Where do I start with collecting?

[BadBoy House]

hello all. just registered and about to embark on collecting atari 2600 games.

 

any advice for a newbie on where to start?

[Foxsolo2000]

Ebay is the best place for collecting. They have hundreds if not thousands of games to choose from ranging from common to Holy Grails

[8th lutz]

The place to start is flea markets or a if you have a retro store that carries old games in your area then go there first. Ebay should be for the harder to get items in your area or if the flea market prices are insane.

[CPUWIZ]

hello all. just registered and about to embark on collecting atari 2600 games.

 

any advice for a newbie on where to start?

1004832[/snapback]

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showforum=46

[sandmountainslim]

Whatever you do be sure and get Pac-Man and Combat first! They are getting hard to come by nowadays, I can sell ya one of each while I STILL have extra copies

[sku_u]

Download stella, download the roms, test them out and see what games you actually like. Then buy them.

[Cootster]

Buy some homebrews, you won't regret it.

 

Then snag a large lot of common popular games on FeePay, since there are always plenty of those floating around. But make sure they're the format that matches your system.

[silverpoodleman]

I think I am interpretting this question differently - the best place to start is to decide what type of retro-gamer you are going to be...there are many different types. Myself, I have 227 atari 2600 titles which I accumulated in a three month period, mostly on ebay because I did not know any better. For the most part, I generally stick to about forty or so games and have to make a special decision to grab a different title if I want to expand my playlist.

 

I do not collect games because of their value, but rather because, IMHO, the 2600 is a pure, clean gaming experience and the playability on many of these games is better than any of the flashy, modern games with little soul and no heart.

 

There are also those who collect because they like acquiring and then selling the rare games, which can be quite lucritive. There are those who have these games in an attempt to break records - those who have 49 different game systems and 5,487 unique game titles - those who are attempting to obtain one of every game ever released (that means every different vendor who released, for example, Space Invaders - there were six of them), those who only collect Complete Games (cart, manual and box), those who only collect the games they had as a child, those who had never experienced Atari and have fallen in love, those who love puzzle games, sports games or shooter games, etc., There are those who obsess about every point and those who are horrible at actually playing the games and could care less. In a nutshell, every type of collector is represented here and the sooner you figure out which one you will be, the better the experience will be and the more money you will save as you will not waste time collecting games you will play only once.

 

It is also important to educate yourself on the resources out there and familiarize yourself with the lists of what are generally considered to be the best games. This site is the best I've found for the 2600, 5200 and 7800 (sorry, folks, that is where I stop). However, there are also other sites out there and some of them are pretty good.

 

You can do a search in this forum for the "top 100" titles, "favroite games" or something like that. It is probably a good idea to start collecting the games most people regard as the best of all-time (for example, space invaders, pitfall, pitfall 2, KaBoom!, Warlords, Indy 500, Ms. Pac-Man, solar fox, circus atari, river raid, etc., It is probably also a good idea to avoid some of the more controversial games (like ET, Pac-Man, Adventure, etc.,) at least until you get your feet grounded. Spend some time reading through old old threads and feel free to send Private Messages (PM's) to anyone whose answer seems to be close to how you might feel. There are some very smart people on this site, filled with every type of knowledge there is about Atari - from the technical specs to art work to conventions, game play and trivia.

 

Welcome to a great hobby!

Edited January 23, 2006 by silverpoodleman

[Cootster]

You can do a search in this forum for the "top 100" titles,  "favroite games" or something like that. It is probably a good idea to start collecting the games most people regard as the best of all-time (Also, space invaders, pitfall, pitfall 2, KaBoom!, Warlords, Indy 500, Ms. Pac-Man, solar fox, circus atari, river raid, etc., It is probably also a good idea to avoid some of the more controversial games (like ET, Pac-Man, Adventure, etc.,) at least until you get your feet grounded. Spend some time reading through old old threads and feel free to send Private Messages (PM's) to anyone whose answer seems to be close to how you might feel. There are some very smart people on this site, filled with every type of knowledge there is about Atari - from the technical specs to art work to conventions, game play and trivia.

 

Welcome to a great hobby!

1004920[/snapback]

 

Adventure is controversial? I've never known it to have many vocal detractors. Most people like it and the rest don't bother to shake up the (mostly undeserved) Haterade about it like they do about Pac-Man, ET, DK, etc.

[sku_u]

Adventure is controversial?  I've never known it to have many vocal detractors.  Most people like it and the rest don't bother to shake up the (mostly undeserved) Haterade about it like they do about Pac-Man, ET, DK, etc.

1004940[/snapback]

 

Adventure sucks. It's one of the most dated games for the system.

[uosipa llamxew]

I used to dislike Adventure. I didn't understand what the hype over it was. When Nukey started hacking and adding on to it, I gave it a second chance and realized how great of a game it really is.

 

Anyways, sku_u and CPUWIZ have given the advice I would give. Try a few games out in emulation to find which ones you like and want to purchase. Then go to the marketplace, here at Atariage, and post a want list. Then there is eBay, but I would definitely seek out your wants here first; There's too many ripoff artists on eBay.

[AtariAger]

hello all. just registered and about to embark on collecting atari 2600 games.

 

any advice for a newbie on where to start?

1004832[/snapback]

 

Yes..............Don't do it!

 

 

 

[jetset]

Adventure is controversial?  I've never known it to have many vocal detractors.  Most people like it and the rest don't bother to shake up the (mostly undeserved) Haterade about it like they do about Pac-Man, ET, DK, etc.

1004940[/snapback]

 

Adventure sucks. It's one of the most dated games for the system.

1004947[/snapback]

 

Is that sarcasm?

I would disagree but can see where you would think the game sucks...

 

but dated?

[sku_u]

Nope, not sarcasm this time. It's one of my least favorite games.

[shadow460]

sku_u is depriving himself of a great gaming experience.

 

Where to start, why not at the beginning? Of course you should try the ROMS out before you buy most games.

Beyond that, why not start with the earliest games? See what the 2600 was when it was first made.

Then fast forward to later titles like Pitfall II and Dragonstomper to see what it became.

 

If you can, try to get a handful of games from the $1 bargain bin. If any of the games in that bin say "Activision", "CBS", or "Imagic" on them, buy those to start with. Atari's and Sears's games are a mixed bag.

I'd shy away from the other publishers 'til you get your feet wet. Although Starpath made excellent games, you might not want to invest into their cartridge until you're familiar with a few other 2600 titles and game types.

 

Now that's real general tip, though. I could recommend a list of titles from nearly every company that made 2600 games, but that might get a bit complex.

 

Anyway, once you get a few games, move on into Parker Brothers, Starpath, and Fox.

Then when you've got an idea what kind of games you like, you can look for titles that appeal to you from everyone else.

 

Oh, and do pick up a homebrew or two from the store.

[silverpoodleman]

Adventure is controversial? I've never known it to have many vocal detractors. Most people like it and the rest don't bother to shake up the (mostly undeserved) Haterade about it like they do about Pac-Man, ET, DK, etc.

1004940[/snapback]

 

Controversial? Uh, well, yeah! Everytime somebody mentions the fact that they do not like Adventure, there is a gaggle of people armed with a keyboard ready to defend it. There have been threads after threads about it and the arguments stay the same on both sides. It is one of those games where some will love, others will hate and yet, the world keeps spinning!

 

The simple reality seems to be that if you had Adventure as a kid and spent 80 hours a week playing it, you loved it then, you lkove it now and you'll love it when you're six-feet under.

 

For a newbie, I do not think it is the best game to start off with, which is why I recommended staying clear until he got his Atari feet grounded. Then, with a sense of getting "every" great 2600 title out there, he will obviously get to it eventually.

 

Hey man, this is like a cult - once you get a taste, you become addicted, brainwashed and shave your heads - AND YOU LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

[Brad2600]

Adventure is controversial?  I've never known it to have many vocal detractors.  Most people like it and the rest don't bother to shake up the (mostly undeserved) Haterade about it like they do about Pac-Man, ET, DK, etc.

1004940[/snapback]

 

Adventure sucks. It's one of the most dated games for the system.

1004947[/snapback]

 

Agreed. I just don't see much in it although I can respect the folks who are fans of it. Everyone has their favorites.

[A.J. Franzman]

Adventure is controversial?  I've never known it to have many vocal detractors.

1004940[/snapback]

I think people who love it are those (like myself) who first got it when it was initially released, and there was nothing to compare it to. IMO, it absolutely blew away every game for the system that came before it.

 

Those who hate it seem to be mostly people who are latecomers to the scene, who have already picked favorites from among the later releases and are put off by its relative primitiveness. Back when all we had to compare it to was fare like Combat, Air-Sea Battle, Slot Machine, Canyon Bomber, Surround, Sky Diver, Miniature Golf, Video Olympics, etc. it was fairly clearly superior.

Edited January 24, 2006 by A.J. Franzman