Welcome to Modojo, 
RetroMo: The TomyTronic Titles
Written by Philip Jones on Monday, July 24, 2006
Philip Jones explains to today's youngins just what exactly passed for "futuristic" back in the day, and severely dates himself in the process...
Back in the old days, and we're talking pre-1989, pre-GameBoy. The only way to get your handheld fix was from Nintendo's Game & Watch games, their innumerable clones, and from the not-quite-so-handheld tabletop games. These compact video games came around in the late 70's and all kinds of Western and Eastern toy companies got in on the act. By the early 80's there was, as was the case with the home videogame sector, a glut of samey games, with not a great deal to differentiate the gameplay on offer. So, how does a company make a product stand out of the crowd? Why, gimmicks, of course!
The Tomytronic games were at the time the ultimate in playground prestige, they cost more than other games, and heck, they were about as future as a 6 year old could get their hands on. You felt like you were Luke Skywalker looking through his crazy space binoculars. They even came with a neckstrap so that you'd never have to physically put the game down in between bouts, which believe me, when you first got one, you didn't want to do very often.
The design of the games casing was at the time one of the most exciting things about the games. Crossing a viewmaster with some kind of spaceship to create an object that felt like it had actually come from the future. Its compact size made it more portable than the larger tabletop games, increasing the popularity of them as more kids carried them everywhere they went.
Part of the appeal of the Tomytronic games was that they created a more personal experience than other games. You were the player and your friends around you couldn't peer over your shoulder to see what you were up to. This in turn made the kids want to experience it for themselves even more, often leading to people waiting in turn to have a go on them at school lunchtime. It wasn't long before kids found out the game's weakness though. Due to the way the LCD was lit, You would find yourself suddenly plunged into darkness as some other mean child held their hand over the light window. Much swearing and moving around would follow.
posted September 8, 2006