Sabertooth

I prefer my Red Bull 7800 and my Marlboro Man Lynx 🚬

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/g-fuel-celebrates-ataris-gaming-legacy-with-atari-2600-collection-302026829.html

"Atari laid the groundwork for console gaming as we know it today, so it was important for G FUEL to honor that legacy with a refreshing new flavor and one of the biggest Collector's Boxes we've ever produced," said G FUEL CEO Bryan Crowley. "We know that Atari fans will be spending hours exploring all that the new Atari 2600+ system has to offer, and G FUEL is the perfect way to stay energized and focused during those long classic gaming sessions."

Ooooooof.

Also, the VCS issue isn't fixed after all. Hopefully it gets sorted before the weekend!

No worries on the sore subject.  That's all on me.  I hate to disappoint others.  Something to work on.  I'm totally fine with my decision.  Crowded indoor event is something I'm not ready for yet. 

How is baby doing?

She's doing great so far. Its amazing how quickly they grow and change in such a short time. She just started smiling and its the best thing. Thanks for asking!  

@Sabertooth It has to be intentional. Lancia was an Italian marque that is out of production and not widely known in our part of the world. People with an interest in those types of cars or Rally racing from the 1980s would know the Lancia Delta as an icon. I was big into Sega Rally on Saturn when it first came out and drove the tires off of that little sucker. I think it's really cool that Hyuandi was willing to put this design into production.

I ended up pivoting after a few test drives. I went with a VW ID.4. It's the largest car I've had, but works well with my family needs. 3 years of free charging a few blocks away too. I take delivery tomorrow morning.

Nice!  Congrats. Have fun with your sweet new ride. 

I literally just found out after seeing this video. 

I’m a bit sad to see this happen. Seeing talented people attempting to duplicate arcade classics on the venerable 2600 was always a fun watch and play. The activity always brought a lot of buzz to the community and 2600 platform. Oh well, nothing lasts forever.

I hope we will see more original works as a result of this.

I always said making clones or ports of unlicensed games is like playing Russian Roulette. Many copyright holders may not seem to care about games we make on these systems, but eventually, one may get copied, and the copyright owner complains. We know Nintendo is protective of their Mario franchise, and I stay cleared of that. I always tell people if you figure out the programming to do the mechanics of something like Super Mario Land/World/ etc on your system. Why not just replace graphics, sounds, sprites, music with your own designs. Make new levels with things placed in different areas of the screen. Now you made your own original game that you own the intellectual property. 
Why don't those talented people start creating original stuff that is just as exiting to play? 
I know I am not innocent with making clones. I made ported Tempest and Venture to Atari 8-bit only because I was working with someone who really wanted those games ported. When I started making these projects, I expressed my concerns with him about copyright. I had many problems working with him behind the scenes, and was glad when his partnership with myself and Video61 was terminated. I did what I mentioned here, took what I learned, and starting making original stuff. 

I still have all those Atari.io buttons.  They are awesome. 

@RickR it was awesome to be able to do that. The prizes and giveaways are something I want to get back to.

Fun stuff!  Thanks!! 

Someone also posted a tutorial on how to install macOS natively on an Atari VCS. He calls himself Middleman. It seems interesting, but a little technical for me to do. But then, I don't own a VCS, but maybe I might in the future. I don't know. But, it's neat. :O)

Prices at Microcenter are back up to $399 but (anecdotally) they sold quite a few. Many locations are sold out. $249 seems to be a sweet spot pricewise for the VCS.

Game Stop is now running a promotion for $279 for the All-In Onyx edition - which is their tribute to the Vader. 

That's still a great price for the VCS, considering it's normally close to $400.00 average retail value. Interesting.

Progress pic on the PAC tree. 

Well done!  Those are pretty sweet.

Thanks, Rick! I've always wanted to do a retro tree. Pacman seemed like a good choice for the 40th anniversary.

Yo!  Very well done.  I'm not just being nice.  I can see that you're taking your time and getting it just right.

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement everyone!

Looks nice! Expect a regular viewer! I'm always on the lookout for new retro channels and this looks great!

Thanks for mentioning that it's a Sega.  I was wracking my brain trying to remember who made carts with those ridges.

I'm going to guess "Tac-Scan". 

It's not Tac-Scan @RickR. The variety of cart styles is one of my favorite aspects of the 2600! 

And the mystery cart is: 

Buck Rogers

Can you still get the ROM version of Iron Soldier 2 on cartridge? It would be sought after for sure.

Never mind. Songbird has both CD and cartridge versions. Cool.

Yeah @DegasElite, all of the Telegames releases are still available from legit sources for decent prices. The cart of IS3 version doesn't have cutscenes or music but is the same otherwise. 

Nice Superman BTW! 

Unreal! What was that guy thinking? I think it would be pretty clear to anyone, even someone who has never played a video game, that placing a brittle plexiglass case in a soft bubble mailer would have disastrous results. Sad to see this!

On a positive note, it's cool that you're into playing Sega Saturn! 🪐

Yeah, it is sad to see a minty game treated with such lack of care! 

Yeah, I love the Saturn. It's right up there with my beloved Jaguar in my personal gaming pantheon.  

Atari and IPA time sounds pretty nice right about now

Let's be honest, Atari and IPA time always sound nice.

39 minute lecture...and the last minute "...and if that doesn't work for you, here's a real motivator on any day - Atari Game Time!"

Best. Speech. Ever.

I had a case I mentioned in the "recent finds" forum thread.  I bought 3 SMS games.  Two of them had the wrong game in the casing.  I was able to salvage two of the three.  I contacted the seller, and they gave me a 1/3 partial refund.  Very fair.  I left a positive. 

That's the thing isn't it? Even though I was disappointed, if someone tries to make it right or at least acknowledge their responsibility, I'm good. It didn't need to go the way it did. 

Also, the 50s board game story is heartbreaking. I don't get that kinda disregard for your customers. At least they refunded your friend. 

I had a few cases where the item arrived damaged or didn't match the condition described. I always offered the seller that I'd keep it for a partial refund, and they've always accepted my proposal for a partial refund (usually around $5 on $15-$20 item). I usually don't do this and will just accept the item and go on with my life but have complained in a few instance. In this case, I wouldn't bother with USPS either as Rick suggested. I'd suggest going directly to ebay and reporting that the item arrived damaged and you want a full refund.

A month ago, I bought an Xbox 360 game on ebay. It was supposed to be in "good" condition, but when I got it, most of the cover had water damage. The angle and lighting of the photos in the listing did not show the damage nor was it disclosed. I notified the seller and provided photos. I offered to keep it if he gave me $12 refund (it was $20 + $4 shipping), but he asked me to return it for full refund  instead (although the listing indicated that the seller does not accept returns).

At that point, I didn't want to interact directly with the seller, and I triggered ebay's return process. It was very smooth and fast. I was a little surprised to see that the shipping cost would be refunded and ebay even provided a free return shipping label. In all my years of purchasing from ebay, this was my first return. As a consumer, ebay's return process gave me confidence.

The new controllers are already sold out.  I wonder how long the Onyx Base system will last at this price?

And sold out.

"You snooze, you lose".

I actually decided "no" upon sleeping on it.  I'm in such a downsizing mode right now, it just didn't feel like the right thing for me.  Please keep us all informed if they come back in stock though, as I may change my mind.  It was a close decision! 

Hopefully, you get a bunch more new club members with the new purchasers.

Happy birthday. 4-0 is a nice accomplishment. Enjoy yourself however you see fit.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Glad you are ok!

I just caught this @Sabertooth. I shared this with my Mom. When I was 18 months old we were moving to a new place, and my mom was hit by a drunk driver with her car full of framed pictures and fragile glassware. The drunk driver was driving with an already revoked license and hit her from behind on an overpass, scooping her car up and flipping it over an embankment and she was thrown from the car. She told me just now she can still remember the sound of the car wheel rolling right next to her head as the car rolled down the hill. I came very close to growing up not having known my mom, and I think quite often about how lucky I am that I got to live in this "timeline" where my mom is alive, and that things weren't worse for her. She miscarried twins shortly afterward which we always believed was related to the accident. I saw my mom at Christmas and showed her the Club VCS Zine and told her a bit about you and what you had done with the club, which - after having been my mom and going on this Atari obsession with me from the beginning - thought was incredibly impressive and really cool. I reminded her of you again tonight when I shared your story with her, and mentioned I'd share this story with you here. I'm glad you're okay, and that your family and little girl still have you. I hope the rest of 2024 is good to you.

Thanks for sharing @Justin. How horrible that experience must have been for your mother.  I'm happy that you're in the "timeline" where you grew up knowing her. 

These narrow misses really put things/life into perspective.  I'm still processing this, both physically and emotionally, but I'm absolutely thrilled and eternally grateful to be here for my family.

Yes, happy b-day LBC!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY....TO YOU.

Thanks everyone!

Thanks @HDN! Yeah, I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. It was one of those last minute ideas... My girlfriend and daughter with both quietly skeptical before they saw it. LOL!  It was important for me to cover different games/iterations, including Atari 2600 Pac-Man. I'm glad that you like it! 

Thanks @Justin! It was a fun project and really cool as a fan for Bandai-Namco to repost! 

That is super awesome @Sabertooth! Not only are the decorations fabulous, the photos really pop.

Your recognition by Namco should definitely be logged in NSG's post about someone big tweeting you back 👍

Looks like it's 100 percent compatible on Phoenix and Virtual Jaguar so hoping people will participate.  I'm really looking forward to SainT's SD cart.  That will make Jag gaming much more accessible! 

I completely agree! I'm interested to see if it creates a lot more interest in the Jaguar

RE: Rayman, I realize playing it now that it doesn't really have a score, per se. We would have to do something creative like percent complete without continues. 

For raw scores, Tempest 2K, Defender 2K, Missile Command 3D, Zero5 and Raiden would be good. Also, the GOOD racing games for best times/time trial. 

Man!  This one is so cool.  I'm sharing it on the AtariVCS Facebook group. 

Thanks @RickR!

I should probably join that group eventually. LOL

Interesting animation, Sabertooth. Nice work! :O)

WOW that is WONDERFUL NEWS @Sabertooth I am so happy for you both 👶🍼

How nice. Congratulations to you and your wife. I hope your daughter stays healthy and happy. :O)

Thanks for the well wishes and congratulations, everyone! We're so happy and excited to have her home with us.

The code didn't work, but thanks anyway. I did buy the game. 

Ah well. Worth a shot!

I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.

Thanks again for the reminder.  I would have totally biffed this one without that and then been really mad at myself.

I've only played one game so far (back to work!), but there's one thing already I don't like...the fact that you have to "fire" to eat the bricks.  Mostly because it's different than the orig version and honestly seems unnecessary.  Otherwise, it's pretty awesome so far. 

It's because that is how eBay has renamed them in their database. It's eBay, not the sellers.

haha

haha

Done.

it pays to buy the best, its an oldie but a goodie.

Dude that stove is cool

Sounds like a great project, good luck dude!

Awesome, looking forward to that.

Sweet!!