Activision Labels

[Krytol]

Every time I find an Activision cartridge in the wild, it looks like the glue has soaked through the label. Sometimes the label is peeling off completely. Is this typical?

[DuckandCover]

That "soaked through" look is often referred to by collectors as Actiplaque, and is a condition that is peculiar to Activision cart labels. Yeah, it's pretty common. I'm sure it's the result of the particular type of labels and adhesive they used. I don't know the precise details, but perhaps a more knowledgeable collector does...

 

[ 05-15-2002: Message edited by: duckandcover ]

[Albert]

Actiplaque is so common that it's difficult to find Activision carts that aren't affected by it! This condition isn't unique to Activision carts, but it seems they are notoriously susceptible to it.

 

Example of Actiplaque.

 

..Al

[TheYoungProgrammer]

Yes, this is completely normal for Activision games to wear away like this. It's called actiplaque, and is a big problem on Activision carts. I'd not make a big deal about it.

[DuckandCover]

And here I was thinking that only Activision carts got it. Learn something new every day.

[Big Player]

My theory is it must be caused by exposure to light. Three years ago I bought Barnstorming from a guy on the Internet and the cart had no actiplaque at all. It looked like it had come right out of the box back in 1982--perfect.

 

I just checked it out now and there are the signs of actiplaque starting. I have kept it out of direct light, behind the glass door on my TV stand. I believe the only way to avoid it is to seal your Activision carts from all light when you aren't using them. Of course you have to have started twenty years ago.

 

My guess is Activision used cheaper materials in the manufacturing of their carts. I also have to spend more time trying to get my Activision carts to work in the 2600 than any other manufacturer.

 

Of course I'm Big Player, not Big Collector, so as long as the games work, I'm happy. And those Activision games are the best.

[Room 34]

quote:

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Originally posted by Big Player:

My theory is it must be caused by exposure to light.

---

 

I don't think it's light... my guess is it's exposure to humidity. My Activision carts survived with almost no actiplaque until last summer, when I was away for a month and my basement got humid. A lot of cloth-bound books had mildew all over them, and the dreaded actiplaque had overtaken my Activision games! (Oh yeah, and the inside of the bell of my saxophone corroded severely! Definitely the most frustrating and financially-devastating impact of all of this!)

 

None of my (original) Atari carts (or any other mfr's games, for that matter) have actiplaque, but some of the Atari-made games I've gotten on eBay have it. Of course, the colors of their labels make it less noticeable!

 

[ 05-16-2002: Message edited by: room34 ]

 

[ 05-16-2002: Message edited by: room34 ]

[smf_4ever]

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Federico:

Parker Bros. seemed to avoid the problem by putting barely any adhesive on their labels at all! Nearly a third of my Parker carts have half-labels or missing labels.

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All of my Parker Bros. have seen the glue stick.. (my boxed/sealed frogger had the label hit the floor the minute I opened it.)

[ATARIPITBULL]

I just received a boxed copy of Gyruss for a guy in Canada and when I opened it I could tell at some time the label had come off and he re-glued it back on, Oh well I had be looking for a complete boxed copy of this game for so long that as long as it worked, what the label looks like is fine untill I can find a clean looking copy to take its place.

[Ranthulfr]

One solution for Actiplaque anxiety is to view the spotting as a feature of the cartridge, similar to the way coin collectors view "toning" (natural color changes) in the finish of a coin.

[Chris++]

Parker Bros. seemed to avoid the problem by putting barely any adhesive on their labels at all! Nearly a third of my Parker carts have half-labels or missing labels.

 

I have a weird curio -- an Imagic Riddle of the Sphinx cartridge with the label printed on the wrong side! I'm not sure whether or not to consider this "rare." Do people buy anomalies like that?

 

CF

[Atarian7]

The Activision carts I originally had from the 80's have no actiplaque and they were kept in a basement for years. It wasn't extremely humid but it was a basement.

[liveinabin]

The only Activision games I have without Actiplaque (apart from the modern ones ) are carts that have stayed in their boxes for most of the last 20 years, so it's definitely exposure to something

[Tempest]

I've opened brand new shrinkwrapped Activision games and have found them full of Actiplaque. It must be due to the type of glue used at different times. Some of the glue is worse than others I suppose. For instance I have yet to see a Cosmic Communter that wasn't just loaded with Actiplaque.

 

Tempest

[Krytol]

Maybe we could take a survey. OK, here's some of mine -

all found in wild:

 

Laser Blast - severe Actiplaque

 

Pitfall -severe Actiplaque

 

Chopper Command - moderate Actiplaque

 

Sky Jinks - no Actiplaque whatsoever - however, label was coming off end when I found it. I glued it back on with pH neutral glue.

[Albert]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Federico:

Parker Bros. seemed to avoid the problem by putting barely any adhesive on their labels at all! Nearly a third of my Parker carts have half-labels or missing labels.

---

 

This is very true. While some Parker Brothers carts suffer from Actiplaque, most of them are instead plagued by having the end of the label detached from the cart itself.

 

..Al

[Philflound]

Well, we boil down to one thing. These were made to be played, not kept in mint condition. The company cares that a game is bought and played by its owner, then by his friends, then his friends go out and buy the game, and it's played some more. Then when it's liked so much, the next of its kind comes out and is bought by the owner, then played by the owner, then by his friends, then his friends go out and buy the game........

 

Every collectible is like this. Toys were made to be opened, so you get yellowing bubbles on the action figures.

Comic book paper turns brown over the years, maybe it's miscut on the cover or pages, small tears, whatever. They were made to be read.

 

Every collectible is like this, at least back in the day it was made and was conceived to be used, not stored.

 

As for Activision carts. Once in awhile I find some that have very little actiplaque. Of course, those hit my collection right away. I think it's exposure to the air more than the light. Light might fade it, but I think it has to do with temperature and humidity for the glue. If the temperature gets too hot, the glue will start to dry up, probably making the glue directly on the label to "see-through".

 

Parker Bros. Ok, their labels absolutely suck. I don't know how many "mystery" games I've gotten in collections. Oh, well. 'nuff said.

 

Phil

[Chris++]

Yeah, and the problem with any "mystery game" that you've picked up is that it's always Frogger or Q-Bert. Not like these are terrible games, but at last count, I believe I've seen 47,026 Froggers go through my bins.

 

You've made a good point -- these games were meant to be PLAYED. I've always noticed the congealing glue on some Activision labels out of the corner of my mind, if you will, but I never really acknowledged it -- because I love to PLAY 2600 games. I'm always glad when I find a game that I like which works -- cosmetics like the label don't mean much to me, compared to what's on the screen. I guess this is what separates me, as a fanatical player, from a fanatical collector. But the two types of person get along well, because we can both understand and strongly identify with the other's fetish, even if the reasons for buying might be slightly different.

 

Good thing for all of us that the ROMs themselves are so durable!

 

CF

[slapdash]

Albert wrote:

quote:

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This is very true. While some Parker Brothers carts suffer from Actiplaque, most of them are instead plagued by having the end of the label detached from the cart itself.

---

 

Though one might be tempted to blame the glue, it's at least partly the stress of the bend in the label. When I got labels for the A#2 Fancy Label Club, I found that the PB carts wouldn't keep their labels -- the end part keeps popping up. But Atari type haven't shown many problems with the label staying on.

[Room 34]

quote:

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Originally posted by Russ Perry Jr:

But Atari type haven't shown many problems with the label staying on.

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Actually, I have a bunch of Atari-made games where the end label is curled back or very loose (and of course, a few where it is completely GONE, who-knows-where).

 

But yes, even in my short time of collecting I have gotten two "mystery cartridges" which both turned out to be Frogger!