Lock 'n' Chase for the Aquarius?

[schuwalker]

I was thumbing through an issue of Electronic Fun (July 1983) issue. Anyways, I got to an article titled "The Age of Aquarius" - pretty good read. On one of the pages it shows the Aquarius w/ the add-ons as well as software. One thing caught my eye - a boxed Lock 'n' Chase. Hmmmm... don't recall that one!

 

Anybody else know about this one? Is there a proto floating around of this?

 

Sorry, I don't have a scanner to scan the picture but the box does look cool!

[jaybird3rd]

I'd love to see that box! As far as I can tell, no evidence of a prototype of Lock 'n' Chase has ever been found, beyond a "screenshot" in the Aquarius catalog. There were supposed to be Aquarius versions of several Intellivision games—Sea Battle, Masters of the Universe, Bump 'n' Jump, and Reversi are others that come to mind—but I don't believe they've ever been seen, either. I'd love to know if anyone out there has any more information about them.

 

(I'd actually enjoy reading that entire article, if you wouldn't mind taking some pictures of the pages for us.)

[Rev]

This site only has the cover to that issue...lots of other cool magazine scans though!

 

http://www.retromags.com/forums/gallery/image/949-electronic-fun-vol1-09-july-1983/

[+cmart604]

I'd love to see that box! As far as I can tell, no evidence of a prototype of Lock 'n' Chase has ever been found, beyond a "screenshot" in the Aquarius catalog. There were supposed to be Aquarius versions of several Intellivision games—Sea Battle, Masters of the Universe, Bump 'n' Jump, and Reversi are others that come to mind—but I don't believe they've ever been seen, either. I'd love to know if anyone out there has any more information about them.

 

(I'd actually enjoy reading that entire article, if you wouldn't mind taking some pictures of the pages for us.)

 

If I could figure out how to use my new scanner I could scan them for you. I'm certain I must have that issue.

[jaybird3rd]

If I could figure out how to use my new scanner I could scan them for you. I'm certain I must have that issue.

Whether it's scans or pictures, I'd still love to see that article, so I'll take it any way I can get it! If Mattel was far enough along in the development process to warrant creating a box, I have to imagine that a fairly advanced prototype of Lock 'n' Chase existed at one point. It would be a pity if it hasn't survived. I'm curious to see what an official Lock 'n' Chase box for the Aquarius would have looked like.

 

This is an aside, but speaking of rare Aquarius games ... an Australian seller is currently offering some nice-looking copies of BurgerTime, Melody Chase, and Space Speller! I think this is the first complete Space Speller I've ever seen on eBay, and only the second or third Melody Chase; I'd love to get them just to scan the boxes and manuals.

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775888309 (BurgerTime)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775889908 (Melody Chase)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775891018 (Space Speller)

[+cmart604]

I found the article. I'll take some pics/scans. Thanks for the heads up on the auctions.

[Intymike]

If I could figure out how to use my new scanner I could scan them for you. I'm certain I must have that issue.

Whether it's scans or pictures, I'd still love to see that article, so I'll take it any way I can get it! If Mattel was far enough along in the development process to warrant creating a box, I have to imagine that a fairly advanced prototype of Lock 'n' Chase existed at one point. It would be a pity if it hasn't survived. I'm curious to see what an official Lock 'n' Chase box for the Aquarius would have looked like.

 

This is an aside, but speaking of rare Aquarius games ... an Australian seller is currently offering some nice-looking copies of BurgerTime, Melody Chase, and Space Speller! I think this is the first complete Space Speller I've ever seen on eBay, and only the second or third Melody Chase; I'd love to get them just to scan the boxes and manuals.

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775888309 (BurgerTime)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775889908 (Melody Chase)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775891018 (Space Speller)

 

Wow, and he sells a few never seen cassette games too. Are this your bids?

[jaybird3rd]

Wow, and he sells a few never seen cassette games too. Are this your bids?

No, I'm just watching them at this point.

[high voltage]

Alright, I'll tell you:

go to Digital Press, under 'Library' click on 'Magazines', choose 'Electronic Fun' July 83, page 81.

Don't thank me :-)

[jaybird3rd]

Alright, I'll tell you:

go to Digital Press, under 'Library' click on 'Magazines', choose 'Electronic Fun' July 83, page 81.

Don't thank me :-)

Hey, that's great! Thanks for the tip; I've never seen this magazine before, so I had no idea it had already been scanned.

 

Here is the Lock 'n' Chase box as shown in the article:

 

 

The box itself was probably just a mock-up created for the picture, but I must say that it's a nice-looking design. Definitely different artwork from the Intellivision version, and like most of the Aquarius box art, it makes good use of the "landscape orientation" of the Aquarius game packages. I especially like the way it seems to incorporate the Aquarius character graphics: the walls in the prototype were probably drawn using the Aquarius's line-drawing characters (horizontal and vertical bars), displayed in white on a blue background, and the walls depicted in the cover art look as if they were designed to reflect that.

 

Now I really want to find out what happened to that prototype! Lock 'n' Chase would have been a great addition to the Aquarius library, but I don't want to have to program my own version!

[schuwalker]

I'm glad you got to see the ad finally! I was working on it getting it scanned from a friend but looks I don't have too now!

I did a double take at first when I saw the ad. It's like "whoa" there was a Lock n Chase for the Aquarius!

 

I'm also partaking in that Aquarius auction... Melody Chase I'm eyeballing you! Now only if he had a Zero In or Chess....

[jaybird3rd]

This is an aside, but speaking of rare Aquarius games ... an Australian seller is currently offering some nice-looking copies of BurgerTime, Melody Chase, and Space Speller! I think this is the first complete Space Speller I've ever seen on eBay, and only the second or third Melody Chase; I'd love to get them just to scan the boxes and manuals.

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775888309 (BurgerTime)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775889908 (Melody Chase)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775891018 (Space Speller)

Well, under six hours to go, and Melody Chase and Space Speller are already north of $250 USD. Way beyond my budget.

[+cmart604]

This is an aside, but speaking of rare Aquarius games ... an Australian seller is currently offering some nice-looking copies of BurgerTime, Melody Chase, and Space Speller! I think this is the first complete Space Speller I've ever seen on eBay, and only the second or third Melody Chase; I'd love to get them just to scan the boxes and manuals.

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775888309 (BurgerTime)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775889908 (Melody Chase)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 200775891018 (Space Speller)

Well, under six hours to go, and Melody Chase and Space Speller are already north of $250 USD. Way beyond my budget.

 

I'm not a fan of these private bidder auctions. I'd like to know I'm actually bidding against real bidders and not a shill. Not sure if I'll continue bidding.

[schuwalker]

Yep..... wayyyyyy out of my budget! I had hopes of snagging that Melody Chase for a *reasonable* price - nope! (My price was a little north of a c-note.)

 

What really sucks... correct me if I'm wrong, but both of these titles were never released in North America? I know (from my other hobby) that dealing w/ Ebay auctions

that are worldwide, that some crazy money gets tossed around! So, chances of scoring one of these, Zero-In and Chess w/out breaking your bank, is slim to none, unless one slips through the cracks on Ebay U.S. or their other foreign sites.

 

I'n no expert on Ebay and all, but I never figured out why sellers sometimes have private bidder auctions. Since they changed your moniker to be anonymous some years back- how the

hell do I know user O***O is going to be? I've seen this done other times as well on some international auctions. Never figured out that enigma....

Edited June 24, 2012 by schuwalker

[jaybird3rd]

Yep..... wayyyyyy out of my budget! I had hopes of snagging that Melody Chase for a *reasonable* price - nope! (My price was a little north of a c-note.)

I knew they'd eventually go outside my price range as well; I was really just watching for curiosity. Melody Chase ended at ~$266 USD and Space Speller at ~$337 USD. On the other hand, somebody got a pretty good deal on BurgerTime: only $22.60 USD (plus shipping from Australia).

 

What really sucks... correct me if I'm wrong, but both of these titles were never released in North America? I know (from my other hobby) that dealing w/ Ebay auctions

that are worldwide, that some crazy money gets tossed around! So, chances of scoring one of these, Zero-In and Chess w/out breaking your bank, is slim to none, unless one slips through the cracks on Ebay U.S. or their other foreign sites.

They were distributed via mail-order by a number of companies (Bentley Industries, Crimac Inc., etc), so I'm sure that a very small quantity of them were sold in North America, but there definitely seem to have been more sold elsewhere. There have been one or two Chess cartridges on eBay, but I don't think I've ever seen Zero In offered for sale anywhere.

 

I know I'm biased, but to me, it demonstrates how much of a value the Aquaricart is for those who want to see these games on their Aquarius systems but who don't want to pay the high prices of the originals.

 

Speaking of which, if I can put in a plug ... for a limited time, I'm offering my last two Aquaricart cartridges at a discount, and I have a few remaining upgrade kits for sale here:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 120937161996

 

I'n no expert on Ebay and all, but I never figured out why sellers sometimes have private bidder auctions. Since they changed your moniker to be anonymous some years back- how the

hell do I know user O***O is going to be? I've seen this done other times as well on some international auctions. Never figured out that enigma....

I didn't even realize that these were private auctions. I think I also prefer open auctions, for the same reasons.

[+cmart604]

I ended up winning the Burgertime, Tron and Melody Chase and was outbid on the Space Speller. I was a bit shocked at how high those two went, but I sure got a good deal on the Burgertime and needed both the Tron and the Melody Chase.

[mvdsteenoven]

I've got the Dick Smith tapes Chess, Read-it and Spell-it, for a reasonable price :-)

[jaybird3rd]

I ended up winning the Burgertime, Tron and Melody Chase and was outbid on the Space Speller. I was a bit shocked at how high those two went, but I sure got a good deal on the Burgertime and needed both the Tron and the Melody Chase.

Hey, great! Glad to see that they went to a good home. I'm glad Martin got the tapes, too; I considered going for them myself, but I wanted to check around first to see if they've already been archived, and I never got around to it.

 

When you receive the Melody Chase, would you consider doing me the favor of scanning the front cover of the instruction manual, if you happen to have a scanner handy? I have a scan of it already, but it's in pretty bad shape, and it would be nice to get a fresh copy for the PDF versions I'm (still) compiling.

[+cmart604]

I ended up winning the Burgertime, Tron and Melody Chase and was outbid on the Space Speller. I was a bit shocked at how high those two went, but I sure got a good deal on the Burgertime and needed both the Tron and the Melody Chase.

Hey, great! Glad to see that they went to a good home. I'm glad Martin got the tapes, too; I considered going for them myself, but I never checked to see if they've already been archived.

 

When you receive the Melody Chase, would you consider doing me the favor of scanning the front cover of the instruction manual, if you happen to have a scanner handy? I have a scan of it already, but it's in pretty bad shape, and it would be nice to get a fresh copy for the PDF versions I'm (still) compiling.

 

Absolutely, happy to do so. Just the front cover?

[jaybird3rd]

Absolutely, happy to do so. Just the front cover?

Thank you! Yes, the front cover is the only part that I need, at 300 DPI. I was able to "doctor up" the remainder of my present copy, but the cover art is much more difficult to fix. (A box scan would be wonderful, too, but that isn't essential.) Thanks again!

[Jess Ragan]

Alright, I'll tell you:

go to Digital Press, under 'Library' click on 'Magazines', choose 'Electronic Fun' July 83, page 81.

Don't thank me :-)

 

I know you didn't want to be thanked for this... but thanks for this! I've been looking for a place to read old video game magazines since Retromags lost most of theirs to the Megaupload shutdown. I've always liked Electronic Fun but I find myself warming up to Creem's Vidiot, which offers a more tongue in cheek look at the gaming industry than its competitors, which are either corny, juvenile, or just plain boring.

[mvdsteenoven]

Hey, great! Glad to see that they went to a good home. I'm glad Martin got the tapes, too; I considered going for them myself, but I wanted to check around first to see if they've already been archived, and I never got around to it.

They' re already included with the latest Virtual Aquarius 0.72a. I believe Jason shared them.

[jaybird3rd]

They' re already included with the latest Virtual Aquarius 0.72a. I believe Jason shared them.

Indeed he did! Strange that I didn't notice them before.

[schuwalker]

Yep..... wayyyyyy out of my budget! I had hopes of snagging that Melody Chase for a *reasonable* price - nope! (My price was a little north of a c-note.)

I knew they'd eventually go outside my price range as well; I was really just watching for curiosity. Melody Chase ended at ~$266 USD and Space Speller at ~$337 USD. On the other hand, somebody got a pretty good deal on BurgerTime: only $22.60 USD (plus shipping from Australia).

 

What really sucks... correct me if I'm wrong, but both of these titles were never released in North America? I know (from my other hobby) that dealing w/ Ebay auctions

that are worldwide, that some crazy money gets tossed around! So, chances of scoring one of these, Zero-In and Chess w/out breaking your bank, is slim to none, unless one slips through the cracks on Ebay U.S. or their other foreign sites.

They were distributed via mail-order by a number of companies (Bentley Industries, Crimac Inc., etc), so I'm sure that a very small quantity of them were sold in North America, but there definitely seem to have been more sold elsewhere. There have been one or two Chess cartridges on eBay, but I don't think I've ever seen Zero In offered for sale anywhere.

 

I know I'm biased, but to me, it demonstrates how much of a value the Aquaricart is for those who want to see these games on their Aquarius systems but who don't want to pay the high prices of the originals.

 

Speaking of which, if I can put in a plug ... for a limited time, I'm offering my last two Aquaricart cartridges at a discount, and I have a few remaining upgrade kits for sale here:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 120937161996

 

 

Jay, I know this may sound bizarre... but it just something about the Aquarius game's boxes that I love! When I had my first Aquarius, I had all my boxed games nicely display

on my shelf. Still have the system/games - not sure what happen to the boxes!

 

I'n no expert on Ebay and all, but I never figured out why sellers sometimes have private bidder auctions. Since they changed your moniker to be anonymous some years back- how the

hell do I know user O***O is going to be? I've seen this done other times as well on some international auctions. Never figured out that enigma....

I didn't even realize that these were private auctions. I think I also prefer open auctions, for the same reasons.

I ended up winning the Burgertime, Tron and Melody Chase and was outbid on the Space Speller. I was a bit shocked at how high those two went, but I sure got a good deal on the Burgertime and needed both the Tron and the Melody Chase.

 

 

Congrats Cmart on the Melody Chase! That's the second one I've seen on Ebay through my Aquarius collecting years.

 

I plead guilty for paying what you did on Melody Chase as I partook(?) in that auction. Actually, I did place bids on both of those games, except the one for Space Speller was

meager compared to the Melody Chase.... I was going to ask you if you had a *wow* moment when you saw the final ending price but looks like you did!

 

Here's hoping I find another boxed Melody Chase eventually!

[+cmart604]

Yep..... wayyyyyy out of my budget! I had hopes of snagging that Melody Chase for a *reasonable* price - nope! (My price was a little north of a c-note.)

I knew they'd eventually go outside my price range as well; I was really just watching for curiosity. Melody Chase ended at ~$266 USD and Space Speller at ~$337 USD. On the other hand, somebody got a pretty good deal on BurgerTime: only $22.60 USD (plus shipping from Australia).

 

What really sucks... correct me if I'm wrong, but both of these titles were never released in North America? I know (from my other hobby) that dealing w/ Ebay auctions

that are worldwide, that some crazy money gets tossed around! So, chances of scoring one of these, Zero-In and Chess w/out breaking your bank, is slim to none, unless one slips through the cracks on Ebay U.S. or their other foreign sites.

They were distributed via mail-order by a number of companies (Bentley Industries, Crimac Inc., etc), so I'm sure that a very small quantity of them were sold in North America, but there definitely seem to have been more sold elsewhere. There have been one or two Chess cartridges on eBay, but I don't think I've ever seen Zero In offered for sale anywhere.

 

I know I'm biased, but to me, it demonstrates how much of a value the Aquaricart is for those who want to see these games on their Aquarius systems but who don't want to pay the high prices of the originals.

 

Speaking of which, if I can put in a plug ... for a limited time, I'm offering my last two Aquaricart cartridges at a discount, and I have a few remaining upgrade kits for sale here:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 120937161996

 

 

Jay, I know this may sound bizarre... but it just something about the Aquarius game's boxes that I love! When I had my first Aquarius, I had all my boxed games nicely display

on my shelf. Still have the system/games - not sure what happen to the boxes!

 

I'n no expert on Ebay and all, but I never figured out why sellers sometimes have private bidder auctions. Since they changed your moniker to be anonymous some years back- how the

hell do I know user O***O is going to be? I've seen this done other times as well on some international auctions. Never figured out that enigma....

I didn't even realize that these were private auctions. I think I also prefer open auctions, for the same reasons.

I ended up winning the Burgertime, Tron and Melody Chase and was outbid on the Space Speller. I was a bit shocked at how high those two went, but I sure got a good deal on the Burgertime and needed both the Tron and the Melody Chase.

 

 

Congrats Cmart on the Melody Chase! That's the second one I've seen on Ebay through my Aquarius collecting years.

 

I plead guilty for paying what you did on Melody Chase as I partook(?) in that auction. Actually, I did place bids on both of those games, except the one for Space Speller was

meager compared to the Melody Chase.... I was going to ask you if you had a *wow* moment when you saw the final ending price but looks like you did!

 

Here's hoping I find another boxed Melody Chase eventually!

 

Thanks! I'm kinda kicking myself for not going higher on Space Speller and just getting it done since I have no idea when we'll see one again, although maybe these notable amounts will bring some more out of the woodwork as often happens as a result of high priced auctions. We'll see.