EricDeLee Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Dang it... I just had a long post here... but the kid deleted it when I went for a Coke. Anyway... I decided to refocus my collecting goals a little bit and plan on 'trying' to get all NTSC label variations for Rarity 1s through Rarity 4s. Usually when I focus on one system rather then 5 or 6 systems, I generally have a very positive result (i.e. I started collecting for Atari Lynx less than a month ago... and now I have 6 systems, 19 games and a few accesories. I haven't spent over $100 total for all of that so I'm really happy about that!). I noticed somewhere that certain games contain a pretty significant label variation, but now I can't find the link for that. The one picture I saw was a Superman Atari 2600 cart. The end label was written in blue (?) text and there was a letter "p" off to the side in the same color/font of text. This wasn't a small 'p' that was imprinted into the label... it was actually placed on the label for some reason. How hard are these to find and what reason is there for the stray 'p'. Some people my not like 'p' on their carts, but I'm pretty interested!!! If this is a PAL thing, than naturally I'll let it go by the wayside and forget about it. Also... for those that are collecting label variations, how are you managing your collection? I printed off the entire Rarity guide (yes... every page) and even sorted everything out by printing by Rarity 1s and then Rarity 1s... etc. My plan was to just highlight the ones I have and use that as my database. However, if the Superman 'p' label isn't on there and if it is an NTSC game... then I'd be missing out on some games. Anyone got a suggestion as to how I can keep up with this? As of right now... according to my rarity sheets that I printed off I need to collect 488 games to get all of the Rarity 1-4 label variations. (Of course I've already got a great start to that... but that's my total number I am seeing). If anyone is aware of other label differences, please let me know so that I can figure out how to find them. If anyone has a user-friendly way to keep a database of their Atari games, let me know... I'd be interested in that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 Couple of other questions.... Do you consider Starpath as something that I must collect for in order to get a complete collection? I just noticed there are some in the Rarity 4s list. Also... how many games out there have the T-Handles? I really like those but was wondering if any (even if they are PAL) are cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Anytime you see a P on the endlabel, it means that the cart is PAL. When it comes to label variations, there are a few interesting PAL only label variations that I personally collect such as the red label Atari carts not available as an NTSC variation and the Miniature Golf picture label cart which only exists as a PAL cart. As far Starpath games go, that's a personal decision. I collect them as do many others here, but they aren't game carts in the technical sense of the word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 I sort my games by company, then by variation. I've found this is the easiest way to keep track of them all goven how many are out there. I'm currently near 800 different carts including label variations and am still roughly 50 away for what I'll consider a "complete" collection. I don't collect minor variations like a copyright with a * vs a copyright with no *, but do collect many variations that are considered minor like different copyright years, different color fonts, gray vs. silver labels, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindfield Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 K-Tel Vision (Spider Maze and Vulture Attack) have T-Handles. Tron (Brazilian pirate maker) also make small T-Handle carts. Dunno if they're cheap or not. a T-Handled Tron Mario Bros. cart recently sold for just over $31 on eBay, but that's the first Tron cart I've seen on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 Found it... Here's the link I found... (looks like it is red text rather than blue). Also saw a few others... and for some reason they are listed as NTSC. I hope not as I'd het to have to find those things! I'll look at the other interesting ones you mentioned.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindfield Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Oh, and FWIW, my physical collection is grouped by company, and each group is alphabetical. That way if I have two of the same cart in a row I know they're variations. I have no particular order as to what company goes where -- I rearrange them almost constantly to make best use of the space in the boxes they are in, so I'll often move a set of 8 into another area and put a set that has 7 in its place to create room for one more cart of that set. (I currently keep my collection in stacks of those low tomato or berry boxes you find at supermarkets. They're just the right height to stack well, and just long and wide enough to perfectly fit 7 rows of 18 carts with no wasted space) In my Excel list, it's purely alphabetical with a comments field used to denote (among other things) which is which. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari_wizard Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 i collect starpath tapes, still looking for a charger. i also collect all kinds of label variations. i just don't have as many. i sort mine by company just like sku_u. i collect all carts loose, but if i can get my hands on manuals...................i am always a happy camper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATARIPITBULL Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 When it comes to collecting Atari 2600 games, I take a different approach, I collect everything that is mint, or complete in there boxes, like take these 2 breakouts, they look the same on the front, but the backs are different. I think my collection would just get too big if I collected every single loose cartridge label variation I could find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susuwatari Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Another cart with T handle is Air Raid by Menavision. When you consider you can count the number of known copies with just one hand, finding one would be anything short of a miracle. I've seen that cart only once on eBay and that was years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 Yeah... I doubt I'll ever get the Air raid one. lol More than likely won't see it in person. But that is okay. I'm more interested in getting one or two of the 'chearer' ones for show purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricDeLee Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 I forgot to post that link. Here's the Superman label with the 'p' on it: http://atariage.com/cart_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=941 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Ultravision Karate and Condor Attack also have T handles. Tron carts are pirate carts from Brazil. Most titles can be purchased for $10-20 if you ask around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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