atari 5200 box style

[CincYnoTi]

anyone know which atari box style came first, thin blue band or thin blue band?

 

thin defender:

http://www.atariage.com/box_page.html?Soft...wareLabelID=618

 

thick centipede:

http://www.atariage.com/box_page.html?Soft...3&BoxStyleID=65

 

i have both thin and thick band version of both centipede and defender and both contain the 1982 release of the game. i'm guessing the thin band box style came first, since i have many more examples of the thick band in some of the later releases and have only seen the thin style in what i'm guessing were the earliest releases.

 

anyone know in what order the first games produced were for the 5200?

[Charlie_]

anyone know which atari box style came first, thin blue band or thin blue band?

 

I would guess the thin blue band...........

 

Sorry couldn't resist.

 

Charlie

[oesii]

anyone know which atari box style came first, thin blue band or thin blue band?

 

I would guess the thin blue band...........

 

Sorry couldn't resist.

 

Charlie

 

lol, I was thinking for something funny to say for a few minutes but then I moved on

 

Sorry I don't know the answer either.

[Jacob Marley]

I think the Defender box version came first.

 

Centipede, I believe, came out later than Defender.

[Agent X]

My Centipede box has a thin blue band.

 

To answer the question regarding the thin band and the thick band: the thin band came first.

[voiddweller]

...the thin band came first.

 

Hi,

 

Are you sure about that? I have the box from my 1982 SuperBreakout, and it is definitely the larger band. Going with the logic that Super Breakout was packaged with the 5200 and was probably one of the first games produced, wouldn't it also be the first type of box?

 

Thanks,

 

- VD

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Here is an idea to bake the noodle further. What is both bands were done at the same time? I mean isn't it possible that the boxes could have been produced in two different places and that each place had their own way of printing the band? With all the other goofs we have seen with Atari, I find it totally possible that they did this and perhaps may not have even realized it.

 

There is also the possibility that Atari used the big band on 5200 games it wanted the most attention being given to. Afterall the titles are in larger font on the thicker bands too right? So if you have a Centipede and it starts to not sell as you would like...then why not make the Title larger in a larger field? That way when a person walked into a store to look at the 5200 titles...they would immediately notice the larger banded Titles first. I know that would catch my eye and hence bring about a further look at the game itself.

 

Maybe Atari just wanted to screw with our heads and thought "Now watch them roll over their graves trying to figure out this one in 20 years!!!"

 

[voiddweller]

Interesting theory

 

On later titles (like Mario Bros) , why do you think they got rid of the band completely?

 

- VD

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Ahh...well..that is elementary my dear Voidweller:

 

Later years and no band equals less ink to be printed..and hence...thrifty...the Jack Trameil way afterall...

 

Just my theory...but it fits in with the 2600 boxes going to B&W graphics..and the same with the instructions and on the Carts...

[voiddweller]

-^Cro§Bow^-

 

Following your timeline would lead me to believe that Atari went from the big stripe (mucho $$$) to black and white graphics that really sucked during the switch to home computing. This also explains the original text labels used when the VCS was just getting started. Atari didn't have enough money for fancy-schmancy graphics, so they just used plain ol' text!

 

Thanks for the edumucation lesson

 

- VD