bedouin

I definitely noticed this around November when I bought my Jaguar off eBay. I was in at least two auctions where the prices went above $250+ for a system with 10 or so games. I was a bit shocked compared to a few years ago when I considered purchasing and saw systems going for pennies. When I spotted a system with about 15 games, two controllers, and an S-Video cable with a buy it now option for $150 and six days left -- I jumped right on it. I noticed most of the Jag auctions seem to include boxes and manuals as well, another reason you end up paying more. I'd like to get the CD system as well, but just haven't seen one for the right price yet. Perhaps I should try putting a want ad on Craigslist.

Which 7800 games used them at all? I honestly can't remember.

The Wico stick is almost identical to Epyx's (awesome) joystick. And no they're not similar because the Wico stick is not controlled with your thumb.

If a system can be emulated with near perfection I prefer it over owning the real thing. That includes 2600, 5200, 7800, NES, SMS, TG16, and others. It's more of a space and clutter issue. The only exception for me is the c64, which for some reason I don't like in emulation.

I remember seeing all kinds of bootlegs like this in Saudi Arabia. It's funny that they wrote "Atari 2600" in Arabic but not in English. I don't think it's really rare though. It's probably manufactured in China or the likes and only distributed with Arabic packaging -- so the same thing probably exists in other non-Arab countries, with the same built-in games.

I liked programming in the Apple ]['s basic more than on the c64. I thought the DOS commands were more logical too (i.e. 'catalog' instead of 'load"$",8' and then 'list'.) I can't even remember the command to format a disk on my c64, but remember it was a simple "initialize" on the Apple ][. I liked how the Apple ][ booted disks without any user interaction as well. I grew up with a c64, and got a lot of milage out of it, moved to PCs, but always wanted Apple hardware; my dad was never really willing to splurge on it though. In 2002 I finally bought my first new Mac (G4 PowerMac -- I had a couple second-hand old machines) and have been happy ever since I remember in 1989 c64 software was starting to disappear from the shelves. My only other computer literate friend had a Tandy, so that's what I migrated to (easier to trade games, disks, programming ideas, etc.) I ended up with a Tandy 1000 HX and it was kind of disappointing to move from the c64's awesome graphics and sound to 3 tone beeping and CGA graphics (except on the rare occasion that a game had PCJr graphics and sound support -- thanks Sierra!) The c64 gave me tons of entertainment at home, but I tried to get as much time as possible on the Apple ][s at school and the library. And when the IIgs came out? Major fetish. I still think of buying one to this day.

I don't play every day, nor every week sometimes. Oftentimes I just get into a mood where I want to play, and do it for hours one day. It's not a conscious decision, and I've never given them up. A lot of it probably has to do with being mentally distracted. I think about too many things are once to really concentrate on a game for a long period of time nowadays. That might be one reason I end going back to more basic Atari-like games that don't require long-term involvement to enjoy.

In Arabic I've occasionally heard people in their 30s refer to any kind of video game as Atari, or playing video games in general as just being "play Atari."

I've always been kind of intrigued by the 16 and Plus/4. Wouldn't mind having one for the right price.

I'll tell a story here. I was about 4 or 5 years old -- I can't remember. It was probably 84 or 85. My dad was looking to buy me a computer and found a guy in the classified selling an Atari 800XL. We went to the house and the guy demoed it. My dad decided he wanted to buy it so the seller started packaging everything up and putting it away; as he was doing so, some screw or piece of metal fell out -- I can't remember what exactly. When we saw that we decided to power it on to make sure everything was okay -- but it wouldn't power on at all. Can you imagine how excited I was to see it being packaged up, and then how devastated to watch it break down? It was months before I finally got a computer -- though it turned out to be a brand new 64-C with two joysticks, Frogger, and some other cartridges (the 1541 didn't come until later). The thing is, the Atari software started disappearing from shelves a couple years before Commodore stuff did. I don't know if that was specific to my area or a nationwide thing. In the end it was probably a better decision. I regret moving to PCs after selling my Commodore though. I wish I didn't buy into peer pressure and instead got an Amiga, IIgs, or Mac.

c64 > Atari. People remember it because it sold millions.

I don't know. The only acceptable joysticks were well-built, arcade ones. The rest I remember from my years of 80s computing were just -- so-so. I remember buying a new joystick every week in my c64 days, trying to find the 'one,' which turned out to be Epyx's joystick. I really welcome gamepads. They're general all-purpose controllers that generally do the job for most games.

Anyone know where I can obtain the OS X binary of TuxPuck? One exists, but the TuxPuck page is out of order, and when trying to grab the file directly gets a 'forbidden" error. I tried to build from source but that's not happening. The Linux machine is in the other room; I would rather have it on my main desktop.

Thanks for the tip. I just installed this on my Debian box; it's definitely fun, and using an optical mouse is 10xs better than the Classic's.

Wasn't Choplifter on the VIC-20 before the Atari 8-bit systems?

The only people I remember referring to cartridges as 'tapes' were people who had no background in computers. In fact, I remember correcting a couple people on that. I remember 'tapes' being used more around the NES era for some reason -- not before or after.

I just discovered this game published by the venerable Brøderbund after picking up a Mac Classic II. I was never aware of it when it was actually released, but it apparently made it to Amiga, DOS, and even the NES. It's kind of like a mixture of air hockey and Pong -- like a more advanced version of Video Olympics. If you're a fan of either, you should check this game out (preferably the Amiga or Mac version. Just thought I'd share this discovery. Definitely worth checking out.

$20 for Aki Mahjong. Ambrosia is a pretty cool Mac software developer, so I didn't mind it. Panic is another cool shareware developer for Mac.

That makes you the man in my book! I cant believe you went through all 4 levels first time in first place everytime. That is impressive stuff. Personlly took me ages, was not until I got my procontroller that I managed to beat some of the later courses! Gaztee 1026098[/snapback] Maybe it's just from so much Mario Kart.

As far as I know, the Jaguar isn't emulated decently by any software, giving you another reason to purchase one. When the Jaguar came out I wanted one but didn't get it, so my late purchase of one has been a kind of delayed fulfillment. There's always been something alluring about it for me despite the fact there's only 5 or 6 games I care to play on it regularly, Tempest being one of them. I ponder purchasing the CD unit at times but haven't seen one for the right price. I guess if you have something in your heart demanding a Jaguar, you probably won't be let down by it upon arrival. Despite the system's rarity it's not impossible to collect all of its titles, since there's not a huge amount. That's another attraction to the unit.

Were those cassettes used in anything else, such as audio devices? Just wondering because it would seem difficult for Data East to manufacture their own proprietary cassette for something that was distributed in relatively low numbers.

That's tough. Probably still has to be ET though. I mean, as a kid I was at least able to kind of imagine that the 2600 version of Pac Man was the real thing. The basic idea of the game was at least there, albeit a really horrible implementation. The killer is seeing Ms. Pac Man on the 2600 and realizing that something better was possible, but that Atari didn't even make a real effort first time around. ET on the other hand was pretty much zero enjoyment no matter how much imagination I had. Plus it has an entire landfill to prove its failure. Yet, those Pac Man noises remained the standard video game sound in television and film for years, which was torturous in many respects. Also, the audacity it took for Atari to rip off millions of Pac Man and Atari fans in hopes of having something even remotely close to the arcade version, with full knowledge that the port was trash ranks high on the suck-o-meter. I dunno, maybe it is a tie.

Yeah that's another complaint. The very first time I played it I beat all tracks and got first place in each one. It's not a very challenging game.

I've been having fun with Tempest 2000 since I received my Jaguar, but I can't figure out one thing: what's the best strategy to attack flippers from they reach the rim? Can you really do anything at all? Some times I'm able to hit them, but I've never been sure quit how I do it. Any advice?

I always remember this controller as the definitive one usually paired with an Apple ][.