Yo-Yo Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 I wonder why Atari never capitalized on the handheld market. They certainly had the technical know-how to have at least attempted, but after Touch Me, they never made another beyond prototypes. It hurt them more than we talk about too. They ceded that whole market to Mattel and Coleco. Atari paid millions for the rights to games like Pac-Man and allowed the handheld/tabletop rights to go to Coleco. When it came time to negotiate Donkey Kong, Nintendo decided to go with Coleco instead because they had the ability to put Donkey Kong on a handheld and manufacture Donkey Kong toys. Nintendo has always been a toy company at heart and correctly saw that Atari wasn't, but should have been. RickR, StormSurge, Sabertooth and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted October 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 Great question Lee and great insightful answer Yo-Yo. I've always been disappointed that Atari never released the Cosmos. Justin and Sabertooth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJ07 Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 Indeed I agree, Yo-Yo. It did hurt them. Atari had great properties that would have made a killing in the handheld market: Space Invaders, Asteroids, Missile Command, Pac-Man, even Breakout. They missed a golden opportunity. I think Missile Command in particular could have been realized as a handheld extremely well. Yo-Yo, RickR, Justin and 2 others 5 Quote "I'd buy that for a dollar!" -Smash T.V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 Yeah I think they were working on a Missile Command one that would have looked like one of these: Tod Frye discussed these handhelds in the article uncle Arenafoot linked to the other day: http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/915-what-are-the-real-facts-behind-pac-man’s-2600-development/ StormSurge, MaximumRD, RickR and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormSurge Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 Man, those would have been AMAZING. The Professor and Yo-Yo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 I wonder if the dark circles at the top edge of the handhelds would have been IR emitters for 2-player action RickR and StormSurge 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louisg Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 And here's a shot of the whole handheld collection I've been building over many years. These things are a lot of fun, and don't take up much space. Handheld games 006.JPG Sorry to derail the topic, but what's that pinball one? Is it LCD or electromechanical? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted October 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 (edited) It's LCD. Tomy Electronic Pinball. I got that one new when I was a kid. Spent hours playing it. It's not bad really, but pretty crude by modern standards. Edited October 30, 2015 by RickR The Professor and LeeJ07 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted October 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Here's a video (not mine) of the pinball game in action. This guy isn't very good at it, but you get an idea of the play. I always thought it was really well done, and the sounds are really good. The Professor and LeeJ07 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJ07 Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 The Tomy Pinball is awesome! Quote "I'd buy that for a dollar!" -Smash T.V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted November 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 I have an Atari "Touch Me" listed on ebay at this moment. I'll give a nice price break to Atari.io members if anyone here is interested. http://www.ebay.com/itm/231760672311?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649 Arenafoot, The Professor and StormSurge 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoAtari Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 Just saw a touch me up on goodwill! For your viewing pleasure. http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Vintage-Atari-Touch-Me-Arcade-Game---WORKS-27206416.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmberE Posted February 13, 2021 Report Share Posted February 13, 2021 It’s so funny, I just opened a box of my old things and in it were my Atari “touch me” game and Little professor. I’m wondering if they would be of value in the future?? Justin and RickR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegasElite Posted February 16, 2021 Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 The Atari Touch Me and Little Professor might have some collector's value now. The name Atari will go far for the Touch Me in the future, I am sure. It is a brand name that has history behind it. By the way, Amber, welcome to the Forum. Nice to have new faces here. I like it here, and I think you will, too. It's very friendly here. :O) Justin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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