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2600 Coulda Woulda Shoulda


JayAre

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Growing up, I think most of us weren't aware of everything that was available for the 2600 at the time. And then, there were those things that we did know about but just never got around to doing them for whatever reason.

Thinking back to when you were a kid, if you had known about everything available in the 2600 universe at the time, what are the Top 5 things you would have done that you never did back then?
I've provided the list below to give you some ideas:
Join video game clubs (Atari Game Club, Activisions newsletter, Imagic's Numb Thumb Club)
Purchase mail-order games (Chase the Chuck Wagon, Tooth Protectors, Spacechase monogrammed cart, Kool-Aid Man, the last two, Supercharger games, Video Life, Atari Game Club exclusives)
Send away for Activision patches or CBS Electronics medals
Purchase Starpath Supercharger games
Attend 2600 events ("Pac-Man Day" events when the game was released)
Buy controllers other than the CX-40 (Pro-Line Joystick, Trak-Ball, 3rd party joysticks)
Purchase "behind the counter" games (the 2 Wizard games, adult games)
Enter contests (Swordquest series, Riddle of the Sphinx, Atlantis, Name This Game, Rescue Terra I)
Purchase/read video game magazines and books
Send away for in-game offers (Robot Tank poster, Bruce Jenner Decathlon glove, Communist Mutants from Space poster)
Buy 2600 merchandise (t-shirts, lunchbox, notebooks, pencils, model kits, Kid Stuff records/audio cassettes, Atari Game Club items)
Subscribe to the GameLine Master Module service to download games via telephone line
Purchase Compumate keyboard add-on
Join the Columbia Video Game Club
Buy storage devices (Atari Game Center, Modular Cartridge Library, Game Library, Game Program Case)
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Bought a Romscanner. The department store in my area had a little in-store offshoot business that sold video games. They always had the 2600 attached to a Romscanner or similar. Would have liked a Supercharger as well. Possibly biggest regret was not hoarding 2600 games during the crash. Got some gems during one shopping trip ... think I got Keystone Kapers, Frostbite, Atlantis and Riddle of the Sphinx (since sold) at knock down prices. Should have got more. A lot more.

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1. Get an Atari 2600.

 

The system was just a bit before my time, but I remember seeing 2600jr systems at Sears in the twilight hours of their commercial life while I fawned over Nintendo games. I was always curious about it, though.

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Write a letter to Sunnyvale demanding compensation for that piece of crap Pac-Man we were all subjected to, at a whopping $39.99 when introduced...

(did this later for C-64 game by the company Data East, and it worked. if only i had known then....)

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reverse all my trades....

we never had enough money to buy new games, bartering was our currency....

i originally traded my Hot Wheels (redlines, mind you, which were cheapest cool toy at the time) for Star Wars figures, traded the star wars for G.I. Joe, traded figures for Atari, traded Atari and figures for Intellivision, sold off Intellivision for Commodore 64 stuff......lost C=64 during relocation....;(

 

now the old redlines are probably the most valuable of the entire chain!!!

 

(a little off track, but as far as regrets go, I ripped open the box to a 12 inch Boba Fett as a kid, now the box is worth many times more than the figure...)

Edited by eddhell
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JayAre, this is one of the best posts I've read on the forums. You bring up a very valid idea: what should we have been smart enough to do at the time? Of course, this is all hindsight, so we can cut ourselves slack, but you just know there were a few ahead-of-the-time visionaries when we were growing up who had a checklist like that. That's why I advise my nephew these days: please, please, any system/software you buy, save it. Even toys you got for Christmas, if any are still left -- save it. (I wish so much I had saved my Weebles Haunted House and my Colorforms Dracula's Castle, for those who know).

 

I seriously can't get over your list. So many hit me perfectly. I wish I had purchased more video-game magazines, for instance. I do have a decent collection (mostly because way back a friend of mine who had a whole stack of them offered them to me for free before they were tossed), but not enough. And even though I'm not really part of this generation's gaming, I do try to save some of my Game Informers now (I wish, wish so much, I had saved my Gamepros; I know that was beyond the 2600, but the NES/Genesis era wasn't bad either, was it?; I was even a charter subscriber and had issue number one, and I never thought to keep it; why...). I will say this about the magazines I have (Video Games & Computer Entertainment, etc.): it is so hard to read them because it is torture to see the ads, if you know what I mean! Seriously, it is torture. I do own one cool book though: Secrets of the Video Game Superstars, I think it is called. The little digest-sized book that had a great interview with the creators of Defender. Love that I kept that one.

 

Another thing: the Wizard games. I don't recall them in my local stores, but they probably were there. However -- unless this is a phantom memory on my part -- wasn't there order forms for the games in the magazines, and perhaps in something like Fangoria? My friend and I were big Halloween/Texas Chainsaw Massacre fans...if I am remembering this correctly, why didn't we order them? We did pounce on the NES Friday the 13th; why not the others? He and I have regretted this (I'm glad though I never bought that Custer's Revenge; not my type of theme.)

 

There's something I regret from Atari Age magazine that I can't recall...ordering a game that is now rare. Am I remembering that right? Wasn't there a game you could order only from that store?

 

To the person who mentioned writing a letter: I at least did that, but never saved the reply letter unfortunately, which I think was my letter with a dot-matrix paragraph response printed on the bottom. It was to Activision asking advice on what books to get to learn assembly programming. Had this idea I could learn that. I never did, unfortunately. I should try now.

 

Saved the boxes/manuals...yes! Tooth Protectors! Come on! Visit the taverns around Sunnyvale...I couldn't do that, but yes!

 

This thread has given me a lot to think about...

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JayAre, this is one of the best posts I've read on the forums. You bring up a very valid idea: what should we have been smart enough to do at the time? Of course, this is all hindsight, so we can cut ourselves slack, but you just know there were a few ahead-of-the-time visionaries when we were growing up who had a checklist like that. That's why I advise my nephew these days: please, please, any system/software you buy, save it. Even toys you got for Christmas, if any are still left -- save it. (I wish so much I had saved my Weebles Haunted House and my Colorforms Dracula's Castle, for those who know).

 

I seriously can't get over your list. So many hit me perfectly. I wish I had purchased more video-game magazines, for instance. I do have a decent collection (mostly because way back a friend of mine who had a whole stack of them offered them to me for free before they were tossed), but not enough. And even though I'm not really part of this generation's gaming, I do try to save some of my Game Informers now (I wish, wish so much, I had saved my Gamepros; I know that was beyond the 2600, but the NES/Genesis era wasn't bad either, was it?; I was even a charter subscriber and had issue number one, and I never thought to keep it; why...). I will say this about the magazines I have (Video Games & Computer Entertainment, etc.): it is so hard to read them because it is torture to see the ads, if you know what I mean! Seriously, it is torture. I do own one cool book though: Secrets of the Video Game Superstars, I think it is called. The little digest-sized book that had a great interview with the creators of Defender. Love that I kept that one.

 

Another thing: the Wizard games. I don't recall them in my local stores, but they probably were there. However -- unless this is a phantom memory on my part -- wasn't there order forms for the games in the magazines, and perhaps in something like Fangoria? My friend and I were big Halloween/Texas Chainsaw Massacre fans...if I am remembering this correctly, why didn't we order them? We did pounce on the NES Friday the 13th; why not the others? He and I have regretted this (I'm glad though I never bought that Custer's Revenge; not my type of theme.)

 

There's something I regret from Atari Age magazine that I can't recall...ordering a game that is now rare. Am I remembering that right? Wasn't there a game you could order only from that store?

 

To the person who mentioned writing a letter: I at least did that, but never saved the reply letter unfortunately, which I think was my letter with a dot-matrix paragraph response printed on the bottom. It was to Activision asking advice on what books to get to learn assembly programming. Had this idea I could learn that. I never did, unfortunately. I should try now.

 

Saved the boxes/manuals...yes! Tooth Protectors! Come on! Visit the taverns around Sunnyvale...I couldn't do that, but yes!

 

This thread has given me a lot to think about...

 

AAA177, thanks for the kind words and your great post. A lot of the points you bring up hit home for me as well.

 

As far as your comment on the Wizard games; I think you're right. I recall seeing ads for the two games in the back of Fangoria as well.

 

And regarding the Atari Game Club exclusives, I believe they were Quadrun, Crazy Climber, Swordquest: Waterworld, silver label Gravitar and Atari Video Cube. Although I think a few of these eventually ended up being sold in stores as well but were initially club exclusives.

 

Thanks again.

Edited by JayAre
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Bought a Romscanner. The department store in my area had a little in-store offshoot business that sold video games. They always had the 2600 attached to a Romscanner or similar. Would have liked a Supercharger as well. Possibly biggest regret was not hoarding 2600 games during the crash. Got some gems during one shopping trip ... think I got Keystone Kapers, Frostbite, Atlantis and Riddle of the Sphinx (since sold) at knock down prices. Should have got more. A lot more.

 

Can't remember which seller, I went to AMS6, 14 Nov 1992 way back. Seller had approx. 30 cib Romscanner for sale, GBP 5. each.Yep. 5 pounds. I bought (only) one, should've...….

Edited by high voltage
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And regarding the Atari Game Club exclusives, I believe they were Quadrun, Crazy Climber, Swordquest: Waterworld, silver label Gravitar and Atari Video Cube. Although I think a few of these eventually ended up being sold in stores as well but were initially club exclusives.

 

 

I thought Gremlins was an Atari club exclusive as well......?

 

and I have a silver label Space Invaders....I got it in a lot years ago so I don't know the origin of it....but I never saw that with silver label in stores back then.

Edited by eddhell
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I thought Gremlins was an Atari club exclusive as well......?

 

and I have a silver label Space Invaders....I got it in a lot years ago so I don't know the origin of it....but I never saw that with silver label in stores back then.

 

I don't believe either of these were exclusives. I went online to get more information, and I found a couple of threads from this forum related to the topic. I don't see any mention of these two games as club exclusives. Here are the links:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/242168-list-of-atari-club-mail-order-games/

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/231736-so-what-were-the-4-atari-club-exclusives/

Edited by JayAre
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