US games carts

[ATARIPITBULL]

Is there a rarity differance between the flat US game carts like this Gopher & the beveled end ones like this Picnic?

 

[SS]

Is there a rarity differance between the flat US game carts like this Gopher & the beveled end ones like this Picnic?

 

Not much, AFAIK. I seem to run into one type about as often as the other.

[SS]

I do think that the beveled cases are a bit more sought after by collectors, though.

[sku_u]

I had no problem picking up both varieties of each when I was completing my US Games collection. I don't think one's more rare than the other.

[Mindfield]

Sounds about the same here. I recently completed my US games collection, but I'm missing a few of the case variations. I seem to see each just about as frequently, though.

[Susuwatari]

Must be regional variation then. Of all of the US games I found, only one were in the plain cart and not the fancy cart.

[Cootster]

The plain carts came before the beveled ones, right?

 

I've never seen NTG is a plain case, and I'm under the impression that it was one of (if not the) last US Games releases.

 

Also, Eli's Ladder, which was apparently made with leftover US Games inventory, only exists in a beveled case, hinting that the company didn't have any plain cases left . . .

 

From my experience, the beveled cases are slightly more common, but probably not enough to affect rankings,

[shining slade]

I had a hell of a time getting the beveled Gopher cart. And try finding a M.A.D. beveled cart that has the end label still attached! I've got them all now, but I still need another M.A.D. with the end label

[Keir]

On 7/4/2004 at 12:07 AM, Cootster said:

The plain carts came before the beveled ones, right?

Bumping a really old post because I have the same question and can't find a definitive answer. I had originally thought the beveled cases were first and then they switched to standard to reduce costs. Then I saw that games which were only released in standard have lower product numbers than games which were only released in beveled, pointing to the opposite being true. Now I'm just discovering that there are more variations than I thought existed (e.g. standard case Piece O' Cake) so I'm wondering if anyone knows 100% for sure which came first.

[Rom Hunter]

3 hours ago, Keir said:

Bumping a really old post because I have the same question and can't find a definitive answer. I had originally thought the beveled cases were first and then they switched to standard to reduce costs. Then I saw that games which were only released in standard have lower product numbers than games which were only released in beveled, pointing to the opposite being true. Now I'm just discovering that there are more variations than I thought existed (e.g. standard case Piece O' Cake) so I'm wondering if anyone knows 100% for sure which came first.

Could be that both cart versions were made for every white box U.S. Games title, although I've never seen a beveled Squeeze Box and I've never seen a square Picnic, Piece O' Cake or Entombed.

Keir, can you show me a picture or scan of a square cartridge version of Piece O' Cake?

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by Rom Hunter

[+Psionic]

On 1/29/2023 at 10:50 AM, Keir said:

...so I'm wondering if anyone knows 100% for sure which came first.

 

The standard cases came first, as evidenced by the fact that the black label Vidtec games used them.

 

The beveled cases were the same ones used by Amiga for Mogul Maniac and Off Your Rocker.  This is no coincidence, as both Amiga and U.S. Games were located in Santa Clara, CA.  Obviously, there was a connection there that resulted in both using the same suppliers.  The Color Bar Generator by VideoSoft and Eli's Ladder by Simage also used that style of case.

[Keir]

 

1 hour ago, Rom Hunter said:

Keir, can you show me a picture or scan of a square cartridge version of Piece O'Cake?

Here’s a link to an eBay auction that @Psionic posted in another thread: https://www.ebay.com/itm/255896281401

 

55 minutes ago, Psionic said:

The standard cases came first, as evidenced by the fact that the black label Vidtec games used them.  The beveled cases were the same ones used by Amiga for Mogul Maniac and Off Your Rocker.  This is no coincidence, as both Amiga and U.S. Games were located in Santa Clara, CA.  Obviously, there was a connection there that resulted in both using the same suppliers.

That makes sense. Seems like everything points to standard then beveled.

[+Psionic]

Some guy posted a picture of one on Facebook last year as well.

 

 

[roadrunner]

Good deal, hard to find flat Piece O' Cake and flat Raft Rider


https://www.ebay.com/itm/255896281401

[+Psionic]

On 1/29/2023 at 2:46 PM, Keir said:

That makes sense. Seems like everything points to standard then beveled.

 

If there are any doubts, I would add that all prototypes by U.S. Games that I've ever seen are in the standard shells.

[Supergun]

Agreed. My “Gopher Attack” proto is in a standard case.

The standards came first, no doubt. But most of us old timers here have always known that.

[+Psionic]

I guess nobody here except me saw this.  Someone posted here about owning one years ago but never posted a picture as proof.  I do know of at least one other cartridge out there though.

 

Anybody else own Picnic in a standard square case?

 

 

[Rom Hunter]

On 1/30/2023 at 1:14 AM, Supergun said:

Agreed. My “Gopher Attack” proto is in a standard case.

The standards came first, no doubt. But most of us old timers here have always known that.

What a lot of old timers (and newbies) don't know is that the artwork of the standard and beveled version differ slightly (cart, box and manual).

You have to examine this closely to spot the differences, since they're very subtle.

Psionic pointed this out to me a while ago.

Before that I never noticed.

Expect to see the differences in our database soon.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Rom Hunter

[+Psionic]

There's a beveled case Gopher in this lot on eBay if anyone is looking for one.  Probably not worth buying just for that.  But if someone needs several of these titles, this wouldn't be a bad purchase.

[Varanis Ridari]

The beveled cases came after, and then the black labels came after Quaker bought US Games then merged it with its own VidTec sub-label, before it all came to an end after the crash, all of this in span of maybe little over a year.

 

Funny though, how all three versions co-existed in the same discount games bins post-1983, which is how I ended up with so many Atari games as a kid. They were all $5, and got snapped up by parents like my dad as a cheap thrill even after the NES launched.

 

I think the rarity of the case format is entirely dependent on the individual title itself, though. I'm not an investor/reseller type though. I just buy to play.

[+Psionic]

17 hours ago, Varanis Ridari said:

The beveled cases came after, and then the black labels came after Quaker bought US Games then merged it with its own VidTec sub-label, before it all came to an end after the crash, all of this in span of maybe little over a year.

 

False.  It's well established that the black Vidtec label cartridges were the earliest variation.  Furthermore, upon Quaker purchasing a controlling interest in U.S. Games, the company was essentially folded into Fisher Price...not Vidtec.  The Vidtec brand name had been created by U.S. Games before Quaker was even involved and was eventually phased out entirely.

[Varanis Ridari]

3 hours ago, Psionic said:

 

False.  It's well established that the black Vidtec label cartridges were the earliest variation.  Furthermore, upon Quaker purchasing a controlling interest in U.S. Games, the company was essentially folded into Fisher Price...not Vidtec.  The Vidtec brand name had been created by U.S. Games before Quaker was even involved and was eventually phased out entirely.

I worded that poorly with regards the merger, and meant Vidtec and US Games were folded together by Quaker.

 

You're right about the Fischer Price bit, but I left that out because I've never seen Fischer Price versions of any VT/USG titles, just some kiddie/educational stuff in colored carts.

 

I also stand corrected on the order of the black labels