NovaXpress

Yes.

God Bless America.

There's no reason why Lego shouldn't be pluralized as Legos. So where did the "Lego is the plural form" crap come from? "The word LEGO® is a brand name and is very special to all of us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our bricks as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys' and not 'LEGOS.' By doing so, you will be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very proud and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you! Susan Williams, Consumer Services." So it's a clumsy marketing tactic that makes no sense unless you include the product type along with the brand name. Screw them. Legos it is!

I love Klax too, but it was no system-seller and not even a big hit despite its wide distribution. It was too difficult for the average Tetris fan. The sad truth is that the 7800 didn't have any particular game that could sell systems on its own. Not when stuff like Mario and Zelda and Metroid and even Phantasy Star were already available.

If it hadn't been for the very high cost of the games (almost $80 each here), it could even have been the 2600 for this generation. It's crazy to make a single game such a major purchasing decision. Video games should be accessible for kids with typical weekly or monthly allowances. At $80 a pop, sales will depend upon parents and relatives, and that will dampen demand considerably. Nintendo has the right idea with the relatively low cost of the console, but it's suicide to have such ridiculous prices for the games. I'm absolutely sure that they, and the third-party software developers, would make much more money if the games were more realistically priced. Of course, the market for Wii games (and other video games) is not just confined to kids, but that kind of pricing is just short-sighted. Wii games sell from $40-50. Your pound-to-dollar calculator must be dysfunctional.

Klax was widely available for the NES and no one really gave a shit, so why would you think the game could sell any 7800s?

Three's Company: Can you save the girls while avoiding Mr. Furley and the evil Sexy Misunderstandings?

From the screenshots of Pick Axe Pete, the O3 looked like it would just be an O2 with added background graphics. Pretty much like the proposed Intellivision 3, the same basic system with more K and a few frills to kill time until the next generation.

Yeah, everyone knows the cart that really caused the crash was SQ Earthworld.

When I talked about how cool the PSP was, I was called a Sony fanboy. When I claimed that the 360 looked like a winner I was called a M$ fanboy. When I say the Wii looks great I get called a Nintendo fanboy. Leading to my current theory: 99% of the people who use the slur "fanboy" are the biggest fanboys of all.

You can tell where the hardware wars are going just by talking to people. I hear many people interested in the Wii, many people ready to buy a 360, and nothing but mockery when the PS3 is mentioned. We're heading for a 360 win, closely followed by Nintendo and Sony running very far behind both. Consumers aren't just disinterested in Blu-Ray, they're pissed about it. I see an overwhelming attitude of "Sony needs to be taught a lesson." If you're still holding on to Sony stock, you might want to dump that shit as fast as possible.

"Pac-Clone" isn't the right phrase as there were no clones made for the 2600, but there were a few "dot-eating" games which all had their own gimmicks. Alien, Jawbreaker, Mouse Trap, Shark Attack, Lock N Chase, Cat Trax, Dodge 'Em, Pac-Man and two sequels. Not as many dot-eaters as one might have expected. That KC Munchkin lawsuit really put a freeze on things.

"My Dinner With Andre" (Mangia hack)

I've seen a PS3 at almost every Best Buy/Target shopping trip over the last two weeks and have heard many reports of the same. No Wii sightings at all though. I don't even hear anyone talk about the PS3, people either want a Wii or 360, about 75% wanting a 360.

I hate it as much as I hated it on the 8-bit. This came out in November 1982, after we had much more creative slide-and-shooters on the market. It doesn't have the solid feel of classic arcade Invaders at all. I wish Atari had brought something like Phoenix or Challenger to the 5200. It's such a shame that the 5200 had weak launch titles. The later games were amazing, but not enough people were paying attention.

To sum up my position in a clear manner now that the adrenaline has calmed down: I love the 2600 and love the people who also love it I also feel that just about all of the potential hardcore fans have already joined the scene at this point. I love the stcks and the FBs and appreciate their accomplishments in the PnP market. I am also sure that their sales do not justify more expensive models. I believe people will buy old systems and new innovations on the Interweb for decades to come I am also absolutely sure that a cart-based 2600 could never reach any retail shelves. I appreciate Jbanes for knocking some clarity into things (that dude always improves any discussion he enters) and I appreciate Paranoid for really thinking about things instead of acting like a fanboy who's trying to impress the big kids. Whether we agree or not, I respect his intelligence. And to those who are hassling me in other threads: this topic has nothing to do with new Rocky movies and badly-conceived PnPs from Intellivision.

He must have eventually decided that being the champion of NES Jaws is like being the champion of driving knitting needles into one's own eyeballs.

I actually hate this game on any system. It's clever, but I never found it to be fun. I pop in the 8-bit version about once a year to see if I'll finally see why people like this game, but it never happens. But I don't like Pitfall either and I think Encounter at L-5 is a Top Twenty Game, that's what's always fun about personal taste.

I take it that we're not talking about games that are just bad, but ones with a play mechanic that's frustrating. It's no contest. The most frustrating game of all time was SQ Earthworld. It was and remains the biggest let-down and angriest experience of my video gaming history.

The 5200 was released in November 1982. And despite what wikipedia says the Vectrex was released in Sep/Oct 82. Note that the Sears Xmas catalog doesn't show any video games that were released after September. That's because the Xmas catalog actually came out in September and was followed up by supplemental catalogs every month.

Wow . . . the idea must be good because Bruno's Atari was intererested? The same company that licensed a fashion designer for a video game? We're the tip of the iceberg! We're gonna take over the world! Yes, you and Insane Clown Posse fans. We don't need to know anything about marketing to know about marketing! Priceless. You're like a bunch of kids trying to convince yourselves that Santa is real.

For the last time I HAPPEN TO BE INTERESTED IN THESE TOPICS. I also happen to be smart enough to know that I'm part of a SMALL group who's interested in these topics which is why I'm on a message board to communicate with others in said group.

There's a huge difference between a historically significant artifact and a product which the mass market wants to buy in the 21st century. Do you think that archeologists bitch because people just don't seem to be using sarcophagi anymore? I just love the evidence you people are throwing out to back up your laughable estimates of sales: look, the posters on a classic gaming forum are into it! No shit. Of course we're into it. But don't make the myopic mistake of thinking we represent the broad base of consumers. We are the niche market. And we don't even make up a measurable persecntage of the consumer market as a whole. And releasing a plug-and-play is an entirely different animal from releasing a cart-based system. There's not only the investment in making, marketing and distributing the console but in doing the same for every cart as well. A new Atari would be competing directly against the DS, PSP and the new consoles. And if anyone thinks the 2600 can win that battle in the year 2006 you are off your rocker (hehe, I made an Atari joke). So far no one has come up with any reputable figures regarding the number of Flashbacks sold, but Atari's own financial reports indicate that it wasn't a smash. Again, if you want to order 2600 systems and games online may I suggest ebay and atariage. There's also many people making creative new 2600-related items which also be found on said sites. As far as being sold on the shelves, take a Marketing 101 course and then give your opinion.

I knew you couldn't be educated, you clearly have no clue about how the real world works. But the rest of the kids might be able to make use of some perspective. There's no doubt that Curt's next project will be awesome and very popular among the people on this board and on DP. But the delusion that millions or even several hundred thousand people out there will be interested in any such item is ridiculous and past sales figures have proven that fact. It's like trying to sell a horse and buggy. Sure, there are some fans who'd be into that but most people prefer to drive cars. My personal devotion to classic gaming and the 2600 in particular has been very clearly shown over the years. And I'm just saying that in my view, those who spend their time pushing idiotic fantasies are missing what matters and are pissing all over the true memory and true value that we should be celebrating.

Has anyone thought about how expensive it is to manufacture consoles? The millions of dollars it would take to market and launch it? Do you understand anything about the process which gets a consumer item made and sold? You can't make this stuff up in your head. There are serious business issues to contend with, and anyone with a serious business mind would laugh their ass off at the idea of bringing back the 2600. There is indeed a nice little niche market for classic gamers. And those gamers are being very well served by sites such as ebay and Atari Age. This is as good as it's going to get. And it's pretty good, isn't it? So stop this fantasy bullshit, enjoy your 2600 and the support that already exists, and get used to the idea that the only consoles that will be manufactured in the forseeable future will be made by Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo.