Serious

I second the Rock-afire Explosion documentary recommendation. Here's the trailer:

My friends seem to think it strange that I will frequently spend $50 on a rare Atari 2600 title, but they think nothing of spending $50-$60 on the latest Xbox 360 or PS3 game. I tell them that they are foolish for buying something that will depreciate so much, so quickly, when my Atari 2600 purchases are likely to increase in value over time (and they are more unique than the stuff sold at Best Buy and Wal-Mart). Many Atari 2600 buyers seem to value Atari games much lower than I do.. Which is why this topic has been on my mind. I do spend a huge amount on Atari, but I sell alot too, so I recoup alot of my costs (though eBay has made a fortune on me in fees!).

Just curious.. How much do you feel is too much to spend on Atari 2600 stuff in a week? A month? A year? Do you set aside a budget for your hobby?

For trade: Odyssey 2: Power Lords (loose cart) Atari loose carts: Mr. Do's Castle R8 Rubik's Cube R8 Atari Video Cube R7 Cosmic Swarm (NTSC) R6 Cosmic Swarm (PAL/Australian) R? Demolition Herby (B&W label) R6 Frogger II: Threedeep R6 Marauder R6 Mines of Minos (PAL/Australian) R? Pengo (bad end label) R6 Pengo (good label) R6 River Raid II R6 Room of Doom (NTSC) R6 Room of Doom (PAL/Australian) R? Tapper R6 Threshold R6 Crypts of Chaos R5 Double Dragon (bad end label) R5 King Kong (missing end label) R5 London Blitz R5 Miner 2049er R5 Mr. Do R5 Pigs in Space R5 Private Eye R5 Snoopy and the Red Barron R5 Strategy X R5 Tax Avoiders R5 Kool-Aid Man R4 Krull R4 Masters of the Universe (black label) R4 Pick n Pile (PAL) R4 Sub Scan R4 Spiderdroid R3 Tapeworm R3 Atari VCS CIB: River Raid II (sealed) Intellivision: Demon Attack CIB + sealed Nintendo 64: Backup Z64 CIB (256 Mbit version) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z64 ------------------------------------------------------------- Wanted: Atari 2600 games boxed (or empty box and manual where specified). Alien (box and cart) Earth Dies Screaming (box and manual) Spacemaster X-7 Beamrider Cosmic Swarm (2nd version artwork only) Mines of Minos Room of Doom Front Line Mr. Do (box) Roc'n Rope (box and manual) Smurfs: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle (box) Time Pilot (box) Subterranea Burger Time Thunderground Spy Hunter (will take a loose cart) Stargunner (box) Jawbreaker (box) Marauder (box and manual) Threshold (box) Sub Scan (box and inserts) No Escape (Black box) Demon Attack (Silver box) Moonsweeper Quick Step Subterranea Laser Gates Atari 2600 games loose carts or otherwise: Boulder Dash (loose or CIB) Quadrun Subterranea Alien Q-Bert's Qubes Atari accessories: Questar joystick KY Enterprises FingerTip Controller Supr Stick Professional Joystick TVS/Total Video Supply Game Safe Any commercially-produced carrying-case type storage for Atari 2600 cartridges in very good condition Odyssey 2 games: Power Lords Atlantis Frogger Popeye Q-Bert Super Cobra Tutankham Commando Nocturno Mage treasure chest version Any homebrew games besides Amok and Revival Studios releases (already have them) Brazilian games (unreleased in U.S.) Multi-carts Other Items: Imagic dealer catalogs, shirts, or other merch Odyssey Adventure magazines Electronic Games magazines Atari Age magazines Power Lords toys and accessories Tron action figures (original 80s) Tron Legacy PS2, Xbox, Wii controllers Atari Force mug, t-shirt Activision patches Centipede Championship patch Demon Attack poster PM me if interested.. Serious inquiries only, please..!

My first console was an Odyssey 2. I loved it, but I was secretly jealous of my friends who had Atari VCS's because of the arcade conversion titles. My dad finally bought us an Atari VCS when I was 10, and we played marathon sessions of Missile Command. "If it flies, it dies!!" I remember my dad yelling. He won't even touch a video game these days. Around this time, I was "designing" video games in my elementary school classes, instead of doing my work. This mostly involved drawing pixelated-looking sketches, and imagining the game mechanics. This was what first got me to want to be a programmer (so I could create these games). My love for the Atari took a hit upon the release of Pac-Man. It was such a terrible game, and such a huge disappointment. I remember feeling like Atari ripped me off (even though my family didn't buy the game). All of my friends and other families we knew felt the same, and the enthusiasm that everyone seemed to have for Atari games never seemed to be the same after that. We later got a Colecovision, which seemed amazing at the time, due to the quality of the arcade conversions, but most of the games were still on the Atari, so I kept playing it. I lost interest in video game consoles for a while after the Commodore 64 came out, and I was able to really invest myself in learning to program, but my interest in the Atari 2600 returned, later, when all of my friends became willing to sell me their games for $1 a piece. During the NES days, it seemed like everyone I knew was practically giving away their Atari games.

I have a Mr. Backup Z64 in original box. This device is a zip drive for the N64, which allows you to save and load ROMs stored on a zip disk (including homebrew ROMs downloaded from the internet). I am willing to trade it for uncommon Atari 2600 and Odyssey 2 near mint CIB games. PM me if you are interested.

Good question. I would probably buy some for my lower-value carts with bad labels.. Assuming the labels were inexpensive and the quality was good. A replacement for missing end-labels would be good, too.

I just re-acquired an Odyssey 2. I never sold mine; somebody stole it, almost all of my O2 carts, and some camping gear from a storage unit when I was moving. Of all the things in there, I never expected someone to go for my Odyssey 2 collection. (Luckily, my Demon Attack CIB and Master Strategy Games were elsewhere, so I still have them.) I have a huge Commodore collection. Not doing anything with it, right now. I've sold most of my other classic consoles. I let go of a near mint Astrocade in the box a few months ago. Also parted with an Atari XE and Jaguar at the same time. I have a bunch of 21st century consoles (Xbox, PS2, 360), but I don't play them much. I have an N64 with a Mr. Backup Z64 that I intend to try to trade soon. (Anyone interested?)

I would be interested in one, as well.

DId you put me down for one?

How would you go about removing the glue?

I believe this is caused due to exposure to light and humidity. Most recently, I received a lot that contained several Activision cartridges that had minimal-to-no acti-plaque spots. All of the cartridges, in general, were in excellent condition. I inquired with the seller, who had been the sole owner, how he kept them so well-preserved. He said he did not deliberately do anything special, but after I asked several questions, I got the details on how they had been kept. The cartridges had been kept loose inside a Video Game Center storage unit (opaque plastic, with a clear-smoked top), which was enclosed inside of a wooden TV cabinet. The seller lived in Minnesota, and mentioned that there was typically very low humidity where he lived. I have also had good luck with Activision games that were kept in the original boxes. This seems to slow the deterioration process. About half of the games I get that are in the original box have very little spotting (though about half are just as bad as your typical loose cart). Using what I have learned, I have started storing my Activision cartridges in 4x5" plastic zip-lock bags with a packet of dessicant. I then put them into the original box (if I have it), or keep them in a Video Game Center storage unit (if I don't have the box).

Clearly, someone has silenced him before he could talk.

Sounds like a good game, but I'm not particularly interested until it works on my Atari 2600.

If it isn't too late, I would like one, as well. CIB

Yes, all other games on that TV and console look normal. It is an anomaly with that particular cartridge. (I have multiple Pitfall 2 copies, and none have ever behaved that way.)

He had thin horizontal black stripes, so you could say he was like a fugitive in that regard. The things is, though, he had the stripes on his head, too, so maybe more like a performance artist.

I've just uploaded some videos of these cartridges in action. Here is the malfunctioning Yar's Revenge: And here is Pitfall 2. Harry isn't wearing stripes tonight, for some reason, but the colors are fun:

Seems strange. Since they published other titles after the two Bally games, it seems like they would have offered one of their newer titles as a substitute. Doesn't mean it didn't happen. I would have been one angry kid if I would have gotten that letter. Dino: Can you post a scan of the letter?