didimo63

Thank you, I was wondering why the website was offline. Hopefully my order was processed already,,, or soon? . My inner child can't wait .

Thank you, I did find the first site you mention, and I thought about contacting him. It was a box controller (similar to the Nyko trackball), not a joypad.

It was very generic. Just black, as I recall, no fancy graphics or anything. It is very similar to the Nyko Trackball from those same days, and it might have been a Nyko product. I wonder whether they got in trouble because the box mentioned that it could be used with William's Arcade Classic's Asteroids on PSX.

Thanks, I do appreciate it, but Lego and Meccano are as far as I go in terms of building anything . In a strange way, I have a specific interest for that Gamestop product I am mentioning. After all, it was a commercially-produced unit meant specifically for Asteroids in the PSX Williams Classics collection, sold in 1995, 14 years after Asteroids came out in the arcades. And, therefore, a tangible tribute to the popularity of Asteroids many years after his release.

Yeah, I'm not crafty enough to build that sort of things. However, as a collector since the early '90s, I know that with a little bit of patience I can pretty much find anything (whether online, ebay, thrift stores, retro gaming stores, etc.). After all, if I found a 1969 Mattel Scorpio action figure at a reasonable price, I can find this, too, I'm sure . At this point it's a matter of finding enough information about it.

Well, it was NOT as cool as the VCS Starplex Controller, but, still, it was an authentic way of playing Asteroids, and it did not look THAT cheap in terms of construction. But I was young (sort of. I was 32 or 33 when it came out), foolish and did not buy one when I should have.

Hi, Back in the days when the first Williams Arcade Classics came out on the original Playstation, I remember seeing an Asteroids dedicated controller for sale at Gamestop. It was similar to the Starplex Video Game Controller for the Atari VCS. It was not the Nyko trackball controller, although I suspect it could have been made by Nyko. Google searches did not provide any more information. Can anyone help? I'd like to find one. Thanks! Simon

I would love one . I'm not greedy and I could wait, though . That said, if by any magical circumstance I have made it into the top 20, I'd love one .

I tried plugging an Atari (a real one, VCS) controller into both the Colecovision and the Intellivision Flasback, and it does not work. Only the action button is sort of recognized, but directions aren't.

1) That's actually quite interesting. I was talking about the 16K Memory Expansion module. The 1983 Intellivision Italian Dealer's Catalog and the price list in Videogiochi - The magazine actually listed 3 memory expansions: 4K, 16K, 32K. I owned a brown, European ECS and, on the top, rows 3-6 from the end of the "vents"/ridges would detach (lift and unlock from the sides) and the memory expansion slot was underneath. Mine was purchased in 1983, first run. If you look at the US version (I just did), you will see that the "slot" is there, but I seem unable to pop it open. Maybe the option was removed? Maybe my US version is a later model? Maybe they got rid of the top slot in the US version and they were planning for a cartridge pass-through version? Here are pics of the Italian brown model. I cannot find anything that would show the open slot, though: http://www.bitsndust.com/en/2011/12/mattel-electronics-ecs/ 2) Sorry about the links. For clarification, I was just showing the two main Italian retrogame Facebook groups. I posted about the 16K memory "mystery" there. One of the main Italian collectors is in the process of investigating with his contacts, too. https://www.facebook.com/groups/theretrogamesmachine/ And https://www.facebook.com/groups/115602518461922/ If they don't open, you probably need to log on to your Facebook and copy and paste the links, then open again.

Well, it was never really clear. As I mentioned, the Intellivision was hugely popular in Italy, due to a massive advertising campaign during the 1982 World Cup, and Atari being poorly imported up to that point (Atari Italy did not officially open until well after the Intellivision launch). In late '83-'84 in a few reader's letters in Videogiochi and Electronic Games Italy, the two leading videogame magazines at the time, Videogiochi and Electronic Games Italy, a few ECS users from other areas in Italy mentioned owning the 16K expansion. At the time, we just took it at face value. I, and others, just assumed that it was available in stores. I remember asking a couple of stores for one, they didn't have it, then I lost interest. Fast-forward to the late '90s, and I'm talking to a member of the now-defunct Intellivision Club, and he mentioned that the 16k expansion was not sold all over Italy, but an import / export company based in Southern Italy had acquired a stock and sold it to stores in that area. That is all I know, but it was never confirmed. I will bring up the matter again in Italian retro forums and let's see what kind of responses I get. BTW, the retro Italian groups are, among others (these are the two that I check more often): https://www.facebook.com/groups/theretrogamesmachine/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/358154910930474/

And...Time to come out as an Intellivision ECS fan ! I had one (the brown European version. I was living in Italy at the time), and I loved it. I was able to program a couple of fun action games for it in those meager 2K, and I loved the "call grab" function that let you use sprites from other game cartridges. Too bad I was never able to locate a 16K expansion, although rumor had it that some of them were sold in Italy (Italy was the n. 1 Intellivision kingdom back in the days. Intellivision was heavily advertised during the 1982 World Cup Soccer, and it sold better than Atari at least through 1984). I sure wouldn't mind playing Scooby Doo Maze Chase and maybe some unreleased prototypes (Game Factory anyone? ] in future iterations of the Flashback . BTW, I just said pretty much the same about the Adam on the Colecovision Flashback forum .

My review of the Intellivision & Colecovision Flashbacks was published today on an Italian retrogame website: http://www.retrogamesmachine.com/2014/09/04/atari-intellivision-colecovision-flashback-anteprima-in-esclusiva/ Sorry, it's in Italian (but maybe google translate can give you a general sense of what I am saying. Basically, that they are very good products, especially for the price tag ]. I stopped writing professionally about videogames back in 1999 (I used to write for Super Console, the leading Italian videogame magazine back in the days). The launch of a "new" Colecovision and Intellivision was a good reason, I felt, to come back to (some form of) videogame journalism . Ciao! PS: BTW, in my article I mention Bill Loguidice's excellent work on the Colecovision manual .

My review of the Colecovision and Intellivision Flashbacks was published today on an Italian retrogame website: http://www.retrogamesmachine.com/2014/09/04/atari-intellivision-colecovision-flashback-anteprima-in-esclusiva/ Sorry, it's in Italian (but maybe google translate can give you a general sense of what I am saying. Basically, that they are very good products, especially for the price tag ]. I stopped writing professionally about videogames back in 1999 (I used to write for Super Console, the leading Italian videogame magazine back in the days). The launch of a "new" Colecovision and Intellivision was a good reason, I felt, to come back to (some form of) videogame journalism . Ciao! PS: BTW, in my article I mention Bill Loguidice's excellent work on the Colecovision manual .

Thank you both of you for the Adam info. It was my impossible dream back in 1983-85. I wanted one badly, but it cost way too much. The reports of hardware failures were bothersome. I ended up buying (like most of the people in Europe anyways) a Commodore 64 instead. It was one of the first items I bought when I came to the US for grad school in the Fall of '94. I think I got mine from Adam House, with lots of software and a few accessories. It works great to this day (knock on wood ]. I sure would not mind having Flashback versions of Buck Rogers (Adam version, with high-score table, etc.) and Zaxxon.

I understand. I believe that the effects should nevertheless be positive.

I agree. In a way, my background in marketing/communications [just never, ever tell my parents I'm making use of it, since I'm a humanities prof ] kind of tells me that this could all have been a wisely-planned marketing strategy. "Let there be hype!" [and with products such as these, it's worth it ].

I personally don't think it will. It seems to have been a problem with miscommunication, but it seems that it was not reallyToys'RUs' issue, not ATGames's. I have the feeling it just sort of happened. However, those of us who have been able (lucky enough?) to put their hands on one of these machines are dedicated collectors / experts / fans, who in a way have already spread a lot of positive information on these products. These are very good products, and worth buying. As far as reviews are concerned, I, for one, would look forward to reading full, extensive reviews. As an adult with a busy life, I find myself struggling to even play the three new units fully, even as much as I love them. So I do hope Bill writes one for Retro, and I am looking forward to reading it.

I understand. I would not mind at all a V. 2 with (perfect? ) replicas of the original controllers. The 7800 gamepad is what it is, but I find it better on CV than the Sega Master System pad. I've never owned a ball top CV controller, even though I was sort of drooling over the ball top mod ads in Electronic Games back in the days. It probably indeed is the best option. However, over the years I became a pad guy. So I guess I like this controller because it feels like a compromise between a pad and a joystick.

Controls were sluggish in Colecovision Venture, but that was a matter of coding, not controllers. That said, I can play the Colecovision Flashback version much more easily than the original CV version, even with my favorite control system, aka the Atari 7800 gamepad. The Flashback controller is made to be used with the thumb. I find it very natural that way. The old "thumb + index - stick - grip" method does not work with this one as it did with the old one. And, frankly, I don't miss that .

I DO like the shorter stick. I was 20 in 1983 when I bought my Colecovision (just to provide a reference to the fact that I was a young adult), and I hated the stick, which I found too long and cumbersome. I DO like this shorter version, and I haven't experienced any issues so far. It may be a matter of taste, though. However, I welcome the change. Just like I welcome the inversion of the side key actions in Cosmic Avenger. It made no sense to have torpedoes on the right and laser on the left. More modern games (Gradius anyone?) got us used to the opposite. Matter of taste in that case, also. I guess. Since I own all the originals, I guess I'm not that picky, and I was looking for something a bit different. I love the side buttons and the keypad buttons, also.

My first issue of Electronic Games was September 1982. I found a copy at the newstand in Piazza Castello in Turin, Italy, which carried some international magazines. I had just started college, and a few days previously I bought my copy of Videogiochi n. 1, the first Italian videogame magazine: http://www.retro-gaming.it/retrogaming_magazine/magazine_videogiochi.php

I just tried connecting my Intellivision Flashback controller to my Intellivision II. They are not compatible (which is alright, but I gave it a shot anyways ].

Yes, it is there. I pressed 1 too quickly.

Yes, their boss checked out my LinkedIn profile . Seriously, they have some great products .