Parker Brothers was already a household name for board games and in the 1970s, like a lot of other toy manufactureres, they were attempting to the name in the growing electronic game market.
Competition was fierce but Parker in 1979 had some memorable concepts like Merlin and Wild fire Pinball. While ROM: Spaceknight was a cool concept (and an even better comic book) it didn't get the sales it probably deserved. Click on the pages for a better view of the 1979 Parker Brothers Electronics Catalog.
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My wife actually kept her Merlin which I found in a box last year or so. God love her!
ReplyDeleteI love the low-tech 3D letter cover for the catalog. Now it would be some overblown mess.
ReplyDeleteNice bit of memories. I still have my Wildfire. It works. Still can tilt it by going spastic on the flipper buttons! hehe
ReplyDeleteThere was a promotional video produced for that Toy Fair for ROM, here it is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stonefoundationentertainment.com/rom.wmv
First time I've seen the ROM figure's catalog pages! It was truly a toy way ahead of its time.
ReplyDeleteMy younger brother had the wildfire pinball game. Even my Dad would sit and play it for long periods. I had totally forgotten about that thing.
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