candiru

Complaints that a game's story isn't very good, seem to get blown way out of proportion. I can understand it to a certain extent, especially with RPGs. But when you come right down to it, a game is fun to play or it isn't.

Maybe using the plug-and-play isn't such a bad idea. I think it's more appropriate to picture a rushed cash-grab type of product as the subject for this kind of 5-minute Photoshop art. I bet that's the kind of artistic statement that 3rd guy from the left in Walk the Line was trying to make.

I've always liked Space Cavern as well, but if I didn't have it as a kid, I probably wouldn't give it a second thought. Demons to Diamonds always gets bagged on, but I don't think it's as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It is a paddle game after all. Why, even Skeet Shoot might be good if.... if...um...no.

Anybody else notice the Karateka and Karateeka pronunciation differences between the commercials? I guess there wasn't a consensus on how to say it back then either.

Your attitude toward gays seems a little conflicted.

You know, from the topic title I really expected more robots and ass-grabbing in this post.

Tiny bit of credibility you had = gone "Stooge Invaders" maybe?

That's a pretty good write-up. Just a few nights ago I put in an evening of Galaga. First on the NES and then the 7800. I'd had them both for awhile but never put much time into them. The 7800 version is OK, but if you've got the NES version, well the 7800 cart is bound to get dustier. I was surprised that the 7800 pulled off the music as well as it did, given its limitations. Still, it could have been so much better in the gameplay and graphics department. I'd have to give the advantage to the NES version for #5, the "Anything Else" category. You can use a very common accessory, the Game Genie, with the NES version. My apologies to the purists.

You guys could be a little nicer. You didn't have to squash his dreams so fast. Please have some consideration for those of us who enjoy the comedic potential these kinds of threads present. This one is pretty good, but think of how good it could have been....

Maybe it's a space issue. Pardon me if my ignorant uninformed American is showing, but I always got the impression that the average Japanese household is fairly cramped by our standards. Maybe keeping lots of old hardware and software around simply isn't feasible due to space?

I asked my wife that question a few years ago and initially she said she'd probably take most of it to a thrift store! Not that I'll really care when I'm dead and gone, but I'm glad I asked. I told her to give it away to whatever family and friends are interested, then post the rest of it here and somebody would help her figure out the best way to sell the rest of the stuff.

No it doesn't You're exactly right Lord Helmet. The prototype units have a little man that lives inside that makes the game noises. The "speaker" holes allow his voice to escape as well as providing much needed ventilation. He's probably hungry by now Cody. I recommend putting some peanut butter in the cartridge slot. (smooth, not chunky)

Maybe Cody has a prototype system. I wonder how much that would be worth. Any ideas Cody?

Sorry if I'm an idiot for asking, but is that an actual pirate game? That's one that would be worth having even if you aren't into the funky pirate carts. I've always thought Threshold was one of the best looking carts. I like most of the Atari picture labels too.

I have 2 Vintage Stocks fairly close by. I've picked up a few decent deals, but nothing spectacular. Lately they've been slightly better about putting more reasonable prices on common games. Anything even slightly rare, even if it's in horrible shape gets an inflated price -- usually for higher than you would pay on Ebay+shipping. A few weeks ago I was in there, and if they have a resident Atari collector, he wasn't working that day. I noticed an unpriced box full of 2600 and Colecovision games behind the counter and inquired about them. I pulled a few out and asked about prices. Two of the employees started looking them up for me. After showing them how to tell CV games apart from Atari (which was fine, they honestly didn't know and seemed glad for the info.) they couldn't find a listing for the CV games. So then "Mr. Expert in Charge" strolls over, pulls the guide out of the girl's hands and quotes me prices off of what I could see was the Atari list. "Oh, did you find the Colecovision listing?" I asked. "No, this guide doesn't list Colecovision games because they're compatible with Atari and vice versa." I just shook my head and walked out. I thought about telling him that if he doesn't know something he shouldn't just make things up, but I figured any education I gave him would just make him feel that much more justified in their high prices.

99% of my collection is from thrift stores and flea markets so most of it is loose. I have bought a couple systems+game lots to get a few specific titles, but mostly I get the games a few at a time as I find them. When I started acquiring this stuff it was more about finally having games I used to drool over in the catalogs as a kid. I'm a packrat anyway so the transition to collector was inevitable. I still enjoy playing the games, but I won't pass up a horrible game if it's one I'm missing and the price is right. Ebay doesn't interest me that much. I'm not a big spender by any means so I'll probably never have anything incredibly rare, but I do enjoy the hunt!

I heard that the PS1 is only 11 bit.

I think you hit the nail on the head right there. Sorry to go a little off-topic, but for this one, I've got to say that you must have an exceptional group people you associate with. On a daily basis I deal with our clients' ideas of what they *think* looks good....and trust me, their design sense ain't so great.

What method are you using to take that stuff off? I've had pretty good luck with nothing more than a cloth and nearly boiling water. Dip a corner, squeeze out most of the water, hold it over the crayon mark a few moments to let the heat soften it up, then start wiping it off. Seems like I might have even learned that method right here at AA. It works pretty good. Red crayon on white textured plastic seems the worst.

Atari 7800s and Colecovisions tend to suffer from flaky power switches, but a bad switch on a 2600 isn't all that common. I've had more problems from dirty cartridges than the port itself. Unless somebody spilled a can of Coke down there, a little compressed air will probably take care of the port on your Atari. I don't have a stack of consoles to rival the height of a house, but I've acquired more than my share of 2600s, all from thrift stores and flea markets. I think there are maybe 2 that have problems. Buying a system in "the wild" is a pretty safe bet. You're more likely to find the 4-switch variety than a sixer though. If you buy online, and it's advertised as tested and working (assuming the seller is honest of course!) you shouldn't have any problems. As for sealant, could you be thinking of Armor All.....??? I'm just warning you, that can be a pretty touchy subject around here.

You have to have an adapter to use 2600 sticks. The TI sticks are crap and most of the time don't work anymore since the internal contacts seem to be just metallic paint on a sheet of flexible plastic.

Frogs and Flies hasn't been mentioned yet. My wife enjoys that one and she doesn't really care for most Atari games. Indy 500 of course. I actually find the dot and tag games more fun than racing. M*A*S*H is a good one too.

The last game our family got was Sky Jinks. My dad picked it out. I think because he liked airplanes and he happened to be working on his private pilot's license at the time.

Here are my favorites: Tapper River Raid Outlaw Lock 'n' Chase London Blitz

Pfft, gasoline. Use white gas (ie Coleman fuel) like a real man! I always use alcohol like most folks. So is there a recognized stage of sickness when you've used up your first full bottle exclusively for cleaning cartridges? I'm coming up on that milestone.