RickR

A Wii (with cords, but no Wiimotes), one Wii game, and one PS2 game.
 
The Wii is in the cheap collector sweet spot right now.  I got this one for $20.  Games and systems are plentiful and very low priced.  Grab em if you don't have em!
 
 

Let's change gears and look at a few of my favorite carts from my favorite system, the 5200.
 
Many folks are familiar with the two SuperSystem games Atari released with no title on the cartridge.  Anywhere.  At all.  Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalus, both Lucasfilm Games games, were unleashed upon the world during Atari's mid-80s limbo: after the sale of Atari Inc and after the discontinuation of the 5200, but before the major resurgence (sorta) of Atari Corp.  The music in Ballblazer and the 3D/fractal landscapes in RoF were both things that made a big impression on me as a kid -- I could tell that some serious work had gone into these games.  They're also both a ton of fun to play.
 
The surprise that shows up in the later levels of RoF! also made a big impression on me as a kid -- but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who's never played it...
 

 
It's hard to tell with the lighting in these photos, but these cartridges have dull gray labels that Atari Corp was using for their 5200 games in 1985-1987 -- both their new games and re-releases.  They were almost certainly cheaper than the previously-used reflective silver style labels.  I think the labels look really sharp without a title, honestly, though I think I'd love them even more if they were the older silver labels.  And -- if Atari had done the proper thing (in my opinion) from the start and put end labels on their 5200 cartridges... they'd be pretty much perfect.
 
Now, have a look at this beauty!
 

 
Yep, that's Vanguard -- re-released in 1986 in the same gray, title-less style.  I've only ever seen a few of these, though they're probably not as uncommon as I hope they are.  By my count, Atari re-released 16 of their games in the mid-80s with gray Atari Corp labels, but this is the only other one known to feature the artwork with no title.  My favorite thing about it (other than the clean artwork design): because the game title isn't present on the cartridge, the asterisk next to the the Centuri licensed trademark ends up referring to nothing.
 
Rumors of a Space Invaders re-release in the same title-less style persist, but I'll believe it when I see one.
 
I've never seen a satisfactory answer to the "why no title on these releases?" question.  Someone wondered on AA whether it was related to the Lucasfilm license agreement -- I could see that, sure, but then what about the Vanguard re-release?
 
Look closer at the cartridge label design: Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalus have artwork that's exactly as wide as the text up top, but Vanguard does not.  Strange -- why would that be?  Now, think back for a moment to my post about some Atari Corp re-releases for the 2600.  If you remember, they appeared to be using their own instruction manual covers as the basis for the re-release label artwork.
 
Let's now look at some 5200 boxes/manuals.  Ballblazer and Rescue on Fractalus have unique boxes and manuals that were designed in or before 1984 -- that's another story for a different day.  The cartridge labels' artwork appear to be square crops of the box art -- they're nearly identical, with just a bit trimmed off the top and bottom.  With Vanguard's box/manual design, on the other hand... the square crop can't be as neatly done since the ships extend outside the main artwork border (in that same faux-3D style that shows up on many Atari Corp re-releases for the 2600).  But it looks like they did it anyway, as that's exactly how the art appears on the re-release cartridge!  So was Atari Corp doing the same thing with the 5200 title-less cartridge label artwork?  Essentially lifting the artwork from older boxes and manuals?  I say yes.
 
My final bit of evidence (for now!) is subtle.  Compare the re-release Vanguard cartridges to the first-release cartridges for Vanguard.  One obvious difference was already mentioned: the spaceships are fully contained within the artwork and aren't straddling the artwork border.  But on top of that, look at some of the detail in the artwork itself, especially that horizontal orange glow below the lower left of the player's ship.  On the originally release carts the horizontal glow appears more sharply defined -- there's a distinct LINE, and some of the background detail even shows through the orange glow.  But on the re-release cart, we see the same indistinct orange blotch that shows up on the Vanguard box and and manual.
 
So... what's the deal?  My best guess is that Atari Taiwan wasn't given the original cartridge artwork and design files for one reason or another, so they were forced to use box & manual artwork to make their own from scratch.  It's more noticeable with some of the 2600 re-releases, but seeing what looks like the same thing happening with the no-title 5200 carts lends stronger support to this theory, I think.

Some 2600 games in BEAUTIFUL condition from Rowsdower70.  Had all these titles already, but these looked so good I couldn't pass them up.  The manuals are just as nice!
 

A Wii (with cords, but no Wiimotes), one Wii game, and one PS2 game.
 
The Wii is in the cheap collector sweet spot right now.  I got this one for $20.  Games and systems are plentiful and very low priced.  Grab em if you don't have em!
 
 

A Wii (with cords, but no Wiimotes), one Wii game, and one PS2 game.
 
The Wii is in the cheap collector sweet spot right now.  I got this one for $20.  Games and systems are plentiful and very low priced.  Grab em if you don't have em!
 
 

A Wii (with cords, but no Wiimotes), one Wii game, and one PS2 game.
 
The Wii is in the cheap collector sweet spot right now.  I got this one for $20.  Games and systems are plentiful and very low priced.  Grab em if you don't have em!
 
 

Ooh, Atari Corp cart!  Multiple fonts in the copyright line!  No controller info on the cart!
 
It's... *sniff*  beautiful.
 
/I have problems

Thank you Senor Zap!
 

Thanks to StormSurge and Ballblazer for the excellent trades!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2016/04/08/first-look-book-celebrates-art-atari/82785834/
 
$39.95.  Looks like something that a lot of us here would love.
 

 

You got some really nice stuff there.  That Namco plug and play is excellent.  I have that exact one.  And I can spot the model 101 GBA SP.  Those things are the very best.  And man, the Pokemon games are easy to sell. 

From Mr. Rowsdower70.  Most appreciated. 

I myself with living and breeding Atari through the out my entire life, This will be the opus to that past, I simply loved this art form and works by so many incredible artists , I didn't even have to think twice, instantly preordered and like Lost Dragon, it cat get here quick enough.
 
It will be savoured to last page and then start all over again

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2016/04/08/first-look-book-celebrates-art-atari/82785834/
 
$39.95.  Looks like something that a lot of us here would love.
 

 

From Mr. Rowsdower70.  Most appreciated. 

From Mr. Rowsdower70.  Most appreciated. 

You got some really nice stuff there.  That Namco plug and play is excellent.  I have that exact one.  And I can spot the model 101 GBA SP.  Those things are the very best.  And man, the Pokemon games are easy to sell. 

We busted our butts this weekend, came away with some pretty good loot!

You literally threw smoke on that console? 
 
I've got a C64C that smells like cat.  Danged if that smell will ever go away.  

Smoke is easier IMO.  You just need to take the thing apart and clean it very carefully/thoroughly.  For anyone who needs a 7800, this looks like a winner to me. 

Just the system right now (I'd prefer to just trade the system, although for the right trade I may try to find a plug and cable for it)
 
I bought this from a smoker and I can still smell smoke on it when I sniff it. I also looked strange to anyone around when I sniffed it.
 
Hard to put a value on it since it is the rarer, expansion port model, but it has the smoke thing going.
 
So I'm throwing it out there to see if anyone is interested in doing a trade.
(Note: Do not physically throw systems)

A delivery today from No Swear Manor for Zap himself! 

It's a criminal offense that this game wasn't a light gun game for the 2600.  Ah well.  Love the cover art on this one -- thanks, nosweargamer!
 

Okay, rounding out the handheld electronic games from home...
 

 
Fact: Tiger's Electronic Bowling is loud enough to wake the dead.  Or at least this particular one is!
 

 
Marble Madness was the one game I just could not get working, and that's a big disappointment as I remember having tons of fun with it back in the day.  It may not be *totally* dead, as every now and then it makes a sad little crunch of a buzz when I try to turn it on... probably it's just pining for the fjords, though.  Don't leave batteries inside your games, kids!
 

 
This little thing went with me EVERYWHERE, for years.  This is another one that must wait for the LR44s to arrive to be tested.  Really hoping Epoch Man will live on!  Epic, man.
 

 
Mattel's Auto Race (1976), the ancestor of them all.  Gotta figure out a better way to clean it -- the textured plastic surface just seems to have absorbed dirt.  I'm also hoping that I'll eventually find the battery compartment door...
 

 
I'll need to ask my soldering-capable friend to re-attach one of the battery connector wires, but I think it'll be okay once it's fixed.  Hoping so, anyway.
 
Finally, the centerpiece of my handheld collection...
 

 
It's not in perfect shape, but it's full of great memories.
 

 

 
The last time I tried to turn this thing on was probably 15+ years ago.  4 C batteries later...
 

 
Success!  It still runs like the day it was manufactured. 

A great merchandising idea!

I've never owned a pair of Vans but I may have to pick up my first pair soon.
 
http://solecollector.com/news/2016/05/nintendo-vans-sneakers