The mid-to-late ‘70s saw the dawn of handheld electronic games and the beginning of my collecting something other than comic books. Console systems like the Fairchild Channel F and Atari 2600 launched in 1976 and 1977 respectively, but their high prices – $250 for an Atari plus $30-$45 per game – were prohibitive for many families, including mine. Despite my dad’s good job, my parents were frugal and set a strict $100 limit per child for Christmas (first world problem, to be sure), so while I dreamed of an Atari, I knew better than to ask. I got my fix on friends’ consoles like the Atari 2600, Intellivision, and Odyssey 2.

My wo best friends each had a Fairchild, which I played as often as I could… but handheld games changed everything: smaller, portable, and priced between $25 and $40, they became achievable birthday and Christmas gifts, even for a “poor” kid like me.  Handheld electronic games trace…..

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