JetmanUK Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Dr Karnov said: So far, my highest score..... Is....... Twenty eight It's a good score. I also saw a YouTube video of a guy getting high 20s to eventually 40ish. 207 is an insane score! I'm not sure what my best is, I'll have a go later. It's not high. 🤣 How do you like it? Edited January 29 by JetmanUK Typos 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Karnov Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 19 minutes ago, JetmanUK said: It's a good score. I also saw a YouTube video of a guy getting high 20s to eventy 40ish. 207 is an I sense score! I'm not sure what my best is, I'll have a go later. It's not high. 🤣 How do you like it? I'm really enjoying it so far. I like games with a random element to them, like this and Marauder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetmanUK Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 5 minutes ago, Dr Karnov said: I'm really enjoying it so far. I like games with a random element to them, like this and Marauder Glad you are enjoying it. 🤟🏻😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_from_the_80s Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 9 hours ago, JetmanUK said: Yeah I wonder how real the risk is. I'm assuming if they are stored well they will go on for our lifetime at least. Hopefully. This is why I'm happy to have some dupes, I won't bother selling them. Some of these carts are 46 years old, and virtually all of them are at least 40, and NOW they're gonna stop working? I've bought over a hundred of them. I looked for "tested", reasonably clean with intact labels, but I wasn't just super careful about it, nor can you put that much stock in those claims anyway except in the rare instances that they provide video proof or something. Some carts were dirty, stored in attics, sheds, filthy dens and closets, old cardboard boxes, out in the garage, tossed in a bin, thrown about, got some shmutz all over them, and then shipped through the mail. These things are cultural ephemera from the "proto-80s" (1977-1982-ish), a time when Star Wars the original trilogy was the massive MCU of its day, Pat Benatar was the hot thing in music, and freaking Square Pegs was new and hip and fun. A lot of the material culture from that time (though not all) either doesn't even exist any more, has yellowed and aged, rotted away, can't be re-created or no longer functions. How many operational automobiles do you see from 1982? And yet every single cart I have purchased has worked. Maybe a couple of them might eventually die, but it just seems like... really? NOW that's gonna happen? Lol. I'm not too worried about it. And I'm actually going to store them better than they've been treated in decades probably. These things are mask roms anyway, the data is physically and permanently present in the IC in most cases, very stable and hard to kill or damage unless you're just trying. Obviously bad carts happen, and the contacts, traces or maybe the IC can be damaged, but it isn't very common or prevalent. Now there's a certain selection bias to my statements. How many dead carts do shysters try to pawn off anyway on ebay, etc? And most game stores test theirs at least. But I do think my assertion still stands and that failures are rare. I wouldn't be in a hurry to dump a few dupes, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have a lot of them either. But sometimes you just want a better/different label or a better condition or set of contacts for a less troublesome cart. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetmanUK Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 2 minutes ago, Brad_from_the_80s said: Some of these carts are 46 years old, and virtually all of them are at least 40, and NOW they're gonna stop working? I've bought over a hundred of them. I looked for "tested", reasonably clean with intact labels, but I wasn't just super careful about it, nor can you put that much stock in those claims anyway except in the rare instances that they provide video proof or something. Some carts were dirty, stored in attics, sheds, filthy dens and closets, old cardboard boxes, out in the garage, tossed in a bin, thrown about, got some shmutz all over them, and then shipped through the mail. These things are cultural ephemera from the "proto-80s" (1977-1982-ish), a time when Star Wars the original trilogy was the massive MCU of its day, Pat Benatar was the hot thing in music, and freaking Square Pegs was new and hip and fun. A lot of the material culture from that time (though not all) either doesn't even exist any more, has yellowed and aged, rotted away, can't be re-created or no longer functions. How many operational automobiles do you see from 1982? And yet every single cart I have purchased has worked. Maybe a couple of them might eventually die, but it just seems like... really? NOW that's gonna happen? Lol. I'm not too worried about it. And I'm actually going to store them better than they've been treated in decades probably. These things are mask roms anyway, the data is physically and permanently present in the IC in most cases, very stable and hard to kill or damage unless you're just trying. Obviously bad carts happen, and the contacts, traces or maybe the IC can be damaged, but it isn't very common or prevalent. Now there's a certain selection bias to my statements. How many dead carts do shysters try to pawn off anyway on ebay, etc? And most game stores test theirs at least. But I do think my assertion still stands and that failures are rare. I wouldn't be in a hurry to dump a few dupes, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have a lot of them either. But sometimes you just want a better/different label or a better condition or set of contacts for a less troublesome cart. Agreed. I have had a total of two bad carts. Not bad at all. Like you have said they are gonna be well looked after now they are in my possession, so if they've worked up to now hopefully they will go for the rest of my time here. After that, I don't care. 🤷🏻🤣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRingBearer Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 On 1/28/2024 at 5:53 PM, MikeM_ said: I'm now in that challenging place of my collection where most of the games left that look interesting to me are the more rare/expensive ones. Just bought Tapper, Front Line, Mr. Do!, and Time Pilot on eBay. Front Line and Mr. Do! weren't too bad of a price, but the other two pushed the budget some. About to install the latest BETA build on my 2600+ to see if my other Coleco games work now in prep for the new ones coming. This puts my retro games collection at: 138 2600 Games 17 7800 Games 22 5200 Games 29 ColecoVision Games 8 400/800 Games 1 Intellivision Game (Star Wars - thought I was ordering the Atari 800 version. Decided to keep it even though I don't have an Intellivision) I'm curious where the rest of you on here are at. How many of you are completionists? How many are just trying to get their favorites from their youth? How many are just looking to have the best games and skip the rest? 97 2600 Games (12 are Champ Games) 20 7800 Games Also have a few on order from ebay and AA 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRingBearer Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 ...Unfortunately, I missed out on the last chance sale from AA since I only recently started collecting. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorkbot Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 19 hours ago, Brad_from_the_80s said: every single cart I have purchased has worked. I bought just one that didn't work at all, Star Ship. On the Atari 2600+ it doesn't say failed to load but it goes to a black screen. And on an original Atari 2600 it goes to a gray screen with a little glitching at the edges. I spent a long time cleaning it, so I don't think being dirty is the issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I got back into Atari in 2008 and currently have a collection of carts that includes the following: 249 Original 2600 carts 179 2600 Homebrews/hacks 40 5200 carts (originals & homebrews) 23 7800 Original carts 67 7800 Homebrew carts After purchasing all of these carts, I can honestly say that I can remember coming across 2 or 3 carts (literally) that just wouldn't work. These things just flat out last. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Intellivision Master Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 1 minute ago, sramirez2008 said: I got back into Atari in 2008 and currently have a collection of carts that includes the following: 249 Original 2600 carts 179 2600 Homebrews/hacks 40 5200 carts (originals & homebrews) 23 7800 Original carts 67 7800 Homebrew carts After purchasing all of these carts, I can honestly say that I can remember coming across 2 or 3 carts (literally) that just wouldn't work. These things just flat out last. That's a lot of carts. Out of all those carts, if just 2 or 3 failed, that ain't bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillDMatt Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 On 12/10/2023 at 9:13 AM, YonderVittles said: As a new collector of Atari I had an embarrassing moment where I was writing to an ebay seller to tell him that the copy of Missile Command he sold me was just an empty shell. I was just about to send the message when I decided to stick it in the console and I realized that some carts have a spring loaded cover and the PCB appeared like magic. 😂 AHH Atari did it right back then those dust covers were/are great. The carts that give me the biggest fits to clean and get working are almost always the open top one like Activision and the red labeled Atari carts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Havoc 2049 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 My latest haul. The Xonox double-ender even has a Xonox dust cover. Golf is underrated. Fathom is a graphical powerhouse on the 2600. Mega Force is an excellent side scroller shmup. All the Xonox games are really good 2600 games, IMO. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane857 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Anyone have any info on this cart? Just bought it on ebay. Obviously a bootleg with dip switches. Have no idea yet if it will work on the atari 2600+? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane857 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 3 hours ago, BillDMatt said: AHH Atari did it right back then those dust covers were/are great. The carts that give me the biggest fits to clean and get working are almost always the open top one like Activision and the red labeled Atari carts. I have never had any of the atari carts with dust covers fail. Other carts... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 5 hours ago, Major Havoc 2049 said: The Xonox double-ender even has a Xonox dust cover. Nice! I only have one double-ender in my collection. It doesn’t have a dust cover, but it did come with the box and manuals. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Havoc 2049 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) 2 hours ago, sramirez2008 said: Nice! I only have one double-ender in my collection. It doesn’t have a dust cover, but it did come with the box and manuals. Nice! Looks crisp and almost new. Chuck Norris Superkicks/Artillery Duel and Spikes Peak/Ghost Manor have a special place in my heart, as I had both as a kid. The crash had hit and I got them both on clearance at Toys-R-Us in like '84. I almost pulled the trigger on boxed copies of both on ebay, but figured I better chill, as prices these days are rather high. I already have a loose copy CNSK/AD that I got back in the late 90's thrift store glory days. Edited January 31 by Major Havoc 2049 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 1 minute ago, Major Havoc 2049 said: Nice! Looks crisp and almost new. Chuck Norris Superkicks/Artillery Duel and Spikes Peak/Ghost Manor have a special place in my heart, as I had both as a kid. The crash had hit and I go them both on clearance at Toys-R-Us in like '84. I almost pulled the trigger on boxed copies of both on ebay, but figured I better chill, as prices these days are rather high. I already have a loose copy CNSK/AD that I got back in the late 90's thrift store glory days. Sweet! I’ve had this copy for several years. The box is in really good condition, as are the manuals and cart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysticSword Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 3 hours ago, sramirez2008 said: Nice! I only have one double-ender in my collection. It doesn’t have a dust cover, but it did come with the box and manuals. Nice find. What do you think of the 2600 version of those games? I remember having it for the Vic-20. Artillery Duel is a great two-player game. Chuck Norris game was 'ok'. I also had a couple other Oxnox double-ended cartridges back in the day as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 11 minutes ago, MysticSword said: Nice find. What do you think of the 2600 version of those games? I remember having it for the Vic-20. Artillery Duel is a great two-player game. Chuck Norris game was 'ok'. I also had a couple other Oxnox double-ended cartridges back in the day as well. Artillery Duel is meh, but I like Chuck Norris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysticSword Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 6 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said: Artillery Duel is meh, but I like Chuck Norris. For me it was the other way around. Perhaps it was because I recall (many years ago in my youth) that Artillery Duel was a game I would usually play when I had a friend visiting and was fun. I did like the Chuck Norris game, but the controls and gameplay I remember was kind of 'clunky'. Though where I had the Vic-20 version, the game-play may have a different feel compared to the 2600 version. I'd still love to add the 2600 cartridge version to my growing games collection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpareHead3 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Just hit 199 2600 cartridges (old + new + homebrew) ... Solar Storm was #199. Starting to think about what #200 should be. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Two more carts arrived today from eBay purchases: M-Network Lock 'N' Chase, and 7800 Robotron. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABA180 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 On 1/29/2024 at 2:35 PM, Brad_from_the_80s said: Some of these carts are 46 years old, and virtually all of them are at least 40, and NOW they're gonna stop working? I've bought over a hundred of them. I looked for "tested", reasonably clean with intact labels, but I wasn't just super careful about it, nor can you put that much stock in those claims anyway except in the rare instances that they provide video proof or something. Some carts were dirty, stored in attics, sheds, filthy dens and closets, old cardboard boxes, out in the garage, tossed in a bin, thrown about, got some shmutz all over them, and then shipped through the mail. These things are cultural ephemera from the "proto-80s" (1977-1982-ish), a time when Star Wars the original trilogy was the massive MCU of its day, Pat Benatar was the hot thing in music, and freaking Square Pegs was new and hip and fun. A lot of the material culture from that time (though not all) either doesn't even exist any more, has yellowed and aged, rotted away, can't be re-created or no longer functions. How many operational automobiles do you see from 1982? And yet every single cart I have purchased has worked. Maybe a couple of them might eventually die, but it just seems like... really? NOW that's gonna happen? Lol. I'm not too worried about it. And I'm actually going to store them better than they've been treated in decades probably. These things are mask roms anyway, the data is physically and permanently present in the IC in most cases, very stable and hard to kill or damage unless you're just trying. Obviously bad carts happen, and the contacts, traces or maybe the IC can be damaged, but it isn't very common or prevalent. Now there's a certain selection bias to my statements. How many dead carts do shysters try to pawn off anyway on ebay, etc? And most game stores test theirs at least. But I do think my assertion still stands and that failures are rare. I wouldn't be in a hurry to dump a few dupes, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have a lot of them either. But sometimes you just want a better/different label or a better condition or set of contacts for a less troublesome cart. All very good points, selection bias if so as well. Remember too, these things were made in a time when things were made to last. Not the throwaway society nowadays. Good example re cars as a contrary one of stuff that isn't still around, but good luck finding anything foreign made on 4 wheels then that didn't rot out with perfectly good running gear. Like you I've bought a cart or 2 that was a brick in recent times but I just swapped it at the store for something else. Cost me a short drive and a quick cleaning to find out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) Hot dang just won an eBay auction for a BOXED Guardian w/manual! Yes, it's beat up and the tag space is torn, and I paid $200 (with free shipping) for it, but that feels cheap for this one. Kind of surprised there was only one other bid on it. I have seen it boxed exactly once, in immaculate condition, graded and slabbed, with a $3500 price tag... Game is fun, too! I have a loose cart of it in much better shape than this one, might end up swapping carts. Edited January 31 by Mockduck 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBreakout Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 4 hours ago, sramirez2008 said: Artillery Duel is meh, but I like Chuck Norris. I love the Xonox games, partially because they are difficult to love, and extremely quirky. I think I like Sir Lancelot the most... It's sort of like a one-player Joust Deluxe and progresses like Dragon Fire. For a real challenge, try finding the single-enders. I have 6 of em, and each was hard to find (missing Spikes Peak and Motocross Racer). The carts aren't quite as cool as the double-enders, but at least they can stack like the other carts with end labels if you display them that way. Although, for some reason (which can only be a result of lack of quality control), the text on about half the single-ender Xonox cart end-labels are oriented one way (like standard Atari carts), and the others flipped (like ColecoVision carts)... So several of them have upside-down text if they are stacked on each other!* (This actually made a difference on which titles I tracked down too!) Oh Xonox... I love how your crap-factor is part of your appeal, but dang you're pricey! *2600 SpectraVision and (gasp!) Sega carts also did this. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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