E.T. Landfill copies

[E.T. Landfill copies]

8 minutes ago, toneinblack said:

There's some on american eBay but the prices are just daft.

Indeed.

From what I recall, most cartridges were going for around 100-150$ at auction. Looking on eBay, the cheapest seems to be around 600$ currently.

A little too rich for my blood. It certainly would be interesting to own one, but not at anywhere near those prices.

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

3 hours ago, Lodmot said:

Lol, now people are calling me "whiny" on the indiegogo comments page, and Atari are responding to them.

For those of you that aren't caught up with the situation between me and Atari, I'll give you a general rundown on what occurred: 

 

Early/Mid 2017 - I back around $370 towards the VCS IndieGoGo campaign. At this point, I was very enthusiastic towards the project, and going as far as defending it in the IndieGoGo comments, and even early on in this thread. Eventually I decided I would like to help the VCS platform out and develop an exclusive game for it. I began developing level designs, art assets and a game engine for the game. I ask another person if they would like to help with character art on the game, she said "yes". As this is going on, we're not hearing anything about Atari VCS (of course), but I continue to leave pretty positive, enthusiastic comments on the IndieGoGo page. I notice the amount of negativity surrounding the console, which prompts me to leave constructive suggestions on the IndieGoGo page. Atari never responds to any of these suggestions.

 

Late 2017 - Around this time I sent Atari an email at their developer inquiries email address. Once again, I was positive and enthusiastic-- showing support for the VCS while also approaching them in a professional manner. In response, they sent me an email basically saying "stay tuned", as if I was another backer (and not a developer). I didn't respond to their email, and decided to wait it out for a little while. I also showed further support by spending around $30 on one of their Atari VCS t-shirts (which they did deliver).

 

2018 - I continue to leave politely-toned comments on the IndieGoGo campaign page-- none of which they responded to. It might have been at this point that I started expressing some concern in the fact that they didn't show any games yet. Whenever I had surveys sent to me on the VCS campaign, I would always answer them fully. I also completely filled out the BackerKit survey and gave as many details as possible in what they could do to further improve their public image with the VCS. As time went on and none of those messages received responses, it's getting to the point where I'm starting to get a feeling of "getting the cold shoulder" from Atari.

 

Late 2018 - Still no news regarding developing for the Atari VCS. I attempt to look on their website for ways to sign up as a developer and found no such registration form. I think it might have been around this point in time where I was getting fed up with Atari, and finally started seeing the light (or the taco's, whichever one you guys prefer xD). I decide around this point to put my project for the VCS on hold. I don't remember the exact way I turned away from showing support and positivity towards the VCS, but I remember I was getting mixed feelings, sometimes swaying back and forth between still being excited for it, and not being excited. 

 

2019 - Atari is delaying the project even further to upgrade their console specs. At this point, I wasn't really even committed anymore as a developer. Later in the year, I decided to make my VCS exclusive game a Steam release, and began continuing development on it under that basis instead. For a while, I stopped even going to the VCS Indiegogo page, because none of my suggestions or developer inquiries were ever responded to. Very little trickled out about the VCS, and right up until about September the console pretty much had no news about anything regarding prototypes or hardware, or the OS itself. Communication between Atari and its skeptical supporters is virtually non-existent. The company ignores anyone that merely questions their decisions, or has anything negative to say in general. I also notice OTHER indie devs experiencing similar frustrations as me:

 

 

Then just today, I'm getting called out by other backers on the IndieGoGo page, saying my comments are "whiny", and "Atari wouldn't want to work with someone like me anyway", etc. I don't know about them, but I personally find my lack of communication from Atari extremely unprofessional and insulting. Also, I am most definitely NOT the only person experiencing this. Atari should at least have the decency to write something like "We are pleased to see your enthusiasm, but we are not looking for extra developers for the VCS platform at this time. Thank you."

 

TL;DR:

Anyway, I just wanted to express my personal experiences and grievances as an Atari VCS supporter and (attempted) developer. Try as I might, and be as polite and professional as I could-- no response came from Atari, my inquiries remained never answered, and now it's like I'm not allowed to voice myself anywhere on their social media pages. Anybody that has tried to develop for the VCS or has had any similar experiences, I'd be interested to hear those. 

It is things like this that makes me think the Atari corporate strategy is 'repeatedly shooting ourselves in the foot at every opportunity'.

They seemed to have been completely unprepared to actually design or build their own product. They have had a public falling out with those working on their project over not paying them. They keep their backers in the dark about what progress is being made with the project. The infrequent statements are filled with what they hope to accomplish, but woefully lacking in any detail on what they have actually accomplished so far. 'No news is good news' is not going to cut it with explaining their repeatedly missed deadlines.

As to their shutting out interest from potential VCS developers, I have my suspicions it is likely in no small part due to their not having much of an idea currently what the final hardware configuration or operating system is going to be; which would in turn make it difficult to give any information to those expressing an interest in developing content for their system. Regardless, ignoring those wanting to create content is terrible PR.

Also, it is very stupid. You would think right now Atari would be praying at this point for a indie 'Undertale' VCS exclusive to show up and carry their system. The big boys of gaming I highly doubt are going to have much interest in developing exclusives for a small, niche market. They might make some ports of their releases if it is not too much work, but if it is a title already available on other systems then one would think there is less draw to own it again on a VCS. It would seem to me that the smaller developers would also be their main developers for any unique content for the VCS system.

Honestly at this point I am just watching in morbid interest; not wondering if this VCS will fail, but wondering how spectacular a failure it will be. As per a classic Simpsons quote: " It's horrible, but you can't take your eyes away. It's like watching a monkey swallow a hand grenade."

[E.T. Landfill copies]

As far as I have heard, the initial batch of 881 cartridges were the only ones sold so far. Lewandowski had stated he still has another 297 E.T cartridges, but no immediate plans to sell them.

You do see the landfill cartridges listed on eBay very rarely, but the prices are pretty outrageous (but I suppose a worldwide supply of just 881 will do that?)

Hopefully the other 297 will be released at some point and people can have a second shot at getting a bit of Atari history for a reasonable price.
 

[Lot of games found today]

1 hour ago, save2600 said:

Huh? I don't see any Basic Math's selling for anywhere near $100. Performing a completed auction or sale listing on eBay, only see a $41 sale from a seller in Germany.

 

Sure, people are asking $75+ for a CIB example currently, but they_are_not selling. It's listings like those that people get to claim "that's what they go for on eBay"...  🤣
 

And remember, there's a glitch in eBay's unsold ended listings sometimes too. They'll mark something as "sold", when it really hasn't.

Rarity Guide shows $51 avg. for CIB. $100 for sealed.

 

http://www.rarityguide.com/atari2600_view.php

 

I was looking at this site: https://gamevaluenow.com/atari-2600/basic-math?gameid=41

Under the 'Complete' Category (there is also 'Loose, and 'New'), it is showing a few auctions in 2018 from a low of 52$ to a high of 170$. The one from 2019 shows only one listing, but it was for 89.95$.

It is hard to tell how many are sales as compared to asking price (eBay seems not to keep records going back to the 2018 listings), but it does seem that people are consistently putting a surprisingly high value on a complete set of 'Basic Math'.

"All the fun and excitement of taking a math test now available at anytime in your own home, on your VCS!"

Hahaha, not exactly a winning sales pitch :D

[Lot of games found today]

23 minutes ago, discotronic said:

This is something I did not know and my first reaction was bull***t. Looked at eBay and wow you are right. 

I did a search and didn't come up with the answer but why would that sucky and not really rare game bring that kind of price? I understand the whole what a person is willing to pay but this seems a little crazy to me.

This is downright shocking.

A loose cartridge, or cartridge and manual seems to sell for around 10$. Which is not surprising as it was not that rare or popular a cartridge. But as soon as you have a complete box set of 'Basic Math' it seems the value of it jumps to around 100$.

I guess that makes 'Basic Math' the most valuable piece of this collection? I am absolutely astounded this is actually true, but reviewing eBay sales history for complete set sales it seems to hold water.

There must be some very die-hard completionist collectors out there!

[Goodwill and the cheap Atari 2600]

Even as a non-profit, they still have to pay something in local taxes for the building, their utilities, and employee wages. So though the item is donated, everything sold is not 100% profit for them as they still have operating expenses that come out of their sales.

Honestly, if it was myself I would have inquired on the sizable difference in sticker and paid prices. At most it would have cost an extra 12$, and still would have been one hell of a deal. I recently bought a untested 2600, with a few common games for 30$ off kijiji and thought I had made a great deal. If it was on some sort of special, then ones conscience is clear on the matter.

If it was a Walmart or other big box store, I probably would not think twice about taking advantage of a pricing discrepancy. But for a non-profit/charity I personally would feel bad about exploiting a possible error on their part.

But it is 12$ in the end, and I doubt Goodwill will fold without it. As others have said, it is more a question of ones personal feelings and morals in the matter.

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

12 minutes ago, PlaysWithWolves said:

 

On Reddit, Pdubs posted Atari's email to wannabe developer's:

 

Developing for the Atari VCS

Thank you for expressing interest in developing content for the Atari VCS. 

As we continue working towards the consumer launch of the Atari VCS, we want to provide you with information about the VCS development environment. Our goal is to make this an easy process for developers looking to create new content or repurpose existing games and applications.

How to Get Started
You can start developing for the Atari VCS right away with Unity or standard Linux tools.

Unity: Most non-VR games and apps developed in Unity will be readily compatible with the Atari VCS. (If you are working developing for VR please contact us at [email protected].) We are working with Unity and other popular development engine makers on specific guidance for porting content to the Atari VCS and will provide more details as soon as we have them.  (Some Unity resources: https://unity.com/)

Linux: The Atari VCS uses a version of the Debian Linux OS and supports games and apps developed using standard 64-bit Linux code, APIs and tools. You can expect a large majority of Linux-compatible content to be fully compatible with the Atari VCS (Some Debian resources: https://www.debian.org/)

Finalizing compatibility will involve testing your content on actual Atari VCS hardware and controllers when it becomes available in early 2020. 

Submission and Approval: Atari will be implementing a submission portal and approval process for getting games or apps into the Atari store. Stay tuned for more information, including a link to the registration form for our developer program and additional support and documentation. 

Revenue Sharing: Publishers and developers will receive 88 percent royalty on all Atari VCS-exclusive titles, and an 80 percent royalty on non-exclusive titles, approved and placed in the Atari VCS store.

For more information about the Atari VCS, including up-to-date hardware specs, please visit https://medium.com/@atarivcs.

Thanks again for your interest. More to come!

-- The Atari VCS Team

Wuf...

Well if this is accurate, I guess that puts and end to any speculation this is going to be essentially a micro-PC running Linux in a Atari shell.

But on the plus side, if it is just a fancy skinned PC they might actually be able to actually build and release it without too many further delays?

[Lot of games found today]

I am certainly no expert, but I would expect selling them in small lots of 5 or so on eBay (and offer combined shipping) would be the the most profitable way to sell them?

Boxed (and I presume with instructions) is I imagine more desirable for collectors.

Nothing is really jumping out at me as being exceptionally valuable, though the entire lot will I think bring you a tidy sum. A quick eBay search show that people are selling lots of boxed 2600 games for roughly 5-10$ per game (now, if people are buying at that I cannot say, but that seems to be the range they are being listed at).

I think the most valuable of the lot might be Space Dungeon, again a quick internet search shows that a complete boxed set goes for around 35$
 

Which brings me to another point, some of these are I am very sure are Atari 5200 games (Space Dungeon, Qix); there might be more then that, so you might have to check each box/cartridge to see the console it is for.

[RomScanner Command Center listing on eBay]

I was snooping on eBay this morning and saw this listing, which I thought might be of interest to some here?

It is a listing for a Marjac Romscanner, which to my understanding is pretty rare to find for sale. Looks like it is listed at 150$ CAD opening bid, plus shipping

No Box it would seem, but unit looks to be in excellent condition.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Rare-Games-Selector-Atari-2600-RomScanner-Command-Center-Marjac-Model-VGA-10/283705159959?hash=item420e253117:g:XVIAAOSwQpNd7rr8

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

1 hour ago, Tommy Tallarico said:

I'll just go ahead and leave this here...  
 

 

Intellivision® is proud to show off its exclusive version of Atari®'s Breakout® only available on the Intellivision Amico™ console launching 10.10 2020. Although the game will start off in original "vertical mode", it won't take long to utilize the full 16:9 aspect ratio and turn things sideways. Part "block buster" and part 2D side scrolling shooter, you’ll only have a limited amount of time to get to the goal and BREAKOUT! Will the player in the trailer make it to the end on time? They have 4 minutes to complete the task. Players can utilize the vertical touchscreen to control the paddle and (as seen in the trailer) can use motion controls (once a ball is hit) to angle, aim, spin and curve in the direction that you'd like the ball to go! And don't forget, we'll also be adding multi-player couch co-op and versus modes as well!

 

This looks amazing!

I also had an e-mail recently about the Moon Patrol demo, which likewise looks impressive already.

This is how you sell your system. Show off what the system can do, and tease the exclusives it will have.

That builds interest and excitement in the product, and makes people want it all the more.

So very unlike the VCS 'No news is good news', where you leave the backers/customers completely out of the process and wondering what is going on.

[I turned a rare Atari 2600 Junior single-chip console into a portable]

This is some absolutely amazing designing and engineering! I would love to have a portable like this.

I have to admit to being a bit curious though, how long does the battery last?

You certainly did an exceptional job creating this unit, and I enjoyed watching the video you made documenting the entire process.

Very well done!

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

1 hour ago, tschak909 said:

I will reiterate:

 

Atari has had flattening growth in their post-Infogrames licensing model of trumping out their brand at $500,000 a pop, for years.

 

They wanted to dump their penny stock.

 

They decided to generate hype over a console, to inflate interest enough for a bigger fish to buy them.

 

They pull a favor someone from someone at Sonos to fabricate a case, they did not ask him to make something that was mass-producible.

 

They contract a company to make controllers. Do not pay them. This later causes one of the production delays.

 

They hit upon the idea to crowd-fund this thing, brought in a guy who had experience doing this multiple times, never-mind that he's a serial crowdscammer...

 

Crowd-scammer leaves over non-payment, sues, they settle.

 

They find an experienced system designer in Rob Wyatt/Tin Giant. Who DOES have shipping hardware under his belt. He works for 6 months, non-payment. Left in October. Law suit probably coming.

 

Emergency shareholders meeting took place two days ago over the fact that nobody is signed on as a third party developer (and specifically how Unity is not supporting them as an explicit target), to basically beg for their support.

 

There is no indication that the board that was shown even boots.

 

There is no Atari branded operating system, they're saying "load your own."

 

Two distinctly different system configurations.

 

And they're delaying yet again.

 

Atari never intended to actually go through with any of this, and are currently trying to find a way to do the least amount of effort as humanly possible while running away with as much of the crowd-funded money as humanly possible.

 

-Thom

I was having very similar thoughts about this recently.

It would almost seem that Atari was banking on another Oculus-type buyout to occur. Raise a few million through crowdfunding, get some product hype going and catch the attention of one of the big industry players who then buys you out for an obscene amount of money. Either because they think your project will make money, or just to cut out some competition.

It does appear Atari was caught completely flat-footed in that they might actually have to design and produce their new promoted VCS. They keep pushing back their deadlines, and have yet to release any real advancements to a deliverable product other then creating a handful of prototype shells (apparently subject to change). The actual hardware and the software/operating system is almost a complete mystery.

When the only thing you have to show for a year and a half of work so far is a few plastic shells that you are not even 100% sure you are going to use, it does not look good at all for Atari to have the VCS units designed, debugged, produced, assembled and out for delivery in 3 months time.

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

14 hours ago, Shawn said:

 

He wasn't chosen, he bought the company.

That he bought the job, does not make him any less of an exceptional fit to the position.

He has an undeniable passion for the company and the project, and is doing an excellent job in hyping the product. Showcasing what they have developed so far, and talking openly about what they have accomplished, and what they are still working on.

I am not an investor in either project, but comparing the two Tommy Tallarico seems the one that has it all together. He knows what he wants to accomplish, and seems to have a solid plan and a competent team to get him there.

The VCS project in comparison seems to have almost no actual information about the product being built. A bit worrying for something supposedly to be finished in a few months time.

The only physical component they are really showing off so far is the shell, not exactly a critical system component. It does not sound like they have finalized the PCB or operating system.

They certainly do not seem to have a lot to show for a year and a half and three million dollars.

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

1 hour ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

In related news, IntelliVision unveiled much more about their console today, including announcing a bunch of partners working on content for the machine, new games, some details on one of the pack-in games (reimagining of Skiing), controller redesign and more.

 

https://www.intellivisionamico.com/press-releases/press-release-december-3rd-2019

 

They also posted this video. As a reminder to the VCS Faithful, Atari could easily do something like this, they don't have to beg for PowerA's permission or anyone else, but they haven't. INTV doesn't have crowdfunding/backers to please, but they've got the sense as to how to market their device. If Atari had the competence to be showing things like this, they'd save themselves a lot of mockery and questions. Instead, it's easier for them to delete posts on Reddit:

 

 

Tommy Tallarico was an excellent choice for Intellivision CEO.

He has a lengthy career in games/entertainment, and he absolutely knows how to 'sell the sizzle' and market an upcoming product.

Atari certainly could take a few pointers on how to promote and hype your system to potential customers (and developers).

[4 switch 2600 snow unless I hold power switch upwards?]

39 minutes ago, hamburgerwalrus said:

Okay yeah, I'm puzzled and beginning to think the 2600 doesn't like my TV.  I've had it work perfectly fine twice, heck even the video signal was better quality than I expected.  But once it works fine, I turn the system off, and turn it back on, and it's just constantly scrolling super fast.  I think the new TIA works, because when it does work properly, it seems to be 100%, it just seems to only work sometimes and with no rhyme or reason.  Though one thing I noticed is the startup sound to Pac Man seems really quick.  Almost like when you play an old DOS game on a computer with a faster CPU, like the cycle rate is too quick for what the game was designed for.  But I haven't gotten it working long enough to test how the audio sounds with other games.

Going to try it on another TV, unfortunately this one is also not a CRT.  I want to play some Berzerk damn it. (I know I can emulate, it's just not the same).  I also read on another thread (I can't find it for the life of me) that after replacing the TIA you often times need to tune the Atari to get the signal proper.  Anyone know what I am talking about?  Maybe that could be an issue?

This thread perhaps? It does mention that different brands/manufacturers of TIA chips can have strange effects on their 2600 (some similar to what you are describing; a bit of music and strange graphical artifacting).

 

 

[Venture Reloaded]

 

Just squeeked this in under the wire!

..but it was a cold and snowy day, so it was an excellent day to sit down and perfect my Venture Reloaded gameplay.

I certainly had a blast with playing this hack, it is wonderfully done!


 

 

 

 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

4 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

What the heck does being Russian do to help this situation? Also not rushing it doesn't guarantee that it isn't still a POS.

 

Jessie Scroggins 7 hours ago

Great update. Yes John its not coming in December, just pretend your Russian. Good everything is coming together. Were almost there. I didnt figure it would be December. Id rather have nice system than a rushed pos. Atari said they were going to start communicating with us more. Looks like good news to me! Happy Turkey Day Atari team! I look forward to the next update!

I am thinking it could be a reference to the somewhat famous Ronald Reagan joke, about the Russian man who went to go buy a car from the state dealership and was told there would be a ten year wait for it to be delivered?

Looking at how far behind they are in their own production timeline, it might be a rather fitting if obscure reference.

[Harmony cart "THANK YOU!" thread]

Just to throw my two bits in as well, but a big thank you as I am loving my Harmony cart!

Several of my original 2600 cartridges were getting a little flaky making them a pain to play, but now I can just leave the Harmony cart in my 2600 and run everything with zero problems.

I am also enjoying very much playing the homebrews and prototype ROMS that I would otherwise never have been able to try.

It has worked flawlessly since I got it, and it was incredibly easy to set up and use.

[Venture Reloaded]

I have been playing this for the last week on my 2600, courtesy of the Harmony cart version, and I have been having a blast with it!

I enjoy playing the original 2600 Venture, but this is is unquestionably a huge improvement on it.

I have not managed to collect all the treasures yet, but I am getting closer.

Excellent work on this hack!