Flyindrew Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 One of the very first game consoles I owned as a kid was the Atari Video Pinball console. You never hear a peep about this console anywhere in the retro community nor in any of Atari’s recent compilations. Zero mention was made of this unit in Atari 50. This is a shame and wonder why this is the case? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 I agree that it should of been mentioned at least, and there were some other dedicated consoles as well that have been forgotten by the public. I have seen a few units here and there sold at retro gaming conventions this past few years so it is not completely forgotten. As time moves on, more and more people will have grown up after this release and will remember different games of their past. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 It is a shame! It's a great little console that arguably plays better pinball games than the VCS's Video Pinball cartridge, which is impressive for what are essentially mutated Pong games. 🙃 I think it has to do with a general lack of interest in dedicated systems broadly. For most gamers these days it's hard enough to wrap their heads around anything before the NES--or even SNES, PSX, or GameCube--let alone anything before cartridges. (Video Pinball was of course after cartridges, but they don't know that. 😜) Even for stone-age enthusiasts like us, chatter about Video Pinball--and other standalones--is limited because there's really only so much that can be said about it. It isn't steeped in lore like the 2600, it isn't especially noteworthy as a collectible, and it only has its gaggle of primitive built-in games. How much would we have to say about the 2600 today if the only cartridge that ever came out for it was Combat? (Still more than Video Pinball since it's at least programmable, but you get the point.) Nevertheless, it's a little surprising there isn't a HSC or leaderboard for this thing around here! Video Pinball seems like a perfect candidate. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyindrew Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 21 hours ago, BassGuitari said: It is a shame! It's a great little console that arguably plays better pinball games than the VCS's Video Pinball cartridge, which is impressive for what are essentially mutated Pong games. 🙃 I think it has to do with a general lack of interest in dedicated systems broadly. For most gamers these days it's hard enough to wrap their heads around anything before the NES--or even SNES, PSX, or GameCube--let alone anything before cartridges. (Video Pinball was of course after cartridges, but they don't know that. 😜) Even for stone-age enthusiasts like us, chatter about Video Pinball--and other standalones--is limited because there's really only so much that can be said about it. It isn't steeped in lore like the 2600, it isn't especially noteworthy as a collectible, and it only has its gaggle of primitive built-in games. How much would we have to say about the 2600 today if the only cartridge that ever came out for it was Combat? (Still more than Video Pinball since it's at least programmable, but you get the point.) Nevertheless, it's a little surprising there isn't a HSC or leaderboard for this thing around here! Video Pinball seems like a perfect candidate. The Video Pinball console is not only far superior to the 2600 Video Pinball cart, its also far superior to the clunky Intellivision Pinball as well as Odyssey 2 pinball, both titles released at that time. The Video Pinball console was released around the exact same time as the 2600 (VCS). From 1978-early 1980, they were both equally popular. However, once Space Invaders was released on the VCS, and sales boomed, nobody gave video pinball or pong a second thought any more. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 5 minutes ago, Flyindrew said: The Video Pinball console is not only far superior to the 2600 Video Pinball cart, its also far superior to the clunky Intellivision Pinball as well as Odyssey 2 pinball, both titles released at that time. I don't know if I'd go that far--Pinball for Intellivision is pretty great IMO. I have to agree on Thunderball!, though; I find it charming, quirky, and nostalgic, but it's objectively sub-par as a pinball game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 I have one. A brown one. I found it in the wild for like $15. It works. It also inspired my current home built controllers to have paddle buttons on the side. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Well how many of the things sold? I mean, its basically a dedicated pong (based) console, and 2600 was designed specifically to make those obsolete. Don't think I've ever seen video pinball in person, and so little info about it I just never had interest in tracking one down, despite occasionally seeing them on eBay. Pong consoles were definitely waning by the 80's, though they still make them, and kits to this day, I just imagine video pinball just didn't sell that well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Personally, I have literally never seen one and I was unaware of their existence until finding references online. Given that the hardware is more than 45 years old, the number of still working consoles is going to be very limited, and most of those are going to be held by harcore collectors. When I started collecting video games in the late-1980s, it was still possible (though unusual) to find Pong systems. These are of a similar vintage, albeit produced in much larger numbers, and I have not encountered one in decades. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NISMOPC Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I've got four of them in beige (1 is CIB w/power supply, 2 are in original box but not complete and one on display). Cool little devices... ...portable unit that runs off of batteries or PSU. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwlngmad Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I had a Sears version some time ago. Yeah, it is a great little device. I suppose it is because dedicated units like this have fallen out of favor (for the most part). But, I enjoyed it while I had it and should probably get more love than what it does. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I have both the brown and beige versions in box. Which one is harder to find? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazball Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Video Pinball holds a special place in my heart because it's the only video game I ever saw my grandmother play, and only once at that. I remember asking her why she didn't play other games (like me and the rest of our giant family who were always on the Atari) and she said it's the only one she knows how to play It's still fun and imo a must-have game for any Atari library! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyindrew Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 The Video Pinball Unit was actually the second console I ever owned (The Magnavox Odyssey 5000 actually my first in 1979). Up until mid-late 1980, I would argue that the games on the Video Pinball unit were equal to its VCS counterpart. It might also be the first console that had a proper official release of Breakout on it. I recently picked up one on ebay dirt cheap which works beautifully. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NISMOPC Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, swlovinist said: I have both the brown and beige versions in box. Which one is harder to find? I rarely come across brown one's every so often on ebay. So maybe.... brown. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I see it come up every so often at conventions etc., and I've gotten to play it quite a few times as a result. I look for it whenever I'm scanning for purchases, but I've never pulled the trigger. If anyone on this thread wants to sell one, I am interested, but not overly anxious to acquire it. Is it better than Atari Video Pinball - Yes Odyssey 2 Thunderball - Yes Vectrex Spinball - Yes ColecoVision Flipper Slipper - Neutral Intellivision Pinball - No Astrocade Bally Pin - No It would be a nice set of games to have on the 2600. A bit mysterious why no one has ever created a homebrew version for a different Atari machine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyindrew Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 Another pinball game I think Video Pinball unit is slightly better than is "Dave's Midnight Magic" (XEGS). Though that game can be kind of fun once started and you get accustomed to the controls/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundGammon Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 I have 2 of those and one I "hacked" to a 2600 cable to be able to use the flipper buttons on Video Pinball & Midnight Magic! Works way better! My scores went up! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 32 minutes ago, SoundGammon said: I have 2 of those and one I "hacked" to a 2600 cable to be able to use the flipper buttons on Video Pinball & Midnight Magic! Works way better! My scores went up! I'm sure it isn't really complicated but can you describe how that is done? I might have to buy Video Pinball if that's the case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 On 2/22/2024 at 10:03 AM, wongojack said: I see it come up every so often at conventions etc., and I've gotten to play it quite a few times as a result. I look for it whenever I'm scanning for purchases, but I've never pulled the trigger. If anyone on this thread wants to sell one, I am interested, but not overly anxious to acquire it. Is it better than Atari Video Pinball - Yes Odyssey 2 Thunderball - Yes Vectrex Spinball - Yes ColecoVision Flipper Slipper - Neutral Intellivision Pinball - No Astrocade Bally Pin - No It would be a nice set of games to have on the 2600. A bit mysterious why no one has ever created a homebrew version for a different Atari machine. I don't suppose there's a source code dump for that thing, hahaaha. Imagine a dedicated controller that sort of looks like that game (side buttons, paddle) that would play a 5200 cartridge version of that group of games. Niche on top of niche! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundGammon Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 3 hours ago, ledzep said: I'm sure it isn't really complicated but can you describe how that is done? I might have to buy Video Pinball if that's the case. Not too hard. I wired the left joystick switch to the the left flipper and the right joystick switch to the right. The "big" button to the fire for launch and a the up & down to the other free buttons. Run the ground or common lead to the other side of the buttons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 On 2/20/2024 at 2:40 PM, Video said: Well how many of the things sold? I mean, its basically a dedicated pong (based) console, and 2600 was designed specifically to make those obsolete. Don't think I've ever seen video pinball in person, and so little info about it I just never had interest in tracking one down, despite occasionally seeing them on eBay. Pong consoles were definitely waning by the 80's, though they still make them, and kits to this day, I just imagine video pinball just didn't sell that well. Kits? Where? On 2/22/2024 at 6:08 AM, jhd said: Personally, I have literally never seen one and I was unaware of their existence until finding references online. Given that the hardware is more than 45 years old, the number of still working consoles is going to be very limited, and most of those are going to be held by harcore collectors. When I started collecting video games in the late-1980s, it was still possible (though unusual) to find Pong systems. These are of a similar vintage, albeit produced in much larger numbers, and I have not encountered one in decades. You have to realize all those TTL chips and discrete components were made in the USA and Japan, maybe some in Taiwan, but the quality of those components were beyond the quality of the stuff being made in the third world today. 9 hours ago, Flyindrew said: Another pinball game I think Video Pinball unit is slightly better than is "Dave's Midnight Magic" (XEGS). Though that game can be kind of fun once started and you get accustomed to the controls/ Midnight Magic originated on the Apple ][ and used the paddle buttons for the flippers. One in each hand. It would have been nice if 2600 Video Pinball used the paddles in one port and the joystick in the other. You could use the paddles, but you would have no way to launch the ball unless you swapped them quickly. I built flipper buttons on the side of my super controller I am currently working on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KaeruYojimbo Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 13 hours ago, Zonie said: Midnight Magic originated on the Apple ][ and used the paddle buttons for the flippers. One in each hand. It would have been nice if 2600 Video Pinball used the paddles in one port and the joystick in the other. You could use the paddles, but you would have no way to launch the ball unless you swapped them quickly. Bumper Bash uses the paddle controllers. Holding both buttons at the same time pulls back the plunger, releasing them launches the ball. The control scheme alone makes it my favorite pinball game on the 2600. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 On 2/20/2024 at 3:40 PM, Video said: Well how many of the things sold? I mean, its basically a dedicated pong (based) console, and 2600 was designed specifically to make those obsolete. Pong consoles were definitely waning by the 80's...I just imagine video pinball just didn't sell that well. Well, it certainly didn't sell well by modern standards. The market was so much smaller then. Atari sold approximately 510,000 standalone games total in 1977 (although it's not clear what the breakdown is). I don't have numbers for subsequent years, but I imagine they only got smaller. But relative to the small size of the market in the late '70s, Video Pinball seems to have done pretty well. Programmable systems like the VCS made dedicated ones obsolete, but they were very expensive early on (adjusted for inflation, an Atari VCS would have been over $900), and the economic recession in the U.S. at the time didn't help. Video Pinball was much more affordable--though still expensive at release, at around $400 in 2024-dollars--and you didn't have to buy extra games for it (at another ~$100 a pop in 2024 bucks). Its built-in games were arguably at least as good as most game cartridges available at the time anyway. Breakout alone moved quite a few units. Video Pinball is a very easy game to find today, which probably suggests it sold at least reasonably well. On 2/22/2024 at 9:02 AM, swlovinist said: I have both the brown and beige versions in box. Which one is harder to find? Maybe the brown/woodgrain one, but not by much. They're both pretty easy to track down. BTW, for anyone who didn't know, there is a difference between the two besides the case. The original beige version has one Breakout game and two Rebound games, and the woodgrain one has the opposite (two Breakouts, one Rebound). Additional fun fact: The woodgrain version with two Breakout games was initially a Sears exclusive--called Pinball-Breakaway--before Atari sold it under their own branding in 1978. It was Atari's final standalone console release. 🙂 On 2/22/2024 at 10:33 AM, Flyindrew said: The Video Pinball Unit was actually the second console I ever owned (The Magnavox Odyssey 5000 actually my first in 1979). Do you mean Odyssey 4000? Odyssey 5000 was never released. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyindrew Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 26 minutes ago, BassGuitari said: Well, it certainly didn't sell well by modern standards. The market was so much smaller then. Atari sold approximately 510,000 standalone games total in 1977 (although it's not clear what the breakdown is). I don't have numbers for subsequent years, but I imagine they only got smaller. But relative to the small size of the market in the late '70s, Video Pinball seems to have done pretty well. Programmable systems like the VCS made dedicated ones obsolete, but they were very expensive early on (adjusted for inflation, an Atari VCS would have been over $900), and the economic recession in the U.S. at the time didn't help. Video Pinball was much more affordable--though still expensive at release, at around $400 in 2024-dollars--and you didn't have to buy extra games for it (at another ~$100 a pop in 2024 bucks). Its built-in games were arguably at least as good as most game cartridges available at the time anyway. Breakout alone moved quite a few units. Video Pinball is a very easy game to find today, which probably suggests it sold at least reasonably well. Maybe the brown/woodgrain one, but not by much. They're both pretty easy to track down. BTW, for anyone who didn't know, there is a difference between the two besides the case. The original beige version has one Breakout game and two Rebound games, and the woodgrain one has the opposite (two Breakouts, one Rebound). Additional fun fact: The woodgrain version with two Breakout games was initially a Sears exclusive--called Pinball-Breakaway--before Atari sold it under their own branding in 1978. It was Atari's final standalone console release. 🙂 Do you mean Odyssey 4000? Odyssey 5000 was never released. Oops meant to write Magnavox Odyssey 500 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 3 minutes ago, Flyindrew said: Oops meant to write Magnavox Odyssey 500 Nice! I love the Odyssey 500. The only ball-and-paddle system that had player graphics instead of just blocks! (They were really just stylized, re-shaped blocks, but still. 😜) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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