Activision cart art vs blue label, why?

[atarilovesyou]

I'm sure someone will say because of costs, but how much money would Avtivision really save when they decided to change their 2600 cartridge art to that lame blue label?...that oddly still Actiplaques just as bad as the originals? I guess they were saving money on glue too?

 

Vs the original Atari carts, with the very functional text, like Combat...replaced by cool art, like Battlezone...only to return to a crossroads, using cool art but only three colours, like Solaris.

 

Anybody have the real story?

[mr_me]

Activision wasn't the same company. Management changed, profits turned to losses. The Atari 2600 became a budget system with new cartridges selling for less than half what they once did.

[BassGuitari]

The blue label games were re-releases that appeared in 1988--when the Atari 2600 was the very definition of "budget system"--and had literally zero to do with Actiplaque. They were just cheaper to print, and a cheap way for Activision to wring a few extra bucks out of their 2600 back catalog. Simple as that.

 

Also note that the only red-label Atari Corp. games with b/w artwork (IIRC) were Solaris, Jr. Pac-Man, and Midnight Magic. Every other one had color artwork.

[atarilovesyou]

But can anybody speak to how much they really could have been saving per unit by switching labels? It seems like the print stock is the same, just less colours.

 

I wasn't aware that Activision started doing this in 88, I thought it was earlier. Just about every sealed 2600 game I bought in the 2000s have the alternate sticker. As far as I can tell, is there any way to know what label a sealed cart may have? Is there a 1988 manufacturing stamp or something in the box?

[pacman000]

Multi-Color labels would've required a separate plate for each color. At the very least they'd need 4 plates, one for each of the primary colors, plus one for black. Then each color layer would have to line up correctly; get one layer a millimeter off & you've ruined a batch of labels.

[BassGuitari]

But can anybody speak to how much they really could have been saving per unit by switching labels? It seems like the print stock is the same, just less colours.

You just answered your own question.

 

I wasn't aware that Activision started doing this in 88, I thought it was earlier. Just about every sealed 2600 game I bought in the 2000s have the alternate sticker. As far as I can tell, is there any way to know what label a sealed cart may have? Is there a 1988 manufacturing stamp or something in the box?

I don't think there is. Maybe on one of the inside flaps/folds (never thought to check, honestly), but I don't recall any updated copyright info on them--even the carts themselves retain the original dates, which is probably what lead to some confusion as to when they actually came out (a Golden Rule of Classic Videogame Archaeology that I've learned over the years: Never take copyright dates at face value. ). What is on your boxes?

 

BTW in case you're interested, this is where I got the 1988 date from:

 

"Classic Atari 2600 Games Revived by Activision

Activision has recently re-released some classic Atari 2600 games of their own, plus some titles originally done by Imagic. The newly added titles are THE ACTIVISION DECATHLON, ROBOT TANK, ATLANTIS, DEMON ATTACK, and MOONSWEEPER. These games are distributed primarily to nationwide toy store chains, such as Toys 'R' Us and Kaybee Toys."

(Computer Entertainer, Feb. 1988)

 

I assume this refers to the blue label cartridges since the Imagic titles are also mentioned.

[HoshiChiri]

But can anybody speak to how much they really could have been saving per unit by switching labels? It seems like the print stock is the same, just less colours.

Exactly- I mean, you've bought printer ink, right?