Top Ten Toys of Yesterday: 1970s

Games and toys of the 70s have been making a serious comeback in today's market. Whether it is nostalgia or a true second life, many of the toys and games we forty-somethings grew up with are finding their way back into stores and homes across the Country.

Top Ten Toys of Yesterday: 1970s:

1. Atari VCS 2600

Known as the first true video gaming system, Atari's star fell as quickly as it rose.

Founded in 1972, Atari Inc. was a pioneer in arcade games, home video games and computers. The company's work defined the computer gaming industry during its first two decades. Their work opened the way for the more advanced home video game systems we now know.

Nolan Bushnell sold Atari Inc. to Warner Brothers where their popular Pong games led to the creation of a home video game system with interchangeable video game cartridges. The Atari VCS 2600 is the video game system people think of when Atari is mentioned. Atari VCS 2600 was released in 1977 for $199. The first year, there were nine game cartridges available.

When the year 1982 began, Atari was making two billion dollars a year. Because of over-licensing and competition from Nintendo (which was just released in Japan), Atari's sales had plummeted so much that in 1983, the company sent thousands of cartridges to Texas to be used as landfill.

Oddly enough, people are now searching yard sales, thrift stores and flea markets for this game system and its cartridges. Is it just collectors, or could this game actually have a market again?

2. UNO

As I tease my family that I am "The UNO Champion of The World," I had to include when this game hit big.

In 1971, an Ohio barbershop owner created a card game to play with his family. Merle Robbins' family and friends loved the game. Robbins paid eight thousand dollars to have five thousand games made, which he sold from his barbershop.

A fan of the game bought the rights from Robbins for fifty thousand dollars plus royalties. This new owner formed International Games Inc. to market UNO and the sales took off. In 1992, International Games became a division of Mattel.

3. Rubik's Cube