I want to get my passion back

[MegaManFan]

Sometime this year, perhaps after the Tulsa convention but realistically before, I lost my Atari passion. I think the first evidence of that was when I missed the window to get Simon's limited edition A-VCS-Tec game. After that I realized I hadn't been logging on or reading the 2600 forum often enough to be kept up on the date, and I wasn't on a mailing list about the game so I didn't even get a notice in e-mail. After that I knew I wouldn't be able to get the game until if (or when) he decided to do a general release, and my initial reaction was probably a little bit peeved and irate, but once I cooled down I seriously wondered why I cared. I've bought so many homebrews over the last six years - probably TOO MANY over the years, and a lot of them have only been played once at most. Once I thought about it in that context my next thought was "Why keep buying homebrews - just to stay caught up? Just to stay current? That's not reason enough."

 

At that point once I stopped buying homebrews, I realized I wasn't buying other games either. My collection list is already 96% complete. I'm missing a few label variations in the 1-7's, none of the 8's, and I have at least half of the 9's and a few of the 10's plus a handful of things that are pretty hard to classify in general (like Off Your Rocker). I'm trying to figure out what to buy and drawing a blank - there's so few games I need, and those few very rarely come up for sale, and when they do come up for sale I'm not necessarily sure I'd want to spend $1000 and up to get them. So I kind of hit a brick wall on that aspect of Atari 2600 games too. There's always the chance to convert loose games to boxed, but that's not anywhere as thrilling as getting games you've never had before, not to mention right now I've hit another wall with getting boxed games because I simply don't feel like I have adequate space to store or display more. Why get more boxes when you don't have the passion let alone the space? The last one I got was Frostbite in Tulsa and I honestly can't say for sure it wasn't a duplicate - I didn't have a seperate list of which Activision games I had boxes for and haven't pulled them out of storage to see if I had it or not since I got back (another sign I lost the passion if I didn't even bother to check).

 

So now I'm starting to think about Atari again, because a friend of mine mentioned his Atari was broken and I was thinking I could take one of the spares I have out of the closet and give it to him, rather than try to repair it (I have no expertise there anyway). I'm logging on AA at least once a day now, slowly getting back into the rhythm of reading forums and posting here and there (usually in General Chat) but what I'm really pondering is how I should get the passion back for Atari and I'm looking for suggestions. Are there specific VCS games I should be playing, buying, or looking for? Should I go on a holy grail quest to get a complete boxed copy of some rare game or pick up an R10? PAL games? Brazilian PAL-M's? I just can't figure out what direction to go or if I'd even be motivated. I could use some advice, I could use somewhere to start. I want to get my passion back.

[NE146]

Why force it. The thing's been around for over 20 years, it's only natural to have ebbs and flows as far as interest goes Put your stuff away or ignore it for a while. The time will come again when you'll be like "whoah.. atari!"

[CPUWIZ]

I want to get my passion back.

 

Simple, buy a copy of Lady Bug!

 

And you know me Steve, I am for the most part just a collector, not a retro-gamer.

[Dauber]

I say just get your VCS out and play some games -- that did it for me. Hey, up until just this past spring I had a fairly small collection -- just a handful of Atari carts (some old, a few from 1987), a couple of Parker Brothers carts, and surprisingly no Activision carts. Some years ago I played a few games that I enjoyed in my youth -- Video Pinball, Pac-Man (you read that right, bucko), Jr. Pac-Man, Crystal Castles....and I recalled years before what Inky had said -- that you can't beat the playability of those old games. Man, how right that is.

 

And of course Inky encouraged me to check out Atari Age....I think what really sparked my passion for this stuff again was playing the homebrews...of course, that was around 2001, and it took a good five years before I started building up the collection!

 

And just earlier this year I started building up my collection. I got a little bit obsessive -- if I had a picture label cart and then bought an eBay lot that had the same cart with text, I'd keep both....but I broke myself of that habit -- it's about the games. (However, I WILL always prefer boxed games with manuals over loose carts!)

 

Also...playing a few of the new homebrews at the Midwest Gaming Classic this year (and hearing the voice synthesis in action!) just really got my collector wheels goin'! (I still don't know how I walked out of there spending only five bucks!)

 

And somehow recently I recalled how much fun Intellivision games were to play, so one of our fellow Atari Agers set me up with a system and my two favorite Intellivoice games. (Thanks, Phil!) Good thing about that is it seems to be a fairly cheap system to collect for.

 

And playing stuff in MESS (and at Inky's house) just made me realize how cool a system the 7800 is and how great the games really are....so of course, I had to get greedy and get one of those....so I've been lately getting addicted to Ball Blazer....and just last night after I got home at 10:45 I had a two-hour Reactor marathon (2600 game on the 7800, that is)....just this week I got the 7800 (Thanks, Breakpac!), and on Wednesday I ran out to Videogames Etc. and picked up a handful of 7800 games (I was surprised at how cheap they are -- even the boxed sealed ones!)...and of course a few Intellivision games....There were just WAY too many 2600 games to pick from, and I figured if I don't want to spend too much money, I'll limit myself to my two most recent acquisitions.

 

Really, the game play will resurrect your passion.

Edited October 13, 2006 by Dauber

[holygrailvideogames.com]

It sounds like your 2600 collection is pretty close to what I have. You might have a few more of the original releases but probably not more than me. I don't really know how much more I will be buying for the 2600. Most of what I need are so rare that there is no way that I would spend what it would cost for some of them. I have bought some of the homebrews and hacks. Some are better than others. The really good ones I play a lot.

 

My collection has basically gotten out of hand. I am to the point that I am going to sell off some of my collection in order to gain back some space in my home. I haven't decided yet which systems to sell off. I know that you collect for multiple systems like I do. At some point it gets to be too much.

 

Hopefully there will be some new releases to get you interested again. You could aim to get a boxed collection of say Sears titles, Tigervision or some other brand. I have seen the boxed collections of some of the collectors. There is no way that I could have boxed copies of everything that I own. I would need another basement.

[godzillajoe]

try and beat my dig dug score

 

that's what always fuels me, someone who posts about their high score

 

gives you incentive to play

 

check out the HSC thread, pick a game and go for it

 

declaring myself the king of dig dug was quite satisfying!

[shadow460]

Play the HSC games. I haven't touched my 2600 titles for a while, and I busted out Cosmic Ark yesterday for that. But dont just stop at the 2600 HSC, play the 5200 one as well.

After losing most of the collection I had, I lost interest in Atari as well. Honestly, my 7800 goes a couple weeks sometimes without being played in either mode.

Realize that these aren't your in depth FPS or RPG games (for the most part). These are quick, five to twenty minute arcade style games. Grab one and play it a bit, then a couple days later, put that one up, grab another, and do it all over.

Buy some that look ratty, clean them up and/or repair them, then flip 'em. You'll be doing Atari related stuff, and helping the community to boot. Me, sometimes I actually seek out bad looking games so I can repair one and keep it as the entry of that game in my collection. Submarine Commander and Alien Brigade are two examples of this.

 

Hey, Dauber, stay on my case long enough and I'll make it where you can play Reactor using the 7800's full capabilities.

[Inky]

 

 

Hey, Dauber, stay on my case long enough and I'll make it where you can play Reactor using the 7800's full capabilities.

 

So what are you doing posting here?

 

 

Git offa yer butt!

[DaveD]

I want to get my passion back.

 

Simple, buy a copy of Lady Bug!

 

 

+1

[phitter]

I'll be frank, are you selling? I am now buying. Get out of this hobby now. Nothing you have is worth anything anyway. Let me know. Do you accept cash???

 

-phitter

[Lord Thag]

Yeah, I hear you. I'm kind of in a retrogaming funk myself. It comes and goes. Sometimes I won't touch an Atari for eight months or more, but I always end up coming back. I'm more of a gamer than a collector, but I find it gets kind of hard to pick games when you have a whole wall full of them. I usually just pick five or so carts and set them aside and just play those for a week. It seems to help me focus. Playing the HSC (though I rarely post) or whatever can also be fun. Just don't do what most people do and sell everything. trust me, It WILL come back. For me, it's not about collecting so much as playing.

[phitter]

Seriously...Lord Thag, are you selling? I am now buying. Get out of this hobby now. Nothing you have is worth anything anyway. Let me know. Do you accept cash???

 

-phitter

[Paranoid]

Ask yourself what is the REASON for your passion.

 

I've maybe hit a wall recently myself... of a similar yet different sort.

 

In my case, after assembling a complete collection of the retro consoles I wanted, along with multicarts for the majority of them, I've discovered recently two significant ways in which emulation closely approaches or even exceeds having the original hardware. Between the Competition Pro USB joystick and softmodded xBox emulators, I'm feeling like I just dropped a singificant amount of money and effort on equipment that is now somewhat redundant.

 

So I have 7800 with CC2, 5200 with Atarimax 128-in-1, Vectrex with Sean Kelly Multi, Atari 800xl with Atarimax MyIDE, INTV, Genesis 1, PS1, NES, SNES. Plus a MAME cabinet.

 

And part of me feels that I've let it get away from me. More ROMs exist than I could ever possibly play, if I devoted a significant portion of the rest of my life to the pursuit and made a conscious effort NOT to replay my favorites. It really *is* overkill at a certain point.

 

And that is maybe where you lose your passion... you lose site of why you FIRST wanted this stuff. Having the stuff itself becomes the reason for having it. Which, I doubt for most of us, was the real reason we picked it back up in the frist place.

 

Fortunately for me, I've always keep a pretty level headed view on the idea that I'm a gamer, not a collector. I *do* like the whole setup and configuration. When I tried to buy a used CC2 here, the guy was asking too much, and threw a fit because of how he had custom configured his CC2 menus and how much that was worth. I responded that learning and setting something NEW up was half the fun for me... the same holds true with learning something new, like on the xBox, for example. Part of the challenge is tracking everything down, getting it set up and working... and I've been playing a LOT in that capacity...

 

Once I actually *get* it set up, I think in most cases, I'll find that it is still generally easier to play on the actual hardware, with the original interface... and I'll probably stick to Atari 8 bit Donkey Kong and a small handful of other old reliable titles.

 

And *that* is what it is about for me... those CORE titles, across a handful of consoles, that keep me coming back.

[Recycled]

Why force it. The thing's been around for over 20 years, it's only natural to have ebbs and flows as far as interest goes Put your stuff away or ignore it for a while. The time will come again when you'll be like "whoah.. atari!"

 

yea, I agree with this. Don't obsess on it. If it comes back great....if it doesn't....time to explore other things.

 

 

(I wouldn't sell my collection though.....because chances are the bug will hit again. Unless you want to trim the "fat" and just keep essentials)

[The MilkMan]

Yeah, just put it away for awhile. It'll come back. Heck, I barely pick up and play any of my consoles anymore. New or old school.

Sometimes, I like to just browse through the catalogs or read thru the piles of instruction booklets I have. Even though I don't always play, I still enjoy looking at my collection. Once in a while after reading those things, it'll spark an interest to play something.

Just give it some distance for now, and like NE146 said, after some time you'll rediscover your passion as you have before.

[Tempest]

We all go through phases. I personally haven't bought a 2600 game in almost 3 years because I've been busy with other collections. It's not that I don't like the 2600 anymore, it's just that I got burnt out on it for awhile. I'm sure I'll come back to it eventually.

 

Tempest

[Brian R.]

My interest also comes and goes. But I know enough that no matter how low my interest gets, I will NEVER get rid of ANYTHING I have. I know that often when you get rid of something, you end up regretting it, and having to go to great effort and expense to get it back.

 

I always have my 2600, 5200, 7800 and Jaguar out. My 2600 and 7800 take turns on the coffee table, where I can hook them up to use, vs being in the entertainment center, where they're more on display.

 

I had gone a long time without playing anything. Then I started playing some of my 5200, just a couple games I enjoy on that. Then I got fired up over my 2600/7800 with a couple homebrews - Go Fish and Seawolf - and the Pac-Man games for 7800.

 

It's true that getting new stuff is the best way to spark interest. I didn't have many homebrews, so it's all new to me. Now reading the OP has me worried about interest fading once I have what I want to buy and am able to buy.

 

But that's the key - buy and play what you enjoy. Don't just buy a homebrew just to buy a homebrew. What's the point in buying or owning a game you don't want to play?

 

One thing I miss is hunting in the wild. Back in the mid to late 90s, I could go out and make rounds of second hand shops, flea markets, yard sales and such and always bring home something new. Long ago I realized there seemed to be nothing left to find. And if I found something, I already had it.

[Blackjack]

I found the one thing that brought back my enjoyment more than anything was getting into High Score Club. In fact, I've been out a while again, I need to rejoin.

[Brian R.]

And I should add... I know a lot of you use those multigame carts, and cuttle carts, or whatever they are. And many others use emulators.

 

But for me, doing it that way would negate a large part of the fun - using the actual hardware and the actual software. I don't want to have one cart with 50 games on it. I want 50 game carts. I want to play on my TV in my living room, not on my computer at a desk. I want to flip the switches on the consoles. I want to use the joysticks and paddles.

 

It's not just about playing the game... it's about the complete experience. That, to me, is a big part of what keeps it interesting. I don't think there's anything cooler than in the year 2006 having a working 2600 in my living room.

[phaxda]

I miss thrifting, too. That was really what got me back to the hobby--I just happened to go to a flea market where a guy was selling 5200 games and I bought the lot of them. Praising Bira Bira, and all of that. Fun times back then and I would alway discover other cool stuff in the thrifts. Now there's never any carts and all--I still buy most of my clothing there, but it's rare to come home with games.

 

I like having my collection, too, but the CC2 has made me far more likely to fire up a quick game. I rarely use my poor heavy anymore--it's just a showpiece at this point...

[Breakpack]

Ask yourself what is the REASON for your passion.

 

I've maybe hit a wall recently myself... of a similar yet different sort.

 

In my case, after assembling a complete collection of the retro consoles I wanted, along with multicarts for the majority of them, I've discovered recently two significant ways in which emulation closely approaches or even exceeds having the original hardware. Between the Competition Pro USB joystick and softmodded xBox emulators, I'm feeling like I just dropped a singificant amount of money and effort on equipment that is now somewhat redundant.

 

So I have 7800 with CC2, 5200 with Atarimax 128-in-1, Vectrex with Sean Kelly Multi, Atari 800xl with Atarimax MyIDE, INTV, Genesis 1, PS1, NES, SNES. Plus a MAME cabinet.

 

And part of me feels that I've let it get away from me. More ROMs exist than I could ever possibly play, if I devoted a significant portion of the rest of my life to the pursuit and made a conscious effort NOT to replay my favorites. It really *is* overkill at a certain point.

 

And that is maybe where you lose your passion... you lose site of why you FIRST wanted this stuff. Having the stuff itself becomes the reason for having it. Which, I doubt for most of us, was the real reason we picked it back up in the frist place.

 

Fortunately for me, I've always keep a pretty level headed view on the idea that I'm a gamer, not a collector. I *do* like the whole setup and configuration. When I tried to buy a used CC2 here, the guy was asking too much, and threw a fit because of how he had custom configured his CC2 menus and how much that was worth. I responded that learning and setting something NEW up was half the fun for me... the same holds true with learning something new, like on the xBox, for example. Part of the challenge is tracking everything down, getting it set up and working... and I've been playing a LOT in that capacity...

 

Once I actually *get* it set up, I think in most cases, I'll find that it is still generally easier to play on the actual hardware, with the original interface... and I'll probably stick to Atari 8 bit Donkey Kong and a small handful of other old reliable titles.

 

And *that* is what it is about for me... those CORE titles, across a handful of consoles, that keep me coming back.

 

I just like the pretty colors on the boxes and manuals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got a lot of boxes and manuals

[Breakpack]

I say just get your VCS out and play some games -- that did it for me. Hey, up until just this past spring I had a fairly small collection -- just a handful of Atari carts (some old, a few from 1987), a couple of Parker Brothers carts, and surprisingly no Activision carts. Some years ago I played a few games that I enjoyed in my youth -- Video Pinball, Pac-Man (you read that right, bucko), Jr. Pac-Man, Crystal Castles....and I recalled years before what Inky had said -- that you can't beat the playability of those old games. Man, how right that is.

 

And of course Inky encouraged me to check out Atari Age....I think what really sparked my passion for this stuff again was playing the homebrews...of course, that was around 2001, and it took a good five years before I started building up the collection!

 

And just earlier this year I started building up my collection. I got a little bit obsessive -- if I had a picture label cart and then bought an eBay lot that had the same cart with text, I'd keep both....but I broke myself of that habit -- it's about the games. (However, I WILL always prefer boxed games with manuals over loose carts!)

 

Also...playing a few of the new homebrews at the Midwest Gaming Classic this year (and hearing the voice synthesis in action!) just really got my collector wheels goin'! (I still don't know how I walked out of there spending only five bucks!)

 

And somehow recently I recalled how much fun Intellivision games were to play, so one of our fellow Atari Agers set me up with a system and my two favorite Intellivoice games. (Thanks, Phil!) Good thing about that is it seems to be a fairly cheap system to collect for.

 

And playing stuff in MESS (and at Inky's house) just made me realize how cool a system the 7800 is and how great the games really are....so of course, I had to get greedy and get one of those....so I've been lately getting addicted to Ball Blazer....and just last night after I got home at 10:45 I had a two-hour Reactor marathon (2600 game on the 7800, that is)....just this week I got the 7800 (Thanks, Breakpac!), and on Wednesday I ran out to Videogames Etc. and picked up a handful of 7800 games (I was surprised at how cheap they are -- even the boxed sealed ones!)...and of course a few Intellivision games....There were just WAY too many 2600 games to pick from, and I figured if I don't want to spend too much money, I'll limit myself to my two most recent acquisitions.

 

Really, the game play will resurrect your passion.

 

Aww,ur welcome....

[Inky]

Funnily enough, I just got an email about a pill that will "help you get your passion back."

 

Shall I forward it on to you?

 

 

[Paranoid]

I'm more inclined to agree with this...

 

What's the point in buying or owning a game you don't want to play?

 

Than this...

 

And I should add... I know a lot of you use those multigame carts, and cuttle carts, or whatever they are. And many others use emulators.

 

But for me, doing it that way would negate a large part of the fun - using the actual hardware and the actual software.

 

Specifically, once you start buying games that you would NEVER buy if it was solely about the enjoyment of PLAYING the game, you've really gotten away from the core reason for buying and owning these old titles. You're a collector, and, it is the COLLECTING that appeals to you. It could just as well be Beanie Babies, or classic cars, or coke bottles. The minute you go, "I must have this horrible game that is expensive simply because it is ultra-rare", I think you've moved away from a pure pleasure in the games themselves. I'm not goint to say that this is an absolute. You can certainly be a dedicated collector and yet maintain a passion for playing the games... but I think that once you get into that colelctor mentallity, it necessarily robs some of the pure joy of the gaming aspect of the game.

 

Now, with that said, I own all the original hardware, and quite a few original carts, some of them boxed and in very nice condition. Most of those are in safe storage and I don't really handle them or do much with them other than keep them in storage. For day to day use, I have multicarts, and from a GAMING perspective, this works fine for me. The experience is otherwise IDENTICAL to playing the actual cart, but is far more convienient, easy to manage, and creates less clutter, too.

 

But, by another degree, some people draw the distinction at emulation. There are more concessions with emulation, for certain, yet, with the right controller and a little time dedicated to organizing your ROM collection, emulation is often close enough to the real experience to be virtually indistinguishible, (and in fact, in some cases, it may be arguably IMPROVED).

 

So, a large part is going to be just personal preference and tolerance.

 

Playing Demon Attack, on my 17" wide screen HP laptop, on my XBox (in 2600, 8bit, 02, or INTV emulation), on my 7800 with CC2, on my 800XL with MyIDE cart, on my INTV... the game is the game, and it is ALWAYS fun (well, the INTV and O2 versions may be less fun, but that is across the board). Nothing takes away or adds to the enjoyment in that sense, although I *really* enjoy Demon Attack on my 17" widescreen laptop... it looks gorgeous beyond what ANYTHING else can recreate on that screen, in that format. So I suppose that would argue that emulation could in fact ENHANCE your favorite game. It just depends.

[Cybergoth]

Dunno... I always play everything I'm into at the moment. Why force anything? Last weekend I found me three new SMS games on a fleamarket so I moved the 2600 aside and connected the SMS. Sometimes later this week I'll receive a new NES game so I'll play that. After that our new Geforce 5600 FX something should arrive, so we can finally upgrade one of our computers to play the new PC version of The Bard's Tale. Then there's still Princess Peach sitting in the DS, then there'll probably be another interesting game in the 2600 or NES HSC, then my workmate lent me "Discworld Noir" which I should check out some day as well, I still want to play a par game of World Class Leaderboard on the SMS, I recently got Morrowind and Gothic II on magazine coverdiscs... etc, etc, .... the possibilities are endless, and I never feel like "Ohhh, why don't I spend much time with system xxxxx anymore?"