Atari 7800 Label Variations

The 2600, by far, has the market cornered when it comes to label variations. Not only were a great deal of games released for the 2600, but due to the 2600's long lifespan, many games were sold for several years and were produced with several different labels. Most label collectors only seek out the major label variations for any given cartridge, while some go after every minor variation, of which there are quite a few. This list only contains major variations by each company, along with pictures so you can get a feel for what the differences are.

Atari produced more label variations than any other company, which isn't terribly surprising given that they produced more games for the 2600 than any other company. Quite a few carts produced by Atari are available on at least two major label variations, one being a Text label and the other being a Picture label. Other common label variations include the Blue label carts produced by Activision in their later years, the White label INTV versions of M Network carts, and the Sears Text/Picture variations (similar to Atari).

Label Name

Description

Image

Standard

Absolute cartridges for the 7800 are very similar to their 2600 counterparts. They come in Activision style carts with black labels. The game title is written in a stylized font, unique for each game. This same text is translated to the end label, although reduced in size to better fit. The Absolute Logo is also featured on the front of the label. One Absolute game, Tomcat F14, was actually produced with two different labels. Tomcat F14 can be found with a normal 7800 label as well as a 2600 label. If you have a 2600 Tomcat F14 in your collection, you should double check to make sure it's not the 7800 version! You can tell by looking at the edge of the cartridge where it plugs into the game system. The edge connector for 7800 games is wider than on 2600 carts.

Activision

Label Name

Description

Image

Standard

Activision's two releases for the 7800 use their standard 2600 cartridge shells. Both cartridges have similar labels in that they're both white with single color printing. Double Dragon has black text and Rampage has blue text. Double Dragon is a rather boring looking cart, while Rampage is improved only by the fact that it shares the Rampage logo from the arcade game.

Atari

Label Name

Description

Image

Color

Except for Pole Position II, all games Atari produced for the 7800 have a gray background. At the top of the label is the 7800 logo (generally in maroon). Under that is a color graphic unique to each game. Copyright text appears in black placed under the image. The end label is also gray, with the title text in maroon or black, followed by "ATARI 7800" in black text underneath the title in a smaller font. Some games also have the model number in black text on the end label.

PolePosition

For whatever reason, Pole Position II has a label that is unique to the 7800. It is a white label with black printing and the end label is black with white printing. This is a clear contrast to every other label produced by Atari for the 7800. Our guess is these cartridges were produced in 1984 when the 7800 was supposed to initially ship, and the rest of the cartridges for the 7800 were produced in 1986 when the 7800 did actually ship, giving Atari time to modify the label design.

Gray

Except for Pole Position II, all games Atari produced for the 7800 have a gray background. At the top of the label is the 7800 logo in black. Under that is a grayscale graphic unique to each game. Copyright text appears in black placed under the image. The end label is also gray, with the title text in black, followed by "ATARI 7800" also in black text underneath the title in a smaller font. Some games also have the model number in black text on the end label.

Froggo

Label Name

Description

Image

Standard

Froggo only made two games for the Atari 7800, and unlike their 2600 efforts these are actually halfway decent original titles. Both cartridges have a white label reminiscent of their 2600 games. The text "7800" appears at the top of the cartridge, and the name of the game is displayed in a large typeface along with a graphic unique to the game. Copyright information is displayed in black text at the bottom of the cartridge. The end label contains Froggo's stylized name and logo (a frog sitting on a lilly pad).