DegasElite

For me classic gaming has been about giving a home to games and consoles no one wants any more; a chance to see what's out there costing very little or nothing at all.  It was also making huge mistakes without realizing it like just handing someone all of your dupes without getting anything for them in return.  I've discovered games I either couldn't find or couldn't afford in new condition.
For a while almost every yard sale during the late 1980's to mid 1990's almost always had a 2600 collection up for grabs. For a price between $5 to $10 one could grab a 2600 with controllers and at least 15 games.  You could also sometimes talk the seller down a bit on price, too, and using any visual flaws to your advantage.  I remember asking Mom one Saturday if we were the only people on the planet that had a 5200?  Because I never found those but looking in the backseat of the car from one day's worth of yard sale hunting turned out about five or six 2600 setups with lots of games.  Well over $500 in 1980's merchandise for about $40 - $50 total.  I was stunned.
Once we would get home I'd take the machines apart, give the plastics a bath, remove the tarnish off the switches, and test all the games on the motherboards, essentially killing two birds.  What worked I would hang on to, broken units I held on to for parts.  After having 10 units and lots of games my room got crowded and I had to thin out the 2600s.  My NES, 7800, and SMS had there spaces but the 2600s were growing out of control.  If I was smart I would have asked my grandmother if I could keep most of it at her house.  I would have lived there anyway.  If I'd only known, right?
I did get a demographic of what Atari games were popular in my area.  Pac-Man and Combat were with every 2600 I ever found. ET was almost always present along with Defender and Space Invaders.  Pitfall! was favored by a few.  Oddities included Dig Dug, Moon Patrol, Enduro, and Donkey Kong.  Those I found once or twice.
My first thought into collecting classic games again was they were old so I can get some games cheap.  Yea.  I never thought of these old games going for high prices.  Even some resellers still around are asking high prices.  I'm not complaining but just stunned how games no one could sell for $1 is now selling for $100.  Unreal.
I enjoy what I have but understand that the classic gaming market is starting to dry up.

Q: How has Classic Gaming changed over the years since you’ve been involved?
When I first got into classic gaming it was about collecting and playing these great games. For me that's Square One and that's where I still stand today. Everything I do with the site, and in my personal "classic gaming adventures" is rooted in this idea of the original source, these games we've always had fun with and the experience of playing them with family and friends.
When I began this Atari classic gaming journey, the (consumer) internet was brand new and I wouldn't have access to the web for a few more years, so it was just me doing something that I liked to do. I didn't know anyone else was out there doing this. It was a little like being in LOST or The Walking Dead and being alone somewhere setting up a radio transmission to see if anyone else was out there, and finding someone else responding on the radio.
By the end of the '90s and early 2000s there was a robust community of classic Atari gamers sprouting up online. It felt indie / hobbyist. There were just a handful of Atari sites out there, and I'm proud to have been one of them. The gaming expos popped up and we started to gather together. 
Since then it's grown exponentially. The home-brew scene exploded. The advent of YouTube brought about a ton of personalities and more people sharing their love of classic games in new ways. But a lot has changed too. When you'd say "classic gaming" we used to think "CGE" and these days a lot of people think "AVGN".
I always enjoyed the original experience of collecting and playing these games and sharing our passion in a small community. As things have changed over the years I've tried to focus Atari I/O on that original experience.

I started really playing Atari games in 1982. I saw how it started with Telstar in the 1970s (I remember it when I was about four or five; I tried to get one and my mother pried it from my hands because it was too expensive for her at the time), then we got our first Atari 2600 when I was seven years old. We had a lot of fun with that A2600. Then, Christmastime in 1987, we got an A7800. It had PPII and also my parents got Xevious. It was hidden from view and I actually got upset because of that. I thought that I did not get it. Then, I saw it and hugged the machine.
Over the years, we had a Genesis, and I played that endlessly. I also got a TG-16 for a while. Then, after me parents gat tired of the games, I "inherited" the Atari collection (quoting the word because my parents are still alive). I got a SMS, Intellivision, and a ColecoVision for a while, but I sold those and went strictly Atari, which is largely unchanged as a collection for the past thirty-eight years. I decided to go that route because it was getting to the point that Atari games were becoming more and more valuable as collector's items.
Later, I got a Jaguar and the CD unit. This is the most advanced game system I have had. I love to play my Jaguar as well. It still is a lot of fun. I also have a Lynx and my new A5200, which I have recently acquired.
So, what am I getting at here? What I mean is this. How classic gaming has changed over the years is the technology. Gaming has become more advanced over time in playability and appearance. It has also miniaturized. Granted, the technology has advanced in great strides. But, it has improved the gaming experience, and the graphics improve over time in visage as well. The A2600 has very primitive graphics in earlier cases, but over time as technology has improved, the graphics get better with every generation of game systems. So, I guess that is my point. You would think that the newer games, having better graphics and faster CPUs and GPUs, would have better gameplay. But, not always. I think that we are relying too much on emulation to imitate the classic gameplay.
Don't get me wrong, as emulation is cool and I think it is cool because it can imitate the games. But, some things are sacrificed due to the software emulation. You cannot get it 100% perfect in emulation ever, unless we really actually do advance in the emulation technology. Speed can suffer. For instance, my iMac has Virtual Jaguar. The speed is OK, but the music is choppy in every game I play. I have a Core i7 processor running at 2.8 GHz, a Radeon HD 4850 GPU with 512 MB of RAM, and 16 GB of RAM (which I could expand to 32 GB of RAM, if I wanted to, and actually I do). This iMac is also primitive in today's standards, being made in 2009. But, the Jag does it spot-on with real hardware at only a mere fraction of the iMac's CPU/GPU speed and with only 2 MB of RAM. And, that RAM amount is skimpy even for the Jag!
I believe that, if you are going to use emulation, use it in cohesion with the real hardware. Reverse-engineer the real hardware, try to make it better with the real technology, and use hardware emulation more sparingly with it, if you need to. Like I said, emulation is great. But, I think that, as a technologically advanced society, we are too dependent on emulation, and I think that we are really cheapening ourselves. Emulation is great, but the real experience with real hardware is so much better. I say re-work the real hardware and advance it even more from that. Then, I think that you will get even more stellar results. We can do so much better than now.

Here  is my score 🙂 223,400

Good luck on your move! 🏡👏

It really is a cool game, and it really is like Zaxxon with an Egyptian theme, just like BTB said in the video. I will try to play it and see what I get. I would probably get better in the long run at it anyway. :O)

@btbfilms76 has a special episode of 7800 Avenue premiering today coinciding with our Desert Falcon Squad Challenge! BTB fires up the Atari 7800 and pairs Desert Falcon with the @Video 61 Gripstick Joystick, which you can watch here:
 
 
 

Awesome episode @btbfilms76 I watched it with my bae. Desert Falcon is one of my favorite Atari 7800 games, I love the unique blend of the Zaxxon gameplay style with the Egyptian motifs. That was a nice deep dive you did into @Video 61's Grip-Stick joystick, they did a great job bringing a highly responsive joystick to the Atari 7800. Also love how you speak of Atari 7800 games like a fine wine, "these two are a nice pairing" ... "it's got a nice 1987 vintage to it" etc. Only you could pull that off. Can't wait to see more BTB, good luck with your move!!

Great episode! I watched this earlier with @Justin ^ 🙂
I haven't played Desert Falcon yet, but it looks fun! I'm not really into the colors, they're really dark, but I look forward to trying this game. I like the Tim & Eric thing you did with the phone and the "ZX Spectrum!" I hope the big move goes well!  🏠

Double review on some excellent V61 products I got recently.  Sealed Desert Falcon and the Gripstick controller, perfect combo.
 

Cool! Thanks for the links. I can order some for my copy of ZiMAG's Tanks But No Tanks. It needs cosmetic repair, for sure, especially the label. :O)

There is someone selling them on Atari Age already made.  They are of good quality.  I'm adding the list of labels here.  Pboland is the person selling them.  That way you can just PM him directly and avoid the pages and pages with arguments.  🙂
2600 Label List - pboland.pdf 7800 Cart Label Catalog.pdf

I was hoping someone could help me.  I have a lot of Atari carts with ripped or missing labels, and I'm looking for a resource to download and reprint them myself.  I'm not a stickler, so just printing on normal paper on my inkjet printer would be fine.  Specifically, I really need an Activision Tennis at this moment.
I found some interesting stuff on atariage, but it can get overwhelming over there.  Pages and pages to scroll through with no real success.  And things always devolve into arguments about adding a "repro" line to the label.  I don't care about any of that.  I'm not going to resell, and I have no intention of faking anyone out.  I just want my bare carts to have something that looks decent on them.
So please, if you know of a good resource that has downloadable images of various labels, please let me know.  Thanks.

Cool! Sometimes I go to the IKEA there or the one in sunrise. I live on the other coast ☺️

The only person in my immediate family that has traveled outside of the country is my father. He has been to Ireland, Germany, Spain, and Canada. He was stationed in Europe when he was in the Army during the Vietnam War. In fact, he did guard duty in Munich during the Cold War. His station was put on full alert when the Soviets moved into Prague (then Czechoslovakia) in, if I remember correctly, 1968. I think that they moved in to quash a pro-democracy demonstration there. I think that was it, but it was before my time, since I was born in 1974. So, I could be wrong. Myself, I have never been outside of the country. Not yet, anyway. :O)

The only thing that I did not like about the Skydeck is the express elevator. It travels at 1,800 ft. per minute, last time I checked the stats. That's 108,000 feet per hour, or over 20 MPH. That is cruising for an elevator, plus it makes my ears want to pop and the deceleration effect makes me want to feel like passing out. But, once up there, my fears ebbed away. I was on Cloud Nine. I conquered the world's tallest building at the time. Eat your heart out, Sir Edmund Hillary! Joking, of course. XD
It was a fun time being up there.
By the way, Hillary was the first man to conquer Mount Everest in the 1950s. I wouldn't dare go that far, though. That is over six miles into the air. Imagine that.

Operation Danube. That was the code name for the invasion.

The only person in my immediate family that has traveled outside of the country is my father. He has been to Ireland, Germany, Spain, and Canada. He was stationed in Europe when he was in the Army during the Vietnam War. In fact, he did guard duty in Munich during the Cold War. His station was put on full alert when the Soviets moved into Prague (then Czechoslovakia) in, if I remember correctly, 1968. I think that they moved in to quash a pro-democracy demonstration there. I think that was it, but it was before my time, since I was born in 1974. So, I could be wrong. Myself, I have never been outside of the country. Not yet, anyway. :O)

The only thing that I did not like about the Skydeck is the express elevator. It travels at 1,800 ft. per minute, last time I checked the stats. That's 108,000 feet per hour, or over 20 MPH. That is cruising for an elevator, plus it makes my ears want to pop and the deceleration effect makes me want to feel like passing out. But, once up there, my fears ebbed away. I was on Cloud Nine. I conquered the world's tallest building at the time. Eat your heart out, Sir Edmund Hillary! Joking, of course. XD
It was a fun time being up there.
By the way, Hillary was the first man to conquer Mount Everest in the 1950s. I wouldn't dare go that far, though. That is over six miles into the air. Imagine that.

Man.  That was about like that Sunsphere in Knoxville in 1982.  Long way up, and nothing between you and falling other than some gold tinted glass.  It had a gift shop and restaurant inside.  Pretty cool actually.

@BlackCatz40
I love the Brookfield Zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry! I love going to museums. If you go back to Chicago, I would suggest the Field museum. I have been there a few times. It's super interesting and takes all day to go through. To me it'll always be the Sears tower! You're brave going on the skydeck. There's a building directly in front of the Shedd aquarium, on the other side of the street, that is a tall building of condos. My dad knew someone who owned a condo on one of the highest floors, and would allow a few friends to stay there occasionally. My family stayed a couple times and I loved it. I loved how all the rooms had a wall of just windows so you could see the whole city. I don't think I could ever get used to living there, but the view from those windows was tempting lol
@TrekMD I live in FL as well! 

My favorite places to visit:
Chicago:
Brookfield Zoo
Willis Tower (I went to the 103rd floor Skydeck when it was still the world's tallest building; then called the Sears Tower)
John G. Shedd Aquarium
Museum of Science and Industry
Duluth, Minnesota:
Army Corps of Engineers Marine Museum
The Depot
Edgewater Resort
Bentleyville (during the Christmas months, the City of Duluth gets decked out and creates a Christmas village every year)
Wisconsin:
Madison
Milwaukee (my dad was born there, and my mom lived there when she was a little girl)
Wisconsin Dells
When I lived in Indiana for two years, during that time I visit its capitol city, Indianapolis, for a day. It was fun. I have been in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota, and was born in Minnesota, where I have lived for almost forty-four of my almost forty-six years of life. I would not trade that for anything. :O)

My favorite places to visit:
Chicago:
Brookfield Zoo
Willis Tower (I went to the 103rd floor Skydeck when it was still the world's tallest building; then called the Sears Tower)
John G. Shedd Aquarium
Museum of Science and Industry
Duluth, Minnesota:
Army Corps of Engineers Marine Museum
The Depot
Edgewater Resort
Bentleyville (during the Christmas months, the City of Duluth gets decked out and creates a Christmas village every year)
Wisconsin:
Madison
Milwaukee (my dad was born there, and my mom lived there when she was a little girl)
Wisconsin Dells
When I lived in Indiana for two years, during that time I visit its capitol city, Indianapolis, for a day. It was fun. I have been in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota, and was born in Minnesota, where I have lived for almost forty-four of my almost forty-six years of life. I would not trade that for anything. :O)

My favorite places to visit:
Chicago:
Brookfield Zoo
Willis Tower (I went to the 103rd floor Skydeck when it was still the world's tallest building; then called the Sears Tower)
John G. Shedd Aquarium
Museum of Science and Industry
Duluth, Minnesota:
Army Corps of Engineers Marine Museum
The Depot
Edgewater Resort
Bentleyville (during the Christmas months, the City of Duluth gets decked out and creates a Christmas village every year)
Wisconsin:
Madison
Milwaukee (my dad was born there, and my mom lived there when she was a little girl)
Wisconsin Dells
When I lived in Indiana for two years, during that time I visit its capitol city, Indianapolis, for a day. It was fun. I have been in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota, and was born in Minnesota, where I have lived for almost forty-four of my almost forty-six years of life. I would not trade that for anything. :O)

Hi everyone 🙂
Does anyone enjoy traveling? If so, where have you been? What's your favorite place to visit?
I have been to various different states, and have been to the Bahamas. I enjoy going to Nashville and taking road trips to Illinois (where I'm from) and love going to different museums in Chicago. I haven't been anywhere too exciting besides typical tourist spots (like Key West). I think it would be nice to visit Hawaii sometime!