Few 1980’s arcade game titles share the influence on the level of Tron. Thanks to its dual existence as both a film (now, film franchise) and arcade game, Tron carries a unique legacy as one of the first video games which jumped into multiple media formats. The original Tron’s iconic cyber futuristic imagery came from the talents of artists working both for Disney and Bally-Midway. Tron the film (for those who have never seen it) is a 1982 science fiction adventure starring Jeff Bridges as...

I was a bit of a gamer outlier during the mid 1980’s and early 90’s. I never seemed to play on the mainstream console or computer system, or at least ones that were mainstream here in the USA. When the Nintendo Entertainment System was the dominant gaming product, I had an Atari 7800 and Sega Master System. As computer gaming transitioned to IBM PC compatibles I stuck with my Atari ST until the bitter end. Game Boy? No way I had an Atari Lynx. This all changed with the release of the Sega...

After a few successful years successfully making mostly inexpensive toys, Axlon did two dramatically different things. First, they entered into a partnership with toy juggernaut Hasbro. Second, despite original statements from Bushnell that he wanted to create a toy company disconnected with video games Axlon essentially became a video game company. This shift isn’t a surprise given Bushnell’s history in the video game industry or that during the mid 1980’s one of his other companies was...