RetroGameHero Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 I just recently started collecting boxed Colecovision games and I received this game recently in a collection I purchased. I can’t find any information on this particular variant. It’s a larger box than a normal Colecovision game and all I can find online is the regular Oil’s Well version. Can anyone help explain the story behind this version. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 As far as I know, Sierra changed their packaging design sometime in 1984. There ended up being three of their ColecoVision releases that ended up having two different versions. The first versions had different (standard) box sizes and artwork as well as shiny metallic blue cart labels. The latter had larger boxes with different artwork and the cart labels were changed to a plain white style. Neither version is particularly rarer than the other. Looks like you have an example in great condition though so definitively a great pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youki Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 looks like the Box of Commodore 64 version with a different sticker. Can you put a picture of the back? 05_back.jfif 05_front.jfif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroGameHero Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 1 hour ago, youki said: looks like the Box of Commodore 64 version with a different sticker. Can you put a picture of the back? 05_back.jfif 151.94 kB · 3 downloads 05_front.jfif 141.88 kB · 2 downloads Here is a picture of the box and inside contents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youki Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 Exact same packaging/Box than the Atari XL and C64 version. The screenshot behind the box are the one from Atari 8Bits , not the colecovision ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Ah, so it seems to be that Sierra originally produced a unique ColecoVision box and then later, I assume to save money, started to use boxes produced for other systems and just stuck a CV sticker on the front. Not an unusual move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 46 minutes ago, Ikrananka said: Ah, so it seems to be that Sierra originally produced a unique ColecoVision box and then later, I assume to save money, started to use boxes produced for other systems and just stuck a CV sticker on the front. Not an unusual move. Yeah, some other companies like Spinnaker and Fisher Price did that a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 23 hours ago, RetroGameHero said: It’s a larger box than a normal Colecovision game and all I can find online is the regular Oil’s Well version. Can anyone help explain the story behind this version. In 1984, computer software typically came in oversized boxes and I would assume the later variant was produced with that type of consumer in mind, whereas when the SierraVision line of cartridges had first been introduced they were intended to be marketed as "video games". I don't believe there ever was a unique box. Pretty much all the Sierra boxes are generic ones with stickers applied, and both variations of Oil's Well are no different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 37 minutes ago, Psionic said: Pretty much all the Sierra boxes are generic ones with stickers applied, and both variations of Oil's Well are no different. Yep. That' why some people will buy another systems Sammy Lightfoot box and slap a For Colecovision sticker on it from a more common game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 58 minutes ago, Tempest said: Yep. That' why some people will buy another systems Sammy Lightfoot box and slap a For Colecovision sticker on it from a more common game. Actually, as rare as it is, I think the ColecoVision port is the most common version of the game. I've been looking for a box and manual for my loose C64 cartridge for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 35 minutes ago, Psionic said: Actually, as rare as it is, I think the ColecoVision port is the most common version of the game. I've been looking for a box and manual for my loose C64 cartridge for years. Really? Huh. Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youki Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 1 hour ago, Psionic said: Actually, as rare as it is, I think the ColecoVision port is the most common version of the game. I've been looking for a box and manual for my loose C64 cartridge for years. Get the packaging of a colecovision version. and put your C64 cart inside . The c64 package is exactly the same. See the picture file i attached above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 12 minutes ago, youki said: Get the packaging of a colecovision version. and put your C64 cart inside . The c64 package is exactly the same. See the picture file i attached above. I'd be inclined to do that if the box alone became available for a fairly low price but that's an unlikely occurrence. And I think I'd need the instruction card also...I honestly can't remember if have it or not. If the box pops up I'll grab it, but if not it's no loss. I'm far beyond the point of worrying about such minor things at this point in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 4 hours ago, Psionic said: In 1984, computer software typically came in oversized boxes and I would assume the later variant was produced with that type of consumer in mind, whereas when the SierraVision line of cartridges had first been introduced they were intended to be marketed as "video games". I don't believe there ever was a unique box. Pretty much all the Sierra boxes are generic ones with stickers applied, and both variations of Oil's Well are no different. Thanks for clarifying that for me - I totally forgot that the smaller Sierra boxes all had system specific stickers on them as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 1 hour ago, youki said: Get the packaging of a colecovision version. and put your C64 cart inside . The c64 package is exactly the same. See the picture file i attached above. I don't think the cartridge holder inside the box is the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youki Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 1 hour ago, retroillucid said: I don't think the cartridge holder inside the box is the same i'm not so sure. C64 cart are quiet similar in term of size. I can imagine that to reduce cost they used also similar case for the cartridge. http://sierrachest.com/index.php?a=games&id=371&title=oils-well&fld=box&pid=201 And if you look the cartridge holder on the picture posted by RetroGamerHero , you can see that it fits also for Tape Version of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 3 hours ago, youki said: 5 hours ago, retroillucid said: I don't think the cartridge holder inside the box is the same i'm not so sure. C64 cart are quiet similar in term of size. I can imagine that to reduce cost they used also similar case for the cartridge From what I remember, most of the early Sierra boxes contain a small, white, and very flimsy plastic tray like this one that is pretty generic and holds any size cartridge regardless of format. All versions of Sammy Lightfoot (which was only released in the smaller box) would use this tray. The very early releases on cartridge with the tan and brown labels (such as Crossfire for the Atari 8-bit computers) lack this tray. 3 hours ago, youki said: And if you look the cartridge holder on the picture posted by RetroGamerHero , you can see that it fits also for Tape Version of the game. I don't own any of the larger boxes, so I'm really not sure, but ColecoVision cartridges are significantly bigger than Commodore 64 cartridges (which are closer in size to Atari 8-bit carts) so their respective big boxes may have unique trays inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroGameHero Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 On 1/20/2021 at 2:09 PM, youki said: Exact same packaging/Box than the Atari XL and C64 version. The screenshot behind the box are the one from Atari 8Bits , not the colecovision ones. From what I see online the C64 version is a purple box. The one I have is a blue box. Did they make both colors for C64 or is the blue box specific to the Colecovision? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youki Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 hum...indeed i did not notice the difference of color. Atari XL version box are blue. (but purple in the center picture) Atari 400 800 XL XE Oil's Well : scans, dump, download, screenshots, ads, videos, catalog, instructions, roms (atarimania.com) Commodore c64 seems to have some purple also on the box around. Oil's Well (1983) Commodore 64 box cover art - MobyGames But there is also box for both atari and commodore that are blue , but still will purple in the center Oil's Well | Commodore 64 (retroplace.com) Msx box are blue but with additionnal sticker (also with purple in the center) Oil's Well Box Shot for MSX - GameFAQs (gamespot.com) So it seems the coleco one , is the only one to have blue in the center also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 A copy of the big box reissue for the C64 just sold on eBay last week. As far as I know, there's really only one version of that box. You guys are making wild assumptions based on scans and photos posted online that don't necessarily reflect the true color of the box. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroGameHero Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 On 2/10/2021 at 9:04 PM, Psionic said: A copy of the big box reissue for the C64 just sold on eBay last week. As far as I know, there's really only one version of that box. You guys are making wild assumptions based on scans and photos posted online that don't necessarily reflect the true color of the box. Just checked with a friend who has the C64 version. It is in fact purple and the one I have is a blue box, so it looks like Colecovision version is a different color box than the C64/Atari version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.