An Post launches line of retro gaming stamps

16 Oct 2014

Retro gaming fans, and fans of video games alike, will no doubt want to get their hands on An Post’s latest range of stamps that feature some of gaming’s biggest names.

The four stamps Ireland’s national postal service is releasing are by far the most iconic brands ever put into pixels, including Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog, Nintendo’s Mario, Atari’s Pac-Man and Taito’s Space Invaders.

An Post has decided to go with the legendary video-game characters because of what they describe as ‘the most recognisable game icons in modern international culture’.

The game characters featured on the stamps span across the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In explaining the games’ importance and why they have become so highly valued in society, An Post said, “Today video games are written for, and targeted at, people of all ages from all walks of life and both sexes. But during the 1980s and 1990s, games were mostly marketed towards children and quickly became a multibillion-dollar industry.”

Sonic the Hedgehog balloon image via Shutterstock

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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