Mario Bros. Atari 2600 Original Label

[+sixersfan105]

As we all know, the VCS/2600 had several label style changes over the years. We also know that Mario Bros. was released in both variations of the silver label here in the US (not counting the red PAL re-release a while later). The reason for my post is that I was surprised to learn that the original Mario Bros. label was in fact the small Atari logo in the top right with the silver border around the big picture. This surprised me because the small Atari logo/silver border style in general came AFTER the larger Atari 2600 logo/smaller picture silver version. Yet for some reason with Mario Bros, the opposite was the case!

 

I learned about this at http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/articles/vcs_label_variations/vcs_label_variations.html.

 

Here's a snippet of the discussion at that site (attached).

 

Not sure if I was late to the party on this and everyone knows about the Mario Bros quirk or not, but thought I'd make a post just in case.

[BassGuitari]

The Mario Bros. cart with the "Big 2600" label is the Atari Corp. reissue. Atari Corp. did a lot of strange things with the labels of the back catalog they inherited from Atari Inc./Warner, such as "Pole Positn" and "Raiders Lost Ark" and the yellow Breakout. Or the '86 Hangman cart that defies all Atari label format conventions. Why they altered the formats of their labels in so many instances, I couldn't say. These carts often have the thicker shells as well, which IIRC were also used for 7800 cartridges, and which fit very snugly in older 6-switch VCS consoles.

I've often argued that Atari Corp. carts belong in a label variation category of their own, as they are often distinct in significant ways from Atari Inc. carts, not the least of which being they were two completely separate companies. And Atari Corp. "silver label" carts like that Mario Bros. with the large logo aren't even silver at all--they're dull, non-reflective gray.

Interestingly, while the labels of Atari Corp.'s back catalog were a free-for-all of label designs and print errors, their 2600 red label, 7800, and XEGS cart labels were fairly consistent.

[pacman000]

I'd imagine Atari Corp had folks design back catalog labels quickly, with little oversight just to get the products out there. New products probably demanded more resources and more oversight.

[+sixersfan105]

The Mario Bros. cart with the "Big 2600" label is the Atari Corp. reissue. Atari Corp. did a lot of strange things with the labels of the back catalog they inherited from Atari Inc./Warner, such as "Pole Positn" and "Raiders Lost Ark" and the yellow Breakout. Or the '86 Hangman cart that defies all Atari label format conventions. Why they altered the formats of their labels in so many instances, I couldn't say. These carts often have the thicker shells as well, which IIRC were also used for 7800 cartridges, and which fit very snugly in older 6-switch VCS consoles.

 

I've often argued that Atari Corp. carts belong in a label variation category of their own, as they are often distinct in significant ways from Atari Inc. carts, not the least of which being they were two completely separate companies. And Atari Corp. "silver label" carts like that Mario Bros. with the large logo aren't even silver at all--they're dull, non-reflective gray.

 

Interestingly, while the labels of Atari Corp.'s back catalog were a free-for-all of label designs and print errors, their 2600 red label, 7800, and XEGS cart labels were fairly consistent.

Thanks for the insight. Ive also noticed that lots of people on eBay are selling the original cartridge with the re-release style-manual. Or CIB with a box that has a release cartridge, etc. Any idea if Atari Corp. mixed and matched these like this or if what Im seeing is just sellers trying to complete their offerings? This has been bugging me for some time haha