KappaGuy99

I think that this saying is one of the biggest untruths that has been propagated in the postmodern West, at least as it applies to everyone in all circumstances. In reality, this happens to a very select group of individuals, statistically speaking; the best of the best and/or the luckiest of the lucky. I'm not saying that can't be you, but given your aforementioned MegaMillions analogy, I'm guessing you want to pursue something with better odds of success. What is "success" to you in this situation? Is it having more money or a more secure/stable income? Is it having the possibility of growth/advancement? Is it doing what you love regardless of the income, either because you're enjoying it or you're fulfilling some greater purpose within yourself? That's important to determine from the beginning. IMHO, you are asking one of the right questions. "Namely, are there any careers in (things that interest me)?" If you would like to bounce any of this off some random dude on the Internet who also likes Atari and went through career counseling about a year ago after being in the same line of work for 14 years, PM me. I don't claim to have any of the answers, but I believe that if you ask the right questions, you'll find some of the answers you're looking for. Good luck to you and don't stop asking questions.

If government is able to keep track of the sale of a used Lynx and whether or not you paid taxes on the sale of said Lynx you have a much bigger problem on your hands.

$250,000

I bought a Retron 3 and it worked for about 10 days before it stopped working. It seemed to me that it was very poorly manufactured.

Can you please add me to the list for a Lynx 2 version?

PM sent

Especially when you look at the amount of money they spent for both the license for the movie IP, and the marketing blitz they put out for the game. The game should have been of "normal" difficulty, or it should have had lives and continues or passwords up the wazoo. They seriously flubbed that opportunity.

I feel the same way about Steel Talons. I'd say the Lynx port is one of the better ports available, IMHO. The frame rate is slow, but I have always felt like I had control (even if that control was at times a little sub-par). I enjoyed it on the Lynx back in the day when it was first released, and I still like it now. The arcade version is the best from what I remember, and the Genesis version I found to be less fun than the Lynx version. I've never played the SNES version. I have a feeling the Atari Falcon version is pretty good, and I would imagine the ST version is worth a try.

Very good points! Thank you for the link, as well. I do see "moving inventory" as a catalyst behind the XEGS, and I think history shows that is a misguided idea. If the idea was for the XEGS to move software and accessories, we know for a fact that it didn't move software, at least not in the same way that 2600 software sold. It's not like they couldn't have dumped the 8-bit inventory in a landfill It sounds like they didn't meet their expectations, based on this quote from Neil Harris: "As time goes by, we expect to see dramatic increases in sales for 8-bit software -- hopefully, this will also include practical applications as well as games. This should in turn encourage developers to create new titles for the 8-bits."

I received the 7800 for Christmas, and I wanted the 7800 version of Asteroids. My mom accidentally bought the 2600 version of Asteroids, which we already had a copy of. I was so happy and thankful to receive the 7800 that I never blinked, or flinched, and sure as heck didn't say "We already have this one." There was no way I could ruin that moment... To this day, I haven't said a word to her about it and never will. Plus, I got Choplifter, and Food Fight, and Ms Pac-Man and Galaga. Tied for best Christmas gift ever with a snowblower I got from my Dad 5-6 years ago. (I live in MN and have retaining walls on either side of my driveway.)

Very well stated, and a very good point. The 7800's sound is a prime example of this. The sound on the 7800 is simply crap compared to other late 80s consoles, and that is because the sound technology is no different from the 2600. Oh sure, you can add a sound chip to the cartridge, but how many games have those sound chips? The end result to the average consumer was crappy sound, which was the direct result of backwards compatibility. Regarding the sales figures, I think the biggest shocker was the 5200. AFAIK, Atari dedicated no resources to it during the 1986-1991 timeframe, and yet it sold almost as well as the XEGS, which definitely had resources devoted to it. I don't remember even seeing 5200 games for sale during this timeframe, and I do remember seeing XEGS commercials on TV. To me, the XEGS is a helluva flop when you look at those sales numbers. Right up there with the Jaguar. Moreover, I don't think a strict focus on the 7800 would have helped Atari. There is a natural synergy between the 2600 and 7800. I think had the 7800 been released in 1984, as was the original plan, the console likely would have done better, and might have even made for a legitimate contender to the NES. If you were a consumer in 1989 without a console, and you were only looking at Atari consoles for some reason, and you wanted "the best" console you could buy -- which would you get? The XEGS or the 7800? Which one was "better"? Atari themselves doesn't even really know or tell you. The XEGS commercials with software gaming executives talk about how the system is so high-tech, and yet it's using the 2600 joystick along with a keyboard, which doesn't exactly spell C-O-N-S-O-L-E. Meanwhile, there's this 7800 that seems really neat, and the controller has two action buttons, but it's not touted as being any better than the XEGS. To this day, I'm not even really sure myself which one is technically superior. Point being... why sell both? There may have been a reason for it, but that doesn't mean the reason was a good one.

It is very intuitive to think that Atari's support of the 2600 during the late 1980s was a waste of time and resources, but I think if they had actually done this, they may not have survived even until the Lynx rolled along. Curt Vendel released software sales figures a few years back from 1986-1991, they are on this forum. If you tally up the numbers, here's how it looks: Cumulative Software Sales 1986-1991: Category US Net Units US Net Revenue 2600 8,754,621 $48,407,191 5200 1,035,511 $5,032,828 7800 2,627,882 $23,965,258 XE 807,197 $6,597,979 Like it or not, the 2600 made up the mainstay of software sales. Based on the sales figures, in conjunction with the differentiation between consoles and computers, I think the XEGS was the true waste of time and resources.

I think Lost Dragon's just adding new information as he finds it; to document the topic for future reference. That was really funny though.

I bought the Jag-CD just after Christmas 1996, they were marked down pretty heavily, and I have to agree it was all about VLM for me. That being said, a customizable "Choose-Your-Own-Videos" Vid-Grid would be entertaining. And the Tempest 2000 soundtrack on CD was very much an appreciated bonus. That game really exposed me and got me hooked into electronic music in general.

Newtonian physics right here... Every action causes an equal and opposite reaction.