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04 space combat - What the dilly?


RecycledGamer

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My guess is that the label underneith is either Combat or one of these...

 

(If it indeed is one of these labels, it may mean that this cart has a proto board inside, I would pop it onto a digital scale and weigh it.)

964768[/snapback]

 

Interesting thought - I'll weigh it as soon as I get back in town. and report back.

 

Chuck

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I would be extremely surprised if it's a legit pre-/early-production Atari "space combat" label on top of a familiar 1978 "space war" label. That scenario just doesn't make any sense. I'm thinking CPUWIZ might be right about it being a proto label underneath, or perhaps another different earlier version of the label we can see (maybe with an error, or having some other different layout, color, or other issue that Atari decided to change.) It's also possible that it's a simple goof, with 2 of the same label on the cart.

 

One thing I notice about the visible label, is that the "game program" text is too large, forcing the "™" to be above, instead of above and to the right of the final "m". The proto label CPUWIZ shows above is apparently from a later time when this layout issue was corrected. I don't know if this is significant or not.

Edited by A.J. Franzman
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I would be extremely surprised if it's a legit pre-/early-production Atari "space combat" label on top of a familiar 1978 "space war" label. That scenario just doesn't make any sense. I'm thinking CPUWIZ might be right about it being a proto label underneath, or perhaps another different earlier version of the label we can see (maybe with an error, or having some other different layout, color, or other issue that Atari decided to change.)

 

One thing I notice about the visible label, is that the "game program" text is too large, forcing the "™" to be above, instead of above and to the right of the final "m". The proto label CPUWIZ shows above is apparently from a later time when this layout issue was corrected. I don't know if this is significant or not.

965204[/snapback]

 

If the label is real maybe that was the/a original working name of the game--and one considered as the issue title to get the name on this label. The programmer isn't listed in the AA database to ask that question.

 

I think the original 9 titles all have the TM above that m on the top, but not later labels.

Edited by Atari Rescue Group
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So is the general consensus on this thing is that it is genuine? It just strikes me as strange that the moment it is identified the owner tells everyone it is going to be available on Ebay. This could be like the Space Mission thread and possibly too good to be true ;)

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My guess is that the label underneith is either Combat or one of these...

 

(If it indeed is one of these labels, it may mean that this cart has a proto board inside, I would pop it onto a digital scale and weigh it.)

964768[/snapback]

 

Interesting thought - I'll weigh it as soon as I get back in town. and report back.

 

Chuck

964896[/snapback]

 

So how much does it weigh?

 

In my opinion it's still not a real label variation. A two-digit number on an incomplete label with a Sears title don't jive.

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In my opinion it's still not a real label variation. A two-digit number on an incomplete label with a Sears title don't jive.

 

There is a logical explaination. Space Combat was probably the original title, as Atari may have feared that Space War was copyrighted. Once they got everything straightned out, they probably gave Sears use of the alternative title. If this were the case, then this is probably a pre-production sample of some type. Of course this is all just theory and speculation...

 

Tempest

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In my opinion it's still not a real label variation. A two-digit number on an incomplete label with a Sears title don't jive.

 

There is a logical explaination. Space Combat was probably the original title, as Atari may have feared that Space War was copyrighted. Once they got everything straightned out, they probably gave Sears use of the alternative title. If this were the case, then this is probably a pre-production sample of some type. Of course this is all just theory and speculation...

 

Tempest

966037[/snapback]

 

I completely agree with that. I think it's genuine unless the underneath label turned out to be a released Space War one with a later label style. Pre-production sample yes, but still not a label variation (that's collectible).

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So how much does it weigh?

966026[/snapback]

 

Bare cart weight = 2.5 oz. / 70 grams

 

My scale is digital, but only shows 1/4 oz/5g increments.

 

Crunchy will tell you all about it later this week, I'm sure.

 

Chuck

966278[/snapback]

 

I just weighed two carts -- one a regular Atari 2 digit cart ("11 Indy 500") that weighs 2.3 oz, and a loaner cart I got from Tempest which weighs 3.1 oz. I'm guessing that prototypes were sometimes different weights as they were made with different board/chip combinations.

 

Crunchysuperman can hopefully weigh it again to get a more exact weight.

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I just weighed two carts -- one a regular Atari 2 digit cart ("11 Indy 500") that weighs 2.3 oz, and a loaner cart I got from Tempest which weighs 3.1 oz. I'm guessing that prototypes were sometimes different weights as they were made with different board/chip combinations.

966429[/snapback]

 

What game was the loaner cart?

 

I'd expect one of three things for a cart of that vintage:

 

-1- For a 2K or 4K production game, a single 24-pin DIP

 

-2- For a 2K prototype, a 24-pin DIP and a 14-pin DIP

 

-3- For a 4K prototype, two 24-pin DIPs and a 14-pin DIP

 

Spacewar/Space Combat is 2K.

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I would venture to guess that this is a "marketing" prototype, not necessarily a game prototype. Makes sense that they would consider Space Combat since Combat has tanks and planes -- why not space ships? Perhaps it was even planned to be on the same cartridge as Combat, but with the variations they just ran out of room. So Space Combat was born.

 

Of course not too long afterwards you got to think that someone decided that having two cartridges with similar names in a limited initial release of seven games (or whatever was immediately available) might not be the smartest move from a marketing standpoint.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is based on a semi-coin-op, is it not? I remember playing it as a kid before Atari came out - vector graphics like Asteroids with a small but gravitationally-strong sun in the middle... was this called Space War too? Who made it? Come to think of it, wasn't it the Enterprise vs. a Klingon ship?

 

~G

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