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Sky Patrol discovery


Rom Hunter

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After examining the original scans of the Sky Patrol prototype cart, I noticed that the front label scan is a photoshop job:
http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-sky-patrol_11516.html

 

It's actually a Riddle of the Sphinx cart with a cut-out of the box front picture scan pasted on it and a photoshopped title.

You can even see the plastic foil damage of the box picture on the left side of the front label picture.

The cart in the end label photo looks like a genuine promo cart, though.

Although it's obvious that the rainbow stripes and end title are glued / stickered, and the foil has no text on it.

8)

Edited by Rom Hunter
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I think Rom's post is confusing in how it's written; with regards to what he meant to convey.

 

The carts main label pic of Sky Patrol is what was photo-shopped, and done so in more "recent" times.

(as in possibly done by someone creative from the atariage.com time period.

 

Whereas the carts end label pic was possibly done by someone at Imagic back in the day for some expo or a photo shoot or a catalog, etc.

 

We know the data itself is real enough though. And we have the video which corroborates the fact that they were designing a video game inspired by the hot air balloon ride they took.

 

Either way, I am confident that with those additional sprites and "deactivated" extras hidden in the rom code, as well as some additional programming, the game would have been a fun game and one I would have enjoyed and played many times. Reason being, almost anything Activision & Imagic made back then, I bought. They were quite literally to the Atari 2600 what Konami & Capcom were to the NES. The best 3rd party developers.

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I think Rom's post is confusing in how it's written; with regards to what he meant to convey.

 

The carts main label pic of Sky Patrol is what was photo-shopped, and done so in more "recent" times.

(as in possibly done by someone creative from the atariage.com time period.

 

Whereas the carts end label pic was possibly done by someone at Imagic back in the day for some expo or a photo shoot or a catalog, etc.

 

We know the data itself is real enough though. And we have the video which corroborates the fact that they were designing a video game inspired by the hot air balloon ride they took.

 

Either way, I am confident that with those additional sprites and "deactivated" extras hidden in the rom code, as well as some additional programming, the game would have been a fun game and one I would have enjoyed and played many times. Reason being, almost anything Activision & Imagic made back then, I bought. They were quite literally to the Atari 2600 what Konami & Capcom were to the NES. The best 3rd party developers.

 

Yes, I'm not saying the Sky Patrol proto is fake, but the front label scan definitely is.

 

I studied the much larger, original scan and it's quite obvious.

 

8)

Edited by Rom Hunter
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The real question is: Why? Was it ever featured in a catalog or magazine ad? It's interesting that they had all the artwork ready to go even though the game wasn't complete yet. I wonder if the programmer had the label made for his own use or something.

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The other thing I always found interesting is how Sky Patrol was also called Aerial Ace, and that they both were assigned the same product number: IA3409

 

Granted, other examples of working titles & name changes exist at Imagic, like (Escape from Argos / No Escape!) but it's pretty sad that the game had two chances at a release, and it even had an incomplete (but semi working) rom build, but despite that, it still managed to get shelved (or axed).

 

As for the makeshift cartridge label, if it was in fact done way back in the day before us crazed fans found each other on the Internet in the mid 90's and started making our own labels for unreleased carts, I would theorize that it may have been doneso by the programmer himself.

 

Look at how much Rob Fulop protected and saved and spoke highly of his work on Cubicolor & Actionauts. Perhaps the programmer of Aerial Ace felt the same at one point and wanted to preserve, respect, and never forget his work?

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So more than likely this cart was made for the press kit picture?

 

No, in the presskit only a mock-up screenshot and description was shown.

 

I think the fake scan was made for the CGE.

 

Don't know for what reason the stickered cart was made, though.

 

8)

Edited by Rom Hunter
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