For the release of the film TRON, Disney held a video game tournament for the arcade game and we got a glimpse at the excitement that e-sports would bring to gaming decades later.
Love this movie and this article. I had forgotten about this competition! I totally want that Tron t-shirt!! I’m so jealous! I remember the arcade at Disneyland was filled with Tron machines. Discs of Tron was great too!
Celebrities playing Tron is amazon and thank you the link to the Joystik article! That’s really appreciated!!
I am wondering though if you have a typo above? Surely a Commodore computer cost less than a Tron arcade cabinet? If not, i surely would have bought one!! 😊 Maybe it should be $400?
I was eight when the movie and arcade game came out and I LOVED them both! For an eight year old with limited funds, that game was a bit of a quarter eater. Put me in front of a tv with an Atari 2600 and I could play Pitfall, without losing a life, until the time ran out AND roll the score back to zeroes on Yar’s Revenge, but many arcade games needed a bigger budget (money and time) to master than I normally had.
Still, it was an amazingly cool game. I also loved the Firefox arcade game that had cut scenes featuring actual footage from the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. So awesome!
I was into watching Starcade on tv as a kid. They have some episodes on YouTube and boy are they a tough watch. The host clearly is phoning it in for a pay check, while the players are hilariously awkward. I think the best part is they are often joined by a parent when they are young, but better yet aren’t kept in age brackets. So great when a 25 yr old high fives his buddy when they win the show beating out a 12 yr old and his mother. That show might have been why esports took some time to recover.
I have most of the run of the show in mediocre quality. Its the type of show that is a great mix of amateurishness and polish. I didn't pick up on the awkwardness when I watched it as a kid, but it, and the snapshot of the era is what has kept bringing me back.
Love this movie and this article. I had forgotten about this competition! I totally want that Tron t-shirt!! I’m so jealous! I remember the arcade at Disneyland was filled with Tron machines. Discs of Tron was great too!
Celebrities playing Tron is amazon and thank you the link to the Joystik article! That’s really appreciated!!
I am wondering though if you have a typo above? Surely a Commodore computer cost less than a Tron arcade cabinet? If not, i surely would have bought one!! 😊 Maybe it should be $400?
I thought the same thing about the price! I confirmed it in a few place. It must have been fully loaded.
I wonder if it was something like the Commodore PET and not a C64 type deelie.
That might make more sense. It still feels high. Maybe they kitchen sinked the C64 and added every bit of software they could dig up?
I was eight when the movie and arcade game came out and I LOVED them both! For an eight year old with limited funds, that game was a bit of a quarter eater. Put me in front of a tv with an Atari 2600 and I could play Pitfall, without losing a life, until the time ran out AND roll the score back to zeroes on Yar’s Revenge, but many arcade games needed a bigger budget (money and time) to master than I normally had.
Still, it was an amazingly cool game. I also loved the Firefox arcade game that had cut scenes featuring actual footage from the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. So awesome!
I was into watching Starcade on tv as a kid. They have some episodes on YouTube and boy are they a tough watch. The host clearly is phoning it in for a pay check, while the players are hilariously awkward. I think the best part is they are often joined by a parent when they are young, but better yet aren’t kept in age brackets. So great when a 25 yr old high fives his buddy when they win the show beating out a 12 yr old and his mother. That show might have been why esports took some time to recover.
I have most of the run of the show in mediocre quality. Its the type of show that is a great mix of amateurishness and polish. I didn't pick up on the awkwardness when I watched it as a kid, but it, and the snapshot of the era is what has kept bringing me back.
E-sports is now a thriving concern, and, therefore, it may be one of many things we have to thank Disney for conceiving in foresight.
I was just thinking of the film a couple of days ago - looking forward to rewatching it!