RickR

Ep 28: Jackal

Oh man, that's a good choice too. 
 
I also like the mini-cab version of Missile Command.  I was thinking when I made my MAME cabinet, I'd use that Atari mini-cab as the model/inspiration. 

Tempest is also a great choice!  Any vector game really, since those aren't quite the same in MAME. 

That sit down cabinet Star Wars is soooooo cool!  Made you totally feel like you were in an X-Wing!

I think my "lottery" splurge would be a Tron machine, in all it's black-light glory!  It's hard to find a good image that does it justice...but this cabinet in a dark room.....oh baby!  It's not Atari, I know. 
 

<-- BINGO!
 
<-- I agree
 
<-- Bzzkptpl Zypfflpztl (translation:  Tod Frye and my namesame Ray Kassar)

I love the Supercharger. I don't use it as much now since you can play the roms in Stella. The games I've played so far are pretty great!

<-- BINGO!
 
<-- I agree
 
<-- Bzzkptpl Zypfflpztl (translation:  Tod Frye and my namesame Ray Kassar)

How would they have really known that though? Video games were still a brand new thing. These things were all being done for the very first time and this was one of the first times an arcade port of this importance had been done. Space Invaders was the first port of an arcade game that brought a lot of success to the 2600, and it was different than the arcade version.
 
You would think Atari's own play testing and focus groups would have resulted in a "Pac-Man that plays just like the real thing" but that wouldn't happen until the 5200. Because of that I say Tod Frye had more of a hand in the collapse of the video game market than Howard Scott Warshaw ever did.

I've been keeping my eyes open for a reasonably priced TurboGrafx 16, but so far, it's eluded me.  They are pretty hard to find. 

The best part of this story is the marketing guy who pushed to not release it.  A few small changes would have made the game a lot better.  Black background, blue maze, for example.  And remove the eye on Pac-Man.  They do mention that a lot of other programmers thought it was a tremendous accomplishment on the 2600, and it is.  Especially when you consider it was Tod Frye's first game!  But that's the frustrating part....just a few small changes.....
 
One part I still don't understand is the lack of oversight at Atari.  It always seemed like the programmer didn't have to listen to any input from other developers or a supervisor.  The decisions they made went unchallenged.  I'm not sure if that's entirely accurate, but it seems to be implied in a lot of stories like this. 
 
This was a good read, and thanks for posting it. 

Yeah I never even heard of the master system until I came across some used 9 pin controllers and asked what they were for.  I went home googled it, ebayed one and noticed that is what they play on the regular show (yeahyuh). 

The Wii is good for emulation, and really easy to hack. But like MRD said, a Windows machine...even a cheap used laptop, would be a best bet.

NSG makes a good point. Never underestimate the influence of Super Mario Bros. Biggest killer app of all time.

Let's not forget the Sega SG-1000, which was also pretty darned awesome.

NSG makes a good point. Never underestimate the influence of Super Mario Bros. Biggest killer app of all time.

I bought a Master System for one reason and one reason only:  Phantasy Star.

I was the ONLY kid I knew who had one, and I never picked up any other games for it.  I could only get them at Toys R' Us, and they were too expensive to risk bad titles.

As it stands, I paid 74.99 for Phantasy Star, and I think the system was 129.99 when I got it.

The Wii is good for emulation, and really easy to hack. But like MRD said, a Windows machine...even a cheap used laptop, would be a best bet.

The Wii is good for emulation, and really easy to hack. But like MRD said, a Windows machine...even a cheap used laptop, would be a best bet.

NSG makes a good point. Never underestimate the influence of Super Mario Bros. Biggest killer app of all time.

Let's not forget the Sega SG-1000, which was also pretty darned awesome.

NSG makes a good point. Never underestimate the influence of Super Mario Bros. Biggest killer app of all time.

NSG makes a good point. Never underestimate the influence of Super Mario Bros. Biggest killer app of all time.

Marketing. The SMS was HUGE in Europe due to marketing. But Sega allowed Tonka, the truck people, to market it and it failed.
The early box art looked so bland compared to other systems.
Nintendo kept many third party companies from making games on other system, like the SMS.
The limited library. Again, places like Europe and Brazil enjoyed a much greater library (For instance MK never came to the US). And sadly, some of the best titles in America didn't show up until the final years of the system.
It didn't play Super Mario.  Super Mario basically revived the video game market alone and put NES systems in homes. Yes, other games like Zelda and Punch Out would later cement the dominance of the NES, but Super Mario was the foundation.

Add me to the list of people who never knew this existed. I was 13 when I first played the NES in 1986 and my first experience with Sega came with the Genesis in 1991.

http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3784153/Regular_Show-_Mordecai___Rigby_in_8-Bit_Land_03.jpg