PackratVG

Update - We now have only nine copies left. If you're contemplating ordering one, you still have a few days left. To receive the cart by Christmas Eve, you'll need to order by Friday. I thought that a few of you might like to see another picture and even a clip of the cart blinking. The clip is 2.54 MB and in Quicktime format. It's nothing amazing, but at least gives you a good idea of what it really looks like blinking. Enjoy! Sincerely, Jarett Waite Owner Packrat Video Games www.packratvg.com Clip: http://www.packratvg.com/pictures/Ornament_Movie.mov

This little product has turned out to be more of a controversy than I thought. To be fair, CPUWIZ's blinking cart did serve as inspiration for our ornament cart. He always seems to have something new up his sleeve, and that's part of what makes collecting fun. I hope that he continues to innovate. On the flip side, we also improved his design by quite a bit. We have six LED's inside of the cart, and they alternate the blinking pattern. We also added a 9V jack on the back so that you can put it on your Christmas tree and plug it in. I apologize if anyone has been offended and hope that we can all have a wonderful holiday season. Sincerely, Jarett

I appreciate the feedback. To respond, the ornaments are actually priced fairly when you take into account how much it costs to buy clear cases, labels (not clear, yes, but transparent ), flashing LED's, 3.5mm jacks, wire, and artwork. The time that it takes to put each one together must also be taken into account. Whenever something like this is offered, there's always going to be people that don't think twice about ordering, while others feel that it is too expensive. That's okay. It is true that anyone with a basic understanding of electronics could put this together. As stated, this isn't the first time that it's been done, but we saw an opportunity to offer a fun and new use of this style of cart. I hope that it spawns other ideas as uses. I'll PM you CPUWIZ with a few questions. Thanks, Jarett

Just an FYI for everyone, our Atari Cart Christmas Ornament 2003 is now available. Check out the Marketplace forum for more information. Thanks, Jarett Waite Owner Packrat Video Games www.packratvg.com

Packrat Video Games is pleased to announce the limited release of the Atari Cart Christmas Ornament 2003. As can be seen below, this Christmas ornament is made with clear cases from Video Game Wiz. Red and green LED's are mounted inside of the cart and flash when it is plugged into an Atari system. The LED's also blink when a standard Atari AC adaptor is plugged into the back of the cart. A hook is mounted on the back so that you can hang it on your Christmas tree. The actual game inside of the ornament can be chosen from the following games: Air-Sea Battle Baseball Basketball Combat Football Golf Night Driver Street Racer Surround Video Olympics These games all come from carts that we have stripped for cases for our homebrews, so they get their second chance in an Atari Cart Christmas Ornament. Other games are available at an additional cost. Please contact customer service for custom ornaments. The price per ornament is $22.95, plus $3.85 for shipping via Priority Mail. They'll begin shipping Monday, December 15, and they're guaranteed to arrive by Christmas Eve. Please click here to order yours today. Payment may also be sent via Paypal to [email protected] We expect to make only about 40 copies for this Christmas season, so don't hesitate to order yours soon as we expect them to sell out quite quickly. Please feel free to post any questions or concerns and I’ll respond quickly. Happy Holidays! Sincerely, Jarett Waite Owner Packrat Video Games www.packratvg.com

Just an FYI for everyone, Soeren just released his final version of KTAA. We'll be offering his game in cart form very soon, most likely by the end of the next week. Thanks, Jarett Waite Owner Packrat Video Games www.packratvg.com

I'm actually working on Atari ornaments right now. Hopefully I'll have everything done in the coming week and post here in time for people to pick one up before Christmas. More details to follow... Jarett

We currently have a six-switcher set up for testing all of the games that come in. I've been suprised by how many barely fit. Several have been too tight and we've tested them on other systems in fear of scratching the sides of the carts. It baffles me that they produced carts that didn't fit in all of the Atari systems. Hope this helps, Jarett

Thomas, Most of the time the game won't even boot. Sometimes, however, the game will start but then quickly crashes. When whis happens, usually a few pixels on the screen are scrambled. Interestingly, this only occurs with six switch systems. Jr's and four switch systems don't have any problems at all with the 2732A. I hope that this answers your question! Thanks, Jarett

Thank you everyone for your support. I greatly appreciate it. I spent over six hours yesterday testing and re-testing to confirm that it is an EPROM problem. It appears that we had a few 2732A's mixed in that were a different speed. I'm no expert on timing issues, but I'm very tempted to say that EPROM speed is the cause of the problem. Just as a reminder to anyone reading this, we stand behind our products 100%. If you have any concern at all about a game that we sold you, please don't be shy. We'll do everything necessary to make sure that you are pleased. Thanks, Jarett P.S. Since we have no way of contacting everyone that purchased a homebrew from us at CGE, please pass the word onto others that may not read this board or DP. Thanks!

If you purchased a homebrew from our booth at CGE2k3, please visit this page on our website: www.packratvg.com/recall.htm It's VERY important. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Jarett Waite Owner Packrat Video Games

We print our labels at 300 dpi, which works out to be 862 x 1059. The exact dimensions are 2.75" x 3.406". The end labels are 862 x 196, or 2.75" x .531". Thanks, Jarett

We're pleased to announce the winner of the label contest. Congratulations go out to Happy_Dude for his "Resistance is Futile" label. As a prize he'll receive several game carts from Atari Troll and a completed version of Borgwars Asteroids from us. Nice job everyone! Thanks, Jarett

I'm not quite sure what I'll end up doing with it. I'll probably enjoy it until CGE and then see if anyone there will want it. I'm almost done with a lamp as well. -Jarett

As mentioned by Atari Troll, we'll be offering a finshed copy of Borgwars Asteroids as a prize for the competition. We'll also be helping out on the judging. Good luck everyone!

I've been wondering for quite some time what I should do with the 300+ Combat cartridges that we've accumulated over the years. This is what I came up with. I made sure to use cases that were scratched and couldn't be used for homebrews. Tell me what you think! -Jarett

Just an FYI for everyone, PVG is now offering a new hack service. Details may be found here. The page explains how to have any hack of your choice put on a cartridge and sent to you. Not mentioned is our offer to hack authors to publish their titles through us. We offer everything that you need for a great looking game, including full-color labels and manuals printed on our color laser printer. The games may be sold in our online store or sent to you to distribute. Please PM me with any questions or concerns. Thanks, Jarett Waite Owner Packrat Video Games www.packratvg.com

It would be no problem to print off a label for you at no extra charge. We would have to print it on a sheet of gloss paper instead of our label sheets. Our sheets have eight labels each and can only be run through the printer once. FYI, our hacks info page may be found here. Thanks, Jarett

Leonard, Thank you for the heads up. It's been fixed. Liquid, Burning hacks onto cartridges will be $9.95 each. Shipping will be an additional $1.00 per cartridge via USPS First Class Mail. All you'll need to do is send a request to customer service with the bin of the hack that you want burned attached to the email. We'll set up an information page by tomorrow with a little more information. Thanks, Jarett

Please read above! -Jarett

I don't know how you do it Andrew. You're incredible and keep up the good work. People have been asking for something like this for ages and no one has been dedicated enough to even really try. I'm sure that this will make it to print form one way or another in the future. Thanks so much! Jarett

It'll be interesting to see how the financial situation of Infogrames changes with the new name. Not that the Atari name carries a curse of bad judgement and poor financial planning, but we all know what happened to Atari after Nolan sold it. Only time will tell.... Jarett

We're just about there. We've been proofing the manuals and working out a few other minor details in the past few weeks. Look for a formal announcement in just a few days. Thanks for your interest! Sincerely, Jarett Waite Owner Packrat Video Games www.packratvg.com

I love Indy 500 as well. I've spent many a night playing this game with friends. Jarett

That's definitely a Colecovision cartridge. We've seen several of these pass through. It's still quite rare, though, a 5+ in the DP guide. Nice find. Jarett