Jump to content
IGNORED

Mattel Aquarius Rally Driver...


the-topdog

Recommended Posts

Is it just me, or has Aquarius stuff been getting a lot more expensive on eBay recently? Only a few months ago, you could find a complete system (computer, Mini-Expander, and a few games) in decent shape for something like $30 shipped.

 

No, it is not just you... you get the greedy people who list an Aquarius for sale for $199 and other people see this and think "Oh, so that is what they are worth." then price theirs at $99 for a "quick sale" and everyone wonders why they are not selling.

 

A CIB Aquarius is worth about $25 a CIB mini expander $20 and a CIB data recorder $15 And package deals are worth around $30-50

 

Game cartridges are all over the board due to the large number of R7-R10 cartridges they can go from around $9 for Nightstalker to $90-120 for a Burgertime or Melody Blaster to $150-200 for a Zero-In or Space Speller.

 

Tapes generally sell for between $15-$40 depending on the title. Tho tapes are harder to find in the states since most of them were released overseas.

 

All the people targeting the "gotta have it now" impulse buyers are ruining the Aquarius platform for the true collectors.

 

Ok... so how do I get down off my soapbox? this thing is up here pretty high... I'm scared........ hold me :P

Edited by the-topdog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it just me, or has Aquarius stuff been getting a lot more expensive on eBay recently? Only a few months ago, you could find a complete system (computer, Mini-Expander, and a few games) in decent shape for something like $30 shipped.

 

There has been a legitimate rise in popularity recently with the introduction of the multi-cart for the Aquarius... but that has just boosted pricing by like 10%... I can't remember who that person is tho... any ideas as to who he is Jay? :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There has been a legitimate rise in popularity recently with the introduction of the multi-cart for the Aquarius... but that has just boosted pricing by like 10%... I can't remember who that person is tho... any ideas as to who he is Jay? :D

Heh ... I'm not egotistical enough to think that my humble little project was responsible. :D

 

Then again, I did stock up on a few extra systems (and a whole lot of cartridges for shell donors) when they were still fairly inexpensive, because I suspected something like this might happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While discussing the Aquarius... With the Multicart pending release soon. Has an A/V mod for RCA style outs ever been worked out?

The Aquarius uses the same RF modulator as the Intellivision II, so I'm sure you could adapt one of the free Intellivision mod designs for the Aquarius. I tried it once, and it worked, but I wasn't happy with the video quality I got (there were lots of vertical streaks). That was an issue with the mod itself, though; it didn't look any better on the Intellivision.

 

My next project will probably be an Aquarius video upgrade, which will combine composite and S-Video outputs with my SuperFont upgrade for reprogrammable characters. I'll need to have SuperFont in particular for some of the Aquarius cartridge games that I want to do. Since the Aquarius's character generator outputs TTL-level RGB, it might even be possible to use a D2A converter and encoder to create VGA-compatible output (if the scan rates are compatible), but I'm still researching it so I don't know for certain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ummmmm ok... eBay Auction -- Item Number: 1206267261201?ff3=2&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&item=120626726120&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER] (not mine)

 

Insane pricing but if you are looking for one.

 

Are any of those tape games for the Aquarius any good? I was just used to playing the carts.... Also were these released in the states here? Don't ever recall seeing them for sale in any publications or anything.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow. I skipped over tapes a few years ago for a couple of pounds each. And I picked up my Burgertime for about $5 and the whole system in box with mini expander for $30.

 

Yeah, I give it 3-4 months before these fairweather sellers start realizing that people are not buying at these artificially inflated prices and the Aquarius market starts to settle back to normal again.

 

Awesome deal on the Burgertime tho!

Edited by the-topdog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are any of those tape games for the Aquarius any good? I was just used to playing the carts.... Also were these released in the states here? Don't ever recall seeing them for sale in any publications or anything.....

 

Some of the tapes are great, some, not so great. The tapes had extremely low exposure in the States since the 3rd party market hit after Radofin procured the system from Mattel after only 4 months on the market. So, though there were a few released here, the preponderance of the tape games were released overseas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are any of those tape games for the Aquarius any good? I was just used to playing the carts.... Also were these released in the states here? Don't ever recall seeing them for sale in any publications or anything.....

 

Some of the tapes are great, some, not so great. The tapes had extremely low exposure in the States since the 3rd party market hit after Radofin procured the system from Mattel after only 4 months on the market. So, though there were a few released here, the preponderance of the tape games were released overseas.

 

TD, what's the best tape game for the Aquarius?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've never seen a tape game before in 'person'.. Or in an emu. Is there a listing somewhere?

 

You can download the Virtual Aquarius Emulator and the Millypede tape here http://aquariuscomputer.tripod.com/ there are a bunch of CAQ files online that can be played on the emulator... but, of course, it is not 1/2 as fun as playing on the actual hardware.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a page someplace with a listing and screenshots of the cassette games that were available?

 

Martin has the best collection of Aquarius tape game screenshots but it is not a complete list... Judging by the various tapes I have seen on different websites, I'd say the third party library for the Aquarius is around 50-60 tapes.

 

EDIT: DOH! Once again Jay beats me by mere moments :D

Edited by the-topdog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Martin has the best collection of Aquarius tape game screenshots but it is not a complete list... Judging by the various tapes I have seen on different websites, I'd say the third party library for the Aquarius is around 50-60 tapes.

 

EDIT: DOH! Once again Jay beats me by mere moments :D

Yeah, but I think you were more helpful; I didn't realize there were that many third-party releases on cassette. I was under the impression that the Aquarius was about as unpopular overseas as it was here in the States, with the Sinclair and MSX machines dominating the inexpensive Z80-based computer market in Europe in particular.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Martin has the best collection of Aquarius tape game screenshots but it is not a complete list... Judging by the various tapes I have seen on different websites, I'd say the third party library for the Aquarius is around 50-60 tapes.

 

EDIT: DOH! Once again Jay beats me by mere moments :D

Yeah, but I think you were more helpful; I didn't realize there were that many third-party releases on cassette. I was under the impression that the Aquarius was about as unpopular overseas as it was here in the States, with the Sinclair and MSX machines dominating the inexpensive Z80-based computer market in Europe in particular.

 

I guess I shouldn't have said "tapes" I should have said titles.

 

There were at least 4 separate third party companies or individuals that released Aquarius tape games... I'm just making an educated guess that each company/individual had 8-12 titles in their libraries for the Aquarius. I just wish that there was a complete listing somewhere, but as you know, Aqaurius information is spotty and incomplete out there.

 

Here is a poster listing tapes from just one of the companies, AddOn Electronics, 20 titles and 4 game packs with 16 titles (there were a couple doubles). So for AddOn alone there were over 30 titles.

post-24636-128578047597_thumb.jpg

Edited by the-topdog
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's interesting. It's really too bad we didn't see any third-party cartridge games, but I guess cartridges would have been too expensive to produce.

 

Actually... there WAS one third party cartridge :D That ever elusive pain in our butts, impossible to find a manual for, Zero In! It was released by ECICO Electronics for Radofin.

 

It shocked me when we finally located the Zero In manual yesterday and it was branded "ECICO Electronics".

 

I'm sure Radofin just licensed it, but it was interesting to see a third-party name printed on the manual. It is the only cartridge game that did so.

post-24636-12857849123_thumb.jpg

Edited by the-topdog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually... there WAS one third party cartridge :D That ever elusive pain in our butts, impossible to find a manual for, Zero In! It was released by ECICO Electronics for Radofin.

 

It shocked me when we finally located the Zero In manual yesterday and it was branded "ECICO Electronics".

 

I'm sure Radofin just licensed it, but it was interesting to see a third-party name printed on the manual. It is the only cartridge game that did so.

I noticed that, too, when I first saw the Zero In cover yesterday afternoon (I think I mentioned it to you in a PM, actually). Is that the same company that produced the version of the Aquarius with Arabic characters on the keyboard?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...