Space Combat artwork color/quality variations

[Ballblaɀer]

Collecting all of the Atari/Sears cartridges with different* picture artwork has been one of my main 2600 collecting goals, since I'm a huge fan of the artwork itself. Recently, I bought a Space Combat cart from a local shop because I was pretty sure it had a nicer label than the one in my collection. When I got home and compared them, I confirmed that the new one was indeed nicer, but it wasn't just the condition of the label itself, i.e. less dirt/scratches/etc. The actual print quality of the artwork was better, and there were some minor differences in the print (old on left, new on right):

 

 

 

 

I can scan these if anyone's super interested, but I think even here it's clear enough that the one on the right has artwork with finer detail. The artwork on the left looks to be higher-contrast and less sharp overall. There's noticeably less blue color in the artwork on the right, and the artwork framing has also shifted slightly -- the old one shows more of the planet surface at the very bottom, the new one shows more of the planet up top. Most obvious, of course, is the different title text color. I've seen discussed here color variations for Sears versions of Defender, Yars' Revenge, and Pac-Man, but not Space Combat. Here are the end labels:

 

 

 

 

Slightly heavier font on the orange-text end label too, no? The stamped dates on them indicate that the red one was produced first (132), and the orange one months later (212). This red-then-orange release order seems to have also happened for the Defender and Yars' Revenge releases. Might the artwork on the orange versions of Defender & Yars also be a little sharper? I wonder if there was an intentional change made to the printing process to improve image quality, or if the quality variation here is simply "one of those things"...

 

I suppose many (most? ) of you find this of little consequence... but I always find it interesting to learn how many variations of these games made it to retail sale over the years!

 

 

*Focusing on unique artwork means I don't have to worry about finding a Sears pic label for Superman. But if anyone has a spare Basketball, Breakaway IV, Canyon Bomber, Gunslinger, Poker Plus, Pong Sports, or Race available... send me a PM!