Sears exclusives?

[orrimarrko]

Quick question.

 

I was wondering what 2600 releases were exclusive to Sears, and which of those were available in text or picture or both.

 

Also, is it actually a "Sears Exclusive", or just a game made by Atari but only sold through Sears (or is that the same)?

 

Steeplechase (available in text only)

Cannon Man (available in text only)

Stellar Track (available in picture and text formats)

 

Am I missing any, or have incorrect info?

 

Thanks,

Steve

[jaybird3rd]

Quick question.

 

I was wondering what 2600 releases were exclusive to Sears, and which of those were available in text or picture or both.

 

Also, is it actually a "Sears Exclusive", or just a game made by Atari but only sold through Sears (or is that the same)?

 

Steeplechase (available in text only)

Cannon Man (available in text only)

Stellar Track (available in picture and text formats)

 

Am I missing any, or have incorrect info?

 

Thanks,

Steve

I believe that Sears Cannon Man was a repackaging of Atari Human Cannonball.

 

Another Sears exclusive was Submarine Commander, which (like Steeplechase and Stellar Track) was developed at Atari but sold only by Sears.

[orrimarrko]

Gotcha -

 

So that's:

 

Stellar Track (picture or text versions)

Steeplechase (text only)

Submarine Commander (picture only)

 

Can anyone comfirm?

 

Thanks,

Steve

[NovaXpress]

That's true. The other Sears exclusive was Super Breakout (fall 81) which was so popular that Atari the released its own version in January 82.

[+Nathan Strum]

Well, that's what I've always heard. I don't know how to confirm it, unless you can find more old Sears catalogs that said "Sears Exclusives" next to the games.

 

There's also this page.

[NovaXpress]

Considering that absolutely no one who either lived through or researched the time disagrees, I think we can write it down as fact unless some unexpected evidence appears.

 

Perhaps Steeplechase is the Piltdown Man of video games?

[Foxsolo2000]

Who owned the copywrite to Steeple Chase? I remember seeing this game advertised on the boxes of a couple of different Acetronic game systems some time ago and was just wondering if they had been pirated or whether Acetronic was part of Atari or Sears?

Edited March 26, 2006 by Foxsolo2000

[+Nathan Strum]

Atari made an arcade game called Steeplechase. The 2600 version was based on it. So Atari owned it.

[NovaXpress]

"Steeplechase" is a generic sporting term like "touchdown" or "gran prix" so there's no implied legal connection between one game with that title and another. Just a word for a type of horse race.

 

Sears was just the retailer, they did not own any rights to the games at all. Those Sears exclusives were all Atari property. To take you kids back in time, until 1982 Sears never sold ANYTHING that wasn't rebranded. Their TV sets were RCA but rebranded as Sears. The appliances were Whirlpool but rebranded as Sears. Atari and Intellivision systems and games were both rebranded as Sears.

 

The first item of any kind sold at Sears without being relabeled? Activision carts.

[+Random Terrain]

I have the Atari pages from the 1980 Sears Christmas catalog that I still need to scan in, but I guess that's before any exclusives since I don't see any.

[NovaXpress]

Steeplechase, Stellar Track and Super Breakout were released in mid-81, Submarine Commander in mid-82. (I think the first two games were released simultaneously a couple months before SB).

 

Sears ended their branding policy in fall of 1982, though it took a couple years to take effect throughout the stores. Video games were the first because they were hot sellers and ready for the shelves. Ataris and Intellivision systems continued to be rebranded (probably unsold stock) although the carts were not. The 5200 and Colecovision were sold as well with no rebranding whatsoever.

Edited March 26, 2006 by NovaXpress