fiddlepaddle

I've used Goo Gone extensively, but only once or twice (accidentally) on the contacts when I meant to use 91% alcohol. It does remove things like crayon (wax), and adhesive residue. Alcohol removes Sharpie and some other things that Goo Gone does not remove. They are fairly complementary. If your cartridge (or slot) had a gummy label residue on it, then first using Goo Gone, and follow up by cleaning with alcohol would probably be the best thing. I don't think leaving Goo Gone residue, which is citris-based and so possibly acidic, on the contacts for an extended period would be wise. I've also had excellent success on stubborn cartridges with a product called "Caig Pro-Gold" contact conditioner, available online and in some electronic stores. It has permanently fixed virtually every cartridge I've had recurring problems with (and also solved a similarly irritating problem with the dome light switch in my car).

Yeah i have one of those.The box had refurbished or reconditioned on the box in red or orange letters back in 81 or 82 IIRC.What was the reason they were sent back anyway?Were they defective? defective, broken, overstock, whatever... Remember this was back in the olden days when companies used to actually repair stuff.

You get one in every replacement PS2 you buy...

Most of us probably have 'classic farting' stories from our past. I also think a scene from Blazing Saddles would qualify, as well as a couple of bits by George Carlin. Anyone want to make a wikipedia entry?

I don't know what's well known or not, but like Robotron 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Scooby-Doo, Extreme-G 1&2, Lode Runner 3D, Blast Corps, SCARS, Rush 2049 (other three versions are good too), Star Soldier, Tony Hawk123, Wave Race, Yoshi's Story. You have to have a memory pack in the console for it to work. I haven't found a single N64 that does not work, even one where the case was all cracked like somebody ran over it with a car, and I've picked up maybe 20 in the last few years. The basic memory packs (for the console) are fairly easy to find since people had them left over when upgrading to the expanded memory pack for the few games that needed it.

I just get the game if I don't have it, then if I see it boxed, I upgrade. Slowly, over time, my boxed set grows and my loose set becomes my "keep the spare by my desk to play so I can keep the boxes in good condition" set. If I decide I don't really want to play it (much), I'll give the extra one to my niece or nephew, who I gave an extra console to a couple of years ago for Christmas. But I never (well, almost never) pay more than a couple of bucks for a game, either...

Oh, well. Can't always change the world to fit one's perception. Another example of the difference between Wikipedia's consensus-based engine vs. established-use criteria of traditional reference sources.

Saw your recommendation (never tried the game until a few minutes ago). Like it so far, except (me too) the onerous password system...too many non-english letters so I have to write down 32 different symbols each time. Oh, well. Still, I'll be going back to it. It seems to be fairly common, so it was probably popular.

Great job. It got my "what if" juices flowing... How much per unit would it cost to manufacture a hundred new PC boards, or to create a Coleco-chip? $400 seems what you need to make it worth your time, but that's too much for me I think, unless I had more to blow on the "cool" factor than I do right now... but $100 (maybe $150) I could justify. 100 x $100 is $10,000: with a chip, or even surface mount (like AJ said), mightn't it be possible to build that many and still make enough to justify the work to make them? Maybe it's too big of a project, but I bet you could sell 100 of these at that price point. If there was Coleco-chip available, would anybody else consider buying the chip and making something like those Atari plug n plays? (just another way to recover costs, maybe make some profit) What about PC-on-a-chip with Colecovision emulation software in ROM in a black-box way? On another note: could the joystick connector be Y'd into two connectors (for each player, total of four connectors) allowing connection of Atari-compatible along with Coleco joystick? I do like the Jag mod controller, but again, more cost I can't justify.

As time goes on, there will be fewer and fewer people who care, or even know about Atari. Think back to previous generations' past-times. What about extremely popular radio programs of the 30's and 40's. Some of those shows are really entertaining (Lum & Abner, Abbott and Costello, Burns & Allen), but I bet hardly anybody under 50 even knows what they are, yet alone has been listening to them on their MP3 player this month. About using original Atari hardware? Only purists, of which there will be very few. How many of us listen to Scott Joplin music (or even Glenn Miller music) on a 78 rpm record?

I believe in landfills! I believe in Atari! The truth is out there.

where do you find the "TnB Eraser"?

If the marker is from a Sharpie (most are), then it can be removed very easily with 91% alcohol. Watch the labels, though (especially N64)...they may fade if rubbed with alcohol.

Microcenter is a computer store, but the two that I've been to, in Santa Clara California and in Columbus Ohio both have game departments (not much used stuff, though), and a pretty good magazine section.

I buy it occasionally, but don't subscribe since it costs about the same to buy it at the magazine rack (by the way, I've bought it at Fry's, Microcenter, Barnes&Noble, Borders, even at a Best Buy or Circuit City once (but don't remember which). I really like the section where they show all the old systems with photos and brief descriptions, even though it's pretty much the same every month. Anybody know why some magazines sell a subscription for like 20% of the cover price where others, like RG don't give much of a discount?

It wasn't 'classic' back in the 80s. It was contemporary. Actually, what was 'classic' in the 80's was what was contemporary in the 60's and 70's (notice 'video' is not part of the quote)...

Facebook is insidious, I'd stay away. (google "facebook department of defense")

The replies here are not surprising since this forum is about old games/Atari, "older games are better than new ones". I wonder if we would see a similar sentiment from the current generation of mainstream gamers. My real question: are game companies actually producing what the game market wants, or have they just shoe-horned game production into the Hollywood movie machine, with everyone just cranking out product and force-feeding it to the masses? Do young kids even know how to solve a real puzzle that involves some frustration (like Rubik's cube), or play a real game that takes some thought and development of strategy (like Chess)? If some big time game producer from the modern gaming industry even took the time to read this thread, would it have any impact?

Happens all the time at flea markets. Some people can't seem to make up their mind whether they really want something, they put it down and I grab it...SOLD! Also, several times, I've bought something, carried it around as I look at other stalls, and sure enough, somebody has something I value even more that they want to trade with. A couple of years ago, I got a 4-switch VCS and some games for $10 bucks, then 30 minutes later, traded the unit only, no power, one controller, for a complete Nintendo 64 Picachu with expansion pack and some more games. Then I even traded some of the games which were dupes for other games I didn't have... all in the same morning.

(Ahem...) When classic gaming stuff hit it big the first time, it was the late 80's, WE were all in our 30s and... oh, wait... When classic gaming stuff hit it big the really first time, it was the late 70's, pinball machines and foose ball ruled the arcades, we were teenagers and TV tennis games were given away with magazine subscriptions and new bank accounts... um, no that's not right... When classic gaming hit it big the very very first time, it was the 60's, bowling was on Tuesday, Bridge on Friday, Poker on Saturday (OK, it was my parents), people collected board games, card games, dice games... Hey! Maybe this stuff just goes in cycles?!?

Tempting...but I can't justify the gas (3 1/2 hours each way)... Be interested to find out if you sell much from a garage sale. good luck.

Playing old games is sort of like listening to music: When I play a new CD (oops! I forgot, ripped and MP3'ed a just-bought-used CD), I usually listen to it several times in as many days, then I get tired of it and weeks or months (or even years) may go by before I play it again. Then, when I do, all that original goodness comes back, along with the nostalgia of whatever I was doing when I first fell in love with some song in the first place. Games work the same way. Sure, I get tired of playing Space Invaders (though it might take a while sometimes). But when I do, I go on to something else. Then when I finally go back, I have a blast. I also just feel good knowing I have the OPTION to play one of many, many games (or songs). My advice: if you EVER liked playing a game, keep it. If it's lame, it just depends on how you feel about renting storage units...

Regarding Armor All: It has a distinctive disadvantage when used on certain plastic materials, like vinyl (not sure about the Atari plastic). Armor All, in doing it's cleaning work, actually pulls out some of the (ahem) 'natural' oils from the plastic, which is OK if you continue to use Armor All periodically. The problem is if you use it once or twice, then not any more, especially if that plastic is exposed to the air and/or sun, the plastic will become more brittle more quickly than it otherwise would (by the way, most plastic becomes more brittle with time anyway). Witness the many plastic dashboards and vinyl roofs of old cars that are cracked, peeling and flaking. There are many fifty-year-old plastic toys that were pretty durable in their day, but would shatter if you dropped them now.

I have always picked up games because I like to play them, but I've noticed there are people who collect who don't play them much. Some buy and sell, either ebay, or game store, or flea market... Others seem to spend most of their time displaying them, or organizing them, or documenting them for posterity by creating books and websites. Do you collect games just for playing? for resale? for historical significance? for investment value? for showing off?

read this: http://atari.digital-madman.com/