Major_Tom_coming_home

Thanks! I didn't know about the reproduction labels, but that would be awesome. Acti-plaque is a type of normal 'patina' that makes the cartridges more 'authentic' I suppose but good quality replacements would be a nice option to have.

Out of curiosity has there ever been a presentation / documentary / lecture about the nuts and bolts process of actually creating a VCS game? I think there was an hour long talk by David Crane about making Pitfall on the internet at some point, but that is the only thing I can recall ever seeing.

I have an older activision game (Keystone Kapers picture variant ) with a label that is starting to detach from the cartridge on the end. I know the paper used on activision cartridges has issues with glue discoloring the labels with 'acti-plaque'. Is there a certain type of glue anyone can recommend to tack the label back down? I was thinking either a thin / even coat from a clear liquid glue stick or clear fabric glue. Thanks!!!

I've never played the 7800 Choplifter but I had Karateka as a kid. At the time I found it to be 'meh' / 'okay occasionally' but 'frustrating.' In hindsight I think that is a generous review for a lousy game. In those days I didn't have an NES and Karateka was the closest thing I had to something like Contra or Double Dragon. Actually, I think that if I had played Contra or Double Dragon on the NES at a friends house there would have been no way I could have ever gone back to playing Karateka. Besides Karateka, the only 7800 games I had were arcade ports like Asteroids and Joust and the first time I saw Nintendo games it blew my mind. The sad part is that the 7800 was quite a capable console in it's own right, but but never reached it's full potential - Castlevania on 7800 with a Pokey chip might have been quite interesting (and quite possible)...

Thanks I'll keep this in mind, but my joystick of choice is a TAC 2

Howdy all, I was browsing my local indie video game store recently, and they were selling a heavy sixer with hookups and controllers for $109. I didn't think to check if it was made in California at the time unfortunately (or if that is a big difference). But I was wondering: 1) Is $109 reasonable? I'm guessing that is fair / average for a heavy sixer. They seem to be all over the place on Ebay and difficult to value. and 2) Were the earlier systems built better and more durable, or are they more desirable for collectors simply because they are the 'originals'? Extra plastic and more RF shielding isn't really a big deal to me, but having the oldest granddaddy version would be kind of nifty to me and I wouldn't mind spending a bit extra to have one. Right now I have a 4 switch woodie, but I'm interested in getting another console so that I have a spare. Thanks!!!

I've always wondered - My understanding is that the NES has chips in it's cartridges that effectively increased it's processing power. If a 7800 game had both the sound chips and some sort of processing chip like the NES, would it have been able to play games like Mega Man / Super Mario 3 / Battletoads, etc? The hardware inside the 7800 and NES is similar with the 7800 being more capable in certain ways (like video resolution and memory). The 2600 and NES were both pushed to their limits, but sadly it seems like the same didn't happen with the 7800.

Atari "Go-bag" - that's awesome . I think the systems I played the most as a kid was my friend's Vader and my 7800. I'm fond of both of them, but to me having fake wood grain on an Atari feels 'right' for some reason. I gotta say, though, that other than my 5200 joysticks Atari consoles seem to be rock solid and withstand the test of time. Every one I have come across in the wild has worked. I gave up on the NES a long time ago since the cartridge connection problems on every one I acquired left a very bad taste in my mouth.

I was at my local indie video game store recently, and noticed that they had a 6-switch Sears VCS for 69.99 (I don't know if it was the heavy or light, or if that was a good price). I already have a 4-switch woody and a 7800 so I passed on it, but I was wondering if the older 6-switch heavy or light consoles are considered substantially 'better' or is it just a matter of personal preference? I know the original Sunnyville heavy sixer had the sturdiest case, but since I'm not in the habit of kicking or tossing my Atari having an extra strong case isn't really necessary. On the other hand, my accursed front loading NES needs an occasional beating to get it started LOL

I've just stared my collection but for giggles I checked anyway. Turns out Kool-Aid Man, Donkey Kong Junior, and California games are all equally 'rare'. The rarest game I plan to pick up eventually is H.E.R.O. which isn't all that 'rare' either.

Being new to 2600 collecting, I'm curious about the 'habits' of other people who have been doing it for a long time. Since collecting Atari is meant to be fun, I'm happy with what I'm doing and not asking for advice on how I should collect, but I am interested to know how others go about their collecting: Label varients: Do you try to collect label varients for cartridges? I'm personally not going for variations, but where prices are similar I am trying to be consistent about which varient I have for each company (Such as picture varient insead of text varient for early Atari first party, and original Activision instead of Blue Label, etc.). Selection: When you were still acquiring common titles, how did you decide what to get next? Since there are ways to play Atari Games without original carts you don't necessarily have to start out by getting favorites. It's possible to start with the cheapest, collect one company at a time, wait to find stuff in a thrift store, etc. etc. etc. Thanks for the input!

Thanks for the game recommendations and shopping tips, I'll check them out. It looks like there is an upcoming convention in Orlando that is within what I consider reasonable driving range. Deadly duck seems like a fairly inexpensive cartridge and I may have to pick it up on the cheap at some point just because of it's name LOL.

I do have a Harmony cart already so that I'll at least be able to play stuff like Air Raid, but thanks for the suggestion. I know of a few local indie game stores and I'll check them out. Thanks!

I will do so (check out the forums), thanks!

Thanks, I'll check out the games you recommend! As a long time lurker I actually already have a harmony cart LOL. For my few online purchases I have made so far I've tried to find lots that allow me to keep the price per non-duplicate cartridge as low as possible. Since I already have the requisite Asteroids, Missle Command, Space Invaders, and Defender carts It's getting a bit more difficult to find worthwhile price-per-cartridge bundles but I'm on the lookout for them.

Howdy. Long time lurker, first time poster. Please go easy on me :-) Anyway, as a person who enjoys older computers and electronics I decided to take the plunge and start collecting carts for the 2600. I already have a about a dozen 2600 carts, a wood grain 4 switch VCS, and a 7800 so I'm off to a good start. I'm also pleasantly surprised that there seems to be lots of great old VCS games that are very inexpensive, including most or all of the ones I remember from my childhood. My plan is to slowly acquire the games I most want - maybe a few carts per week - and eventually acquire the fun and reasonably priced games made by Atari, Activision, and Imagic plus a few select others (Turmoil and Empire Strikes Back come to mind as good games not made by the big three). Rare games like Quadrun and shovelware are off of my menu (and for what it's worth Pac-Man and ET will be part of my collection). Two questions for the experts here: 1) Is Ebay and Amazon Marketplace plus Thrift Stores and Yard Sales the usual way to acquire cartridges? I don't see Atari games at Goodwill very often, and even then the common ones are priced comparable to Ebay. I go to yard sales weekly but can't remember the last time I saw anything Atari unless it was for the Playstation 2. 2) Are there any other companies besides Atari, Activision, and Imagic that produced consistently good games and have libraries worth collecting? I remember Parker Brothers and M Network put at least a few good games out. I know Turmoil was made by 20th Century fox but I've never played any of their other games. Thanks much for the intel!!!