Comments on: Not pictured: line of five other kids

Not pictured: line of five other kids

Pope Guilty — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:52:40 -0800

Pictures of toy store video game console kiosks! via

By: Balisong

Balisong — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:56:26 -0800

Pac-Filter. It wants me to but it. I did once.

By: Netzapper

Netzapper — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:05:12 -0800

I fondly recall the SNES kiosks. .

By: joechip

joechip — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:26:28 -0800

These bring me back. I used to skip lunch in high school and go play new Sega releases at the nearby Toys R Us' kiosks. You had to do it during the day because then the only other people there would be adults and real little kids- nobody interested in video games. It was great. No competition, no charge. A free, personal arcade. I would do this alone, making me probably the only dude playing in the toy store who drove himself. To add to the creepiness, I would usually have a nice smoke outside after a particularly satisfying game of Sonic. But the prospect of playing brand-new video games with no lines for free made it totally worth it.

By: Lazlo

Lazlo — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:49:13 -0800

I may just be remembering a standalone demo unit but I'm pretty sure there was an in-store kiosk for the Channel F at The Broadway when I was a kid. Sears definitely had a kiosk for their Searsified edition of the VCS -- in the sporting goods section. Right across the aisle from the George Carlin LPs. Down the way from the camera department, where they were selling (or trying to sell anyway) the Polavision systems.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:55:10 -0800

Can't wait for Mario Galaxy 2!

By: hempgranola

hempgranola — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:45:54 -0800

Hm. I remember playing at a number of these different kiosks and not wanting to share because I didn't want others to feel all of the sweat I'd left on the controller. It wasn't my fault! Gross? Maybe. Worth it? Definitely.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:18:30 -0800

The Atari home computer kiosk has a MULE package on display! I've always been kind of fascinated by these displays, and am kind of sad that they go obsolete and disappear. These are video games. They're emblematic of newness and the cutting edge! They shouldn't just disappear, that might mean they're just like everything else in this tired old world. This is the same kind of melancholy I felt today when I turned on the Dreamcast and noticed that I have save files on a memory card on which the save date is February, 2000.

By: Joakim Ziegler

Joakim Ziegler — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:56:27 -0800

How come everyone's talking about these like they don't exist anymore? I see them in toy stores here all the time, with Xbox 360s and Playstation 3s, mostly, I don't think I've ever seen one with a Wii, perhaps because the controller doesn't really lend itself to being bolted to the end of a stiff rod.

By: Mr. Bad Example

Mr. Bad Example — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:37:47 -0800

doesn't really lend itself to being bolted to the end of a stiff rod. That's what she said. Sorry. I saw the Atari 2600, and all of a sudden I was twelve.

By: Servo5678

Servo5678 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:02:51 -0800

I have amusing memories of seeing little kids trying to play the giant Game Boys that only ran video clips.

By: Talanvor

Talanvor — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:45:45 -0800

This is the same kind of melancholy I felt today when I turned on the Dreamcast and noticed that I have save files on a memory card on which the save date is February, 2000. Yeah, I'm pretty sure my Seaman is dead. I haven't fed him in over a decade, after all.