George Gray

It's my intention to keep Stella working on 'the big three' (Linux/OSX/Windows) as long as I'm involved with it. The code is sufficiently abstracted at this point that it doesn't really matter what operating system is being used. That makes it much easier on me, since at this point I'm the maintainer on all three platforms Please pass on my thanks to whomever is maintaining 'pocketStella'. Got it working on my Moto Q smartphone. Works great. Thanks to all involved with Stella on ANY platform.

My kid and I still get a kick playing these things. He still loves the Flashback 2.0 and that maddening maze game. Slightly off topice...on the Wii, he plays the virtual console games as much as he does the made-for-wii games. I don't think retro gaming is on the decline at all, at least, if ten year olds count.

Greetings again! After failing to find the proper video cable, and unwilling to spend twenty bucks for the 'starter kit' via mail order, I made one myself. An old 'hands free' cell phone adapter was sacrificed since it that bloody little connector on the end. Unfortunately, it is a single pole connector, so I only get video out, but that is ok. The audio is not that great on most of the games. It definitely helps on some of the games, like Burgertime. It wasn't until after I actually played for about an hour that I realized that it defeats the purpose of the unit...it kills the portability if you have to be tethered to a bigger screen monitor. I am not complaining though, I actually like the generic games more than the three A titles anyway. This little guy is just amazing. I was not expecting much at all and have been pleasently surprised. When they drop the price in your store, get one of these.

Don't know about the hackability of these, but I do agree...some of the generic games are enjoyable. So far, my faves are: Bubble Wubble Final Escape Bubble Blaster Jewel Master 2 I sorta like Tiger Rescue, but have a hard time with the controls. I'm not sure why, but the scheme seems more wonky than the other shmups do. The three title games are decent, but Burgertime is, for me, unplayable on the small screen.

The store I went to only had the one (that I saw, anyway.) The box was rather tattered as well. But, for ten bucks, it coulda been in a zip loc bag.

Just picked up the Space Invaders/Burgertime unit. Boy, what a deal. I got it on clearance for ten bucks at a local Wal-Mart. While the Burgertime is faithful, I have a hard seeing the levels on the tiny screen. I really need to plug it into the telly. Unfortunately, the bloody A/V connector is really small and none of the cables I have will fit--of course. Anyone know where to get the A/V cable? I know Gamestop USED to carry these, but I've not seen any in the Richmond,VA area for awhile now. Anyway, the games-most of them, anyway-are kind of fun. I really liked the Tetris variation and several of the flying/shooting games are addictive. Space Invaders had me hooked longer than most of the games and the Bust-A-Move game is also addicting. I had never played that one, so I was pleasently surprised at how much fun it was. Burgertime-the real reason I bought the Caplet-was a bit frustrating to play, as stated above, because the screen is just too small. It is the only game I had a hard time playing. Overall, the unit is very nice. The screen is wonderful, not as good as my DS Lite, but very good, especially for a ten dollar game. Well worth a look. Now, has anyone hacked these things yet?

Boy, this was a difficult game to find, but we found it. The only store, locally, that had it in stock was our beloved Wal-Mart. Sigh. So, we got it home and started playing. We like it, but to me, it really feels more like a tech demo--albeit a fun one. The nine-ball pool is probably the most frustrating game yet on the Wii. It's control scheme is not the best I've seen. It has possibilities, but needs a bit of work. The other games, though, are pretty decent. We really liked the Duck Hunt game and my son loves the Mii matching game. Fishing is cool as is the laser hockey. I was not particularly turned on to the Pong game, but it is ok. Overall, for a ten dollar game, it is great. I say ten because it does come with a controller, so I feel like I paid forty dollars for the controller and ten for the game. If you want or need an extra controller and can find this, then it is a must buy. If you do not need or want the controller, wait for it to show up at a store used and cheap. Don't get me wrong, it is fun, but it lacks the same allure as Wii Sports.

Yeah I've noticed this too, friends of mine I've known for years that have never had one bit of interest in any of my many systems seem to enjoy playing with the Wii. It seems the perfect choice for people that really don't like video games too much. Unfortunately all they are interested in is Wii Sports so I'm not so sure it will convert them, but at least they are playing. One dude (If he could afford it) was talking about getting a Wii just to play Wii Sports!! I've seen folks complain that all Wii Sports is, is a demo and not a real game, but it easily gets the most play at my house. My wife likes the Wii Sports, but she really likes the Raving Rabbids game. We bought Wario Ware, but she has yet to play that one. Raving Rabbids is great. I was not excited about it at first, but when we started playing, I was won over. The outhouse mini game and the cow toss are without compare. They just have to be experienced. Nintendo has done something truly unique, but I'm with most here, I hope they can maintain the excitement the Wii has generated. I think they will, but it will take more than a slate of Mario and Mario like games to do that. EA has recently stated it's increased support for the Wii and the DS. Capcom has a nice line up coming and so does Sega. I hope it continues. BTW, in Richmond, VA, the Wii is nearly impossible to find whereas PS3 is quite easy to find. In fact, I can go into just about any big box store and find them. Maybe I need to talk to Tretton... As for DS Lite, we 'traded up' my GBA SP for a shiny black DS Lite (Well, SP + $60, that is) for my son. I took his DS and thought it was ok. I then made the mistake of playing with the Lite...ohhhh. Several weeks later, that ugly blue DS became that sexy DS (iPod White.) Now, the N needs to mate the Wii and DS. How cool will that be? One last diatribe...what is so great about online play? The extent of my online play experience is this: Mario Kart DS and a couple WWII shooter games on my PC. I found the WWII more frustrating than fun. It is not fun to 'spawn' and be picked off right away without being able to fire a shot. As for MKDS online, it was ok. I like to do that once in awhile, but I'd much rather play multiplayer with my kid. He's much more fun. I guess I'm wondering if it is really all that compelling that someone would skip a console just because it did not play online. I understand that Nintendo has JUST NOW shipped the dev kits for online play. Is it really that big of a deal?

The DS Lite and the Wii have turned me into a .... gasp .... Nintendo fanboy. It is a sad, sad thing. I swore I would never let that happen, but, alas, it has. The DS Lite is just damned cool. Sleek, sexy, very...ugh...Apple-ish. The Wii, much the same. Sleek, sexy, quiet. It just sits there, glaring at me. It knows I want it. That controller. Oh man, the feel of it. And the strap, oh the strap. MMMMM... Seriously, the Wii is very cool. The controller took all of 10 seconds to get used to. Raving Rabbids for Wii has to be best party game ever. It makes all of the Mario Party games just seem silly and tortuous to play. Excite Truck...Too much fun. Get the steering wheel attachment for that (a twenty dollar rip off from UBI SOFT, but it truly adds to the game.) 4x4 Monster Truck whatever from UBI is not quite as fun as Excite Truck, but may be worth it for half price. The mix of vehicles is pretty cool, my son loves to race the school bus. Red Steel is ok and utilizes the controls pretty decently, but could be played just as well with a 'normal' controller. Wii Sports, on the other hand, remains a killer game. You do NOT need to flail around, but the whole point of it - and some of the other games - is to do just that. Every time I play, I find myself really getting into the game and isn't that what it is supposed to do? I find I acutally play better when I'm into the game, physically. I've tried baseball and bowling without the arm waving and body motions. Not much fun. But, when I get off my duff and get into them, they are great and I can play for hours. I am hoping someone brings out a real Baseball game that uses the same control mechanism. It might make me a better fan of the real game as well. After playing Wii bowling, I have this really bizarre feeling that I actuall WANT to visit a true real life bowling alley. It quickly goes away though. And then there's Zelda. Admittedly, this is the first Zelda game I've played since playing the original game just a few years ago via an emulator. I like it. I think playing it with a normalish controller would not be as much fun. Virtual Console is great. Yeah, I have emulators for all those systems and even have one or two images for them, but playing them on a real console (the Wii) instead of my PC makes those same games seem better, even if they are not. Columns, of which I am addicted, seemed more legit on the TV than on the computer. The classic controller is nice too. Comfortable, if a bit on the small side (but then I HATED the original NES controller, so this is a major improvement for me.) GCN controllers will work, but just don't feel right for the games. So far, we've purchased Columns, Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros 1 and Mario Kart 64. MK64 is a blast and just as freaking frustrating to play as the cart was. The controls are just as bad on the VC as they were on the N64. It's great! The other 'features' of Wii...News Channel, Photo Channel and Weather are cool, but sort of pointless. I do find myself using the News Channel. It is oddly compelling to use as is Weather even though it is hours old weather news. The Photo Channel has a few nice features and the ability to play movies from the SD card is a cool thing, though I won't use it much. The Opera Browser is probably the single coolest thing outside of the games. Even as buggy as it is now, it is really cool. It is compatible will Flash 7 so quite a few sites will render just fine. There's a plethora of Wii-formatted sites to choose from now and the flash games are fun. All in all, Wii is a great investment of $250 (plus another $40 for an extra controller, $20 for an extra nunchuck, $20 for the steering wheel, $20 for the component cable, $30 for the 2gb sd card, $40 for the Wii Points...holy crap, it adds up!) Oh, one last thing...my wife actually plays the games now. She had not really played much since our NES days. She is more apt to pick up the Wii controller and play than she ever has been. I think that says alot.

You can use any Atari 2600 compatable controller with the Flashback 2. Very off topice... Dude...I LOVE the avatar! The senator must be very, very proud!

After some prodding from my son, I bought the two player version from Wal-Mart @2.50. Wow. What a turkey this thing is. I had been avoiding because it just looked bad. Even the cover art looked bad. But, my kid wanted one, and at 2.50, I figured what the hell. I've wasted more than that on junk food. Anyway, got the thing home and tried it out. A cursory look confirmed what I already thought, and, honestly, it put me off from trying too much. For now, I've checked out the racing game (I know he'll want to play that) and the Space Invaders clone. Oh, and the breakout clone. The breakout clone was ok, I've seen worse. The Space Invaders clone was alright for a few minutes, though I found it really easy and bored of it quickly. The racing game...'nuff said. The quality of the units themselve is passable. They look cheaper than they feel. They do have this quaint, chintzy '70s look and feel that sort of remind me of my childhood. That's good for fifty cents. The cheap plastic case was unique for something this cheap. But, then, I suppose Techno Source figured they would sell for more. I'm assuming they use the NOAC. Maybe something more can be made of them. Did'nt Ben Heckendorn (?) use one for his hand held Nintendo unit? Anyway, I'll grab my kid later this weekend and play it with him. I'm sure he will find something he'll like. BTW, he LOVES both the FB1 and FB2. Amazing from someone who has grown up on the N64 and GameCube as well as decent PC's with good graphics.

Yeah, great deal this is. I picked up the wireless Ms. Pac Man. This is a really nice unit. Much improved over the other Jaaks stuff. I've liked most of them anyway, but this one is tops. The twist knob is cool, but I actually found it a bit more difficult that the normal stick. Also, I found the control in Ms. Pac Man a bit awkward, but still playable. I got mine at Gamestop. Have not been to the other store, but I presume those are similarly priced. I asked one of the employees if the company was getting rid of them, as in the entire line, and the guy just looked at me like I was a three toed sloth or something. Then he says 'well, yeah, we are selling them' No kidding. Really! Anyway, in Richmond, VA., they are $4.99 as well.

Hi Folks! Just FYI-these things are currently being clearanced at everyone's favorite big box discount store. That's right, Wal-Mart is unloading them for a whopping $4.88. I picked up one and it's almost worth $4.88. The gameplay is similar enough, but it looks harsh. The graphics are'nt as bad you might think, but they are not that great either. They sort of remind me of the type of graphics you might find in a no-name clone for a home pc (insert favorite early nineties home computer here.) The sound is, hmm, there. The controller feels REALLY, REALLY cheap though I do appreciate the rather large knob. Also, having to press the silly green button on top several times to go from screen to screen JUST TO GET TO THE FREAKING game was very annoying. I am pretty mystified that they release this turkey solo AND another that includes THIS VERY GAME AND several others for the same price. DUMB, DE DUMB DUMB. I'm usually pretty easy on these things-i.e. I usually like them-but this one, well, I just don't feel the love. At least I only paid $4.88 (plus tax) for the thing.

But where did CBS get those first games? Look at the copyrights for Gorf and Wizard of Wor. They belong to Gabriel Industries, a toy company owned by CBS which is best known as the maker of the Erector Set, Tiddly Winks and Othello. So is Gabriel Industries a heretofore unknown developer? It would seem so. Their name only appears on those first two releases. Creative Computing Spring 1982 Gabriel was soon folded into CBS's Ideal Toys, which was sold to ViewMaster in 1986. Intersting that Gabriel was hyped as much as CBS in the intitial video game press. Also interesting that the deal with Bally apparently collapsed a year later. Now, onto an error that just about everyone seems to make (even AtariAge). . . Not true, just look at the cartridge scans. CBS simply licensed Coleco's games. CBS was clearly the publisher, not Coleco. 1004673[/snapback] Good Job! Looks like I need to hone my Googleskill abit more! Thanks for the clarification.

Sorry but that's not true. The CBS which released Gorf, Wizard of War, Blue Print,and those other US releases with the distinctive box is not Coleco. Look at the manuals: Why did they have the license to John Madden, CBS commentator? 1003490[/snapback] While I'm still not completely convinced, I will concede to you for now. I've scoured everything I've found about the various CBS Network owned companies and not found any mention of a 'CBS Electronics' that manufactured and sold video games. The only CBS Electronics references I found were from 1948-1963. That CBS made, among other things, appliances (refrigerators) and the infamous CBS color wheel to be used with a special 405 line CBS made television during the ill-fated FCC approved mechanical color system for US television. Obviously, the guru's figured the American public to be a bunch of dopes and actually trash the $400 bw tv's they already bought for a quasi-mechanical television and mediocre color. No, we were smarter than that. We setteled for mediocre ALL ELECTRONIC color. So there, CBS! Anyway, I digress. I cannot argue with a legit manual either. I found a similar entry here on Atari Age. So, for now, I'll shut up about it. CBS was quite the company. Bought, sold, bought, sold...several times. Now, they are independent again as Paramount has split it out again. Personally, I wish that Ted Turner had gotten his way in 1985 and bought it. Oh, Parker Bros had the best 3rd conversions. Q*Bert was great.

CBS is the same CBS that airs "60 Minutes." They were and are entirely separate companies. CBS' game division made some sort of deal to buy up or distribute Coleco's games. 1003154[/snapback] Yep. I guess I should have said CBS's in house 2600 games: Gorf, Omega Race, Wizard of Wor, etc. 1003197[/snapback] Sorry, but CBS games is NOT the Columbia Broadcasting System - or CBS TV. It is the European arm of Coleco. Check here AtariAge Coleco page and here Intv Funhouse's CBS page Finally, here's a nice article that sums up Coleco's console biz: Dot Eaters Coleco story This has been fun. I love topics like this.

Was'nt CBS just the European arm of Coleco?

Colecovision beat the 5200 in the 82 season while the 5200 took over in Xmas 83 (too late). The 2600 probably had the most sales of all in both years. Notice that Colecovision had the hottest titles for Xmas 82 while the 5200 had the better games for 83. It wasn't just concentration on the Adam, but on the Super Game Module that turned people off. Instead of acquiring hot arcade titles, they drizzled out some original games and hyped up the 1983 version of the 32X. So a year after buying the Colecovision, they were telling us we'd have to buy a new setup to play new versions of the same games we already owned? This was worse than the Adam fiasco but no one seems to remember it. It was also a bad move to make the sports games dependent on those expensive controllers. Coleco made a lot of bad consumer decisions throughout 1983. 1002974[/snapback] Thanks for the correction. I did a bit of checking on the Super Game Module because I did not recall that. Here's a quote from ClassicGaming.com's Colecovision entry: "Expansion Module #3 was originally intended to be the Super Game Module. The SGM was supposed to add 30K of RAM and use 128K "microwafers" shaped like microcassettes. It promised games with intermissions, high-score lists, and extra levels. At first Coleco said the SGM would come packaged with Super Donkey Kong, but later they changed it to Super Buck Rogers and Super Gorf. Later rumors indicated that the Super Game Module would utilize Capacitance Electronic Disks (CEDs), a storage medium similar to vinyl records that had been developed by RCA as a cheap alternative to laserdiscs. A former Coleco employee recently confirmed that prototype Super Game Modules were test-marketed, but in the end, Coleco shelved the SGM and developed the ADAM computer instead. ADAM became the new Expansion Module #3. " So, while I think my original statemen is mostly valid, I can see how the SGM would have scared people. What would have been REALLY bothersome is if they had decided to use CED's as the storage medium. Those things wore quickly (I had three players and over 260 discs) and would have been a lousy storage medium. I think it is fair to say the concentration on wild hardware schemes versus acquiring new titles is more accurate. BTW, they lost $80million on ADAM alone. I wonder how much they sunk into the SGM. I have not seen a figure. You raise a great point too. It is really fascinating to note the difference in consumer thinking then and consumer thinking now. Back then, selling the public on the notion of UPGRADING to a new and better console and then buying the games for said console was just too tough for most to handle. After all, televisions would last ten to twenty years. Why the hell do I need to replace something I've only had a year or two? What are you? NUTS!? Contrast the with today's thinking...how many iPods have you bought? How many game consoles? Hell, I have three versions of the same freaking game, all for different consoles. It was definitely a different world then.

I recall reading the licensing terms for anyone who wanted to develop games for Coleco systems and discussing them with a programmer friend. Both of us agreed at the time that there was no way either of us could imagine any reasonable person wanting to agree to their terms. Of course, that was before obnoxious licensing requirements from console vendors became the norm; I wonder how modern licenses compare to Coleco's? 1002829[/snapback] I would imagine they are equally bad. Nintendo, for instance, has very strict guidelines about content. I remember that for the N64, they were the manufacturer of the cartridges, so they had ultimate say so. If they did not approve, the cart was not made. Just look back to the NES and early SNES days. They sued some third parties (Tengen, for one) for not playing by their rules. If I remember right, only one 'third party' ever got by with unlicensed carts. A really bad company, but I don't recall the name. The games started out as 'normal' but to avoid Nintendo's wrath, the company went religious. Nintendo dare not mess with religion. I'm sure Microsoft is tough too. Sony apparently is more open. Just look at the quality of quite a bit of the games. Awful, just awful. I think they could use more of Nintendo's rigidness, while Nintendo should lighten up a bit. They are in a very precarious postion. It would seem prudent to loosen the controls a bit to get more third parties. I hope the Revolution lives upto it's name.

If I recall, Coleco was FORCED out of the business not because of the Cabbage Patch Dolls (which temporarily saved the company) but because of the awful decision to put it all in the ADAM basket. Instead of putting dollars into a better, next gen console, they sunk it all into a computer that erased it's own tapes, put the power for the whole bloody thing in the printer-which had a nasty habit of breaking-and not getting a grip on quality control. Somewhere between 60 and 90 percent of the units, supposedly, were returned defective. Had Coleco not done this and concentrated solely on the console, who knows, maybe the 'crash' might not have been quite as disasterous for the American companies. Also, I think, the Colecovision was the top selling console for '82-'83, but I might be wrong. It certainly outsold the others during it's initial release, mainly due to Donkey Kong. It is also interesting to note that two of the top selling consoles had similar funky controls. The Cv's controllers were very similar to the Inty's, only they worked better. The Emerson Arcadia had them as well. What an nasty little trend, eh? I'm not so sure about the whole 'they programmed it poorly' thing myself. Although, supposedly, the Inty programmers did their own version of DK that was 'better', they also knew the ins and outs of the Inty better. It takes time to good at something and since Coleco was really a start up in the gaming market, they had not had the time to get good.

I'm curious...what games are 'just awful and unplayable'? My biggest issue with it is PONG. There are two spots where the bloody ball goes through the paddles. Aside from that, the games are pretty good and several border on fandamtastic. Admittedly, I was'nt a big fan of a few of them, but I would'nt consider them 'just awful' or unplayable. Am I imagining it or did'nt Battlezone USED to have objects on the field? Like squares and triangles? I don't see them in this version. I digress. I don't regret buying mine at all. It has provided us with plenty of fun.

That's a great point. One that I forgot about myself. That, alone, would be a great reason to get a 360...were it not for all of the costs, anyway. What's Live cost? Another $20 a month? I'm not sure. But compound that with the cost of each of those wonderful arcade games and suddenly you've paid way more money to play ten year old (or older) games. Don't get me wrong, it is cool. The 360 looks great and has a wonderful gui. The ability to access all of my crap from my media pc is compelling as well. Still, I do love the simpler games. I spend way more time with Dr. Mario or Columns than I should. My Flashback 2 gets quite the workout as well.

Just saw this: XBOX 360 has nothing on the Atari 2600 Forbes article Interesting read. While I agree, in general, that it's about the games, I think the author is a bit off in his assumption that the new console will lack original games. He mistakes BRAND recognition (as well as a tight schedule for the developers) with a lack of creativity. Specifically, Microsoft needed something that would sell the console. More people would buy a 360 AND Madden 06 than they would a 360 and Super Gates Brothers. Anyway, it is nice to see someone in the press recognize that simple gameplay (as well as a lack of buttons) can be more fun than something that looks great but fizzles in the gameplay arena.

As of last Wednesday, three Targets, two Wal-Marts, one kMart and one Gamestop were all sold out. I did find two at a Best Buy and two at another Gamestop. I bought mine at the Best Buy. Oh, this is the Richmond, VA area. Congrats, Curt, the FB2 is wonderful. My son LOVES Maze, Maze and Hangman (and some of the other single player games as well, but he loves beat daddy.)

I just got mine as well. Here in Richmond, VA, they are hard as hell to find. I found two at a Best Buy and also at a Gamestop. Everywhere else were sold out. I had seen a huge display of them at a Wal-Mart several days before Christmas. They sold 'em all by Christmas. Anyway, I must say that is terrific. The best of the of the plug ins yet. Atari did an excellent job on the product and the packaging. I like the box, though Curt's proto box looked very cool indeed. The current box, btw, is what helped me find the bloody thing. It stood out at the Best Buy. So, maybe the marketing folks were'nt so far off! Anyway, I did notice some screen tear and rolling on a couple of games (don't remember which ones, sorry.) I discovered that it DID matter as to which device I used as a monitor. The little Sony PSone screen had some tear on two of the games (Battlezone, I think, was one) and it rolled several times on the Saboteur game. An older TV (with a VCR built into it!) works just fine with it. It's our video game tv anyway (N64, Commodore Stick, several other x-in-1 units, PC) so I will probably use it most often. I do like being able to use the PSone screen, though, since it is sharper (because of it's size, I guess) than the older tv set. I am going to try it on the 60 incher tomorrow. That should be interesting. I am a bit puzzled about some of the games though. According to the pdf manual I downloaded from this forum, Arcade Asteroids is supposed to have a two player (on screen) version. How the heck do you get that to work? I've tried the select button to change the variations, but I've not seen this particular two player mode. Anyone know how to get to it? I MUST be doing something wrong or I've just mis-read the manual. Curt, your team did a tremendous job on this. I sure hope the 2.5 or 3 is just as good or better. Oh, I love the FB 1 too. Some of those ports blow chunks, but I don't care. The feel is there and some of the games are down right addictive (Solaris, anyone?) Cheers and Happy New Year to all!