Teaching Retro YouTube channel is up

[Teaching Retro YouTube channel is up]

My 6 year old daughter and I have started a YouTube channel called Teaching Retro. I explain how great everything used to be and she tells me how new is better.

 

If you think you might like it, please take a look. We have 2 videos up so far and will be trying to post a new one every Monday.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmqYTo7i2MXBun7DpNsQ24w

 

 

If I violated any terms of AtariAge by posting this here, sorry. Just let me know and I will remove it. We are just trying to get the word out to anyone who might be interested and I thought this is a place full of people like ourselves.

 

Thanks.

 

[clear cartridge shells]

I would love some of these, especially if they came in flavors. I am an easy sucker for the clear color trend of the 90's. I think homebrews would look especially nice in these and allow me to separate them in my collection.

[Favorite Paddle Games?]

I'm an old school purist: Warlords for the win

[What's the rarest game you actually played in the 80s]

My friend got a Xonox double ender of Spike's Peak / Haunted Mansion. We played the heck out of that thing.

[Retro gaming bubble, and how deep are we in it?]

I didn't have the chance to play arcade games much because arcades were pretty shady in my town. They were next to peep shows and strip clubs. Lots of drug pushers and hookers used to be around, too. When I did get to play games, it was most often in bowling alleys that had a small game section.

This sounds like the side plot of every tween adventure film of the 80's

[Retro gaming bubble, and how deep are we in it?]

Don't forget the hassle of asking mom and dad for a ride to the arcade or Circle-K where the game was.

[Retro gaming bubble, and how deep are we in it?]

silent movies - good stuff but only if you're into that particular era and style

I like this statement. I think it perfectly describes the way the 2600 fits into the hobby.

[Retro gaming bubble, and how deep are we in it?]

I didn't even bother reading the original post, nor the replies thus far.

 

So why should we pay any attention to your post?

[Collector Battle: Best way to Organize your collection!]

Like CVGA, I also have mine alphabetical by publisher. Although I have an easier time keeping mine organized since it's not the size of a room. BTW, I'm showing your pic to my wife if she ever complains about my collection.

 

[What are your Must Owns and most Overrated games in your collection?]

Atlantis is just a souped up Air-Sea Battle without variations.

 

Never understood the hoopla.

 

Exactly. We love Air-Sea-Battle since we change change it up as we play.

[What are your Must Owns and most Overrated games in your collection?]

 

Beamrider - ouch, that hurts lol. I think this it's the best game on the Atari!

 

I don't know if I'd consider Gopher overrated. It's not listed in the Top 100 2600 games thread pinned at the top of the forum.

 

I fell there are so many top down shooters that the one that limits me to 5 set lanes of shooting is lacking. I haven't played it much, so maybe I'm missing the charm or challenge.

 

I put Gopher on the list without really checking the top 100, so you're right about that one.

[What are your Must Owns and most Overrated games in your collection?]

Must Haves:

 

Adventure

Maze Craze

Starmaster

Combat

Circus

Warlords

Yar's Revenge

Indy 500

 

 

Overrated:

 

Moon Patrol

Megamania

Demon Attack

Beamrider

Barnstorming

Enduro

Donkey Kong

Gopher

[Televisions - Is bigger better when playing Atari?]

I believe that is what also damaged their hearing. I quote their teacher, "Wah wah wah wahnt wah."

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

I've tried a few of the indie games on PS4 and Xbox One. While they were ok for just me, many are great to play with my 6 y.o. daughter. We really like Lovers In a Dangerous Space Time.

 

It seems to me independent titles are very similar to the homebrews we get for the older consoles.

 

As long as the price is right, they definitely have a place. Any new console needs to have the ability to download indie games AND make it attractive to the developers of these titles.

[Televisions - Is bigger better when playing Atari?]

I remember when big flatscreens started coming down in price. Everyone went for the biggest one they could, but many were too big for their rooms. If you sit too close to a tv for your eyes to take in the entire picture without moving, your sub-conscious will actually pan them back and forth. Nausea, headaches and even migraines can result. Don't even get me started on mounting an LCD as close to the ceiling as you can...

 

We sit 2 1/2 feet from the 13"

8 feet from the 32"

12 feet from the 50"

14 feet from the 60" in the living room

[Retro gaming bubble, and how deep are we in it?]

 

Prices are going up on Atari stuff due to a perfect storm of GenX middle-aged nostalgia (we ARE Generation 8-bit after all), disposable hobby money (see the "middle-aged" part), retro-themed pop culture like the Dump Dig documentary, the book Ready Player One (soon to be a major motion picture, which makes it worse), the horrible Pixels movie, Stranger Things, and curious millennial nerds who want to see how their parents gamed and computed.

Exactly.

 

I just try to be patient and wait until the Fad wears out. Prices will come down, but it will be years before they return to the bargain bin level.

[Intellivision & Atari 7800 Homebrews Super Circus, Lost Caves Of Kroz]

I'm very interested in the 7800. What mod did you use? I ask because I would like to add the S-video mod and want to know what that would entail with your mod already in place.

[Tips for a new Atari 2600 Collector]

In line with the advice of "play the games", I like to try games on an online emulator (google it) before purchasing. You can see in a minute or two whether it's a game you want to start looking for in thrift store/E-Bay/marketplace.

[Televisions - Is bigger better when playing Atari?]

We use 3 TVs in our game room. A 13" black and white for pong games, a 32" Trinitron CRT for everything before 2001, and a 50" LCD for modern consoles.

 

I love the size of the 32, big enough for everyone to see without the distortion that games start to get on the 36" CRTs

[eBay china sellers tactic to cover their mistakes ?]

Add controller mods, USB hubs, and extra phone cases to the list of things ok to get from Chinese E-Bay. I sometimes forget they are on the way and am pleasantly reminded when they arrive.

[FS/FT: Video game VHS, Misc.]

PM sent, picking up the scraps

[Label slipping off?]

I've had bad luck with glue sticks lasting longer than a couple of months. My best results have come from thorough cleaning with goo gone then 91% alcohol, taping off with painter's tape, and applying a thin coat of spray adhesive to the cart. Let it dry a bit so it's no longer liquid and very sticky and press the label from one end to the other, smoothing out bubbles as you go.

 

 

 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

Not only do most people not want to put in the initial effort, but heaven forbid anything go wrong or glitch. I know many people who purchased a "hacked" Amazon Fire box (the quotes are there since there is no such thing, Amazon leaves them open ended) off Craigslist for Kodi. Within a month the pre-set channels are gone and they have no idea how to look for new ones. So they give them away or put them in the closet.

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

Surprised people still don't know about the raspberry pi. It is so awesome and cheap.

Everyone knows about the raspberry pi. We get it, you think it's the best solution. But... Many choose not to use it or don't have the know how to put a system together with one. It involves a bit of knowledge and most daunting of all: effort.

 

A vast number of consumers want to buy a product, plug it in, and play games. This is the mainstream and it is where most consumers, and their money, resides.

 

If Ataribox can find the sweet spot of attractive footprint, price, ease of use, features, and game titles, it can find its niche. It has the first nailed, just need the other 4.

[Your favorite 2600 cover art]

I have to say I love all of the original 2600 cover art.

 

Since I was obsessed with the movie Excalibur at the time, Warlords really struck a chord with me.