Poker and Blackjack board difference

[mr_intv]

These are both Poker and Blackjack game boards, I’m wondering why one is a single chip(Korea) and the other is a double chip(Taiwan). Just curious, I’m sure this happens with other games as well. 

[mr_me]

It did happen with other cartridges but Poker and Blackjack was by far the largest production. Eventually multiple sources were used to meet demand. In this case AMI used one 4k chip while, GI used two 2k chips, all manufactured at about the same time. There are rom code variations, these could be the same rom code.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

Rev was supposed to be creating a mega database of PCB variants, no?

[+Psycho Stormtrooper- Rog]

On 3/15/2024 at 6:53 PM, mr_me said:

It did happen with other cartridges but Poker and Blackjack was by far the largest production. Eventually multiple sources were used to meet demand. In this case AMI used one 4k chip while, GI used two 2k chips, all manufactured at about the same time. There are rom code variations, these could be the same rom code.

What are the rom code differences?

Do they coincide with production release location? 🤔

[mr_me]

3 hours ago, Psycho Stormtrooper- Rog said:

What are the rom code differences?

Do they coincide with production release location? 🤔

Yeah, the comments on Intvfunhouse suggests it's a Hong Kong vs USA difference. Other than the copyright year, not sure what the difference is.

[mr_intv]

Is anyone interested in these?  I’ll trade them both for a single Spiker board…..🫣.  If I don’t get any trade offers, they’re available to anyone who wants them for free. 

[Walter Ives]

On 3/15/2024 at 3:26 PM, mr_intv said:

I’m wondering why one is a single chip(Korea) and the other is a double chip(Taiwan). Just curious, I’m sure this happens with other games as well.

The three chips in your image were manufactured about the same time, December 1981-January 1982. GI had designed its 2Kx10 ROM chip about 1976 and by 1982 the fab line in Taiwan capable of producing it was fully-amortized. It had designed a 4Kx10 ROM to be manufactured with the next-generation process, but at the time there was such a huge demand for ROM chips, especially 4Kx8 ROM chips, that getting them produced in short order was a capacity and scheduling issue as much as anything else. GI didn't just willy-nilly throw away its existing capacity; it used both as long as it was economical to do so. AMI didn't begin designing its CP-1600 compatible ROM until 1981, so only had a 4Kx10 version, which in this case was fabricated on its line in Korea. The fact that Atari's standard cartridge housing only had room for a single ROM made it willing to pay more for 4K ROMs than Mattel also figured into the decision matrix.

 

WJI

 

[Walter Ives]

On 3/18/2024 at 6:01 PM, Psycho Stormtrooper- Rog said:

What are the rom code differences?

Do they coincide with production release location?

ROMs were fabricated in batches of "wafer runs;" considering the total number of batches that were run, there were very few cases of batch-to-batch ROM code differences. The code changes were not coordinated with fab line location: Marketing decided when changes were warranted independently of Operations deciding where a cartridge would be fabbed. Any correlation is incidental.

 

WJI