Melody Chase and Chess (Aquarius)

[schuwalker]

I'm still in the hunt for these two elusive titles for a while now... Mind you, I'm only scouring Ebay for right now.

The closest I've seen was a *boxed* Melody Chase a couple years back. And of course, I completely forgot about the auction.

Here we are, years later, and nada!

 

The most surprising thing is that I haven't even seen a loose cart for sale! I wonder if the denizens across the pond are hoarding them all!

 

So... to owners, what's your story on how you obtained either one of these elusive gems?

[Rev]

Maybe you will be content with just having Aquaricart.

[+MattelAquarius]

The post-Mattel life of the Aquarius was much more vivacious overseas than in the US, particularly in the UK.

 

Here is proof these titles were sold in the U.S, however. I bought my AD&D from Bentley, back when I was a youngster.

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 260831521574 Aquarius products brochure on Ebay. (Note, I have no affiliation with that auction.)

 

My Melody Chase, Chess, Extended Basic and Space Speller et al came from overseas. Most were from Ebay auctions, and a couple through private deals. I have not seen anyone declare ownership of Zeri-In, in the last 11+ years since I've been collecting the Aquarius. We know it exists, because it is listed on the brochure, and we have a dump of it with the VAQ emulator.

 

The Aquaricart is the only way most Aquarius fans will ever be able to enjoy these rare titles on the real hardware.

[jaybird3rd]

My Melody Chase, Chess, Extended Basic and Space Speller et al came from overseas. Most were from Ebay auctions, and a couple through private deals. I have not seen anyone declare ownership of Zeri-In, in the last 11+ years since I've been collecting the Aquarius. We know it exists, because it is listed on the brochure, and we have a dump of it with the VAQ emulator.

Zero In was definitely a real product. I'm sure you've seen this before, but German collector Heiko Heinz has a collection of Aquarius cartridge boxes on his website, including Zero In. I'd love to be wrong about this, but as far as I can tell, he's the only known collector in the world who has a complete copy. He was kind enough to provide a scan of the manual, too, which is now included in the Aquaricart documentation.

[+MattelAquarius]

My Melody Chase, Chess, Extended Basic and Space Speller et al came from overseas. Most were from Ebay auctions, and a couple through private deals. I have not seen anyone declare ownership of Zeri-In, in the last 11+ years since I've been collecting the Aquarius. We know it exists, because it is listed on the brochure, and we have a dump of it with the VAQ emulator.

Zero In was definitely a real product. I'm sure you've seen this before, but German collector Heiko Heinz has a collection of Aquarius cartridge boxes on his website, including Zero In. I'd love to be wrong about this, but as far as I can tell, he's the only known collector in the world who has it. He was kind enough to provide a scan of the manual, too, which is now included in the Aquaricart documentation.

 

 

Cool! Thanks for the link!

[jaybird3rd]

While we're talking about rare Aquarius cartridges, let me post some archival pictures of the one and only copy of Chess that I've ever seen (I also posted these to the Aquarius Yahoo! Group, and I've got much higher-resolution versions in my files). This cartridge is from Ian Baronofsky's collection; he also loaned me the manual to be scanned:

 

 

I dumped this cartridge, and the copy I got was identical to the one that's already out there, so we can be pretty sure we've got a good archival copy of it. It's interesting that this cartridge was manufactured with "glop-top" mask ROMs, which (as I understand it) is usually only an affordable process for large production runs. It makes me wonder how many of these were actually made.

[+MattelAquarius]

It's interesting that this cartridge was manufactured with "glop-top" mask ROMs, which (as I understand it) is usually only an affordable process for large production runs. It makes me wonder how many of these were actually made.

 

 

Interesting. I've seen other Aq carts with that same method (and variation within titles). I always assumed (since young) that Chess was the most expensive game due to ROM size, but maybe your info has explained it. I.e. expensive production + low volume + less popular (A kid has to choose between Astrosmash and Chess. = highest price )

[jaybird3rd]

Interesting. I've seen other Aq carts with that same method (and variation within titles). I always assumed (since young) that Chess was the most expensive game due to ROM size, but maybe your info has explained it. I.e. expensive production + low volume + less popular (A kid has to choose between Astrosmash and Chess. = highest price )

That's very possible. It's amazing that they were able to fit a nice full-featured Chess game into an ordinary 16K cartridge, but that's all it was.

 

For a system that was only on the market for a relatively short time, the Aquarius really got a remarkable variety of cartridge designs. It seems like they were constantly experimenting with different ideas, especially during the "Mattel era"; different copies of the same titles might have used different ROM types, boards, and shells. The board you see in the pictures, for example, is a different design than the ones used in the later Mattel cartridges, even though it's functionally identical.

 

A question about that "new worlds" brochure in the auction you linked to: is it considered rare? I have one of those, which I got with a NIB Aquarius that I picked up, and I'd be glad to scan it in if you don't already have a scan of it.

[+MattelAquarius]

 

A question about that "new worlds" brochure in the auction you linked to: is it considered rare? I have one of those, which I got with a NIB Aquarius that I picked up, and I'd be glad to scan it in if you don't already have a scan of it.

 

I always love reading the kind of detailed Aq info you have amassed. These are exciting times to be an Aquarius fan (finally!).

 

I appreciate the offer to scan. Perhaps others would benefit, but I already have a copy (in storage). The brochure seems to have been included with most, if not all, Radofin era Aquarius CPU's. It appears the way most post Aquarius computers were distributed in the US was as gifts for timeshare sales pitches (i.e. not sold in stores or even via the peripheral sales brochures)

 

Back in the 80's, I received my Bentley "new worlds" brochure by harassing the remnants of Mattel Electronics over the phone. They also sent me a Crimac Inc brochure, which included even cooler items, like the QD Drive and 4 color printer.

 

Personally, I can't imagine paying that auction price to get a copy for my collection, but I could somewhat see the appeal for a collector who is without.

 

I've posted scans of the Crimac brochure at the Yahoo Group, in the past.

 

If you have the time, I'm sure a scan would be appreciated.

[schuwalker]

HOLY MOLY guys! I neved knew Space Speller and Zero In even existed till now! Maybe I didn't hit the right link or something, but was there pics of the box art for both of these guys?

 

I'm not discounting that Melody Chase and Chess were never released in the states. But I know for fact, when K & B was liqiudated them; I/family bought everything they had. We knew of only 1 other store that had Aquarius stuff (I believe it was a Service Merchandise) that we would hit up every weekend, and I never saw both of those titles....

 

Maybe they were limited to certain stores? Certain regions?

 

Can anybody confirm that Melody Chase that was on Ebay a couple years back or was a dreaming?

 

As far as getting these two, I definitely might hit up a fellow Aqaurius collector. I don't think Ebay is the answer....

[jaybird3rd]

HOLY MOLY guys! I neved knew Space Speller and Zero In even existed till now! Maybe I didn't hit the right link or something, but was there pics of the box art for both of these guys?

Yes, they were both released, although they're both exceedingly rare. It's too bad that more of Mattel's educational product for the Aquarius didn't make it out; they seem to have been doing a lot of interesting work in that area when the system was abruptly discontinued.

 

I'm pretty sure the box art was the same as the manual cover art. You can download complete scans of both manuals from my web server:

 

Space Speller

Zero In

 

(I'll have slightly cleaned-up versions of these available when my Aquaricart website goes live, but these will do for now.)

 

I'm not discounting that Melody Chase and Chess were never released in the states. But I know for fact, when K & B was liqiudated them; I/family bought everything they had. We knew of only 1 other store that had Aquarius stuff (I believe it was a Service Merchandise) that we would hit up every weekend, and I never saw both of those titles....

 

Maybe they were limited to certain stores? Certain regions?

 

Can anybody confirm that Melody Chase that was on Ebay a couple years back or was a dreaming?

 

As far as getting these two, I definitely might hit up a fellow Aqaurius collector. I don't think Ebay is the answer....

Melody Chase and Chess were both completed at Mattel, but were only put into production and shipped after Radofin re-acquired the rights to the Aquarius. Radofin didn't have as big a distribution network as Mattel; as Jay Silverheels says, their distribution was mostly through mail order, time share presentation giveaways, and other ancillary outlets (at least in the United States). I know that surplus Aquarius inventory ended up in discount/closeout stores like Odd Lot (a northeastern retail chain); I've got a bunch of sealed Aquarius Night Stalker master packs with Odd Lot address labels on them.

 

I do seem to recall seeing a Melody Chase on eBay at some point, although nothing shows up under a completed listing search. That was the only Melody Chase I can remember seeing for sale, and I don't think I've ever seen Chess on eBay. I've only been involved with the Aquarius for about a year and a half, though, so I'm sure other collectors have been watching the market longer.

[jaybird3rd]

I always love reading the kind of detailed Aq info you have amassed. These are exciting times to be an Aquarius fan (finally!).

Well, with all the information you've shared with me over the last year or so, you've been very helpful in that. Plus, considering how rare some of these Aquarius artifacts are, I doubt they would have survived into the 21st century at all if they hadn't been so carefully preserved over the years by collectors like yourself and Martin. You've really been the "keepers of the flame" for this system, during a time when not too many other people cared about it, and it's been a real service to those of us who have only recently discovered it.

 

I appreciate the offer to scan. Perhaps others would benefit, but I already have a copy (in storage). The brochure seems to have been included with most, if not all, Radofin era Aquarius CPU's.

Ah, I see. When I saw the price of the one in the auction, I thought it might have been rare, but it looks like just another overpriced Aquarius item on eBay. I'll scan it at the next opportunity.

 

Back in the 80's, I received my Bentley "new worlds" brochure by harassing the remnants of Mattel Electronics over the phone. They also sent me a Crimac Inc brochure, which included even cooler items, like the QD Drive and 4 color printer.

That story reminds me of the hours I spent poring over the catalogs from Triton Products for the TI 99/4A in the late 80s. Triton was the fulfillment house that distributed and supported the 99/4A after TI dropped it, and they also continued to develop new product for it. I couldn't afford to buy most of their stuff at that time, but I still wish I had, because some of it is extremely rare today. Looking through those catalogs now is like seeing Aquarius Chess listed for $29.95 in that "New Worlds" brochure, or Melody Chase listed for $24.95: if only I had known what an investment opportunity I was missing!

[the-topdog]

I got my Melody Chase along with one of my BurgerTime carts, on an obscure little auction site in Australia called www.oztion.com for a price so low, I still feel a little guilty about. The little auction site was eventually bought out by QuickSales. There was a Melody Chase on eBay 6 months ago and if I remember right it went for around $250 (someone please correct me if I am remembering wrong). I put an Aquarius Modem on eBay at around the same time (I was selling my spare to make money to pay for the Melody Chase auction, which I lost anyway)

 

I obtained my factory sealed Chess and one of my Aquarius Modems from a guy getting rid of all of the junk he saved from his childhood including his Aquarius computer stuff, they were a hell of a bonus in the lot

 

The only two cartridges I am missing now are Zero In and Space Speller. I have the manual scans and box and cartridge pictures on my website www.GeekVintage.com if anyone is looking for them.

[mvdsteenoven]

I got my first chess cartridge in the 80's when I actually played with the system. I could never throw anything out, so I still have my original system and cart.

I started collecting Aquarius items begin 2000 or something, but it took several years before I got an Melody Chase from a US ebay auction.

 

Regs,

Martin

[schuwalker]

I got my Melody Chase along with one of my BurgerTime carts, on an obscure little auction site in Australia called www.oztion.com for a price so low, I still feel a little guilty about. The little auction site was eventually bought out by QuickSales. There was a Melody Chase on eBay 6 months ago and if I remember right it went for around $250 (someone please correct me if I am remembering wrong). I put an Aquarius Modem on eBay at around the same time (I was selling my spare to make money to pay for the Melody Chase auction, which I lost anyway)

 

I obtained my factory sealed Chess and one of my Aquarius Modems from a guy getting rid of all of the junk he saved from his childhood including his Aquarius computer stuff, they were a hell of a bonus in the lot

 

The only two cartridges I am missing now are Zero In and Space Speller. I have the manual scans and box and cartridge pictures on my website www.GeekVintage.com if anyone is looking for them.

 

 

 

I don't remember the Melody Chase a couple months back.... Wow - $250!

The one I kind a remember had a pretty beatup box, but I thought it went for $125ish???