Christmas Spectacular 2012: DAY 18 - Radio Shack VFD Tabletop Games

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DAY 18 - Radio Shack VFD Tabletop Games

Radio Shack used to kick ass. While younger people these days may find that hard to believe, they once stocked so many cool gadgets and electronic games at affordable prices that the stores were very popular during the holidays. VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) tabletop video games are still one of my all time favorite toys. A VFD display is unlike anything else with their glowing illuminated elements. While Coleco would capture the bulk of the VFD market with their arcade licenses ($59.97 per game for those in 1982 - and they still hold that value), Radio Shack / Tandy had some solid games and licenses themselves. Here we have Kingman (a Donkey Kong clone licensed from Tomy), Zackman (a Dig Dug clone licensed from Bandai), and Alien Chase (a unique game licensed from Tomy) that was manufactured in such a way so that the VFD can be seen from two sides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSB1veDAx3k