I should add most explicitly here, that SA was one of the only countries that recognized Taiwan, so we had a bunch of Taiwanese imports - especially in the console side.
Was only in the mid 90's with the fall of Apartheid, that it changed to China, and the start of cheaper mainland Chinese imports from there.
Quite a few of the now currently quite large computer importers started around that time. I remember the early days of Mustek Rectron and others.
@Sketcz My recollection is that we didn't really have much of an 8bit scene - at least where I was in Cape Town. Kids played outside, and TV wasn't much of a thing, only really the 90's where gaming took off more. We only had a handful of channels and they were pretty boring. SABC1,2,3... 90's we also had satellite TV start to take off - i.e. MNET.
We didn't have it, so could only watch the 30 minutes of MNET open time, where they'd show a clear signal and usually half of a kids show in order to get us kids to hassle the parents to pay for a subscription. My parents were too cheap haha.
We had this "huge" 27" CRT which dated back from the 70's which parents rented. I think parents started renting it in the mid 80's. Used to break all the time, and the tv would have to go back to the store if it couldn't be repaired at the house. Weighed an absolute ton. Can't remember the store name, but it was a popular one, and had a road runner style logo. Not, Teljoy, but something similar.
Later 90's I did a lot of lan gaming when I got older - Doom was a big one - I ordered that (I think) from overseas when it came out and cycled to the post office to get it. Most peoples parents had computers, so we had older CGA games, then EGA then VGA (by the time doom came out).
I used to do BBS stuff on monochrome monitors too pre-colour, so that would have been late 80's I guess.
At some point in the late 80's/early 90's we got a VCR as video rentals were huge, and we had kids shows to watch. The go-bots was popular. I can also remember pumpkin patch - as that was on SABC1, that song is embedded in my brain forever.
We got burgled one time, and they left the TV as it was too heavy!
Recapping my very random chain of thought memories above -
Not much 8 bit, as people didn't generally start having tv's till very late 80's/90's. Wasn't really a thing before, as SA is more of an outdoor lifestyle. There was some, but it wasn't as ubiquitous as in the UK. Mostly older people bringing back the odd thing from overseas, vs being generally available locally.
We had exposure to arcade games, as you could play those at the corner store with your 10c.
PC era is more where gaming started for us. 90's saw lots of Taiwanese Famicon clones, and you could buy games at the Chinese stores. 80 in 1, 90 in 1, 50 in 1 type stuff was popular. We'd read the labels closely to make sure we'd get a new game that we hadn't played before, and the store would often let us swap or return cartridges for a small fee. Real carts were expensive, but we would swap with friends.
Then we got Sega Megadrive, which also saw a lot of pirate carts, but usually single games.
There were some game stores, but "real" games were super overpriced, and generally unaffordable.
We had lan parties with friends in the 90's - lugging your desktop to their house and setting up a lan in the garage to play multiplayer games - Doom, CnC etc
I don't know much about late 90's onward, as I left to go live in China, so no real idea about SA gaming from that point on, other than bringing back lots of xbox and ps games for family when I visited.
Lastly - my memories may not be the same as others, as I'm sure people would have different experiences in different parts of SA. They are what I remember though
@Martin_H More nuanced. Everyone played arcades machines at the local store.
Both whites and coloured had easy access to gaming, and I'd guess the richer black community (although I have no idea on that). We had BBS's too, as Telkom had a decent call charge - you'd get charged for the single call, not for how much time you spent on the phone in the late 80's/early 90's
Mostly PC gaming, or Famicon clones (NES). Some imported stuff like Amiga, but rarer. I don't remember much 8bit stuff, but age may have played a thing there.
Most of those MVS carts look like Chinese clones, so not worth much.
I have a far amount too in Cape Town. I used to build my own arcade machines for fun. Sold a bunch of jamma desktop style units that I built in Shanghai to Kiddie Rides in Observatory.
As you've mentioned - Cash Converters is a good place to find older stuff. I've had decent luck in the Claremont one getting random DS and NDS stuff.
My childhood memories are playing the NES clones and the multi XXX in ones, we used to buy in the Chinese store up in Kenilworth Centre.
Comments 4
Re: Nintendo On Drugs, No TV Until '76 And Rampant Piracy - How South Africa's Crazy Video Game History Shaped Me As A Gamer
I should add most explicitly here, that SA was one of the only countries that recognized Taiwan, so we had a bunch of Taiwanese imports - especially in the console side.
Was only in the mid 90's with the fall of Apartheid, that it changed to China, and the start of cheaper mainland Chinese imports from there.
Quite a few of the now currently quite large computer importers started around that time. I remember the early days of Mustek Rectron and others.
Re: "Piracy Did Help The PlayStation Market" - How Bootlegs Allowed PlayStation To Take Over South Africa
@Sketcz My recollection is that we didn't really have much of an 8bit scene - at least where I was in Cape Town. Kids played outside, and TV wasn't much of a thing, only really the 90's where gaming took off more. We only had a handful of channels and they were pretty boring. SABC1,2,3... 90's we also had satellite TV start to take off - i.e. MNET.
We didn't have it, so could only watch the 30 minutes of MNET open time, where they'd show a clear signal and usually half of a kids show in order to get us kids to hassle the parents to pay for a subscription. My parents were too cheap haha.
We had this "huge" 27" CRT which dated back from the 70's which parents rented. I think parents started renting it in the mid 80's. Used to break all the time, and the tv would have to go back to the store if it couldn't be repaired at the house. Weighed an absolute ton. Can't remember the store name, but it was a popular one, and had a road runner style logo. Not, Teljoy, but something similar.
Later 90's I did a lot of lan gaming when I got older - Doom was a big one - I ordered that (I think) from overseas when it came out and cycled to the post office to get it. Most peoples parents had computers, so we had older CGA games, then EGA then VGA (by the time doom came out).
I used to do BBS stuff on monochrome monitors too pre-colour, so that would have been late 80's I guess.
At some point in the late 80's/early 90's we got a VCR as video rentals were huge, and we had kids shows to watch. The go-bots was popular. I can also remember pumpkin patch - as that was on SABC1, that song is embedded in my brain forever.
We got burgled one time, and they left the TV as it was too heavy!
Recapping my very random chain of thought memories above -
Not much 8 bit, as people didn't generally start having tv's till very late 80's/90's. Wasn't really a thing before, as SA is more of an outdoor lifestyle. There was some, but it wasn't as ubiquitous as in the UK. Mostly older people bringing back the odd thing from overseas, vs being generally available locally.
We had exposure to arcade games, as you could play those at the corner store with your 10c.
PC era is more where gaming started for us. 90's saw lots of Taiwanese Famicon clones, and you could buy games at the Chinese stores. 80 in 1, 90 in 1, 50 in 1 type stuff was popular. We'd read the labels closely to make sure we'd get a new game that we hadn't played before, and the store would often let us swap or return cartridges for a small fee. Real carts were expensive, but we would swap with friends.
Then we got Sega Megadrive, which also saw a lot of pirate carts, but usually single games.
There were some game stores, but "real" games were super overpriced, and generally unaffordable.
We had lan parties with friends in the 90's - lugging your desktop to their house and setting up a lan in the garage to play multiplayer games - Doom, CnC etc
I don't know much about late 90's onward, as I left to go live in China, so no real idea about SA gaming from that point on, other than bringing back lots of xbox and ps games for family when I visited.
Lastly - my memories may not be the same as others, as I'm sure people would have different experiences in different parts of SA. They are what I remember though
Re: Retail Therapy: Trawling South Africa's Retro Gaming Stores
@Martin_H More nuanced. Everyone played arcades machines at the local store.
Both whites and coloured had easy access to gaming, and I'd guess the richer black community (although I have no idea on that). We had BBS's too, as Telkom had a decent call charge - you'd get charged for the single call, not for how much time you spent on the phone in the late 80's/early 90's
Mostly PC gaming, or Famicon clones (NES). Some imported stuff like Amiga, but rarer. I don't remember much 8bit stuff, but age may have played a thing there.
Re: Retail Therapy: Trawling South Africa's Retro Gaming Stores
Pretty cool.
Most of those MVS carts look like Chinese clones, so not worth much.
I have a far amount too in Cape Town. I used to build my own arcade machines for fun. Sold a bunch of jamma desktop style units that I built in Shanghai to Kiddie Rides in Observatory.
As you've mentioned - Cash Converters is a good place to find older stuff. I've had decent luck in the Claremont one getting random DS and NDS stuff.
My childhood memories are playing the NES clones and the multi XXX in ones, we used to buy in the Chinese store up in Kenilworth Centre.