Serious

SNDTST.com has generously donated this NES Everdrive N8 Gold Deluxe edition flash cartridge to the prize pool. Starting today, whoever accumulates the most worldwide trophies by February 14th on NES/Famicom games will win this prize. Full details here.

I just sent a pre-order payment for 2 SGMs.

There are separate categories for authentic hardware and emulated game play. For this contest, trophies won on emulated game play and original hardware both count. Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions!

Correct. Basically, the objective is to beat as many high scores on games on that system as you can.

I've started a new High Score contest today. Here's some of the prizes: Pictured above: AtariMax 5200 Ultimate SD Multi-Cart (valued at $129 USD). Lothratek SIDE2 Compact Flash cartridge for Atari 8-bit computers and XEGS (valued at $62 USD). Turbo Everdrive microSD card adapter for PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 consoles (valued at $79 USD). Harmony SD card cartridge for Atari 2600 (valued at $60 USD). In addition to the above, multiple $50 gift certificates for the AtariAge store are also up for grabs. Categories include: Atari 2600, Atari 400/800/XL/XE, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Jaguar, Lynx, and TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine. The contest runs from today until December 20th, 2014. Full details on the contest are here. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

The AtariAge booth was awesome! I really wish I could have made it to your talk. The crowd on Saturday was just too crazy.

Day 2 wasn't nearly as crazy as Day 1, which was good because I was able to leave our booth and venture out a little bit more. Some of the Day 2 highlights for me: Got to spend more time chatting with Al and Darryl Spice. Won a $100 gift card in the Atari 2600 Adventure speed run contest. I earned my best time ever for Game 1 (55 seconds), which made me really happy. Darryl was just 1 second behind me, and he terrified me by using the bridge to take a shortcut back to the Yellow Castle with the chalice. Met Ernie Cline (author of Ready Player One), who surprised me by telling he's used highscore.com. He signed my Adventure speed run plaque. (And he was wearing a cool "Life is an Adventure" shirt.) Saw PacManPlus's Astro Blaster for the 7800 which is incredible! KC Munchkin was cool too. My wife got hooked on Assembloids (2600 version) at the AtariAge booth. So now maybe she'll play more 2600 games with me..? Gave away a bunch of 2600 loose commons to some young kids (ages around 8-10) who were surprisingly enthusiastic about Atari gaming. Here's some photos: Me and Al.. Ernie Cline High Score members dj5kjlara and kri5bell Lots of people playing Protector and YASI on the Vectrex all weekend.. Mario came by and bought a boxed copy of Centipede. And here's the plaque I received for winning the Adventure contest: Overall, it was a great experience. Several people from Austin and San Antonio joined High Score, and lots of my extra Atari games and consoles ended up in the hands of some people who were very excited to get them.

The first day was great. I was surprised and a little overwhelmed when people came flooding in when the doors opened. In retrospect, it makes sense that people would want to get in early to hunt for bargains, but being new at this, I expected most of the crowd would come after lunch. I got to chat with Al briefly today (and yesterday during setup), and it was great to get a chance to meet him in person. The AtariAge booth was awesome! My wife and I both would have liked to have participated in the tournament, but it was just too hectic at the booth. We sold a bunch of 2600 games (loose commons and a few boxed rare ones), but the best part was seeing people's faces light up as they saw old games that they hadn't seen since they were kids, and all of the people enjoying playing Vectrex, Intellivision, and Atari games at the High Score booth. Kids absolutely loved the Vectrex, which was another surprise! My wife and I are exhausted, but I'm still looking forward to being back there tomorrow. It's been a fantastic experience so far.

updated.. Added some Sears and Telegames boxed items.. removed some recent acquisitions

Got the confirmation email on a corner booth from CGFest this weekend. I'll have some consoles at the booth and will be accepting challenges at Combat and Space War.

Was that the event at the Red Lion? I bought my Jack*Bot machine at that show.

Thanks. I am indeed Serious. I emailed them and filled out the contact form as well. Hopefully my S.O. will help me man the booth. She's eager for me to get rid of my dupes as well!

I'm planning to be there. Maybe I'll look into getting a vendor booth. I have a ton of dupes I need to unload, and I really don't have time for eBay these days.

No game that I can recall creeping me out, but there is a game that makes me nauseated: Fast Eddie.. I got the 2600 version of that game on a Friday when I was a kid and got food poisoning really bad that weekend.. Even, today, when I play that game, it makes me feel ill..

I remember the Swordquest games being very difficult.. Gravitar is brutal.

I've been considering trying to solve these games.. Maybe speedrunning them as well. Why? Because I'm crazy.

I didn't notice any opinions on whether I should get a PAL or NTSC model.. or if it matters? I'm in the U.S., but I have a video setup that can deal with PAL. I know that for Amiga and C64, PAL is the way to go.. I'm wondering if it is the same for the ST? Thanks!

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions and input! Hmm. I'd definitely want composite output if I can get it. I may eventually get an RGB monitor, but I don't have a space on my desk for one right now. Is UltraSatan an SD card reader? If so, I am guessing that it loads some kind of disk image format used for emulators? Would I need a floppy drive if I have this device? I'm not looking to make a big investment at this point. I've never used an ST before, so I like the idea of going with a more entry-level system and maybe upgrading later if I like it. I'd also prefer a compact system, as I tend to keep my systems in the box, and just take them out when I want to play them. I'm familiar with RGB from my early Amiga days, and it is indeed beautiful. However, I have a 36" CRT TV I used for most of my gaming, so composite output is what I'd be looking for. I'd love to have a 36" RGB monitor, though! Any machine I'd attempt to solder on I'd probably destroy, so it sounds like the 1040STFM is the way to go for me (No soldering, composite output) and maybe a Mega STE later... Ok, another question: Since the ST was more popular in Europe than the States, should I acquire a PAL machine for maximum compatibility? Or is PAL/NTSC compatibility not an issue on this platform? (I already have a setup that can convert a PAL composite signal for display on an NTSC TV, which I used to play PAL 2600 and Videopac games.)

I'd like to add an Atari 16-bit machine to my collection for gaming. I've never owned an ST (or related) system before, so I'm unsure of which would be the best model to buy for maximum compatibility. I know that with the Amiga computers, many games created during the 500/1000/2000 era won't run on the later hardware. I'm unsure if the there are similar issues with later Atari ST models or not?

I am partial to the Centipede title screen. Juno First is also a favorite of mine.

I don't know if it is necessary to state at this time that one would like to buy one of these to get one, but if so, please add me to that list. I have very fond memories of playing this one in the arcade around 1980-1981, and being able to play it on my 7800 would be a real joy.

Removed some acquisitions, added a few Amiga and C64 items..

Nice Stargunner!

It sounds to me like you've had some really bad luck. I've hardly ever had any issues with old 2600s, except the power switch getting a little touchy.. But if you're really swearing off vintage hardware, besides the Flashback consoles, there is also the Jakks Pacific TV units: Two Atari ones (one paddle, one joystick) and an Activision one..