Unusual Dig Dug cartridge

[Ze_ro]

While at a local thrift store, I ended up picking up extra copies of Dig Dug and Jungle Hunt, expecting to trade them to a friend. However, after buying, I noticed that the Dig Dug cartridge used a different dust "skirt" than any of the other cartridges I'd seen! It's much like the kind used on the Spectravision cartridge, since you can push it in without sticking pins into the slots, and you can actually see the springs quite easily. Did Atari use this on any other cartridges? I have over 120 cartridges, and this is the only one like this.

 

On closer inspection of the cartridge itself, along with a brand new copy I had picked up from O'Shea's long ago (Which has no dust skirt whatsoever), I noticed that the front label is very slightly different. The no-dust-skirt cartridge says:

 

... while the cartridge with the strange dust skirt says:

 

"USE WITH JOYSTICK CONTROLLERS"

"C 1983 ATARI CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2677"

"*Dig Dug is created and designed by Namco Ltd"

"manufactured under liscense from Atari, Inc."

"Trademark and C Namco 1982"

 

(With no "Printed in..." on the label, and notice the copyright date... by the way, there is no 1983 Dig Dug in the AtariAge database)

 

I realize this is a very minor difference, and I plan on trading the cart away as soon as I can... but the strange dust skirt on this thing puzzles me.

 

(What are these things called anyways? Dust skirt sounds stupid)

 

--Zero

[atari70s]

i dont know what they are called but i havea a few like that from my 594 total carts ( 400+ 2600carts. Mario Bros stand out for this . im not sure what else there are i think space invaders might have not sure but Mario im sure on.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

These are classic re-releases from the Revival era...I have several 86 copyright carts with this skirt. In fact..my new T & F I just got today has this skirt..but the lable says 84? Anyway, I have a Krull like this and now this new T & F.

 

By the way...here is a pic of that T & F which is now my most rare cart in my small 2600 collection.

 

Track and Field Cart (It rocks!!!)

[Heavy Sixer]

Here's the history of the Atari dust shield/endpiece (or whatever you want to call it), based on my observations:

 

Atari's original design was the well-known spring door endpiece that requires tabs to open. These can be found on all Atari/Sears carts made from 1977 to 1982.

 

Starting in 1983, the endpiece was changed to a wide, open slot instead of a door. Apparently, this new style began to appear on some Atari silver label carts in 1983. All of the older black label carts and some of the silver label carts retained the old style, however. Slot endpieces became more common in 1984 and 1985.

 

In 1986, Atari ditched the door style (although a few carts with 1986 copyrights, such as Taz, were made with the door endpiece) and began releasing all its games with only the slot endpiece, including the re-released black label carts. BTW, I have an interesting variation on a 1986 Solaris cart which looks just like the door endpiece minus the flip-up door; it's not a single wide slot like the others, although the endpiece freely slides in and out of the cart. That is to say, the slot is just wide enough for the circuit board, and there are open tab holes on either side. Sort of a hybrid...

 

Later in 1986, Atari eliminated the endpiece altogether, leaving the circuit board exposed. (I have a 1986 Flag Capture with the open end.) AFAIK, all Atari carts made from this point on have open ends.

 

Some titles can be found with multiple styles of endpieces. For example, I have Battlezone carts with all three styles. The endpiece doesn't really affect the rarity of a cart, but it can be useful in determining the approximate period of time during which the cart was manufactured.

 

These are just my observations; if anyone has more info (or if I've made a mistake), please let us know.

 

HEAVY***6***er

(A veritable font of entirely useless and utterly inane knowledge and detailed minutiae)

[Ze_ro]

Ah, interesting... I've never seen the dust shield history summed up so well ... come to think of it, I don't think I've seen the dust shield history summed up at all! Personally, I've always liked the dust shields... maybe it's because of the whole "springiness" of the cartridge slot, but who knows. I can easily understand Atari getting rid of them though, as I'm sure it lowered production costs at least a little.

 

--Zero