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EA was distributor for Origin before they bought them. I still remember my Ultima III box had a 'distributed by EA' sticker on it. Still, the inclusion of U4 on that list does seem like a cop-out since the Ultima games were not really put under the EA brand, and had a history of coming to Atari anyway.

There aren't any mainstream ones in the west. There's no market because it really hasn't been tried and marketed by a mainstream manufacturer in the west. Just like there were tablet computers before iPad, but consumers didn't know they wanted one before Apple made the case for it. I agree a mainstream Android device with gaming controls seems like a logical step for mobile gaming. At a time when it seems too risky to launch a new device in the vein of Vita/DS/GBA because of the crush of mobile gaming, yet mobile gaming touchscreen controls are too limiting for most dedicated gamers who bought those old devices. This hybrid type of unit would bridge the gap-- compatible with mainstream mobile games, But comfortable for gamers who prefer physical controls. It could have an exclusive lineup and other features so it isn't just another android device.

I had Adventure Creator too. ACS is the game on that list that I really wanted back then. I would have bought it in a heartbeat, but I don't think it ever came out.

In the Letters to the Editor section of the April 1986 Antic magazine, they printed the following letter from EA president Trip Hawkins, listing a bunch of new games that would be coming to Atari 8-bit that year. I know Mail Order Monsters, Racing Destruction Set and Ultima IV did come out, but I don't think I've ever seen the other 5 listed. Did they ever come out?

It's definitely true that computer gaming was rising while console were falling. I don't think they completely offset the loss of console sales though. I agree that in general, consumer tastes don't change drastically in most things, but there can be drastic short-term fluctuation when you factor in things like bubbles and fads. Fad: after Pacman, seemed like everybody was into videogames, not just the traditional gamers. Like all fads, they are short-lived and the trend followers moved onto "break-dancing" or whatever the next big thing was. Games went from being "cool" to distinctly uncool among certain kids until things balanced out with the NES. So that could explain a rapid short-term loss of demand. Bubble: Like the dot-com bubble where everybody needed a dot-com address and internet profits were going to grow exponentially-- things got ahead of themselves, reality set in, and for a few years nobody wanted to fund internet startups. Videogames had a mini-version of that. Everybody needed a 2600 game! Even the Purina dog food company. Games sales growth was going to be exponential year after year, until it suddenly wasn't. So again there was a lack of investment for a few years. I think those two factors explain why there was a 'crash' quite well, and why another game crash is unlikely there aren't really signs of speculative investment, nor is there some new gaming fad -- well maybe in mobile these things could be true, but not in the established game sectors.

Yeah, I feel like a lot of what we "know" about the Eastern block comes from pro-Soviet and anti-Soviet propaganda. I feel like I know very little about what everyday life was actually like there, so I'm always interested to hear such stories.

..Still trying to sell Mario games to a generation who cut their teeth on Minecraft. Sorry, but I think Nintendo might be the first to go.

Assuming he ever had the other controller in the first place. The whole thing sounds like a bait and switch to get the customer into the store.

Wikipedia says the videogame sales fell "from $3 billion in 1982 to as low as $100 million in 1985" I presume they mean software. Retailers largely abandoned videogames during that era. I remember it was much harder to find them, by 1985, only Toys R Us still seemed have a large game selection, unless you mail ordered Everyone else massively cut back on videogames. That in turn could have hurt sales-- you can't buy what you don't find in stores unless you put in extra effort. Also the US recession happened while videogames were booming. (81-82) In 1983 the economy was recovering rather strongly when the game crash happened. So I don't see this as a factor, unless you want to make the argument that videogames were counter-cyclical. (ie people bought cheap games as cheap entertainment and stay home because they couldn't afford to go out)

It does do Jaguar. And it can run some games decently well, but not all of them. No single emulator does all Jaguar games right. I found a combination of Mame + Virtual Jaguar works, because each runs games they other doesn't, but even that won't run everything, I don't think.

Mame does almost every console, but it does most poorly compared to other emulators. It's my emulator of last resort However, it is one of the best choices for 7800, and one of the few choices for Jaguar. I recommend not trying to find an all-in-one emulator and using the best of breed for each system. I use a unified front end that can handle multiple emulators.

I created a bunch of animations back in the day that were posted to friends BBSs. Unfortunately, I no longer have them I really should grab an editor and make a few more. They don't take much time and I'm always looking for creative projects.

I've preferred emulation to actual hardware for awhile now. Physical space for the old stuff is always a problem. Dealing with aging hardware/disks is a problem. The often low build quality of those systems is blatantly apparent more than ever now too. Hooking it all up when I want to use it is time that could be better spent elsewhere.

you are correct that going "full spectrum" wasn't suited to games, but there was always compromise techniques that could still use more than 16 colors, For instance "Obsession Pinball" was using 64 colors on screen and still ran smoothly. Like many other computers, the ST could use Horizontal Blank interrupts, which allowed you to use a completely new palette on every scan line, if you wanted. That kind of method tends to be relatively inexpensive. Changing palettes several times per line, as Spectrum-like programs did, is a lot more CPU-intensive.

Of course a bigger palette would have been better, but 4096 colors did make some difference. Especially if you were into Spectrum 512 style images. The pictures photochrome could do with the STe's palette were stunning for the time. But even many games could use programing techniques to put more than 16 colors on the screen. Really the STe's main features were the DSP sound/hardware scrolling/blitter. Games that actually used these things no long felt laggy with sub-par sound as many ST action games felt. Unfortunately not enough games took advantage

Yeah but look at the Epyx one in particular. Sure I'll remember seeing the ad, but I won't remember who it was for. The pic tells me nothing about the game. Epyx in tiny type at the bottome. A small blurb about gameplay. The Datamost one? Can't even remember what games they are pushing except Mr. Robot. Same with the First Star one.. Four new exciting games! Wait, what games are they again? I saw all these ads back in the day. The Mountain King one is the only one that actually sold me on a game. I eventually did own Gateway to Apshai and several Infocom titles, but it was in spite of these ads

I feel like Minecraft made terrible graphics cool again with the kids, so they don't mind the 2600

So then we just need to find out which landfill the unsold copies got buried in..?

I don't think OP was actually serious, read his followups

This is a tough one. It gets some things right-- like having all 6 platforms on the first level when most home versions had only 5. Mario looks like Mario, even if he does look like he's wearing pajamas. But his jumps just feel wrong, and other things that make DK feel like DK are just missing. But then with the cart limits of the day, I'm not sure if we could expect better. So to me: Not as terrible as the Pacman effort, but still not a great home port.

I just don't think the 2600 can do the perspective of the original. Any game done in that perspective (Congo Bongo, Crystal Castles) look pretty different on the 2600

hmm, I could swear Gorf was one of those games that was in close-out bins everywhere back in the day.

Here are some other ads from that same era. None of these would make me want to buy the games they are advertising. What sold me on "Gateway to Apshai" was that it was the only RPG-style game available in cart form, but nothing in the ad left me with that impression. I only learned that from reading a review. And was it really wise for these ads to use up to 80% of their space with kinda- pointless artwork or photograph, and just a tiny blurb on the games themselves?

New Super Mario Brothers Wii Wii Sports Resort Trackmania A bunch of Guitar Hero/Rock Band games Dragon's Lair/Space Ace - I've tried many versions over the years, this was probably the best version Sam and Max tell tale games You Don't Know Jack - Always a fun trivia game. Some digital games like: TV Show King 2 - I think that's the title, fun trivia party game Interesting remakes of Frogger, Space Invaders, Burger Time. A racing game whose name escapes me. Everyone raves about the Super Mario Galaxy games, but I just couldn't get into them.

I have a soft spot for this publisher. Mountain King- I like this game, but I prefer the visuals of the other versions to the 2600. The 2600 does have a fun glitch though, where if you jump, land and immediately jump again, you will jump much much higher than humanly possible. If you do a high jump from the top of the mountain, you can see ladders and platforms above that shouldn't be there. If you time it right, you can catch a ladder and and explore this area. Wizard of Wor - It's actually an arcade conversion, but a pretty good one at that. Tunnel Runner - Too bad you weren't able to try this. It's a rare 3D first person maze game, and it actually plays well for a 3D First Person game on the 2600. It's one of the 2600 games I still like to play