kchris73

Based on this recently ended eBay listing eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160542717009, Romox Fortune Hunter also came with a black case and a white label (the picture is small, but it looks like "ROMOX" is stamped on the case).

Post #95 in the "show me your rarest 8bit cartridge thread" has some nice pictures of Atari BASIC labels with different coloring. Do you think the labels were printed differently, glue was applied differently (and bled through) that led to the striping, they were exposed to different amounts of sunlight, or something else led to the variations in coloring?

Multiple versions of the brown Atari BASIC cartridge can be seen in the "show me your rarest 8bit cartridge thread: "BASIC Computing Language" and "BASIC Computing Program": http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/176612-show-me-your-rarest-8bit-cartridge/page__st__75__p__2204475#entry2204475 "BASIC Computing Language", but without the CXL4002 code: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/176612-show-me-your-rarest-8bit-cartridge/page__st__75__p__2204610#entry2204610 And different versions of the brown Atari Assembler Editor: "Assembler Editor Computing Language" and "Editor Assembler Computing Language": http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/176612-show-me-your-rarest-8bit-cartridge/page__st__75__p__2204475#entry2204475

See post #3 in the cartridge label variation thread: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/174042-atari-cartridge-label-variations/page__p__2161520#entry2161520

I always liked Roadblock: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-roadblock_4392.html Its simplicity made it easier to simultaneously find multiple players.

Thanks, sloopy. To help make the thread more complete even if the variation is well known, Pole Position came in a version with the black case and silver (XL) label and a 1983 copyright, as well as a gray case with a silver label and a 1987 copyright. Gorf by Roklan came with in a brown case and a blue case (both with blue labels).

I have an Action! cartridge with an orange case, and an Action! cartridge with a black case (and yellow label with a 1984 copyright). I have a white Fortune Hunter cartridge that has ROMOX stamped in the case beneath the label, and another that is the same except it does not have ROMOX stamped in the case. I have an Oil's Well cartridge by Sierra On-Line that is black with a black label that wraps over the top edge of the cart, and another Oil's Well cart that is black with a blue label that does not wrap over the top edge.

I found some Pac-Man cartridges that have the striping, and a Donkey Kong cartridge that has the solid dark label. Both PM and DK are common enough that it seems like it might be a pointless distinction (between the solid and striped labels), but maybe it's fun for those who are obsessive collectors.

Thanks for the insight on the stamped dates, ApolloBoy. FWIW, I have a Pac-Man that to my eye has a uniformly dark label (as opposed to the color striping seen at the top and bottom of the labels in the example Asteroids and Missile Command image above) (the color is darker than the case itself and the labels seen in the above example image). I'm not sure how a collector would differentiate the stripes seen in the above image, but the Pac-Man label is clearly distinct. Unfortunately, I only have one Pac-Man cart where I am at now, so I can't see if other Pac-Man carts have the striping. There's no stamp on the cart (just the usual 1982 copyright), so I can't tell how old it is. Some other label and case variations (is "case" the preferred term, or "shell", or something else?): I have two Congo Bongo cartridges with the same label, but one case has a flat back, and the other has "SEGA" embossed in the plastic on the back. Miner 2049er came with a black case and a blue label, a blue case with a blue label, and a blue case with a silver label. Choplifter (by Broderbund) came with a silver label with a blue stripe, and a silver label with an orange stripe. Journey to the Planets (by Roklan) came with a yellow case and a black case.

Did Atari use different labels on their old 400/800 style cartridges? For example, in the below picture, the top labels seem darker than the bottom labels. Is this because the bottom labels simply faded more, or do you think different labels were used? If different labels were used, are there any 8-bit collectors who care enough to actively differentiate in their collections? I know that different labels were used for the original 400/800 brown labels, the silver XL labels, and the blue XE labels... Also, if you squint, you can make out some stamped codes on the label of the upper left Asteroids and the bottom right Missile Command beneath the word "GAMES". Are these coming from beneath the label, or was something pressed on top of the label? Do these codes have any meaning?

That's what a typical Parker Bros. prototype looks like. They have a small label with the game name, the ROM size, and the version. Look at this prototype for a comparison: http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/starwarsarcade/4584.htm Thanks. I didn't see any reference to the Parker Brothers or Atari carts being prototypes. Do you think the seller knew they were prototypes? Has anyone ever seen a dishonest seller who takes advantage of this knowledge and removes the original label to add a small label to mislead people into thinking a normal cart is a proto? What made people think Joust and Pole Position were protos and/or review copies? How are review copies different from normal cartridges?

How do you know they are prototypes and not simply carts with missing original labels?

Frogger (I didn't like Frogger II, and the original Parker Brothers Frogger actually gets easier after a certain point) Race In Space (My favorite two player game; because of its simplicity, you can quickly teach others to play. Allow the original simplicity to be used in the sequel, but allow more fun/crazy options like the big comet that roars across the sky. Maybe have logic like in MULE that keeps the game close by penalizing the person in the lead. Since not everyone would like this dynamic leveling of the playing field, maybe make it an option. Maybe allow the speed of each of the space ships to be controlled before the game, sort of like Racing Destruction Set, to help level the playing field.) Racing Destruction Set (keep many of the crazy fun options, improve the awful graphics and sound) Karateka would be good, although for me it's not so much the animation speed as much as introducing something new

"On the Edge" is a great book about the history of Commodore, including many details about what is discussed in this thread. 4.5 stars on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Spectacular-Ris...e/dp/0973864907

Agreed, thanks!