lazzeri

X68k was the development tool Capcom used to create all CPS-1 games so the x68k versions of them are just 1:1 accurate, arcade-perfect. The video modes are indeed a pain. There are thee different video frequencies: 15hz, 24hz and 31hz. And very few modern monitors can handle them. 15hz specially is a HUGE problem since it's NOT standand (more like 14.96hz or something). So you best guess is to have a decent scaler (about 500 dollars a piece) OR to grab its original monitor. I was so damn lucky that a friend of mine gave up collecting and sold me his. but they're expensive and hard to import.

I am not sure how many of you collect Brazilian carts but here's a heads-up: there's a market for reprint labels of those carts. The 4-in-1 are easy to spot, originally it was a generic label with a sticker with the games attached in it - The reprint have it all printed together. http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-745026515-label-etiqueta-atari-dactar-para-cartucho-fotos-reais-_JM Polyvox ones might be harder. The very first series had a silver-ish look that might be hard to reproduce, much like Spectravideo carts. The latter ones are plain and easy to duplicate. I guess the best way to sort them apart is the corners - original ones are round. http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-740866508-label-etiqueta-atari-polyvox-para-cartucho-fotos-reais-_JM CCE carts are a pain. The original ones do NOT have round corners so they might be impossible to tell on a distance. And since it seems that CCE Color Labels are sought after by some I'd probably be extra careful. My best guess is, if it seems too well preserved to be true, then probably it's not. http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-764699963-label-para-cartucho-cce-atari-serie-color-de-alta-qualidade-_JM I just hate this.

The sad part is, it´s a british group who published a great amount of *fantastic* books on old computers. This one was supposed to be great. And adding insult to injury, they claim they talked to Nintendo UK and received clearance. Only to Nintendo USA pull the plug.

But price tag might be a little steep. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vectrex-3D-Imager-Nueva-New-RARO-RARE-/252444283362?hash=item3ac6da11e2:g:oVAAAOSwgY9XdO1d

I´m not sure where to put this one. Maybe here? Vectrex shrinkwrapper 3D Imager for... One million euros. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vectrex-3D-Imager-Nueva-New-RARO-RARE-/252444283362?hash=item3ac6da11e2:g:oVAAAOSwgY9XdO1d

Sorry about my delay, Lazers. Busy times. So... I´ve just received an email saying that my box protectors purchased in US (the ones for double height CDs) are clear from customs. I guess next week I´ll be able to test it and put some photos over here. I guess then we can pick a winner. The ones pictured above, the cheap ones bought over here in Brazil - Problem is, I´ve got the last pack in stock. The nice lady from that company said that manufacturing time is about three weeks. If you want some I´ll be more than glad to order them for you. BUT if you want to wait for the other ones, that´s your call. Anyway... They are so incredibly cheap that maybe it´s worth ordering them anyway without any delay. Your call. Oh - and they´re sold in 25-packs only. Maybe you migh like ordering 50? Again, your call. I´ll be glad to help in any way I can. (apparently we are the only ones into this anyway. )

Almost the same situation here, Samuray. International collector, a long time doing this (my eBay account is 15 years old ) and recently having a lot of trouble buying overseas. In our case the problem is quite simple: My countrymen have a TERRIBLE reputation comparing to yours. Do you think it´s hard to convince someone to send stuff to *GERMANY*? Try Brazil. Adding insult to injury: the GSP charges us outrageus fees AND a 100% tax due to customs. Yes. 100%. Over shipment too. I bough a sealed MS-DOS 4.0 the other day without noticing GSP. The disk costed me like 10 dollars. My final payment was 70 dollars. OUCH. So... That´s how i´ve learned about SHIPITO (http://shipito.com/) Give it a try. You´ll have a US address. Sellers can ship their things to you using domestic shipment (normally 5-10 bucks). Then they send you everything. They even consolidate packages! I mean, you buy 4 small items and they put it on a larger box and send it to you. And it´s CHEAP. Give it a try. Amazing.

Actually there was a decent amount of professional applications for it: http://www.theoldcomputer.com/roms/index.php?folder=Sharp/X68000/Applications

So... Here´s the first option I´ve found. It is the Brazilian box I´ve quoted above. It is cheap (1 BRL a piece, about 0.30 US Dollar each). It doesn´t look terrible. And the size is near perfect. Now for the problems: It is a cheap piece of work, really thin plastic. It is not a single plastic protector but instead two different pieces of plastic, a box and a lid. And it is not crystal clear but instead a little "smokey". But... Once you put the cart inside it does look quite acceptable. And it´s not terrible on a shelf. My veredict is: Not great. It´s better than NO protection at all, but definitively not great. I´m still waiting for the first one I´ve order. Haven´t received it yet, it can´t take much longer now. And a seller told me they´ll have a great option in 7-8 weeks. Let´s see. So here´s the empy box: You can see the two halves below and an assembled one above. Cart inside. The height is a little off, but width and depth are a *perfect* match. Pretty acceptable at the shelf.

Once more: Feel free to check here in this very site we´re in: Click on "Atari 2600" and then search for "Atlantis". Here´s what you´ll find: There are THREE different boxes for the normal, regular Atlantis (let´s call it "Atlantis I", OK?) Atlantis I, saying "Atlantis" with a DAYLIGHT scene and a SILVER box: http://atariage.com/box_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=10&BoxStyleID=14 Atlantis I, saying "NEW Atlantis", with a NIGHT scene and a SILVER box: http://atariage.com/box_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=1040&BoxStyleID=14 Atlantis I, saying "Atantis" with a DAYLIGHT scene and a BLACK box: http://atariage.com/box_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=991&BoxStyleID=15 And then there´s Atlantis II. It is a Atlantis I with NIGHT scene and a sticker on it: http://atariage.com/box_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=1037&BoxStyleID=14 I don´t know if you´re familiar with the story of Atlantis II. The manufacturer just picked a regular Atlantis box, put a sticker on it, changed the game inside and sent for a handfull of contest winners. So that´s why it looks like a messy job - it actually is! Hope it helped.

Hi Sperry, Hope this helps. I´ve got three Atlantis, two of them with "new". All of them were played. None of them is Atlantis II, unfortunately. The one WITHOUT "new" is an european, PAL version. The two with "new" are standard american versions. I guess it is pretty safe to assume yours is just like those two of mine. Too bad for us, right?

Great info! Thanks!

Thank you! Here´s the Tax Avoiders box. The shape is just perfect now! And here´s the patch: A big chunk of cardboard on the back panel, extending to the side face and also to the top lid and flap. It seems pretty strong now. I guess I´m happy with that.

Gentlemen, As you are all well aware there´s a few atari boxes with quite unusual box sizes. I´m already using "classic" atari box protectors - the ones you find all around - but there´s a few models that won´t fit. Have any of you found any solution? Here´s the odd-sizes boxes that I do owe so I was able to measure them: So... Mithycon carts are almost the same size as VHS carts. I guess VHS protectors can be used without major hassle: http://lazzeri.online/vg/pics/IMG_3692.JPG Epyx boxes are a pain. I´ve tried a Vectrex protector, the boxes are taller than that. I have no idea what might work: http://lazzeri.online/vg/pics/IMG_3693.JPG Sega boxes fits inside a Vectrex protector. But is a sh*tty fit, protector is just too big. I guess you might try to cut a Vectrex box protector but that´s a hell of a job since you´ll have to rebuild the entire protector - even recreate flaps from scratch. http://lazzeri.online/vg/pics/IMG_3694.JPG And then there´s the really hard ones - the "fatty" boxes: Indy 500, Star Raiders, Phaser Patrol and Mistique. Does anybody in here tried to tackle this? Any suggestions? Thank you all in advance.

Excellent! Thank you for your tips! Yesterday I´ve restored another box (Tax Avoiders, crushed upper lid). Did a similar job including Styrofoam. Box seems rectangular once again. It´s been great fun and cheaper than a psychiatrist. I´ll try alternative gluing methods, especially this starch glue. And i´ll import the adhesive cited above. Thank you all!

Just pledged top tier. I don´t care about the game - I´m joining it for Al´s autograph! Just kiddin´. Seems like a pretty fun combo. Thanks!

I am not sure of how many of you are aware of that (or even if anyone else cares! ), but... MSXDev is a long-standing MSX game development contest that´s been around since 2003. A groups of users throw donations for a prize pool and then people show their work. A jury of notorious members of the community then cast their votes and winners are picked. It used to be a "no-limits" contest, developers were able to make games for all the range (from MSX1 to MSX TR) and format and even ask for mandatory extra hardware like sound boards. But for some time now the hardware requirements are way harder - every game MUST be released in a ROM format and MUST be an MSX1 game able to run on most of the installed base. After all those years it already gave us some pretty nice gems, great games that helps keeping a not-so-well-known 30 year-old plataform breathing. Anyway... We had 4 contesters this year. You can find - and download! - them here, and also find out the winners on each category: http://msxdev.org/

Sorry to bother: I found this one for sale in Brazil, it seems to be the same thing. http://www.lineco.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=1118 10 USD in USA, 25 USD in Brazil. This place is a nightmare.

Hmmm never heard of conservation glue. I´ll do some research. Thank you for the tip!

Thanks! I got some 20mm thick styrofoam and it fitted just perfectly. I´ll give it a try later on some INTV games that are obscenely crushed but I might need a thinner foam. BTW what on earth people do with INVT boxed games, use them as stuffing for couches? Most of the INVT boxes I see around are crushed beyond hope.

So... What do you guys say? Is this a valid thing, or is this "cheating"? Is this kind of restoration acceptable for the hardcore collectors? Or is this tampering? I´m pretty discomfortable with reproductions that does not clear state they are not original. But what about restoration? Is it OK? I would love to hear some thoughts.

Now the cart back in the box. Sorry it is upside down, OCD failure... And then the box inside a box protector.

Step two: Using glue I´ve fixed all the printed parts back to place. Some of them were detaching from the box. Step three: I made a crate out of styrofoam, so the cart is kept in place and this box will not be easily crushed again... Voilá! Everything in place!

Hi all, You all know that Brazilian Atari 2600 are not exactly valuable but *boxed* Brazilian games are hard to find even down here. And most of the time the boxes are in a really bad shape. This is part of our gaming history. So... I decided to restore a beat-up "Jawbreaker" box from CCE. Box was crushed. It had no internal structure whatsoever - cart and manual were just floating inside a badly crushed box. First step: Used cardboad to recreate the upper corner. See that there´s a little appendix for the flap - it was almost falling apart With a brush, I´ve applied a decent amount of glue on it. Then I put it in place.

Just got a few Vectrex carts from them, had no idea they are the same guys. :-) Thank you. Managed to contact them.