Pitfall Harry

The odd shape of the M-carts used to bug me. They don't stack very well. The label size is pitifully small and makes no room for label art. But then I started focusing on the positive aspects of their odd shape. For one thing, it is a simple matter to push them in and yank them out of your Atari. You can easily wrap your hand around the sides of an M-cart without coming anywhere near the label and possibly damaging it. They also don't stack all that badly, so long as you alternate the orientation of each cart 180 degrees from its stacking neighbor. If you collect boxes for M-carts, then stackability is no longer even an issue. You may want to collect the boxes so you have something to look at other than the teenie little, artless end labels. The idea of tearing open my M-carts and moving the circuit boards within to more conventionally shaped cartridge shells has fleeted through my mind a time or two. But if I did that, it would be more effort than it's worth. Part of the fun in collecting classic video games, for me, is to have and preserve the "genuine item." You lose that aspect of your game collection when you perform Frankenstein surgery on it.

You are right. So what do you think is the correct name? Fußball? Fussball? FUSSBALL? I would say the first. I would go with Fubball, because I'm American and I don't have a kooky ß on my keyboard and Fubball amuses me.

Like all things in life, "better" is what YOU prefer.

I know the game is rare, but what atmosphere is the seller breathing who he thinks this is in "Very Good" condition?

My grand pappy used to love to take his in-dentures out every night and play with them. I'm not sure that is relevant, tho.

CommaVid's Cakewalk and VentureVision's Rescue Terra I are fairly rare, but I like them both a lot!

"The day" spanned many years, and there were always bargains to be found at different stores if you went looking for them. A good ballpark figure is $35 - $40. After you factor for inflation, that works out to about $90 worth of purchasing power in today's economy per game.

I missed these, too. (I haven't been checking the forums much lately.) Like Thomas - I'd also like to see another contest like from a few years ago. That was excellent! In all honesty, it would take me months to put together a contest like the one I did in 2002. That one did. I would also want any followup contest, at a bare minimum, to be at least as good as the old one. But seven years is long enough a rest, I suppose. So, I'll get to work. Look for something around Christmastime.

That may not necessarily be a mistake. It may well be accurate reporting of observed sale prices. One observed NIB Alien auction could have ended at a price of $25. Then, years later, a second auction could have been observed in which two collectors, in the heat of a bidding war, pushed the selling price as high as $38. Stuff like that happens all the time. Since NIB and CIB are categorically different, the "price" of one does not affect the "price" of the other. Be that as it may, "NIB - $25, CIB - $38" can only be the result of an aberration of some sort, which should be explained. Without explanation, any guide that publishes listings like this isn't really much of a guide at all.

How about another contest, like the one you did some years ago? Yeah, I could do that.

LOL! Here I was thinking the lack of interest was because the questions were too easy. Thanks for the feedback, I may do another of these yet.

I have a few thoughts... I think the author's goal was to keep the guide relatively simple and not to inundate readers with data glut. That's fine. But I think the Rarity column is a weak point. Too many games are rated as a rarity 10, which is simply misleading. And what is the basis for this rating...number of transactions monitored? Rather than assign each game a 1-to-10 Rarity rating, it would be more informative to post the actual number of sales of each game that have been tracked by the maintainers of the Guide. Surely they must have such information, otherwise how could they assign each game a Rarity rating in the first place? Yep. Too many 10's. I can see it now. Page after page of eBay sellers listing marginally rare games and quoting the Atari2600.com Price Guide exclusively, because it's inflated Rarity ratings have suddenly tripled the hype value of the games they are selling. Nowhere does the Price Guide actually state, specifically, what the Price of any of the games it lists is based on. Is it the price of the latest tracked sale, the average price? A Re-seller's Suggested Sale Price? A wild-ass guess? There's no way of knowing, unless that information is presented on a different web page. If it is, there ought to be an obvious link to it. There is no indication about how old the Price Guide data is, or how often it is being updated. The prices shown within the Atari 2600 Price Guide are a very accurate indication of current fair market value for an Atari 2600 game, system or accessory in unworn condition. The Price Guide can be used with confidence to establish value of rare Atari 2600 video games, systems or accessories while video game dealers, auctions or published price guides should be consulted to determine values of less expensive items. That's all very well and good, but with no explanation of the basis of Rarity or Price, it is very difficult for a thinking person to put any faith in "a very accurate indication of current fair market value" or any faith in "The Price Guide can be used with confidence to establish value of rare Atari 2600 video games." Maybe faith in the quoted statements is more easily attained if you happen to an opportunistic seller. I do like the idea that prices are broken down by Cartridge Only, Cartridge plus Instructions, and Complete. That is rarely seen in price guides, but it is extremely helpful to those who may not necessarily be interested in buying a Cart-Only or a CIB or whatever.

Answers: 1. The Atari game is called Touch Me, and it appears as one of the game variations bundled with Brain Games for the Atari 2600. Widely believed to be a copy cat of Milton Bradley's Simon, Atari's Touch Me actually came first (as an arcade game). But Atari never could shake the public' misperception of producing the knock-off product. Simon went on to sell millions, while Touch Me quickly became little more than a quirky footnote in gaming history. 2. Laser gates appear in Montezuma's Revenge, Secret Quest, Caverns of Mars, and-- believe it or not-- in Laser Gates. 3. The Twelve different ways a H.E.R.O. level can properly end are: 1) Making contact with a Springing Spider 2) Making contact with a Shaft Bat 3) Making contact with a Nesting Snake 4) Making contact with a Mine Moth 5) Making contact with a Tentacle 6) Making contact with a Magma Surface 7) Making contact with the Lava River 8] Getting crushed between movable walls 9) Getting blown up by own dynamite 10) Running out of time before rescuing the miner 11) Rescuing the miner 12) Reaching a score of 1 million points 4. Flying purple pickles are your worst nightmare in Fast Food. 5. Bottoms Up is a selectable game variation of the Atari 400/800 release of 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe. You may know this game better as Score Four, which was first marketed in 1967 by Funtastic (and later by Hasbro) as a family strategy game. Due to reader apathy, this will be my final installment of Take Five. Let the cheering begin!

Some people like the different label art that appears on different re-issues of the same game. Others simply feel they can never have a "complete" collection unless they have all the label variations too. Then there are those who grow collections so large that the only inexpensive way to make their collections any larger is to go after label variations, too. There can be no doubt that certain label variations are indeed rarer than others. It's a very safe bet that your copy of Superman is not the Sears picture variation. If you should ever find one of those, that one piece is enough to make your collection the awe of scores of others. That's reason enough to add it to your collection. Any and all of the above reasons (and I'm sure, several others not mentioned) are sufficient to lure collectors into hunting for label variations. It's a hobby. People collect what they like to collect.

Because it was so wildly popular (50+ views of the Take Five - Answers thread and not a single reply!), I'm reprising my Take Five thread. As before, if you know the answers to any of the trivia questions below, please don't post your answers here so that others may enjoy the challenge. I do, however, encourage you to post back here with the number of questions you think you got right. This is strictly for fun and for bragging rights only. PLEASE! No wagering. 1. Originally appearing as an Atari arcade game in 1974, it reappeared as an Atari handheld electronic game in 1978, even though a handheld version produced by a competing company proved to be a monstrously bigger hit. The same game was finally ported to the Atari 2600, later still. What is the original name of the game, and under what title did it appear for the Atari 2600? 2. Name 3 original Atari games which require you to maneuver through "laser gates". Note: Multi-carts and re-releases don't count. 3. There are 12 different ways a level can properly end while playing H.E.R.O. Can you name them all? Hint: Consider each hazard and each critter separately. And then, think of a few other ways. 4. Flying purple pickles are your worst nightmare in which Atari 2600 game? 5. What is the official title of the Atari game you would be playing if you were playing "Bottoms Up?" Answers will be posted tomorrow. Good luck!

hehe seconds to play a lifetime to master ! I've never been any good at Dragster. I'm too scared I might blow an engine if I ever push too hard.

Congrats, Homerwannabee! That score is amazing! I know a little bit about the insanity that drives one to push a game score to ridiculous heights. 5 years ago, I was obsessed for two months about maxing out the score on Seaquest. I experienced the same "rat pushing a lever" feeling and the callouses in weird places that you describe. I even had to resort to setting up foam padding to minimize cramping while I was playing marathon sessions. I finally made it, but that was only for a measly 1 million points. You are waaaay more nuts than I was [am]. Savor sweet triumph, and then stay true to your promise of never playing Galaxian again. Of course you will play it again. The siren song of Galaxian will beckon you for the rest of your life. You will never be able to completely shake her now. Galaxian owns you. What I meant is, stick to your promise of never playing it again with serious intent. When challenged by friends, crank through 50 levels or so without dying, and then step away. STEP AWAY! Congratulations again. That is truly an awesome achievement.

Yep. ALWAYS ask. And it never hurts to tell them that you just bought an old Atari at a yard sale and now you're looking for some games to play on it. That makes you look like you are not a "collector." If they think you are a collector, the prices they will ask for their games and stuff will automatically double in their heads.

To the world at large, Ixglobpt Ugzibniac is a strange, mysterious, figure of glistening bronze skin and golden eyes. To his fans he is one of the greatest adventure heroes of all time, whose fantastic exploits are unequaled for hair-raising thrills, breathtaking escapes and bloodcurdling excitement.

Thanks. I made it back in 2003. A bit of his feet seems to be sticking that didn't used to, so I just fixed it with Easy Gif Animator: It reminds me a lot of the gif I have on my web site. Pitfall Harry's Lost Video Game Cavern

Nice little Animation!

It's not as bad as you think. The video cable for your Atari 2600 is actually very easy to remove once you open up the game console's plastic case. After removing the screws and opening it up, you will find that the video cable isn't even soldered to the main circuit board. Both ends of the video cable (the external end that connects to your TV and the internal end that plugs into the Atari's main circuit board) are exactly the same. That is, the video cable has a male RCA connector at both ends. It is very easy to remove the entire cable and replace it with a new one. If you have another dead Atari lying around, you can scavenge the good video cable from that. Or, you can take your split cable and show it to the guys at Radio Shack and they should be able to fix you up with a replacement. No soldering or splicing is required.

Answers: 1. According to the headline story in The Daily Atari, which is printed on the back of the box for Caverns of Mars, Ixglobpt Ugzibniac is the Supreme Commander of the Martian Galactic Fleet. 2. Automazeons are the grim robot thugs who stalk you relentlessly, in Berzerk. 3. You would be navigating your F-711 Starwarrior through the planetary defense system surrounding Terra I, in Rescue Terra I. 4. "Louie, Louie" will play to signify the end of each event, in California Games. 5. Berthilda the Witch is one of several enemies Bently Bear must contend with, in Crystal Castles. Thanks for playing!

Gadzooks! You're right. That makes two spelling errors in the same name. Boy, is my face ever red. It is Ixglobpt Ugzibniac. I checked the spelling six times, forward and backwards, so I am certain I got it right this time.

1 out of 5 ain't bad. 3 out of 5 is kick-ass!