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Justin

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  5. Toys "R" Us Memories

    in Classic Toys

    Posted

    I created a new Photo Album for all of my Toys R Us pictures from around this time. I was launching this website during that fall and it became a pretty big part of my life during that time, and in my memory the two are intertwined pretty closely, so there are a few early pictures of the site in there too. Many of these photos were taken specifically for our first Blog entry for this website - an article titled "The Toys R Us Affair: The Influence of Atari Today" which documented Atari-related items being sold in Toys R Us at that time. You'll notice some early internet graphics and pictures of TRU associates holding up Pac-Man and Galaga for PC, etc. I dragged and dropped most everything I found in that folder to be able to share with you, I'll sort through these pictures and add more details in the future, as well as update this thread with more memories and stores at some point in the future. It's been nearly 25 years at this point, I should write them down and share them before I forget them :wreck-it-ralph:

    Enjoy:

     

     

  9. Holiday Shopping Memories: Kay-Bee Toys, Toys R Us, Shopping Malls & More

    in Retro

    Posted

    On 10/3/2023 at 11:24 AM, RickR said:

    The concept of "Toys R Us" never failed.  It was the leveraged buyout that killed them with too much debt. 

    The name and logo definitely have value, and I'd love to see another toy store go big like that...with controlled growth and limited debt. 

     

    Agreed. When I worked at Toys R Us 25 years ago they were telling us there was serious competition from Walmart and Target that cut deep into our customer base that we could not keep up with. Walmart sells their toys at very competitive prices - some are loss leaders - these were prices that Toys 'R' Us couldn't match as some were at or below cost. Walmart is happy to sell toys at very little markup to draw in customers who shop for other items that Walmart sells at a high profit, whereas Toys R Us has to make profit from toys to stay in business.

    Walmart keeps toy prices very low to draw mom and dad in on the way home from work, on a busy day etc., knowing parents can shop for groceries and everything they need in one stop - toys included- without having to drive across town, fighting traffic and finding parking near a mall to get to Toys 'R' Us. Why do that when you can just stop at Walmart and get what you need in one stop for less? Or better yet, online? Even a couple years ago I would meet people who would say "Our son loves Paw Patrol! Toys 'R' Us is so expensive, we always go to Walmart for toys." 

    Toys 'R' Us tried to combat this by offering exclusive products and new product lines. Imaginarium educational toys, quality stuffed animals, children's clothing, American Girl dolls, free assembly on bicycles and Power Wheels, etc. It wasn't enough to make the difference. Pile on everything @RickR mentioned and desperate management, and it turned into another dead store.

    I had a topic all about Toys 'R' Us memories with photos I had taken at the time, around the year 2000. I still have more I need to upload. If I can find the time I'll do that soon. Here's the original thread from a few years ago:

     

  11. Holiday Shopping Memories: Kay-Bee Toys, Toys R Us, Shopping Malls & More

    in Retro

    Posted

    12 hours ago, RickR said:

    I don't know if this is nation-wide or what, but our local mall Macy's has a Toys R Us branded toy department.  I can't decide if that's nice or sad.  I mean I'd much rather prefer a stand-alone store, but I guess it is better than nothing.

     

     

    11 minutes ago, TrekMD said:

    That is a nationwide thing.  My local Macy's store has a full section dedicated as a Toys'R'Us store.  I do believe, though, that Toys'R'Us is opening some smaller stores in some areas in the US.

    We have those here as well. They've been in our Macy's for the past few years.

  14. Interesting Vehicles from Afar

    in Off Topic

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Atari 5200 Guy said:

    That reminds me of this:

     

    IMG_1953.jpeg

    lol oh no, let’s keep this clean Mike. Yugo GV “great value!” (Zastava Koral) built by a Yugoslavian arms manufacturer, was based on a shortened version of the Fiat 128 dating back to 1969 and very similar to the Fiat 127 and designed initially for the Yugoslavian market. Malcom Bricklin couldn’t help but import these as the cheapest car in America until they no longer met safety standards. They were built in Kragujevac, Serbia through 2008. Interesting to read the history of but not to drive. Without a doubt I’d opt for the solid GTI.

    Here’s the 1971 Fiat 127, if you squint you can see the Yugo in there:

    Fiat_127_mk1.jpg

  16. Building the ultimate PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16

    in TurboGrafx-16

    Posted

    ...other than a Turbo Duo!

     

     

    In my opinion this is the ultimate PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 build! Very cool to see this! This is how to take a yellowed and dirty old PC Engine and turn it into the ultimate build!

    When the PC Engine launched in the United States as the TurboGrafx-16, they increased the size of the system to be 2x-3x larger than the original Japanese version, which was only about the size of an NES cartridge. This was a marketing decision as NEC felt an American audience felt "bigger is better" and wouldn't feel they were getting the same bang for their buck with the tiny PC Engine.

    I've always disagreed with that. I think the tiny size of the PC Engine gives the system a very advanced, high-tech feel to it, especially at the time it was made. The compact size played well with the small form factor of the credit card sized HuCards or "TurboChips".

    What I always wanted to see was a small, advanced-looking American PC Engine for North America - incredibly small and compact just like the Japanese PC Engine, but black with the neon lettering and accents just like the North American TurboGrafx-16. This is what we should've gotten in the USA, in a tiny box with a handle like the Atari 2600 Jr., but with a distinctly high tech feel, and a nice HuCard of Blazing Lazers or Bonk's Adventure as the pack-in game!

    Where Nintendo was marketed as "Mario style" fun for the whole family, and Sega was "tough" with all their blast processing, TurboGrafx-16 could've found a niche as being "High Tech" - The Higher Energy Video Game System. I could see tiny, PC Engine-sized TurboGrafx-16s marketed as "high tech" and being sold through The Sharper Image, Brookstone and Hammacher Schlemmer in addition to Toys R Us and Sears.

    This build turns a yellowed and dirty PC Engine brought over from Japan, and refurbishes it in an incredibly high quality smoked translucent shell for both the system and TurboPad from Retrogame Restore. The motherboard is gone over, a new cap kit from Conole5 is installed along with new HDMI Kit, and the control pad has a fresh new graphic inlay from GrafxGear. (Links below) I like that GrafxGear offers the Classic Overlays for TurboGrafx-16, TurboDuo, and PC Engine control pads, in addition to Original Overlays of GrafxGear's own design. 

    This build still has a PC Engine motherboard that plays Japanese PC Engine HuCards and is unable to play North American TurboGrafx-16 HuCards without an adapter, but with a TurboEverDrive PRO you can play region free, and play all of the CD and Super CD games too! This build adds a TerraOnion Super HD System3 which includes many of the same features.

    Outside of owning a minty fresh TurboDuo, this is the ultimate real hardware PC Engine build. Enjoy!

     

    Products featured in this video:

    ► TerraOnion Super HD System3 Pro: https://shop.terraonion.com/shop/products
    ► Retro Game Restore Shell: https://www.game-tech.us/product/pc-engine-smoked-transparent-case/
    ► Console5 Capacitor Kit: https://console5.com/store/nec-pc-engine-coregrafx-coregrafx-ii-cap-kit.html
    ► GrafxGear Controller and System Decals: https://www.grafxgear.com/

     

    Here's what you will find in this video:

    ► 0:00 Intro
    ► 2:55 Parts Overview
    ► 5:09 How to Install HDMI Kit
    ► 11:47 Features Overview
    ► 15:27 Pros and Cons
    ► 18:39 Final Thoughts/Conclusion

     

  19. Inside E.T.'s Horror Sequel and Spielberg's Lost Movies!

    in Television & Movies

    Posted

    3 hours ago, RickR said:

    I also learned just yesterday about Spielberg wanting badly to direct Superman

    This seems to happen a lot with Superman! The Tim Burton Superman from 1998 is also a fascinating story. There was a documentary about it called “The Death of Superman Lives” that I posted about a few years ago, unfortunately, the YouTube videos seem to have disappeared. I’ll see if I can find a new one.

     

  21. Atari XP Physical Releases - Atari Releasing New Atari 2600 Game Cartridges!

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Sabertooth said:

    I personally like the Butcher Billy art and have a few of the posters (Yars, Haunted House and Desert Falcon). His style and mash-ups aren't for everyone, but I love his work on this, Stranger Things, Black Mirror, etc.

    My intent isn’t to be critical of the artist or art style but rather not understanding how it correlates to an Atari vibe.

    For example, the Blade Runner 2049 stuff wasn’t for everyone but I understood the connection between the two worlds.

  22. Atari XP Physical Releases - Atari Releasing New Atari 2600 Game Cartridges!

    in Atari 2600

    Posted

    47 minutes ago, TrekMD said:

    Well, I went ahead and preordered the Butcher Billy Limited Edition Cartridge Set.  It is cheaper than the individual carts and it gets me Save Mary, which I was not able to get before.  Here's the link for it:  Butcher Billy Limited Edition Cartridge Set

    ButcherBillySet.png.f4376ae6215f273b4b9d4e36bcac78ea.png

    I'm trying to understand how that art style correlates to what comes to mind when we think of Atari, and why they wouldn't have released 7800 Fatal Run instead of 2600 Fatal Run, as the Atari 2600+ plays both.

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