Philflound

Ok, I created the page that shows items that I believe should exist. Here it is. It's on the main Atari page under General Variations. I'll double check for any spelling errors later this evening. http://www.videogamevariations.com/AtariCompanies/AtariGames/atari_items.htm

I have tons of manuals myself. I have to put stuff on hold for a few weeks as I make my final preparations to move, so I won't be updating anything for a while.

Daniel continues to help me big time. He found a 1986 RotLA box which I've now added. I'm going to create a page showing Atari items I believe should exist on the website. I think I had listed it once here, but since then have discovered some of those items. I can't edit replies here, so I'll do it on the site as more are found. Phil

Also, we should add those movies and shows which don't necessarily show Atari on the tv or cartridges, but show kids playing video games and you HEAR the music/sound effects of Atari games. I believe I remember Donkey Kong and Pac-Man Atari 2600 sound effects, but for the life of me will never remember what show or movie.

I believe there were some cartridges in October Faction. That's if my brain is working properly.

I fixed the ESB cartridges, but the format was using a different program than Front Page. So all my (C) have ? in front. I'll have to rebuild this page, sometime this week. The boxes are finished. One thing of note, I took photos from whatever sources I could. Though I do not like doing this as many are done with cameras on crazy angles, I figured I'd rather have something to show rather than a blank box saying I need a scan. I may do this with other scans I'm missing in the future going back to other items I've already completed. I ask if you see something that looks like it can use an upgrade, please help out. At this time though, I'd rather continue working on and finishing the other companies like Sears, Sega, Telegames, etc. Once I move, I'll eventually have access to my personal collection once again and will scan items I own to fill in the blanks. Mostly sides of boxes or such. We're getting there. Have patience. Phil

I'm finally going to work on Empire Strikes Back. I now have 9 variations. This will be one of the exceptions where I show the top label of the box, only because they show the country made in. I actually need to get the 6 language top label. I got one, but it's on a 45 degree angle and I can't rotate the photo without losing the sides of the scan. I only have programs that rotate 90 degrees. Anyway, it should be done within 30 minutes. I'll be working on the cartridges to fill in those that have Made in countries that I haven't gotten before. There are plenty on Ebay, so I'm hoping to get them all. From what I see, USA box has no Made in molded on the cart. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore seem to go with their respective boxes, though Taiwan and Hong Kong have 2 variation boxes. Malaysia seems to be the cartridge belonging to the 6 language cartridge I think. I'll try and do more investigating. I think there is only 1 real insert for all the 5050 box variations, though that insert had a variation that had a tan interior instead of a white one. So the first 6 box variations will use all the same insert. I've yet to see a blank or plastic tray insert for ESB. I try to be honest with my finds, though switching inserts can happen at any time. So if someone feels like putting a blank cardboard or plastic tray for ESB, I guess there is nothing stopping them. But for the dozens of examples I've seen on Ebay, there hasn't been one shown. Ok, will have to finish this tomorrow. I discovered there are 2 versions of the 6 language box. One has product #31501, the other has 931501. So now there are 10 variations. I promise to finish this before the evening.

Ok, I understand that a little better. I'm assuming you're creating your own website with all this info. I already updated the Warlords. Thanks for that. Still working on Parker Brothers with acquiring the inserts. I also found Star Wars ROTJ Death Star Battle has a 2 pc box besides the 1 pc, so I'll be updating that. I'm leaving ESB for last as that has many variations, but will try and do the inserts this weekend if I have time. I'll be beginning my move to my new house tomorrow and will not have time too much on weekends to do much with the site.

I'm actually confused at what you are trying to do. I guess when you have it up and running, it may explain itself. The confusion comes with the empty Combat folders. It seems like there are repeats. There are 2 different gatefold boxes for Combat yet I see only 1 folder. Also there are 2 different carts with 01, one with red border and one with silver. besides the large and small (R).

Ok, been researching diligently as to which inserts go with which box versions. I got stumped with Frogger, which turns out that some versions have different inserts along with some inserts are in several box variations. As these could be interchangable on standard product numbers, there will be no real way to determine if the insert is genuine to the box. My research shows though that Frogger is a nightmare. There are 4 insert variations for any of the standard boxes: green letters, black letters, blank insert, and plastic tray with 2 finger holes. Also while doing the research, I now have 10 Frogger box variations. Some of the photos I've gotten were taken with a camera on angles, but I'd rather have something than nothing. At least for now. If anyone can provide me with straight scans, that would be great. Also scans for the sides of the box would be helpful. One of the new variations is the normal 2 piece box, but instead of being made in USA, Malaysia or Taiwan, I have found one with Hong Kong. This is now box version 5. Again, I had to use photos on an angle, but would prefer scans. The Hong Kong version seems rare. Out of all the boxed Froggers on Ebay, both completed and active listings, I found only 2 had Hong Kong. Though many of the listings don't show the sides. So check out the Frogger page. I'll try and update more PB games if I can before my trip. I've finished checking through Spiderman. SW ESB is also going to be a challenge. I'll be updating the "General Parker Brother Variations" page soon too showing boxes and inserts. Just need to find a program where I can merge my pictures again. Talk to you soon. Phil

Sorry, I've been quite busy these past couple of months. I added a couple of side box scans for Parker Brothers. I am adding a 4th column for the PB main screen. It's going to contain box inserts. I don't have too many at the moment. Box inserts are going to correspond to the box itself. Thus, if a box is only 1 piece, there would be no insert. I will create a list of all the inserts for the boxes, even if they are 1 piece. Any 1 piece box which never had an insert made will have N/A written next to it. So for example, if box 1 is one piece and box 2 has two piece with an insert, the page would look like this. Insert 1) N/A Insert 2) (C)1982, white with blue ink, No. 2870 (Scan would be here) It's possible that inserts may be blank. I'll actually scan that too and just describe it as blank with no writing. I'll post when I get something up on the site. I will need a lot of help with this one, especially with Canadian and international box versions. Are the German boxes all one piece? Please let me know. I may use any scans I can get my hands on, though they may not be the best. If anyone can replace them, I'd appreciate it. Thanks. Phil

I'm wondering how many titles have the blue plastic insert.

Received another package today and one of the games was a sealed Demon Attack. I'm glad to add this to my collection as this was one of the Imagic games I did not have sealed. The funny thing is that the plastic tray inside that I can see through the bottom is a light blue and not black. I believe I have never seen a blue tray before. Does anyone have any info on this? Should I add this as another variation? This is the original release with no product # and no Rev. Sice it's shrinkwrapped, I don't want to open it.

Ok, Imagic is done (short of manuals). I'm back on working on Sears. For the time being, I'm putting blank side scans for the boxes. That is, unless I have them. As I do own a decent amount of Sears boxes, probably about 70% of the titles, I only own 1 box variation and all my collection is still packed away. Once I get my house and get settled and unpacked, I'll be scanning all the side boxes that I own. If anyone can scan some for me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks. Phil

Forgot to mention under speculation. Demon Attack 5 languages boxes go from Rev A to Rev C, possibly a Rev B?

I changed my mind. I didn't realize that I had already put up the Imagic cartridges. I'm doing a little fine tuning though, with possible additions. I then will add all the boxes. If you can't figure out the questions below at the moment, please wait until I have the pages up for those boxes. I do have several questions. 1. Since there is a Cosmic Ark Canadian version with English/French words, are there others? 2. Does anyone have the night scene Atlantis 1st release box that does not have a Rev # on the back? (Does this even exist?) 3. Cosmic Ark has a version without the "NEW" next to the title. I have a scan on an angle of the front, but no back scan. Anyone has this? 4. Like #2, Dragonfire supposedly has a 1st release box without the Rev. Anyone? Does it exist? 5. I'm waiting on Laser Gates 5 language international version from Atariboxed, hopefully he'll come through. 6. Anyone have the back of the black box version of Moonsweeper. 7. Does Shootin' Gallery or Subterranea have international versions? 8. I found that Trick Shot without the "NEW", Rev B box exists, anyone have a scan? 9. There are several titles with these plain black and white labels with 5 languages, please double check that I'm not missing any. Probably covers everything that I know. I mainly need foreign end labels. That goes for pretty much any company including Atari, Activision, CBS, etc. If you can help out, I'd appreciate it. I also discovered what exactly was meant by plastic tray on some of the original releases with no Rev on back. The insert is cardboard, but contains a plastic tray that goes inside the cardboard. I actually have a couple handy, so I figured out exactly what it meant. If you see something on the site when I get my boxes up that should have this plastic tray noted, please let me know. Here are some speculation questions. 1. Atlantis box day scene has Rev A, C, D, E but no B. B exist? 2. Is there a Rev A for Demon Attack? It goes from no Rev to B 3. Riddle of Sphinx goes from Rev A to Rev c. B? 4. Star Voyager goes from no Rev to Rev B. A? If anyone can come up with other things not mentioned, please let me know. I know some of the titles came in a cheesy packaging, Atarimania dubs it "cheap". I think I erased the Atlantis one as I could not find any evidence of it, though it was on the list. Hope all this helps and please be patient with the boxes. I'm hoping to have them done before the end of the year. Phil

Ok, ignore it. I see that someone was able to make the scans clear. I don't think there are any grey boxes. I'm hoping to get the Imagic section up by next weekend. Been doing a lot of research on these.

Ok, been working on the site. I've been adding end labels to some of the Activision international labels. I got a few boxes too, and am working on getting more boxed scans for the international boxes. I have a question. When looking at Atarimania Imagic international games, it looks like there are grey boxes for them. My question is, are they really grey or was someone able to scan them without the silver reflecting? After Sears, I finally plan on doing the Imagic games. It's been a long time coming. I've avoided them because of the poor scans due to reflectivity. Please let me know if these are grey or silver boxes if anyone has an idea. Thanks. Phil

I was contacted by someone who has been helping me out that I didn't update some scans. Somehow I passed up the email, though I saw it a couple of months ago. I guess I would get to it soon after and other emails pushed it down and I forgot about it. So I'm updating those end label scans thanks to Paul. But looking at my Fishing Derby boxes, I noticed I'm missing 2 of them completely. So I went on Ebay to see what chance I can find them and hopefully get scans I can use. To my surprise, I found something different with the International Edition box. I had 2 versions of this, but this was a third version. This has some sticker over the bottom. I'm assuming the sticker covers the 3 line use with, box version 5, since the back of the box matches that one. Regardless, it's something new so now it's added.

I just updated the Atari Variation page. I added a whole paragraph after boxes describing the whole printer/date thing on the tiny flap. This was what I intended in the first place, but when I had issues with my Front Page, my brain forgot this whole section. I find it funny since the creation of this page was to mainly explain the boxes. I may update this page in the future as thoughts hit me or other things come up. Anyway, enjoy.

Ok, I created the why page, though it doesn't have nice format. Like I said from the beginning, this site is for info purposes and I probably will never put all the bells and whistles that other sites have. Anyway, the link is on this page called "Atari Variations". If anyone feels information should be added that I forgot for some reason, send me a pm and maybe I'll change something. I do mention WATA, which is a new video game grading company. If you are unfamiliar with them, feel free to look them up. Also, if you have time, check out Heritage Auctions and the sales of some of the NES games on there. Some of those variations sell for real high, especially first release games. You've probably heard of the 2nd release sealed Super Mario Bros. selling for over $100k a few months ago as it made many news sources. To this day, there are no 1st release sealed copies of that game. In fact, there are I believe 11 box variations of Super Mario Bros. I tell you this because WATA is recognizing all these variations and the importance of them. They use current technology to actually determine what variation they are holding, even sealed. Anyway, we'll see if our variation information will come to use in the future. Thanks for everyone's help. Phil http://www.videogamevariations.com/Atari2600.htm

So far I have not listed this as a variant for the orange end label. The 2010 thread the person mentions it, but does not show it. I'm wary on whether or not this is legit. Is there a date stamped with the week as other labels sometimes have? With people printing labels nowadays, I think it would be easy to just make one.

I don't think it had anything to do with text or pic labels. Games marked Special Edition were Basic Programming, Backgammon, Casino, Championship Soccer, Superman and Video Chess. I don't know what made any of these games Special Edition, but I think that's all of them.

Thank you. I am going to create a "why" page explaining about the site and of course why I'm doing it. I think some people out there don't care or understand. I think it's been 11 or 12 years since I started the site itself and have been working on the list for well over 20 years. Thanks for all your support and if you can contribute to anything I'm missing, I'd appreciate it. Phil

Well if any of those boxes are ones I need, I'd appreciate it if you could send me scans of front and back. Just click on the link for the variations site in my sig. Thanks. Phil