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DesertJets

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    ABQ, NM
  • Currently Playing
    Klax on Handy, Solaris (2600), Empire Strikes Back (2600), SEGA GT (Dreamcast), Sims 2

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  1. So I shouldn't get my hopes up of finding a Switch on the cheap.
  2. Zelda hands down. BOTW is the killer app for the Switch and this is coming from somebody that has never played any Zelda title before now.
  3. I sort of do, but I think it was dumb logic. It is sort of along the lines of "we have a warehouse full of stuff that we need to get rid of because it is not selling, so lets spend $x to develop an updated device we can sell at KMart and ToysRUs." Being totally speculative I am wondering if the low end of the home computer market circa 86-87 was really kind of going away -- with the much larger Commodore customer base holding onto what was left. There was a reason that Kmart, Penney's, Ward's, etc weren't selling home computers any more. Leave the low end of the market to Commodore and Tandy and really push this awesome product you have in the ST. Frankly I don't think Atari was a big enough, and profitable enough, company at the time to be supporting (and really marketing) all those platforms.
  4. That video was painfully 80s. I was expecting the 80s guy from Futurama to be featured at some point. What completely stuck out at me was the emphasis on being cheaper than the competition. Which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but I think now with the benefit of hindsight meant that Atari wasn't really developing and pushing their platforms to be as competitive as possible and making sure the software they published was as good as possible as well. The other thing that jumps out was how many platforms they were supporting and developing for. I am at the point where I get the decision to repackage and keep the 2600. And I am sorta ok with the repacking and continuation of the 8-bit line, Commodore and Tandy did the same. But still, and as much as I enjoyed my XEGS, I still cannot justify the the XEGS's existence. The focus should have been the 7800 for the video game market and the ST line for the home computer market. I never knew Atari made, or at least planned, to make an PC clone. Did that ever make it to market?
  5. My GF's cousin is visiting and she brought her Switch with her. Now before this I think she wanted a new console to replace or supplant the PS3 and for whatever reason wanted an XBox One. I was sort of tempted to get one for XMAS seeing how cheap the S was, but nothing in the game library appealed. But then the Switch came into our living room. Mario Kart 8 is great and almost good enough on its own to justify buying a new console. But I saw and began playing Zelda.... holy crap. Never played any Zelda game before, never felt compelled to play one even with watching the GF play Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask on the N64. Zelda justifies the Switch by itself hands down. If there ends up being say a half dozen big titles that are must haves plus a handful of solid indie or eshop titles then I think the system is fine.
  6. I don't think there has ever been a game like The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild, that has so convincingly sold me on wanting a new console. And this is coming from somebody who never was a Zelda fan, at all.

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. DesertJets

      DesertJets

      Probably save, but hoping the other half buys it first.

       

    3. Flojomojo

      Flojomojo

      If you wanted to get it cheap ... Target is doing buy one get one on Wii U games, and Gamestop has the console for just over $100.

    4. retrorussell

      retrorussell

      I felt that way about Soul Blade for the PSX.

  7. Surprised this one wasn't mentioned but I like California Games.
  8. I've started watching the current season of Rick and Morty.A lot of the reviews thatI see say it is brillant, deep and profound. And maybe I am just too old or need to start watching from S1 E1, but I don't get that. Yeah and is funny and clever than pretty much any adult oriented cartoon on right now -- but I think some of the praise it gets is WAAY OTP.

    1. Show previous comments  7 more
    2. Hydro Thunder

      Hydro Thunder

      I think it's ok... but I would vote Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall, Steven Universe, Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Dexter's Lab, We Bare Bears, Harvey Birdman, and many others as far better. Personal preference I guess. But I would say most if not all of those are more thoughtful and layered shows.

    3. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      I like almost all of the shows mentioned. I was real big into ATHF, Harvey Birdman, Sealab, Space Ghost CTC, American Dad!, Family Guy, Venture Bros, Metalocalypse...And Bob's Burgers grew on me, I like it a lot better now for some reason

    4. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      And don't forget Archer! Actually a good rule of thumb is anything with H. Jon Benjamin is good IMO. And Home Movies was by some of the crew that does Bob's Burgers...I liked it.

  9. I got my copy in the mail the other day and finally played it last night. Even though I am awful at platformers this game is awesome. And I really appreciate the continue function, otherwise I don't know if I would ever make it out of the first few levels. I just wish the RF output on my 7800 wasn't so bad b/c the game otherwise looks really good.
  10. Going to NYC in August and am wondering if there are any classic video games stores worth checking out.

    1. BassGuitari

      BassGuitari

      In NYC? No doubt there are. But as with everything in NYC, I'd expect to overpay. :P

    2. NE146

      NE146

      Might as well hop over to the Nintendo store.. even though there isn't much there you can't get everywhere else.

    3. sramirez2008

      sramirez2008

      You really need to make your way to Digital Press Videogames. Its in New Jersey, but its a great store. They even carry a decent inventory of AA homebrew carts. 387 Piaget Ave, Clifton, NJ 07011 http://dpvideogames.com/

       

  11. I believe when I got H.E.R.O. a few years back that was the most I spent ever on an Atari 2600 cart. I want to say all in it was still under $25 including shipping. I don't remember what I paid for Frostbite, but then again that was also 5ish years ago. Both are really good games. Frostbite, for what is essentially a Frogger clone, is super fun and plays really well. I didn't realize that is what rarish or demanded a big premium these days. H.E.R.O. is rarer but also a really good game. Really good concept, really good gameplay, challenging, etc.... Pitfall II in many ways is similar in idea and scope -- but since it is fairly common is nowhere near as expensive as H.E.R.O.
  12. This is one of only two 7800 homebrews that I own. If somebody was getting into the 7800 and dipping their toes in the homebrews this would be my top recommendation. Pac-Man and Ms Pac-Man are solidly in my top 10 favorite games of all time. Despite the fact that I am generally bad at them and only get marginally better with practice and a few beers. That said Pac-Man Collection! strikes a pretty good balance at difficulty and ease of playing -- erring a bit on the harder side I feel. By comparison the original 7800 version of Ms. Pac-Man is too easy on the default settings. Gameplay and controls are tight and while I don't care for all the added variations on the mazes I appreciate that they are there.
  13. I am really thinking in the 87-90 time range here. The fast development of the ST showed some foresight in needing a capable 16-bit computer in order to be relevant in the home computer market going forward. That Atari failed to develop the ST in a timely manner is a symptom of their problems. Likewise the decision to basically go all-in on the Jaguar represented a major shift in the company -- and I believe leadership by that point. My original point was that Atari Corp in the late 80s simply was trying to do too many things and none of them all too well. Arguably the XEGS should have never happened and the entire 8-bit line phased out. I don't know if having both the XEGS and 7800 out there confused consumers (I remember as a 7 year old wanting the XEGS) but it split resources and attention that should have been focused on the 7800. Plus continuing to produce new 2600 hardware and software at the same time. Of course this doesn't even answer the question as to whether or not a consolized ST would have made a good console to compete with the Genesis and SNES, let alone a cost effective one.
  14. I feel like we've beaten this dead horse to a bloody pulp by now. The long and short of it is that both Atari Inc and Atari Corp made questionable business decisions in regards to the 7800s development, the level of investment on 7800 software, the continuation of support for the 2600 and the 8-bit computing line (including the development of the XEGS), and the level of continued development of the ST line. Long story short you had a company trying to support 4 major product lines that simply didn't have the capacity (or willingness) to do so. With I don't think Atari had the capacity to develop a 16-bit console at the time -- ST based or not. As an aside I wonder if Atari and Epyx could have developed the Handy/Lynx hardware into a console. Its basic hardware doesn't seem all that radically different than the Turbo-Grafx 16 and I suppose it may have been possible to incorporate a WDC 65816 instead of the 65SC02 if being truly 16 bit mattered.
  15. What's the story on these GBA multi-carts from China. For less than $20 how bad can this be? http://www.ebay.com/itm/182535548467?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

    1. atari181

      atari181

      Not a bad deal. I actually have a similar cart I sell for $15. Shoot me. A message if you want to check it out.

    2. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      I have a few of those from back when (Usually boxed), and I always paid more than that! But yeah, they're fun! Lots of NES games there probably, just so ya know...

    3. Rick Dangerous

      Rick Dangerous

      Hmmmm...interesting

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