jhd

As I recall, some Coco games PAKs had an ingenious copy protection mechanism -- they would attempt to overwrite their own code. Because the game was in ROM, this would have no effect, but if the game was was run from RAM, then it would self-destruct. Unfortunately, I don't recall which titles those were. I don't think there were that many, as I was easily able to run most of the games from cassette (I never did have a disk system for the Coco).

Does anyone know (approximately) when the NTSC version was found? It is not included on the Atari 80 Classic Games/Anthology compilations for the PC or the PS 2, and those have just about all of the Atari-produced titles that did not use licensed content.

I owned a Coco I (16K ECB, upgraded to 64K in 1984) from 1982 through about 1990 and I don't recall ever having seen any commercial software that used the semigraphics mode, other than one educational program. For that matter, I don't remember ever seeing those modes discussed any articles in Hot Coco. (Rainbow was not easily or consistently available where I lived.) I think that part of the lack of use was the very minimal documentation available. Other than the brief (and cryptic) coverage at the back of the Introduction to Color BASIC manual, the only place I ever recall seeing information about the semigraphics modes was in one of Bill Barden's books abut the Coco. Back on topic, one of my favourite games for the Coco, not yet mentioned, was Shamus. I never manged to get too far into it, but the graphics were quite impressive.

What programming language are you coding it in?

Companies are not going to publish this sort of data for competitive reasons. I've seen some statistics from the 1980s of relative market share for cartridges (e.g. Atari vs. all others), and data on the total production of cartridges by a firm, but nothing on a per-title basis. My local Sunday newspaper routinely publishes a top-10 list of video game sales and rentals for the prevous week. Were such data available for the 1980s, it would provide a handle on the *least rare* games. Titles that were discontinued relatively early (e.g. Slot Machine, Starship) would also have sold fewer titles, but that is impossible to quantifiy from the information available.

I have been reading through the (American) business press from the early 1980s for a project. It is not uncommon for companies to announce total sales (or volume of units shipped), though sometimes the figures are estimates rather than "hard" data. I have not seen a year-by-year breakdown, but it could probably be estimated/reconstructed from the available information. I don't have the details before me, but I'll see what I can find.

It's been years since I played the game, but as best I recall, I would follow the computer-controlled car as closely as possible. I'd hit the nitro just before reaching the finish line, shooting me into first place.

I'm not much of a fan of racing games generally, but I really like this game. The local Greyhound bus depot had the three-player version until just a few years ago. I developed a strategy of carefully using the nitros boost that allowed me to get quite far into the game. It is available on the Midway Arcade Treasures: Vol. 3 compliation for the PS 2; that includes the track packs. It is just not the same without the arcade controls, however.

Is there any word yet on how these will (eventually) be sold at retail? Will it be an online purchase only, or will I actually be able to purchase one at my favourite (independent) video game store?

I've never seen one in person, but the adds for Spectravideo seemed to be everywhere for a time; I distinctly recall the joystick built into the console, beside the keyboard. I also recall seeing adds in the mid-1980s for a Yahama (or possibly Sony) computer that was specifically marketed to musicians -- it included hardware to interface with various keyboards, etc. This one may not have made it to market, but it was definitely advertised in the trade press (Keyboard magazine).

According to Business Week magazine, for June 11, 1984 p. 114 "Serious software helps the home computer grow up", Synapse, Activision, and Epyx are all developing MSX software. Unfortunately, no titles were mentioned, nor were any other details provided. Did any of these firms ever release anything for the MSX-line? Given the very limited North American market, I suspect not.

I have not seen any 2600 cartridges at a thrift shop in a very long time. Several years ago, I did find a few R5 or R6 titles and I was happy to pay the $5 (or thereabouts) each. The common practice around here is to un-bundle things -- so the console is one item, the controllers are another, the power supply a third, etc. It is very unusual to find all of the parts at the same store. That said, someone does buy the bare consoles as they seem to disappear frequently. I have also seen obviously damaged/non-working items, like a Game Cube where the lid would not close and many N64 consoles missing the jumper pack. Ironically, some of these things have actually been marked as "tested and working".

How would he ship a collection that large? It would fill a good part of a sea container (8x8x24). US$1,200 in shipping seems reasonable, but imagine the customs and brokerage fees when it was landed! "Estimated Delivery within 6-9 business days" -- not unless the buyer is in Western Europe.

Are these the same games that were available a few years ago? (We Canadians never get stuff like this, but a kind AA member helped me out.) I really like the enhanced version of Asteroids (much more than the original version). I don't much care for Lunar Lander in any form, and I have not played Breakout or Centipede enough to offer an opinion.

Dragon Quest VIII was a great game. I'm not aware of anything else that has quite as much wimsy and humour, but I suggest that you try Final Fantasy X-2. FF X is very dark, but the direct sequel is much lighter. The three main characters are female, and there is something of a Charlie's Angles vibe to it. It is linear in that the game is divided into discrete chapters, with certain things that must (or should) be done in each chapter. It is definitely playable and enjoyable without first having played FF X, but some plot elements will not be meaningful. Choro-Q, mentioned above, is a hybrid RPG/racing game. There is no combat, but lots of racing against computer-controlled players. I did not much like it, but YMMV.

I have never actually seen the Kid's Controller or the original keypad in person, and I've been (casually) collecting since the late-1980s. The Video Touchpad turns up occasionally, but much less often than the bare Star Raiders cartridge.

I've played several of these type of games (e.g. Rogue, NetHack, Larn, Angband), but none very recently. Angband does provide "storage lockers" at the surface level, but it also has a very complex overworld with multiple towns, winderness areas, etc. How is the presistence of objects handled in these other games? Is there a "standard"? I'd vote for: Presumably the monsters, other adventurers, etc. are also wandering the dungeon and collecting your detritus.

Good idea. I cannot speak to Ontario or Quebec, but there was nothing published in the Maritimes until the short-lived Maritime Computer Connections magazine in the late-1990s. That did provide good coverage of local businesses and events, but only long after the 8-bit was dead.

Around here, none of the thrift shops accept returns on electronics (which usually lack any power supplies or anything else detachable) so I assume always that systems are not-working. Unfortunately, they are not priced accordingly.

I also have the Venture Electronics version (it seems to be fairly common, as Pong consoles go) and I've seen pictures of a similar-looking model with no manufacturer/retailer listed anywhere on the case. I paid Cdn$1 for it (complete with the optional DC power brick) many years ago. I thought that was a fair price.

As far as I am aware, the Sears-brand consoles/games were only sold in the United States. (I've only seen a very few examples in the wild here in Canada, and I've been collecting since the early-1990s). We do have Sears stores here in Canada (called Simpsons-Sears until the early 1980s); perhaps your console was an "import". Does the box include any text in French (perhaps on a sticker over the original label)?

Interesting, because that would also have included third-party rights (Nintendo owns the game code and someone else owns the characters).

Coleco titles would present a challenge because (almost) all of their releases were licensed ports of arcade games (except for the Smurf games). Even if the copyright/permissions could be obtained, they are still sub-part ports of arcade games that are all(?) available on the same platforms in their original glory. That said, it would be fun to see the response from Nintendo when asked for permission to re-release the 2600 version of Donkey Kong.

I think that it would be great to see a proper re-release of some of the games not created by by Atari/Activision/Inmagic, but I wonder if there is a sufficient market. Obscure titles will have little nostalga-value for most people and so the games would really have to stand on their own. Only a few third-parties have would have enough good games in their library to justify a collection. I never much played handhelds growing up (and I still don't own portable system) so I have no comment on that proposal.

PlayStation Collecting offers this functionality, though not for all game systems: http://www.playstationcollecting.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Users.Collections