Why is there an asterisk behind some of these titles?

[chairmonkey4406]

I was looking at my collection earlier and I noticed that some games have an asterisk behind their name on the front label. I thought maybe it was because they were arcade ports but Centipede and Joust and Donkey Kong and Q*Bert don't have them. The ones that do are Mrs. Pac Man, Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Berzerk. Can anyone help me?

[Albert]

It's probably just inconsistency by the people creating the labels. The asterisk is to make you look at the trademark / copyright information on the bottom of the label. Games like Centipede also have these same trademark / copyright issues, and that information is listed on the label, but just without an asterisk after the name. I see that Centipede has a Trademark ™ symbol after the name, though.

 

..Al

[bjk7382]

It's probably just inconsistency by the people creating the labels.  The asterisk is to make you look at the trademark / copyright information on the bottom of the label.  Games like Centipede also have these same trademark / copyright issues, and that information is listed on the label, but just without an asterisk after the name.  I see that Centipede has a Trademark symbol after the name, though.

 

..Al

 

Dig-dug has a TM and an asterix. But who cares, it is only one character.

 

I would be more interested in the date code they used and find out if it is real or not. Because I talked to HSW thru PM and he said that the date code on the end of yar's revenge was after what he thought the release date was. So he doesn't think it was the correct date. but it may have been the manufacture date of the cart.

 

Dig Dug is 39 3R so it was made in the 39th week of 1983. I have read alot about the code, but I don't know if it was ever confirmed.

[Mindfield]

What is the code, anyway? I know the stamps on the Atari-released carts must have been a code but I don't exactly know how to read them. I didn't even know what they were 'til I started working at DeWalt/Black & Decker, 'cos all of our products use date codes, but we use fairly simple methods (YYWW or YYYYWW (year/week), or YYYYWWBB (year/week/batch). What's the letter in Atari carts for? (The "R" in "3R" in this case)

[bjk7382]

What is the code, anyway?  I know the stamps on the Atari-released carts must have been a code but I don't exactly know how to read them.  I didn't even know what they were 'til I started working at DeWalt/Black & Decker, 'cos all of our products use date codes, but we use fairly simple methods (YYWW or YYYYWW (year/week), or YYYYWWBB (year/week/batch).  What's the letter in Atari carts for?  (The "R" in "3R" in this case)

 

I don't know what the "R" means. But I think it is like a stamp of where it was made. Kind of like the "P" and "D" on coins indicating where they were made.

 

But the numbers, I think, are the week of the year first (2 numbers), then the last number of the year (1 number), then the letter of where it was made.

 

Some of mine don't have a letter after them either, my Berzerk is 40 2 (40th week of 1982) and my ET is 45 2D.

 

And in later years they don't have them at all, so I don't know how long they did it, but it wasn't for very long.

[Mindfield]

Well, I know my Jr. Pac Man has one, and that was a later 80s title. Now I'm gonna have to go through my collection and see what's what. :-)

[Cootster]

86 copyright carts don't have them . . . And neither does my silver-label Mario Bros., but my silver-label Vanguard is 02 3 R (for ROC, perhaps). My guess is they stopped in '84 . . . My Joust and Moon Patrol are 42 3 and 43 3, respectively. Are there any xx 4 date codes?

[Nukey Shay]

Probably not, since cart production was at a standstill for a while.

[Mindfield]

My Swordquest Fireworld has "2 4 4" on it. I assume the year is the first digit on this one.