... Another Anthology

[Cupcakus]

Pending that the sales of PS2 version are really good, you'll more than likely see Anthology make it's way towards the Xbox.

 

I can tell ya' this, honestly... "I have an EARLY Xbox version here on my desk that I've been playing with."

 

It, in my opinion actually look's a ALOT better than the PS2. I've got all of the Activision ROMS playing on it as well. Including the licensed titles and the unreleased prototypes. Not Kabobber or Thwocker, but good 'ol Venetian Blinds, Human Freeway, The '2' Un-named protos and '2' other new unreleased protos as well. I'vealso got Pink Panther, Ninja Fighter and Twister (unreleased Salu titles) running on it as well.

 

The protos roms will see the light of day, shortly.. but probably not until the Digital Press guys release more of their unreleased findings to the community. The Activision and Imagic titles in particular. AtariAge will more than likely be the site that releases them to the public as well. "Well, the binaries anyway."

 

I'm actually working this out with our Legal group as I type this.

 

- Ken

 

You are the man Ken... an XBox version would rule!!! And Im glad to hear it looks better on XBox...

[CPUWIZ]

'2' other new unreleased protos as well. I'vealso got Pink Panther, Ninja Fighter and Twister (unreleased Salu titles) running on it as well.

 

[gavv]

yeah... why is it PS2 only? Because it's difficult to write a 2600 emulator as it is? Let alone on 3 different computers?

 

I really really wish the next release is not Sony exclusive... I'm not the only person that is stuck because of this am I?

 

40 million PS2s. 3-4 million xboxes & gamecubes. nuff said ^^

 

gavv

[+Andrew Davie]

Hey All.

 

Alright.. "What would you like to see in Another Anthology?" That is.. "If we were to do one."

- Ken

 

 

 

Personally I think Activision should look towards modern-day releases and pick up some of the great new homebrews for their catalogue. It would be kind of cool for Activision to go back to its roots not just with releases of old stuff, but new stuff too. THAT would certainly generate some publicity, I'm sure.

 

As for which new homebrews, well I'll leave that to peoples' imaginations.

[Tempest]

Get Tempest to throw in his 2600 Pleadies while you're at it!  

 

I wish I had it, but I don't. I don't have any of the UA proto roms other than Cat Trax (which is publicly available).

 

I've also got Pink Panther, Ninja Fighter and Twister (unreleased Salu titles) running on it as well.

 

I've never heard of Ninja Fighter and Twister. Very cool!

 

Tempest

[liquid_sky]

ah you know what would be great but impossible to do on most consoles? an infocom anthology

 

(sorry to be off topic)

[Rhindle The Red]

Pending that the sales of PS2 version are really good, you'll more than likely see Anthology make it's way towards the Xbox.

 

No love for the 'Cube, huh?

 

What about the GBA? Any chance?

 

Oh, and Ken, you should change your UserID back to "Ken @ Activision" since it reverted to "Klove" when the new BB software came in. It just pops out more and makes it clearer who you are to those surfing the directories.

 

Well, that's what it says on my doorbell!

[Rhindle The Red]

ah you know what would be great but impossible to do on most consoles? an infocom anthology  

 

(sorry to be off topic)

 

It's not that far off topic. Activision owns the INFOCOM library and most consoles have keyboard attachments these days. I think it's be a great idea.

 

(I don't think it would sell that well, but still a great idea.)

 

If you're really that worried Jeff, why don't you radio in and find out?

[liquid_sky]

problem is, how deep is the market saturation when it comes to console keyboards?

[+johnnywc]

My vote is for an XBOX version of the Anthology and any other Anthology. As for a new Anthology, online would be awesome (Xbox Live?) with the M-Network games, Imagic, CBS, Sega, etc. Parker Bros too (although it sounds like that would be a problem).

 

Thanks for letting us give our input!!

[MegaManFan]

It, in my opinion actually look's a ALOT better than the PS2. I've got all of the Activision ROMS playing on it as well. Including the licensed titles and the unreleased prototypes. Not Kabobber or Thwocker, but good 'ol Venetian Blinds, Human Freeway, The '2' Un-named protos and '2' other new unreleased protos as well. I'vealso got Pink Panther, Ninja Fighter and Twister (unreleased Salu titles) running on it as well.

 

I'm actually working this out with our Legal group as I type this.

 

- Ken

 

Ken, have I told you lately that YOU ROCK? Well I'm still a little depressed that I don't own an X-Box, and that it may end up with a better version than PS2 did, but I'm still happy to see that all of the extra stuff that didn't get released before will eventually end up on the market. For that alone, and for pushing so hard for it with your own Legal department, you deserve major kudos. If I'm lucky some friend will buy an X-Box and I'll still get the chance to see and play the Anthology 2.0.

[MegaManFan]

problem is, how deep is the market saturation when it comes to console keyboards?

 

This isn't a problem for PS2. When beta-testing the network adaptor I was able to plug a standard USB port PC keyboard I had spare (I use a wireless one most of the time) right into the front of my console and it worked just fine.

[Rhindle The Red]

problem is, how deep is the market saturation when it comes to console keyboards?

That's one of the reasons I don't think it would sell well. An INFOCOM anthology would be a niche item to begin with. Perhaps Activision could work out a deal with a keyboard maker to bundle such an Anthology. That's the only way I see it working on any kind of grand scale.

 

I have an old INFOCOM Anthology for the PC, but it gets harder and harder getting this old software to work on more and more modern PCs. A console version would eliminate this issue.

 

They could even include the wacky Saturn/PSX versions of Zork I. (I have the Saturn version. But since it's a Japan-only title and I have no Japanese keyboard, nor working knowledge of Japanese, I can't get past the opening movie, cool as it is.)

 

You're a headstrong young man. I was only going to turn on the televisor so you could see her movements.

[ubersaurus]

Me have the Xbox and not the PS2, I'm all for a release on that ;p

[cimerians]

Ken,

 

Please include a high score save for the games. I usually can't remember what I scored and I've got friends that come buy and play the hell out of it and nobody can keep track of who scored what (unless we jot it down).

 

I agree with the M-network, the complete Imagic line-up and department store look. I also would like to see:

 

- Colecovision and Atari 5200 games.

- I very much would like to see Parker Brothers stuff but if its a problem...

- Dare I say it? some more music selections!

- Online play would be and option in my opinion. How about going online to 'add' more games to your console?. (These games coming from you, Activision of course, every month or whatever.)

 

and lastly,

 

Paddle games are a disappointment. If there was any way for an Atari-like controller to be used with these games......it would be perfect. I guess analog will have to do for now.

 

PS - what are the empty cartridge slots on the rack for?

[sku_u]

The following would be a true godsend:

 

Parker Bros.

 

M Network

 

Atariclub

 

Imagic

[Flojomojo]

Just to follow up on some other comments:

 

XBOX version would be nice, but how much better could it be, apart from more ROMs and custom soundtracks? I saw no problems with the emulator on the PS2.

 

It's on the PS2 because it has the largest userbase -- by a factor of 5 or more, last I looked. Same reason that 2600 got all the 3rd party releases back in the day.

 

M Network would be great. TRON games would be great if you could pry them out of Disney.

 

If online features are just going to be a gimmick, like uploading high scores or downloading a few ROMs, I'd rather not see it put in. If it's going to be a big part of the game, like online matchmaking for 2P games, that could be interesting, but I for one would need to be convinced.

 

I loved Parker Brothers games way back when, but don't think they'd be so hot today. Here are all of the games they released, according to Atari Age, along with my comments:

 

Action Force -- ?

Amidar -- Silly arcade port of game no one liked much

Frogger -- Konami owns this one, already remade in 3D by Hasbro

Frogger II: Threeedeep! -- Konami again?

G.I. Joe - Cobra Strike Standard

G.I. Joe - Cobra Strike Gray -- Gah, who needs these?

Gyruss -- Konami again, already released for PSX

James Bond 007 -- popular license, crap game

Lord of the Rings: Journey to Rivendell -- Good luck getting THIS license in this year!

McDonald's - ???

Montezuma's Revenge -- Hey, this could be done

Mr. Do!'s Castle -- Who owns the rights?

Popeye -- Nintendo. Forgetaboutit.

Q*bert -- Possible, but already redone

Q*bert's Qubes -- Interesting, not done elsewhere, and rare.

Reactor -- Neat arcade game. Would rather see that

Sky Skipper -- Nintendo. Again, forgetaboutit

Spider-Man -- See Lord of the Rings

Star Wars: Death Star Battle -- No way would Lucas Licensing let you have the SW name for releasing this. Also, see Lord of the Rings

Star Wars: Ewok Adventure -- Ditto

Star Wars: Jedi Arena -- Ditto

Star Wars: The Arcade Game -- Ditto, but wouldn't mind seeing the original as a bonus someplace

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back -- Ditto again, but I liked this game

Strawberry Shortcake Musical Matchups -- No comment.

Super Cobra -- Already released by Konami

Tutankham -- Stern/Konami. Maybe this would be possible, but again, the arcade version would be better

 

Gahh! That's IT? I had such fond memories of my silver PB cartridges. You can't go home again.

[Agent X]

I'd like to see a Commodore 64 collection. Activision had released one for IBM PC/compatible computers a few years ago called Activision's Commodore 64 15 Pack. It was generally a very good package, although the sound emulation was rather shoddy. Perhaps now would be a good time to give it another try, with that sweet SID sound we all know and love.

 

If you do decide to assemble a Commodore 64 package, then you could also toss in some of the Infocom games for the benefit of those of us with PlayStation 2 keyboards. I think this would be much better than attempting to produce a separate Infocom pack (particularly for video game consoles).

 

If you're able to obtain the rights other companies' games for inclusion, then how about Epyx? They didn't have much of a 2600 catalog (although what was there was good), but their C64 games were among the best of the time.

 

Hopefully, you can also iron out whatever obstacles prevented Network Adaptor support in Activision Anthology, and include support for the Network Adaptor next time around. An Internet-based high score table would be a great addition.

 

Finally, a question regarding the original Activision Anthology: Does the product (as it was released) support reading game files that are saved to a memory card? Some of the PS2 demo discs (such as the Jampacks or Official PlayStation Magazine demos) have files on them that can be saved to a memory card, that unlocks cheats or other content. Would it be possible to release other ROM files on a PS2 demo disc, and save them to memory card so that they can be read by Activision Anthology? If the ability to read a new ROM file from memory card is still present, then perhaps that could be used as the method of distribution in place of the missing Network Adaptor support.

[Flojomojo]

That's a great idea. I have space for quite a few 2k, 4k, and even 8k and 16k ROMs on my EIGHT MEGABYTE memory card, don't I?

 

It boggles the mind to think that the whole VCS library can fit on a couple of floppy diskettes.

[tyranthraxus]

Since you have an Xbox version I am hoping that means a Windows

release is not far away? Since the computer game player base is older

I would think that a retro pack would be better recieved there.

 

I don't want to see any more 2600 games, I would rather see a

collection of 5200 & Colecovision games. The idea of picking

different machines is a good one. But I don't think that

you made as many games for those systems to warrant such a

release. And I think most of those games were just grahpically

improved versions of 2600 games apart from the extra level on

Pitfall 2 on the 5200.

 

So a Commodore 64 collection would seem to be the

best way to go and probably on the PC rather than PS2. Especially

if you have Infocom and Epyx games.

 

If it does happen lets see a high scores list that is really the only

flaw in the anthology.

 

John

[Tempest]

They could even include the wacky Saturn/PSX versions of Zork I. (I have the Saturn version. But since it's a Japan-only title and I have no Japanese keyboard, nor working knowledge of Japanese, I can't get past the opening movie, cool as it is.)

 

Is that what the problem is? I own this too, but I didn't know it required a keyboard. I picked it up for $12 or so just because I'm a huge Zork fan.

 

Tempest

[Scott Stilphen]

The protos roms will see the light of day, shortly.. but probably not until the Digital Press guys release more of their unreleased findings to the community. The Activision and Imagic titles in particular.

 

So, it's DP's fault that they haven't been released yet? Unless there's more to the story here, that's a pretty damn weak excuse. Why stop with DP? Why not keep them until Fulop decides what to do with Actionox, or AA releases their UA protos, or some of the rumored Coleco protos surface, or when Ed English and Ed Temple agree to release Looping...

 

Btw, I have some Activsion proto versions that I don't think are available on the net, so I guess it's my fault too.

[Marc Oberhäuser]

100% agree to Scott.

[raindog]

For what it's worth, whatever company it is that owns the Colecovision rights and was selling those cheap Colecovision consoles with incompatible controllers a few years back also released an emulator and ROM collection for the PC if memory serves. I can't think of the name, all that's coming to mind is Bridgestone (and they were the Starpath people, not Coleco.) I think that happened around or possibly even before the release of the first Activision pack for the PC.

 

Rob

[raindog]

Found them, it was Telegames. Apparently they're still around and selling their two packs (which contain much less than I thought, but they do include some Activision stuff leading me to believe some cross-licensing deal might be in place.)

 

http://www.telegames.com/retail.htm

 

Rob