Atari 2600 Mexican Versions. Rare? Common?

[SegaMasterMonster]

Hello my friends! just wondering about the possible rarity of those old Atari 2600 Mexican cartridge versions. I remember those times when Atari stuff was found everywhere, and I believe it was Sears (?) which began to sell these cartridges; completelly legal, with boxes, instructions and labels all in Spanish. Probably all of them where based on Activision classics, like the ones I have in this photo:

 

 

Tanque Robot = Robot Tank

SuperCocinero = Pressure Cooker

El Esquimal = Frost Bite

 

 

So do you know if they are considered rare or maybe the same as its american counterpart?

 

BTW, this is my first post!

Edited December 15, 2006 by SegaMasterMonster

[rheffera]

looks like pirates to me?

[SegaMasterMonster]

looks like pirates to me?

No, they are not. At those times they were sold in big stores (most commonly Sears, as I wrote) and they came even with warranty and catalogs. Nowadays they are not easily seen at least where I usually look for. Oh, and they also sold Atari systems assembled here in Mexico too .

 

Probably they look like pirates because of the low quality of the labels used, and also the damage time has done on the ones in the photo

Edited December 15, 2006 by SegaMasterMonster

[rheffera]

Hmm they are interesting as the games are all activision releases. perhaps they had a distributer in mexico back then who re-labeled em.

 

I cannot say as to thier worth as the american versions and euro versions are common but from a label variation point of view they could be rare.

 

if oyu dont see them often they are potentially rare, especially as they are from your home country

Edited December 15, 2006 by rheffera

[Foxsolo2000]

I have heard of the Mexican connection but never seen one until now. Someone should ask Rom Hunter about them. Interesting find

[Omegamatrix]

I'm very curious to see the games that come out of Mexico. I'm certain most will be pirates, but there's some gold to be found in there for sure. Sku_u found a 2600 system from Mexico with games built in. One of them was a previously unknown game, and is still the only copy of it to date. Air Raid also is probably from Mexico. So what else is there?

 

Those carts you have shown Segamastermonster look alot like polyvox carts. In fact too much so just to be a coincidence.

 

BTW welcome to AA

[Rom Hunter]

Finally some Mexican entries.

 

Supercocinero now makes sense to me.

 

It was in our database as a Polyvox cart.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Do you know the name of the manufacturer?

 

 

BTW: could you please scan these three carts for the Atarimania database?

 

Edited December 15, 2006 by Rom Hunter

[froggger2]

I have a Supercocinero cartridge in a case like the El Esquimal cartridge that has a locking end and does not have the notches in the side. I bought it on eBay several years ago for approximately $10.00. This is the first time I have ever seen Tanque Robot or El Esquimal.

 

[Bruce Tomlin]

Hmm they are interesting as the games are all activision releases. perhaps they had a distributer in mexico back then who re-labeled em.

 

I cannot say as to thier worth as the american versions and euro versions are common but from a label variation point of view they could be rare.

 

if oyu dont see them often they are potentially rare, especially as they are from your home country

What Activision game is Supercocinero? I would have guessed it was Fast Food.

 

And in all my collecting days of being a just couple hundred miles north of the border, I never saw one. Maybe someone could have found one at a flea market in Brownsville or El Paso, but I never saw one in San Antonio.

[Rom Hunter]

What Activision game is Supercocinero? I would have guessed it was Fast Food.

It's Pressure Cooker

 

[PressureCooker2600]

Fast Food is a Telesys game.

 

Pressure Cooker is the best game God bestowed upon this green earth.

[PressureCooker2600]

all i know is i'd love a copy of Supercocinero

i wonder what the box looked like........

 

how much would these mexican versions go for now

[Foxsolo2000]

all i know is i'd love a copy of Supercocinero

i wonder what the box looked like........

 

how much would these mexican versions go for now

 

 

Now that is the million dollar question. What woudl the box look like? I doubt that anyone on here has ever seen one for this is the first time they have been mentioned

[PressureCooker2600]

since there is a thread for brazilian carts pinned......do you think there should be one official topic for mexican carts.....

 

did atari even do any good in Mexico

[Nabuko78]

In Mexico these were the only carts known to be with labels, boxes and manuals completely in spanish. I must say that are the same games released in the U.S. Of course original cartridges from Atari and other companies were known here; and the bootlegs too, such as "boom bang" and "pac kong" I have "supercocinero" cartridge, and oh, "decatlón" was other activision game released in Mexico.

[Bruce Tomlin]

So what you're saying is that all the other Atari-released games were actually the US cartridge versions, maybe with a change in box or instructions, and these three got the unique label because they were Activision games and someone at Atari Mexico wanted to make them look like a regular Atari game?

[PressureCooker2600]

So what you're saying is that all the other Atari-released games were actually the US cartridge versions, maybe with a change in box or instructions, and these three got the unique label because they were Activision games and someone at Atari Mexico wanted to make them look like a regular Atari game?

 

thats kinda what i got from the post.........kinda confusing

[Nabuko78]

So what you're saying is that all the other Atari-released games were actually the US cartridge versions, maybe with a change in box or instructions, and these three got the unique label because they were Activision games and someone at Atari Mexico wanted to make them look like a regular Atari game?

 

Yes. Exactly. Atari Mexico choosed to release both Atari and Activision games under the label "Atari Cartucho Original" ("Atari Original Cartridge"). As far as I knew in that days, they only released such activision games; "Activision Decathlon" was released in the same way as the other games, so make it the 4th in the series from Mexico. The rest of the atari games in Mexico? Were exported from USA and not produced necessarily for the latin market, but worldwide.

Another interesting fact: Atari 7800 made its debut here in 1988, 1 year after the 2600. I won one in a contest, and since then I'm a fan of this almost unknown system.

 

BTW thanks to SegaMasterMonster for bringing pictures of this uncommon carts for most of you, and common for people who owned atari systems around Mexico. Sincerely, I didn't expected the existance of "Tanque Robot" (Robot Tank) and "El Esquimal" (Frostbite). My original "Supercocinero" has an atari case instead activision case.

Edited December 17, 2006 by Nabuko78

[SegaMasterMonster]

Hi again!

 

I'm very curious to see the games that come out of Mexico. I'm certain most will be pirates, but there's some gold to be found in there for sure. Sku_u found a 2600 system from Mexico with games built in. One of them was a previously unknown game, and is still the only copy of it to date. Air Raid also is probably from Mexico. So what else is there?

 

Those carts you have shown Segamastermonster look alot like polyvox carts. In fact too much so just to be a coincidence.

 

BTW welcome to AA

Yes, there are 2600 systems with built in games here in Mexico but they are called "clones" as they (or at least the ones I´ve seen) are not legal or distributed by Atari, and I believe all of them are "Atari Jr.-like". I have seen clones with 32, 64 and 100+ games built in! and you can still get them, they are not very rare, but sometimes some of the games included don´t work.

 

Oh, and thanks for the welcome!

 

Finally some Mexican entries.

 

Supercocinero now makes sense to me.

 

It was in our database as a Polyvox cart.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Do you know the name of the manufacturer?

 

 

BTW: could you please scan these three carts for the Atarimania database?

 

 

Hmm they are interesting as the games are all activision releases. perhaps they had a distributer in mexico back then who re-labeled em.

Oh yes, "Atari de (from) México" existed. As I remember, they re-labeled the games as rheffera says and used Activision or "normal" Atari cartridge cases and just made the Spanish boxes and manuals. Here is a photo of the El Esquimal and Supercocinero backs:

 

 

And yes, it was possible to find a Supercocinero with an Atari case and the same for the others. Of course, pirates of these Mexican versions were common, but you can tell by the print-quality of the label most of the time.

 

The systems (again, the ones I´ve seen) were just assembled here in México and included a Mexican warranty,manuals and boxes in Spanish. Here is one of the systems I have, you can see the label below and the case made in Taiwan:

 

 

 

But they actually made ac adapters (which look really cheap), like this one:

 

 

 

And of course I can scan the cartridges for the database! just please let me know where I can send them to

 

all i know is i'd love a copy of Supercocinero

i wonder what the box looked like........

 

how much would these mexican versions go for now

 

Now that is the million dollar question. What woudl the box look like? I doubt that anyone on here has ever seen one for this is the first time they have been mentioned

Hopefully by tomorrow night I will have another copy of Supercocinero, in case you or somebody else is interested , and a good friend of mine has some of the original boxes and manuals of these Mexican versions and will scan them for us. I will post them here as soon as I receive them.

 

did atari even do any good in Mexico

Yes, even today all related to Atari is very desirable by Mexican videogame collectors. You can tell by the number of auctions which end with high bids, or in flea markets for example, where 2600 cartridges are best sellers, I would say

 

In Mexico these were the only carts known to be with labels, boxes and manuals completely in spanish. I must say that are the same games released in the U.S. Of course original cartridges from Atari and other companies were known here; and the bootlegs too, such as "boom bang" and "pac kong" I have "supercocinero" cartridge, and oh, "decatlón" was other activision game released in Mexico.

In fact, there were more Mexican versions with labels which include boxes and manuals completely in Spanish. Examples of this are "Héroe" (Hero) and others like "Policías y Ladrones" and "Los 3 Cochinitos" (I don´t know the names of their american counterparts). And look at this beauty I found in my mess:

 

 

This one too has "normal" Atari case, but what amazes me is that this is not based on an Activision game: you can tell that is Galaxian of course.

 

BTW, some Atari 7800 games included manuals in Spanish too when were distributed here.

 

 

Hope these pics and information help a little

[Rom Hunter]

It sure does.

 

I will give these games their own category (Atari Cartucho Original) in the Atarimania database:

http://www.atarimania.com/lst_soft-MENU-2-...UR_ID-2531.html

 

Could you please give me the exact spelling of "Héroe", "Policías y Ladrones", "Los 3 Cochinitos" and "Decathlon" (I mean the way they are spelled on the label) and perhaps make some watermark-less cart front scans of the Atari Cartoucho Original carts you own?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Edited December 17, 2006 by Rom Hunter

[Atari Dogs]

Hey, Omegamatrix did Zellers or any other company release any games with French lables?

[Rom Hunter]

Hey, Omegamatrix did Zellers or any other company release any games with French lables?

You're lightyears off-topic, Atari Dogs.

 

This is French stuff:

http://www.atarimania.com/lst_soft.php?MEN...n_sauver=Search

 

[Atari Dogs]

Hey, Omegamatrix did Zellers or any other company release any games with French lables?

You're lightyears off-topic, Atari Dogs.

 

This is French stuff:

http://www.atarimania.com/lst_soft.php?MEN...n_sauver=Search

 

 

Check you map of North America. The southen portion is Spanish speaking. The northern portion is Canada, which speaks French and English. Very long drive, but not lightyears.

[Rom Hunter]

Hey, Omegamatrix did Zellers or any other company release any games with French lables?

You're lightyears off-topic, Atari Dogs.

 

This is French stuff:

http://www.atarimania.com/lst_soft.php?MEN...n_sauver=Search

 

 

Check you map of North America. The southen portion is Spanish speaking. The northern portion is Canada, which speaks French and English. Very long drive, but not lightyears.

LOL

 

True.

 

[Shawn]

Hey, Omegamatrix did Zellers or any other company release any games with French lables?

 

 

Coleco and Activision both made French labels.