fiddlepaddle

Thanks. I just started reading it (p.36+)...

If I remember correctly, Activision got the rights to Imagic games at some point and may have issued that version of Quick Step.

In both Kaboom and Breakout, moving the paddle clockwise moves your paddle to the right and counter-clockwise moves it to the left. Paddles are easy to take apart and you can easily (maybe, depending on your confidence level) switch the polarity by swapping the wires connected to the pot. I would first test them on a real 2600 to make sure it's the paddles, though.

I've had to make some minor repairs a couple of times, and occasional cleaning, but my several sets of paddles all still work great.

I'm not completely sure any more, but I used to have one many years ago and I was thinking other joystick games will work with the joyboard... (?)

Interesting to read, but not much "news" there. Sounds very intellectual and academic, as if the author touched superficially on the Top Ten List Popular Opinions of Space Invaders and drew one conclusion from each based on pop science and pop culture and turned it into a paragraph. I certainly did not draw cultural conclusions about guns and fear of Japanese while playing Space Invaders in restaurants and bars and arcades which, by the way, were around long before video games arrived. Shots in SI are more likely just an evolution of the ball concept, and aliens were just a convenient form for invaders to take that is inherently inoffensive and universally acceptable (on this planet, anyway). Despite absence of a paddle, SI game play is actually very similar to Super Breakout (Progressive), or even Exidy Circus.

maybe you can remove the label with a hair dryer?

You need one of each type, just to be safe.

Your problem may not be the cable. Can you describe it in more detail?

Can't tell size from the picture, but the Saturn plug size is about halfway between the larger Genesis 1 plug and smaller Genesis 2 plug. Could also be a cable for a video camera.

Atari did marketing in a completely different way than Nintendo, who have generally been very creative and extremely customer focused. Unless the same individuals were somehow involved, their campaign would have led (if it led at all) in a different direction, with probably more promotion of Atari-owned IP instead. SMB? Maybe, but I bet it wouldn't have been the pack in...

I can't address these specifically, but I can say definitively that two different programmers can EASILY produce programs that behave similarly, yet the code can be completely different. In a typical software development team (albeit from 30 years ago), the "best" programmer is often 50 times better than "average", including speed of coding, quality of code produced (bugs), and efficiency of the resulting program (see "The Mythical Man-Month" for some really interesting information about software development). In other words, one programmer will do it way better AND way faster than another. Also, when tons of memory is available, preserving it may not even be on the radar.

If you disabled the lockout chip by clipping the pin, I believe I read that method will usually work, but not always and you may need to tie the clipped lead to either +5 or ground (not sure which). In that case, your symptom might be explained by that signal "floating" and acting as either +5 or gnd just depending on random noise at the time of reset.

Pretty much all the game stores around here (maybe 6 or 7 I know of) may have some 2600 games, but don't want to buy them from me. They usually don't even want to bother learning the difference in values between titles... I would need to point out "this one is worth $25, this one is worth $75... and even then they say nobody wants them. Most know very little about the older stuff. One guy I took an Intellivision to didn't even know how to connect it up to a modern TV...I had to do it for him. Another time, I took in a Channel F unit with 18 games and the guy tried to look up the value of each one on Amazon (not much information there). Another factor is they make $50 or $100 selling a modern console and it seems not worth their time to sell a $1 game. And most of them seem to price their 2600 carts about $5 when $1 would be more appropriate ("or 12 for $10 special"). And when they display stuff like Vectrex, Virtual Boy, or Jaguar carts, they are usually over-priced. Another owner says "Nobody collects Game Boy games, so I just throw them in this bin back here. Tell me what you want and I'll find it and look up the price on Amazon or ebay." and that's not even pre-crash, so I think it more reflects what these guys LIKE. I bet a lot of new stores get started because someone looks around at their storage unit and thinks, "Hey, I should open a store..." "flea market" - where to look for old games "flee market" - an action taken after grabbing money from someone else's cash register

Try cleaning the slot where the cartridge goes using a credit card wrapped in thin cloth soaked in 91% alcohol or contact cleaner. Bumping/moving causing game crash is likely an intermittent connection in the power path, maybe on the power cord or connector. Try reflowing the solder on the power connector (inside). The "up"-not-working issue sounds like a bad chip, or maybe needs resoldering or reseating if socketed. Could also be the connector(s)...visually inspect solder points for failure or loose wires. IT CAN BE FIXED!

Not sure a SDHC will work. I tried several old cards and ended up using a 1GB SD card. I also had to reformat it from scratch. Make sure the directory is called "Game".

When speaking, I prefer VCS because it rolls off the tongue so easily, but even though it's more awkward to say, I will use 2600 if I need to distinguish more specifically from the 5200 or the 7800. Particularly when writing, VCS has a more vintage connotation, and more correctly refers to the official product name in the early years. Also, as a collector, there was a time when I had approximately 2600 carts, including Ataris, Segas, Intendos, Vectrexes, Colecos, and assorted other types.

The cops-and-lemonade-stand part last week (plus I read about a couple of additional times last year...same "permit" type situation) http://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/05/29/lemonade-stand-shut-down/ The pay-your-fines part? don't know...

Re-flowing the power connector usually fixes that problem.

Chess by telegram? ENIAC wargames?

First, know that I personally would never see myself pay a premium so I could preserve a "new" boxed game. The "perfectness level" of your interest is much higher than mine. However, you got me thinking how I would feel in your situation. It doesn't sound like that NES is EXACTLY what you want. If I wanted something in a certain condition, and I paid what I thought was a price that was fair to myself and also to the seller to get it, I would want what I paid for. I might compromise with myself and accept a discount, but I might not, depending on how much I want "exactly that". For example, say I want to reward myself for accomplishing something that was a real challenge. I decide to go to Dairy Queen because I really like a vanilla cone with a really thick chocolate shell. I've been thinking about it all day and I know it might be hard to get, but that's what I want. I ask if they can double dip the cone in chocolate, and the server says with a big smile "Why, yes, I can do that for you, sir!" So I pay extra for it, but then the server isn't able to do it without dropping the ice cream in the vat. They try three times and just can't do it. Since they can't give me what I asked for, and paid for, then I don't really want to compromise. I probably just want my money back so I can go down the street and get something even better at Baskin Robbins or wherever. I would think there would be, somewhere, a new old stock NES eventually, still unopened which would satisfy what you want. You may just have to be patient, or be willing to pay more than you are right now. Personally, I would probably compromise and take the one I got, but on the other hand I might not even notice the scuffing you describe or would just chalk it up manufacturing or shipping incidents.

The $200 machines most game stores have aren't as good as the $1200 machines (look them up to identify which are which). Any is going to be removing plastic material I think, though, so you'll never be able to make it as good as new. I have had some success making a disk look and work better by using a little bit of car wax rubbed in by hand.

This situation perfectly exemplifies the old adage, "When you cheat, you're only cheating yourself." I take it to heart: if it's more fun with auto-fire, I do it that way; if not, then I don't. Perhaps of equal import, auto-fire cuts wear and tear on controller buttons, and any technique that reduces cramps or other physical damage to my body is a winner.

It's true, you two too, two plus two too many, too.

I got mine before the NES was out, or at least, before I had one.