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Giant Label Variation PHOTO Website. Check it out!


Philflound

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Got the 16 box package today.Though I'm about to go out, I looked at the first couple of boxes. I pulled out Berzerk and discovered what I think may be really rare. I have the 1982 box, but it doesn't have the comic. It was printed without the comic and even the back has no copyright for DC Comics. I expected this possibly for the later releases like 1985 or after, but not for a 1982. I'm wondering how rare this really is. I'll get it up on the site later tonight so everyone can see.

 

Phil

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Ok, the Berzerk box is now up live so you can see it. I also found I just received the ever elusive "limited ninety day" version of Adventure. This has been the first version box listed in the document from the very beginning. Another achievement after all these years to finally prove it exists.

 

It seems these "limited ninety day" versions are later releases, as they have a tendency of being Rev 3. I'm not going to rearrange all the boxes in the document though, since that would take too long. But I think I may describe box releases and their timeline. I know Digital Press covered the cartridge label timeline release, but does anyone know exactly which order these boxes were released. I may go based on the Rev numbers. Sometimes the date of the box reverts back say from 1980 to a later released box dating 1978 on it. Have to do some investigating. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I'll give you updates on any of the other boxes I go through. I may get another surprise. :)

 

Phil

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As if 12 box variations weren't enough for Combat, I just found lucky 13. This is a Game Program yellow letters back with Made in Taiwan on top instead of Printed in USA. I'll try and get this on by tomorrow night. Will have to adjust the box listings some, so it'll take a little time. This version has the 2nd text, soft paper label with the bright pink letters in it, version q on the list if anyone is interested.

 

Phil

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I'm about to modify the linked page from the Atari made games main page that is titled General Atari Variations. It will probably take me until tomorrow or Tuesday to finish. I already had the labels, but decided to describe the boxes and their release timeline as I stated a few posts ago. When I'm done writing what I have tonight, I'll post it here. It will give you a good idea on what the page will look like. I'm listing all confirmed games with that particular variation box. I say confirmed because there are many that I do not have the Rev numbers for. These are boxes I have not had in hand and am just looking at the front and back of scan. So if you see a variation on my list that does not have a Rev number on it and you own it, please contact me with the information so I can update the list. I'll go on your word.

 

It seems that most of the box variations are consistent, with just a few exceptions to the dates/Revs. I'm going to stop with the silver labels for now, and will not include the re-releases yet, but rather only new released games. An example is the silver box of Space Invaders. I'm not including it yet in the title list, but will hopefully get that and other original boxes that were released with silver boxes added. Again, this is taking time as I'm going through each game and listed the boxes in order on paper so I can make the list on the site.

 

There are some games that actually don't fit criteria for a specific release. Games like Berzerk and Yars' Revenge I haven't categorized. I may come up with something to say about games that aren't in the general list of boxes released.

 

Phil

Edited by Philflound
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Alright, this is what I have so far and here is what the page is going to say. On the site when I get this live, I'll have small box examples to show each one so the collector knows what they are looking for.

 

BOXES

 

 

Below are the boxes and what we consider their timeline release order. If anyone has other information that can help, please contact us. We are guessing the order based on the revision numbers that were printed on the tiny flaps, or sometimes lack of revision numbers. You can find the revision numbers either at the top or bottom of the tiny flaps, in the form of Rev 1, Rev 2, etc.

 

The first released Atari games were in a gatefold book-style type of box. There were 10 released games with this style. Each of these had two digits after the title on the side of the box, representing the cartridge product number. The ten games are Air-Sea Battle, Basic Math, Black Jack, Combat, Indy 500, Space War, Star Ship, Street Racer, Surround, and Video Olympics.

 

The second release boxes were most likely the ones with the giant "Game Program" on the back of the box. None of these boxes have any Rev on the tiny flaps, so they were probably the first regular closing box. Any box with the "Game Program" is dated 1978. Confirmed games with this box are Air-Sea Battle, Basic Math, Basketball, Black Jack, Brain Games, Breakout, Codebreaker, Combat, Flag Capture, Hangman, Home Run, Hunt & Score, Indy 500, Outlaw, Slot Racers, Space War, Star Ship, Street Racer, Surround, and Video Olympics.

 

We believe the third release boxes were ones that had a warranty box on the back, and the background of the warranty box was the same color as the box. The copyright date is outside below the warranty box. We discovered about half of these have Rev 1, and the other half have Rev 4. Slot Machine has only one known box release and it has a Rev 4 on the flap. These games all have dates from 1978-1980. Rev 1 confirmed games are 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe, Adventure, Backgammon, Basic Programming, Championship Soccer, Circus Atari, Dodge 'Em, Golf, Maze Craze, Night Driver, Othello, Space Invaders, Superman, and Video Pinball. Rev 4 confirmed games are Air-Sea Battle, Basketball, Bowling, Breakout, Canyon Bomber, Casino, Combat, Football, Home Run, Human Cannonball, Indy 500, Miniature Golf, Sky Diver, and Slot Machine.

 

The next release we think is the white background warranty box on the back with the copyright date inside the warranty box. These all have Rev 2 on the flaps. They are also dated between 1978-1980. Confirmed games are Air-Sea Battle, Asteroids (1981), Backgammon, Bowling, Circus Atari, Combat (Rev 1), Dodge 'Em, Missile Command, Othello, Outlaw, Pele's Soccer, Space Invaders, Video Olympics, Video Pinball, and Warlords.

 

Our next guess is the "limited ninety day warranty" on the back with no real warranty box. I believe that Atari didn't want to print the huge warranty any longer, which cost more in ink. All of these boxes have Rev 3 on the flaps. There are three exceptions: Space War Rev 1, Super Breakout Rev 2, and Surround Rev 1. These three boxes did not have any of the three previously described boxes, and thus may have been the next revision from their perspective original boxes. Confirmed Rev 3 games are Backgammon, Brain Games, Breakout, Casino, Circus Atari, Hangman, Home Run, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze, Missile Command, Night Driver, Othello, Street Racer, Video Checkers, Video Chess, Video Olympics, Video Pinball, and Warlords.

 

The last regular boxes that were most likely released were all dated 1981. All of these have Rev 1 on the flaps. They have white warranty boxes with the copyright date outside the warranty box. Even though they are Rev 1, we think this is a later release due to the 1981 date. The majority of these titles were originally released in 1977-1978. Confirmed games are Air-Sea Battle, Asteroids, Basketball, Bowling, Breakout, Circus Atari, Dodge 'Em, Golf, Missile Command, and Night Driver.

 

In 1982, Atari decided to change the format for their new games with silver labels on the cartridges. They created silver boxes. The 1982 silver box had Atari 2600 in the center above the picture of the game. Several titles were released and all have this format. This format carried over into 1983 for several games. 1982 confirmed games are Centipede, E.T., Ms. Pac-Man, Phoenix, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Realsports Baseball, Realsports Football, Realsports Volleyball, Swordquest Earthworld, Swordquest Fireworld, and Vanguard. 1983 confirmed games are Asterix, Atari Video Cube, Crazy Climber, Obelix, Realsports Soccer, and Realsports Tennis. The only 1984 game with this format is Rubik's Cube.

 

In 1983, Atari decided to change the silver box similar to the way they changed the silver label. They moved the Atari 2600 name from the middle above the picture to the upper right part of the box. 1983 confirmed games are Battlezone, Dig Dug, Gravitar, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Krull, Mario Bros., Moon Patrol, Pole Position, Quadrun, Swordquest Waterworld, and Taz. 1984 games with this format are Crystal Castles, Gremlins, Pengo, and Stargate. Millipede has a 1986 box, though was released in 1984. I have yet to see a Millipede box dated 1984.

Edited by Philflound
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Ok, I added a small paragraph before the silver labels and finished what I planned on writing for the box variation section of this page. The following is everything else going on the page. The only thing I'll need to do is add pictures for some examples of what I'm talking about. Pointing out some of these variations may actually increase some collector activity, as many collectors are new to variations and may not be aware of some of the great pieces that are out there. Enjoy.

 

 

 

Before the silver labels were released, in 1981-1982, 5 games were released that did not fit into any of the categories above. These came in colored boxes. The titles are Berzerk, Defender, Math Gran Prix, Star Raiders, and Yars' Revenge.

 

In 1982, Atari decided to change the format for their new games with silver labels on the cartridges. They created silver boxes. The 1982 silver box had Atari 2600 in the center above the picture of the game. Several titles were released and all have this format. This format carried over into 1983 for several games. 1982 confirmed games are Centipede, E.T., Ms. Pac-Man, Phoenix, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Realsports Baseball, Realsports Football, Realsports Volleyball, Swordquest Earthworld, Swordquest Fireworld, and Vanguard. 1983 confirmed games are Asterix, Atari Video Cube, Crazy Climber, Obelix, Realsports Soccer, and Realsports Tennis. The only 1984 game with this format is Rubik's Cube.

 

In 1983, Atari decided to change the silver box similar to the way they changed the silver label. They moved the Atari 2600 name from the middle above the picture to the upper right part of the box. 1983 confirmed games are Battlezone, Dig Dug, Gravitar, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Krull, Mario Bros., Moon Patrol, Pole Position, Quadrun, Swordquest Waterworld, and Taz. 1984 games with this format are Crystal Castles, Gremlins, Pengo, and Stargate. Millipede has a 1986 box, though was released in 1984. I have yet to see a Millipede box dated 1984.

 

Before Atari went to the red boxes, there were several titles that had unique style boxes. Track and Field came out in 1984 and is similar to the later silver box, but the back was not silver. The other games were geared towards young children. These were in checkered boxes, similar to the cartridge labels mentioned above. The games were Alpha Beam with Ernie, Big Bird's Egg Catch, Cookie Monster Munch, Oscar's Trash Race, Pigs in Space, Snoopy and the Red Baron, and Sorcerer's Apprentice.

 

The red boxes were the final release for Atari, occurring between 1986-1990. Some titles were acquired from 3rd party companies like Coleco and Parker Brothers. Most were original titles. The following games were released with red boxes. 32-in-1, BMX Airmaster, Crossbow, Dark Chambers, Desert Falcon, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong, Jr., Double Dunk, Fatal Run, Ikari Warriors, Klax, Midnight Magic, Motorodeo, Mouse Trap, Off the Wall, Q*Bert, Radar Lock, Road Runner, Secret Quest, Sentinel, Solaris, Sprintmaster, Super Baseball, Super Football, Venture, and Xenophobe.

 

Atari later re-released games with different colored boxes from what were originally produced. The grey box versions of these games are extremely popular. Confirmed grey box games are A Game of Concentration, Basic Programming, Basketball, Black Jack, Bowling, Brain Games, Canyon Bomber, Codebreaker, Demons to Diamonds, Fun with Numbers, Hangman (has color picture), Home Run, Maze Craze, Night Driver, Pac-Man, Realsports Volleyball, Surround, and Swordquest Earthworld. Flag Capture is rumored to exist, but I've yet to see a photo.

 

Atari also re-released many games in the red box like was discussed above. Confirmed games are Asteroids, Battlezone, Basketball, Dig Dug, Dodge 'Em, Galaxian, Gravitar, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Mario Bros., Millipede, Missile Command, Moon Patrol, Ms. Pac-Man, Phoenix, Pole Position, Realsports Soccer, Realsports Volleyball, Space Invaders, Vanguard, and Yars' Revenge.

 

Besides the red box versions, there was a brown box version. I called this brown box because the box looks more like a brown red and the back of the box has the same color as the front. Red boxes have a white back. There are three confirmed games with the brown box, Crystal Castles, Galaxian, and Millipede.

 

Many titles were released with multi-language formats on the box. We're breaking the lists down to some specifics. This first area are games released with 5 languages on the box with the original year of release of the game. The confirmed games are Adventure, Asteroids (1979), Backgammon, Basic Programming, Bowling, Brain Games, Casino, Circus Atari, Combat, Defender, Demons to Diamonds, Desert Falcon, Dodge 'Em, Haunted House, Human Cannonball, Indy 500, Missile Command, Night Driver, Othello, Outlaw, Pac-Man, Pele's Soccer, Sky Diver, Star Raiders, Street Racer, Superman, Video Checkers, Video Chess, Video Olympics, and Yars' Revenge.

 

The next list are games that have 6 languages on the back again with the original year of release of the game. The confirmed games are Alpha Beam with Ernie, Battlezone, Big Bird's Egg Catch, Centipede, Cookie Monster Munch, E.T., Galaxian, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Pigs in Space, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Realsports Volleyball, Snoopy and the Red Baron, Swordquest Fireworld, and Vanguard.

 

There were a few titles that had the box variation with 5 languages that were released some years after the original year of release. Confirmed games are Circus Atari, Defender, Pac-Man, Pele's Soccer, Q*Bert, and Space Invaders.

 

There were also several titles that had the box variation with 6 languages that were released some years after the original year of release. Confirmed games are Asterix, Battlezone, Centipede, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Kangaroo, Mario Bros., Moon Patrol, Ms. Pac-Man, Phoenix, Realsports Soccer, Snoopy and the Red Baron, and Vanguard.

 

Finally we're going to cover box variations that didn't fit into any of the above categories. These are rather unique to themselves and I personally find them extremely interesting for collecting. Confirmed strange variations are Berzerk with red box and 3 languages dated 1987; Defender with 2 languages dated 1986; Crystal Castles with 8 languages dated 1987; Golf with light blue box and 5 languages dated 1980; Obelix with 5 languages on front of box only, back in English dated 1986; Slot Racers with blue box and 5 languages dated 1978; Space Invaders with silver box and 6 languages dated 1980; Space Invaders with blue box similar to red box format and 5 languages dated 1988; Space War with pink box and 5 languages dated 1978; Star Ship in a strange format box dated 1977 (probably the 1977 label came in this); Surround with purple box and 5 languages dated 1978; Video Pinball with purple box and 5 languages dated 1980; Warlords with orange box in English dated 1981; Warlords with orange box and 5 languages dated 1981; Yars' Revenge with 2 languages dated 1985 and 1987.

 

There are actually many more variations out there. Most are just year changes or where the box was Made or Printed. Look at each individual title for all known variations. If anyone has contributions or corrections, please contact me. Scans would be appreciated. There are many variation listings that would fit into the criteria above already on the list, but I have not been able to confirm Rev numbers or possibly the copyright year of the box. I'm sure there are even more box variations not on the list and I would appreciate any new listings. Thanks in advance.

Edited by Philflound
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I'm re-reading my box descriptions and found something strange. I was comparing what I considered the 2nd box release with the giant "Game Program" with the second real catalog that Atari put out. A few games they dropped from the original 10 released, but one title in this catalog is Football. Football does not have a "Game Program" variation. I'm assuming this 2nd catalog should have all the titles I'm listing with the "Game Program" variation. They all have this variation except for Football. I've personally owned at least 10 boxed copies of Football and have never seen this. Can anyone confirm this box? It would help support my release theory. Thanks.

Phil

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I'm working on the photos now for that section. I'll have it finished today. Just got about another 40 boxed games so I'm going to have fun going through everything. Still waiting on my package of 10 games too, which should be here within 2 days. I'll post a link of the page when I'm finished.

Phil

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Ok, I finished what I had planned with this page. The only thing that crossed my mind while uploading it was the white generic boxes that came with the Paks. I'm thinking of adding the description with sample but that will have to wait until tomorrow. This has taken me many hours. Anyway, I want to dig into some of the newly acquired boxes. The page has a variety of titles, and I tried to choose a nice array of popular games and nicer looking packages. Let me know what you think. Page should take about 8-10 seconds to load with all the scans. I gave 2 samples of each box type.

 

Phil

 

http://www.videogamevariations.com/AtariCompanies/AtariGames/GeneralAtari.htm

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Just the 3rd box into my new acquisition and I already found a new Adventure box. It's the white warranty box with copyright 1981 on the outside. Though I can't verify the Rev because someone tore off the tiny flaps on top. I'm actually expecting to come across many more of this variation. I think I've gotten 3 or 4 of these in the past 6 months that weren't on the list. It'll be live in 5 minutes.

 

Phil

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Ok, done with the boxes for now. Just waiting on the 10 from the order last week. Anyway, I'm back to trying to continue with the regular listings for the website. I'm continuing with the M Network. I just added Masters of the Universe carts, manual, and box. After the rest of the titles are added to M Network, I'm going to go back and do all the manuals for the company.

 

Phil

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I found a stack of catalogs sitting near my desk and decided to take a quick look. I remember looking at the catalog list and seeing something that I was missing, so going by memory (wasn't the correct item), I picked up the 1978 red catalog, which is catalog 4. I had 2 of them and looked at the back because that is what I thought I needed to look at for the info of the missing manual. This wasn't the year though, but I discovered a variation by accident. One of the catalogs has C012737-02, the other has C0-12737-02. Ok, a - isn't a big deal, so I'm thinking maybe there was something more. I was comparing them side by side but my eyes were not finding anything different. So I was about to just scan the back cover and state that there are 2 versions of this 7/78 manual, one with a - and one without.

 

But then I thought, which version did I need to scan. So I looked at the site and saw which one I put up, the one without the hyphen. So I thought, let me take one last look and compare the scanned one with the one in my hand. That is when I took notice.

 

The C012737-02, the scanned one on the site, has a large TM with normal text. The one in my hand has a small TM with bold text. I also happened to find on the NEW GAMES page the mention of Indy 800. The one on the site has "Indy 800.TM" and the one in my hand had "Indy800TM." They moved the period. I know, these are small differences, but so are many other variations on the site. And for me, it's a new variation that I'll keep both copies of the catalog.

 

What I noticed with the list of catalogs is that the other red 1978 was listed with a C0- while all the rest did not have this first hyphen. So I'm going to take a look at all my copies of the other red 1978 and see if there is any differences.

 

I'll get this red catalog posted within a day or two. I have to scan 24 pages, so that will take awhile, even with my scanning 2 pages per scan, I'll need 12 scans. I'm sure there may be another difference or two than what I've discovered, and keen eyes out there may discover it before I do. If you do, contact me so I can put more detailed info. Thanks.

 

Phil

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I think I was really tired when I said I was done with the boxes. I had put them in a few bags and sat them in my computer room. I went through over half, but somehow forgot about the others. And so I grabbed a couple and would you know it... I came across a new Night Driver box. This has the white warranty with the copyright date inside. I'll get this up sometime tomorrow. I got the 10 games and they smelled like cigarettes. I never learn to ask. I'll be going through those, though not in a rush. Don't think I'll come up with anything new in the way of variations, but I may get a little info to add to what is already there.

 

While looking at Hangman boxes on Ebay, I saw a new variation with the warranty box the same color as the box and copyright outside the box. Right now I'll include the listing on the page with the picture from Ebay, which is not a nice high quality scan but something to have on the site for now. Hopefully someone can help me out with this one.

 

Phil

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The new Night Driver box variation is now up and I've added it to the appropriate list on the general Atari page. Speaking of that, I haven't heard any feedback on what people thought of that page. I was actually thrilled in creating it and describing each of the box variations and which games had those variations. I will try and keep it updated whenever I run into a new variation.

 

Also, I'm going to be a little wacky, but you may see manuals being added sporadically under various companies. It's more of what I'm scanning to sell and don't want to lose it, so if I can complete a game with all manuals, I may just pop it on the site. Stampede is the example I'm referring to right now. It's the only Activision title with manuals on the site at the moment.

 

Phil

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Speaking of that, I haven't heard any feedback on what people thought of that page. I was actually thrilled in creating it and describing each of the box variations and which games had those variations. I will try and keep it updated whenever I run into a new variation.

 

I enjoyed reading through it right now. Your method of delivery is great, the information is concise and to the point. Very nice for someone like me who is up and at work way too early on a holiday :)

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Speaking of that, I haven't heard any feedback on what people thought of that page. I was actually thrilled in creating it and describing each of the box variations and which games had those variations.

 

If you check every post from now back you will see that one day I spent all my +1 on this thread because I like it so much. I think that counts as positive feedback.

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Thanks Schizo. I was actually referring to that specific page going into the Atari boxes in detail. I've been meaning to do more specifics with each company and even zoom in on areas of certain titles like I have done with others. I'm trying to make it easier on the collector who is looking for their variations without scratching their head. There were many times in the past when reading the list that I had no idea what the original creator meant by what he wrote and either I figured it out or deleted the entry.

 

I've been rather busy these past few days and have not had time to scan anything. That's the problem trying to juggle lots of things. I'm trying to finish putting up my few boxed Atari games for sale, scan manuals, scan or update boxes, put other stuff on Ebay, ship stuff that I sold, play the music at church (got sucked into this last month once again), have time for my wife, and now about to start substituting in school again since I couldn't get a full time job for the 4th year in a row.

 

All this and I have no money. Anyway, I'll post any updates. I have the stack of manuals ready to be scanned for M Network and would like to try and finish that section so I can move past it towards Parker Brothers. Parker Brothers will be fun as I have to scan sides and possibly top/bottom of the box to show the actual variation of the box. SW: ESB is listed with just a basic 2 piece box, but I have two versions, one Made in Taiwan, the other Hong Kong and one of the versions the right side of the box is printed up the box, the other is printed down.

 

I'd like to get to Sears as someone posted they were looking forward to it, but the scans out there are scarce and I have about 60% of the titles with a box in my personal collection, so I don't have much to work with. Anyone can help with this, please get in touch with me.

 

Phil

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There are no boxes and carts. I have a stack of manuals a few hundred deep. The only thing I can confirm is the white paper M Network manuals go to the white striped INTV boxes.

 

The problem I have is that you are relying on the fact that when a game comes complete to me, it has the original cartridge and manuals that came with that box. This may be true, but unless it was sealed, it can't be verified. I've had a few of the same boxes and totally different carts and/or manuals inside. So did they come like that, or were they married. I find boxes without carts or manuals in them all the time and make them complete if I have a loose cart or manual,

 

I'm also taking scans from Atari Age, User42 has given me many, and Atari Guide if I don't have them myself. I don't have time to keep scanning everything and need some short cuts.

 

You also are going to run into the problems of showing the manual in several variations if you can prove they came with them. I'll try to help out as much as I can, but at least 1/2 of my collection is sealed, so I'm not even looking at them. Some are unreachable as I have piles of stuff in front of them. We'll see how this works out.

 

Phil

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