lazzeri Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Short but quite nice article from this month´s RGM. If you like it don´t forget to support the magazine! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Cool! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jeremiahjt Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Where did they get their information for what games sold over a million copies? I would not have guessed that Laser Blast, Freeway, and Cosmic Ark sold that well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Collector Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Good article. Like I said before, unfortunately E.T. became the undeserved fall guy for Atari's many mistakes. There was really soooo much more to Atari's downfall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Where did they get their information for what games sold over a million copies? I would not have guessed that Laser Blast, Freeway, and Cosmic Ark sold that well. It's all well documented, E.G. (from way back), 2600 Connection, Digital Press, Programmers, Companies, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Dragon Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Where did they get their information for what games sold over a million copies? I would not have guessed that Laser Blast, Freeway, and Cosmic Ark sold that well. They usually name sources at end of the article. Plus, not sure if he still is, but Marty Goldberg used to be the resident Atari fact checker for RG,or so i was told..not sure if that applied to US only content though as mistakes still got through.. Claims of ST Myth being released, Defender Of The Crown appearing on ST before the Amiga version, not even mentioning some confusion over ST high resolution mode, Sega Master System Vs Atari 7800. So it might be done on an article by article basis?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Where did they get their information for what games sold over a million copies? I would not have guessed that Laser Blast, Freeway, and Cosmic Ark sold that well. It did sell at least a million. Problem was Atari had been expecting sales of 7 million or something and made that many cartridges so that's why the game is seen as a commercial failure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shquata Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Excellent , I Enjoy reading all these accounts of the older games / programmers and such . I always wondered if there was any truth the rumor of a large amount of the memory being used on the opening sequence picture and music ? Anyway , enjoyed it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I find interesting that everytime Warshaw talks about E.T. development, the history changes slightly. Cool article nonetheless 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I find interesting that everytime Warshaw talks about E.T. development, the history changes slightly. Well it's been 35 years, and memory is not infallible. Our memories are in constant flux. The good thing is that he's talked about it so much that I think you could write out a basically objective history by taking the points that have been consistent, and judging the points that haven't been on a case by case basis. Though honestly, I'm personally not sure what's actually changed... to me it seems like what I remember him saying in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Have any of the Homebrewers tweaked the game to make the whole issue of falling in the pit over and over and over again less of a problem? I think if that was to be improved upon, the game may actually be enjoyable. It really isn't much different than superman, Adventure, or Raiders... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 I think you'll find a fixed version here - http://www.neocomputer.org/projects/et/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+groundtrooper Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 I think you'll find a fixed version here - http://www.neocomputer.org/projects/et/ Yep - Cafeman beat me to the link. It has also been offered as a cart a couple of different times at Game Expos. I am on the wait list for his next cart run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Thanks guys that was a good read I think I'm gonna try to download the rom and play with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TwentySixHundred Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Was one my favorite games back then because it was more of an adventure rather then just a shooter or Arcade like gameplay. Wasn't till i got on the internet people were saying it's a bad game and i would argue the point lol. I guess these days it's more nostalgia for me, the game is still fun, mind you when i was a kid playing E.T i never completed the game just liked exploring looking for stuff 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMaddog Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 It wouldn't have been a bad game to play had they had time to fix the falling pit issue. I know because I played it plenty of times at my cousin's house before I heard about it's "bad rep." What really ruined it and Atari was Warner paid a ridicious amount of money for the rights just to get Spielberg to make movies for WB instead of Universial Studios. So even had the game been perfect and well liked by the public it still wouldn't have been enough to break even with what Warner paid out. BTW, I played through ET three times straight finding all three easter eggs which meant spending all that time trying to get out of those damn pits. So there better be no YouTube watching Power Glovin' retrogamer tell "me" how it's the worse game ever... (Want pain, try playing Pac-Man on the 2600) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyluli Wolf Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Retro Gamer is a great magazine. Unfortunately mine rarely seem to show up and when they do, they are completely mangled by the post. They really need to ship the magazine in some cardboard mailers instead of a plastic bag. As far as why half my issues seem to disappear...no idea. The website states they will respond within 48 hours to inquiries but that is never the case. I often don't hear back until several inquiries have been made over the course of a couple weeks or more. I'm then promised the shipment of a replacement issue which is hit or miss on whether it shows up (assuming they actually ship it). It's very frustrating as I like to collect these magazines but when they arrive mangled or not at all it is a futile effort. This is not exactly a cheap subscription either. All that to let other folks in the USA know what they might be up for if they decide to subscribe. You may be better off going with the digital subscription. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Sad to hear the post office mangling and/or losing your mags like that! I no longer subscribe to any magazines for similar reasons. Heck, even catalogs and advertisements show up mangled more than half the time. +1 for digital subs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Where did they get their information for what games sold over a million copies? I would not have guessed that Laser Blast, Freeway, and Cosmic Ark sold that well. As common as they are today, it wouldn't be surprising. Neat article, although the sidebar about movie games that insinuates that the flamethrower can be used to kill aliens in Alien leads me to believe the editors/writers haven't actually played the game, which tarnishes their credibility a little in my view. Granted, the article's about E.T. and not Alien, but if you're going to throw tidbits like that in there, you've got to know what you're talking about. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAA177 Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Great article. Let's be honest -- it's not a bad game. Also, Raiders of the Lost Ark is actually incredible on the 2600. How much money did Spielberg actually receive? Did the studio that released the movie also get some money? I continue to be surprised that this can't be released on a Flashback. I understand the rights issue, but in all seriousness, maybe Spielberg, who I thought was a fan of video games (at least at one time), could be approached and convinced to do this. Let's say someone like Bill Loguidice (with Warshaw, maybe?) contacts him and makes his case --- would it work? I know it seems like a silly suggestion, and I guess I am a dreamer, but I just see Spielberg saying yes, and I see Warshaw given an opportunity to add the changes he wanted. To me, it seems like some sort of deal could be made, and that Spielberg would be willing to do it because of the history behind this title. Maybe the game could be attached and then an extra $10 would be added to the price of the unit, all of it going to Spielberg/other rights holders. That would probably be a small amount of money to him or Universal, but perhaps AT Games could offer to distribute a flyer of upcoming movies, put trailers for Universal/Amblin Partners stuff on the unit, etc. I don't know, just thinking out loud I guess. Maybe a Pac-Man version of the game could be included, programmed by Warshaw, so Spielberg could finally see that. Universal might be allowed to film a reality show of Warshaw programming the new versions and get some derivative money off of that. Funny, I own the game and can play it whenever I want, but for some reason I enjoy the convenience of stuff being collected on the Flashback systems. And of course there would be the wrinkle of new versions as stated in the above. The Atari community should think once and for all how best to lobby the industry to allow consumers access to licensed products in convenient delivery systems. We should, though, always remember that we have to be willing to pay a premium for it; otherwise, it isn't fair to the rights holders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAA177 Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 What issue of the magazine is that, by the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazzeri Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 What issue of the magazine is that, by the way? Issue 164, January 2017 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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