pocketmego

So after SI was HUGE. Did people tend to buy more arcade conversions or original titles? -Ray

Mario Bros. + Pretty solid graphics + all Enemies are in it + Co-Op play - Can't destroy the fireballs - Can't walk on the POW button - Fireballs occure to often in later levels Stil a fun game that still plays great and is the best Mario game on the 2600. -Ray

This is the game I'd have preferred that we got...at least the best version the 2600 could accomplish anyway. http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter...mp;game_id=8242 I can't really see the 2600 being able to do the cut and paste heads thing. -Ray

I think any game ported from 16 bit to 8 bit is going to have severe issues. Not just with graphics, but with speed and game play as well. Half the reason Sega brought out the Genesis was that the tech in their arcade motherboards finally became cheap enough to make the jump to a home version of them. Thus, you had the first machine that brought true 16 bit arcade power to the home television screen. This is VERY evident in some early Genesis arcade conversion like Strider, Forgotten Worlds, Golden Axe, etc... However, tech is tech and eventually arcade machines made the jump to 32 bits and we were back to square one with limited home versions of popular arcade games. -Ray

Durring the BOOm years when Atari was on top of the world, what do you think most contributed to that success? Was it Arcade conversions or Homegrown titles? We all the know the story of how the 2600 kind of limped along at first, until Space Invaders came out and people bought 2600s just to get that particular arcade conversion, but after Space Invaders we saw a great variety of games and unique evolution in quality of titles as programmers figured ouut how unbelievably versatile the VCS truly was. From Activision we even saw a number of titles that were not actually Arcade conversions , but were mimics of such, like Chopper Command and Crackpot. So which do you think was most important in making the 2600 a big hit, Arcade Conversions or Homegrown games? -Ray

Dude, Nice Haul. I'd hi-five you if I could. -Ray

I went for a cross section of the most playable stuff the system offered. Choplifter, becasue its an old favorite of mine from my * bit computer days. Robotron, because I love it and will play just about any version of it. Scrapyard Dog which is the "Super Mario" of the 7800. Mario Bros, because of all the Mario games its my favorite. Dig Dug, because the 7800 version is a REALLY good port. and of course Pole Position 2 came with the thing. -Ray

Pit fighter would never have stood a chance on the 7800 anyway. What sold that game was the digitized characters and to some extent the same can be said of Mortal Kombat. I love te idea someone mentioned about Ik and Ik+ though. Those would have been big hits for the 7800, I think. -Ray

The 7800 controller being poorly designed. I sat here and played the thing all day , since I got my 7800 today and haven't had a bit of trouble. Doesn't feel any more cumbersome or uncomfortable than any other Atari era Joystick I've used. -Ray

The deal was the system with the expansion port was not produced by the tramiels. There was models made before the Tramiels. The Tramiels didn't want the 7800 to be released when the 7800 was ready to be released in 84. To my understanding, it was for a laser disc add-on with laser disc games like dragon's lair and space ace in mind. Wow, that would have been pretty ass kickin'. Had they released that peripheral in 1986 or 87 it would have SERIOUSLY haleped the 7800's success, I think. Even, the NES and SMS couldn't do FMV. -Ray

Got a boxed 7800 at a flea market today. Been wanting one, because I like the idea of it having its own games and playing the 2600 stuff too. Ironically the uncomfortable proline sticks work really well for the A-VCS-Tec Challenge homebrew. I do have a couple of questions though... I know that Atari never released this in 1984, but later the Tramiels did in 86. I have read elsehwere on this forum that the expansion port is only in some models. What is the deal with that? Is it on the backstock ones from 84 and not on the later stuff actually produced by the tramiels themselves? What was it originlly intended for? Also, besides Pac-Man plus where might I get some of the other Hacks and omebrews on Cart, such as Beefdrop and Bon-Q? Thanks -Ray

Didn't we do this back in Dec? I wasn't here then. So Ijust sent him my E-Mail today. I still want this if it is going to happen. -Ray

That is exactly what I was going to say. These days , especially with the portable cartdrige loading game consoles, they always tell you to keep a cart in the slot to prevent dust. I can't imagine the 2600 would be much different. -Ray

50 Oh and congrats -Ray

And yet the only review linked from Atari Age is a crap one. -Ray

I thought this was pretty funny. A pretty good take on how Hollywood handles video game based movies. -Ray

I've played the Rom of Elevator Action on a couple of Emulators and it never plays with sound? is the ROm bad or does this game not have sound to help with the intense graphics? -Ray

Konami was planning to release Super Scramble, a 3-D version of the game. Milton Bradley, however, announced a conversion of the classic game: How could anything on the 2600 be 3-D? Are we talking glasses here? -Ray No, that's Vortex from Spectravideo (using special Spectra-Vision 3-D glasses). I think MB's Scramble was supposed to be 3-D in an Atari 2600 Zaxxon kind of way. Egads! I can see why they scrapped it then. -Ray

Boy, Mario looks happier than I've ever seen him. -Ray

Obviously I knew most of these were fil's, or at least film titles. Its clear that for some of the more obscure films they used only the titles for the games. I mean obviously earth Dies Screaming has nothing to do with aliens re-animating the dead. But, it made a cool title for a video game and that is probably all they cared about. Especially when the film hadn't probably been seen to much since it was released in 1965 in the UK. I also agree that Beff Steak Tomatoes is based on AOKT. -Ray

LMAO!!! I kinda got the impression he was making a little fun of the Sony guy. -Ray

Parker Bros. had the rights to the console and computer Star Wars games. They even ported Atari's Star Wars arcade game. Spacemaster X-7 is actually a movie lincense. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052228/ I liked what I tried of it, though. Quite fun. The's also some 8-bit computer versions under the name of Alpha Shield. I had no idea this was a movie. >>>clip Plot Summary for Space Master X-7 (1958) A space probe returns to Earth covered with a strange fungus. The fungus is accidentally tinged with human blood and is transformed into an ever-growing pile of space rust, dubbed "Blood Rust". It is up to John Hand and Joe Rattigan to find the one woman who can stop the rust from spreading and taking over the world. Summary written by Paul White {[email protected]} Laura Greeling arrives at her ex-husband's home to discuss the custody of their son, a meeting which proves to be very confrontational. While she is returning to her home in Honolulu, she sees a newspaper headline stating that she is wanted in connection with her ex-husband's death! She goes into hiding, thinking that she is wanted on a charge of murder. She doesn't know that she is really being sought because she is the carrier of an extremely deadly virus, which is what actually killed her ex-husband. >>>clip Wow, just like the GAME!!! LOL -Ray

Konami was planning to release Super Scramble, a 3-D version of the game. Milton Bradley, however, announced a conversion of the classic game: How could anything on the 2600 be 3-D? Are we talking glasses here? -Ray

Ok, time to step in here. I am not a programmer, but i have been involved in film and video stuff in the past and some of the same elements apply. Now, this is by no means to take away from the work you have done so far. In fact, its evolution so far has been pretty neat. But, first things first. if you insist on making this a Fonz game, for reasons I cannot fathom, and currently not having it based on that ancient arcade game, then you need to do some research. You have two potential Tv shows to work with. One is Happy days which I think still airs on TV Land and has in some form or another pretty much aired since it was on. Watch a few episodes from a few seasons and learn the character and concepts. The girls as the prize is a good start though. But, you need to determine enemies and locals. The more fun idea for a VIDEO GAME, though would be to use the Fonz Cartoon show as the source material... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_nv9F2j1XQ Henry Winkler provided the voice of the character as Fonz, Ritchie, and Ralph Mouth...I shit you not...TRAVEL THROUGH TIME, trying to get back to 1957. If anything begs for a 2600 game, this is it! -Ray

Those Alan Alda Atari XL commercials must have played 50,000,000 times a day when they aired. I can't believe that there is only one on google vid. He sure makes owning a new "sacary" computer reassuring doesn't he. -Ray