1982 Electronic Fun Magazine Rates 347 Game Carts - did they LIE?

[MrRetroGamer]

The interesting thing about this article in the Dec 1982 issue of Electronic Fun is that in the Colecovision section, they rate several CV games that we all know do not exist, and were not even known to be prototypes! Did they make this stuff up? I attached a scan of the page in question. Many of those games on the CV list don't exist! Ripcord, Sidetrak, Spectar, etc???

[Tempest]

Yep, looks like they were just guessing. Busted!

 

Tempest

[+pboland]

The interesting thing about this article in the Dec 1982 issue of Electronic Fun is that in the Colecovision section, they rate several CV games that we all know do not exist, and were not even known to be prototypes! Did they make this stuff up? I attached a scan of the page in question. Many of those games on the CV list don't exist! Ripcord, Sidetrak, Spectar, etc???

 

Unless somebody that worked at Electronic Fun at the time says "yes, we lied about those coleco titles" I don't know how one would prove that they lied. Now, some might say, "but they had to have lied, because those games don't exist!". The only problem with that statement is, how do we know for sure what did and didn't exist. It has taken years of Atari collectors to find a lot of protos that we thought didn't exist, but the ColecoVision fan base isn't nearly as large and that means, it is going to take a lot longer before we know what existed an what didn't exist at the coleco labs. Just my two cents.

 

However, as far as I know, those titles don't exist.

[joeybastard]

All they did was rate the fake screen shots on the back of the CV box.

[Tempest]

The interesting thing about this article in the Dec 1982 issue of Electronic Fun is that in the Colecovision section, they rate several CV games that we all know do not exist, and were not even known to be prototypes! Did they make this stuff up? I attached a scan of the page in question. Many of those games on the CV list don't exist! Ripcord, Sidetrak, Spectar, etc???

 

Unless somebody that worked at Electronic Fun at the time says "yes, we lied about those coleco titles" I don't know how one would prove that they lied. Now, some might say, "but they had to have lied, because those games don't exist!". The only problem with that statement is, how do we know for sure what did and didn't exist. It has taken years of Atari collectors to find a lot of protos that we thought didn't exist, but the ColecoVision fan base isn't nearly as large and that means, it is going to take a lot longer before we know what existed an what didn't exist at the coleco labs. Just my two cents.

 

However, as far as I know, those titles don't exist.

Well I can tell you Head to Head Baseball and Football didn't exist because they were eventually released as Super Action Baseball and Football. I'd call that a lie right there.

 

Tempest

[+pboland]

The interesting thing about this article in the Dec 1982 issue of Electronic Fun is that in the Colecovision section, they rate several CV games that we all know do not exist, and were not even known to be prototypes! Did they make this stuff up? I attached a scan of the page in question. Many of those games on the CV list don't exist! Ripcord, Sidetrak, Spectar, etc???

 

Unless somebody that worked at Electronic Fun at the time says "yes, we lied about those coleco titles" I don't know how one would prove that they lied. Now, some might say, "but they had to have lied, because those games don't exist!". The only problem with that statement is, how do we know for sure what did and didn't exist. It has taken years of Atari collectors to find a lot of protos that we thought didn't exist, but the ColecoVision fan base isn't nearly as large and that means, it is going to take a lot longer before we know what existed an what didn't exist at the coleco labs. Just my two cents.

 

However, as far as I know, those titles don't exist.

Well I can tell you Head to Head Baseball and Football didn't exist because they were eventually released as Super Action Baseball and Football. I'd call that a lie right there.

 

Tempest

So, are you saying, you know for sure that no coleco lab loaners were ever handed out to Electronic Fun called Head to Head Baseball or Football? Just because Coleco released games called Super Action Baseball and Football doesn't mean they never sent out lab loaners called something else, but the same game. Keep in mind the statement of mine that you quoted, I am referring to prototypes and or lab loaners.

 

However with that said, I think you might be right Tempest. I just wish there was something more concrete we could point to as an answer. I know Coleco was notorious for stating one thing and coming out with another or not coming out with anything at all.

[+Allan]

Notice how all the un-released games got a B except for the two sports games which both got a B+.

 

Allan

[Video]

Wow tempest, that's a self contradiction if I ever heard one "I know they don't exist cause they were released (later) under different titles"

 

Isn't that what Atari did a lot of the time, call a game one thing, and release it as something else?

 

As far as prooving they don't exist, it'd be far harder to do that than to prove they do exist. After all, even today loaners are put out, especially on systems like GBA, and DS, where they are just digital copys for a hackbrew cart, that's useually just erased when the reviewers are finished with them.

 

Just cause somebody saw it an perhaps nobody else did (and may never) doesn't mean it never existed.

[crazytoy]

That was almost 30 years ago. They might had more info and connections back then than we could ever imagine these days even with internet, google and ebay. Those game probably do exist or where tested. I do not think they would just make up stuff for the hell of it. very interesting regardless. good info.

 

 

The interesting thing about this article in the Dec 1982 issue of Electronic Fun is that in the Colecovision section, they rate several CV games that we all know do not exist, and were not even known to be prototypes! Did they make this stuff up? I attached a scan of the page in question. Many of those games on the CV list don't exist! Ripcord, Sidetrak, Spectar, etc???

[crazytoy]

I do not think they where lying. These game probably do exist somewhere. I sold sold items over the years that experts told me do not exist until i show them pictures of the rare items. When dealing with rare items from experience, you can look on ebay or google all you want and you will find zero information. I have come across several items over the years that was the case. These games probably do exist. There was no reason for them to a lie. Way to many collectors are too dependent on google and ebay for information.

 

 

The interesting thing about this article in the Dec 1982 issue of Electronic Fun is that in the Colecovision section, they rate several CV games that we all know do not exist, and were not even known to be prototypes! Did they make this stuff up? I attached a scan of the page in question. Many of those games on the CV list don't exist! Ripcord, Sidetrak, Spectar, etc???

 

Unless somebody that worked at Electronic Fun at the time says "yes, we lied about those coleco titles" I don't know how one would prove that they lied. Now, some might say, "but they had to have lied, because those games don't exist!". The only problem with that statement is, how do we know for sure what did and didn't exist. It has taken years of Atari collectors to find a lot of protos that we thought didn't exist, but the ColecoVision fan base isn't nearly as large and that means, it is going to take a lot longer before we know what existed an what didn't exist at the coleco labs. Just my two cents.

 

However, as far as I know, those titles don't exist.

[Tempest]

Wow tempest, that's a self contradiction if I ever heard one "I know they don't exist cause they were released (later) under different titles"

 

Isn't that what Atari did a lot of the time, call a game one thing, and release it as something else?

 

Just cause somebody saw it an perhaps nobody else did (and may never) doesn't mean it never existed.

I meant that they didn't exist as external lab loaners. Sure they probably existed within the company (I think someone even found one with a proto label for HtH Football), but not outside the company. So unless someone at Electronic Fun knew an employee at Coleco who was supplying them internal use only protos or they broke into Coleco at night, they were probably lying.

 

Why is everyone jumping to defend them? It's pretty obvious that they were full of it. One, maybe two never before seen games I can possibly see, but this many? Come on! That list reads just like the catalog that came with the system. A bit suspicious, no?

 

Tempest