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Would David Crane's, A Boy And His Blob and its sequel, have been 7800 games?


Gunther

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These were two excellent games, but they always felt wrong on Nintendo systems to me.

The franchise didn't achieve the success it deserved on those platforms, and I've always thought they would've been big games for the 7800 had they been released for that system.

They have that classic David Crane/Activision style that we all love.

It would be interesting to hear the community's thoughts regarding these classic games.

 

https://forums.atari.io/topic/6461-would-david-cranes-a-boy-and-his-blob-have-been-more-succesful-as-a-7800-game/#comment-76899

BOY-AND-HIS-BLOB-616x598.png

ABoyAndHisBlobXY.png

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1 hour ago, youxia said:

This game wasn't a hit not because it was somehow misunderstood on the NES, but because it was flawed. It's unlikely this would have changed on 7800.

Flawed to some maybe, but I thoroughly enjoyed both titles.

It had a cult-following on the N.E.S too.

 

 

Edited by Gunther
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The game seemed flawed, but this had something to do with the jelly bean system used to feed your blob. 
 

If you don’t have a specific jelly bean available (for whatever reason), the game would come to a screeching halt. I remember spending hours in-game looking for specific jellybeans.

Edited by ColecoGamer
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Seeing the sequel as a full-colour game on the 7800 would be excellent and could really show-off the capabilities of the system.

The reason I think it wasn't as successful as it could of been is because it doesn't play like a generic N.E.S game at all.

It does however play just like any Activision/Absolute game that were made for the 2600/7800 etc.

I think if this had been a commercial release for the 7800 it would have sold almost 1:1 for the system.

 

 

Edited by Gunther
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2 hours ago, Gunther said:

Seeing the sequel as a full-colour game on the 7800 would be excellent and could really show-off the capabilities of the system.

The reason I think it wasn't as successful as it could of been is because it doesn't play like a generic N.E.S game at all.

It does however play just like any Activision/Absolute game that were made for the 2600/7800 etc.

I think if this had been a commercial release for the 7800 it would have sold almost 1:1 for the system.

 

 

It would probably have dethroned Midnight Mutants as the systems best game.

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Maybe.

But didn't this game come out on multiple platforms anyway?  NES, Gameboy and then the Wii too.
Nintendo did push the game a bit, doing full reviews and strategy guides in their Nintendo Power magazine.

 

I don't believe it set the world on fire, so it's doubtful it would have had much of an impact had it been released on the 7800.

But I agree, the style and theme did seem better suited to an Atari console based on its existing library.

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I remember Nintendo's initial drive for the game, but it was unlike anything on the N.E.S at the time (which had become the blueprint for 8-bit games, especially in the U.S).

I think it would have found more favour on an ATARI platform. 

Whether that would have translated into wider sales is obviously just speculation on my part, but I think it may have helped.

 

Edited by Gunther
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On 2/14/2022 at 6:51 PM, youxia said:

This game wasn't a hit not because it was somehow misunderstood on the NES, but because it was flawed. It's unlikely this would have changed on 7800.

It was so obscure over here in the UK, I remember the editor of Retrogamer Magazine saying he'd never even heard of it. 

 

Majesco had a GBA then DS title in the works both were ultimately canned. 

 

 

 

Edited by Lostdragon
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11 minutes ago, Lostdragon said:

It was so obscure over here in the UK, I remember the editor of Retrogamer Magazine saying he'd never even heard of it. 

 

Majesco had a GBA then DS title in the works both were ultimately canned. 

 

 

 

I wouldn't say obscure, I remebered it being pushed in the U.K.

It just isn't an N.E.S kind of game.

Compare it to any N.E.S game and it's worlds apart in terms of design, graphics, and gameplay.

This is why I think, even with Nintendo's push, it didn't catch on (even though it achieved a cult-following, a sequel, and an HD update).

 

 

 

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22 hours ago, Gunther said:

I wouldn't say obscure, I remebered it being pushed in the U.K.

It just isn't an N.E.S kind of game.

Compare it to any N.E.S game and it's worlds apart in terms of design, graphics, and gameplay.

This is why I think, even with Nintendo's push, it didn't catch on (even though it achieved a cult-following, a sequel, and an HD update).

 

 

 

I could remember both the NES and GB games, never played either, but aware of the reviews in mainstream games press. 

 

Maybe the magazine editor was deflecting personal ignorance of it, by claiming it was obscure? 

 

 

Pass... ?

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3 hours ago, Lostdragon said:

I could remember both the NES and GB games, never played either, but aware of the reviews in mainstream games press. 

 

Maybe the magazine editor was deflecting personal ignorance of it, by claiming it was obscure? 

 

 

Pass... ?

Thanks for sharing that...

You seem to be outnumbered though, so...

Edited by Gunther
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Well, the game isn't a single-screen arcade port, so it wouldn't be a typical 7800 game either.  It's not a typical any kind of game, which is why it's not very popular.

 

How would putting it on a system with an order of magnitude smaller user base make it more popular?  If it had been a 7800 game, 5,000 copies would have been made and 500 people would have bought it, which is how many dollars it would cost to buy a copy of it now.

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1 hour ago, MrTrust said:

Well, the game isn't a single-screen arcade port, so it wouldn't be a typical 7800 game either.  It's not a typical any kind of game, which is why it's not very popular.

 

How would putting it on a system with an order of magnitude smaller user base make it more popular?  If it had been a 7800 game, 5,000 copies would have been made and 500 people would have bought it, which is how many dollars it would cost to buy a copy of it now.

You sound injured...

 

Most of the 7800 games library are not single screen arcade ports, unless the library in the U.S was completely different to the U.K.

 

ABAHB is a flick-screen game; really, really common on ATARI consoles.

 

It has David Crane's name attached to it...

 

You're just trolling; you don't really care.

 

 

Edited by Gunther
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I'm not emotional.  You're irritated that I that shot holes in your premise and you don't have a good answer.

 

The game is not obscure because it was on the wrong console.  It's obscure because it's A) weird, B) difficult, C) slow, and D) not very replayable.  With very rare exceptions, games like that have never been popular anywhere ever.

 

NES sold, what, 70 million units compared to the 7800s maybe one million?  In what world does it make sense to imagine a game becoming a bigger seller if only it has come out on a machine that 69 million fewer people owned?

 

By the time that game came out, the 7800 was on its way out.  We don't have to wonder what would have happened ABahB if it had come out on it.  The same thing would have happened that did happen to Midnight Mutants and Ninja Golf; it would be an obscure, late-stage curio for an also-ran console barely anyone remembers.  It would cost hundreds of dollars on eBay because hardly any copies would have been made, and people who still have 7800s would really want it because of how unoriginal the system's library is overall.

 

Sorry if you don't like that, but you asked the speculative questions, and those are the answers.  If you love the game so much, you should be glad it came out in a format that allowed more people to play and remember it.

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Your taking this very seriously.

It's just a bit of fun; no need to give yourself a hernia.

 

From your lengthy essay I've derived that you have negative sentiments towards a game that garnered a cult-following, spawned sequels, and an HD update.

 

Clearly, an obscure game that everyone seems to have heard of...

 

The premise is that it would have been more successful on the 7800 amongst its user-base than it had been on the N.E.S - possibly helping to sell the system; hypothetically of course.

 

What you're ranting about is anyones guess really...

 

And again, you're in the minority...

 

 

Edited by Gunther
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1 hour ago, MrTrust said:

The same thing would have happened that did happen to Midnight Mutants and Ninja Golf; it would be an obscure, late-stage curio for an also-ran console barely anyone remembers. 

Yes you are right, the poor 5200 had a very bad management, very short life and then was forgotten by everyone. I can understand the frustration of those who bought it at the time.

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6 hours ago, Gunther said:

Your taking this very seriously.

It's just a bit of fun; no need to give yourself a hernia.

 

Who's throwing a hissy fit and spamming whose DMs here, big guy?

 

Apparently, you've been "given permission" to show this thread to whoever it is that owns the blob so they can gauge interest in porting it 7800, which I'm sure is not something you made up, or a non-committal a statement that you're blowing out of proportion.  Now you're mad that you're not getting the response you wanted as if I'm somehow holding back your dream of playing ABahB on 7800.

 

But, whoever it is that has the rights, if you're listening, please port A Boy and his Blob to the Atari 7800.  David Crane just made a new 2600 game, and that sold over one thousand copies.  One thousand!  Granted, the 7800 is an even more niche market than that, but definitely, you will sell hundreds of copies.  I will buy one and Gunther will buy two, so already you're off to a good start!

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1 hour ago, MrTrust said:

 

Who's throwing a hissy fit and spamming whose DMs here, big guy?

 

Apparently, you've been "given permission" to show this thread to whoever it is that owns the blob so they can gauge interest in porting it 7800, which I'm sure is not something you made up, or a non-committal a statement that you're blowing out of proportion.  Now you're mad that you're not getting the response you wanted as if I'm somehow holding back your dream of playing ABahB on 7800.

 

But, whoever it is that has the rights, if you're listening, please port A Boy and his Blob to the Atari 7800.  David Crane just made a new 2600 game, and that sold over one thousand copies.  One thousand!  Granted, the 7800 is an even more niche market than that, but definitely, you will sell hundreds of copies.  I will buy one and Gunther will buy two, so already you're off to a good start!

I sent two messages, so spamming is a little bit of a reach dude.

Which one of us is composing snarky, and fairly lengthy posts about this?

It's the tone of your posts dude.

You're literally dictating to me on this.

You've even gone as far too 'expose me' about two messages that I sent you.

Sent proof though, and got more if you want it, oh self-appointed Atari Age overlord.

You're not answering the original question anyway; you've just come to troll - which, before you get all emotional and start posting private messages all over the thread like a school child, is what the PM's pertain too.

For anyone else, I just asked him to stop trolling a thread.

Others on the thread have also disagreed, but they accepted the difference of opinion and moved on, no lengthy rants whatsoever.

Edited by Gunther
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