Atari 2600 Boulder Dash (R) Announced!

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Free boulder included in every box?

 

I like how you think, but that would make the packages too heavy.

 

Diamonds?

That would help explaining the price, wouldn't it?

[Dino]

32k?

Why on Earth would you fan those flames here on your own thread?

 

Scott

 

Its a joke I'm pretty sure Thomas and Andrew are more than comfortable with where the pricing is at.

[Miss 2600]

32k?

Why on Earth would you fan those flames here on your own thread?

 

Scott

 

Its a joke I'm pretty sure Thomas and Andrew are more than comfortable with where the pricing is at.

 

By "fan those flames" he means the price a programmer wants for another game which was discussed on another thread. I'd be more specific, but I don't want to "fan those flames."

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Boulder Dash now reached the top 10 of Atari 2600 homebrews.

 

http://atariage.com/store/index.php?m=&c=24&l=product_list&sortby=num_sold:desc

[Godzilla]

awesome!

[UberArcade]

I could have missed it somewhere, but is there a shipping date for the game?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Still working on getting all ends together. Its much more time consuming than we expected. Sorry.

[Cravins]

So how many carts were sold?

Edited January 26, 2012 by Cravins

[Thomas Jentzsch]

So how many carts were sold?

I don't know the latest numbers , but there are still some left.

[+Nathan Strum]

When the store is sold out, then you'll know it's 250.

[Dino]

I bet they sold the first 150 in quick time

[fernando marrin]

i believe with the price point and oficial name

it can hardly compete in a "homebrew" category

[+Random Terrain]

i believe with the price point and official name

it can hardly compete in a "homebrew" category

 

Possible categories:

 

Home-ish-brew

 

Classic-brew

 

Official-brew

 

Sanctioned-brew

[+Nathan Strum]

I say if he programmed it at home, and wasn't being paid by First Star to make the game, it's a homebrew.

 

Also, First Star isn't (to my knowledge) paying to manufacture, advertise and distribute the game through commercial channels. Again - homebrew.

[+thegoldenband]

Possible categories:

 

Home-ish-brew

 

Classic-brew

 

Official-brew

 

Sanctioned-brew

 

 

 

[Godzilla]

moonshine

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I say if he programmed it at home, and wasn't being paid by First Star to make the game, it's a homebrew.

 

Also, First Star isn't (to my knowledge) paying to manufacture, advertise and distribute the game through commercial channels. Again - homebrew.

All check. We even pay money to FSS (licensing).

 

Just seeking for official permission doesn't change the category at all, IMO.

 

BTW: BD now at #9 in the rankings.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Thomas Jentzsch

[+bfstats]

I'm feeling compelled to throw my opinion into the ring on this one, and I hope it is acceptable.

 

First Star owns the license to Boulder Dash, a game THEY have released for other systems. That makes the game a commercial property. Our benefactors (Andrew and company) have made the game available for the 2600, something First Star may or may not have intended to do back in the day (dependent, perhaps, on their programmer's ability to make the game work based on their knowledge - at the time - of hardware limitations). This, on one hand, makes it the equivalent of a commercial release despite the fact First Star is NOT the entity distributing the game.

 

On the other hand, Andrew and company had to pay First Star for the right to produce the game (a cost at least partially passed on to us, the consumers). This is OPPOSITE standard procedure for a company that outsources the programming of games IT MARKETS. Do you really think Quaker Oats had programmers on staff when they licensed the Vidtec/US Games titles? It's not like First Star HIRED Andrew and company to code the game FOR them, it was the other way around with First Star simply giving permission for the game to be coded, and the programmers had to pay First Star for that right, on behalf of the Classic Gaming Community.

 

That said, it is my opinion that Boulder Dash WOULD be defined as a homebrew IF Andrew and company (or anyone) would have done this on their own without any contact with (or influence from) First Star - kind of like Lady Bug, an "announced" title by Coleco that never saw the light of day but is available through the AA store AS A HOMEBREW because it has NOTHING to do with Coleco (and is very well done, I might add). But because the original license holder HAS released games for the 2600 (well, Boing! anyway) and IS involved in this release (by giving permission AND collecting "royalties"), I have to think of Boulder Dash as equal to a commercial release and, as such, it will go into my collection right beside Boing! as if I had acquired it in 1983.

 

This in no way is intended to diminish an outstanding contribution by Andrew and company, but we also need to give credit to First Star for allowing it to happen "the right way".

 

And Andrew, if any of my interpretations of the events are in error, please set me straight publicly. My only objective is to help clarify, and that can only be done with facts and not conjecture.

 

In any case, thanks again to all who have made this release possible. I am very much looking forward to getting my grubby paws on what I consider to be THE REAL THING!

[+Nathan Strum]

Commercially-sanctioned homebrew release - yes, but in no way commercially produced, marketed, advertised, manufactured or sold.

 

I don't think the term "homebrew" in any way makes a game less real. Rather, it's simply a reflection of the fact that the Atari 2600 is a dead product, and the only way games can be made for it now are non-commercially.

 

What's really interesting about the fact that Boulder Dash is already #9 in the store and hasn't yet sold all 250 copies, is that every other homebrew lower than its spot hasn't sold 250 copies yet either, despite being in the store for years. When Boulder Dash finally sells out, we'll get a pretty good indication of which games have sold more or less than 250 copies.

[+bfstats]

Agreed on all points, Nathan.

 

There are MANY homebrews that are SO much better than SO many commercial releases. The artist deserves the support, not the mercenary.

 

However Boulder Dash is defined by history, it is a most significant event, and I'm very happy to have been given the opportunity to support it's production by pre-ordering.

[bomberpunk]

agreed. and i thought Ed Fries doing Halo 2600 was awesome. yeah it is, but for a different generation and for different reasons.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

What's really interesting about the fact that Boulder Dash is already #9 in the store and hasn't yet sold all 250 copies, is that every other homebrew lower than its spot hasn't sold 250 copies yet either, despite being in the store for years. When Boulder Dash finally sells out, we'll get a pretty good indication of which games have sold more or less than 250 copies.

Yup. I am pretty sure, it will not get much higher.

 

BTW: You could ask Al, if your are interested.

[Godzilla]

want it reach number one? or is that past it's available quantity?

[high voltage]

Don't say that I still need to get one....

I just got Extra Terrestrials

Edited January 29, 2012 by high voltage

[Thomas Jentzsch]

want it reach number one? or is that past it's available quantity?

#1 is definitely out of reach. Even the top 5 are, AFAIK.