For those old enough, you might have remembered what was called the Video Revolution back in the early 1990s. This was the period where technology was making so many leaps and bounds that no one could quite keep up with everything going on. It mostly peaked by the time of Windows '95 and affordable internet for the masses, but for awhile it seemed as if the sky was the limit. By the end of the decade, technology would rule everything and the planned analog future would be a thing of the past.
One such example of this wave was the burgeoning Nickelodeon television network. Their game show series, Nick Arcade, combined the exploding video game hobby (yes, it was always popular, folks) as well as the arcade scene, with their wildly popular game format made popular by Double Dare and Guts, in order to form this unique creation.
You can see the entire history and what tech it took to get this crazy idea running in the above video. Not only can you see the style and attitude that made the early 90s so very distinct from the back half, but you can also see just how different video games were back then before the AAA monstrosity warped them into bad D-tier movies. It's truly a time capsule of a different era slowly being forgotten.
At the same time, watching an episode is strange because it's very clear something like this couldn't be made now. It is because "Game Shows" and "Video Games" both equated to the same thing: surmounting challenges and getting high scores to beat your friend on the couch or standing beside you in the local arcade. The latter no longer does this, long since stripped from its routes. As a result, I have no idea how younger generations would take this series.
The industry has simply shifted too much. Then again, supposedly the industry is having the same issue as comics did before it imploded: unable to try to connect with younger generations and catering to a dwindling demographic who do not enjoy the changes fostered on their hobby. We are far from the Golden Age of video games that existed with Nick Arcade was around. And we are even further from the time the network itself was relevant which ran out with the 1990s itself.
That said, this creation is a fascinating time capsule from before Nickelodeon bought their shares to separate from MTV before then being scooped up by Viacom and having their originality gutted to become . . . basically what it is to this day. Here you can see two early '90s juggernauts, Nickelodeon and video games, at their peak from a much better time. It looks like an entirely different universe today, doesn't it?
Here is an episode of Nick Arcade you can watch today since, like most of their live action material, it will never have a physical release:
A weird aside. I have watched a few of these old episodes recently, and some of the questions really show you how different it was, and what basic pop culture knowledge once contained. One of the strangest is that so many kids seemed to know about Tarzan in the 1990s. Not only that, they knew a lot of things made in the early part of the 20th century. We're talking from before any of them were even born. Strange, isn't it?
This was before the "kids don't watch old things" propaganda was set down. I know because I was there. They didn't need to put out the lie that old things were bad to sell new things yet. That would come in a few years after this. Everyone cared more about something being good first.
Again, it was a different era. One we can probably still learn plenty from. Which is why '90s nostalgia has stuck around so long. There is still much we haven't quite learned from it yet.
Anyway, that's it! That's all for today. As an update: The Gemini Man campaign is now wrapping up (answer your surveys, please!) and the kindle versions will complete release next week in time for the holidays. If you haven't backed the campaign then keep an eye out! You have quite a lot of books to look forward to. I will hopefully have news for a mass market physical version by then too. It's been quite a busy 2023 getting this series finished up, so it is nice to finally see the end of the road up ahead.
I know it's been a rough year for a lot of people, but the holidays are close and we are very near the end. Just a bit further to go! So sit back and relax, and enjoy your weekend. You have earned it.
Until next time, have a good one!
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