I think the departure from realism was difficult for the audience of 1982, which was still steeped in the softer aesthetics of 1970s naturalism. Tron took many decades to have a larger influence on the overarching culture. Daft Punk, the adoption of the vaporwave aesthetic in the 2010s, and countless other art movements owe a great debt to Tron.
Maybe older folks? As mentioned previously, as a kid I grew up on Space Invaders and Asteroids shortly before the movie came out. Couldn't get enough of the futuristic 80s aesthetic, and still look on it fondly. Wargames blew my mind as well.
I don’t think that the portion of the population who truly appreciates the Tron aesthetics is that much larger today than back then. It’s rather that the internet provides better visibility and discoverability for such non-mainstream interests.
No doubt, but when looking back at post 1982 art during that decade, do you see a huge influence by Tron? We didn’t really see it until the 2000s. There were a few underground artists experimenting with the Tron aesthetic up until that time, but they were mostly unheard of. I remember there was at least one around 1994 or so in SF.
