#entertech

A few weeks ago, we sent an email to Hackquarters family, which is 20.000 strong with all our friends from the startup ecosystem, executives from corporations and wantrepreneurs, about our new program ICUBE. (You can subscribe to our list, here, if you haven’t already)

International Incubation Institute or ICUBE aims to help technology companies or startups by preparing them for sales, provide access to international markets, increase their capacity and network them with potential investors. ICUBE will provide training, consultancy, mentorship and strategy development support for selected startups. Our program will take place in Istanbul with mentioned benefits and our finale will take place in London with selected few among 23 startups. In London, selected startups will get the chance to get mentorship and business support within UK.

Grow your business in the UK

Our kick-off event for ICUBE was on the 26th of April, at Entertech office within Istanbul University. 23 startups selected for the ICUBE program among hundreds of applications, were at the opening event by Entertech and Hackquarters. Executives of Entertech opened the event with general information about the program and timeline. After their speech, founder of Hackquarters, Kaan Akın, gave an inspiring training on Lean Startups. Our program will go on with weekly training and mentorship at Entertech.

ICUBE (International Incubation Institute) is a program by Entertech and supported by ISTKA (Istanbul Kalkınma Ajansı – Istanbul Development Agency) and Republic of Turkey Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology. ICUBE program is implemented in partnership with Hackquarters.

Here are the selected startups for ICUBE program;

Imagine being able to call yourself an “athlete” over nostalgia.  Nostalete?  Does that sound good?

Anyway, we’ll leave the sports and athleticism to the ones who truly have earned that title, and I’ll do what I’m good at…athleticizing my fingers for my latest writings!

Previously, on a different Throwback Thursday, I wrote about a commercial for a super realistic-looking series of toy guns, from a company called Entertech.  I found the commercial on a video my husband (then my boyfriend) handed me to make a digital copy of, knowing I wouldn’t be disappointed (I haven’t been).  Today’s commercial came out of my own collection, one I had completely forgotten about.

Don’t believe me?  Dan Larson of Toy Galaxy covered the short lifespan of Entertech.  It’s a great, very comprehensive overview, with visuals!

Upload via Toy Galaxy

In this video, he briefly glosses over one of the guns in the Entertech line, a hybrid of airsoft and paintball, non-motorized in function, but firing ink-covered balls.  This toy was inspired by an LJN (Entertech’s parent company) video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System called Gotcha! The Sport.

Image: Wikimedia

Because 8-bit target practice is not enough, Entertech had to create the real deal!

And use the ultra snobby Snobby McSnooty to promote it!

It seems Entertech really liked to live on the edge, and “Gotcha! The Sport” was no exception.

As I said, “Gotcha!” was based on the video game of the same name, which in itself was based on the 1985 movie of the same name.  That movie starred Anthony Edwards as UCLA student Jonathan Moore, who despite shyness, is a reigning champion at the paintball-style game “Gotcha,” which gets him into a whole lotta trouble during and after a vacation in West Germany.

You know this is revenge for the cruel treatment endured in Revenge of the Nerds.

This toy is actually geared toward teenagers (as it says “16 and up”), but the cynic in me doubts a parent could resist the temper tantrum of their under 16 child BEGGING for “that toy gun!”

I’m pretty sure Snobby McSnooty was at least 20 years old.

Entertech’s boasting of “The look! The feel!  The sound…so real!” was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth when it came to manufacturing realistic-looking toy guns.  Battery-powered and with loadable cartridges containing water, 1980s kids could have so much fun depicting the horrors of war right in their own backyard.  Naturally, the manufacturing of these realistic toy guns were not without (justified) controversy, and only a few years into their life, changes had to be made in the wake of children being shot by police for wielding these guns in public, as well as criminals using them for bank robberies.

Unfortunately for Entertech, necessary changes to make the toys look more toy-like were the beginning of the end, and I’m sure having a toy targeted toward teenagers that allowed you to play target practice did not help at all.

Plus the “goggles required” disclaimer just screams “someone filed a lawsuit over eye damage.”  You know it did.

So I guess my question for all of you: does anyone remember Gotcha!, aside from it being a movie, or is this just something to be left behind in our oh-so-interesting-nostalgia file?  For me, I had no clue it was a physical toy, but I do remember the movie and the video game (even though I never played it).  Tell me what you know about it, I’d love to find out more.  Bonus points if you or someone you know “played Gotcha!: The Sport!”

Have a great Throwback Thursday!