Atari SA releasing limited run 2600 cartridges.

[Mockduck]

13 hours ago, nadir said:

Rather than peeling up the label and risking damaging the whole thing I was thinking about doing minor damage by cutting the label where the screw is to gain access.  Feels like it's centered left/right and about 1/3 of the way up from the label end?  Something else feels like it's under the label just about centered in both directions, but feels larger than a screw.  Anyone have pictures of one disassembled?

Peeling up the label was easy and did not cause damage; I just put a hair dryer on it for about 30 seconds and kept it on the cart while slowly peeling up the label. I use a flat sharp object to grab the end flat across so it minimizes the chance for tearing, an old bakery flip-out razor in my case. It went back on with no issues and looked the same as before it came off. Yes, however, you could cut the label hole out and access the cart that way, it is about a third down from the top of the label. The other hole is a slit where you can see the spring holding the cart door in place, and I am not sure if it offers access really to anything. 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

38 minutes ago, Mockduck said:

Peeling up the label was easy and did not cause damage; I just put a hair dryer on it for about 30 seconds and kept it on the cart while slowly peeling up the label. I use a flat sharp object to grab the end flat across so it minimizes the chance for tearing, an old bakery flip-out razor in my case. It went back on with no issues and looked the same as before it came off. Yes, however, you could cut the label hole out and access the cart that way, it is about a third down from the top of the label. The other hole is a slit where you can see the spring holding the cart door in place, and I am not sure if it offers access really to anything. 

Sounds like a normal 2600 cartridge then as they all had the screw and extra small slot where you could make out the spring. On many of my older silver label carts, over time of handling them, they show depressions in the label for the screw and that slot.

 

[Hydro Thunder]

17 hours ago, Gunther said:

Opinion's one thing, but everything that I called a lie can and has been proven to be false.

These games have received updates, so they are not just a cash-grab. Real effort has gone into making sure of that and can be found on their websites and from the people that worked on them.

Saying people haven't been paid - or credited - is also a lie that can and has been proven ewith verifiable evidence.

 

Now when it comes to the standard editions, fire away.

It was embarassing to know that such a simple mistake was made, but it will be rectified.

 

ATARI XP will be fine, with their games selling-out within days, and its not going anywhere.

 

And from the sentiment on this forum, it would appear that most wouldn't work with ATARI even if they asked.

 

 

I said I won't get into a flame war about this and I stand by it.  But for my own defense, you called "everything" a lie, nothing has been proven.  They are a cash-grab, having updates doesn't completely rectify this, that is an area of subjective opinion.  "Real Effort" is again, subjective.  Who created Aquaventure, Gunther?  Who came up with it, where is their name in the credits?  How much were they paid for this celebration of their work?  

Also, again, reveal your connection to the company and this will all be a much more pleasant discussion.  It. Is. Ok. To. Tell. Us.

 

The sentiment is due to a. people liking to snark (don't take it too seriously!!), and b. these issues are much more than you make them out to be, saying "Done" because the company issued a vague statement saying they're aware of and rectifying it?  Rectify this, bungholes.  Tell us what you're going to do, or at the very least give some timeframe on your resolution.  But it is, LITERALLY, and I mean that in the truest sense of the word (hate when people misuse it) NOT over, and not done.  And therefore by your own logic, you are a liar.   lol  JK, I don't get off on using that phrase like you seem to, just had to razz you about it because well, you are an actual, defined, plain to see hypocrite and liar.  Not to get personal, just taking what you've said about me in direct magnifier to your posts.  I say, forget about all that, people say stuff, it goes away.  I don't think Atari XP is Tommy Tallarico by any means, I just think they've a lot to do better if they want to win the community over.  And they still can.  We have dollars, we want things.   Don't be so contrarian, don't take it so personal, help us find the issues worthy of critique and bring them to the people that can resolve them.  It'll help everyone in the end.

 

Oh, and what's your response to the Aquaventure manuals?  Quality control again?  Complete lack of proofreading?  Error at the printer?  Laziness and cost cutting since it's obviously a cash-grab?    Again just teasing there, because that's how I roll.  Sincerely, no harm intended.  Just poking fun.

 

And again sincerely, I urge you to be honest with us, and see this all as less serious than you seem to be.  

[Electric-Dreams]

Sorry guys ... but why some of you are even wasting your time repairing those shitty ATARI XP carts? I know almost everyone is skilled enough to do so but ...

The carts were purchased brand new from a company listed on stock exchange, not from an etsy reseller, right? Look at the price tag !!!! 

If it would have been another electronic product from another brand that had such a ridiculous defect, everybody would have returned the product without delay.

Some people are way too much forgiving when the thing is ATARI (S.A.) related. 
The best thing to do is to return all cartridges  back to ATARI for them to learn a lesson. If a quarter or a half of you fix the cartridge by themselves, ATARI will get away with it too easily. They will never learn.

Sorry for my bad english 

[Hydro Thunder]

1 hour ago, Electric-Dreams said:

Sorry guys ... but why some of you are even wasting your time repairing those shitty ATARI XP carts? I know almost everyone is skilled enough to do so but ...

The carts were purchased brand new from a company listed on stock exchange, not from an etsy reseller, right? Look at the price tag !!!! 

If it would have been another electronic product from another brand that had such a ridiculous defect, everybody would have returned the product without delay.

Some people are way too much forgiving when the thing is ATARI (S.A.) related. 
The best thing to do is to return all cartridges  back to ATARI for them to learn a lesson. If a quarter or a half of you fix the cartridge by themselves, ATARI will get away with it too easily. They will never learn.

Sorry for my bad english 

This is a fair suggestion, but it is on Atari to make this right and SOON hopefully.  They need to be shipping corrected carts to all customers at their own dime and not require the old / bad ones to be sent back; they know they are 100% defective and they're going to have to eat that.  That's the only acceptable resolution, and they'd better get it done asap.

No one should have to pay to return their carts, they should get to keep them as a literal keepsake of this momentous trip up.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

2 hours ago, Electric-Dreams said:

why some of you are even wasting your time repairing those shitty ATARI XP carts?

I don't plan to repair my cart unless it becomes clear that's the only way to get a working game. Even then, I'm not sure how motivated I'd be to do it. It's not like there aren't a million other ways to play these games...

(Though I am interested in seeing a comparison between dumps of the XP versions and the existing ROMs, just to see how much if any the games actually were changed.)

 

46 minutes ago, Hydro Thunder said:

They need to be shipping corrected carts to all customers at their own dime and not require the old / bad ones to be sent back

I'm fine with sending the defective cart back as long as return shipping and new game shipment are 100% covered by Atari or Limited Run or whoever ends up eating this in the end. Anything less than that is completely unacceptable.

[+x=usr(1536)]

8 hours ago, KaeruYojimbo said:

I'm fine with sending the defective cart back as long as return shipping and new game shipment are 100% covered by Atari or Limited Run or whoever ends up eating this in the end. Anything less than that is completely unacceptable.

But just think: everyone who received one of these rare, limited edition, production error cartridges - which can only appreciate in value over the years* - is now a part of the rich and storied history of the Atari brand!  That's better than actually receiving what they'd originally paid for, amirite?

 

Joking aside, I'm in complete agreement.  Mistakes are one thing, but it's the response to those mistakes that makes or breaks perception of commitment to a company's customers.  If Rosen really is committed to turning the company around, this would be a good (and visible) opportunity to demonstrate that.

 

* According to our marketing intern.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

3 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

which can only appreciate in value over the years

Unless the shrinkwrap crushes it into a singularity.

[rsiddall]

My quick take on the situation:

 

1) Going into this back in November of 2021, I was fine paying the $49.99 price for the standard version (I purchased Aquaventure).

 

2) I didn't have any expectations on when it would deliver. Based on the price, I was more than willing to take a chance.

 

3) When it showed up last week, what I received felt fair based on what was promised. When I initially purchased, I believe Atari said just the cart - no box, etc. They later said all the games would come with a box but delivery would be pushed back in order to accomplish this. Again, fine.

 

4) Doesn't matter to me if the pcb is backwards...not going to jam the cart into my Retron77 to play it every time. Will run the roms for ease of use. 

 

5) It's already in my closet sitting on a shelf. Never purchased this to play, but more of a memento. The idea of future releases (in cartridge format) is an exciting proposition if they make "standard versions" at an acceptable price.

 

 

[Bill Loguidice]

25 minutes ago, rsiddall said:

My quick take on the situation:

 

1) Going into this back in November of 2021, I was fine paying the $49.99 price for the standard version (I purchased Aquaventure).

 

2) I didn't have any expectations on when it would deliver. Based on the price, I was more than willing to take a chance.

 

3) When it showed up last week, what I received felt fair based on what was promised. When I initially purchased, I believe Atari said just the cart - no box, etc. They later said all the games would come with a box but delivery would be pushed back in order to accomplish this. Again, fine.

 

4) Doesn't matter to me if the pcb is backwards...not going to jam the cart into my Retron77 to play it every time. Will run the roms for ease of use. 

 

5) It's already in my closet sitting on a shelf. Never purchased this to play, but more of a memento. The idea of future releases (in cartridge format) is an exciting proposition if they make "standard versions" at an acceptable price.

 

 

To be blunt, accepting 4 in any way, shape, or form is pretty ridiculous to me. At minimum you should get a working product, even if everything else is something you don't really care about. Without a minimum standard, you're just donating money to a brand you have affection for.

[rsiddall]

2 minutes ago, Bill Loguidice said:

To be blunt, accepting 4 in any way, shape, or form is pretty ridiculous to me. At minimum you should get a working product, even if everything else is something you don't really care about. Without a minimum standard, you're just donating money to a brand you have affection for.

Knowing I can "fix" the problem by opening the cart and flipping the board is enough for me. Will I do it, probably not.

 

I think #4 might change based on the email Atari sent "regarding your purchase". Not holding my breath but will be interesting to see what their solution is.

 

I understand what you're saying and if they aren't held to a certain level of quality control then how can we assume production will improve...I just went into this purchase/deal with low expectations.

 

[Hydro Thunder]

Another solution for AtariXP might be to offer to send replacements to anyone who bought one, free of charge (cart and reprinted manual maybe?  Maybe no one cares about the manual...).

And for those who are willing to self-fix and don't need an extra cart, a gift card of some significant value?  A patch?  Just offer them something to offset the expense of sending a new cart to them, for those willing.

 

John Hancock released a great video that made the swap look very easy, but of course he has been working with this stuff for ages and is MUCH more competent than man of us at it.  I personally can break nearly anything, I somehow screwed up modding an OG Xbox, which from the sounds of things is a pretty impressive feat.    So people shouldn't be expected to do anysuch thing.  But for those who are and who would have no use at all for a replacement cartridge, give them something of actual value (partial refund? Gift Cert? IDK) for their efforts.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

1 hour ago, Hydro Thunder said:

And for those who are willing to self-fix and don't need an extra cart, a gift card of some significant value?

Knowing Atari, it would be a download code that only works for purchases from the VCS store.

[+swlovinist]

 

[Cebus Capucinis]

Everyone should get a free SPEAKERHAT as an apology! It's the LEAST they could do!!!!! 😤😤😤

[nadir]

Watched the John Hancock video for the details and decided the PCB flip is something I could do.  Went real easy.  Springs were no big deal.  Getting the PCB exactly right took a little work.  The problem is that the game (Yars' Return) still is not playable...  Title screen is fine, you can adjust options there and it'll sit there fine for minutes.  However, within seconds of starting the game it crashes.  Every time.  I get about 5 seconds of play then vertical bars and screeching.  😕  Reset button on the console (7800) won't even work.  Requires power off/on.

Edited September 10, 2022 by nadir

[TPR]

Just adding my experience to the mix...

 

Wow. So the quality control on these is absolutely atrocious.

 

1. The games don’t even work. I’ve tried in an OG Atari 2600 console, a Retron ‘77, and a ColecoVision Expansion Module #1 and they flat out don’t work. Even with an email I received from Atari XP saying my games will be delayed while they address some quality issues, I still have received games where the boards were installed incorrectly.

 

2. One of the labels on the carts is upside down.

 

3. The labels themselves are such poor quality. Hard to see in the photo but it’s almost like a badly laminated sticker, like something you can do on a color copier at Staples.

 

4. Two of the boxes were dented. Again, hard to see in the photos but both Saboteur and Aquaventure were slightly damaged and it doesn’t appear to have happened in the shipping to me, as the rest of the packaging was fine, so I’m assuming they were already like this when Atari packed the box to ship to me.

 

I’ve contacted Atari XP support so we’ll see how they fix this.

 

I cannot recommend buying anything else from Atari XP until they get their quality control issues sorted out.

 

[+save2600]

Labels look like shit for the asking price. And wow, peeling already too (?) and can't believe one was placed upside down. Oh wait... it's 2022. Yes I can.  🤡
 

Atari labels I've made 20+ years ago for some carts look better and all I had was an inkjet printer, Avery full sheet labels and some packing tape.

 

...are the cartridge shells 3D printed too? Aquaventure cart above looks like it, or is really scored up around the edges. Either way. 😱
 

Upside-down PCB's are icing on the shit cake. 🤣

[+5-11under]

They could have bought boards from Albert, or from me.

Comes with mostly legible instructions, too :

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

6 hours ago, nadir said:

Watched the John Hancock video for the details and decided the PCB flip is something I could do.  Went real easy.  Springs were no big deal.  Getting the PCB exactly right took a little work.  The problem is that the game (Yars' Return) still is not playable...  Title screen is fine, you can adjust options there and it'll sit there fine for minutes.  However, within seconds of starting the game it crashes.  Every time.  I get about 5 seconds of play then vertical bars and screeching.  😕  Reset button on the console (7800) won't even work.  Requires power off/on.

I've haven't had an issue with any of the games locking up but I do find Yars' Return to be...odd. The biggest issue I have with it is that if I go in to start eating away at the walls, the YAR will frequently just go through the entire barrier and I end up stuck in the middle with the Quotile and yet...don't die. So I'm usually able to get back out by shooting in a spot a whole bunch to punch a new hole to get back out. It is worse on the levels with the moving wall blocks though.

 

And unless there is something I'm missing about this, it is the same game with a slightly larger drone to deal with since it is doubled up with a second one directly above/below it and the three walls to deal with vs the one. But the top wall is nothing more than just a barrier since you can't really attack it and can only go around it?

 

Quotile seems to be slower in this version as well. I assume that was done due the lack of time you have to respond to his launching attack given he is in the center of the screen vs the opposite side now.

 

Last is that there does still appear to be some sync or line count issues with the game still. More than once, I have the entire screen blink out for a second and then come back. I only see that happen on games with odd scanline counts to them.

 

 

[Cebus Capucinis]

2 hours ago, save2600 said:

 

...are the cartridge shells 3D printed too? Aquaventure cart above looks like it, or is really scored up around the edges. Either way.

I think they're legit - they look like they purchased a ton of Combat carts at a yard sale, slapped new labels on them, and did absolutely nothing to clean them. In way that's even worse than sloppy 3D prints. LOL

 

EDIT: Just looked closer. Yeah, you can see the 3D print style texture. Wow. Those are awful. I mean, at least unlike the Amico they can say...."these exist!" 🤣

[+jgkspsx]

I figured it out. Somebody at the assembly line was reading AtariAge and thought they would make us happy…

 

 

[+save2600]

If the shells are 3D printed, why aren't more people mentioning that "little" tidbit? I mean, for what these cost and coming from "Atari", what the hell?! Beyond tacky. Should absolutely be brand new injection molded parts, especially at these prices. That's obvious. And expected.

[+jgkspsx]

1 hour ago, save2600 said:

If the shells are 3D printed

They aren’t, people just like making stuff up for comedic effect.

[TPR]

Here's the email I just got from Atari XP Support. I love the "(INSERT- XP CARTRIDGE PRODUCT NAME)" part! 😅😂

I mean, at least I got a fairly quick response? Even if it's just some boiler plate email? 🤷