Christian retro games

[gbpxl]

Where could you buy these games back in the 80s and 90s? Is there any actual documentation that confirms what stores would have sold them? Obviously Christian stores, but did any major retailer like Wal-Mart or Target carry them? There is a Christian store in the town I live in. I would find it hard to believe that they carried video games at any point considering they mostly sell books, decorations, and knick-knacks.

[jb143]

You're probably already aware that Wisdom Tree,the only major Christian game developer of that time period that I'm aware of, was created as a way for Color Dreams to sell their unlicensed games. Nintendo didn't want them to be sold at Walmart and the like so they thought they could re-brand them and sell them in Christian Bookstores instead. I doubt there's anything in the way of documentation, especially with mom and pop stores. I do seem to recall they were sold from cardboard display shelves that could be set up in any store though.

Much more recently,like maybe 10-15 years ago, I believe there was a Left Behind game that was sold in major retailers.

[Wraith Storm]

I remember in the mid to late 90's Mardel sold the Wisdom tree games. For those who don't know, Mardel is a chain of christian stores owned by Hobby Lobby.

They had an area set up with a Nintendo, Snes and Genesis and each one had a Wisdom Tree game you could play. That was the first time I ever saw Super Noah's Ark. I remember setting there for some time playing it as I had never heard of it at that time.

[gbpxl]

Its funny reading that post and then your signature. Those games obviously didnt have an effect on you lol

[calthaer]

I believe I saw the NES "Bible Adventures" and, later, "Super 3D Noah's Ark" at a Christian bookstore back in the 1990s...been a long time, though. Didn't take pictures of them.

[Edmond Dantes]

I once saw the PC game War in Heaven in a big box at, like, Fred's or something like that (for non-Americans, Fred's is a store whose thing is just selling low-priced items, I think they usually get excess stock that wasn't able to sell elsewhere that they can sell at a discout).

The same shelf had tons of PC games, this was one of those little four-sided ones in the middle of a walkway. I wish such things still existed... sigh... the days of big box PC games.

There's one Christian game called Catechuman or something like that which is apparently somewhat highly regarded even by nonreligious folk.

[Gameguy]

Does Doom count as a Christian game? You're literally fighting demons in hell.

[TimTendo]

Does Doom count as a Christian game? You're literally fighting demons in hell.

Wasn't the first Doom mail-order only? The big box one? I think only Doom II was ever sold in retail, but I could be mistaken. Maybe all the copies of Doom were being sold at Christian bookstores

[jb143]

There's one Christian game called Catechuman or something like that which is apparently somewhat highly regarded even by nonreligious folk.

I actually know of this game because it was made with the same game engine I was tinkering around with back at the time. I couldn't tell you where it was sold though. I'm assuming just at Christian Bookstores and probably online.

Wasn't the first Doom mail-order only? The big box one? I think only Doom II was ever sold in retail, but I could be mistaken. Maybe all the copies of Doom were being sold at Christian bookstores

Ultimate Doom, at least, was sold at retail. Plus, it was ported to almost every console of the time.

[Edmond Dantes]

Ultimate Doom, at least, was sold at retail. Plus, it was ported to almost every console of the time.

TimTendo is actually kind of correct here. Originally Doom was distributed using the Shareware model--if you liked the first episode, you sent Id money and they would send you the full game. The channel Lazy Game Reviews has even shown what the mail-order boxed version looked like.

Then Doom II came about mainly because Id's partner GT Interactive wanted a piece of the pie. It's pretty much the same story with Ultimate Doom--made specifically so there'd be a retail version of the first game. Both Ultimate Doom and the various console ports happened about 2-3 after the initial release of vanilla Doom, so for that time mail-order was how you did it.

Whether Doom counts as a Christian game, on the other hand? I dunno... though it could be reworked into one easily. And considering the fan community, there's probably already a custom wad like that out there.

[Gameguy]

Shareware versions were sold at retail though, weren't they? What type of stores originally sold them?

[Edmond Dantes]

Shareware versions were sold at retail though, weren't they? What type of stores originally sold them?

Practically any store that carried video games, to my memory. Wal-Mart, CompUSA, Best Buy....

I do recall thinking this was kind of dumb though, since you were essentially paying money for a demo. It apparently used to cause a lot of confusion because people would buy just the shareware version and wind up thinking they had gotten the full game.

[nildem]

My grandparents would occasionally bring home catalogs handed out at their church during that era. I'm not sure what sort of effect they had on sales, but the Wisdom Tree games usually received prominent placement in the kids section.