More TAX AVOIDERS insight - "KINDA' LONG" - REVELA

[Mindfield]

As I recall you could break the lockout on the NES by snipping pin 4 of the lockout chip.

[Brad2600]

I've read this whole thread and I find it fascinating.

 

Basically, not only did we find out the true purpose of Tax Avoiders, but we also discovered that there are 10 more so-called games in someone's closet (did I get this right?) just waiting to be discovered.

 

That's why I love this hobby. It never gets boring whenever new information is discovered.

 

Speaking of Tax Avoiders, I want to pick up a copy someday. Unless someone decides that they're "ultra rare" and lists them with a high starting price.

[Saikyo]

Yes it is interesting

 

I wonder what the other ones in the set are called and how they play?!

 

I just hope now that the "Sequels" show up!

[Klove]

Hmm... Should I ask R about these other "cloney" games you guys have mentionned or ? If so.. "What are they?"

 

Also, I'd like to mention that in the late 80's, remember Atari tried to re-introduce the 2600 because it saw how well the Nintendo 8-Bit system was selling. Atari's "2600 Junior" unit, was a cheap way of getting back into the console arena. The system was $100.00 cheaper than the Nintendo. Not to mention, Atari was still sitting on a surplus of 2600 bits 'n' bobs. Add to that the fact that Jack Tramiel was never one to let a good (read profitable) opportunity pass him by.

 

I had a long conversation some pretty good conversations with Tom Sloper in the past, and he was able to dump on me the full run-down behind the 2600 Jr's inception. Amongst other things.

 

How this all pertains to Tax Avoiders, is that alot of companies had their eyes on the video game craze back in the late 80's. I'm not sure everyone in the gaming industry ever thought the 2600 Junior would actually do anything, but... all the same... it was an opporunity to gerenate some ca$h flow. The Nintendo 8-Bit system, proved that there was still a demand for Video Games.

 

I'd be willing to bet, that's how these games came about. True they were a Tax Break, but at the same time, I'd be willing to bet that the people that made (read financed) them, did want them to honestly make some moeny off the re-intro of the 2600. Heck, I'd just about guarantee ya' that's why Activision did the 2600 games that it did in the late 80's.

 

Notice you didn't see any NEW IDEA Atari 2600 titles from us in the late 80's. They were all arcade ports. Titles that people had already heard of. Coin-Op's.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Hmm... Should I ask R about these other "cloney" games you guys have mentionned or ? If so.. "What are they?"

Yes, please!

[Klove]

By the way, The TAX AVOIDERS Programmer / Develeoper info.

 

This has all be passed onto both Alex and Albert. They're sure to put it to some good use.

 

Matt, If you'd like that info.. please hit-up A&A.

 

Don't bother going to the SJ people 'cause they don't know.

 

Thanks All!

 

As soon as I here more from R, I'll let you know.

 

I should have some weird Data Age, CBS Electronice info shortly.

 

Just got some mail from some of the alumni over there as well.

[+DamonicFury]

Notice you didn't see any NEW IDEA Atari 2600 titles from us in the late 80's. They were all arcade ports. Titles that people had already heard of. Coin-Op's.

 

Just to be picky, River Raid II was an original home game, albeit a sequel.

[chrisbid]

what about SkateBoardin', Pete Rose Baseball, Crossbow, Midnight Magic, and im sure there are others. There were also a lot of computer ports such as Ghostbusters and California Games.

[Goochman]

a 2600 version of "The Producers" lol

 

An Atari 2600 game of the "Producers" would play like this--

No matter what you did in the game(movement or fire button) it would 'crash/end'.But all the "collectors" such as myself would buy a copy of it anyway,so therefore the game would be somewhat "successful".

 

Elevator Action was the game you mention above

[CincYnoTi]

well, air raid is about 50% a clone of space jockey.

panda, froggo, ktel, ultravision, mythicon...all those either had very cheap games or were primarily clones of existing games.

[+Atari_Warlord]

Was just listening to Ferg's latest podcast on Tax Avoiders and started doing some searching. Dunhill Electronics has 293 copyrights filed, 192 of them were done under their American Videogame Leasing company. Most of them just have "Identifying material" on deposit, which I'm sure means vaporware, but there are 11 with a videocassette. There is no indication what system or computer these would have been for.

 

Alien attack.

Bam boom.

Banana peel.

Bashful Bobby.

Batter up.

Black hole.

Block buster. (alternate name Blockbuster)

Blow out.

Blow up.

Bomb slazer.

Bonnie & Clyde.

Boot legger.

Box canyon.

Brain storm.

Breakaway.

Brick wall.

Build or bust.

Bull Run.

Bulldozer.

Bumber bug.

Bush patrol.

Can't stop 'em.

Cat and mouse.

Catch a thief.

Center of the Earth.

Chop chop.

Convoy.

Count down zero.

Count down. (alternate name Countdown)

Crack the safe.

Cravistater.

Cross over.

Cruise missile.

Cut throat.

Dead end.

Deadline.

Destination.

Distant target.

Dog catcher.

Earth invasion.

Egg beater.

Electriland.

Endless cycle.

Enemy underground.

Escape artist.

Evacuation.

Exterminator.

Farmer's daughter.

Fast Freddie.

Finders keepers.

Finish line.

Fire bug.

Fire jump.

Firefox attack.

Firehouse.

Fool a fox. (has videocassette on deposit)

Forbidden planet.

Force Five.

Frency [sic] (alternate name Frenzy)

Friend or foe.

Future shock.

Fuzzbuster.

Golf course.

Good guys. (has videocassette on deposit)

Grab 'n' run.

Graveyard ghost.

Great white.

Grinny pig.

Hammer head.

Hangman's noose.

Havoc City.

Head hunter.

Heart attack.

Hidden target. (has videocassette on deposit)

Hidden treasure.

Hide a hog.

Hi-jacker.

Hip shooter.

Hitman. (alternate name Hit-man)

Hostage.

Impact.

Infiltration.

Intruder.

Invasion Mars.

Jet attack.

Jet fighter. (has videocassette on deposit)

Journey west.

Junk yard.

Kidnapped.

Killer shark.

Laserblaster.

Last resort.

Lazer [sic] beam.

Lock 'em up.

Look a like.

Lost treasure.

Lumber jack.

Magic carpet.

Magic Mountain.

Man hunt. (alternate name Manhunt)

Manhole.

Maniac on the loose.

Maniac.

Mashed.

Master blaster.

Mermaid.

Mind bender.

Mind boggler.

Missile base.

Missing link.

Mission impossible.

Money bags.

Monster mash.

Moon base.

Moon invaders.

Motor cross.

Motor mouth.

Mouse trap.

Mummy dunk.

Mythical beings.

Nick nack.

Night rider.

Nightfighter.

Nuke finder.

Oil slick.

On the run.

Parasite.

Phantom U F O. (has videocassette on deposit)

Phantoms.

Pony Express.

Pressure point.

Pulsar.

Quick reaction.

Quicksand. (has videocassette on deposit)

Rock a boat.

Rocky road.

Roller derby.

Sea rescue.

Shooting gallery.

Shotgun.

Side winder.

Simon says.

Sink or swim. (has videocassette on deposit)

Snake pit. (has videocassette on deposit)

Space outlaw.

Space shuttle.

Space warrior.

Spider web.

Spit fire. (alternate name Spitfire)

Sputnik.

Stampeed.

Star gazer.

Star tracker. (has videocassette on deposit)

Step ladder.

Sting.

Stockade.

Stop-n-go.

Stuntman.

Subminder.

Sudden death.

Suicide mission.

Swamp dog.

T.N.T.

Tank attack.

Target red star. (has videocassette on deposit)

Tax avoiders. (has videocassette on deposit)

Thriller.

Thunder buster.

Tidal wave.

Tight rope.

Timewarp.

Tip the mug.

Tommy gun.

Tortoise & the hare.

Tough Tommy.

Trader.

Treadmill.

Twisted mind.

Twister attack.

Twister.

Venus fly trap.

Vision.

Volcano.

Voodoo hunt.

Voyagers.

War.

Warheads. (alternate name War head)

Warriors.

Water polo.

Willie Worm.

Witchhunt.

Zig zag.

[bohoki]

always felt coconuts was a tax write off

[Bruce Tomlin]

I don't think this is true. If export restrictions on the cryptography functions were a problem, the NTSC 7800s wouldn't have been manufactured in Asia. I think it was just cheaper to have a build-in game instead of packing the console with an extra cartridge. Also the PAL 7800 was first released in late 1989. By that time Atari probably was hoping for the European computer game makers to release unlicensed games for the 7800 to have at least a small chance against Nintendo.

 

I know it's true because I've spent way too much time dealing with its encryption code. It uses a 960-bit RSA type algorithm to do a digital signature on a hash of 4K to 48K of the ROM contents. The ONLY reason we can create games that work on unmodified 7800 systems is because the digital signature program (with the master key) was found on a junked hard drive from Atari.

 

The European version of the 7800 did not have the encryption function, maybe because of the export thing, but more likely because I doubt Atari cared anymore, and it was more of a pain in the ass than it was worth by then.

 

Still, Atari was first with the unauthorized game lock-out thing.

[ubersaurus]

Just to revive this topic once more... It was mentioned the copyright date had to not be indicative of the release date. According to the Computer Entertainer newsletter - which was continuing to track and report on video games throughout the 1980s - they had a blurb about Tax Avoiders being seen on store shelves cheap in December of 1986. No mention of it before that point. So it seems plausible that it was a game thrown out late for the tax write-off.

[+Psionic]

Just to revive this topic once more... It was mentioned the copyright date had to not be indicative of the release date. According to the Computer Entertainer newsletter - which was continuing to track and report on video games throughout the 1980s - they had a blurb about Tax Avoiders being seen on store shelves cheap in December of 1986. No mention of it before that point. So it seems plausible that it was a game thrown out late for the tax write-off.

The game was a tax write-off...that much is not in question. The copyright info for Tax Avoiders gives the year of creation as 1982. The date of registration was 2/6/84 and there are members here who purchased the game new around that time (bfstats, for one).

[+bfstats]

I bought mine at retail in December of 1986.

[+Psionic]

I bought mine at retail in December of 1986.

My mistake...it must've been someone else. Maybe Rick Weis or Lenny Herman.

[ubersaurus]

I've also seen copyright registration "release dates" that are way off of what every other source has claimed, so I don't put a whole lot of stock into them.

 

Also, sifting through, I'm not seeing any mentions from Weis or Herman on buying Tax Avoiders pre-crash. The only mention I've seen so far was from a poster saying he got it in a 99 cent bin after having gotten Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalus for 5200 (both of which came out in 1986) at a Kay Bee toy store.

Edited June 9, 2017 by ubersaurus

[Chuck D. Head]

I also got my Tax Avoiders in 86' at KayBee, pretty sure it was under $5.

[SoulBlazer]

The evidence seems pretty strong that the game was programed before the crash but for one reason or another not released until 1986. Pretty ironic if a game called Tax Avoiders was made to avoid paying taxes.

[DickNixonArisen]

Ironic or just blatantly admitting it? I assumed it was an intentional joke... I mean, after I read the initial posting. Certainly didn't know about tax write off titles. Cool info.