phitter

I like to collect label variations and I agree that Phil's list is the most comprehensive and mind-blowingly detailed list ever compiled. And I love the Atarimania site. Major vs. Minor Variations Personally, from a collecting standpoint, I like to differentiate between Major variations and Minor variations. For instance, I like to get each copy of an Atari title that may have a text number version, text version, picture version, silver version and red version. Or Imagic text, picture and blue. Activision regular and blue. I like the other companies that did two completely different label styles like Apollo Games or companies that issued their games in two different cases like Telesys, U.S. Games and Sega. I like different color text like the green and yellow end labels on the picture Video Olympic or text Blackjack. I like different titles like the "Raiders Lost Ark" and "Pole Positn" end label variations. And I have three Missile Commands - one with a lowercase end label and lowercase main label, one with a lowercase end label and uppercase main label and one with a uppercase end label and uppercase main label. Here are some examples of the label variations I collect (posts 110-113 and 120-123): Label Variation Examples from Phil's page Overall, I look for any excuse to keep a cart and have some Minor label variations just as examples like text Football carts with different size © symbols. Obviously it is up to each person to decide but I prefer Major variations and will seek those out. I may keep Minor variations when I find them but I do not necessarily seek them out. Values Now as far values are concerned – I think that the rarer copy of the Major variations should (and typically does) command a premium (maybe a couple bucks more, depending on title.) But in regards to the Minor variations I am not so sure. Maybe the rarest of the Minor variations may command a slight premium, but, personally, I am not going to pay more for a “gold” lettered Sears text title than I would for the “yellow” lettered version or for the M-Network game made in Singapore instead of Taiwan. -phitter

I have no idea. I have been collecting seriously for over ten years (plus I hung on to all of my games that I had as a kid) and I just kind of pick up stuff here and there. -phitter

Plus checkout my Electronic Baseball Game collection: Phitter's Electronic Baseball Game Collection

Documents, arranged alphabetically by game title (I probably have manuals for 80% of the carts I have and admittedly, I save different Revisions of each - probably in excess of 500 different manuals and other documents (including different revisions), Atari Age Magazines (all saved from my youth)

Loose Games

Boxed Games

Sealed Controllers (How Useful) Plug and Play Collection

Console Boxes XE

Here is my collection in all its glory. 446 Different Carts Total for the 2600 (353 Unique titles not including label variations) Atari Consoles: Heavy Sixer, Light Sixer, 4-Switch Woodgrain, Vader, Jr. (Little Rainbow), Jr. (Long Rainbow), Sears Video Arcade II, Atari 7800 Game Center (Probably should dust this more often)

Strawberry Shortcake Musical Matchups. Does someone have the patterns? I just can't figure it out. -phitter

How about the Sears Video Arcade II? I'd call it a 5 (Rare). -phitter

They call pizza "cheesecake" in Brazil and garnish it with frilly melon? It that thing PAL?

Why such a wussy bug? Why not give the Praying Mantis (one devout badass) a shot? I enjoyed fighting spiders and jumping over scorpions. Oh forget it...I am in the middle of my best game ever of Strawberry Shortcake. -phitter

Here is a photo of the sticker underneath the silver one - 83492J I am of the unbiased and objective opinion that refurbished models are much less common than typical Heavy Sixers and should be considered a Holy Grail , affordable to only the most serious collectors. Who's with me? Two stickers for the price of one! Can I be on both lists? -phitter p.s. I am a smart ass and I love Hatebreed just as much as Buckner & Garcia

I never had a problem with Star Ship probably because it was one of the first few games we got for our Atari. In retrospect, I think my parents were just cheap and were digging through the bargain bin at Pacific Stereo. I remember our first five games as being: 1. Combat (obviously) 2. Circus Atari (still my favorite of all-time) 3. Human Cannonball (bargain bin) 4. Street Racer (bargain bin) 5. Star Ship (bargain bin - I am beginning to notice a pattern) -phitter

Fishing Derby can be played without the button but pressing the button reels the fish in faster which (IMO) is an integral component of competitive game play. As an aside, I love that game and it is my top 15. -phitter

What about prequels uniquely poised for a hack? Rescue Terra I Worm War I -phitter

How do you want to handle variations? Some Maze Craze games allow use of the button (Blockade and Player Peek variations), though none require it. How about these parameters: 1. It is OK if the button is used only in order to start gameplay. 2. A game will count if ANY version/option is meant to be played without the need to use the button. (i.e. Super Breakout without the sticky feature.) 3. Points can be scored without the need to use the button. 4. A game will NOT count if it can be played without the button (i.e. Circus Atari) but no one plays without the button. -phitter

Wow - at least it wasn't worse that that. My dog once ate my wife's diamond earrings and I was put in charge of the recovery effort. Actual x-ray: -phitter

Pondering the purported evils of Atari’s Pac-Man got me thinking (and I apologize if this has been covered previously) what a comprehensive list would look like for: Games That Can be Played Without the Need for the Button With these parameters: 1. It is OK if the button is used only in order to start gameplay. 2. A game will count if ANY version/option is meant to be played without the need to use the button. (i.e. Super Breakout without the sticky feature.) 3. Points can be scored without the need to use the button. 4. A game will NOT count if it can be played without the button (i.e. Circus Atari) but no one plays without the button. The List 1. Pac-Man 2. Ms. Pac-Man 3. Surround 4. Maze Craze 5. Frogger 6. Jr. Pac-Man 7. Warlords 8. Kaboom! 9. Q*Bert 10. Q*Berts Qubes 11. Skiing 12. Kool-Aid Man 13. Breakout 14. Super Breakout 15. Rabbit Transit 16. Fast Food 17. Tapeworm? Homebrews 1. Ladybug 2. Vault Assault 3. Go Fish! -phitter

Just curious for some input – why was Pac-Man so maligned? I know it did not look much like the arcade version but what did people expect? Personally, all I ever expected was that the Atari VCS version of an arcade game would resemble the arcade game, not that I would be tricked into thinking that I was playing the arcade version in my family room. Pac-Man does not make my top ten but I thought it was a pretty good game back then and I logged innumerable hours playing it. -phitter

Sorry - I will stop with the game scans. I think I have a bunch of manuals not on the list - would you like info/scans on those? Oh and by the way, this list is unbelievable! I can't imagine how much time you must have put into it. Thanks to you and all the contributors for all your hard work on this. You are truly a classic videogame archeologist. -phitter

Space Jockey Boxes Is this numbers 2 and 3 on your list? The street address shown on the box on the left reads, "1515 Wyatt Drive." This one also reads U.S. Games Corporation and adds a line indicating, "A Subsidiary of The Quaker Oats Co." The box on the right reads, "2908 Corvin Drive" and the company reads, "U.S. Games Corp." -phitter

Space Invaders Atari/Sears Run -phitter

Demon Attack - Text, Picture, Multi-Language Text and Blue Label Re-Issue -phitter