How rare is a Coleco Ms. Pac-Man?

[Jumpman1981]

Hey All,

 

This Christmas I got a Coleco Ms. Pac-Man (and a Parker Bros Q*bert as an extra) and it got me thinking, "how rare is a Ms. Pac-Man Tabletop?"

everywhere I look online mentions about it being rare or uncommon.

 

If anyone can help me see if I've got a rare game or not, that would be appreciated.

 

Merry Christmas

[+cvga]

All of the Coleco tabletops seem rare. I don't know how Ms. Pac-man compares to the others but it seems like I've seen 4 or 5 Pac-man for every Ms. Pac-man I've run across. I'm lucky. I bought a Ms. Pac-man in great condition 20+ years ago for $5 at a flea market.

[Jumpman1981]

Thanks, cvga, I read somewhere that Ms. Pac-Man ​may​ be rarer is because "the joystick contacts wore out easier because it was so mass produced" although I highly doubt that is even a reason, it just sounds too stupid.

Edited December 26, 2016 by Jumpman1981

[Jumpman1981]

Well, now the scoreboard sometimes acts up when pressure is applied to the unit, must be a bad connection

[BassGuitari]

Well, now the scoreboard sometimes acts up when pressure is applied to the unit, must be a bad connection

Could just be a bad brand name, too. Coleco's record of reliability is pretty dismal compared to other game makers of the time.

 

I don't know what it is about Coleco products but almost literally every single Coleco item I own--or have ever owned--needed some work. Colecovision consoles, accessory controllers, the Gemini system, Telstar and Combat consoles, tabletop arcades like these, even LED handhelds, you name it. I never had an ADAM but I can almost guarantee that if I did, I'd have had to fix the tape drives, possibly the keyboard, and come up with a power supply solution.

 

The only Colecos I have that were always 100% trouble-free are my Telstar Alpha (ironically, since that was about the cheapest version they made), my Expansion Module #2 for Colecovision, and my Frogger tabletop...which has faded front decals and is, of course, missing the battery cover.

[Tanooki]

I have had a few of them over the years (3 technically 4) but not that one. I've had DK twice, Pac-Man and a DK Jr. I've seen it come up fairly regularly but in smaller numbers on ebay and elsewhere. It doesn't seem to get a whole lot more cash loose than some of the others, it's not up there like the oddball Zaxxon or the rebranded Game & Watch DKJr that go over $100.

 

If it's going odds are a contact maybe having a solder joint just crack/go cold over the decades if pressure flares it up as it's pushing something loose enough to act up...but I think I recall any of them can do it if you push hard enough as it's just cheaply made tabletop toys.

 

Currently I have a DK(had one in the past too) with the manual, Pac-Man, and the perma power pack I can use on them, wish I still had DK Jr. I've had a passing interest in Frogger and more so Galaxian but never pulled the trigger. I've had other brands too like Q-Bert and it had the same behavioral flaws so I don't think it's just Coleco being cheapskate by design unless Milton Bradley was being that ghetto too in construction. I'd just say be happy you have what you got, you get a couple fools going at it they get more expensive than they should be fast. Suddenly a $50 tabletop can hit $80 or something.

[jhd]

I seem to recall that Ms. Pac-Man was one of the later releases (Pac-Man and Frogger were in the first round) so it may have sold fewer units, in comparison.

[+save2600]

How rare is Coleco Ms. Pac-Man? Not rare at all... can always find several on eBay at any given time.

[Jumpman1981]

I don't know what it is about Coleco products but almost literally every single Coleco item I own--or have ever owned--needed some work.

 

I know what you mean, all my Coleco Mini Arcades have this weird problem where certain parts of the VFD flicker when a loud sound is played, Donkey Kong and Galaxian have a bad case of this and Ms. Pac-Man is starting to do the same (BTW: I fixed the scoreboard issue)

[Tanooki]

I think it's kind of normal for them to do that. It's just a cheaply made toy for the era not meant to really have well regulated power fed all over nor made to last 30+ years either. Since I last posted I was able to track down a complete in box Zaxxon for the price of the stand alone so I jumped at it. Wish it would get here, but the guy put it on the cheapest shipping choice possible and by the grace of really crap luck it seems it will be here March 3 (ie: Nintendo Switch day.) Ugh.

[Jess Ragan]

I had a Ms. Pac-Man that I fixed with parts from a regular Pac-Man. I eventually had to sell it (possibly to someone here at AtariAge, I dunno), which is a shame as it's a better game than the original. You don't get a lot of that awful droning in the background that you did with Coleco's first Pac-Man game. As for the price, I can believe it's pretty high... it did come later, during the video game crash, and everyone loves Ms. Pac-Man. Simple case of demand exceeding supply.

[Tanooki]

True enough on most the parts are very interchangeable so if you get something busted given the age, keep it. The internals with the wiring, the odd clicker metal plates for the joystick and buttons, the battery tabs and so on can be swapped. The only one that's a problem really is Zaxxon, nothing else to go by on that one unlike DK Jr which is a rebranding of multiple like to like Game & Watch tabletops.