awhite2600

Very cool. I'm impressed if this remains nothing more than a tech demo. Thanks for sharing.

What I picture is something along the lines of the Flashback consoles. Instead of having built in games the console would run special, licensed carts. I wouldn't expect anything too "geeky" like Jamma slots, cart ports for "real" console cartridges, SD slots, etc. Keep it simple and consumer friendly. The carts could contain the MAME ROM images of either a single coin-op game or a collection from a publisher. Think "best of" Konami, Williams, Namco, Atari, etc. HDMI output would be nice to allow people to use modern TVs. The public would be receptive if the cost was low. Make the console $30 to $50 (perhaps with a pack-in cart) and then sell additional collection carts for $10 to $25. It would be almost like free money to the game companies to license their old titles this way.

Here's a cool take on the MAME / cart concept. Although it will never happen... We all know that the game companies hate MAME and the illegal sharing of their old, intellectual property. What if a "legal" MAME console could be created that played "legal" copies of old games sold on individual cartridges? The console would be little more than a PC running MAME in a nice looking console case. High quality arcade controls could be part of the hardware package or an option if the console ships with a more standard joypad. Individual games or game collections could be licensed from the IP holders and sold legally on cartridges. These carts could contain encryption and/or region locking to satisfy the game companies. The console would boot MAME and then run the original games from the cart. Would the games companies buy into such an ideal? Probably not. Would gamers pay to play MAME when it can be downloaded for free? Probably not. Would the console violate MAME's open source license? Probably.

Was there a Z80 - CP/M card available for the original IBM PC?

I have a bit of bias here... I'd love to find a boxed copy of Extra Terrestrials. We know of only 4 copies of the cartridge plus unverified talk of a 5th copy. No box has ever been found. The original creators have stated that there was a box but they don't have one or even remember what it looked like. I created a box for the reproduction carts based on artwork on the cartridge label. I want to know how my creation compares to the original.

Atari didn't make a Mountain Dew game but Sega used the logo in Tapper. http://atariage.com/screenshot_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=550

According to Wikipedia the game was also available for the PCjr, PC-8810, Sharp X1 and MSX 2. I can vouch for the iOS version being a very good port / remake. It's not free ... I think I paid $4.99. Well worth it.

Like many others, my best finds were between the late '80s and the early 2000s. There were several times that I found rare carts at thrift stores or garage sales. I remember finding quite a few rare Intellivision and Colecovision games for $1 or $2 at a Value Village. I remember finding so many games in one trip that I grabbed them all in fear that "sum guy" would come along any minute and take them. My best find in recent years is a loose Mr. Do's Castle. Got it for $2 at a thrift store. In the early 90's I found a loose copy of Spider Maze and two loose copies of Vulture Attack for $1 each at a flea market. While not a great find, I recently picked up a Vectrex with 8 games, manuals, one box and 3 overlays for $225 at a consignment store.

There is an APF Imagination Machine including the keyboard add-on at The Personal Computer Museum where I work as a volunteer. I helped to get the console running in the museum after it was donated. You can see a pic of me with the console here. I agree that the console is very desirable to collectors due to it's rarity. At the same time, it's not very exciting. The museum has 5 or 6 games and none of them are that great. As a Holy Grail collectors piece the APF Imagination Machine ranks high. As a fun console...not so much.

I prefer the Epyx 500XJ wherever possible - Atari, Commodore, etc. My second choice is the CX-40.

I don't even think that there is an Internet connection in the room where the printers are located. The manufacturer of the Win 3.11 printing software has a version for current versions of Windows and a recommended update process. It's a one time cost of $500 to update. Knowing the company using the software, they will then run the new version for another 20 years.

I recently learned that the company that has the wirecut EDM machine that I showed in post 106 also has a PC running Windows 3.11. This PC is still used to print labels for all of their packaging. (The company makes specialized automotive parts.) The two label printers are connected via serial ports. I was asked if I could help them replace the PC as their IT supplier doesn't have any techs familiar with Windows 3.11. Our plan is to purchase an updated PC, update the label printing software to a newer version from the same manufacturer and run the printers via USB to serial converters.

I found 3 or 4 sealed copies of Epyx Summer Games at a thrift store about 10 years ago. I already own a sealed copy of that game so I didn't buy one.

I love the common argument. "Those games are all old, rare and valuable."

I have six games with boxes for the VTech Creativision. This console was primarily released in PAL countries. The only country to see an NTSC release was Japan. I live in Canada and do not own the console. I found the games at a thrift store several years ago for a dollar each. I'm not sure how rare these games are, especially in North America. Astro Pinball Auto Chase Planet Defender Police Jump Sonic Invader Tennis

Cool. Yes. Economically feasible...tough to say. How many people would be willing to take apart a vintage 2600 to load up a new one? Yes, some would. Unfortunately a fairly significant number of people would need to purchase the product to make the cost reasonable.

For my high school's 75th anniversary in 1985 another student and I created a board to control six Kodak Carousel slide projectors with a Commodore 64. The board could change the slides and turn the lamp on an off for each projector independently. This allowed us to both advance the slides and do fades. The projectors were arranged three across with two projectors in each position. By fading between two projectors on each screen we eliminated the usual switching between slides. Special effects were also possible by strobing the lamps. In order to obtain the 12 required signals we used the 8 I/O lines on the C64 User Port and 4 lines from one of the joystick ports. (Yes, the C64 joystick ports are bi-directional.) A custom scripting language allowed us to "compile" the sequence needed to advance the slides and turn the lamps on and off as each slide changed. You can see a copy of the end result here. https://youtu.be/WbOrx0rczFk I apologize for the quality. The video was ripped from a Beta tape made in 1985.

I could offer a Canadian $5 bill where former Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier has been replaced by a doodle of Spock. http://twistedsifter.com/2015/03/canadians-pay-tribute-to-nimoy-by-drawing-spock-on-bills/

I lent some Intellivision games to a buddy back in the day and never got them back. That left a bad taste in my mouth. I reconnected with him about a year ago. After catching up - I mentioned my games. He thinks they could still be in his mother's basement. He hasn't gone out of his way to look. I have a good friend that collects games. He has mentioned in the past that I could borrow games, I just haven't done so.

I didn't join until 2006 but lurked here long before that. I remember the Nexus, Greg Chance's site, VGR's lists and discussions on a number of newsgroups. I've been collecting since before Internet access was readily available.

I was going to say it was a misprint until I saw the pics that included the front portion of the label. My initial reaction was that only the black and blue colors had been printed. Most multi-color printing is done one color at a time. Seeing all four colors on the front makes this very curious.

No "unlockables". If you include the game, let me play it at any time. As much as I like videogames - I suck at most of them. Giving me a game as an unlockable is the same as saying, "Here's a cool game. You can never play it. Ha Ha."

Intellivision - Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack and Triple Action that our family purchased in 1982. The master component itself no longer works but I keep it for parts. My oldest video game related item is either my original Mattel Football handheld or the APF TV Fun (pong clone) that my family purchased. I can't remember which is older. The football game I bought at Sears with my own money. So that is the oldest videogame item that I purchased.

How about an "all-in-one" of some of the existing products? A single console that includes 2600, Intellivision and Colecovision games. The only issue would be the controllers. Not sure if that is best solved with a hybrid controller of some sort (which would have drawbacks) or the inclusion of multiple controllers (which would raise the cost and be confusing to consumers). Add HDMI plus composite video and I would buy one in a heartbeat. While I'm dreaming throw in SD card support too.

You are correct. Before digital printing it was necessary to print each color separately. Individual (spot) colors were often printed as a box over previously printed black ink. This worked better than printing the "text' in color as the alignment would not be critical. The color ink on top of the black would cause the unusual fade patterns shown on the OP's Space Invaders cart. Now, can we see the inside of the Music Machine cart so that we can figure out if this is a total scam or not?