Back in the 1970s, you bought your video games at Sears, which, according to Nolan Bushnell, “The first three years it as exclusive to them. After that, e opened it up to several other retailers.” You would buy your computer software at an Apple dealer, Radio Shack, or the few other stores that primarily sold computers. Starting in the 1980s, games and computer software companies invaded the malls with specialty stores. For me in Iowa, I remember B. Dalton Books starting with a computer and video games section in the back of the bookstore at Merle Hay Mall. It then expanded into a “Software Etc.” store in another part of the mall when the traffic to the back of the store was matching up with the book sales in the front two thirds of the store.
Around 1987, I saw a sign up at my favorite mall, Valley West in West Des Moines. It was a “Now Hiring” sign for a new store, “Babbage’s that was due to open later that year. Brad Feingold and I applied
and went to work for a manage named Mark and an assistant…
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