Tavi

Frosty and Chimney Test both seem like fun seasonal games to give a try! I have not played Elf Bowling in years, I was surprised to see there was so many sequels and spinoffs to it. A very enjoyable video! After watching this, I am now feeling the need for some Elf Bowling and Jazz Jackrabbit Holiday Hare!

I did a bit of digging online, as I was interested in this as well. I found one similar here: https://gamevaluenow.com/atari-2600/pole-position-error-label?gameid=614 Which suggests the typo cartridge is a bit more valuable then a correct one, but not by a huge amount. However, both the cartridge error labels shown on this page, and the one on AtariProtos Label Variation Museum show a black label variant; I do not know if a orange label is a more rare variant of the variant, or not.

That is a toughie, 1982 perhaps? It was a 6-switch, and I remember my original games were Pac-man (which I did play quite a lot of; I was too young to know how badly it sucked compared to the arcade version), Haunted House and Stampede.

This is certainly quite intriguing! I love my Harmony cart, but I can see the attraction to having a personal high scores list available for all titles and also for online multiplayer gaming.

Indeed. From what I recall, most cartridges were going for around 100-150$ at auction. Looking on eBay, the cheapest seems to be around 600$ currently. A little too rich for my blood. It certainly would be interesting to own one, but not at anywhere near those prices.

It is things like this that makes me think the Atari corporate strategy is 'repeatedly shooting ourselves in the foot at every opportunity'. They seemed to have been completely unprepared to actually design or build their own product. They have had a public falling out with those working on their project over not paying them. They keep their backers in the dark about what progress is being made with the project. The infrequent statements are filled with what they hope to accomplish, but woefully lacking in any detail on what they have actually accomplished so far. 'No news is good news' is not going to cut it with explaining their repeatedly missed deadlines. As to their shutting out interest from potential VCS developers, I have my suspicions it is likely in no small part due to their not having much of an idea currently what the final hardware configuration or operating system is going to be; which would in turn make it difficult to give any information to those expressing an interest in developing content for their system. Regardless, ignoring those wanting to create content is terrible PR. Also, it is very stupid. You would think right now Atari would be praying at this point for a indie 'Undertale' VCS exclusive to show up and carry their system. The big boys of gaming I highly doubt are going to have much interest in developing exclusives for a small, niche market. They might make some ports of their releases if it is not too much work, but if it is a title already available on other systems then one would think there is less draw to own it again on a VCS. It would seem to me that the smaller developers would also be their main developers for any unique content for the VCS system. Honestly at this point I am just watching in morbid interest; not wondering if this VCS will fail, but wondering how spectacular a failure it will be. As per a classic Simpsons quote: " It's horrible, but you can't take your eyes away. It's like watching a monkey swallow a hand grenade."

As far as I have heard, the initial batch of 881 cartridges were the only ones sold so far. Lewandowski had stated he still has another 297 E.T cartridges, but no immediate plans to sell them. You do see the landfill cartridges listed on eBay very rarely, but the prices are pretty outrageous (but I suppose a worldwide supply of just 881 will do that?) Hopefully the other 297 will be released at some point and people can have a second shot at getting a bit of Atari history for a reasonable price.

I was looking at this site: https://gamevaluenow.com/atari-2600/basic-math?gameid=41 Under the 'Complete' Category (there is also 'Loose, and 'New'), it is showing a few auctions in 2018 from a low of 52$ to a high of 170$. The one from 2019 shows only one listing, but it was for 89.95$. It is hard to tell how many are sales as compared to asking price (eBay seems not to keep records going back to the 2018 listings), but it does seem that people are consistently putting a surprisingly high value on a complete set of 'Basic Math'. "All the fun and excitement of taking a math test now available at anytime in your own home, on your VCS!" Hahaha, not exactly a winning sales pitch :D

This is downright shocking. A loose cartridge, or cartridge and manual seems to sell for around 10$. Which is not surprising as it was not that rare or popular a cartridge. But as soon as you have a complete box set of 'Basic Math' it seems the value of it jumps to around 100$. I guess that makes 'Basic Math' the most valuable piece of this collection? I am absolutely astounded this is actually true, but reviewing eBay sales history for complete set sales it seems to hold water. There must be some very die-hard completionist collectors out there!

Even as a non-profit, they still have to pay something in local taxes for the building, their utilities, and employee wages. So though the item is donated, everything sold is not 100% profit for them as they still have operating expenses that come out of their sales. Honestly, if it was myself I would have inquired on the sizable difference in sticker and paid prices. At most it would have cost an extra 12$, and still would have been one hell of a deal. I recently bought a untested 2600, with a few common games for 30$ off kijiji and thought I had made a great deal. If it was on some sort of special, then ones conscience is clear on the matter. If it was a Walmart or other big box store, I probably would not think twice about taking advantage of a pricing discrepancy. But for a non-profit/charity I personally would feel bad about exploiting a possible error on their part. But it is 12$ in the end, and I doubt Goodwill will fold without it. As others have said, it is more a question of ones personal feelings and morals in the matter.

Wuf... Well if this is accurate, I guess that puts and end to any speculation this is going to be essentially a micro-PC running Linux in a Atari shell. But on the plus side, if it is just a fancy skinned PC they might actually be able to actually build and release it without too many further delays?

I am certainly no expert, but I would expect selling them in small lots of 5 or so on eBay (and offer combined shipping) would be the the most profitable way to sell them? Boxed (and I presume with instructions) is I imagine more desirable for collectors. Nothing is really jumping out at me as being exceptionally valuable, though the entire lot will I think bring you a tidy sum. A quick eBay search show that people are selling lots of boxed 2600 games for roughly 5-10$ per game (now, if people are buying at that I cannot say, but that seems to be the range they are being listed at). I think the most valuable of the lot might be Space Dungeon, again a quick internet search shows that a complete boxed set goes for around 35$ Which brings me to another point, some of these are I am very sure are Atari 5200 games (Space Dungeon, Qix); there might be more then that, so you might have to check each box/cartridge to see the console it is for.

I was snooping on eBay this morning and saw this listing, which I thought might be of interest to some here? It is a listing for a Marjac Romscanner, which to my understanding is pretty rare to find for sale. Looks like it is listed at 150$ CAD opening bid, plus shipping No Box it would seem, but unit looks to be in excellent condition. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Rare-Games-Selector-Atari-2600-RomScanner-Command-Center-Marjac-Model-VGA-10/283705159959?hash=item420e253117:g:XVIAAOSwQpNd7rr8

This looks amazing! I also had an e-mail recently about the Moon Patrol demo, which likewise looks impressive already. This is how you sell your system. Show off what the system can do, and tease the exclusives it will have. That builds interest and excitement in the product, and makes people want it all the more. So very unlike the VCS 'No news is good news', where you leave the backers/customers completely out of the process and wondering what is going on.

This is some absolutely amazing designing and engineering! I would love to have a portable like this. I have to admit to being a bit curious though, how long does the battery last? You certainly did an exceptional job creating this unit, and I enjoyed watching the video you made documenting the entire process. Very well done!

I was having very similar thoughts about this recently. It would almost seem that Atari was banking on another Oculus-type buyout to occur. Raise a few million through crowdfunding, get some product hype going and catch the attention of one of the big industry players who then buys you out for an obscene amount of money. Either because they think your project will make money, or just to cut out some competition. It does appear Atari was caught completely flat-footed in that they might actually have to design and produce their new promoted VCS. They keep pushing back their deadlines, and have yet to release any real advancements to a deliverable product other then creating a handful of prototype shells (apparently subject to change). The actual hardware and the software/operating system is almost a complete mystery. When the only thing you have to show for a year and a half of work so far is a few plastic shells that you are not even 100% sure you are going to use, it does not look good at all for Atari to have the VCS units designed, debugged, produced, assembled and out for delivery in 3 months time.

That he bought the job, does not make him any less of an exceptional fit to the position. He has an undeniable passion for the company and the project, and is doing an excellent job in hyping the product. Showcasing what they have developed so far, and talking openly about what they have accomplished, and what they are still working on. I am not an investor in either project, but comparing the two Tommy Tallarico seems the one that has it all together. He knows what he wants to accomplish, and seems to have a solid plan and a competent team to get him there. The VCS project in comparison seems to have almost no actual information about the product being built. A bit worrying for something supposedly to be finished in a few months time. The only physical component they are really showing off so far is the shell, not exactly a critical system component. It does not sound like they have finalized the PCB or operating system. They certainly do not seem to have a lot to show for a year and a half and three million dollars.

Tommy Tallarico was an excellent choice for Intellivision CEO. He has a lengthy career in games/entertainment, and he absolutely knows how to 'sell the sizzle' and market an upcoming product. Atari certainly could take a few pointers on how to promote and hype your system to potential customers (and developers).

This thread perhaps? It does mention that different brands/manufacturers of TIA chips can have strange effects on their 2600 (some similar to what you are describing; a bit of music and strange graphical artifacting).

Just squeeked this in under the wire! ..but it was a cold and snowy day, so it was an excellent day to sit down and perfect my Venture Reloaded gameplay. I certainly had a blast with playing this hack, it is wonderfully done!

I am thinking it could be a reference to the somewhat famous Ronald Reagan joke, about the Russian man who went to go buy a car from the state dealership and was told there would be a ten year wait for it to be delivered? Looking at how far behind they are in their own production timeline, it might be a rather fitting if obscure reference.

Just to throw my two bits in as well, but a big thank you as I am loving my Harmony cart! Several of my original 2600 cartridges were getting a little flaky making them a pain to play, but now I can just leave the Harmony cart in my 2600 and run everything with zero problems. I am also enjoying very much playing the homebrews and prototype ROMS that I would otherwise never have been able to try. It has worked flawlessly since I got it, and it was incredibly easy to set up and use.

I have been playing this for the last week on my 2600, courtesy of the Harmony cart version, and I have been having a blast with it! I enjoy playing the original 2600 Venture, but this is is unquestionably a huge improvement on it. I have not managed to collect all the treasures yet, but I am getting closer. Excellent work on this hack!