80's Photon Lazer Tag Commerical

[HarlequinBuckeye]

I believe Photon was better than Lazer Tag, but nobody I knew had Photon. We all had Lazer Tag.

[thegreatbungholio21]

I still have a set of these in my dad's basement. I remember if you got too close to the tv it would set off the sensor like you got hit.

[cvire1971]

they both had cartoons



[gangrail]

wow its supermans dad

[f0ngtasticXD]

"Hey Homer! Zaaaaaaaap! Zaaaaap! Zaaap!"

[ruxpindrums]

2000s: Mac vs PC

1980s: Photon vs Lazer Tag

[SuperToybox123]

i had this, but noone else i knew had one, everyone else had lazer tag it sucked, sucked big time, i just used it to shoot its own helment.

[22centman36]

@SuperToybox123 me as well, man, It took me a few weeks to find another kid ont he block who had one, but we got bored playing with each other after awhile. Then every kid had a lazer tag gun so we both begged our parents and got lazer tag. But I still love the darth vader style helment.

[blackdimond21]

how old is this excactly

[yoshibomber]

@blackdimond21 its 80's so like 30 years

[1903tx]

My brother and I had a similar system around 1990 and I can't find it on the interwebz. The guns were neon green and you could select between semi and full auto. I think they were wired to a sensor that you wore on your head with adjustable straps. Anybody remember what I'm talking bout?

[MrUntouchable8221]

@1903tx I believe that is the Electronic Survivor Shot from Hasbro. But by the 90's most all toy companies had some version of laser tag rig out. If it is the Electronic Survivor Shot then that was a pretty kewl one.

[IRONMAIDENFAN2006]

my parents got me one when i was like 8 and i never had anyone to play with i use to just shoot the wall.. sad huh..

[DevilMaster]

"The only that really works" implies that competing products don't work, which means they are scams. I wonder if Entertech got sued...

[Iwitchfinder]

OMG!!! I remember my dad got me one of those for one of my birthdays as a kid and i was the only one around here who had one!! lol i remember freaking out people in cars at night with it cause id be running in the fields with the helmet blinking!!

[JerryFromNewJersey]

PHOTON!!! oh my god i remember toys r us once threw out a crap load of photons in the dumpster only because they came with japanese instructions. talk about photon for all the kids on the block. that was a day to remember.

[lilreddagain]

Oooo, reminds me of the old Q-Zar in El Paso, think theyre still around somewhere. Just, pro-ass laser tag with multi levels and black lights, it was nuts.

[zetzima73]

still have them :P

[Nabelnoir]

@scottyswan1 That was a big problem in my neighborhood too. One kid was unfortunate enough to get Photon when everyone else got Lazer Tag. There was one kid who also got some crazy brand of tag gun that could work with Lazer Tag but it required a player to swap a LazerTag Sensor with him so that they could play. Pretty much didn't work when it was an every man for him self game with 10 players.

[wootboy4201]

that was totaly one sided. he didnt talk about the attributes of the other gun at all. lol.

[elchicho25]

I wanted PHOTON! I had LASER TAG.. and it looked cool but hard as hell to register hits.. That and the 400 batteries it required.. lol

[Nabelnoir]

@elchicho25 The photon set was a battery hog too. Did you ever try to adjust the diopter for better chances to register hits. It was the little switch a half inch under the lens.

[Yodamite]

I was lucky and got the set of guns and helmets at a yardsale. Once, very late/early in the AM, the gun just started going off on its own waking everyone up. Scared the crap out of us.

[BanjoOz]

I loved Photon, and had the guns with sensor as a little kid... though I always wanted the helmet and pack set! Years later I got one as a teenager from a flea market, and it was as cool as I'd imagined, just wish I'd had it back when I really wanted it! Out of all the light gun toys I got to play with, these were my faves... still remember that sound effect (and I've got the blasters somewhere, though doubt they work sadly).

[mnap128]

When I was like 5 I found this in my basement hidden in the top dshelf corner a few days before Christmas....thats when I knew Santa wasnt real

[Nabelnoir]

@mnap128 Yeah, Santa would have brought you LazerTag. :)

[mnap128]

@Nabelnoir no shit! photon sucked

Survivor shot was the SHIT

[Nabelnoir]

@mnap128 Yeah....Survivor Shot came into being just as I was going away for college so I got to play with some college friends that got that set.

[recardwizard]

They opened a Photon center in Phoenix (Tempe) around 1988-1989 as well... too bad it didn't stay afloat. The laser tag places have come and gone since then (Tracer, etc) and Laser Quest is still around, but none of them measure up to Photon's playing environment. Obviously, I guess, because Photon's buildout cost so much it drove them under.

[Hipsterdom]

@recardwizard It was actualy the stock market crash that did it, sadly.

[tetsuyanamamura]

the Lazer Tag cartoon sucked, the Zillion cartoon was much better, it had a better plot. the Lazer Tag cartoon probably would not have sucked if the plot was similar to that of the Zillion cartoon

[Nabelnoir]

@tetsuyanamamura Well, if Worlds Of Wonder had an anime company and a videogame company help in creating the atmosphere for the show, then yeah. Probably would have looked hella cool like those "Max Headroom" inspired commercials.

[phyrstjedi]

Photon Sucked. Lazer Tag was where it was at

[myish08]

ENTERTECH ALAWAYS HAD COOL TOYS

[PinkSander]

Thats the laser Tag toy that Tom Hanks played with in the film BIG. I always wanted one, I never did get one.

[5tonyvvvv]

that shit was so cool growin up..but to expensive..i never got one either,,it was for rich kids.

[lowgeemudbone]

me and my brother used to have a ball playing photon ,those were the days

[fanblow]

I remember this commercial like it was yesterday. Oh what great memories.

[larosenoire1]

By the time I was going to by photon. It went out of business. And not long after Wolrd sof wonder the maker of Lazer tag went out as well.

[joeyang1976]

Entertech! I remember that company! I didn't care much for Photon but Entertech used to make pretty cool squirt guns (before they were required by law to have those orange tips)

[Jshaw71]

thanks for the video, i would rather play lazer tag than photon, i am not sure why but never really considered getting a photon set... oh well, thanks for the upload anyways

[funkypresident1]

I could swear there was another laser tag brand out at the same time as "photon" that started with a "G", does anyone know the name of brand? It's driving me nuts. Would be appreciated.

[funkyinca]

i think its was called G-Force

[TomtheMan68]

I was more of

a Lazer Tag kid then a Photon Kid myself during the 80's.

[2199]

The makers of Photon got sued for using the Laser Tag product without the permission.

[wormbaby79]

The first Photon center opened in 1984, the first Lazer Tag set came out in 1986 about the same time Photon made a home version. They both are just commercial kids versions of MILES system developed in the 70s. But clearly Photon predates the "Lazer Tag" brand but term laser tag predates them both.

[23v0lv32]

i had this as a kid LOLOL

[carnivalofsouls2047]

Photon Centers in the late eighties were the most fun ever. We had teams and we competed in league tournaments in giant 2 level styled playing fields. There were 2 bases, crows nests, catwalks and a maze you can get lost in (including fog machines, strobelights, blacklights, and a blaring soundtrack}. An obersvation deck surrounded the upper levels with a monitor that kept score of all players and both teams. All players had a call sign. I played for the legendary DarkStar team in Houston,TX.

[2199]

Lazer Tag sued the makers of Photon for using their product without their asking.

[TEXX1234]

WRONG. PHOTON was first!! Lazer Tag was developed after Photon, due to corporate spies that "stole" technologies from Photon!!

[Jshaw71]

i seriously doubt that, worlds of wonder saw the laser gaming market and just wanted to make a competing product, i own a lazer tag set, but never really picked up a photon set, not sure why...

[CLC407]

Actually, I think that Photon was first. I believe that it was also cheaper....Lazer Tag cost big money back then, if I remember right. I remember when my dad came home with three sets for me and my brothers, and we were the happiest kids on the planet. But we had Photon also, and it was cool in its own way, although Lazer Tag was way more popular.

[Jshaw71]

hmm, i am sure photon was first, and cheaper, but lazer tag was pretty cool, over the years i have seen some photon sets at garage sales never got them though... it was cool that the full set included the helmet and vest... too bad theres never been a remake of photon like there has been of laser tag over the years...

[larosenoire1]

I still have my lazer tag guns and stuff after all these years.

[Jshaw71]

cool, i lost mine sadly, but got a new set... thanks for the reply though...

[larosenoire1]

I have my lazer tag in storage and they still work.. LOL

I remember there was a group in the UK who did lazer tag but remade the guns. So they were like the guns from Aliens. it was pretty cool.

[Jshaw71]

cool, i had would have had no doubts if i out my wow laser tag set into storage, quality stuff, imo, i handled a prhotn set once, at a garage sale, thought about getting it, just didn't follow through...

[larosenoire1]

I know if I was to find a photon set or 3 in a garage sale. I would most likely buy them up.

[Jshaw71]

i was semi tempted, to get them, but thought, eh lazer tags better, heh oh well...

[larosenoire1]

LOL. Loved lazer tag. But despised the cartoon. As compared to the photon tv series.

[Jshaw71]

yea' the tv show was shite comaopred to the coolness of the ads, they should have been based in the lta, i take it as that was the lta, and end every ep or few with a badass laser tag tourney fight, like they had in the tv ads, oh well...

[2199]

you win some...you lose some.

[Jshaw71]

yup, it happens, thanks for the reply, take it easy...

[2199]

no problem. but lazer tag was way better then photon. Three words....Saturday Morning Cartoon.

[Jshaw71]

i dunno, how the heck dose a laser tag set even from 2010 let you travel through time? kinda unbeliveable even for a premise of a kids tv show, i would have rather seen the ppl training in the lta myself... photon did have bad sfx, and acting, but was almost as unbeliveable, a photon warrior? oh well, thanks for the replies...

[2199]

Your right on all that. Photon tv show sucked.

[Jshaw71]

but the laser tag tv wasn't breakgrounds on interesting tv shows either... oh well...

[Nabelnoir]

@Jshaw71 In patent, Photon was first. However Photon uses a different system then LazerTag. LazerTag actually fires a coded IR signal at the target. Photon has the IR signal constantly on and when you press the trigger on the gun, it then detects the signal and registers a hit. The makers of Photon called it Reverse IR technology. It was good for allowing you to detect a lock on before firing but was prone to being spoofed by bright light and you didn't have to be very accurate to score.

[Jshaw71]

@Nabelnoir @Nabelnoir yeah i guess they were first, but lazer tag over photon, imo... seems like there were some flaws in photons design coded ir huh? did that would you could have told who tagged you and when?

[Nabelnoir]

@Jshaw71 I agree, LazerTag over the home version of Photon. Well, Photon was a very primative design that did work. The packs also contained a radio system that was like a primative WiFi so that scoring could be tabulated by a special computer. You assume right about coded IR. Basically photon was like holding a vacuum waiting to suck up the IR signal that the helmet, packs and enemy guns put out.

[Jshaw71]

@Nabelnoir i think there was a paid photon arena around my area, but can't remember, where... that's cool that the system could tell you who tagged you, and when but why use a special computer? would have been cool to have a unit like that for the home version, just cheaper, like the one from lazer challenge... oh well...

[Nabelnoir]

@Jshaw71 Well, I say special because they didn't have turnkey software that worked for the system back then that could be used on any PC of the day. I think they had to build a special radio transmission system that would tie into a apple computer (I think). It's hard to say because PCs and Macs didn't exist, there were many home computers but they also could have been using a more professional terminal system, like a DEC Alpha. The one from Laser Challenge was revolutionary for its time.

[Jshaw71]

@Nabelnoir yeah i suppose so, those kinda pc's keeping realtime scoring just weren't possible back then in the 80's... and needed something special... like the dec... when i refereed to the Laser Challenge system i was referring the home system, not the paid one... but yeah the Laser Challenge printout thing was pretty sweet... i guess a home scoring unit would have been pricey... in the 80's, which is too bad... yeah team ops is a good system... i wish it was a lil more affordable...

[Nabelnoir]

@Jshaw71 One person I know of that could perhaps fill you in on the ins and outs of designing Lazer Tag is a man who goes by the moniker of "TagFerret". He has industry experience in designing the Lazer Tag toys for WOW and the Lazer Tag Team Ops for Hasbro. As a toy industry veteran he could probably answer your questions better than I. He has a few videos on YT as well as a LazerTag history website and I think he still runs the Yahoo LazerTag Team Ops site too.

[Jshaw71]

@Nabelnoir true, i know of him too, but i am just making conversation really, but he would be a good guy to contact about this, i have commented on one of his videos and he replied, thanks for the name though, thanks for the replies... take care, and happy Halloween :)

[Nabelnoir]

@Jshaw71 Just found out something interesting happening in TagFerrets life. Apparently he is taking some medical leave from his job at Shoot The Moon for heath reasons. He expects to be down for several weeks so I don't know how much computer time he will be putting in, if you get my drift. He mentioned all this on a LT enthusiasts site and said that his Comcast accounts will be active and open for messaging. Just wanted to give a small heads up. BTW ever hear of BattleTag?

[Nabelnoir]

@Jshaw71 (Con'td) The manufactures may have thought out something like the laser Challenge scoring unit but in the 80's, that might have been pretty pricey in terms of the state of the art technology. It may have been possible but at a cost that they deemed too much to be a productive seller. When electronics got a little smaller and microprocessors gained more power in the time of Laser Challenge, then something like that was not out of the real of cost feasibility. Then LTTO came along.

[horrorinc1234567890]

i have the pistol

[Maxwelldoggums]

OMG, GOD GAVE ME A PHOTON GUN!!!

[johnbourbon]

lol!

[2bin]

Sorry, but Lazer Tag was pure pwnage. The gun was much cooler and sleeker than this Photon thing.

[RYDERkN]

@2bin yeah but you have to shoot the gun not the person

[YouthFreedomFighters]

@2bin No way! Photon was like The Transformers while Lazer Tag would be Gobots.

[aculturemind]

@YouthFreedomFighters

No, the other way round. Especially the cable connection for the Photon gun spelled 'dork'.

[franksfender]

@YouthFreedomFighters As a Photon owner I know from experience. Photon was for the food stamp kids. My friends had Lazer Tag and there were Lazer Tag arenas around town. At least I had toys. Don't forget the Lazer Tag cartoon.

[proteron]

Wow. I had two Photon rigs. I wish I could find them. The trouble with all those types of things, though, is that they were not very challenging (much like the NES light gun).

[xyanide1986]

note the rival Lazer Tag products right there

[iamtheryan]

Those gun sounds instantly took me back in my past to a rather nerdy childhood... i hope to never come back.