Blue Lightning Demo (special one?)

[EricDeLee]

I missed out on this... is it anything special? Seller claims it came from a Toys R Us store. I wish I had one it... but is it anything really special?

 

Blue Lightning demo... different then the common ones

[Michael_]

I missed out on this... is it anything special? Seller claims it came from a Toys R Us store. I wish I had one it... but is it anything really special?

 

I believe its innards are identical to those of the Blue Lightning Gold demo cart, ie. Demo only.

Edited April 16, 2007 by Palmer Eldritch

[EricDeLee]

I was just wondering if it was something different... a copy of sorts... or the real thing. It looks real enough to me. But why would they release that... and then make the demo carts that we commonly see for sell with the gold label?

[Michael_]

Could be phase one where the Gold cart became phase two, but that´s just speculation on my part.

[Atari Smeghead]

I was just wondering if it was something different... a copy of sorts... or the real thing. It looks real enough to me. But why would they release that... and then make the demo carts that we commonly see for sell with the gold label?

 

I own both versions of this demo cart. I bought them both, recently, from B&C.

 

From what I understand, the one with the huge chip is the original EPYX EPROM version. There aren't very many of them still left. In fact, B&C had an auction a month or so ago, for one of those carts. It sold for a very low price and I was bummed that I missed it. So, I emailed Bruce to see if he had any more to sell. He replied in an abrupt way that he was highly upset with how little it went for. He said he would not sell any more. Not worth the hassle and he'd make more money if he parted the board and chip.

 

Long story short, I "convinced" him to sell me one for $30. He told me he destroyed all of the rest of the original EPYX EPROM versions except that one, and the one sold via eBay.

 

The auction that just ended said it was from a Toys R Us. I have no idea if that's true, or if he was the one who bought the B&C auction. (I tried to research it, but I can't find B&C's auction and the new seller does not have feedback from MyAtari. Inconclusive evidence.)

 

To answer your original question, both Blue Lightning Demo carts are identical. Neither are playable, they just pick a random level and it plays for a while. I wanted the Epyx one cuz it looked cooler (the chip is seated, it's not soldered onto the board) and it's (now) a lot rarer. I assume (and still plan on assuming) that I own one of the two Epyx EPROMS that exist in the world. It's about the only overly-rare Lynx item I own, so if you happen to know different, please don't burst my bubble.

 

Cheers,

Randy

[Songbird]

I can also vouch that there are two versions of this demo cart (from a materials perspective, the game is an unplayable demo in either case), and the one in this auction does look identical to the one I owned a few years back. Randy is correct that this green EPROM cart is the original version, it was some time later Atari made the "nice" (gold label) version.

[EricDeLee]

Damn it... I wish I had not placed a low bid. And to be honest with you: I hate that someone would destroy other copies just because it did not sell for as much as he wanted. That is freaking childish.

 

That is probably why the Chess game that he was going to offer never made it to ebay.

[else]

He told me he destroyed all of the rest of the original EPYX EPROM versions except that one, and the one sold via eBay.

 

If true, that's unbelievable and sad. One bad auction and he off and destroys the rest of them? He should know enough about eBay by now to know that it's hit or miss a lot of times. Sometimes your auctions go for more than you were hoping for, sometimes less. That's just how it is. What a shame....

[Atariman]

He told me he destroyed all of the rest of the original EPYX EPROM versions except that one, and the one sold via eBay.

 

If true, that's unbelievable and sad. One bad auction and he off and destroys the rest of them? He should know enough about eBay by now to know that it's hit or miss a lot of times. Sometimes your auctions go for more than you were hoping for, sometimes less. That's just how it is. What a shame....

 

My thoughts exactly.

[Video]

I was just wondering if it was something different... a copy of sorts... or the real thing. It looks real enough to me. But why would they release that... and then make the demo carts that we commonly see for sell with the gold label?

 

I own both versions of this demo cart. I bought them both, recently, from B&C.

 

From what I understand, the one with the huge chip is the original EPYX EPROM version. There aren't very many of them still left. In fact, B&C had an auction a month or so ago, for one of those carts. It sold for a very low price and I was bummed that I missed it. So, I emailed Bruce to see if he had any more to sell. He replied in an abrupt way that he was highly upset with how little it went for. He said he would not sell any more. Not worth the hassle and he'd make more money if he parted the board and chip.

 

Long story short, I "convinced" him to sell me one for $30. He told me he destroyed all of the rest of the original EPYX EPROM versions except that one, and the one sold via eBay.

 

The auction that just ended said it was from a Toys R Us. I have no idea if that's true, or if he was the one who bought the B&C auction. (I tried to research it, but I can't find B&C's auction and the new seller does not have feedback from MyAtari. Inconclusive evidence.)

 

To answer your original question, both Blue Lightning Demo carts are identical. Neither are playable, they just pick a random level and it plays for a while. I wanted the Epyx one cuz it looked cooler (the chip is seated, it's not soldered onto the board) and it's (now) a lot rarer. I assume (and still plan on assuming) that I own one of the two Epyx EPROMS that exist in the world. It's about the only overly-rare Lynx item I own, so if you happen to know different, please don't burst my bubble.

 

Cheers,

Randy

 

That's a pitty to hear, but if they had let the general Atari Community know that these were going to be sold on Ebay, then they would have gotten more for them (or at least sold to the people that wanted them)

 

I'd like one, but that's not going to happen now

 

BTW, why would it be worth more to sell the board and eprom seperately?

[Atari Smeghead]

That's a pitty to hear, but if they had let the general Atari Community know that these were going to be sold on Ebay, then they would have gotten more for them (or at least sold to the people that wanted them)

 

I'd like one, but that's not going to happen now

 

BTW, why would it be worth more to sell the board and eprom seperately?

 

The way he worded it to me, it was worth more to him to "part out" the board and EPROM than to sell it as a demo cart, if it was only going to sell for $11. Not entirely sure what that meant, but what I gather, he can reuse the board to make more protos for resale. The chip is seated, as I mentioned, so perhaps once he pulls the chip, he could simply put a new chip into it? Can a chip be erased and reprogammed/reloaded? I dunno.

 

I agree with all of you that it's a shame and a bit short-sighted. He was just frustrated and angry. I suspect that all of those John Skruch auctions didn't turn out as profitable as he had anticipated, and the Blue Lightning demo was the kicker.

 

That is probably why the Chess game that he was going to offer never made it to ebay.

 

Actually, that auction did happen. I bid on it and lost. It ended at $47.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...W:IT&ih=004

 

Cheers,

Smeg