How did you feel the day you got 2600 Pac Man?

[Student Driver]

It was the closest thing to arcade pac-man at the time

 

Unless you owned an Odyssey2...

 

Ehh... what?

 

Granted, the 2600 Pac-Man wasn't terribly faithful to the arcade, but KC Munchkin for Odyssey 2 (while quite good in its own right) diverges even farther from arcade Pac-Man.

 

At the time of its release, there were numerous arcade-faithful clones out there for the various home computers, and Atari did a pretty decent 8-bit release as well. I ended up with a used 2600 Pac-Man for free and thus didn't mind having the game, but to play the game it was assumed one would need a decent home computer.

 

...and during that era, that was one of the selling points for home computers that I recall several writers using-- more accurate arcade translations. Another in the long line of reasons that a lot of sources assumed at the time that console games were a gateway to computers.

[Vic George 2K3]

I was somewhat happy when I came home from St. Vincent's on a home visit in April 1982 to find Pac-Man on my family's 2600. I did see the 2600 Pac-Man in action prior to actually having it (I didn't buy the game, though), but it kept me in "Pac-Man heaven" for a time until I started seeing the 5200 Pac-Man being advertised, and then later when my mother bought me the 2600 Ms. Pac-Man.

[BassGuitari]

I didn't get my first 2600 until about seven years ago, and among the nine cartridges I borrowed* (and still have...oops) from a friend in my Boy Scout troop was Pac-Man. I'd been lurking at Atari 2600 Nexus, and I'd read how bad Pac-Man was supposed to be, but we played it and really dug it. Still do.

 

So I guess I'd have to say I was thrilled! Partially because I found it much more enjoyable than I'd been lead to believe, and partially because I finally had something to play on my previously game-less Atari system.

 

 

 

 

*Pac-Man, Breakout, Super Breakout, MASH, Combat, Warlords, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Chopper Command.

[dwh]

My dad made it a point to go and buy PacMan for my brother and I.

Needless to say, we both did not have the courage to tell him how much it stank.Like the rest of the people here, when Ms PacMan was released,we wondered why that game was so much better.

[Shawn]

I didn't belive it was pacman. Glad it was my cousin that got for his birthday and not me I tell ya that much.

[diggs130]

I didn't belive it was pacman. Glad it was my cousin that got for his birthday and not me I tell ya that much.

 

 

 

Same here and change that to xmas.He never knew the difference as he was never in a arcade in his life!

[Recycled]

Ripped off.

 

 

ditto

[bohoki]

back in the day i thought it was great i windered why the background wasnt black (it was for space invaders) but it worked fine it wasnt til other people complained that i noticed how much it sucked fo course backthen air sea battle was my favorite game so you can tell what kind of gaming retard i was

[Godzilla]

at the time i thought it was great. i hated the arcade game, it seemed to delight in killing me. and here was a quarterless home version that had all the arcade gameplay elements (different patterns, but i never cared about pattern play anyway, i hate monkey memorization stuff,) without the mean quarter-eating spirit. i still enjoy the original 2600 pacman, especially the hacks that use the original, too. those are great.

[NE146]

(different patterns, but i never cared about pattern play anyway, i hate monkey memorization stuff,)

 

You have to play arcade Pacman a lot and be pretty good at it to even come up with patterns

 

And more often than not, something could go wrong anyway so you're always back to playing by the seat of your pants anyway. So in that regard, pattern play is really when you're already very advanced at Pacman and have really paid your dues with regular playing and thus coming up with what you noticed are patterns

Edited October 30, 2006 by NE146

[BassGuitari]

...air sea battle was my favorite game so you can tell what kind of gaming retard i was

 

That's nothing to be ashamed of. Air-Sea Battle's a great game!

[grimbasement]

I saw this turd of a game back in the day being demoed at a now defunct Montgomery Ward store. They even had the life size Pac-Man and ghost mascots at the mall that day. What a POS. But I was all over ms pac when it came out.

 

And to think atari sued magnavox to "protect" the pac-man intellectual property and then release some incredibly awful "port" was just inexcusable. They didn't even try to make it a good game. Hell, they barely made it playable. No one in their right mind should have mistaken it for pac-man. It's not Pac-Man. Pac-Man in the arcade was fun, 2600 Pac-Man is an assault on the senses and not in a good way. Atari could have and should have done much better.

[kirin jensen]

It was the closest thing to arcade pac-man at the time

 

Unless you owned an Odyssey2...

 

Ehh... what?

 

Granted, the 2600 Pac-Man wasn't terribly faithful to the arcade, but KC Munchkin for Odyssey 2 (while quite good in its own right) diverges even farther from arcade Pac-Man.

 

At the time of its release, there were numerous arcade-faithful clones out there for the various home computers, and Atari did a pretty decent 8-bit release as well. I ended up with a used 2600 Pac-Man for free and thus didn't mind having the game, but to play the game it was assumed one would need a decent home computer.

 

...and during that era, that was one of the selling points for home computers that I recall several writers using-- more accurate arcade translations. Another in the long line of reasons that a lot of sources assumed at the time that console games were a gateway to computers.

 

While it may not have the same gameplay as Pacman, in its look and fun level it comes a lot closer to being Pacman than the 2600 Pacman did.

 

Don't take my word for it. Take Atari's lawyers' word.

[Crazy Climber]

I was very young but I loved it. I loved every game I had for the Atari though, video games were just so amazing to me as a kid. The games I owned as a kid are still my favorites today and they were not all good ones, I owned some crappy titles (Amidar) but I loved all of them and still do even if some are just for nostalgia reasons

Wait, I forgot about Strawberry Shortcake, used to have to sit through my little sis playing that crap for hours....now that is a shitty game.

[supercat]

While it may not have the same gameplay as Pacman, in its look and fun level it comes a lot closer to being Pacman than the 2600 Pacman did.

 

That was one cart that made me feel pretty good about having an O2. While the later 2600 are generally better than anything the O2 can muster, the O2 has a few carts that outdo anything the 2600 did. Among them: UFO!, K.C. Munchkin!, and Killer Bees! I think Ebivision and Nukey have pretty much caught up with K.C. Munchkin, but UFO! and Killer Bees! are still beyond the 2600.

[kirin jensen]

That was one cart that made me feel pretty good about having an O2. While the later 2600 are generally better than anything the O2 can muster, the O2 has a few carts that outdo anything the 2600 did. Among them: UFO!, K.C. Munchkin!, and Killer Bees! I think Ebivision and Nukey have pretty much caught up with K.C. Munchkin, but UFO! and Killer Bees! are still beyond the 2600.

True and not true at the same time. Man. I can't believe I'm arguing for the 2600. The 2600 could capture the look and general play mechanic of any of those games. What would suffer is the 'feel' and game play. Mostly the motion of the sprites would be nearly impossible and the flicker needed to have as many sprites would be huge. I'm not sure the 2600 could even do an accurate version of the enemy motion in Attack of Time Lord.

 

Mind you the 2600 fans will tell me if I'm wrong. Go to it, folks!

[JacobZu7zu7]

I didn't play it untill 1991, or '92. I didn't like it, it seemed really minimal and a bit slow. I thought the maze design was also dull.

 

HOWEVER... now I do like it!

I am not so picky anymore.

[Sanriostar]

While I didn't own a 2600 back in the day, when I saw one for the first time, I was fascinated with the abstraction from the Arcade game to the 2600 version. The game was a disappointment, yes, but I wondered how this yellow 'thing' could be considered Pac-Man.

 

I still play 2600 Pac (and DK) as an electric security blanket, of sorts.

[Paul Humbug]

Due to the fact us kids back then never had seen the coin-up before Ataris Pac-Man hit the 2600, I just can say what I believed to be the truth until recently:

 

Atari is Pac-Man and Pac-Man is Atari. I did not even know until recently that the coin-up was made by Taito.

 

Thanks Atari for fooling us kids :-)

[Gregory DG]

^^ Don't you mean Namco and not Taito?

[ATARIeric]

I felt like I was the king of the world!

 

 

 

Eric

Edited December 18, 2006 by ATARIeric

[Gabriel]

I was 12 or so. My aunt was in town and she was a Pac-Man fan too. Somehow we knew that the game was supposed to come out that weekend or soon. So, my aunt and me went to Sears to get it.

 

Once there we learned the sad news that Pac-Man would not go on sale until Monday (when my aunt would have to go back home). Luckily for us, my aunt was a fairly attractive young lady in those days, and the stockboy wanted a date. Ah... the price paid for gaming bliss.

 

Anyway, my aunt had a date in her future and I had Pac-Man. We hurried back home and alternated playing for the rest of the evening. After we got over the difference in graphics and such, we had a great time.

 

Definitely one of my fondest gaming memories.

[Paul Humbug]

^^ Don't you mean Namco and not Taito?

 

 

 

Sorry, of course Namco.

 

You see, even now I don´t get it straight.

 

 

Again, thanks, Atari

[doctorclu]

 

Anyway, my aunt had a date in her future and I had Pac-Man. We hurried back home and alternated playing for the rest of the evening. After we got over the difference in graphics and such, we had a great time.

 

Definitely one of my fondest gaming memories.

 

Hehehe... so how did the date go?

 

Man it is fun to hear about this time. I actually have a picture of myself around that time that I included. What happened was there was this local newspaper that had a contest. Sell 17 subscriptions, you get a 2600. Sell 21 subscriptions and you get a 2600 AND Pac-Mac, which JUST came out.

 

I didn't care much for Pac-Man. Never have, never will I suspect. I was more of a Asteriods/Space Invaders kind of guy. So I hit the streets, and sold 17 subscriptions. Then my sister (who was to me like Dee Dee is Dexter on "Dexter's Lab") jumped up and said she would like the Pac-Man cart. So we hit the streets together and with her cute factor raised 21 subscriptions. It was a lot of fun and hard work.

 

And so I got a 2600 of my own (we had a family one, but I wanted one for myself .. why? I can't remember... maybe so I could play it in my room deep into the night on my wonderful black and white TV.. hehehe...), and my sister had a Pac-Man cart.

 

You know, there are two version of Pac-Man I actually like. No, three.

 

1) Jagmania on the Atari Jaguar (Wow you can JUMP over ghosts? How cool!)

2) Pac-Man the handheld game from the early 80's (you can have TWO PLAYER PAC-MAN at the same time.)

3) 2600 Pac-Man.

 

Like I said, never cared much for real Pac-Man. I got a REAL good version of it on my Atari 400 (which I got when I sold the 2600 from the contest), but it was so much like Real Pac-Man I only played it a few times.

 

2600 Pac-Man is fun. To this day I'll enjoy a good game of 2600 Pac-Man long before other versions. Let's face it, it's just a different game, and if they gave it another name other than Pac-Man, it would probably be known as "that (fun) maze game" and not hated nearly as much.

 

It's the comparison between real Pac-Man or even 2600 Ms. Pac-Man and the 2600 Pac-Man that kills this game.

[BydoEmpire]

I had an Inty at the time, so I played Pac Man on our neighbor's 2600. I actually liked the game. I was only about 8 or 9 at the time, so like tcv said, I didn't really care much.