Let's rant about how Activision cart labels suck

[figgler]

Man do they ever!

And I'm sure it's not just me. Owning a mere 8 Activision titles I can claim that they ALL have that "black mould" on part, if not all of the label.

Further, several have the label misplaced. Like my Barnstroming label has a big bubble/crease because the label was applied wonkily!

 

Not to take away from the game itself mind you, but the labels, oh the labels disappoint

[Frostbite Z]

I have seen horrible cases of Actiplaque on many of their games as I am sure have many others; however, I have some that are still in excellent shape after 20+ years, so I cannot totally bash them.

 

My question would be does keeping them boxed or in a stable environment retard the process?

[GaryH917]

The Parker Bros, labels are always coming unglued! Some games the labels are perfect on and others are falling off which makes the cart look very crappy...

[bcostin]

It is weird. All of the Activision carts I own from back in the day have gunky labels, but a number I've bought off ebay and even from local yard sales look almost pristine. I wonder if they occasionally changed the type of glue they used or something.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

all of the activision games i originaly had were great, only until i bought them on ebay did i ever see this moldy stuff. and quite a few of my labels were initaly placed bad, bubling or just crooked ect.

[rpmxxipt]

Let's not just blame Activision.. let's throw the whole discussion open to disk labels and YELLOWED PLASTIC.

 

I don't have a SINGLE Electronic Arts disk-based game from the mid-80's that the label doesn't look like a damned Gateway box with the cow colors, because of the adhesive mottling. My entire collection of Amiga floppies looks nearly the same way for some reason.

 

And can I vent about the ugly yellow/gray color of my Atari and Apple computer systems? Were plastics not to the point then where the long-term effects of UV or whatever where noone could conceptualize how NASTY these things turned out time? I have an Apple //e as well as an Atari 800, an Atari 130XE, and an Atari XEGS that were originally WHITE that look like a set of dentures soaked in tobacco juice for five years.

 

Not to mention a Super Nintendo a buddy finally returned to me after about ten years lately, the top panel of which totally looks like CRAP from exposure.. which puzzles me because I KNOW he had this in his basement, and did not see the light of day since the day I lent it to him.

 

Grrrr... thanks for the opportunity to get that off my chest.

 

-rpm-

[rpmxxipt]

Let's not just blame Activision.. let's throw the whole discussion open to disk labels and YELLOWED PLASTIC.

 

I don't have a SINGLE Electronic Arts disk-based game from the mid-80's that the label doesn't look like a damned Gateway box with the cow colors, because of the adhesive mottling. My entire collection of Amiga floppies looks nearly the same way for some reason.

 

And can I vent about the ugly yellow/gray color of my Atari and Apple computer systems? Were plastics not to the point then where the long-term effects of UV or whatever where noone could conceptualize how NASTY these things turned out time? I have an Apple //e as well as an Atari 800, an Atari 130XE, and an Atari XEGS that were originally WHITE that look like a set of dentures soaked in tobacco juice for five years.

 

Not to mention a Super Nintendo a buddy finally returned to me after about ten years lately, the top panel of which totally looks like CRAP from exposure.. which puzzles me because I KNOW he had this in his basement, and did not see the light of day since the day I lent it to him.

 

Grrrr... thanks for the opportunity to get that off my chest.

 

-rpm-

[JB]

And can I vent about the ugly yellow/gray color of my Atari and Apple computer systems?  Were plastics not to the point then where the long-term effects of UV or whatever where noone could conceptualize how NASTY these things turned out time?  

I don't think the manufacturers really cared what they'd look like in 10 years.

No offense.

[bobafett07728]

Isn't it ironic that one of the best games manufacturers, had the worst labels? I mean. . . they put such quality work into their programming, and then used cheap labels/adhesive. About 80% of my games have Actiplaque, even the River Raid I purchased that was never opened had it! But would we really care if it was the other way around? Man, these Activision cartridges look great!!! The color on the label is so vibrant, just like new, but the games absolutely suck!!!!! Probably not. So while most Activision games look like they've been played about a million times, at least most titles actually warrent them being played "about a million times."

[Room 34]

Activision cut corners in every aspect of the actual physical production of their games, if you ask me. Thin label paper, cheap glue, flimsy cartridge plastic, no dust cover, thinner PCBs than Atari, etc. etc.

 

The games were great... don't get me wrong. But whereas Atari paid programmers crap and spent lots of money on the physical quality of the product, Activision reversed that, and made sure the programmers (i.e. themselves) were paid well!

[Christophero Sly]

Not to mention a Super Nintendo a buddy finally returned to me after about ten years lately, the top panel of which totally looks like CRAP from exposure.. which puzzles me because I KNOW he had this in his basement, and did not see the light of day since the day I lent it to him.

I put my SNES away in its original box in 1994. At that time, it was in pristine condition. I didn't take it out again until this spring. When I did, I found that it had severely 'yellowed'. It sat unexposed to light and at a stable temperature for nearly a decade and still it 'yellowed'. Light exposure may accelerate the 'yellowing' process, but it isn't required for it to occur. Time alone seems to have done the job on my SNES.

[Room 34]

It's times like this that we need Pitfall Harry.

 

I'm sure he would explain how exposure to air -- even from within a closed cardboard box -- is enough to alter the molecular structure of the plastic over time and cause the yellowing you've observed.

 

 

No, I am not Pitfall Harry.

[ApolloBoy]

I wonder if there's a way to get rid of the yellowing on plastics, because my NES Satellite is yellowed, and I'd like to see it in its natural gray color.

[pitfallaimee]

I don't remember a time when my Freeway label was pristine; I think it lost its adhesive and ripped when I was about 2. My River Raid always looked pretty good though; it wasn't until much later, when I finally picked up Pitfall! at a yard sale, that I first encountered Actiplaque. But I guess I don't really mind. Activision cut corners everywhere but the actual game--which is what counts most for me. I can find a pristine copy of Atari Pac-Man with great ease, but that doesn't make me want to play it.

[Brad2600]

I got some labels with terrible cases of actiplaque...Seaquest, Boxing and Decathlon are the worse offenders in my collection.

 

That's why I'm planning on replacing them with pristine or boxed copies if I can find such a thing.

 

I hate Parker Brothers labels. I always have to glue them back on. Arghh.

[Room 34]

I should post a pic of one of my copies of Megamania...

 

MEGA-ACTIPLAQUE: A COLLECTOR'S NIGHTMARE

 

[liveinabin]

I guess some things are destined to deteriorate - the labels on our games, the casings on our consoles, the limbs of our Stormtrooper action figures...

[tyranthraxus]

Actiplaque aside I find that the actual graphic design of the labels to

be rather lame. The colours and the screen shot look bland next to

the picture on a Atari cart. I even think Atari text labels are better!

When they made 5200 games the pictures they used looked pretty

goofy. Pitfall II is the only game of theirs I own in which I think they

had good artwork made.

[Stein]

what *really* sucks about the Activision labels is when you buy a NIB game and it has actiplaque on it.... grrr..... happened to me twice with starmaster and pitfall 2 (expensive BINs too).... I have a loose barnstorming that is in better shape

 

moisture is the prime culprit I would think.

[Bryan]

I wonder if there's a way to get rid of the yellowing on plastics, because my NES Satellite is yellowed, and I'd like to see it in its natural gray color.

 

It's due to the coloring agents used in plastics, and their sensitivity to UV. I have an XE where about 1/3 of the keys are yellowed, meaning they have a different plastic mix than the others. I'm pretty sure it's all the result of cheap offshore manufacturing.

 

-Bry