Getting my Atari history straight

[Dauber]

Okay, someone's history is wrong...and this is just driving me crazy.

 

I KNOW my brother and I got our 4-switcher for Christmas in 1982.

 

How do I know? Because I was in third grade at the time. I know that because in the third grade I had a friend I used to trade Atari games with, and he moved away the following summer and he didn't return to my school for fourth grade.

 

I also received a vinyl copy of Thriller on Christmas morning that year. I had opened it AFTER my brother and I opened the Atari system. I remember looking at the track listing and thinking, "Oh, he did ANOTHER song with Paul McCartney??" At that point I had heard of "Say, Say, Say" but not "The Girl Is Mine." (Also I was so ignorant at the time that no, I didn't know that Paul McCartney was a Beatle, nor did I even know about Wings...I thought he was "that dopey white guy from England.")

 

And on the following Mother's Day -- this was 1983 -- my mom and grandmother went out shopping together, and my grandmother had bought me Ms. Pac-Man, which I distinctly remember was brand new at the time. Nobody I knew owned it. For once, I was the FIRST kid around to have something! Yet, the rarity guide here sez it came out in....1982?! WTF??

 

And what's REALLY driving me crazy...."Say, Say, Say" wasn't released as a single until 1983...WHA?! How the heck did I know it then??? Apparently it was RECORDED in 1981, so maybe that's how...maybe the video came out before the single, or the single was released to radio well before it hit stores...I dunno....

[mattbuc16]

Okay, someone's history is wrong...and this is just driving me crazy.

 

I KNOW my brother and I got our 4-switcher for Christmas in 1982.

 

How do I know? Because I was in third grade at the time. I know that because in the third grade I had a friend I used to trade Atari games with, and he moved away the following summer and he didn't return to my school for fourth grade.

 

I also received a vinyl copy of Thriller on Christmas morning that year. I had opened it AFTER my brother and I opened the Atari system. I remember looking at the track listing and thinking, "Oh, he did ANOTHER song with Paul McCartney??" At that point I had heard of "Say, Say, Say" but not "The Girl Is Mine." (Also I was so ignorant at the time that no, I didn't know that Paul McCartney was a Beatle, nor did I even know about Wings...I thought he was "that dopey white guy from England.")

 

And on the following Mother's Day -- this was 1983 -- my mom and grandmother went out shopping together, and my grandmother had bought me Ms. Pac-Man, which I distinctly remember was brand new at the time. Nobody I knew owned it. For once, I was the FIRST kid around to have something! Yet, the rarity guide here sez it came out in....1982?! WTF??

 

And what's REALLY driving me crazy...."Say, Say, Say" wasn't released as a single until 1983...WHA?! How the heck did I know it then??? Apparently it was RECORDED in 1981, so maybe that's how...maybe the video came out before the single, or the single was released to radio well before it hit stores...I dunno....

 

According to the link below, Ms. Pac-Man was released in February of 1983.

http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-history-1983.html

 

Maybe the Paul McCartney duet you were thinking of was "Ebony and Ivory", with Stevie Wonder.

[Rom Hunter]

According to the link below, Ms. Pac-Man was released in February of 1983.

http://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-history-1983.html

I think so too.

 

[tz101]

Moby Games, Video-Game-Central, Gamespot and Gamefaqs claim a 1982 release date for Ms. Pac Man on the VCS console.

 

Gamespy goes so far as to list an actual release date of July 5, 1982 (US).

 

Me thinks Random Terrain may be wrong on this one.

[tz101]

Date on this label is 1982.

 

Edited November 6, 2010 by tz101

[Rik]

Got me thinking how those were the good times Dauber!Thriller was such an awesome album, especially on Halloween.It was really special back then because of the obvious reason of it being new!

Edited November 6, 2010 by Rik

[tz101]

This link says, "Say, Say, Say" was released in October 1983. Over a year after Ms. Pac Man released for the VCS.

[ApolloBoy]

Date on this label is 1982.

 

The copyright date isn't always the same as the release date.

[+batari]

Disregard - I thought we were talking about Pac-Man

Edited November 6, 2010 by batari

[Miss 2600]

Uh, that newspaper article is for Pac-Man not Ms. Pac-Man.

 

Edit: Oops, I wasn't quick enough.

Edited November 6, 2010 by Miss 2600

[R.Cade]

I've tried to piece together time periods for childhood memories, too. It's tough and your memory plays tricks on you.

 

There is a lab loaner of Ms. Pac-Man as late as 9/20/83, if that means anything. I think 1982 is wrong, probably.

 

http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/mspacman/mspacproto.htm

 

Also, the catalog says expected delivery was February, 1983. For sure it was probably released a little later than that.

 

http://www.atariage.com/catalog_page.html?CatalogID=57&currentPage=6

Edited November 7, 2010 by R.Cade

[tz101]

Would Albert Yarusso know? AA lists release date of 1982 for Ms. Pac Man, see here.

[cobra429]

Thats the date that the game was designed, not the actual date that it was finished. It did come out in spring of 1983, tho the programming was worked on in 1982 and 1983. Look at Ghostbusters from Activision and you will see the date 1984 on the cartridge but the game when turned on clearly shows 1984-1985. The game was started in 1984 but finished at the time it was 1985.

[+Psionic]

Moby Games, Video-Game-Central, Gamespot and Gamefaqs claim a 1982 release date for Ms. Pac Man on the VCS console.

 

Gamespy goes so far as to list an actual release date of July 5, 1982 (US).

As if any of those sites are reputable souces for info about anything, much less the ship date of a game that was released long before internet sites were tracking such things.

 

In any event...2600 Ms. Pac-Man was reviewed in the July 1983 issue of JoyStik magazine, for whatever that's worth.

[Mr Oni]

Well this seems like a good title for what my question is. I have a heavy sixer I just aquired the serial number is 26 thousand something its in the basement right now. Anyway it says made in taiwan on the bottom and this websites history does not mention any being made in taiwan on the first year. I have another heavy sixer which is made in sunnyvale and its a later serial number. Also the taiwanese one has a channel select switch on the bottom. Does anyone know what gives?

[A.J. Franzman]

As if any of those sites are reputable souces for info about anything, much less the ship date of a game that was released long before internet sites were tracking such things.

 

In any event...2600 Ms. Pac-Man was reviewed in the July 1983 issue of JoyStik magazine, for whatever that's worth.

Hmmm, I know that magazine issues are often published and delivered a month or two before their cover dates, and of course all the writing and layout must be completed before then, so I would guess that for a review published in the July issue, the author would have had to have the cartridge by April or so. Seems kind of late for a February game release. After all, don't the game publishers want the reviews in the minds of the players a little before, or at the same time, that the product hits the shelves? Isn't that why many so-called "prototype" cartridges are actually magazine preview copies?

Edited November 7, 2010 by A.J. Franzman

[+Psionic]

As if any of those sites are reputable souces for info about anything, much less the ship date of a game that was released long before internet sites were tracking such things.

 

In any event...2600 Ms. Pac-Man was reviewed in the July 1983 issue of JoyStik magazine, for whatever that's worth.

Hmmm, I know that magazine issues are often published and delivered a month or two before their cover dates, and of course all the writing and layout must be completed before then, so I would guess that for a review published in the July issue, the author would have had to have the cartridge by April or so. Seems kind of late for a February game release. After all, don't the game publishers want the reviews in the minds of the players a little before, or at the same time, that the product hits the shelves? Isn't that why many so-called "prototype" cartridges are actually magazine preview copies?

Hard to say really, but you have to keep in mind that things were not kept nearly so up-to-date back then as today. Several video game related publications existed back then, but most were not published on a monthly basis. I found a dealer ad in another mag from April '83 listing Ms. Pac-Man for sale, so it seems it was available at least as early as Q2 of 1983.

 

A February release is not implausible, I suppose.

[Dauber]

I also received a vinyl copy of Thriller on Christmas morning that year. I had opened it AFTER my brother and I opened the Atari system. I remember looking at the track listing and thinking, "Oh, he did ANOTHER song with Paul McCartney??" At that point I had heard of "Say, Say, Say" but not "The Girl Is Mine." (Also I was so ignorant at the time that no, I didn't know that Paul McCartney was a Beatle, nor did I even know about Wings...I thought he was "that dopey white guy from England.")

 

*snip*

 

And what's REALLY driving me crazy...."Say, Say, Say" wasn't released as a single until 1983...WHA?! How the heck did I know it then??? Apparently it was RECORDED in 1981, so maybe that's how...maybe the video came out before the single, or the single was released to radio well before it hit stores...I dunno....

 

According to the link below, Ms. Pac-Man was released in February of 1983.

http://www.randomter...story-1983.html

 

Maybe the Paul McCartney duet you were thinking of was "Ebony and Ivory", with Stevie Wonder.

 

Believe it or not, I somehow got through all of the '80s without (knowingly) even HEARING "Ebony And Ivory" (but I absolutely knew about its existence) but I do distinctly remembering hearing the "hoo hoo hoo say say say" fadeout before I actually owned a copy of Thriller. But that's all I heard, and now that I remember, it was on the radio...I'm wondering if somehow a copy was advanced long before the official release, as the song was indeed recorded long before it was released...

 

Regarding, btw, the JoyStik review -- one thing to consider is that it was the July 1983 issue...in magazine publishing, the date on the issue is of course not when the stuff was written or issued, but it's actually an expiration date. (An exception I can think of, ironically, is 2600, whose issue date is actually the date the issue was indeed released!) Could be that the July '83 issue was already on newsstands, or at least in the hands of subscribers, in May '83...

Edited November 7, 2010 by Dauber

[mattbuc16]

Seems that clearly the release date here is incorrect. It's spring '83.

[tz101]

Moby Games, Video-Game-Central, Gamespot and Gamefaqs claim a 1982 release date for Ms. Pac Man on the VCS console.

 

Gamespy goes so far as to list an actual release date of July 5, 1982 (US).

As if any of those sites are reputable souces for info about anything, much less the ship date of a game that was released long before internet sites were tracking such things.

 

In any event...2600 Ms. Pac-Man was reviewed in the July 1983 issue of JoyStik magazine, for whatever that's worth.

 

As if your opinion is a valid source of info about anything, much less the ship date of a game from the early 1980's.

 

All I was getting at was that 5 sites plus AA say 1982, and RT says 1983. There is normally a tendency to believe the majority.

[tz101]

Seems that clearly the release date here is incorrect. It's spring '83.

 

"Clearly" to who, Random Terrain? Wow, I am so glad you have presented the facts...

[+Psionic]

As if your opinion is a valid source of info about anything, much less the ship date of a game from the early 1980's.

Only problem is that it's not my "opinion", it's a fact backed up with evidence from 1983, not referenced from modern websites with little to no credibility.

 

And for the record, the AA database (which hasn't been updated in over 5 years) is not a credible source for much of anything.

 

Regardless, if you look at the entry for Ms. Pac-Man, the year of release is actually blank (marked "n/a")...

http://www.atariage.com/software_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=320

 

The '1982' notation next to the game's title is a reference to the label variation, not the date of release. Next time, get your facts straight before you start mouthing off.

 

There is normally a tendency to believe the majority.

Which is stupid, and which is why a considerable portion of the information on the internet is totally wrong. Someone puts something on a website somewhere, and a dozen other lamebrain people copy the information, whether it's correct or not. I don't listen to "the majority", I listen to people who know what the hell they're talking about.

[+batari]

I searched news archives in 1982 looking for ads, and there were none that said Ms. Pac Man was for sale. However, here is an ad dated Dec. 10, 1982 that clearly states that Ms. Pac Man is not yet available but will be released in Feb, 1983.

Link

 

Searching in Jan. 1983 yielded no results. Searching in Feb. 1983 yielded ads indicating the game was available (and implied it was recently released):

link

link

 

So all of those gaming websites are clearly wrong.

Edited November 7, 2010 by batari

[The Usotsuki]

There is normally a tendency to believe the majority.

Which is stupid, and which is why a considerable portion of the information on the internet is totally wrong. Someone puts something on a website somewhere, and a dozen other lamebrain people copy the information, whether it's correct or not. I don't listen to "the majority", I listen to people who know what the hell they're talking about.

 

I call it "lemmingism". A single source is copied to every other site on the topic, and no verification is done of the information.

[OldAtarian]

I didn't know that Paul McCartney was a Beatle, nor did I even know about Wings...I thought he was "that dopey white guy from England.

 

 

For this alone you should be shot.