Trying to find AA Cartridge List

[bfollowell]

Several months ago I stumbled onto a link in a cartridge based thread and it linked to an AA page with a list of Atari 8-bit cartridges. It may have had links built-in to car images as well, I can't really recall, but I remember for sure it was a list of most, if not all 8-bit cartridges. It wasn't a thread though. It was a list/table built in the forum software. The funny thing I recall is that I couldn't find a menu option or link to it from anywhere within AA except for the forum post link that I'd originally stumbled onto. So, I wound up just saving the link as a favorite and would go directly to that page when I wanted to look something up. The problem is that now I can't find my favorite anywhere, so I can no longer get back to that page. I've searched and found plenty of cartridge related threads and plenty of them with cartridge list spreadsheets attached, but nothing like what I originally found, nor can I find that original thread or link. Does anyone out there recall this page and have a link to it? Also, why isn't there a way to get to this page without having the direct link? Or if there is a way, how do I find it?

 

Thanks.

 

[+kheller2]

This one?

https://atariage.com/system_items.php?SystemID=800&itemTypeID=CART

 

[bfollowell]

Yes! That's it. Thank you!

 

Now, assuming I don't have the link, how would I have found that?

 

[Paul Westphal]

Awesome! I didn’t know if this . Digital press online had (has?)one .. an online rarity guide.. 

[+Mitch]

2 hours ago, bfollowell said:

Yes! That's it. Thank you!

 

Now, assuming I don't have the link, how would I have found that?

 

The easiest way, is to go to the 7800 page, delete the 7 in the address bar and hit enter.

 

Mitch

[bfollowell]

4 hours ago, Mitch said:

The easiest way, is to go to the 7800 page, delete the 7 in the address bar and hit enter.

 

Mitch

 

OK, I'll try to remember that, or barring that, I'll be able to look up my own thread a little easier and find the link now. I still seems like a really strange thing to have a page like this with no way to get to it, unless you happen to know it's there and know the link. It's like someone started building 8-bit system/software pages like the ones for the console systems, but then never created a menu link to it. Maybe they just never got far enough along with it and didn't want to officially publish it until they were done, or they abandoned it. The text description and image are even identical to the 2600 Cartridge Scans page text, like they copied that page to start, then didn't get around to changing the text.

 

If whoever at AA started this needs some help, I'd love to help build an official 8-bit section if you're needing some help to move it along and get things going again.

 

EDIT:

Yes, it definitely looks like someone is, or was, working on an set of 8-bit system links and either just isn't finished or has abandoned it. Using @Mitch's suggestion, I was able to find most of the same pages for the 8-bit as for the other systems. Most of them have no or very little data and have text and images copied from another comparable system page and only the text header being changed to reflect the 8-bits. The main two pages that have a decent amount of data are the cartridge list and the box scans pages. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to see this section get officially added one day soon.

 

I'll attach the links below.

 

Atari 800/XL/XE Rarity Guide Search
Atari 800/XL/XE Boxes
Atari 800/XL/XE Carts
Atari 800/XL/XE Catalogs

Atari 800/XL/XE Companies
Atari 800/XL/XE Controllers
Atari 800/XL/XE Label Variations
Atari 800/XL/XE Manuals
Atari 800/XL/XE Programmers
Atari 800/XL/XE Reviews
Atari 800/XL/XE Screenshots
Atari 800/XL/XE Tips, Cheats, and Easter Eggs
 

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by bfollowell

[Mr Robot]

11 hours ago, bfollowell said:

Maybe they just never got far enough along with it and didn't want to officially publish it until they were done, or they abandoned it.

That's it exactly, its an unfinished page so it hasn't been made public yet but it's useful enough that the link has leaked over the years it's been sat there. 

 

[bfollowell]

2 hours ago, Mr Robot said:

That's it exactly, its an unfinished page so it hasn't been made public yet but it's useful enough that the link has leaked over the years it's been sat there. 

 

 

The cartridge list and the box images are really useful and there's quite a bit there. The other stuff, not so much yet, but the potential is certainly there.

 

It would be awesome to see those get fleshed out eventually and go live, and maybe a 16/32 bit section as well. All in good time, of course.

 

[www.atarimania.com]

Don't hold your breath... I e-mailed AtariAge some twenty years ago and thought the site would be interested in having a true 8-bit database. To my disarray, I soon found out there was no willingness / time / trust / whatever to do much. This was less than a year before I met our webmaster Franck who created Atarimania shortly after... The 8-bit section on AtariAge is not only a running gag, it's actually a wasted opportunity for the platform.

[bfollowell]

2 hours ago, www.atarimania.com said:

The 8-bit section on AtariAge is not only a running gag, it's actually a wasted opportunity for the platform.

 

Bummer. Well, if that's all true, then I'd have to agree with you. I'm certain that there are fellow AA users on here that would be more than willing to donate their time and talents to help with this, but if the help isn't wanted...

 

[www.atarimania.com]

I sound horrible in the message above... I understand AtariAge just didn't share the same vision at the time. Maybe things have changed but the fact that the 8-bit section is just a hidden link - and has been for 15-20 years - is just baffling to me... I'm not bitter as this allowed us to create Atarimania, just frustrated that the biggest Atari site didn't see any potential in the project back then.   

[mutterminder]

4 hours ago, www.atarimania.com said:

Don't hold your breath... I e-mailed AtariAge some twenty years ago and thought the site would be interested in having a true 8-bit database. To my disarray, I soon found out there was no willingness / time / trust / whatever to do much. This was less than a year before I met our webmaster Franck who created Atarimania shortly after... The 8-bit section on AtariAge is not only a running gag, it's actually a wasted opportunity for the platform.

In a way I sort of understand this.  To do this right is a major undertaking.  With all the irons that Atari Age has in the fire, I can see why this sort of thing has taken a back seat.  That being said, I think if they asked for some volunteers to lead the effort, that the community would, over the years, really start to fill in all the blanks.

[bfollowell]

2 hours ago, mutterminder said:

In a way I sort of understand this.  To do this right is a major undertaking.  With all the irons that Atari Age has in the fire, I can see why this sort of thing has taken a back seat.  That being said, I think if they asked for some volunteers to lead the effort, that the community would, over the years, really start to fill in all the blanks.

 

I agree 100%. The guys do a great job and I'm not complaining. If I hadn't stumbled onto those old pages and realize that someone had at least started something like this, I wouldn't have thought twice about it. After finding them though, it's hard not to think about what might've been, or still could be. I'm definitely not, and I don't think anyone else is either, the work that the guys behind AA do.