JayAre

As you can see, I have somewhat of an affinity for this game. I still remember the first time I saw the game's initial screen with the pitcher throwing; I thought I was looking at a 5200 game. And to this day, I'm still impressed that Absolute was able to get the ball's flight path in "3D" on the modest 2600. All those options as a pitcher are way cool: 5 different pitches, slow or fast, and you can move your hurler horizontally across the mound for inside or outside pitches. And as a hitter, you get to move anywhere inside the box, horizontally or vertically. That "behind the pitcher" POV is awesome, just like watching games on TV. And once the ball is put into play, it's impressive to have the possibility of those 5 different field angles. It's fun as a 2-player game, and in 1-player mode, the computer "A.I." is actually pretty decent, much better than that of the other baseball offerings on the console. Although the game is not without its faults. I guess the main gripe that players have is the way you control the infielders, which is not very intuitive. There's a definite learning curve there, and it takes some getting used to. Although I guess it's not too bad, considering the limits of the joystick. The game is also pretty drab looking. Both teams have the same, exact white uniform. Adding a little bit of color here would have gone a long way. And two instances, in particular, where the game is pretty unrealistic. First, there are A LOT of home runs in this game. And secondly, the players run excruciatingly slow around the base pads. In the end, for me, the pros greatly outweigh the cons. The game is very engaging and a lot of fun to play. Charlie Hustle Baseball is, hands down, my favorite sports game on the 2600, and overall, one of my faves in the entire library. Would love to see a spruced-up hack of it one day. Curious to hear what you guys think. Thanks. (By the way, is that picture on the box from when Pete had his second go-around in Cincinnati as a player-manager? Certainly looks like the Reds uniform from that era, and he looks a little older in that one. Hard to tell, though, since they doctored the picture and removed the team logo. Would be great to see the original picture before it was touched up).

You're very welcome, Al. Anytime.

There were bound to be some. And on the flip side, there were probably some retailers that unknowingly accepted them.

This one's a keeper, but that's nice to know. Thanks. Al, I'll send you and Rom scans of everything. By the way, here's a pic of the back of the check with the instructions for the retailer on how to process it. Sorry you have to tilt your head to read it.

Thanks, man. Very nice of you to say. You know, I hadn't really thought about this until now, but most of these checks probably got cashed by the customer, and the envelope and letter just thrown away, since there would be no reason to keep them. So you might be right about how many of these are out there.

Thanks so much, Al. I had never seen one of these for sale in all my years of collecting. Seems like it's kind of hard to come by.

I appreciate that. Makes me feel a little bit better. Got it. Thanks.

$45. I dunno; maybe I overpaid for it. But I had never seen the check for sale before. And like Al said, it's a cool item, since it's complete with the envelope and letter. Chalk this one up as a guilty pleasure I guess. But, yeah, I've noticed that some eBay items don't appear in the "completed listings" section after they're sold. Not sure why.

Good eye. Well, it certainly looks like the check was sent to customers who registered their VCS during that time frame in 1980. I'm wondering which Warranty Registration Card was used to register the console in 1980, and whether it mentioned the refund or not.

Thanks, Bill. Psionic, I really appreciate your taking the time to search for the ad. That was very cool of you.

Will do. Been meaning to get my hands on one of those fancy, new personal computers everyone's talking about. I might already be a winner!

I'm attaching pics of the envelope, letter and check relating to Atari's $2 refund promotion, circa 1980. Does anyone remember the details of this refund, and what item you needed to buy to receive it? And also if anyone knows how Atari made customers aware of the promotion? Initially I thought you would receive the check for buying certain games, but since the letter states that it's a "Video Computer System Refund Check", I'm thinking it might have been for having bought the console. Maybe there was a form included with the rest of the paperwork when you would buy the VCS. Although $2 seems kind of low for a rebate, considering how much the VCS went for back then. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

There've been several threads on here about which 2600 games had a defined ending where you actually beat the game, and then the game stops. My question is a little different. Of those that don't have a defined ending, which ones should've ended this way? For me, one of the first games that comes to mind is Rampage. The game just keeps cycling over and over. After destroying 85 cities and a long gameplay session, I think the player should've been rewarded with an ending. Maybe another news flash with a funny headline. Others that come to mind are mission-based or adventure-type games like Ikari Warriors, Commando, Super Cobra, Xenophobe, Dark Chambers and even Road Runner. This last one is for effect more than anything else. Halloween. I think it would have been cool to end the game in true slasher movie fashion. Maybe after reaching a certain score, when you stab Michael (sorry, I mean "the killer"), the game could switch to a screen where you see him lying on the ground, seemingly lifeless. Wait for it..... All of a sudden, he sits up and turns and looks at you. Cue the Halloween theme one last time. And fade to black. Kinda like this awesome scene from the original movie.

Great point. Warner owned (and still owns) DC Comics, which produced the comic books for the Swordquest series. And, at the time, Warner also owned the Franklin Mint, which produced the prizes for the contest. Maybe Atari's sponsorship of the New York Cosmos duffle bag came about due to Pele having played with the Cosmos and Atari's previous commercial relationship with him through the release of the Pele's Soccer game. I had forgotten all about this one. Really interesting. Thanks for the details on the tournament.

Well, here's the definitive story behind the bat. I found the information in an old Pirates scorebook. The bat was indeed a giveaway at Three Rivers Stadium during a Pirates home game. The game took place on Sunday, May 16, 1982 when the Pirates faced the Cincinnati Reds. The first 20,000 kids (14 and under) attending the game received the bat.

In 1982, Atari sponsored a Bill Madlock "signed" Pittsburgh Pirates promotional baseball bat. There was also an Atari 1983 Pirates pocket schedule. There are a couple of online videos for TV ads from 1982 featuring Chuck Tanner, the Pirates manager at that time. One ad is for an Atari Fireworks Night promotion at a Pirates home game, while the other is an ad for 2600 Pac-Man; the ad takes place in the Pirates clubhouse. I thought all this Atari/Pirates cross-marketing was really interesting, so I did a little research, and I see that Warner Communications (which owned Atari at that time) had 48% ownership of the team from 1982-1986. Atari's involvement with the Pirates now makes sense, considering the relationship between the two brands. Also in 1982, Atari partnered with another Pittsburgh sports team, this time the Penguins. And the result was the Atari Street Hockey Stick. Atari also sponsored a trio of promotional baseball bats with the names of Jack Clark, Joe Morgan and Chili Davis of the San Francisco Giants. And there's also a 45rmp record from 1982 with the Atari logo featuring the Giants version of the song "Talkin' Baseball". I assume these two Giants promotions came about due to the proximity of San Francisco to Atari's headquarters in Sunnyvale; the two cities are about 41 miles apart. It seems that all the promotional items mentioned above were giveaways at games. I've also seen a New York Cosmos duffle bag with the Atari logo. And finally, in 1983, Atari ran a centerfold ad in magazines promoting a sweepstakes. Each ad featured the 1983 season schedule for either one or two MLB teams. I've seen several of these ads, each with different teams, so it's possible that every major league club was represented in the ads. Based on the items above, Atari ran promotions with MLB, NHL and even a pro soccer team. But, that I know of, no involvement with the NFL or NBA, interestingly enough. I don't know if Atari partnered with any other sports teams, but it's possible. Has anyone seen any other Atari promotions/merchandise featuring specific sports teams? Thanks.

Great responses, everyone. SQL, thanks for the cool info. Looks like Frogger's a popular one. Interesting.

I seem to recall that one of the vintage video game magazines from the 80s published an article relating to some video game companies that were focusing on designing games to appeal to the female segment of the market. I was recently catching up with my cousin; she had a 2600 growing up. I asked her which games she liked back then. She told me that her favorite was definitely Frogger from Parker Brothers. And that she also owned and liked Video Pinball, Pac-Man, RealSports Volleyball, Kaboom and Burgertime. I'm sure women's tastes in video games are varied, just like that of men. But maybe there are some themes or genres that women prefer over others. Now, this question can only be answered by the women/girls out there, so perhaps some of the female AtariAge members can chime in on this. Or maybe some of the guys have experience with this, because your moms or sisters played 2600 games at one point. So, my question is, which 2600 games do the ladies prefer, and why?

Very good observations on your part, King. You bring up some good points. Definitely possible to have had the catalog packaged with some 5200 games. As far as the 7800, the 1984 test market launch could have seen the catalog included with the console. And some of those early 7800 games from 1986 might have included the catalog as well. Like you said, assuming that they had some left-over catalogs. I've seen several instances of left-overs being used in later years. For example, picture label releases using the box from the original text label release.

Well, this is the only catalog made by Atari that has eluded me in all my years of collecting. It's definitely one of the rarest Atari catalogs. I've come across sealed copies of a few of the games from that 1984 timeframe, and none of them have contained this catalog. Although I can't speak for Gremlins, Pengo, Stargate or Track & Field, as I only have these CIB and not sealed. The thought has even crossed my mind that this catalog wasn't even included with any 2600 games, and may have only come in a 5200 or 7800 game, since all three consoles are featured in the catalog. But I'm glad to see that Stamos' Mullet found the catalog with Stargate and T&F. Thanks for the info., Mullet.

That first Sears catalog is definitely the rarest of the bunch. I've seen the other two come up for sale from time to time, but never the first one. I'd say it's pretty rare. Boy, you're right, that artwork is awesome. Has a great 70s vibe to it. Kind of reminds me of Schoolhouse Rock a little bit.

From what I've seen, there were three different versions of the Sears catalog. You can see them at Atarimania (good job as always, Rom). I'd say the catalogs are somewhat rare; you definitely don't see them every day. I've come across several sealed games from Sears, and none of them contained a catalog. If the catalogs weren't included with the games, maybe they were only available as hand-outs at the counter at Sears stores.

When I first started collecting for the 2600, I just focused on buying games that I enjoyed playing. Then, as time went by, I began purchasing games that I found interesting, either because of the packaging or some other reason. As my collection grew, I decided to try to get at least one game from every manufacturer. Although this would be impossible due to the scarcity or price of some games, I would try to do this as much as I could. Then, a few years ago, I expanded my collection to include non-game items, like promotional or merchandising items. From the beginning, I've always focused on trying to acquire sealed games whenever possible, so that's never changed. What has changed is how much I'm willing to pay for games, which is now quite a bit higher than when I started. So how about you? How have you evolved as a collector?

Hey, everyone. From what I've seen, these were the only 2600 game clubs/newsletters created by the game manufacturers that actually existed in the U.S.: Atari Game Club (w/ Atari Age magazine) Activisions newsletter Imagic Numb Thumb Club (w/ Numb Thumb News magazine) Data Age promoted its Video Game Club of America, and Mythicon its Inner Circle club. In all my years of collecting, I've never seen any items related to either of these two clubs. I get the feeling they just never got off the ground or had a very limited run. Outside the U.S., there were clubs/newsletters like the Atari VCS Owners Club Bulletin, Activision Fun Club News, Imagic Club Report, Parker Video Games Club and Tiger News. Two questions. Were there any other 2600 game clubs/newsletters (created by the game manufacturers) in the U.S.? And has anyone ever seen anything related to Data Age's or Mythicon's clubs? Thanks.

When you play most 2600 games, you get to play the part of the hero. But there are a few games where you get the chance to play the villain. I've listed the ones that come to mind below. Are there any others? Rampage Texas Chainsaw Massacre G.I. Joe: Cobra Strike (when playing as the Cobra) Bank Heist (player robs banks) Oink! (when playing the Wolf) Squeeze Box (you're a pistol packin' jailbird trying to escape from prison) Custer's Revenge (I included this one for obvious reasons)