OldAtarian

I wish I could find one of the Columbia House 2600's. Actually, it looks more like a Coleco Gemini, which I think it probably is, but still. It would be a nice 2600 variation for the Atari shelf. I think AX found one recently but yes the Columbia House 2600 is a rebranded gemini. I have a gemini but the joystick ports need to be resoldered. Seems to be a common problem. I replaced the motherboard in my Colecovision because one of the joystick ports was snapped off. It just seemed a whole lot easier than soldering a new one on. And here's a tip. Use joystick extension cables. You never have to worry about breaking off the joystick ports if you're plugging into the end of the extension cable instead of to the port itself.

Does the Sears model count?

Ouch! I usually try to avoid those deals. The switchboxes for those alone are usually not cheap and then having to track down a set of controllers that work and won't need rebuilding for a while is another hassle. Carts are cheap and easy enough to get, it's just the consoles and accessories are a little hard on the wallet. Trying to piece together an incomplete system almost always costs more than buying one with everything you need.

The problem with the controllers was that a lot of the technology that went into them was either still fairly new or had not yet been used in that way before, so there were going to be problems. I don't know how much play testing they actually did or how rigorous their testing methods were, but in light of the fact that there were reports of broken controllers from very early on, the testing was obviously inadequate. It wasn't like a year or two had passed before the first reports started coming in, at least then you could give Atari somewhat of a pass for having tested them thoroughly enough but it was almost from day one that the controllers started breaking and it wasn't just a few isolated incidents. That would be cause for a class action lawsuit today. How Atari managed to avoid one back then is beyond me.

To completely derail the thread, I have a 1973 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus with a 400-4bbl.

Why not? That rounds out to $2.23 per cart, including shipping. You could (and people do) pay more for commons. Considering it's eBay, that's really not bad. I never value commons at more than a buck a piece and that is taking shipping into account. There are plenty of those deals out there, I just have too many commons already to buy all of them.

I wish I could find one of the Columbia House 2600's. Actually, it looks more like a Coleco Gemini, which I think it probably is, but still. It would be a nice 2600 variation for the Atari shelf.

All true, but I'm sure Katz was the brains behind Atari [Consumer/Corp.] getting back into gaming. Katz's official title was Executive Vice President. He was brought on as director/President of the new video games division, mktg and sales head of the computer division, and head of a new division (created as condition of him joining) called the Entertainment Electronics Division. They started wooing each other because Katz was looking to move on from Epyx, and Jack was looking for Katz to bring back the 2600 (via the Jr.), and re-launch the 7800 and get timely games for it. They specifically wanted him for the job because they did not consider themselves knowledgeable in the video games market and wanted someone who was. The move to bring both to the market started with Jack, and these talks started in August/September - long before Nintendo even started a test market. As stated previously and now further corroborated by this, the 7800 deal with GCC was with Warner, not Atari. It did not come with the purchase. Jack spent summer of '84 in to fall of '85 going back and forth with Warner on who owed GCC for the MARIA development and 10 launch games. Jack finally capitulated to Warner's terms that in order to get the 7800 he'd need to pay GCC for the Maria development, and he paid for the MARIA chip that May. The next few months were spent negotiating for payment of the 10 launch titles, and by August/September he was looking at Katz to head up the re-entry. Katz set the $50 price point for the intro of the 2600 Jr. that Christmas season and in the meantime started looking at getting newer and more relevant titles for the 7800 besides the 10 already done. He quickly found out that a) most of the newer console game publishers were now coming out of Japan, and b) They were already locked up with Nintendo, who were just going to be test marketing in the US. He instead leveraged his computer publishing connections and got licenses to popular computer titles to port over to the 7800. These were finished negotiating by late Winter/early Spring when development started. Meanwhile the 7800 relaunch was announced that early January at CES, and the '84 model backstock started being shipped to retailers who in turn started selling them that Spring. None of it was in response to Nintendo, other than Katz having to go to computer publishers for game licenses. I don't understand this. I just found a letter that says that as of the meeting with Nintendo in Japan that they had not yet produced a prototype of their proposed game system. That was on 4/11/83 as shown here http://www.atarimuseum.com/articles/atari-nintendo-deal.htm In the wiki entry for the NES, it says the Nintendo Famicom, as it was called in Japan, was released there on July 15, 1983. So somehow Nintendo managed to go from not yet having a prototype for Atari to look at in April, to a full scale release in Japan 3 months later? I think somebody has their facts wrong. Nintendo had to have had a working prototype of the NES long before the April meeting with Atari in order to release in July which means it had to be in development before the 7800. Nintendo clearly lied to Atari about how far along they were in order to release so soon after. In order to release three months later, not only should they have had prototypes, but to make sure they had sufficient stock on hand for the release they should have already been in production. I found a source that says that Nintendo sold over 500,000 Famicoms in Japan in the first two months. How far back would production have had to have started for them to have had over 500,000 units sell out from July to September 1983. Think about it. The Famicom clearly had to be in production at the time of the meeting with Atari. The timeline just still doesn't seem to add up. 500,000 units isn't a lot taking today's manufacturing conditions into consideration, but in 1983 it was a lot and even if it was a domestic release only, it still takes time to build up an inventory of that many units. They have to be manufactured, boxes have to be designed, they have to be moved through the distribution channels to retailers shelves to sell. It just seems to me that for them to have sold over 500,000 units between July and September and for them to only have a wire wrap proto in April and not one that was closer to a production unit doesn't make sense. To go from wire wrap proto to a half million units sold at retail in just 3 months is too little time for them not have been further along than they were admitting to. I think they did a little pulling of the wool over the eyes of the Atari people. It does make sense because Atari was still a potential competitor if the distribution deal fell through and could have taken what they learned from the demonstration and applied it to their own products and hurt the NES in the US. Holding back a little as insurance isn't an uncommon practice in business.

Wow. I pity the poor soul at the top of this thread who had both a ZX81 AND an Aquarius.

So unless the seller actually shows it in the pics or mentions it in the details then there's no way to really know which one you're going to get?

Does anyone have any pics of the 7800 with the expansion port they could link? Most sellers only take pictures of the top so it's hard to tell if it has the port or not. I saw a 7800 with a rainbow on the top like the 2600 jr. Is this the expansion port model? Mine doesn't have the expansion port or the rainbow on the top, which is why I wonder.

Link fixed. It was the period at the end of the sentence that broke it.

All true, but I'm sure Katz was the brains behind Atari [Consumer/Corp.] getting back into gaming. Katz's official title was Executive Vice President. He was brought on as director/President of the new video games division, mktg and sales head of the computer division, and head of a new division (created as condition of him joining) called the Entertainment Electronics Division. They started wooing each other because Katz was looking to move on from Epyx, and Jack was looking for Katz to bring back the 2600 (via the Jr.), and re-launch the 7800 and get timely games for it. They specifically wanted him for the job because they did not consider themselves knowledgeable in the video games market and wanted someone who was. The move to bring both to the market started with Jack, and these talks started in August/September - long before Nintendo even started a test market. As stated previously and now further corroborated by this, the 7800 deal with GCC was with Warner, not Atari. It did not come with the purchase. Jack spent summer of '84 in to fall of '85 going back and forth with Warner on who owed GCC for the MARIA development and 10 launch games. Jack finally capitulated to Warner's terms that in order to get the 7800 he'd need to pay GCC for the Maria development, and he paid for the MARIA chip that May. The next few months were spent negotiating for payment of the 10 launch titles, and by August/September he was looking at Katz to head up the re-entry. Katz set the $50 price point for the intro of the 2600 Jr. that Christmas season and in the meantime started looking at getting newer and more relevant titles for the 7800 besides the 10 already done. He quickly found out that a) most of the newer console game publishers were now coming out of Japan, and b) They were already locked up with Nintendo, who were just going to be test marketing in the US. He instead leveraged his computer publishing connections and got licenses to popular computer titles to port over to the 7800. These were finished negotiating by late Winter/early Spring when development started. Meanwhile the 7800 relaunch was announced that early January at CES, and the '84 model backstock started being shipped to retailers who in turn started selling them that Spring. None of it was in response to Nintendo, other than Katz having to go to computer publishers for game licenses. I don't understand this. I just found a letter that says that as of the meeting with Nintendo in Japan that they had not yet produced a prototype of their proposed game system. That was on 4/11/83 as shown here http://www.atarimuseum.com/articles/atari-nintendo-deal.htm In the wiki entry for the NES, it says the Nintendo Famicom, as it was called in Japan, was released there on July 15, 1983. So somehow Nintendo managed to go from not yet having a prototype for Atari to look at in April, to a full scale release in Japan 3 months later? I think somebody has their facts wrong. Nintendo had to have had a working prototype of the NES long before the April meeting with Atari in order to release in July which means it had to be in development before the 7800. Nintendo clearly lied to Atari about how far along they were in order to release so soon after. In order to release three months later, not only should they have had prototypes, but to make sure they had sufficient stock on hand for the release they should have already been in production. I found a source that says that Nintendo sold over 500,000 Famicoms in Japan in the first two months. How far back would production have had to have started for them to have had over 500,000 units sell out from July to September 1983. Think about it. The Famicom clearly had to be in production at the time of the meeting with Atari.

Is that one of those big red balls that sticks on top of the joystick?

How about a Lynx player along the lines of the Super Gameboy for SNES or the Gameboy Advance player for the Gamecube? Can it be done?

Circuit boards are not a problem, just the plastic shells. At the moment there is not a source for brand new shells, so original carts must be sacrificed. ..Al Go out to the dump and dig up all the E.T. carts.

The links don't help me. I was looking for carts not ROM files.

The hacked versions really don't look substantially different except for corrected colors and real fruit icons. I meant something that looked and played a lot closer to the arcade, not just a patched up version of Atari Pac Man. Where can I get the Ebivision and Pac Man 4k versions? I can't seem to find them anywhere.

That pic looks like Richard Simmons after a sex change.

Yeah, even I don't put condoms on my carts. And $24 is a lot for those. Maybe I should put some of mine up and clear out some space.

indeed... only time will tell looks like we didnt have to wait long afterall. Mabb decided to list another one eBay Auction -- Item Number: 230535638502 'NTSC' interesting... never knew that. Atariage needs to put it on their database then. the AA rarity guide is so outdated, its missing at least 5 R10s And those would be...?

Great find! Here is my R.O.B. tale. http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=275280#p275280 Picked up NES R.O.B. in original somewhat worn Deluxe box with torn styrofoam inside for 25 bucks. Robot cosmetically in new condition, however I can see corrosion seeping out from battery compartment at the base. probably been sitting in box for a while. I think its fixable if just battery acid on the contacts. Here's what was all in the box: R.O.B. the most important! Two platform attachments including controller holder and 4 Gyromite pads One red Gyromite One Gyromite motor in Brand new condition Both claws are there! Spotted one on the ground, whew! I'm gonna go back and catch the unpacking guy later to see if any pieces fell out. For the other Gyromite, cart and manual. This reminds me when I got my Vectrex, and all the carts, game transparencies color discs but no glasses or lightpen. Looks like a regular CRT to actually make R.O.B.'s eyes to see! I think the Stack Up game kit is separate, an even harder find. To be displayed next to my Armatron. The irony, missing these stack discs too. Okay went back a third time and picked up the Zapper for 5 bucks. Thrift store worker said he would keep an eye out for the other "kids top" Gyromite. Told me only NES Robot he seen for a few years and it just came off truck. They were still unloading the truck when I bought Rob earlier today. Battery door on poor Rob is really stuck, can see the dreaded white powder from batteries thru finger hole. Sprayed WD40 with Rob right sideup, excess oil dripped out. Resting on a shop towel, will try to pry out later. Amazing thing is all the plastic is shiny store new with no scratches whatsoever. Even the one Gyromite included only has a couple small marks on the red anodized metal. Almost looks like the original owner tried Rob once, put it away and just played Duck Hunt. Unfortunate that the batteries were not removed. My Columbo guess-estimate since NES, game carts and Zapper were missing. Okay, overnight soaking of rotted batteries WD40 worked! Man I love that stuff, great for lubricating hinges, locks, oiling up Engine compartment of '62 ....... Anyways, moved AA batteries around with screwdriver in finger hole and then "please don't break" forcibly slid the battery door using slot screwdriver as a finger. All the white powder looked like wet salt buildup like an ocean buoy. Batteries coated like a 20 year old Auto Diehard. Wiped off easily since it was wet with that WD40. Surprisingly, the battery contacts and in fact the entire compartment looked new. Contacts still have chrome shiny coating. Robbed AA batteries from two remotes and Rob did the test dance just fine. Circled left then back to middle, arms opened and went all the way up. Popped a D battery in the Gyro motor, thought a fail till I dropped the gyroscope in, spun up very fast. I can see why these get lost, a cool kids toy. Very happy everything working beautiful in this obvious seldom used Rob. No scratches anywhere at all! The scratch on the gyro turns out to be an air bubble, clear packing saran wrap sticker still stuck to the red anodize paint! Just need another gyro, NES (maybe good non-toaster version) and the two game carts Gyromite and Duck Hunt. Maybe one day get lucky and come across the Stack Up Game set. I have since completed this collection with a toaster NES. A brand new looking fully functionable robot. Question is to Mod Rob for direct control? You found an Armatron? I remember reading an article in Antic or Analog a long time ago about building an interface to control an Armatron from an 800.

Yup. They've been selling copies of Telengard cheap, which is a good deal because since the author died a few weeks ago (or is it months now?) prices have been going nuts for both boxed and loose copies. The copies they have are on cassette, though, so that pushes the value down a bit. If they were disk copies, they could get a lot more for them.

Have you considered sending them to Al to be turned into homebrews? Never! That would be tantamount to book burning!

You probably have enough extra copies of PacMan and Defender lying around to do it, just like the rest of us.