You just made me remember a part of my youth again with your rechargeable batteries comment: We were a recharageable battery family and those things just absolutely sucked. I have no idea what was on the interior of them but they were always lighter than Duracells or Energizer batteries and it didn't matter if it was a Game Gear or a flashlight, the amount of time you had a charge was MUCH less than a "real" battery.

I wouldn't even say that world was overly concerned about environmentalism back in those times either, it was just a cost thing. I guess we hadn't discovered lithium at that point yet because the horror of using a rechargeable battery on just about anything was bound to be a short-lived experience.