Hyperboy Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 If this works, I want my Laser Blast patch! I never did get around to sending this in... That's f'n awesome you still have the pic! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Complete with dad's bowling trophies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo-Torch Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Nope, those were mine from the Saturday morning junior league. Here's another view where the score didn't turn out but I'm glad I have it as it shows the early stages of the addiction. I'm thinking late '81 (11 years old). The 2600 was my first big purchase and I must have mowed a million lawns and shoveled a ton a snow over 1 ½ years until I had the $$$ saved up. Oddly I can remember what store each of those games came from and how much I paid. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army Of 2600 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 That last pic exudes retro awesomeness. Love it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 green carpet, bowling trophies, wood grain twin dial tv, wood panel walls, atari? It may be the most retro home pic ever. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrogoober Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 green carpet, bowling trophies, wood grain twin dial tv, wood panel walls, atari? It may be the most retro home pic ever. IMO This pic should be hanging in a museum RETRO DEFINED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpei Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) Activision, Inc.2350 Bayshore Frontage RoadMountain View, CA 94043(415) 960-0410 Dear Pitfall Harry adventurer: Congratulations! You scored 20,000 or more points on Pitfall and have earned membership in Activision's Explorers Club. I'm proud of you--not every soldier of fortune has the courage and skill to tame the wild jungle. In permanent recognition of your special ability to find treasure despite snapping crocodiles and deadly scorpions, I've enclosed my official emblem. Your name will be added to our mailing list and from time to time, you will receive information about software from Activision currently available. Thanks for sharing your accomplishment with me and even though the Activision video game clubs will be discontinued, we hope you will continue to enjoy our products for the major home computers. Yours truly, [signature] Pitfall Harry, ExplorerP.S. We will continue to fulfill orders for patches, until the inventory is depleted/or until the expiration date for the video game clubs (6/1/85).P.P.S. Be sure to read the enclosed heat seal instructions carefully to avoid problems with either the patch or clothing. The patch may also be sewn to fabrics. Edited April 16, 2015 by gunpei 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Man... if Activision actually did start sending out patches again, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat. The only patch I ever sent in for back-in-the-day was Gravitar (through Atari Age magazine, of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey.shake Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) Ah, well... no response. That 6/1/85 thing in the letter seals the deal. I thought it was good for a laugh. You know, all in good fun. A tongue-in-cheek romp through nostalgia. But the deeper I go, the stranger it is. Here’s a giant company, whose most profitable product (CoD) hinges on it’s connectivity, on playing in the “public sphere”, so to speak. But the more I tried to find contact information for them, the more it would route me back to the same dead end. Few official responses to anything whatsoever (not just me) on social media... a forum that seems principally moderated by the users themselves... and no readily-available contact info for the press/marketing department. What if I were writing any other article on, say, the 33rd anniversary of a classic video game? I’m a journalist by trade, and most other companies have easily-accessible channels for press inquiries. But I feel like I’m in Dark City trying to find Shell Beach. “To contact us, use Facebook...” but there’s no way to message directly. Twitter? Same basic situation. Like they’re hiding something... like they don’t WANT us to find out more. Like they’re trying to look accessible but secretly concocting who-knows-what behind the lead curtain. It’s like some giant... conspiracy... [/facetious paranoia] I know, I know. Frankly, beyond the highly-unlikely, best-case scenario, I was figuring I’d get either a “Haha, cute. Sorry, we don’t do that anymore.” or even a “Buzz off!” email I could print out and put on the wall above my Atari. But an unreachable entity? A colossal recluse of a technology company in 2015? Now that’s a the kind of mystery that gets my journalistic instincts all riled up. Can somebody check to make sure they aren't Skynet? Regardless... Happy Birthday, Pitfall!, and I hope some of my Atari-lovin' bredren get their vine-swing on today! Thanks for the support! (And I'm pretty sure when I die, if I find some loophole and make it to Heaven, there will be a wood-panelled room just like that photo, with a VCS on the floor and a stack of games for me to play for eternity.) Edited April 20, 2015 by mikey.shake 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army Of 2600 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I was totally rooting for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Perhaps we all got the company name wrong, it should be Apathyvision? http://www.despair.com/apathy.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everklear Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 It does seem a bit odd that nobody there would take up the opportunity for some essentially free publicity and good will. Any kind of token gesture would do the job, especially if even a bit of thought went into it. Too bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 It does seem a bit odd that nobody there would take up the opportunity for some essentially free publicity and good will. Any kind of token gesture would do the job, especially if even a bit of thought went into it. Too bad. Not a lot of thought has gone into anything at Activision for a few years. They're still milking the same cash COD without any thought whatsoever on their part - or the lemmings who think they're the epitome of fantastic multiplayer game design. Must make ID feel good about themselves knowing that Activision have ripped off Quake Arena, a 15+ year old game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulBlazer Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Not a lot of thought has gone into anything at Activision for a few years. They're still milking the same cash COD without any thought whatsoever on their part - or the lemmings who think they're the epitome of fantastic multiplayer game design. Must make ID feel good about themselves knowing that Activision have ripped off Quake Arena, a 15+ year old game. To be fair, Activision is just selling the stuff, not making it. Most of the major gaming companies these days only do publishing -- they buy the rights to release a game from a smaller development company, slap their name on it, and ship it. Very few companies do both publishing AND developing of games. The three major exceptions I can think off are Konami (the Metal Gear series is done by a related but connected branch of the company in Japan), EA (which does their sports games in house under the EA Games brand) and Betheseda (the Elder Scroll games are developed in house). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 /\/\/\ Telltale? Nintendo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbeliever Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 If this works, I want my Laser Blast patch! I never did get around to sending this in... Oh my God. Reminds me of the "house" I lived in as a kid (An old 1968 mobile home, a.k.a. "trailer") that had the EXACT same wood paneling. The TV even looks familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo-Torch Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Oh my God. Reminds me of the "house" I lived in as a kid (An old 1968 mobile home, a.k.a. "trailer") that had the EXACT same wood paneling. The TV even looks familiar. 70s were a strange time. My parents remodeled the downstairs rec room and covered up all the nice drywall with that paneling...while the entire upstairs got shag carpet over all the the beautiful hardwood floors. Funny thing, I even have some pics of the remodel. I think most of my allowance went for film and processing back then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Well, just I've read the letter with the expiration date for patches, anyway I've tweet it https://twitter.com/nanochess/status/593191159674982401 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakasama Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Too bad Activision isn't the company that we knew back in the 80's. Now it's the company that owns Blizzard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellview17 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 That is the picture of the year......I thought I was looking at my house as a child.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey.shake Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 While it's true, even the merest acknowledgement would have meant the world to me in this silly quest, it's really seeing all the support and fun messages from the people who still love these old games that's meant the most to me. "You just might find you get what you need", says the old boomer adage. I wasn't even gonna comment, but this thread won't die, for better or worse. But does anyone else find it just a little bit silly that the expiration date for patches is in the letter... that they sent with the patches? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz321123 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) Atariage should have its own 'patch department' so to speak. They can pick up where Atari left off (um, like 30 years ago)... Someone needs to be in charge of validating high scores, and reproductions of the patches needs to be done I think it would be neat to see in the Atariage Store. You can buy a patch, but need to somehow prove your score The patches would be as close to the originals as possible. If you can't prove your score, then the patch will be slightly different colored, and on the back, in tiny text, it will say YOU SUCK! (in Atari font ofc) It will also cost 3 times more. Edited April 30, 2015 by kaz321123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillelr Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 you clearly deserve a patch great story 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spawnshop Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Fantastic!! I want this patch! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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