Pitfall Harry

If Air Raid has a pause feature, I think they should have called it Men-A-Pause. -Ben

Oh, right. I forgot to take into account the crazy high eBay fees. With that in mind, my appraisal falls pretty much in line with yours. You've got a CIB copy of it, huh? Sweet! Do you have the $5,000 contest entry form insert too? -Ben

Hello, I've recently become aware my "complete" boxed copy of Keystone Kapers for the Atari 2600 isn't as complete as I thought it was. Activision included a Scratcher (like a lottery card) Game card inside the Keystone Kapers game box as an insert, and mine seems to have gotten lost. If anyone has one to sell (preferably an un-"scratched" card), I'm looking to buy. -Ben

Yep. Cosmetic condition plays a critical factor in the value of games in the rarity class of Rescue Terra I. And yeah, your game is pretty darned rare. But some will consider the bubbling of the label in your cartridge pic as "damaged". Others, not so much. Another critical factor in assessing value to a game like RTI is: how much fun is it to play? Many of the extreme rarities in the Atari 2600 library of games are not very much fun to play, which is a contributing reason for why they are as rare as they are in the first place -- the games sucked, nobody bought them, and therefore those games suffered the consequence of earning only very limited production runs. Rescue Terra I is a double rarity, as it is a super rare game that is also a great deal of fun to play. The RARE + FUN synergy working for RTI makes the game considerably more valuable to those that are aware of this. Rescue Terra I has long been one of my favorite Atari 2600 games, which is why I almost compulsively note its selling price whenever it pops up for sale or for auction on eBay. Earlier this month, for example, a copy of RTI sold at auction on eBay for $195. There were some 20 bidders competing for its purchase. That game was in much better cosmetic condition than yours, with no readily noticeable signs of label damage. It also came with its original Instruction Manual, also in very good condition. So you can use that as something of a baseline for the value of the THAT game, with YOUR cartridge-only copy of it being worth somewhat less than that. But not a lot less. With games this rare and this fun to play, many collectors looking to add RTI to their collections will be very forgiving about its cosmetic condition so long as it plays. And these are the types of collectors you want to attract to your "silent" auction anyway. These are the collectors who will actually end up buying it from you. Based on the above considerations, along with other observations I've made about the selling price of this game over the years, I would assess the value of your game at around $120. If you get lucky and two bidders get caught up in a bidding war over your game, you can always make a crazy amount more. But I wouldn't expect to get too much more than about $120 for it. I won't be making an offer, because I already have a copy of this game. But best of luck with your auction! -Ben

Space Invaders is a pretty good title to have as a first Atari cartridge. My first Atari cartridge came with an Atari 800 Home Computer I bought at a yard sale, years ago. It was Caverns of Mars, also a pretty good first Atari cartridge. I can't recall the first 2600 cartridge I owned, but it was probably something ordinary like Combat, which is still a lot of fun to play as a 2-player game. Be careful, though. 30 or so years from now you may find yourself with more Atari cartridges than you know where to put them. Kinda like The Trouble with Tribbles episode from the original Star Trek series, only more adorable. -Ben

Atari heavy 6 Atari light 6 Atari 4-switch Vader Atari Jr. small rainbow Atari Jr. Long rainbow Atari Jr. with 64 games built in (from Argentina, I think) Atari 5200 VCS adapter Sears Telegames 6 Sears Video Arcade II Coleco Gemini Colecovision/Atari2600 adapter module Intellivision/Atari2600 adapter module ...and multiple copies of each. Just in case. -Ben

I may sound preachy, but only because I feel passionate about issues of software piracy and IP theft in particular. I merely took a stand and stated my opinions on a very polarizing issue. Hard to believe in this day and age, huh? Someone who is actually willing to take a stand on a matter of consequence. But I am not trying to change anyone. I am not about imposing my beliefs on others, nor am I motivated to diminish your argument by taking it apart on a point by point basis as you have now done. I believe there is plenty of room on this forum for multiple viewpoints, including yours. I've said all I am going to say about this issue, and I shall now abandon this thread for good. The OP has long since sold his games, and this lingering thread is now showing all the signs of turning ugly. And nobody wants that. Do have a great day! -Ben

AI is an unstoppable force. We're really in for it now. -Ben

Well, after reading all of two sentences about the matter, I believe the guy skipped a very important step by not securing the intellectual property rights to Leisure Suit Larry prior to developing a derivative product based on it, made from scratch or otherwise. There could be other mitigating circumstances beyond your two sentences that may color my view, but I doubt by much. Why did he skip that step? I have no problem with this guy developing an unauthorized game for his own personal amusement. Or even uploading the .bin file -- for free -- for others to enjoy the fruits of his hard work via emulation. It's when he begins financially profiting from his unauthorized game that I object to. If he lives in a country where U.S. copyright laws cannot be enforced, that still does not matter very much to me. By neglecting to secure the IP rights to the original game CONCEPT and to its CHARACTERS, and then selling his game based on it, he has crossed a serious ethical line. He has made the conscious decision to profit from IP theft. This is just flat out wrong. Theft should never be rewarded, regardless of whether you live in a country where IP theft is legally enforceable or not. And if this guy finds himself getting sued by Sierra Entertainment (or whoever the legal copyright holders of LSL may now be), I gotta say he has it coming to him. Intellectual property rights theft may not matter much to you, but it does to me. If this guy intends to sell his game for any amount greater than the cost of materials to manufacture it, I surely won't be one of his customers. I cannot condone software piracy (which this is clearly not), nor can I condone or support unethical profiteering (which this clearly is). As a member of the human race, I feel an obligation to be better than that. If I sound a little "preachy," may I remind you that you did ask me how I felt about projects such as this. Oh, and I think Infocom created a similar game in The Leather Goddesses of Phobos, except they did it much better. I love that game! -Ben

I have only two Sprintmaster cartridges, but both slip easily in and out of the cartridge slot on multiple different Atari 2600 console models. The labels on both of my games say they were made in Hong Kong. So now I am wondering whether your game cart was made somewhere else, where quality control was somewhat less carefully monitored than at other production sites. If there are any other than Hong Kong. Someone else mentioned that your cartridge appears to be coming apart a little. I can see a definite gap in the cartridge case along the seam. That little gap may account for some of the width discrepancy you are recording, but not all of it. The calipers do not lie. You are not crazy. -Ben

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Hahaha. I do exactly the same thing. Every time. -Ben

I don't know anything about it. Sorry. Perhaps you can enlighten me with some details. -Ben

Yes, I totally agree there is no need to introduce politics into a gaming and collecting website. I do apologize for a lapse of good judgement. At least I am not calling other AtariAge members "snobbish" or "ignorant." -Ben

Thousands of VCS cartridges have passed through my hands over the years, but I have never encountered a problem with one not fitting into the slot. Maybe I got lucky. You could try opening up the cartridge shell, removing the ROM card, and transplanting it to a different cartridge shell. If you're careful, you can remove the original label and affix it to your new cartridge too. Or you could slap a reproduction label on it for little cost. It may be even cheaper, though, just to buy another Sprintmaster cartridge. But then, you might run into the same problem if they are all 1 mm wider than other cartridges. Still, many thousands of people have bought Sprintmaster and got it to fit in their Ataris. Maybe the problem you have is that your VCS console slot wasn't quite made to specification. Now I have to go find me a pair of calipers and measure my Sprintmaster carts. I'll get back to you. -Ben

Still a ripoff, really? What else can you buy these days for 50 cents...a paper coin roller to roll fifty pennies maybe? -Ben

I appreciate your taking the time to make a video. I've never had one made and dedicated to me before. I do feel honored. Your video raises many points I do find interesting, even if I do not necessarily agree with all of them. -Ben

There are a great number of boots that command a lot of money doesn't really mean anything to me, at least not in any sort of positive way. Whenever somebody makes a bootleg game, and sells it, they are clearly dabbling in criminal activity. At least in the United States. I understand that copyright laws are pretty lax, and in many cases wholly non-existent in places like Asia, Africa, etc., where many bootlegs are produced. Lack of copyright laws in these foreign countries and elsewhere does not diminish the fact that making/buying/selling bootleg games is ethically wrong. Regardless of whether a LAW prohibits such activity is almost irrelevant. By purchasing bootleg games that have already been purchased before, perhaps even many times before, you are still joining a community of people who have made the conscious decision to SUPPORT people who make their living by stealing intellectual property and then cheating the legal copyright holders of profits they rightfully should have earned from those bootleg sales. Supporting such people only increases their numbers. Where copyright laws do not exist, take a minute to ask yourself why someone with a $50 ROM copier and 3 minutes of spare time should be allowed to steal and then profit from somebody else's work that required a great deal of skill and hundreds or even thousands of hours of effort. Even promoting the collection of bootleg games is ethically wrong because it normalizes criminal activity, it sends the false message to other collectors that it's okay to profit in this way too. Why so many people think this is okay mystifies me. Perhaps they just don't think this through. People ARE being taken advantage of by bootleggers, whether you realize it or not. I am all for capitalism, but only if it is sensibly reigned in so that others do not get cheated. But I am not here to change anyone. Collect your way if you must, and I'll collect my way. But collecting, promoting, and especially assigning values to bootleg games is an ethical bridge I am unwilling to cross. There is a better way to live your life than to make money the Donald Trump way. -Ben

I suppose I am "quite wrong" about my use of a poorly constructed sentence in the bolded bits. What I meant to say is that this particular collection of Famicom games are all bootlegs, and these particular bootleg titles are dime-a-dozen bootlegs that are "not very collectible." But they do have value to someone who's gonna play them. And I suppose ANYTHING is "collectible" so long as there is someone who collects it. I am, however, confident that collectors of bootleg Famicom games are in a very small minority. Or at least, they should be. A lot of the luster of collecting Asian bootlegs (or any other bootleg, for that matter) wears off quickly when one realizes that purchasing bootleg games contributes to software piracy. It cheats the legal copyright holders of those games out of revenue they -- not the bootleggers -- richly deserve. Bootleggers = criminals. Just so you know. So yeah, I too am of the mindset that unauthorized = garbage. Not to start an argument or anything. I'm just saying I hold a different opinion. -Ben

Oh, this is fantastic, and at such a low price. Thanks for the link! -Ben

For what it's worth, my Ikari Warriors has the yellow NEW in the bottom RIGHT corner of the box instead of the left. -Ben

Your Famicom games don't have much value, I'm afraid. They are all bootlegs, and as such are not very collectible. But they are functional games, and I'd guess they are worth around $5 to $10 each to someone who wants them to play them. You might get a dollar or two more for the Mario game because, you know, it's Mario! I don't collect bootleg games, but I am interested in the Famicom/NES adapter. I used to have one, lost it, and now I've got a bunch of Famicom games I can't play until I get a new adapter. So would you be willing to sell the adapter by itself? I realize selling the adapter will likely make it even harder for you to sell the games. But if your Famicom games don't sell anyway, I'd sure like to buy the adapter. -Ben

Do prototypes count? I think Snow White or Save Mary would have a female lead. -Ben

I think the Alamagordo "fix" would have been the most elegant, if only they had dug that hole a little deeper and poured concrete. -Ben

How has everyone missed the obvious so far? Ms. Pac-Man! -Ben