littleman jack

Go Shamus!

Those "NES" style sticks are the joypads. You can get them now in the States thanks to Video 61 and Best Electronics, and possibly other stores. I have two, and they don't seem as responsive as the stock joysticks to me. When I use them there seems to be a slight delay in comparison to using the original sticks. They are more comfortable for some games, but the delay really bothers me, especially when playing Choplifter. They also work with 2600 games, but in my opinion, Sega Genesis pads work far better. However, Sega Genesis pads don't seem to be compatible with all 2600 games played on the 7800. A few times I had to pull out the pad and put in a 2600 joystick to get the games going.

There's a guy here in Chattanooga named Bruce Bennett who designs and builds guitars, effects pedals, and amps. He also repairs cars and tv sets. He might be able to create your product. You can find him on the web. His company is called Bennett-Maxfield Designs I believe. If you Google "Bennett-Maxfield" and "guitars" you should find his webpage. He's currently building guitars designed by himself and an artist named J. Backlund. It's worth a try to contact him. Sometimes he's really busy, and sometimes he's not so busy. (EDIT on July 23rd for spelling.)

Good points fiddlepaddle! I don't think the modern companies care about bringing back the creative twichy gaming style. The money they make is based on what sells right now to the majority of the public, and that seems to be the cinematic stuff right now. However, the x-box 360 live downloads are making some impact, and many people are returning to the old style games in that way. I agree with everyone who has posted so far. I rarely play my new systems, but return to the Atari systems (2600, 7800, 8-bit) over and over. It's the skill involved to get the high score, and the rush the games create, and the imagination you have to bring, and the humor as well in directing little pixels around (Adventure and Basketball come to mind). The only new games that I return to often are the Maroi Kart racers. Otherwise it's Atari (and Odyssey 2 sometimes).

Pac-Man Plus, Please put me down on the next list if possible. I hoped I'd make the first list since I posted interest on July 14, on the homebrew topic thread, which re-started the "when is the cart coming out?" conversation. I guess I wasn't really explicit enough though. I just asked about it, but didn't say "count me in" clearly. So, now I'll make it explicit. Please count me in, if possible, in the next list. I know you do great work. Pac-Man Collection is one of my favorite Atari games of all time. Thanks! -littleman jack

Will this be released as a cart one day?

So that explains why there are so few vector games ported to the Atari systems. I always wished there were more. There was a Star Castle-like game called Xolo back in the DOS-PC days. It's still available at DOSgames.com. I wonder if that could be ported to the 7800? It might be too much for the 7800 to handle. It's a fun adaptation of Star Castle to a non-vector format.

There has been a series of good articles on tricking out the ASUS eeePC in Linux Format magazine these last few months.There current issue available here in the US (issue #107) has an article about adding just a few pieces to get a full KDE desktop running, and about adding a way to access and use Debian repositories in order to add new/current programs not in the Asus repository. That way you can keep the little computer current and flexible if that's what you want. The Linux Format magazine is a great Linux resource and can be found at the big box stores like Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Books-a-Million. It's from England and includes a bootable DVD each month, so it isn't cheap. However, it certainly is woth it for the humor, tips, DVD, and articles included inside. By the way, I don't work for Asus or Linux Format. I'm just a fan. They're a few steps down in my heart from the Atatri 800, 400, 2600, and 7800.

A third vote for Star Castle. I forgot about that one. A real gem, and missing from Atari systems all around.

Acrylic Attack Acrylic Arcade Whitewash (been said above) A New Coat of Paint Paint the Town (er, board)

Pooyan Tempest Bosconian (is this possible?) a better Donkey Kong (better sound, pie facory, and swifter Mario) Defender and for non-arcade, it would be great to see something along the lines of Montezuma's Revenge or Pharaoh's Curse.

Great replies. I think Centipede and Asteroids in cooperative mode are two of the most fun games out there. And Inky's suggestion of playing Robotron with two players (one moving and one firing) is a lot of fun as well.

I've been working at a summer camp this June, and it is interesting to see the kids choose games for the various consoles during game-time. The N64 is the most popular console by far. But the Atari has gotten a lot of visitors as well. For the 2600, the most popular games have been: Kaboom Pitfall Home Run Outlaw Slot Racers Jungle Hunt Fishing Derby Bowling Freeway and Montezuma's Revenge. Thought this post might make a lot of old timers smile and remember childhood days spent playing the games listed above. I know I spent a lot of time on Pitfall, Jungle Hunt, and Home Run when I was a kid.

Are any Jr. Pac-Man carts still available?

Thanks A. J. I think it probably is the ICs or a voltage regulator creating the heat, because the lights are indeed LEDs. I'll take it to an electrician/amp/guitar maker that I know. He understands resitors and voltage regulators quite well and can probably estimate if the heat is a problem. I doubt it is a problem since I've never heard any complaints or stories about overheating Sears consoles. The lights are a nice touch. You can easily see what switches are on or off. The only bad thing about a Sears VAII is that the black and white switch is on the bottom and back of the console, so for later games that use it for a pause or a control it is out of reach. But the console is quite interesting. It looks like a 7800, but has a much wider cartridge slot, and according to the bottom label, it was actually made in America by Atari. I thought at that late date, all of Atari's production had been moved overseas.

Thanks for the reply! I think they are supposed to be LEDs, but they seem to create a lot of heat while an LED is supposed to be cool, isn't it? I'll try to figure out all the numbers you mentioned and see what's up under the hood. It certainly does create a cool look, however, with all the little lights. But the heat does concern me still . . .

You might try asking Lance at Video 61 as well. I own a few of their 8-bit and 7800 homebrews and they have another type of label. It's not shiny like Albert's, but it does seem to hold up. I haven't handled them as much as my Atari Age homebrews, so I'm not sure if they would hold up for as long as Albert's, but you could call Video 61 and ask Lance. He's very friendly. EDIT: The games I bought from Video 61 were not homebrews, but rather prototypes and reproductions. I hope I didn't cause any confusion. One of them was Combat 1990 for the 7800, which is probably a prototype since it was finished in 1990 but never released. I wish that the guy who did Combat 1990 would create some new homebrews for the 7800, as he had some good ideas and skills. Does anyone know him?

I noticed that the lights on the front of the SVAII console get quite hot when playing for a time. Is there a risk that this will cause any damage to the console or the cartridges?

What 2600 homebrews won't work on your 7800? Probably some of the newer ones that I do not have? Most of my 2600 homebrews work better, in terms of the picture quality, on my 7800. SeaWolf looks amazing on my 7800. The only one that shows no difference is Climber 5. It looks great on both the 2600 and the 7800. All the others have a lot of interference lines on the 2600, but not on the 7800. My 2600 consoles must have bad shielding in the console, or in the cords.

This weekend I tried a Sega Genesis ac adapter (10V) with the Sears Video Arcade II and it works quite well. I found one at a local used game shop (and also saw some online at a few classic game shops plus ebay). I don't have any original Sears controllers, however. I've been using standard 2600 sticks plus 7800 joypads.

I voted x-box 360 because when I think of classic games, I think of arcade games. And I love the arcade games that are available on the x-box 360 downloads (plus the new ones like geometry wars that have an old school style to them).

I also love the O2. The homebrew game KTAA (Kill the Attacking Aliens) gets a lot of time at my house, as well as K.C.'s Crazy Chase and Smithereens when friends come over. I've heard Killer Bees is a great game, but have yet to aquire it. Hopefully later this summer.

I second the motion. It really would be a lot easier to find, and would get more visitors.

I always used Verbatim and TDK, and the TDK seemed to hold up the best.

I thought the emails you mentioned in the original post were emails to the email adress Steve lists at the Atari Max site, not to his PM email on the Atari Age forums. I've sent Steve emails to the Atari Max email address (it's listed on the Atari Max page), but never sent a PM to Steve through the forum. Anyway, glad that all's well.