Game Cartridges
Kids of the 80s who had gaming consoles would typically have an Atari, Intellivision, or ColecoVision. These games required a cartridge inserted into the console. The cartridge held the entire game, all levels, all action, in its storage, as downloading game content was decades away. Some of the more popular games on multiple systems – if you had a cartridge for each system. You could play Pac-Man or Pitfall on Atari and Intellivision, but only if you had the Atari cartridge and the Intellivision cartridge. Additionally, each gaming system had unique, proprietary games. If you wanted to play AstroSmash, you had to have an Intellivision. If you wanted to play Space Invaders, you better know someone with an Atari, or you had to go to the local arcade. Having a huge game cartridge library was a gold mine for 80s kids.