Video Game Sounds in Commercials

[Flack]

I noticed two different commericals tonight on television that were using Atari 2600 Donkey Kong as their sound effects. The other day I heard a commercial with Atari 2600 Pac Man in the background.

Is there a reason old Atari games end up in commercial/television backgrounds? Are the rights to these cheaper/free than other games? Or is it just because of their recognition factor?

Flack

[YoshiM]

I remember asking the same thing a long time ago after watching a Target commercial that had some pretty recognizable sounds. You are correct in your assumption. Since games today pretty much sound like movies, a person listening to the commercial (and not necessarily seeing it at that moment) couldn't tell if the people were playing a game. By adding in the beeps and bonks, the sound automatically triggers recognition.

[Jorpho]

Atari 2600 Pac-Man seems to be the most commonly used.

i imagine that there is some large sound effects bank that is used by a large number of studios, and this accounts for sound effects being reused in different situations. (Anyone else notice that The Real Ghostbusters and the anime known as Dual! both seem to use the same "electrical charging" sound effect?)

[Flack]

I remember the other thing, it was some Nickelodeon sitcom the kid was watching. The kids on the show had PS2 controllers but the sound coming out was Atari 2600 Donkey Kong.

Flack

[Bratwurst]

It's still amusing to catch the Doom 'door opening' sound in sci-fi shows.

[Alex Kidd]

I've also noticed that a lot of Sci Fi TV shows and newer video games are using the same 'electrcal sound' that the Tesla Coils in C&C: Red Alert for the PC used (maybe on PS1/Saturn versions to, but I've never played them)

Alex Kidd