How The FBI Invaded Arcades | The Story Behind "Winners Don't Use Drugs"
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ย. 2021
- It’s a phrase and screen seared into the memories of anyone who visited an arcade in the late 80s and 90s. An arcade staple that’s just as recognizable as Street Fighter 2, NBA JAM, or Pac-Man. “Winners Don't Use Drugs.” Where did this screen come from and how did it end up on most arcade games from the 90s? This is the story of the Winners Don’t Use Drugs screen.
#Arcade #90sgames #Retrogaming #gaming #gaminghistory #capcom #warondrugs #retrogaming #nostalgia #wrestlingwithgaming
Follow me on Twitter - / wrestlesgaming
Patreon - / wrestlingwithgaming
Special thanks to:
Ethan from The history of how we play - thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpre...
Bob Fay and Bob Davenport voiced by:
Friday Night Arcade - / fridaynightarcade
HistoricNerd - / historicnerd
Additional footage:
Patrick Scott Patterson - / patrickscottpatterson
ABC News
C-Span
Tucker Time! - / silentbobstash
Sources:
Washington post April 25, 1988
RePlay Magazine - Volume 19, Issue No. 2 November 1993
Cash Box Magazine Feb 18, 1989
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin - October 1988
ABC News Report July 19, 1993
Play Meter - Volume 18, Number 7 June 1992
Cash Box Magazine April 29, 1989
Cash Box Magazine December 30, 1989
www.inverse.com/article/5193-...
www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/w...
www.wilcoxarcade.com/single-p...
www.upi.com/Archives/1989/01/...
Additional 3D models used under Creative Commons License:
Arcade Machine by PureUgliness
Hrvoje Wächter Hallway Old Arcade cabinets (this scene’s original arcade cabinet and some textures were replaced by Yahel)
Attract Mode by byron-barry82 - เกม
Follow me on Twitter! - twitter.com/WrestlesGaming
You can support the channel on Patreon - www.patreon.com/wrestlingwithgaming
Special thanks to:
Ethan from The history of how we play - thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/
Bob Fay and Bob Davenport voiced by:
Friday Night Arcade - th-cam.com/users/FridayNightArcade
HistoricNerd - th-cam.com/users/HistoricNerd
Thanks for watching! This video was modeled and animated using Cinema 4D & Redshift. Editing and compositing was done in Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Who did the voice for Bob Davenport? Because it sounds like Mitch Pileggi
That's would be HistoricNerd
@@Darthborg "Expecting"... How dense are you ?
@@WrestlingWithGaming I've been clean and off of crack for 42 years !!! actually, 43 years on my next birthday
Dude!!! What happened 2 your hair?
The idea of an entire arcade branded entirely around the “Just Say No” campaign is kinda hilarious to think about.
Right? Though to be fair it got them a good amount of press so I guess from that standpoint it worked. But yeah, hilariously weird.
It's Dumb
Actually there was an arcade I frequented in my teens in the late 80s and early 90s that was named "Just Say No". The amount of drug deals that went down in that building and the parking lot rivaled the GDP of some third world countries.
That is exactly where i would have sold drugs if given the opportunity back then. All our arcades back then (in my home town) were awesomely "red light district" sleazy in that way boxing is somewhere between a sport and a crime and how certain parts of the flea market could also be the *black market* back then. That's the part of Sega's branding that the younger kids discovering this stuff can't understand, how they were kinda openly courting the dirty underworld aspect of arcade culture like some kinda penthouse magazine of carnival sin..."Adults only" heh. The palpable world was completely different in so many ways than the current cerebral world. (by cerebral I mean "in the mind" not in any way intellectual, though attempts at such clearly come with the territory as we now see today.)
its something you wouldn't really understand unless you were around at that time
As a child of the 80’s I’d have to say, video games were and still are my drug of choice.
Me too. That and weed.
So what part do you smoke, the PCB?, the rom? Or the controller?
and weed.
@@avtips4779 you grind up the sprites into subpixels, and then snort them.
@@DissociatedWomenIncorporated makes sense
"Kids passing fast remarks!" Oh my goodness gracious! 😂
As a rom collector I appreciate the screen. It let's me know I'm playing something from the US region.
It's more a stamp of time for me.
Future generations will get to see the propaganda that occurred during the era.
Sometimes it feels like we get brainwashed today aswell. Feels like a never ending cycle of changing societal values and accepting that.
@@sircolt8184 i don't
@@daveraschke Then you may have a lot of money
@@sircolt8184 or he is brainwashed👀
"Nostalgia can be like a powerful drug, warping our memories and feelings about the past"
I could have used this advice 20 years ago.
Are... Are you writing from jail?
It's so interesting to see the history behind this screen as we never had it here.
Super weird to think that the FBI got involved with gaming in this way xD
Only federally sanctioned winners are allowed here lol
@@WrestlingWithGaming I can take a hint! I shall take my leave.
GOOD DAY SIR!
In the UK, we never actually had it, but it would appear on arcade machines over here.. the actual FBI screen too, not a British version.
@@st1ka Yeah it is weird!
Winners don't use drugs....inside the arcade. Do that stuff outside!
😂
Just like any Capitalist enterprise, the "winners" aren't the users, they're the suppliers. That whole campaign was as useless as Nancy Reagan's tone deaf, privileged "Just Say No". One top comic at the time had in his stand-up routine "I've never done drugs in my life, but just hearing Nancy Reagan's patronizing 'Just say no' makes me want to mainline every drug I can find." Seriously, did they think a kid would say "William Sessions! He's my hero! I won't do whatever he says I shouldn't". Most kids would say "Who the heck is William Sessions? Just start the game already!".
@@MrTBoneSF Worked for me. Doesn't help that my country has a severe case of dryg-related violence, so I never caver in or got curious about doing drugs.
I love that the Final Fight and TMNT Arcade1up releases kept this screen. I always dreamed of having this screen in my house lol
They'd have to alter the ROMs to delete that screen.
Something they didn't bother doing for the original machines outside the US.
@@GeoNeilUK as it is Arcade1up did need to alter the rom though, they needed to use a re-recording for the theme to the 1st game. Some of their releases like NBA Jam use extremely modified ROMs. So I think it's cool they left the Drugs screen alone
@@TRJ2241987 I think the UK version of the original arcade TMNT had both the title and the theme changed to Teenage Mutant *Hero* Turtles (as the UK government required the name change at the time - ninjas couldn't be mentioned in children's media back then)
I'm guessing the Winners Don't Use Drugs screen isn't protected by copyright as it's US Government IP which I think automatically becomes public domain. Also nostalgia.
"I am worried what arcade games will do to our kids"
"Well that divorce wasn't helping either"
"And, in retrospect, maybe the constant threat of nuclear war might have had a little influence"
It also puts a subtle idea in your head that law enforcement isn't far away - the FBI is literally inside the game you're playing. You're in a dimly lit arcade away from your parents etc., but the eyes of the law are still staring back at you from the brightly lit screen.
yeah it's kinda creepy.
Yeah, creepy. *puts phone in pocket *
Just like Polybius.
Subtle? Lol...
Your animation skills are impressive. They definitely add that extra layer of immersion. Great work.
Thanks Tim! Good seeing ya
Are you using Blender?
@@cre8iveone699 I do use Blender at times but for the 3D stuff I only used Cinema 4D with Redshift for rendering in this video. I used a combo of Blender and Cinema 4D for my last few videos though.
Top quality.
I like the animations dont get me wrong, but i cant help but think the idea was "borrowed" from strafefox, along with it taking more time to make videos.
I remember an Indiana Jones pinball in the early 90, where the LED scrolling display read "Winners Don't Use Drugs" on demo mode.
It was more than a video game gimmick, it was every where!
I don't think it's displayed on the Judge Dredd pinball machine.
Mmm most williams pinballs of the era have the message, however i think it can be deactivated via menu
Everytime I boot up my Neo Geo MVS and see that screen, it takes me back to a simpler time in life and makes me appreciate my machine that much more.
Growing up in a small Greek town in the 90s, I remember seeing this screen in a lot of our arcades. Made me wonder why did the FBI care about what we did in Greece, lol.
Same for me in the UK!
Grew up in Zimbabwe and hated that screen because it made no sense at all
Kept me off drugs and into video games for several years AT LEAST! Absolute legend of a screen!
The ghost of William S. Sessions tips his can of Game Fuel to you.
I ended up doing lots of drugs because of that screen. You were one of the few good outcomes. 😜
Oh yay Matt is here. How are ya dood? As for me, I stayed off drugs but not just because if this screen. Perhaps it helped a bit, maybe? Who knows.
I am very anti drug.
**takes sip of beer**
Good on ya Matt.
That's awesome m thanks for watching my stuff and leaving such a nice comment. Comments like yours make all the work I put into these worth it. Cheers!
Such an iconic screen. I had no idea how legitimate it was, it was still in tons of games that came to Australia which is pretty weird if you think about it
Shame that "war on drugs" was a bullishit phrase designed to just put people in jail for people who profit by having lots of people in jail. It is a nostalgic screen though.
And specifically people Nixon considered to be political opponents: the war on drugs was started because it would disproportionately impact hippies and black people
Exactly. As nostalgic as this screen is, it still gets me angry, as it's clearly false propaganda to brainwash people.
Some kid not even thinking about drugs walks into an arcade,
leaves the arcade with drugs on the mind lol "wow they must be really good"
@@Lightblue2222 L0L
Exactly and it came from the people who actually was bringing the drugs l🤦🏾♂️ 😂
1.Sell u the drugs-make money
2.Arrest you and take all the money and everything own
3.have you in jail making money off of you.
Its just genius by the us government.
This screen is absolutely nostalgic for me, really cool to learn the background! Watching this actually brought back a slightly embarrassing memory of being a dumb kid and seeing this for the first time on the Street Fighter II machine at the arcade. I just saw the FBI logo and thought the machine was being monitored by them, so I was worried about getting in trouble for playing or something 😂 I was not the brightest child!
Also, truly incredible work with the graphics as always! You keep getting better and better at those.
Lol that's too funny. As a kid, I always thought it was akin to the FBI message on DVDs and vhs movies. Never mind that those didn't mention drugs at all. I too wasn't that bright lol. And thank you, I've been working hard to improve my 3D stuff.
If this was still a thing today, I wonder what kind of PSAs games would have.
"winners don't do anticapitalism"
"Winners test their drugs with fentanyl test strips"
Man, that screen was just part of the landscape wasn't it? I never thought about it much I guess but DARE and other anti drug propaganda was EVERY WHERE when I was in elementary and going to arcades (87 to 94) so I just tuned it out of course :) Love every last one of your vids, dude.
Thanks! Yeah, that stuff was everywhere. We had some DARE-like program we had to do in middle school. It was inescapable
My first day of D.A.R.E. the officer asked us, "Does anyone know what D.A.R.E. stands for? And no, it isn't Drugs Are Really Excellent!"
That's literally the only thing I remember from the program
My school district had its own program called CounterACT. I don't really remember much of it. My middle-school health classes were probably _more_ effective though.
Was always a trip seeing that screen in British arcades. Great video.
Thanks! Yeah, as these machines got resold around the world the screen really ended popping up all over.
Australia too 😂
I know FBI telling me I can't do drugs! I live in Amsterdam, dammit!
I remember the screen from some arcades in Israel too
Awesome video. Makes me feel like a kid in the arcade again!
I was born in the late 90s so I didn't have the arcade experience. I did see that famous screen once though at a local pizza place where they have an old snk machine still up and running. I didn't think much of it, but I never forgot it. Now I know it's story! Great video!
Thanks!
I mean, arcades still exist to this very day
I always remember seeing those advertisements at bowling alley arcades in the mid 2000s.
Another masterpiece! Keep up the great work Yahel!
Thanks Mad ACtion!
Your videos just keep getting better and better, Yahel. I appreciate the content. Thank you! 👍🏿
Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.
So much nostalgia. Glad to know I wasn't the only person curious about this screen. Always look foward to your videos.
Thanks! It's a neat little story. As a kid, I always wondered why it was on so many arcades myself.
I’ve seen this screen so many times and never wondered why it was there. Great video! Such a cool peek into a tiny corner of video game history :)
Thanks xen0bear!
Thanks again for the spotlight! You do wonderful work Yahel and I'm glad I could make it all the better.
And thanks again for your help! Those scans you sent me were just what I needed for the video!
Yahel your channel is so amazing. It makes me calm on a stress full day with your calm voice and your neat presentation of information in these perfect length videos. It's just a great experience. Hopefully you make a few more.
Thanks so much for the nice comment. This really made my day. I'm always working on new videos, between my day job and the 3D stuff being very time consuming to make, they just take me some time to get out. But thank you again, I really appreciate it and I'm glad the videos help to destress you.
This channel continues to be one of my all time favorites. Keep it up!
Thanks Robbie, I appreciate it.
The voice of Davenport reminds me of a nerd who I have heard is quite historic and loves Thunder In Paradise.
Great work on the video.
indeed!
anti-drug messages always made me want to do drugs. I always figured they must be really fun if they were trying to keep us from doing them. That's how everything else was. If it was fun, you weren't suppose to do it.
Thanks for covering this, it's really interesting to see all that was involved in such a seemingly insignificant part of gaming and how it was actually kind of a big deal.
Damn, you've leveled up in 3d like mad! Excellent work with the arcade machines, and I love the Thunder in Paradise poster as well - a natural addition to any arcade wall.
No arcade is complete without a Thunder in Paradise poster lol. Thanks a lot, I've been working hard to improve my 3D stuff so I appreciate it
Found this channel the other day and it is awesome!! Thanks for the endless mini documentaries to watch!
Glad your enjoying the videos. I usually post ever 2 to 3 months but I promise, I'm always working on stuff. The 3d animation and modeling just takes time.
I know that there are a lot of gaming channels on TH-cam so I really appreciate you giving my channel a shot. Thanks again
@@WrestlingWithGaming yes I bet they take some time. Thanks for your work
I was thinking about this yesterday when I was playing NARC on the GameCube, and what games had the screen, so I guess it had a lasting impact on a lot of us kids in the 90's. How effective it was in keeping kids off drugs, along with the whole war on drugs in the 80's, and 90's is debatable at best. As always keep up the great work. 👍
Narc is great. Your killing thousands in the name of the war on drugs. Why not shoot a rocket at a druggy in a trench coat.
@@Gatorade69 War on drugs told people that anyone who uses drugs, is a lowlife and should be punished or killed without mercy. Really, REALLY fucked up thing, if you think about it.
@@jannevaatainen I don't remember that narrative. I do remember them telling us about going to jail and the normal life of a homeless addict.... in which case my city of full of Homeless addicts.
I don't know about this FBI message, but a few studies have shown that the old D.A.R.E. program failed/backfired spectacularly.
@@averyj.steele1074 I was still kind of young when DARE was a thing. Every kid with a DARE shirt I saw I always assumed were on drugs. I seriously thought it was a program for kids who were caught with drugs. So yeah in my 6 or 7 year old mind I assumed people with DARE shirts were on drugs. I would call that backfiring.
I was actually really happy to see the "Winners Don't Use Drugs" screen in front of Turtles in Time on the TMNT Aracde1up cabinet when I got it, just for the nostalgia of it.
Your editing and research are always great!
Creative video topic. Entertaining as always!
I appreciate that! It's been a while since I covered something a bit more obscure. I expect this video to bomb but I thought it was an interesting topic.
Interesting! I never thought twice about learning more info over this game screen!
This is just AWESOME !!!! A new video from you and a new video from The Gaming Historian a few days ago . My favorite TH-camrs . You guys should have a show on T.V. together . So much research and entertainment . Thank you !!!!
Thanks! Norm's U-Force video was great!
Great investigation man. What a great video
This editing is really top notch. Gorgeous video!
Thanks! I try to make these as visually interesting as I can so I appreciate it.
The animation and quality of this analysis is incredible. You are a talented artist.
Thank you for sharing
Thanks so much, I really appreciate that.
Man, I love what you cover on this channel. These obscure topics in gaming history are really interesting.
Thanks!
This is my absolute FAVORITE channel on TH-cam, and while selfishly I would prefer more content more often, the production values always more than make up for the 2 - 3 month wait.
Keep up the amazing work, and keeo kicking ass. I have watched the X-BAND video at least four times already, and as a Jaguar and 3DO fanboy, ha1be watched those several times as well.
I remember seeing these PSAs on games at the arcade so many times in the early 90's, and when I see them now via emulation, it puts a HUGE smile on my face. Nostalgia baby.
Thanks so much for leaving such a nice comment. Not to be too cheesy, but reading a comment like this one makes all the hard work worth it, especially after a rough day at work like today. You made my night. Thank you 🙂
first time watching your show, and i gotta tell ya, man, that i was thoroughly entertained~! thank you!
I don't understand how your channel is not blowing up. You do an awesome job man. Thanks for the content.
Thanks! The algorithm just isn't always kind to my channel. But I really appreciate the sentiment. Thanks again.
Great channel! Thanks for the informative and entertaining videos
Cool video. I've seen that screen a million times and never ever thought about why it came about. As soon as I saw this video I thought "whoa, I bet that's interesting" and it sure was :)
Thanks!
This channel has some of the most interesting content about retro gaming I've seen on TH-cam. Love the editing style as well man!
Thanks!
Intresting and the '80s-'90s background music makes me feel nostalgic! Liked and subbed!
Thanks! That's basically the vibe I was going for with the music so I'm glad you got it and liked it.
I know that there are a lot of gaming channels on TH-cam so I really appreciate you giving my channel a shot. Thanks again
This really brought me back to my childhood. I think this may have worked for many as a subliminal message edged in our brains while playing these games. Great video! Cant wait for more!
amazing story, didn't know anything about it, cheers from Argentina!
The production value of your videos are incredible. Extremely engaging!
Thanks a lot, glad you liked it!
Being younger and from Europe, this was completely new to me. Thanks for the interesting tidbit!
Doing wonderful work as always
Thanks so much!
This is the best video I've seen from this channel; a goddamned milestone in terms of quality.
Thanks for covering this. Some of us had been outlaws and this pertains to our experience in that past world. In the smokey stained trailer parks and projects and apartment complexes there was a different 80s/90s that is ignored but was ubiquitous. In that world there were the outlaws and the law and it is impossible to explain to the uninitiated how that dynamic rules your every thought when you live in such a world. This, the FBI message I mean, is something I personally thought about deeply and at length. I researched it myself, actually, long before the internet got interesting enough to really use. I can't recall how many late night conversations I had about this, how many times I used this as a metaphor, it was a major archetypical notion in my life and I mean beyond playing video games. It was a social phenomenon that directly effected real life events in my tour.
production value is top notch. very entertaining my man. its criminal how little your channel is compared to others with the same amount of production value. may the algorithm be good to you!
Thanks Nate! Hopefully one day those sweet subs will come lol
"Winners don't use drugs, except steroids in which case use lots of drugs!"
- Gary, SAO Abridged
Great episode!
Thanks so much!
Man, yet another fantastic video! I feel like I learn something new about editing and animation every time you put out a new video.
It's crazy how clearly I can remember this screen but not the message. Seeing that in my youth usually meant I was about to have a lot of fun. I never understood why the FBI wanted to get involved in arcades, but now I know better.
Thanks a lot! I'm always trying to make these as visually interesting as I can. Glad you liked it
Awesome editing! Thanks for the quality upload
Thanks Kalvin, I appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed it.
Always love to see a notification from this channel, you just know it's gonna be good.
Too kind. Thanks!
Nice! Been wondering when a video about this screen would happen, I never thought it was a bad screen i always thought it was positive! :)
Happy to see a new vid big guy. Hope you are doing well.
Love the content. 😊
This was a great idea for an upload, that you pulled off flawlessly.
thanks! It's a little obscure so I kind of expect it to not do well but I think the story behind it is pretty interesting.
@@WrestlingWithGaming I'm confident that it will. As you know the material is one thing, it's author and presentation are quite another.
You have a gift, for what you do 👌
Interesting story indeed.
I miss going to arcades and co-oping some hard ass game with strangers. Built camaraderie so quickly lmao.
Recently discovered your channel and love it! Thanks for making such interesting and professional content.
And thank you for taking the time to watch and comment. I appreciate it.
This is a dope video, man.
Thanks gaber!
STUNNING EDITING !! Man your videos are the absolute cream of the crop. Why haven't you reach 1 million subscribers is mind blowing ! You pick the subjects i always wanted to know but no one ever posted . Super Kudos to you !
Thanks so much! I try to make these as visually interesting as possible. There's too many gaming channels that are basically glorified slideshows. That's not a bad thing, I watch and enjoy an lot of them, but I want my stuff to stand out. Hopefully the subs will come one day. Thanks again for the kind words. I truly appreciate it!
I want a shout out on your next video !! hahaha ;)
Love your videos, I'm glad I came across your channel, dude!
Thanks, me too!
It's criminal how little exposure this channel has. Saludos yahel.
You know, after having strained my back today, I'm more than happy to see Wrestling with Gaming upload a video while I rest😆
Thank you for the content😄
Oof, sorry to hear about your back. Back pain is never fun. Thanks for watching and hope you feel better soon!
@@WrestlingWithGaming I'll be better I'm sure but thank you😆 This is amazing content though! You should have at minimum 10x as many subscribers for content and quality alone!
Thank you again😄
Fantastic video!
This was very nicely done. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love the editing on this! New sub!!!!
Thanks!
Excellent video as usual! I was missing your videos :)
Thanks!
I like seeing the logo in MAME because it brings back memories.
As always, a great video!
This is so fantastically edited, you should be very proud of it.
Good job dude!
Thanks so much. Appreciate it!
This message convinced me that I was supposed to use drugs since I kept loosing ... Worst idea ever.
You brought back a memory from the depths of my mind!
The irony is not lost on me of just how many people have a multi-cade of some sort in their house, toking up and playing some retro.
amazing video, keep it up!
Thank you!
nice to see you back
Thanks! I'm always working on stuff. These videos just take me a while to put together :-)
I love these documentaries on more niche gaming topics, and that's why I enjoy this channel so much.
Thanks! 🙏🏼
Terrific video! Even in Spain, where we didn't got that screen, is pretty famous .
These videos are so good! G4 should get you to remake Icons!
Wow, thanks for the high praise! I loved G4's icons. It's definitely one of my biggest influences so that anyone would put me in that category means a lot.
Great video. The winners don't do drugs is so classic.
What a fascinating thing to investigate. I must admit that I never gave it a second thought, even though the screen is definitely seared into my brain from the 90s. 😅 Thanks for making this!
Glad liked it. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
Great stuff, i subbed
Such a nice video!
Very interesting. Thank you for the video.
Love your channel great video
Thanks!
I remember see that screen here in my country (Spain) in some games, not all but some have the screen,I don´t know why, great video man!
Thanks! Glad your enjoyed it
The war on drugs itself was a complete failure, but that screen is super nostalgic. Great video!
with high quality content, from editing, music to information, its really impressive to watch your videos!
just 5k more or less, you'll go 100k sub! way to go!
Thanks so much, I appreciate the kind words 😁
I never really thought about that screen..interesting.
Well done.
Thanks!
That was very interesting! Very well done!
✌🏼😎👍🏼