ianoid

OK, so add one to the long list of BEST mysteries. ian

I guys the sky's the limit on something like an NTSC MR that only pops up once a year. I would have expected it to fetch something like $400. Phew! Now, all you PAL Motorodeo hoarders out there recognize that your 'wrong' format cart is worth about 10% the price of that NTSC one. Thank you very much. ian

Hi, I listed some weird Atari PC prototype boards I've had in storage for a few years. I guess the Trammels were thinking of getting into the PC market. (If they had succeeded, we might be saying, 'Have you surfed Atari today?') Anyway, they are kind of weird- I think I had planned to frame one or two, but I definitely don't have the wall space to consider it nowadays. http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcI...1&sort=3&rows=0 ian

Marco, I just emailed you about this- I should have checked the thread first! Sorry. Thanks so much for the links. These will likely be the best I can do, since it's not listed as having a dollar amount in DP or elsewhere. Hopefully I can recoup the insurance amount. It can't make up for the loss of a near mint one of these! I suspect it was shipped to dealers as a kit- it is made of pegs and such. I hope someone finds a new in box (Kit) one some day. ian

Sadly I was just sent one by USPS from a friend. Despite being well packaged, it had minor damage inflicted on it. I need some kind of proof of it's value in order to file a claim with the USPS. An ended auction, a price list, a website that has one for sale, any proof you have of what you spent would be fantastic. I'm kinda of hoping to get $200 from the USPS for it, but it will be hard. It sucks coz the one I was send had a mint looking plastic sheild and was just in fantastic shape. Now it has stress on the shelf part inside, is slightly pulled apart and has a crack in the shield- fortunately small and on the top, but still- it hurts it's value quite alot for me. ian

Are Steeplechase and Treasure Below from Video Gems unique? You guys got Pharaoh's Curse, right? Wing War?

I really dug PC and I really enjoyted the flea market atmosphere. I think a more polished professional look isn't necessarily better, and that CGE probably provides that. In respose to the first thread in this post: First off, I left at 12pm so I could catch a plane back to the west coast. Since for shows like this one, people come from a serious distance (some drive 12 hours- my trip took my 10 hours), it's not always feasible to return at night. If you could get a show that big with people within 2 hours, that would be neat. Sorry, no go with this hobby. I think it's the nature of the beast. Not everyone has widespread availability and the vendors are joe shmoes like me who don't do this for a living, and thankfully so. Second, that was a HUGE space, I think it was nicely planned, and a few more tables could have fit if necessary. I think it was nicely planned and kudos to the organizers. Third, if you are trying to entertain some pre-teens, you're going to need alot more than a classic gaming convention. Certainly not anything to do with PC. Kids don't have patience. What makes these shows (as said before) is interaction with other collectors/gamers. It's just not something too many kids will be interested in. About the Atari Age showing: It was pretty damn nice looking. You guys have alot of staff and some talented artists and creative people helping you and it shows. I can't say everyone should have a space looking like that. That takes alot of cash, that I don't think is in classic gaming in general. I give you guys a thumbs up. I must say that I'm ashamed to say nice stuff on the AA board about the AA booth because it's preaching to the choir. It's really redundant, and boring I might add. Nevertheless, I spent a crapload at that booth and I'm totally psyched to get my stuff in the mail. Still, I like the ramshackle nature of the overall look of the PC show, and the size. It wasn't small, although I understand it seemed like fewer people were there, so I heard. Probably less people with time and money to spend than the same time last year. Not a huge surprise. Perhaps tickets were a little steep- I don't see why it would be bad to have a 1 day ticket for $12 and a 2 day ticket for $20... And/or a discount for kids, if that's an issue. Still, given the resources and the free play games, I think it's pretty reasonable. Then again, I'm just not as cheap as some of you. I can say that I'm looking forward to CGE. And after PC this year, I'm definnitely going to try to get a table at every show I go to.

Hey Cassidy, Nice meeting you and your wife at PC4. I didn't manage to get a Polo from you, and I would love to get one... I'm not a regular post checker here at AA, so how shall I contact you if you have any available for me? What time did you start selling them at PC4? I must have been distracted... ian ianoid at hotmail dot com

I have several versions of River Raid, all hacks, numbered River Raid 1-4. Some of the hacks are more playable than others. Interestingly, I haven't seen a pirate of the real River Raid 3 before. I've never heard rumors of River Raid 3. It would be interesting to see what direction they would go, after successfully although not enjoyably going the 3D route with RR2...

Thomas, I got mine (#18 I think.) ianoid

Dactar Compumate? Marco, you really shouldn't have. Pictures? The PAL ones should be 5's at best. They both pop up all the time. Just because you don't find them everytime you go out hunting doesn't mean they are really hard. The NTSC one I've only seen two available. Tempest has one, the other was sold on the newsgroup 5 years ago. I'm getting the next one. Maybe. The Aus ones pop up all the time- more than Universum, I agree, but not much more. Come now, a '4' or a '5' is still a good find- something you might only see once or twice a year in hardcore hunting if your lucky. ian

We're talking NTSC: Obelix Quadrun I don't have NTSC: BMX Motorodeo

I have the Vidco set complete and Music Machine. I have Mangia PAL, but not NTSC. Is that confirmed to be NTSC? Anyone?

Video Life for Ianoid bfstats- what are those shelves made of? Great wall of video games.

All carts can have rarities, but value is often completely different. So, even if you make the rarity of QB Special Edition a 9, it doesn't matter, since it's only worth $50 or whatever the original price is/was. Sure, people will pay more, but that doesn't mean it's worth that much. It's a fundamental misunderstanding people make. Anyway, I think DP's approach has been very reasonable- they may call a foreign cart a 4, but still make it's value reasonable. Rarity is regional. I think most foreign people want to protect that from public consumption. Alot of stuff is seriously common that we pay way too much for in the US, or other places distant. It's like the Zellers scam. They are mostly uncommon, a few are rare, and maybe a few are even harder. Why wouldn't the Canadians want it to seem like they are really hard to get? They get to use them as tradebait and EXTREMELY RARE WOW! eBait. Yikes. So, if you are going to make them have a rarity, I suggest you use carefully selected international collectors (such as myself), rather than strictly locals. Locals tend to overrate their rarity to maximize value in cash and trades. Of course, in the process of figuring things out, I've overpaid for alot of stuff, just like everyone else. Something to keep in mind. Few locations in the world are rolling in Atari games. I know a few friends (for example, Spydy in Australia) who seems to find dozens of games every week. The only reason I know is because almost everything he finds is worth listing on eBay (HES stuff simply isn't anywhere else, except rarely in Europe.) So everyone thinks their games are harder to find. This is because of the conglomerate of brag posts, eBay sales, and overall availability of games makes it seem like everone finds stuff all the time. In reality, we all struggle. There may be 5 Montezuma's Revenges on eBay in any given week, but if I found one this year (among the few hundred 2600 games I might buy on a good year- including mostly commons), I'd be totally psyched. Still, I constantly get attitude from foreign collectors about how tough their stuff is, when I know it's the same as mine. Some things are much harder. So, for example, CCE carts (most of them) and Quelle (German) carts are really common, and shouldn't get much rarity beyone 2 and 3. People find those carts all the time. Actually, for the European stuff, you can get a slight cross section of what a person typically owned by looking at some of the setups they sell. Few setups with more than 5 carts DON'T have a Quelle cart. Anyway, that's my 61 cents. And I hate reading long posts from most people. Oh, and by the way, if anyone is still paying attention, I need a copy of Gunfight. Who made that one again? Looks like a neat game. BTW, Mr.Roboto kicks ass!

Yeah, there have to be at least 4 or 5 designs. Some day, perhaps I'll document them. Some Sears, several Atari, and then there's the Gemini paddles, which look quite similar. The only other paddles I know of made for game/computer consoles are the Commodore ones- and there are at least two variants of those.

Yeah, Marco- do you have some numbers? I'm not telling until you do... Actually, one of my favorite things was Roloff and Deleto's old site with the 'Total number of Atari 2600 cartridges in Deleto's Collection:' with a sort of cartridgometer. I've been meaning to add that to my collection. -ian

I have scads for trade at my website, and some I would sell, only because I need cash badly. Check it out at www.ianoid.com do you have a tradelist? Send it to me, if you do- or a URL. -ian

Hi, I could use a nice sealed supercharger. I have lots for trade at www.ianoid.com I have a few sealed titles I'd trade for it. I definitely wouldn't want Commie mutants- I have a few for trade already. Drop me a note if you're interested (email at website.)

If you need a reference for the discerning collector in hardcopy, get a Digital Press Guide. There is no better guide out there in print. www.digitpress.com They also have an active message board. -ian digital press staffer

Agreed. That's basically why I never bugged Nir about it before. I realize the auctions would have been pulled. And I realized also that although he speaks excellent English, it might have been sort of cultural/linguistic to leave out that information. Frankly, I think he'd do just fine selling these in places like Atari Age, but you can't really get better seller exposure than eBay. -ian

I'm totally into it. I have scads of spare 5200 sticks, though most need to be cleaned up. I would gladly trade for your services- I'd love 2 of those Paddle 5200 controllers (for competition!) Is someone still working on Warlords for 5200? Skatepunk- drop me a note- we can talk paddles and skateboards. -ian

If you are willing to trade a spare, drop me a note. I'm into random accessories. I'd love to see a pic in any case...

Although I think Nir should probably mention that these are derived from ROM images and DISK images in his auctions, I can only vouch for him very seriously. His intention isn't to mislead people into buying his carts. Most people in the know realize what he's doing, and alot of us have his carts in out collections, despite the fact that they are unreleased. The fact the they don't garner enormous bids should be a tip off. Sure, he should say something for the newbies, but they are getting a pretty righteous product for a reasonable price in most cases. As with all homebrews, it takes alot of time and effort to put the games together. These projects often require some coding to fit onto a cartridge, which Nir does himself. And I know many of you will dispute these as 'homebrews,' but they are home made carts that take as much effort as anything people are putting out. Nir has visited my apartment, and his knowledge, generosity and interest in Atari 8bit stuff is as great as anyone. He is a great guy. I often wonder why he doesn't mention the origin of the carts he sells- perhaps he will be open to this suggestion. It doesn't matter. I'm psyched to have Tapper on a cart (Since I don't really play anything on disk), as well as Mr. Do's Castle, and whatever. And better yet, they look like real carts and fit in nicely in my collection. Nir has a collection of game images to make any 8bit collector drool. He's always asking me what I'd like to get on a cart. I only wish I knew more about his ROMs! The $20 he sells most of his carts for can't generate a ton of profit beyond the cost of acquiring the apropriate case, hardware, and time to resoldier chips. I think they're a bargain despite their origin. And for Nir, I know it's a labor of love. Again, I certainly respect your (Albert) sentiments about mentioning that he made the carts. But in the end, he is offering a really cool service that I personally appreciate and respect. -ian

Just because an item sold for $2,000 on eBay does not mean it is worth $2,000. There may only be 3 other people out there who would pay that much. That market could be saturated faster than you think, especially since such motivated individuals may get their fill off of eBay. Realize also that it sold for over $2k with an original manual- which is probably rarer than the cart. And then you have to wonder- did the transaction actually happen? It's unreasonably a $1000 cart, though it really should sell for $800. I suspect that it would take about 10 Magicards on eBay to drop the price to that level. I bet the price would hover around $1500 for at least a few more sales. These come up so infrequently, it doesn't matter. It's a crap shoot. -ian