Ridged games

[Rocko]

Why are they so rare? I have california games that is ridged, and a blue lightning that is also ridged. What makes them so rare?

[chris_lynx1989]

only the early lynx releases were done like this in the beginning.atari went

to the more familiar design we all generally see now because of the lynx

one unit was harder to remove games from(especially the eprom proto-

style games).after the original release of the lynx in october 1989 the

cards were changed to the new style.hope this helps you.--the lynxer

[Albert]

Actually, there are three styles of Lynx carts. The original games did not have a ridge, at least not a prominent one. They had a bunch of dimples and a very low ridge on the end of the cart. Presumably Atari determined these "flat" carts were too difficult to remove, and in a haste they added the two ridges. They soon redesigned the carts again so they were more elegant, hence the curved lip that you see most frequently and what nearly all Lynx carts ended up using. Here is some more information on the three styles of Lynx carts that Atari used, including pretty pictures:

 

Atari Lynx - Atari - Flat Cartridge Style

Atari Lynx - Atari - Ridged Cartridge Style

Atari Lynx - Atari - Curved Lip Cartridge Style

 

Thus far, we have only seen evidence of six games released with the Ridged format: Blue Lightning, California Games, Chip's Challenge, Electrocop, Gates of Zendocon, and Gauntlet. Incidently, these were also the first six titles released for the Lynx. Of them, I believe all but Gauntlet can also be found in the original Flat style, suggesting that Gauntlet was introduced when Atari switched to the Ridged cartridges.

 

..Al

[Clock]

I keep hearing how hard it is to remove the flat cats from the Lynx but I have no problems with my Lynx 1 or 2. I am wondering if the contacts in the Lynx1 have loosened over time to make it easier.

 

I have 1 flat cart and 2 ridged carts and whole big load of curved carts

[Albert]

I keep hearing how hard it is to remove the flat cats from the Lynx but I have no problems with my Lynx 1 or 2. I am wondering if the contacts in the Lynx1 have loosened over time to make it easier.

 

I remember having a tough time removing games from my original Lynx when the system first came out. So I think there is some truth to the games being difficult to remove. It could very well be that games become easier to insert and remove over time.

 

..Al