timdu

The official Mean Santa FAQ has been added to our web site. This document is a work in progress. I have more that I want to add Please let me know if you think of something that should be added / if you have any suggestions, etc. http://2600connection.atari.org/msfaq.html -Tim

Mean Santa "unlimited" update: We are still accepting pre-orders. The parts to make the cartridges have arrived and they are being manufactured this week. -Tim

Please remember the fact this was our first time releasing an Atari 2600 cartridge. As hobbyists, the main idea was to release the game at the same time as the 100th print issue of the 2600 Connection newsletter in July 2009. We ran into some unexpected delays, but it did get released in October 2009. Since we never did this before, we really didn't know what to expect. To tell you the truth, we never thought about setting a limit to 1 game per person. What would have stopped a potential buyer from ordering a game in their name and address, one in their brother's name and address, one in their father's name and address, etc? I guess my point is, there are some things that are out of the seller's control. And, I think, in the future, it is likely that we will see some of the other 100 limited release games for sale on ebay, craigslist, chasethechuckwagon.com or the like. -Tim D.

John (Propane13) discovered that someone sold one of the limited 100 Mean Santa cartridges on ebay in France! The first "individual post-production" sale was profitable for this ebay seller. It sold for 44 EURO. That converts to $63.33 in US funds! (according to xe.com) Check it out.... http://cgi.ebay.fr/Mean-Santa-Atari-2600-%28complet%29_W0QQitemZ270510416164QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20100105?IMSfp=TL100105228001r24282 If you don't speak / understand French, here is the listing description translated (according to babelfish.com): http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.fr%2FMean-Santa-Atari-2600-%2528complet%2529_W0QQitemZ270510416164QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20100105%3FIMSfp%3DTL100105228001r24282&lp=fr_en&btnTrUrl=Translate -Tim

I tuned in about 8:30 EST and could not get anything to come up. Was not sure if it was on my end or on ustream's end. I figured I would check today and see if I could view it as an archive.

Our artist Dan Skelton provided some alternate labels for our "unlimited" edition Atari 2600 game Mean Santa. These were created for fun by Dan... we thought you might like to see them. 1. Atari silver label style 2. Atari Children's Television Workshop series style 3. Activision style Tim D. http://2600connection.atari.org

It seems the Atari pajama pants or "sleep pants" as they are labelled were popular this year. Also got the cool navy blue Atari joystick T shirt with the REPRESENT text on it. My wife also knows me too well. I also received RACING THE BEAM, a book about the Atari 2600 platform. Very interesting. I am about 1/2 done with it and I am enjoying it. Pictures attached. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Tim D.

Just my opinion, I think the label should be in color to compromise the lack of the casing which has great artwork on it. People would more likely miss or glance over some of the detail that the artwork on the label if it is in black and white. Edit: I think I missed the part that this is a mock up and the real thing should be in color. I will forward your suggestion to Dan Skelton, who is creating the label on our team. Thanks for your input, Tim D.

That's odd, generally when you give someone a refund they get the complete amount back. ..Al Looked into this. When a PAYPAL user receives a payment, they incur a fee. So when the payment that HatNJ sent was returned to him and he received the payment, he incurred a fee. Not something we charged him... this was something PAYPAL does and charges to their users for using their service. I have spoken with the others on the MEAN SANTA team and we are considering offering a 1.20 credit towards the purhase of a MEAN SANTA "unlimited" cartridge. I think he may have a case with PAYPAL and may be able to cotact their customer service, but I have a feeling that he may get nowhere with them and they would simply say the fee is their policy and that's that... however, my argument then would be "but I sent a payment for an item and I never received the item." The fee would make a little more sense to me if HatNJ had sent payement, received the game in the mail, and sent the game back, and then a refund was sent... but this was not the case here ... HatNJ missed out on the game because we sold out before we could fulfill his order... so the more I think about it here, HatNJ may have a case with PAYPAL. Perhaps if HatNJ calls PAYPAL customer service and is persistent with them, they may remove the fee to his account. Tim D.

Feast your eyes on the attached picture: It's a mock-up of the label, non-laminated but in color. The picture shows more "white edges" on the label than it looks like in real life (I think this has to do with the flash). You can kind of get an idea - this is what the Mean Santa "unlimited" cartridge will look like. Happy Holidays! Tim D. http://2600connection.atari.org/

I heard back from Al Backiel and he informed me that your PAYPAL order got "lost in the shuffle." He has sent a PAYPAL refund to you today. He has also sent you an email. Things got pretty hectic once we got some publicity here on Atari Age, especially with the news blurb on the front page of Atari Age. I am glad that we sold out. I would like to thank everyone who purchased the game for their support. Just a reminder that you can get on the pre-order an "unlimited" version of Mean Santa. It is going to sell for $15 plus $3.50 shipping. It is just the loose cart and basic manual in a bubble mailer. Anyone interested in getting on the pre-order list can send me a PM. I will contact you when they are ready. Tim D. http://2600connection.atari.org/

I am happy to report we are now accepting pre-orders for the "unlimited edition" Mean Santa game cartridge. It's easy! If you want to order a cartridge, send me your name and email address in private message. Do not send payment at this time. We'll put you on our list and as soon as the game is in stock and ready to be shipped, we will contact you. The "unlimited edition" Mean Santa game cartridge will be a loose, unnumbered game cartridge with a slightly different game label and a basic manual shipped in a basic economy bubble mailer. It will sell for $15 plus $3.50 shipping. (We have not worked out the details yet for the international PAL version at this time) Here is what the label of the game cartridge will look like. Special thanks to Dan Skelton for the design: Tim Duarte http://2600connection.atari.org

I have posted the The Registered List of Mean Santa Owners http://2600connection.atari.org/meanlist.html Each of the 100 Mean Santa games sold for $25 and included a serial-numbered cartridge (1 of 100, 2 of 100, 3 of 100 etc.), case, and game manual. It was a limited run of 100 games, which was planned in celebration of the 100th print issue of the 2600 Connection newsletter. Tim D.

The 2600 Connection limited edition of Mean Santa is now officially Sold Out ! Thank you to everyone who purchased the 100 game cartridges and made this project a success! As John stated above, the Mean Santa team is working out the details on making more. More details very soon. Tim D.

As of today, All NTSC cartridges are sold out. Only 4 PAL carts remain. So 96 out of the 100 have sold. If you did not get one of the 100 games, hang in there. We are discussing some future plans amongst the MEAN SANTA team. Stay tuned... Tim D.

I have to give credit to Dan Skelton for the artwork. It was his brilliant idea. I personally love it. Dan came up with the idea, painted it, and then scanned it into his PC. After seeing his excellent artwork in the Stella gets a new Brain project, I was so glad to have him on board. I gave him the green light and we "ran with his idea." The result is pure magic in my opinion. More about Dan @ http://2600connection.atari.org/dan.html

I find that in fall and winter , at least here Massachusetts, I am inside the house more due to the cold weather. So I would be more prone to play videogames... than say in the spring or summer months I also recall growing up and spending many snow days when school was cancelled playing the Atari all morning and day.. Good memories... Tim

I can look into the cost of sending the cart in a bubble mailer to the U.K. We are also including a hard shell plastic case (it normally holds 9-10 DVDs) with the game. I think in the past when you received games, it probably was just the loose cart and a manual. That could be an option too as well... if you would like to forfeit the hard shell plastic case and just receive the game cartridge, game manual, and cover sheet for this box, I can definitely look into this as an option. Send me a PM if interested Tim D.

We are not making any profit on the shipping. We use the USPS, and if you go to the USPS.COM web site and click calculate postage, and choose international, you will see that a 1 pound package from USA to Great Britain costs $12.95 Priority Mail® International Small Flat-Rate Box* USPS-supplied Priority Mail Small Flat-Rate Box 5 3/8" x 8 1/2" X 1 3/4". Maximum weight 4 pounds. 6 - 10 Days $12.95 Just wanted to make it clear that we are not "marking up" the rate for shipping... Tim Duarte

Our stock of the 2600 Connection homebrew 2600 game MEAN SANTA is over half sold out.. order today and get yours before Christmas! Just in case you missed this topic... http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/148718-mean-santa-2600/ Send me a PM or check out our web site http://2600connection.atari.org Happy Holidays! Tim Duarte

Yes, we still have the MEAN SANTA game available for sale. We have sold over half our quantity. Order yours today so you get it in time for the holiday. Send me a PM or check out our web site Tim Duarte http://2600connection.atari.org

Now that the 2009 Christmas season is officially here, we would like to give an update... We still have the homebrew MEAN SANTA available - and it makes a perfect Christmas gift for the Atari 2600 fanatic on your list. Our inventory is half sold out, get yours before Christmas! The price is $25.00 + postage below: Postage: $5.00 USA $11.00 Canada / Mexico $13.00 Other / International Handling: $1.00 For PayPal transaction/conversion fees ( to [email protected] ) Payment: Will accept a check drawn on a US bank or PayPal. All prices are in US DOLLARS. A small number of PAL games have been created for our international friends. The majority are NTSC cartridges. Please specify if you want a PAL version. Al Backiel 253 Rock Rd. Ridgewood, NJ 07450-4719 email: [email protected] more info on our web site: http://2600connection.atari.org/ just in case you missed this, here is the link to the Mean Santa homebrew discussion thread: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/148718-mean-santa-2600/

The wait is over! Mean Santa has officially been released and is ready to be shipped via Priority Mail. Get yours for $25.00 + postage below: Postage: $5.00 USA $11.00 Canada / Mexico $13.00 Other / International Handling: $1.00 For PayPal transaction/conversion fees ( to [email protected] ) Payment: Will accept a check drawn on a US bank or PayPal. All prices are in US DOLLARS. Mean Santa comes complete with a serial-numbered cartridge (1 of 100, 2 of 100, 3 of 100 etc.), case, and game manual. It will only be a limited run of 100 games. Contact: Al Backiel 253 Rock Rd. Ridgewood, NJ 07450-4719 email: [email protected] http://2600connection.atari.org

It's official! The wait is over! Mean Santa has been released and is ready to be shipped via Priority Mail. Get yours for $25.00 + postage below: Postage: $5.00 USA $11.00 Canada / Mexico $13.00 Other / International Handling: $1.00 For PayPal transaction/conversion fees ( to [email protected] ) Payment: Will accept a check drawn on a US bank or PayPal. All prices are in US DOLLARS. Mean Santa comes complete with a serial-numbered cartridge (1 of 100, 2 of 100, 3 of 100 etc.), case, and game manual. It will only be a limited run of 100 games. Contact: Al Backiel 253 Rock Rd. Ridgewood, NJ 07450-4719 email: [email protected] http://2600connection.atari.org

Al Backiel is managing the pre-order list. To get on the pre-order list, send your name and address to him. His email is: [email protected] Please note we are * not * accepting payments at this time. The plan is to sell the game for $25 & $5 shipping. There will be an additional shipping expense to ship the game outside the states. More details soon. Tim http://2600connection.atari.org/