How CBC News reported on arcade games 33 years ago today

The year was 1982, and while Canadians were already crazy for Space Invaders and Pac-Man, helping to make arcade games "the continent's No. 1 growth industry," gaming was still brand new. These were the days before Mario, "The Konami Code" and blowing on cartridges until they work. It was all so new, even the word "Atari" was unfamiliar.

To see, and hear, what we mean, head to the CBC Digital Archives. On this day, 33 years ago, the fifth estate aired a comprehensive look at "the seductive world of video games."

Reporter Hana Gartner meets the designer behind the biggest title of 1981, Defender. Shades of King of Kong, their cameras also witness one of the first-ever video game championship marathons.

The prize? Bragging rights. And from Phil's Video Arcade, Gartner interviews competitors about their love of the games.

Later, "to further understand the secret pleasures of eating dots," the fifth estate travels to the "Pac-Man capital of the world," Davis, CA. There, they meet the first man to crack the classic game, a PhD student in math named Ed Bosso.

Watch the full report above, and visit CBC Digital Archives for more vintage clips about "The Arcade Age."