geogray

quote: Originally posted by ubersaurus: I like the Channel F ;p Well, nothing wrong with that. Hey, there were several well written articles in the late '70s that showed how to make a 'real' computer out of the Channel F. But, let's face it...it WAS antiquated before it even hit the market. The only thing more primitive was my beloved Studio II from RCA. Intellivision really shines compared to them. How 'bout 5200 v Colecovision?

quote: Originally posted by Big Player: Hope I didn't come off like I was busting your chops there. Now that I re-read my post, I should have put in something to lighten the tone. Oh well. I agree with you about how outdated it was even back then. It is impressive how it outlasted superior systems like Colecovision. It shows that hardware isn't everything. Nah. I did'nt think that at all. I was pretty rough on the ol' VCS. The fact that it was so outdated by 1980 AND that it still had legs well into the late '80s is a testament to it. The O2 never had that kind of charm. BUT...in it's defense, there were some rather cool and clever games for it. KC Munchkin and those funky board games were cool. But, alas, the system was so strapped that it made it impossible to write decent games for the thing. Anyway, your post was fine and no offense was taken. Sides, I'm a programmer...I have really thick skin!

Ok, ya got me! Odyssey II hardware IS inferior. Maybe it came from the same spare parts bin! Kidding. I still say the VCS hardware was outdated by 1980. Even the folks at Atari acknowledged that. That it survived well into the late 1980's is a testament to it's design and charm. Not to mention Atari's twisted hope that they could still make it work in the light of the NES' dominance. I think someone else hit it on the head when they said they loved all 'classic' consoles. I do too! Even the aforementioned O2. (Yeah, I even like the Studio II. What am I? A glutton for punishment? ; ) )

Ok...gonna commit heresy here. Be gentle with me. The Atari VCS was, er, inferior to just about anything released after the Fairchild thing (ok, maybe not the Studio II.) Even Odyssey II hardware was better. It had no memory, poor graphics (even then they were poor) and ok sound. Most of the later games for the VCS were junk. Yeah, it has a large library, but how much of that library is GOOD or even fair? The VCS should have died a quiet death when the 5200 was released. Now, that said...I LOVE THE VCS. There were a few great games for it. Space Invaders, for me, was THE game. I am amazed to see what the homebrew community can make it do. Amazing. As for INTV, love it too. It's games, for the most part, are a notch above ANYTHING for the Atari (with the possible exception of Chase the Chuckwagon, but I leave that great debate for another day!) The hardware is much sexier than Atari. It was like comparing a Rolls to a Beetle. But those damn controllers...like putting said Beetle's steering wheel on the Rolls...YIKES! In retrospect, however, I'd say the two are pretty equal today. Both had high and low points, they both have a few GREAT games and both evoke a passion like no other console since. I LOVE 'EM!

"The box said 'Requires Windows 95, or better', so I bought a Macintosh." MacGurl...you are too funny!

quote: Originally posted by moycon: "Does it have to have been discontinued for a period of time?" Yes...According to the rule book it has to be discontinued for 27 days (In case there is a come back) before it can be considered a classic. I see. How does Dreamcast fit in then? It WAS out of production (more than 27 days) and then they started up again. I like the 6 year rule for 'old classic.' I'll just think of the DC and Gamecube as 'contemporary classics.' : )

quote: Originally posted by Bez: Err...how about posting in the right topic? The Gamecube isn´t quite a classic game. Sorry, blame me. I perpetuated the Gamecube talk. Besides, why can it NOT be a classic now? Does it have to have been discontinued for a period of time? just curious!

The Game Cube is great! Luigi's Mansion and Rogue Leader really show off what the thing can do and they are great games too. I'm waiting for Super Mario Sunshine and ANY classic gaming collection. BTW-Gameboy Advance has several collections already including Namco Museum and several others.

Tempest: The Studio II was actually a nifty little computer. It was sold in a package called ELF as well. I don't recall too many details about that, but there articles in various mags (Radio-Electronics was one) about interfacing ascii keyboards, 'enhanced' graphics, etc. The 'language' that was used for the built in games is called Chip-8. Tom Pittman wrote (I THINK it was Mr. Pittman) a version of BASIC for the machine. There MANY hacks around for it. As a video game, it sucks.

Glad to see this! Now I can play the Atari games I really like. A portable Missile Command! Very nice. I liked the Activision thingy (with it's various flaws) so I am sure I will like this too! Kudos to Infogrames (or whatever the hell they call themselves.) Now, if only Toymax would do an INTY version and/or an Odyssey II version, my life would be complete... ; )

Not much on graphics!? C'Mon! It blows away the .... [drum roll] Studio II! Channel F! Microvision! *SOME* Atari games! *SOME* INTY games! PONG! Convinced yet?

THE GRAND TURKEY! Blasphemy! : ) Really, as much as I LOVE this thing, it was a turkey. Even new, gobble city. BUT...if ya can get one, get it! Well, if it's CHEAP, anyway. These things are great...state of the art (in 1971)...exciting gameplay...awesome design...ok, I'll stop now. It CAN be fun (in small doses.) I am really amazed at what Paul Robson did with the emulator and the games he wrote. I had NO IDEA it could do space invaders or pac man. Very cool. Shabby Chic for video games. (Of course, the Channel F is the bigger turkey, but it did have controllers that you could move and it had that ultra chic woodgrain tape cabinet.)

You know you are getting up there in ATARIAge when you mention PONG, Johnny Carson (heck, just mention Ed McMahon!) or 'LP' to just about anyone under 21 (Heck, I know a 27 year old who has no idea who Carson is!) Where is our heritage going! SIGH!

Hi there! I am the happy owner of both of the Intellivision Lives CD-ROMS. I also upgraded volume 1 recently (the original was not XP friendly.) Buying the CD's not only gets you a quality emulator and legal roms, but you also get a nice history on the Inty itself, Mattel Electronics, video gaming in general and you also get video interviews, commercials, etc. PLUS you are supporting the Blue Sky Rangers-the group of programmers who actually created most of the games. Good stuff.

Oh yeah...My four year old LOVES it. Especially Freeway. It's perfect for him to play with: fits his hand, simple game play (yet fun for us too) and DURABLE. It's been dropped, banged around and drug by the cord...still works great!

The 10 in 1 is under $20US. I paid $10US for mine. For ten bucks, it's a steal. I play it for 10 to 20 minutes at a time...which is about how long I could stand 'the real thing' now. I prefer my pc and Stella.

Moycon, I thought it was a Sony too! Kinda looks like it. Credit Samsung with much improved quality. They are like Hyundai. Used to make crap, now they are making quality products. (FYI: the Hyundai XG-350 is very nice auto. Anyone wanting a a luxury car without the luxury price should check them out.) If you *REALLY* want wide screen atari, get an ATI All-In-Wonder 8500, connect it to your big screen and run Stella. Looks great.

I *THINK* the problem lies in the way the Atari generates the video. I believe the actual video signal did not actually fill the entire screen - even in 1976. Today's sets overscan...badly. You pretty much miss about a quarter inch, sometimes more of the picture. The new wide screen sets do a reasonable job at reproducing a standard NTSC signal in either standard mode (video in center, banded on the side) or stretched. Since the Atari cannot (and it was probably by design to save on the cost of the video circuitry) fill the screen, you get what you see in the photo posted in this thread. There is nothing more you can do. Interestingly, the Activision 10-in-1 DID pretty fill in the screen. Maybe a half inch on each side was blank.

I liked Cosmic Conflict because it REMINDED me of a couple of arcade games I played. I also liked the two KC Munchkin games. I still get a kick out of playing the emulated versions of the games, but miss the 'real' thing. Ah, KC, I sure miss ya!

Off Topic: CosmicJoke...is your picture that of a Sleestak? It looks very familiar...

Cool! Glad you were not disappointed. My 4 year old LOVES ours. He loves to play Freeway and shoot the spiders. I do have the Atlantis problem, but, hey, makes it more interesting! Cheers

Two places to look: Best Buy-see them there frequently for $69 and up PriceCostCo HAD one for $79.99 Places like Circuit City and Best Buy also have returned items that are usually much less than the retail, so check for those two. I'd be interested in what you come up with, keep us informed!

Mr. Robson reads this board! Very cool. This man has contributed a great deal to the emulation world (Thanks, Paul!!) I think he was one of the developers of the Odyssey emulator (not the O2, but the original ANALOG device.) Now, how about a Studio II emulator emulating that Odyssey?

Try searching this forum. I recall several threads with various examples being posted not too long ago.

Burgertimeboy: Try: http://www.redlinelabs.com/stella/ I recall that someone (don't recall who) said that z26 was decent too, but I have tried it in a while. You can click on the '2' at the top of this page and then 'emulation' in the left pane. There are links there to other emulators.