The Story of Lazer Tag: A Toy Gun in the 80's. What Could Go Wrong?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
  • For a brief time in the 80's Lazer Tag was all the rage.
    Lazer Tag: The Game had storybooks, lunchboxes, puzzles and even a short-lived animated series; Lazer Tag Academy.
    But it didn't last long and it wasn't helped by the same controversy that beset another toy gun line in the 80's: Entertech.
    After a fatal shooting the Lazer Tag brand lost some of it's luster but laser tag as a game is still going strong to this day.
    NOTE: LAZER TAG & PHOTON ARE DIFFERENT PROPERTIES. PHOTON WILL HAVE IT'S OWN VIDEO AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
    Help the channel continue to grow by checking out our Patreon: / toygalaxy
    Follow Dan on Instagram:
    / toygalaxy
    Toy Galaxy
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    Manchester, NH 03105-3976
    Business Inquiries:
    toygalaxytv@gmail.com
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ความคิดเห็น • 981

  • @lt.creggar5903
    @lt.creggar5903 5 ปีที่แล้ว +109

    The older boys used to get into the high school on the weekends and play Lazer Tag throughout the building. Young me thought that was wicked awesome. Old me still does.

    • @ValirAmaril
      @ValirAmaril 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      we used to play paintball in my uni before covid

    • @stickiedmin6508
      @stickiedmin6508 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I remember fantasising, as an adorable young kiddy, about playing Lazer Tag type games in just about every single large department store or shopping mall I got dragged through.
      While my mother would be deciding exactly which ugly and uncomfortable leather sandals I would be forced to wear that year, I'd be imagining how cool it would be, taking cover behind the clothes racks, pinning opponents down at the choke points by the escalators and tactically advancing from strong point to strong point.
      Three and a half decades later I, just like you, *_still_* think that it would be awesome fun.

    • @thegoodybarn9060
      @thegoodybarn9060 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That would be awesome at the high school at night!

    • @thegoodybarn9060
      @thegoodybarn9060 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@stickiedmin6508 me too! And we did. My frieds mom was the manager of wal mart in the 80s and when she would work over night we'd go with her. We'd roam all over the store.

    • @stickiedmin6508
      @stickiedmin6508 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@thegoodybarn9060
      Awesome - sounds like wicked fun you lucky rascal.

  • @TheMattwolf
    @TheMattwolf 5 ปีที่แล้ว +133

    I wanted these, but I needed both equipment and friends. It was a sad existence.

    • @5roundsrapid263
      @5roundsrapid263 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I BEGGED my parents for a year at least. I finally got the helmet on clearance when the company went under.

    • @BobbyGeneric145
      @BobbyGeneric145 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      I had Photon, the lesser version. Its like getting a GoBot

    • @atomichulkster2304
      @atomichulkster2304 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I know your pain homie.

    • @godlessveteran2431
      @godlessveteran2431 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Yeah I had the basic gun and sensor and none of my friends did. Made for a pretty boring game lol

    • @8-BitHeart79
      @8-BitHeart79 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      You weren’t alone.

  • @nathanl7018
    @nathanl7018 5 ปีที่แล้ว +62

    Had a Lazer Tag set back in the 80's. Sooo many batteries died to play that game. The best was bouncing a shot off the hallway mirror.

    • @keaponlaffin6737
      @keaponlaffin6737 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      That sound awesome..!

    • @josemhernandez1974
      @josemhernandez1974 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @Regis Philbin we fixed that issue with duct tape when we played. But omg we went through so many batteries the local mom and pop store loved us.

    • @ZiddersRooFurry
      @ZiddersRooFurry 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Regis Philbin Did you use your free battery card?

  • @hyfy-tr2jy
    @hyfy-tr2jy 5 ปีที่แล้ว +64

    its not Simulated...its Stimulated!!!! Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

    • @saturdaymorning329
      @saturdaymorning329 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      THANK YOU!

    • @bellaluthiel4858
      @bellaluthiel4858 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Beat me to it! Yes!

    • @mematron
      @mematron 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Dammit you beat me to it too. Except I added a colorful metaphor and told a story about how I almost died playing LazerTag.

    • @MERCS2046
      @MERCS2046 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Beat me to it too.

    • @sasshole8121
      @sasshole8121 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      he didn't say simulated, he said simalated.

  • @badbirdkc
    @badbirdkc 5 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    So my family bought an off-brand, K-Mart knock off of Lazer Tag. It had the guns, the targets, and a chest plate for the target, like the Lazer Tag vest... but it also came with a headband so you could place the target ON YOUR HEAD. That's right, our generic Lazer Tag game encouraged kids to make head shots.

    • @threezerol944t
      @threezerol944t 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      This is the one I think I had.

    • @labowskidude
      @labowskidude 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I Had a set with huge guns and the head band had a thing in the temple that hurt you a little and scared you. We didn't like it much

    • @dodgeramsport01
      @dodgeramsport01 ปีที่แล้ว

      hell yes!

  • @OsoBlanco17
    @OsoBlanco17 5 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    LASER TAG?? Nostalgia level...OVER 9000!

  • @jayexonauts5587
    @jayexonauts5587 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    In high school, my friends (about a dozen or so) were playing in a construction zone when a neighbor called the cops. The officer who arrived was very nice but gave us a stern warning about handheld weapons. It was a big buzzkill for sure, but we just moved the game to pal's farm on the other side of town.
    PEW! PEW!

    • @DurkMcGerk
      @DurkMcGerk 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I wanted this so bad when it came out but my parents forbade it for pretty much this reason.

    • @jayexonauts5587
      @jayexonauts5587 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @Stella Hohenheim oh people still play it, it's just not the phenom thst it was at the time.

  • @illrobbzilla
    @illrobbzilla 5 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Team Photon! Still have my membership card from 4th grade. My mom never took me back to the photon arena because after the flashing lights and fog machine I was out back in the alley puking.

  • @erikguthrie1475
    @erikguthrie1475 5 ปีที่แล้ว +87

    Dan, great video! As the Curator for the Laser Tag Museum located in Louisville, KY your video was almost 100% spot on. Brilliant job! The museum has a website with a timeline of the laser tag industry and hundreds of laser tag companies or products most people have forgotten. It is www.lasertagmuseum.com. Thank you for referencing us in your video when you displayed the legendary Black StarLyte Rifle. This is the only black rifle in the world as all the production models for the StarLyte Rifles were white. Thank you again!

    • @MrThomaskirchner
      @MrThomaskirchner 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Erik Guthrie I totally need to come there and see the fabled black starlyte pro

    • @DoctorBlankenstein
      @DoctorBlankenstein 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      cool site mango

    • @thepayne7862
      @thepayne7862 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I live in Kentucky and had no idea there was a lazer tag museum in Louisville next time I am up there will have to check it out good info.

    • @MaharlikaAWA
      @MaharlikaAWA 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      How long has there been a laser tag museum? I remember the Histrorical Arms Museum though.

    • @PublicJohn
      @PublicJohn 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@MrThomaskirchner Held it back at tagfest in 2006?. It is a VERY heavy beast.

  • @TheRealCaptainFreedom
    @TheRealCaptainFreedom 5 ปีที่แล้ว +54

    *FRICKIN’ LASER BEAMS!!!*

  • @OriginalNeomoon
    @OriginalNeomoon 5 ปีที่แล้ว +69

    Hated MILES gear. It hardly ever worked and sounded annoying beeps that wouldn't stop when you "died".

    • @Jikangire957
      @Jikangire957 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Haha indeed that damn MILES gear never worked!

    • @jamesstaggs4160
      @jamesstaggs4160 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Nope. Never worked. I was pumped too when I first laid eyes on it. I thought I was about to have some fun. Instead I just had to carry around more uncomfortable junk.

    • @LilRobD
      @LilRobD 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      We had someone misplace theirs... hands across America just to find out the butter bar left it in his bag so he wouldn't lose it....

    • @alexalexander1772
      @alexalexander1772 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I was about to ask if anyone ever really had success with MILES gear. I swear the lazer tag as a kid worked better. Now simunitions, those hurt.

    • @MrBioniclefan1
      @MrBioniclefan1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Damn

  • @jaysonlloyd2050
    @jaysonlloyd2050 5 ปีที่แล้ว +33

    I was stuck at a birthday party for a kid that promised laser tag. Though I never got to play, I learned to never believe that same kid even when he promised that he had an advanced copy of Super Mario Bros. 3, whose story revolved around getting Wart to the zoo.

    • @grantorino2325
      @grantorino2325 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Seriously, what happened to Wart, anyway?
      I mean, as kids, my friends and I were ecstatic to see Koopa return (with his 7 children, no less) as the boss of Super Mario Bros. 3. But, except for Super Mario Land 2, Super Mario RPG, Super Mario Bros. 2, and (the original) Donkey Kong, Koopa has been the final boss of EVERY SINGLE GAME.
      Come on, Nintendo, give someone else a chance! How about making Mouser the final enemy in a Mario game?

    • @MrDeedsly
      @MrDeedsly 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@grantorino2325 I'd also be happy with the crab.

    • @grantorino2325
      @grantorino2325 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@MrDeedsly
      Ah, "Clawglip."
      😂

    • @doubler713
      @doubler713 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Everybody had those lying ass friends as kids who'd lie for nothing. My friends used to always lie about stupid stuff like that he SWORE UP AND DOWN that he had Castle Grey Skull at his grandmas house and we NEVER saw it. Smh

    • @grantorino2325
      @grantorino2325 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@supercalifragilistaphobic2146
      "Pocket Power"?
      Was that a magazine dedicated solely to Game Boy games?
      🤔

  • @CoinOpTV
    @CoinOpTV 5 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    can’t wait for the Photon video / used to play in NJ

    • @raphaelel1183
      @raphaelel1183 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Just watched it. It was epic.

    • @Badkitty24
      @Badkitty24 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      yup..I had that one.. not lazertag... which I did though :(

    • @Antonis76
      @Antonis76 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Me too haha

    • @blackbarnz
      @blackbarnz 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      off Wildwood boardwalk, I remember it well.

  • @ThePartySourceReviews
    @ThePartySourceReviews 5 ปีที่แล้ว +36

    I had so much fun with all my Lazer Tag toys! So glad you guys did this video! Plus how awesome were those commercials. Cheers, -J.O.

    • @p.mc.4449
      @p.mc.4449 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Too bad they didn't play the other commercial with players on ATVs vs. players on skateboards.

    • @ThePartySourceReviews
      @ThePartySourceReviews 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Alex Socialreject I thought the same thing. Why a cartoon? The commercials were so "cool" looking. Closest we got to this in a kid show was Captain Power.

  • @Larry
    @Larry 5 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    Hey, that's the Amstrad version of the Lazer Tag game there, far too colourful for the Commodore 64 version :)

    • @SecretGalaxyTV
      @SecretGalaxyTV  5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      The only C64 footage I could find was of the end credits but there was lots of Amstrad footage.

    • @Larry
      @Larry 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@SecretGalaxyTV That sounds about right, you're best off saying "home computers" if there's nothing but Amstrad or Spectrum footage around, what I do!

  • @jerrodbronson4044
    @jerrodbronson4044 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Dude, really? TEAM PHOTON! The terrible live-action tv series alone was worth it!

  • @merrillpage
    @merrillpage 5 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Totally Zawesome video, Dan and Greg. Thanks for the memory revivals. "Players to stadium now. Players to stadium now," will be playing in my head for weeks at least...just like it did back in the '80s when I saw that commercial in the first place.

  • @MothMizzle
    @MothMizzle 5 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    1:10 - Light Amplification by *STIMULATED* Emission of Radiation, not simulated!

    • @greggv8
      @greggv8 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Neither Photon nor Lazer Tag or the Star Trek Phasers or any of those other electronic guns used real LASERs. They used infrared LEDs, just like TV remotes.

  • @BagoPorkRinds
    @BagoPorkRinds 5 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    I still have my Lazer Tag set in the original box.

  • @DougDMarco
    @DougDMarco 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    This isn't Photon! I came here for Photon, how can I enjoy Tom Hanks in BIG if your talking about "lazer tag". I will be writing a curtly worded letter to your manager. Good day sir.

    • @brianpayne4549
      @brianpayne4549 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Because “photon” is what lazer tag turned into. Didn’t you watch the video? Lol

  • @grahamcurran8744
    @grahamcurran8744 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Sega had a laser tag system called 'lock on' in the early 90's, twas awesome 6 of us had them and would play in the Forrest

  • @Wis_Dom
    @Wis_Dom 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Great review! Lazer tag WAS the 80's! But, my god, a lot of police back then were too trigger-happy and definitely needed more training! Lazer tag guns look NOTHING like a real gun.

    • @greggv8
      @greggv8 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Unfortunately they still are.

    • @Wis_Dom
      @Wis_Dom 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@greggv8 I concur.

  • @bw3634
    @bw3634 5 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    All the way from the 80s until How I Met Your Mother episodes in the 2010s.

  • @ryansargent661
    @ryansargent661 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I actually had both brands as well as a Captain Power set. Oddly enough all three sets could be used together and with the Captain Power toys. I have fond memories of lining all the sensors and CP toys up in a row and seeing show quickly I could take them all out. Looks wise I always preferred Lazer Tag probably because of the kick ass commercial you showed which I also remember fondly. Great video a two for one history lesson.

  • @BigEpinstriping
    @BigEpinstriping 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I collect laser tag sets like you collect toys. I have several examples from various sets over the years, including WOW Lazer Tag, Tiger's Lazer Tag variants, Photon, Laser Challenge, etc.
    My current favorite aside from the original version is Recoil (which is now defunct) but incorporates a lot of great features unique to all other systems, along with some homebrew software support (Check out SimpleCoil for Android! lots of customization for gameplay! github.com/Dees-Troy/SimpleCoil/releases ). I got some more Recoil gear dirt cheap on closeout recently!
    BTW, I'm definitely team Lazer Tag, in my opinion, the Design of the Worlds of Wonder gear is probably some of the slickest ever made, and some of the features such as integrated red dot sights and selectable range on the Starlyte, coupled with high quality coated lenses, made them truly accurate! The old Worlds of Wonder LT standard is still used in a lot of gear, both consumer and privately produced.
    Lastly, the Lazer Tag rulebook by TSR is a must have; it really expanded the game and set good guidelines for setting up leagues and handicapping. You could say I'm an enthusiast.
    I do have a Starcap in my collection, no Helmet though...

  • @BradM73
    @BradM73 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    OMG!! I remember begging my dad to take me to our local Photon arena! It was expensive to play a 15 minute game though, and the battery packs were ridiculously heavy! But it was still so much fun!

  • @offfswitch
    @offfswitch 5 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    I remember spending a lot of allowance money at q-zar back in the 90s.

    • @mattceccato8302
      @mattceccato8302 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I miss Q-ZAR

    • @nicholastosoni707
      @nicholastosoni707 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I vaguely remember Q-Zar from advertisements. Now I _know_ I wasn't going mad.

    • @PACKERMAN2077
      @PACKERMAN2077 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm sorry I just stayed posted up in the back of Aladdin's Castle on the Rampage machine Behind The House of the Dead 2 duel cabinet in an awkward corner where there was sticky nacho cheese carpet.

  • @ADPRadio
    @ADPRadio 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Photon? AWWW YEAH! LET THE DARKNESS GROW!

  • @cruizerdave
    @cruizerdave 5 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I didn’t realize it was so short lived! Thanks for doing all that research Toy Galaxy men!

    • @redbyrd64
      @redbyrd64 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Laser challenge was a competitor to Lazer Tag. The V1, V2, and pro lines made by Toymax were very nice taggers, but quality went down hill when Jakk’s Pacific took it over. One thing in the laser challenge’s line favor, is that other than some special signals, all of the taggers were compatible with each other.

    • @redbyrd64
      @redbyrd64 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      They forgot the LTX line between LTTO and LTAR though.

  • @Datan0de
    @Datan0de 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I LOVED Lazer Tag! In late high school and early college, my friends and I would play whenever we got the chance. I was always jealous of my friend who has the rifle. It was seriously awesome! Great range, very accurate, collapsing stock, and just felt good to hold.
    Lazer Tag is also how I almost got shot by a cop once, got roughed up a little bit, and ended up with a trespassing warning at our local university. That was a... memorable night. We were playing in one of the buildings that was open all night. The layout was perfect, and the after hours emergency lights have it a spooky feel and created shadowed pockets here and there you could hide in.
    As normal, when we got there we went through the floor we were on and let any faculty we saw know what we were doing. Eventually though the cleaning crew came in, and apparently called the chips and told them that there were terrorists in the building. This was pre-911, but they still took it seriously.
    I was sitting on the hallway floor fixing an issue with my gun when they came in. I heard "PUT THE GUN DOWN NOW!" and looked up to see a cop who was *shaking* and pointing a real gun at me. That's the kind of moment you remember.
    Needless to say, they were NOT happy about us being there, and we were terrified. They dragged us through the building and had us yell out to our friends who didn't know what was happening until everyone was accounted for.
    Since then I've only played at Q-Zar.

  • @MrColinWarde
    @MrColinWarde 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Dan - I love your delivery and your ability to string together convoluted sentences in an articulate fashion. I can listen to your shows for hours. And have done so. Thank you.

  • @jason34119
    @jason34119 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Never was able to get either one as a kid. I always thought Photon was a knock off brand of Lazer Tag so I always wanted Lazer Tag over Photon.

    • @OriginalNeomoon
      @OriginalNeomoon 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Ditto

    • @greggv8
      @greggv8 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I always thought Photon was the knockoff, and it was ugly compared to the slick and smooth style of Lazer Tag.

  • @nacionalista1779
    @nacionalista1779 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I remember playing with that with my bros great fun it was 1986

  • @mccallosone4903
    @mccallosone4903 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    We loved playing Lazer Tag, but the game always ended with two dudes standing ten feet apart blasting each others chest as fast as they could

  • @Counterslam
    @Counterslam 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I'm the marketing director for the largest laser tag equipment suppleir, LaserTag.com by Zone, Laser Tag Museum, and worked for the International Laser Tag Association for several years. Nice video.
    The laser tag museum is in Louisville, Kentucky at a facility called Lazer Blaze. Worth checking out if you're in the area. Erik Guthrie, owner of the museum, was featured in Storage Wars in May of 2017 and in the documentary, Another Man's Treasure: A Collector's Movie, which is free to watch on TH-cam.

    • @Elios0000
      @Elios0000 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      NICE i used play at an Ultra Zone in Maryland. later moved over Darklight center (fun story about that) that opened closer to me good to hear Zone is still going. Ocean city Maryland had one of the best Q-zar centers with 2 massive 2 story arenas shame it went under its good location.

  • @REPVILE
    @REPVILE 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A bunch of us had these as kids and they were amazing. Good memories getting together for some battles. Instill feel they performed miles better than any modern ones aside from the commercial units.

  • @JohnAquariusPodcast
    @JohnAquariusPodcast 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    i'm surprised he didn't mention the tv series photon and the figures

  • @drumngrewve
    @drumngrewve 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    FINALLY!!! Had been wanting/waiting for a Lazer Tag and/or Photon episode, now conveniently find it available in one concise viewing option! Would've liked a mention of the Photon (Saturday morning?) television show though, however a job well done as always!
    Perhaps a Galaxy Rangers episode sometime down the line....?
    Cheers Mr. Larson, truely you are gentleman and a scholar performing God's work!!!

  • @adanolmeda4413
    @adanolmeda4413 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Lazer Tag, always. There used to be a Photon arena close to home which we hit a few times but dont know if it's still around.

    • @leslieshafer6343
      @leslieshafer6343 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Photon was a better game than Lazer Tag in my opinion. Mainly because you could register hits on the helmet. When I played Lazer Tag there were folks who who cover up the chest sensor with their arms. And of course if the weopons were real, all that would get you is damaged arms.

  • @niklass1641
    @niklass1641 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Nothing went wrong. EVERY boy had toy guns in the 80's going back for decades. Every day you would pull up beside a station wagon with a youngster in it pointing his toy revolver at you making "bang bang" motions. and exactly NO ONE freaked out. Kids ran through parks with ultra realistic guns of every kind playing some form of "bad guys/good guys" games and not one person every considered calling the police about it or giving it a second thought. Times haven't changed, the people have become lunatics.

  • @thefont9
    @thefont9 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    These historical look backs are absolutely wonderful. All my cousins got lazer tag in Christmas of 87, and I was left out. I got mine a year later and then the brand was dead. Sad! What a great toy.

    • @thor2070
      @thor2070 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      That hurts!

  • @Myconinja
    @Myconinja 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    You guys should do one of these on Electronic Survivor Shot! Way cooler IMO, and obviously inspired by Lazer Tag. I'm sure you must remember this game too. The only real downsides were that the guns took 6 freakin' D cell batteries, and cheaters hiding their head mounted sensor behind a tree or other object, plus the damn crazy skull-vibrating buzz that the sensor made when you got hit.

  • @Jikangire957
    @Jikangire957 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    The last time I ever saw anything to do with laser (lazer?) tag was seeing a company called Q-Zar open in a shopping center around the early 2000s or so. Several years later they went out of business, (or at least the one location I knew about did), and I never heard anything about laser tag again. Thanks for posting another wonderful video full of nostalgia from my past! This channel is absolutely amazing!

    • @timandshannon03
      @timandshannon03 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I was 17, and got into a fistfight with a guy at a Q-zar because he pushed my then girlfriend against a wall to avoid being tagged by her........lol

    • @redbyrd64
      @redbyrd64 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Tim Hartley I do local lazer tag games in my area. One of my rules is no physical contact, “It’s lazer tag, not lazer fistfight”

    • @timandshannon03
      @timandshannon03 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That particular incident was the 3rd or 4th incident at that location, and after the actual fight, we stopped going there and went to another location and never had the single problem at the second location. We actually got onto a team and this location did Sunday Team Tournaments once a month and that was an absolute blast. I was so bummed out when they closed. There are still 2 places around Sacramento, and I have taken all 3 of my kids to both!

    • @rockmanafb
      @rockmanafb 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      God I miss Q-Zar I grew up in Cali during the 90’s on Saturdays my dad would drop me off at Q-Zar with enough money for an all day pass. This fat lil Asian had a blast shooting laser guns and listening to techno music all day.

    • @captaingenius-o1c
      @captaingenius-o1c 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@timandshannon03 yes, yes, but whatever happened to the love of your life, I mean your high school girlfriend? Surely laser/lazer tag, and all that pushing drama kept you guys together to this day???????

  • @malootua2739
    @malootua2739 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    We used to make fun of boys over 12 who played with Star Wars toys or played with dolls of any type. I guess the 21st century is the century of the man-baby who plays with toys instead of doing actual man-stuff like getting some land and becoming self-sufficient. Don't get me wrong, I too have become addicted to videogames, it's rather shameful actually.

  • @kosmic2021
    @kosmic2021 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I peeked at my Christmas toys that year and my mom replaced my Lazer Tag with concrete bricks.

  • @Agent00J
    @Agent00J 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This just reminded me that I had a whole Lazer Tag Academy bed set as a kid - comforter, pillow cases, and sheets. Damn. 😏 The nostalgia hit me hard. Lol. Sidenote: Nope, parents didn't buy me the toys.

  • @lazarussoul8221
    @lazarussoul8221 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Woooooo hooooooo LAZER TAG!!!!!!!

  • @Machinelf
    @Machinelf 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I remember my friend bought me a cap gun that looked like a real gun when I was a kid. The 80's was so baaaaaad (as in good)

  • @redroversk
    @redroversk 5 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    "Tag, you're dead"
    -police officer

  • @amai_zing
    @amai_zing 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    When these products came out, I was pretty young but couldn’t help to think how dumb Photon looked and how Lazer Tag looked awesome
    I still have my original Lazer Tag gun, holster, and receiver somewhere in a storage box

  • @GamerLivingWill
    @GamerLivingWill 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    When are you guys going to talk about Dino Riders?

    • @Strawberry92fs
      @Strawberry92fs 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I found out about this line from a VHS tape of the cartoon pilot I got from a frickin pawn shop in the mid ninties. Never heard or saw or knew anything else about it until about 2005 when I remembered the name of the line while sitting at an internet enabled computer.

  • @michaelwolf8690
    @michaelwolf8690 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Wow that was a huge part of my childhood and early 20's. Surprising to me that's still an active brand.

  • @DoctorBlankenstein
    @DoctorBlankenstein 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Just scored one in the box off ebay for $40. I'm getting back this piece of my childhood before this video brings the price up.

  • @carlchapman4053
    @carlchapman4053 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    So Lazer Tag failed because an American police officer, unable to asses a harmless situation shot and killed a young child? How did he become an officer without knowing about toy guns, cap guns, water pistols or did he just shoot first and expect the legal system to protect him from a negligence claim?

  • @gavinerickson9392
    @gavinerickson9392 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    It's less a problem with the toy and more a systemic problem of police militarism.

    • @warpartyattheoutpost4987
      @warpartyattheoutpost4987 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      16 trigger happy cops gave this a thumbs down so far. February 22, 2019.

    • @Strawberry92fs
      @Strawberry92fs 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      No one seems to think this is important, but a lot of U.S. police departs use glocks as standard service pistols, glocks don't have a thumb safety, just a trigger safety, if you panic and pull on the trigger of a safe Beretta 92 as hard as you can, nothing happens, You panic and pull the trigger as hard as you can on a glock, it's going off. Sure, you can solve that problem with training, but you can solve just about any issue with weapon handling with enough training, makes more sense to just have a damn proper safety. Before anyone jumps on me here, I'm pro law and order, pro gun, pro safety, anti militarization of police, pro training.

    • @gavinerickson9392
      @gavinerickson9392 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Strawberry92fs Deciding wether or not to pull a gun on a child has nothing to do with what kind of safety is on the gun.

    • @Strawberry92fs
      @Strawberry92fs 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@gavinerickson9392 But whether or not a cop negligently discharges their pistol into a child has everything to do with a proper safety. The U.S. Police Departments have systemic training issues that need to be dealt with, but incidents of cops shooting people they shouldn't have went up after switching to guns that didn't have manual safeties.

    • @gavinerickson9392
      @gavinerickson9392 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Strawberry92fs You're really missing the point. Tamir Rice was killed within 20 seconds of the police arriving, there was no confrontation, just a drive by murder. It is the job of the police to deescalate the situation, raising a gun to a child is not doing that.

  • @jeff3dv
    @jeff3dv 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Yep, I remember it well! Photon opened up right on the edge of Garland, Texas in some office zoned area backing up to some warehousing. It was a little to far for us to ride our bikes to at that age, being on the other edge of town, so my friends mom had to take us. It was pretty cool! You got to make up your name on the scoreboard (prelude to GamerTags). Haven't thought about Photon in years. Well done good sir!!
    pew pew pew

  • @christophergadulka3460
    @christophergadulka3460 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    That was the tightest vest with the deepest V neck in the 80s. I wish i had still it to rock it today!!!

  • @SteelWolf13
    @SteelWolf13 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I still have my Worlds of Wonder manual for Lazertag. I poured over that all summer and had it just about memorized. I had every piece of equipment. Cap, helmet strap vests, thick silver vest, starlight, star sensors, star base and the rifle.

  • @xChris_Kentx
    @xChris_Kentx 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    YES!!!! That's why I love this channel!!!!

  • @Zentron
    @Zentron 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Interesting! Though those incidents speak more about the poor training and inability of the police to properly assess a situation.... something that is still going on to this day!
    I'm actually digitally reproducing the first episode of the Lazer Tag Academy in HD.

  • @vmcinerneyvm
    @vmcinerneyvm 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I love your channel Dan!

  • @canag0d
    @canag0d 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I used to have Lazer Tag guns but my friends were never interested when I asked to play and they were like “dude you’re 27 now grow up”.

    • @numbdigger9552
      @numbdigger9552 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Lol im 25 and i play competitive lazer tag. Do what you want and be free of societal pressures!

  • @JoelCarroll
    @JoelCarroll 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I'd argue the usage of the word "tag", as no one was "it"....everyone had a target, everyone had a gun....Tag does sound better than deathmatch, though

    • @Strawberry92fs
      @Strawberry92fs 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      "Battle Royale" Back in my day we called that mega deathmatch!

  • @sdolman79
    @sdolman79 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Here in the UK had 'laser quest' centres that had team leagues, they were in the early 90s and seemed to disappear after 95, I used to love a game of LASER QUEST

  • @morganb6717
    @morganb6717 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    this stirs a memory of going to Toy 'R Us back in the 80's with my Grandma and walking out with the (to me) big box that was the Photon set. mind you, no one i knew had a Photon to interact with but damned if i didn't want one anyway. i had a LazerTag pistol and sensor set as well, still do, box n' all. my impression is the same now as it was then, i prefer(ed) the LazerTag gear for its more stylish design and lack of cord from sensor to emitter. with no one to play either game with, i had a lot of imaginary shoot-em-ups and daydreamed scenarios.

    • @riboflavinfolate3964
      @riboflavinfolate3964 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I remember juggling with the choice between Lazer Tag and Photon. I eventually went with Photon because I wanted to be different from my friends who all were into Lazer Tag.
      The end result of this decision?....
      I had no one to play Photon with... but damn if that little Photon motorized drone wasn't neat.

    • @DoctorBlankenstein
      @DoctorBlankenstein 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      but photon came with two guns, so you can get right to it with a friend. In the end, photon was really the better set, but lazer tag looked a lot cooler.

    • @5roundsrapid263
      @5roundsrapid263 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Your folks must have been rich! Did you have Castle Grayskull too?

  • @MaximumWarp2099
    @MaximumWarp2099 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Loved lazer tag as a kid. Well, I still do. The matches I played with a group of guys when I was 14 could get a little intense as some of those guys were bonkers. All guns and sensors kicked around my parents attic for about 20 years until they moved and tossed everything. I felt some sadness over the news. I think some of it might have still worked.

  • @thatracecameraguy
    @thatracecameraguy 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I had a Photon set (Photon also had a cartoon). I always thought it was the cheap ripoff of Lazer Tag (I was wrong)

    • @AzyrealLal
      @AzyrealLal 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      What made it better?

    • @MrColuber
      @MrColuber 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I'm pretty sure that the Photon show was live action - and with some pretty ridiculous scenes. I only caught one part of an episode, and I caught glimpses of another on Retroblasting's channel. I remember the Lazer Tag cartoon more vividly. The oldest boy was the actual ancestor, otherwise there'd be a lot of incest.

    • @thatracecameraguy
      @thatracecameraguy 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@AzyrealLal I don't think either was better than the other, I think Lazer tag had better marketing and accessories, though

    • @wwetnabamafan194
      @wwetnabamafan194 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Photon was live-action, Lazer Tag Academy was animated.

    • @RobCamp-rmc_0
      @RobCamp-rmc_0 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Oreo was a Hydrox ripoff, after all...

  • @RealmMan
    @RealmMan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What I remember of the first redesign was changing the starlytes from black to white to be less "real gun"-like.
    The revival version comboed gun and sensor into a wrist mounted gizmo with a pistol grip.

  • @mooneylsuify
    @mooneylsuify 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    power lords next pls

  • @willhagen3385
    @willhagen3385 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Oh, the memories this video brought back! I had the Starlight Pro rifle in white as a kid and I wish I still had it. It's selling in a set for $400 on ebay right now

  • @leviperkins1344
    @leviperkins1344 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Oh god, the text on the screen during the explanation of the laser acronym cracked me up

  • @DarxusC
    @DarxusC 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I think one of the few things I ever begged for in life was a Lazer Tag Starbase. I think it cost $50, which I thought was an insane amount of money, but I thought there would be some actual strategy involved in fighting it. Turned out it just flashed in all directions occasionally. I felt so betrayed, and my trust in mankind was crushed.

  • @PixelGameSquad
    @PixelGameSquad 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Just found one if these in our last video! HYPED!

  • @patotrentacoste
    @patotrentacoste 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hahahha, so a policeman saw kids playing lazer tag, and he shoot to death one of them, like, how could you not de escalate that situation.
    "no sir, these are just lazr...."

  • @R3troZone
    @R3troZone 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I got the original Lazer tag gun, target sensor, and vest for my 11th birthday in 1988. But no one else that I knew had one. Not a great toy to play alone with.

  • @charlessmith280
    @charlessmith280 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My friends and I used to play Lazer Tag all over my college campus, we had a great time! Worlds of Wonder's biggest blunder was marketing the sets to small kids (you can see it in all the marketing stills in this video). The sets weren't cheap, not many parents would pay for the sets that the kids were likely to break. Had they done Red Bull style promos and targeted older teens to 20 somethings I think they wouldn't have gone bankrupt.

  • @baronvonlimbourgh1716
    @baronvonlimbourgh1716 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Ofcourse a kid got shot by a cop. Why was i expecting this from the start of the video?
    The usa never disapoints.

  • @suedenim
    @suedenim 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My college friends and I bought Laser Tag gear at a deep, deep discount (like 75% off). Lots of fun, but the guy who invested in the rifle was annoyingly effective.
    Photon was pretty awesome too.

  • @ballenf
    @ballenf 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The real issue with the original lazer tag was how friggin expensive it was. I recall hundreds of dollars for just a two player setup.

  • @SynymynBuhnz
    @SynymynBuhnz 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It always pissed me the fuck off that gun toys changed, not because toy guns are dangerous to anyone, but because cops are dangerous to Everyone.

  • @truman237
    @truman237 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Every episode, I'd see that Lazer Tag helmet on the shelf and wonder if you'd do an episode about it. Great job as always!
    Definitely team LT. The guns were way cooler looking than Photons.

  • @dumflex5895
    @dumflex5895 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I remember owning this as a kid running around covering the sensor not to get hit. What a blast from the past thanks

  • @JarionSilverblades
    @JarionSilverblades 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    100% Lazer Tag, I still have my Starlight, Star Senor, and Vest, but lost my helmet years ago while moving to a new house.

  • @gamerinduty8971
    @gamerinduty8971 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have a set n a tower back then... Love it was a sweet toy... The chep knock off was lazer combat that was a shitty one...

  • @CouchCit
    @CouchCit 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I loved LaZer Tag (with a Z!)
    Had the toy sets for years passed their shelf life and I always thought their guns were amazing and ahead of their time

  • @gamerinduty8971
    @gamerinduty8971 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I remember was a cartoon show too ...they travel in time n shit too...

  • @derektorres6260
    @derektorres6260 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Most excellent video. Team Lazer tag all the way

  • @transtubular
    @transtubular 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I and two other friends of mine had the basic set and spent several weekends playing tag at night at one friends place. It was awesome! A few years later I disassembled the gun and sensor to see how they worked, was disappointed that there was no real laser inside.

  • @alienrefugee51
    @alienrefugee51 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I can still remember the feeling of seeing those first Lazer Tag commercials on TV. I had just about all of the gear at some point, but the pinnacle was finally getting my hands on the helmet. Sadly, it didn't have the visor. I had the handbook and used to do all of the trials. I can remember me and a bunch of friends venturing out in frigid temps and playing on a football field, but it was so cold that the gear wasn't really working. Lazer Tag was a huge part of my adolescence. It was awesome.

  • @chedarmentosbrown5922
    @chedarmentosbrown5922 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    If you could use that iphone/nerf version to track and kill Pokemon in Pokemon go, before players could catch them. And they could add the ability for the Pokemon trainers to disrupt the would be lazer assassin's weapon. That would be fun. Add a whole new mechanic to Pokemon go.

    • @scottp.548
      @scottp.548 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'd rather just have a nerf gun, so I could take out anyone playing pokemon go.

  • @dendostar5436
    @dendostar5436 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I wanted Lazer Tag, but I got Photon.
    God, what a time it was. Greatest episode!

  • @shinankoku2
    @shinankoku2 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    God I remember Photon. Some of the best memories of my early teen years. It really felt like we were in a Star Wars movie.

  • @greenlanternhg5141
    @greenlanternhg5141 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    One of my favorite cartoons, one of my favorite toys...even if I never got my hands on it 😕 And come on Dan...Lazer Tag all the way 😁
    Great video Mr Larson, Producer Greg ✌🏽👍🏽

  • @HollowaysIdea
    @HollowaysIdea 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This video wasn't as Cool as I thought lt would be...

  • @DenisRyan
    @DenisRyan 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Oh man! This is the episode I've been waiting for!! I had the gun set, the hat and the vest! Unfortunately I was the only one that had anything, so it was a bit of a one man war.

  • @QunMang
    @QunMang 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I frequented the local Photon when it opened up-definitely became my favorite activity. My friends and I would also go to other similar places such as Lazer Zone or Q-Zar to check those out too, but Photon was my favorite. Some years later after it closed down, I became a member at Laser Quest for a couple years before I sort of gave it all up to the younger generation.

  • @Dietpepsiahh
    @Dietpepsiahh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Speaking as a Soldier, "MILES Sucks", it is heavy, cumbersome and ineffective. Air soft would be cheaper, easier and more effective. Hence why the Army will never use it!

    • @taemien9219
      @taemien9219 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      The Army does have sim rounds, which are normal 5.56 cartridges that fire a non-lethal paint round. The benefit is you can use your assigned weapons normally. But most units don't have the budget for them. They're not cheap and require face protection.

  • @virtualcombat7294
    @virtualcombat7294 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I am watching this 2 hours before I go to later tag

  • @marscaleb
    @marscaleb 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I remember Lazer Tag so well! I loved it when I was a kid.
    I recall seeing people make other laser tag sets when I was older, but they were cheap and crappy, and I was always upset because the ones I had when I was a kid worked so much better.

  • @obliviousfafnir01
    @obliviousfafnir01 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    1:10 It's Light Amplification through STIMULATED Emission of Radiation