendo commercial?  heh heh.    

And I forgot about Donkey Kong in the Simpsons!   He throws a barrel on the head of the wise cracking guy (who never had a name but an unmistakable sarcastic voice) after he say he's no longer a draw!  

[Frostillicus]

You can't forget all the great Simpson's video game moments:

-Bible Blaster!    "nah - you just winged him.  Now he's a Unitarian."

-Nuke Canada  (in bowling alley)

-Asteroids  (in a flashback scene)

Games I don't know name of:

-That crazy game Bart plays in the Focusyn episode

-The RPG Lisa plays while sick from school

-Boxing game between Bart and Homer (1st season?)


And the BEST:

-Devil's Advocate  "Marge, may I play Devil's Advocate?"

[RedSquirrel]

Ms Pacman was also in that episode of Friends.

[Thenasty]

Married with Children
The episode where Al tried to break the bowling record but Peggy got a perfect game for her birthday. In the background there were 3 video games.
1. GORF
2 and 3 can't make it out (anyone knows?).


For Best Music Video
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the song was "You got Lucky" (I think it is), at the video they totally destroyed a "Astro Invader" video game.

[TheGatesofBill]

Well, in Ghostbusters, upstairs in the fire house while talking about "the last of the petty cash", there are 2 arcade machines and a pinball machine in the background. None of which I can make out.

[DaveMMR]

-The RPG Lisa plays while sick from school

The game she was playing was Dash Dingo, which was a spoof of the Crash Bandicoot series ("Ninjas?!  Those aren't even Australian!").  

That episode ('Lisa Gets an A' -- yes I am a total Simpsons geek) also had two other videogame references:  Ralph calls Supenintendent Chalmers "Super Nintendo Chalmers" while Gil is trying to sell the school COLECO computers.  

[Nailz]

I'm amazed no one has brought up Matthew Broderick playing Galaga in WarGames yet.  It has my vote for best appearance in a movie.

[Sasquatch!]

I'm amazed no one has brought up Matthew Broderick playing Galaga in WarGames yet.  It has my vote for best appearance in a movie.

Oooo, good call.

For "MOST BAFFLING VIDEOGAME CAMEO IN A MOVIE OR TV SHOW", I'd have to say the arcade cabinet running Doom in Grosse Point Blank.  Ehhh?

[jakejake28]

karate champ in one of the van damme movies...

[Magnet_Eye]

What about Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Scene in the Arcade shows multiple games, including Pac-Man. Best part is at the end of the movie they use the Missle Command THE END sequence for the end of the film, I think that was really cool! In fact, it's more than a cameo, it's part of the movie, right!?  

[rockhopper]

Wild Gunman, in Back to the Future 2.

[TheGatesofBill]

Wild Gunman, in Back to the Future 2.

I can't believe I forgot about that one. BTTF is one of my all time favorite movies.

[rampy]

what about the Jackie Chan movie where he "Becomes" Streetfighter II characters (including chun li!)  

1992 movie City Hunter

rampy

EDIT link to the scene i'm referring too (scroll down) short version

[Apollo]

The movie Philadelphia Experiment: Two sailors accidentally travel through time from the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1943 to the Nevada desert in 1984. They wind up in a roadside diner. In the back of the room are two arcade machines

[Zapper]

BEST FICTIONAL VIDEOGAME IN A MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT I'D MOST LIKE TO PLAY FOR REAL:

Space Paranoid from TRON

"All Flynns games are belong to ENCOM. End of line."

[TheGatesofBill]

So noone can name the cabinets in Ghostbusters? I'm disappointed in you guys.

[Apollo]

I don't think anyone can name them can they. Don't they go by to quick to really see properly?

[TheGatesofBill]

I found it here. It doesn't say the name though.

[Apollo]

It says GunFight down the bottom of the page.

[TheGatesofBill]

It says GunFight down the bottom of the page.

Where? Anyways there are two cabinets there.

[Apollo]

Sorry, just under the screen shot of Atari's F-1.

[DaveMMR]

Oh I totally forgot Midnight Madness -- not only were the teams required to 'beat' Space Wars to get the answer to the location of the finish line, but in the background, among other games, is a 'rare' Death Race machine.  Of course, according to KLOV, Death Race is not as 'rare' as originally thought.

[SirPoonga]

Afterburner cockpit, Atari Football, and Missle Command - Terminator 2.

[APFelon]

Hm...

"Twilight Zone: The Movie". In the beginning of one of the segments, a kid is playing Tempest. Near the end of the segment, he unleashes "Tempest" upon his "family".

"Parenthood" with Steve Martin shows a kid (his son) playing Bad Dudes. Steve Martin even maks a comment on the name of the game when his son loses.

"Saved by the Bell" television show features a cafe/teen hangout spot with several games lined up against the wall. Can't recall what they are, though.

I have heard that the movie "Godzilla 2000" shows a computer showing the MAME readme file.

Confirmed. Here is a link:

http://gfpoken.bigw.org/g2k/

Speaking of Atari 2600... In most movies/TV shows/ commercals, no matter what an actor is playing, it either sounds like 2600 Donkey Kong or Pac Man. It's like video game sound technology hasn't progressed in 20 years.

APf

[nighthawk2099]

When you hear the Pac-Man or Donkey Kong sounds, you automagicly think of arcade games.  Thus they uses these internationally known sounds when games are played.

Ok... how about Police Academy  

When Larvell is in his room making the game sounds while acting like he's playing.  Priceless comedy.

[Lilwolf]

Grosse Point Blank - in convience store...

DOOM - the arcade... that never existed!

[JackTucky]

You can't forget all the great Simpson's video game moments:

Frostillicus:

What about Larry the Looter?  Bart says something about "Time to stick it to the man!" ?

And when Bart shoplifted for Bonestorm?  "If you don't buy this game, you better be dead!"  

Art

[DaveMMR]

If you ever played the PC game Virtual Springfield, you were able to play "Larry the Looter", the boxing game and some other one (I forgot).   The only problem with Larry the Looter was that it always ended the same way it ends in the show - Larry gets his head blown off.  

The one where Bart shoplifts Bonestorm (tagline: "Buy Me Bonestorm or Go To Hell") showed Sonic, Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong all trying to get him to take it.  Funny stuff.

[Nailz]

That 70's show, where they replaced the pinball machine with... was it Space Invaders or Asteroids?  I can't remember.

[SirPeale]

That 70's show, where they replaced the pinball machine with... was it Space Invaders or Asteroids?  I can't remember.

Space Invaders.  Still resides there to this day.  Well, on the show, that is.

[mpm32]

Not a movie but has anyone seen the H2 ad with asteriods?

[shmokes]

Cloak and Dagger

Terminator 2 : Have you seen this boy?

Major League Baseball in the opening scene of Princess Bride.

And I've seen a Doom or Doom 2 arcade cabinet.  Can't remember which but I remember thinking it was really funny since by that time everybody and their dog and a copy of Doom 2 on their PC.

[chris_lemasters]

More Simpsons:

Lee Travino's Putting Challenge (with scoring pencil!)
Great White Hunter (Kwiky Mart)
Asteroids (at Moe's in the flashback to Marge and Homer at Moe's opening night - "Tell that to the crew of the S.S. Triangle!")

[lokki]

Does anyone remember a Gary coleman movie (made for TV).  Where he is a kid that  goes to college .
I remember a scener where he is at a bus station an he sees a defender machine and plays it and gets a huge score, and when he is done he comments that it is his first time...


Possibly The  Kid with the 200 I.Q.

[said7]

Revenge of the Nerds - When they were forced to live in the gym wormser is playing atari on some old ass tv can't remember what game. Anyone?

Simpsons - The game bart and milhouse wanted so bad was called Bloodstorm or Bloodbone cant remember.

[Edgedamage]

While doing audio work for the cartoon show "my dad's a rock star" episode #6 the kid is playing a gameboy and the sounds are from defender.

[Edgedamage]

Also in Stephen King's  Maximum Override movie there is a starcastle machine that goes nuts.

[paigeoliver]

And I've seen a Doom or Doom 2 arcade cabinet.  Can't remember which but I remember thinking it was really funny since by that time everybody and their dog and a copy of Doom 2 on their PC.

Never saw a Doom, but I have seen a Quake. Either way, all Doom machines and most Quake ones were homemade jobs. A Doom machine would be a nice cheap project though, since you can use an incredibly cheap PC for it.