In 1982, Namco released Pole Position, it’s famous racing simulation (yes, it was considered a simulation at that time…). The game was available on all Atari game systems and the brand was taking care of the promotion. They came up with this long, fantastic and hilarious commercial (1min 30s), that starts with the narrator talking to the dad driving his family:”Hey! You look like a real jerk!”. We’re guessing that at that time only a jerk would buy a hatchback like the VW Rabbit, small and underpowered for the American market…
“It will leave skid marks on your soul”
To emphasize the “realistic’ aspect of the game, the family is thrown into Indy cars during a race, and they literally get blown away. It ends with the narrator saying that the game will “leave skid marks on your soul”, while the family is walking in some kind of hell. So basically: “It’s so real, will you have the guts to play it?” Makes me hesitate between Pole Position and Gran Turismo 5.
Watch the video after the jump.
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1 TV Movies Soaps » Sunday Ads: 1980’s Atari’s Pole Position // Feb 24, 2008 at 2:54 pm
[...] Phil added an interesting post on Sunday Ads: 1980â
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