Golden

Many people refer to the earlier arcade/console games as the 'golden age of gaming', again it is very subjective to people personal views but there is a general consensus that it runs from the late 70's to the mid 80's. This could be the more focused, cropped in area of 'retro games' to persue and base my TV programme on. However my only worry is the vague nature of the wording 'golden age' or 'retro'.

"The Golden Age of Video games is when the world began to recognize what these devices were. Before Ralph Baer and Nolan Bushnell brought these systems into people's homes and the pizza parlor around the corner, these systems were still abstract concepts and experiments. It is during this era that Video games begin to make their mark on society and culture.

Not only do people embrace Video games and make time for them in their lives, many make substantial commitments with their budgets as well. During these formative years, the video game's cultural impact is reflected through its appearance in novels, films, and television shows."

"The period from the appearance of Space Invaders in 1978 through The Great Video Game Crash of 1983, when 8-bit video games emerged to rule popular culture, coin-operated video arcades appeared in every shopping mall, and the Atari 2600 and its competitors first popularized home gaming. Back then, Sega was known for making Vector Games rather than consoles, and Nintendo's Mario had never stomped on a Goomba. Creativity reigned, and a single visionary designer could still see an entire game through from concept to finished product, unlike the enormous Hollywood-style teams needed for today's high-end game franchises. Shoot 'Em Ups were especially popular, as outer space and stylized spacecraft were easy to render on the crude hardware of the day.

Your mileage may vary about considering this era as a true "golden age", considering the fondness for later generations of consoles. Still, it was the first time video games hit the big time, so it qualifies to some extent."

- I'm still looking to definitely focus in on a specific area of retro gaming, and from the research I've been gathering it's looking like the 80's was probably the most influentially significant period. It's hard for me to dismiss the 90's as it was such a big part of my childhood gaming experience, but it just doesn't have the cult classics that warrant a TV programme in my opinion - or at least not as interesting.