Reproduction games

[elviticus]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I wonder... Is there any reason why very rare games like Crazy Climber, Quadrun, Cakewalk etc. couldn't be re-released by someone (AtariAge )? I guess it's a copyright issue?

 

I understand some games have been re-released at Expos etc. but in limited quantities... I know that I would love to buy a reproduction of a lot of very rare games that I want but can't/won't afford.

 

I've got a pretty healthy (250+) collection at this point - but I mostly collect them because I love to play them. Missing from my collection are some very fun (but too expensive) games. I want to play them on my 2600, have the instructions, and gaze at the boxes lovingly ! Why must I be denied?

[StanJr]

Hozer used to run off a copy of any ROM you could supply them with, so it has been done.

 

I'm not sure if AA is currently offering that service or not.

[oesii]

I think a lot of collectors and places like AA possibly don't provide this service because of the abuse that would occur with the reselling of repros. If 100 people got a copy of Quadrun on cart for $12, I'm sure some of them would try to make nice quality labels for it and attempt to sell it to an unsuspecting person for a few hundred. Too much risk I think.

 

If you really just want to play the games there's technology out there to let you play all the games on your real console, a supercharger or cuttle cart is a good example. And I think there's a few other flash carts for the 2600 in development. Already have seen good ones for the 5200 and 7800.

[Susuwatari]

The alternative to potional abuse would be to hack the ROM so the title says "Reproduction" Then it'd be harder to pass it as original.

[elviticus]

Yeah, that would be good (hack w/reproduction)! As far as using cuttle cart or supercharger... I'd just much rather have a real cartridge. Also, I love having the instruction manual (even though I know I can get all that info here). I just like having it all with my Atari, just like old times.

[kisrael]

"If a painting can be forged well enough to fool experts, why is the original so valuable?" --George Carlin

 

Gamers who are more into playing games than collecting, who think that emulation is about as good as the real thing, except maybe the controls and a few screen nitpicks, only barely understand the fuss...

[NovaXpress]

I've seen repros of Rairity 10 games which are indistinguishable from the original. These things are already floating around and probably are already being sold for big money to unsuspecting Ebay buyers.

 

I think a lot of collectors and places like AA possibly don't provide this service because of the abuse that would occur with the reselling of repros. If 100 people got a copy of Quadrun on cart for $12, I'm sure some of them would try to make nice quality labels for it and attempt to sell it to an unsuspecting person for a few hundred. Too much risk I think.

True, if a place like AA sold perfect repros, the collector's market would go to hell. Fine by me, I think it's far more important to make the games available. The collectors, who've already invested so much money, would rather keep it to themselves and they have the pull in this hobby. It's a conflict of interest with the gamers, who just want to play.

 

I predict that in the not-to-distant future there will be a big scandal after someone is found to be selling phony rares and the collectors market will crash anyway.

 

The collecting value is gonne be in the hardware, that's the one thing that's not so easy to fake.

[shining slade]

"If a painting can be forged well enough to fool experts, why is the original so valuable?"  --George Carlin

He's awesome! A damned smart guy for someone that dropped out of school in 9th grade Funny as hell too

[MattG/Snyper2099]

I've seen repros of Rairity 10 games which are indistinguishable from the original.  These things are already floating around and probably are already being sold for big money to unsuspecting Ebay buyers.

 

I think a lot of collectors and places like AA possibly don't provide this service because of the abuse that would occur with the reselling of repros. If 100 people got a copy of Quadrun on cart for $12, I'm sure some of them would try to make nice quality labels for it and attempt to sell it to an unsuspecting person for a few hundred. Too much risk I think.

True, if a place like AA sold perfect repros, the collector's market would go to hell. Fine by me, I think it's far more important to make the games available. The collectors, who've already invested so much money, would rather keep it to themselves and they have the pull in this hobby. It's a conflict of interest with the gamers, who just want to play.

 

I predict that in the not-to-distant future there will be a big scandal after someone is found to be selling phony rares and the collectors market will crash anyway.

 

The collecting value is gonne be in the hardware, that's the one thing that's not so easy to fake.

 

Just keep in mind that it's fairly easy to tell if it's a ROM or an EPROM inside the cart. If it's a ROM, it's safe to say it's legit. A simple x-ray or digital weight can determine if a cart has an EPROM or ROM in it most of the time. Also, it's hard to fake most 10's because a lot didn't have labels or had unique labels that are hard to reproduce. Not impossible but think about the situation. Isn't someone going to notice 50 eli ladders suddenly available for sale?

[keilbaca]

I seen a slew of obelix's for sale before on ebay. So yea. but anyways, how can i use a supercharger to play any game on my atari? I really want to play the 10 rarity games, so that's why i'm askin. some kind of special cable? Just wondering...

[sku_u]

Reproductions, even ones that are virtually indistinguishable from the originals are made in the world of antiques. This has no effect on the value of the originals. There are reproductions of rare art pieces that have no effect on the value of the originals. This argument comes up here about 3 times a year. Even if reproductions are made of semi to ultra rare games, this has NO effect on the value of the originals. Most of the people who purchase reproductions cannot afford the originals but still want to enjoy the product whether it be a game, a work or art, or an expensive piece of furniture. Repro carts have been around for a while now. I don't see the value of the originally dropping. If anything, the value of these games seems to be rising.

[Bruce Tomlin]

Weight is the best way to be sure in many cases. Usually the chip in a 2600 cart was a mask ROM with a positive chip select. Standard EPROMs have a negative chip select, and need a 7404 inverter to work in a 2600. The weight of the extra chip (and the extra weight of a ceramic EPROM's case) would be rather difficult to hide. 2600 supercart games should also have a distinctive weight with two 24-pin chips on the board.

 

On the other hand, many really rare games (and protos!) were made with an EPROM and a 7404, so you can't always be sure.

 

And then there's the 7800 carts, where carts with a supercart board can be recycled easily for a repro. But 7800 supercart games used 28-pin mask ROMs, and because of the programming input, 128K-byte EPROMs are in 32-pin chips. So even 7800 repros can often be found out by their extra weight.

 

One thing that could help is if a repro is put in a modern transparent case. But that doesn't stop someone from taking it apart and putting into in a salvaged Atari case.

 

And of course, if the PCB is red, it's probably a repro. :-)

[Tsukasa]

That may be why they decided to make the pcb's red.

[Susuwatari]

On the other hand, many really rare games (and protos!) were made with an EPROM and a 7404, so you can't always be sure.

 

AFAIK all Spectravideo game are EPROM. Even the common game like Tapeworm and Planet Patrol.