Starhopper

Uhhhh. . . What was the original thread about, again? Oh, yeah! I think we should have a contest... Best working console built from Lego blocks wins!!!

I've been looking for such a Rosetta Stone for quite a while. The best I could come up with was inferences off the various fansites and listings (one such search led me here a couple of years back). I think it's ground upon which many fear to tread, as the assigning of specific value to any given system will directly affect the prices of same. Though unintentional, the AtariAge rarity guide has affected the asking on several online auction sites. If a specific value range is placed on the consoles, it could send every eBay nut into a frenzy, each one thinking their system is made of gold. On the other hand, though, collectors sometimes want this information, just to add a little extra viability to their hobby (myself included). Call it a morbid curiosity. Most of the auctioneers, especially eBayers, who do not regularly trade in vintage systems and carts always call their items 'rare'. How do you place a value on something when there is such a range of conditions these systems could be in after 30 years? In all reality, the value depends on the collector.

I've never given it much thought, either way. I'll pick from every auction I win. Some goes to my collection, the dupes and games I'm not much interested in go back up for sale to further fuel my sickness As far as the systems themselves, I'll clean 'em up, make sure they're working, then put them up for sale at my liesure. Unless, of course, it's not a console I need Case in point: These auctions were the product of an over-the-holiday trading binge Gameage!

WOW! It's been a while since I've been in here! I just posted some auctions on eBay for a few carts. Seven days out, so no hurries. I will be listing many more later tonight and this weekend, as my over-the-holidays trading binge bloated my stock, somewhat Any questions, shout out! Some ATARI gameage!!

I've seen these displays before, long ago in a Zayre's store in Louisville. They were displays of consoles that (at the time) hadn't been released to the stores, yet. The buttons beneath the screen selected which program the console ran. A similar model, shelf-mounted, was also used in some Kmart stores. I remember playing with one in the store that had been modified to display a C-64 computer.

I still rather like the live auctions, myself. Thing with the Ebay stores is that, now, to be cost effective, you must have a HUGE inventory that's going to draw daily business. For those of us that merely do this for a hobby, it just doesn't work well. When you go to ship an order and your Paypal account has been suddenly emptied by your monthly Ebay bill, it's time to move on.

Yep. I was not happy. Wiped out one month's sales in one invoice right after they raised the rates. In the 'warning' memo that said when they would go up, it didn't sound like it was going to be a big deal, but those nickels here and dimes there add up fast!

I just wanted to drop a line to everyone who may have had the occasion to pass by my Ebay store, 'Raiders of the Lost Cart'. As of today, I have ended my Ebay storefront, as they were just becoming too pricey to keep. Seriously, it was like they were using restaurant math to figure out their charges. I will still be holding auctions, from time to time, there and am in the process of designing my own online storefront in a much more cost-effective environment. ATARI forever!

Ahhh, Gyruss. . . I mean, Bach! Ride of the Valkyries was also a good one for frenetic games like Pitfall and H.E.R.O. and River Raid

Thing with Asteroids is, I always played the 'shields' game. I can roll, then. Put me on the 'hyperspace' game, though, and I go out like chunky salsa on the rocks

We have a couple of 'I can't believe you're still in business' stores here, too. When I started collecting again, I was actually laughed at when I asked if they had any 2600 carts, or knew if anyone locally traded in them. One of the aforementioned holes had a large shelf of trashy paperbacks and Atari Carts. He was selling the Atari carts for $2 each. Since then, I have started my own little store, trading on Ebay, mostly. I have discovered a healthy trade locally or, rather, have awakened a healthy trade. Last week, I went in the hole again, and he has started to charge $12 per cart, offering 50 cents trade-in to anyone bringing carts to him. Needless to say, his shelves are as dusty as when I first saw them.

As I sit here, recovering from my Breakout-induced trance, I realize that this game isn't as hard as I once thought it to be. Same with Atlantis. I used to get a bit freaked out when the ships got some speed on, but now it's as if I could go forever. Same holds true for Asteroids. I have more trouble with River Raid than I used to, and I still haven't made it to the lost planet Solaris. Stampede has always been a bit difficult for me, for some reason, but after playing it again yesterday, Pitfall II isn't so bad. It's like there has been a bit of a trade-off as I've grown older. My daughter can kick my blankety-blank on Centipede.

One of my hobby projects is building a coctail table with a PC board that will emulate many of the old game platforms and a hard drive full of current games. In the process, I'm trying to give it that old 'Pizza Parlor' feel (minus the marinara stains, of course), and am looking for a good outlet for the arcade-style buttons and joysticks. Does anyone have any good suggestions for suppliers? Ebay has turned up some, but they are very proud of their products, price-wise. Money IS an object.

Shouldn't be too hard. Just fiberboard and springsteel with contact pads.

Is it wrong that I wish I could see the insides of one? Seriously, though, are they using the same tech on the flashback controllers, or are they using microswitches? One of my current hobby projects is a homebrew joystick, and I'm using micros for the contacts.

I almost forgot. A little spray can of contact cleaner works wonders for paddle POTs

I don't know how, exactly, we got on paddles in a 'Star Ship' thread, but here's my two pennies I agree that all the paddle games rock, with the possible exception of Video Olympics. I do get bored with even multiple versions and angles of 'Pong' I used to not like paddle games, simply because we had to unplug the joystick to plug in the paddles. My original sixer had such a tight jack (that doesn't sound right, does it?) that I was afraid I was going to break something in the changeover. Of course, back then, I never would have thought I'd have twelve ATARI systems. Now, I have a console with paddles on it constantly. Oh, by the way, Star Ship rocks if you put yourself in an 'campy sci-fi' frame of mind. It's the 'Dark Star' of video carts

She was trying to stay away from anything that might even smell like a copyright violation, but I suppose one wouldn't hurt. I'll let ya know

With the proper measurements, anything is possible

Way back in the day, when dad brought home our 2600, we had nowhere to keep it but the coffee table. (not many entertainment and gaming centers in the 70's) Ever resourseful, my mum put together a dust cover that saved the console from the hideous dust rabbits that plagued our home. Recently, thanks to my adventures in retrogaming, she has revisited some old patterns and sent me a couple in the mail, asking if anyone would be interested. I've included some pictures, below. Asking price would be around $10 each. Comments?

I'd have used this title. PROTOTYPE UNRELEASED PLAYSTATION 3 HTF NOS MINT RARE SEXY but thats just me.

I never did 'get' the NES system. I bought one after it had been out a while, got into Super Mario a little and deep into Legend of Zelda, but the games, overall, just didn't hold any special meaning. Granted, Rocket Ranger was a lot more graphically advanced than, say, H.E.R.O. or Pitfall, but it was redundant without any depth. That, I fear, is the pitfall (pun unintentional) of advancing technology: Gameplay is giving ground to graphics. Please do not misunderstand. I rather enjoy some of the incarnations of Doom, and I really enjoy Bloodrayne, and the Starfleet Command universe but, when it comes down to it, most of the new games I'm seeing, for whichever system, are depending on graphical kick and violence to make headway in the market. I'd rather invest my time in a game that makes me think, rather than one designed around some babe characters' bouncing pixels (no matter how nice those pixels may be ). Besides, I think Kid Ice had it pegged when he said people collect by their age. Most of us were born right before the video game era exploded, and ATARI was the Godfather of the industry. They proved that, even with a lot of crappy games under their belt, that they could hold their own against graphically superior systems like Intellivision and Colecovision, no matter how much George Plimpton snooted about. NES was a success, primarily, because it was something new and different injected into a stagnant industry. Think about it. . . Would we be having this discussion if ATARI had said 'yes' to Nintendo and marketed the NES under their name, as was originally offered? As a collector, I own NES, SNES, PS1, and several early 'computer systems', like the TI994A and early XT models. I still pay more attention to and play my ATARI systems much more. My children are growing up in an age when retrogaming is kind of hot and, as such, they are playing my old 2600 and 7800 games, too. It's like handing off to a whole new generation. Maybe there's hope, after all.

We are still talking about a shipping calculator. What you are referring to is That looks new to me. I thought it was always 108" Wasn't even close to 84". Made it even shorter, though

Maybe he's shipping it in a solid pine box for added protection

Holy frogs' legs, Batman! How badly do you have to want to play Frogger?