I''m doing a research paper on the Gaming Industry Crash of 1983-84. I''ve been gathering resources, however so far google has turned up little. The only book I have on the subject is High Score!. Would anyone know any articles/websites/books that might contain information on the crash? Technical information on the crash would also be a big help. And if any Atari employees from back then have E-Mail addresses, that would be even better.

Here are the two most significant ones I have here:

Jean-Francois William: "William''s Almanac: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Video Games", IQ Guides, 2002. (Part1: The Industry Context)


Scott Gallagher and Seung Ho Park: "Innovation and Competition in Standard-Based Industries: A Historical Analysis of the
U.S. Home Video Game Market", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, VOL. 49, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2002



The IEEE article is probably more complete and contains sales figures, console operating performances, and strategic initiatives from the incumbents. The ''references'' section at the end could be a gold mine for you.

-cb

I have been looking hard for that IEEE article but couldn''t find it anywhere, online or off. Any idea where I could find a copy? Also, any additional resources would be great. Thanks again!

Email me.

-cb

For sake of completion, this is an extirpt of this article:

quote:
1983 was a bust year for the video game industry. Of special concern to Atari was its large inventory after significant portions of the 1982 orders were returned. However, of considerable concern all participants was the meltdown in the home computer. Texas Instruments precipitated this meltdown when it dumped its entire inventory, equivalent to 9% of the market, of the ill-fated 99/4A home computer. Massive price-cutting en-sued, which erased the $100–$200 price premium for home computers over home video game systems. As a result, consumers did not trade up from a 2600 to a 5200 or a Colecovision as expected; instead, they bought a home computer. Table III shows the price change between Jan. 1 and May 31, 1983. This combination of new entry and substitutes in the video game industry led to tremendous industry-wide losses and exit of several major competitors. While unit sales in 1983 remained flat, Atari suffered a 50% reduction in revenue and an operating loss of $539 million due to the intense price-cutting [38]. By 1984, industry losses had totaled up to $3 billion [42] and firms were rapidly exiting the market. Mattel, whose losses over six months had eliminated the entire net worth of the company, exited the market in July 1983 [43]. In May 1984, Atari was split into two parts and sold by Warner to Jack Tramiel (Atari Corporation) and Namco (Atari Games), a Japanese coin-op video game maker [44].

This closes out the first two generations of the home video game market in the U.S. Despite its early successes, Atari Corporation was now a minor player. Coleco, which sold a majority of the second-generation type systems, had exited the market by the end of 1984, along with most of the smaller software companies.

-cb