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socrates63's gaming collection and setup


socrates63

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@HDN a sale? I don't think there's anything going on in particular with Pink Gorilla and local retailers although PG posts photos of interesting stuff that comes in. A few days ago, the store got a huge stack of Saturn games.

A couple of guys in the local retro gamer FB group did run an online sale yesterday. I was going to surprise you but since your curious, I'll have you know that I'm almost done with your homework. I will be picking up a stack of SNES games on Monday. I think I should get extra credit for alphabetizing the list 🙂 ✏️

  • Actraiser 1, 2
  • Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, 3
  • Illusion of Gaia
  • Super Mario World
  • Super Metroid
  • Super Punch Out
  • Zelda Link to the Past
  • Zombies Ate My Neighbors

I'm setting aside Zombies Ate My Neighbors to play it during Halloween next month.

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I'm pretty excited today -- I drove about 20 minutes to pick up my very first heavy sixer from its original owner. She had bundled it with several controllers and a bunch of games. This will go on the shelf for display as I have a light sixer for daily use. This was a very pleasant surprise. I've been keeping an eye on FB Marketplace, checking in once in a while, hoping to find a heavy sixer locally. While in bed for the night yesterday, I took a peek and found the bundle posted a few hours earlier.

The console looks to be in great cosmetic and functional shape. The only thing I noticed was that the game select switch did not return to position like the reset switch does. The spring must be missing. I'm thinking of asking Crossbow to take a look and refurb it later.

It also came with some controllers (two sets of paddles not shown) and one of them is wireless. For me, it's more of a novelty as I already have arcade joystick controllers and the two other flight stick style controllers aren't anything special. I'm very happy to have picked up another Wico Bat joystick though. It's in better condition than the one I already had and looks to have gotten little use.

The games in the bundle are quite impressive in terms of diversity -- very nice -- and a couple I've not seen before.

 

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Edited by socrates63
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You got most of the Nintendo games with that. DK, DK Jr, Mario Brothers-- even Sky Skipper is there! Plus the DK games are all red labels. Fast Food and Skateboardin' are there too! Lots of the more obscure titles there. Nice find! Heavy sixers look nice. Great shelf material right there.

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Call it the @nosweargamer's Effect -- I watched a few of his videos on Intellivision games recently. I was very impressed by the IntelliVoice games. Last week, a lot of Intellivision games came up on AtariAge forum. The price was very good, so I grabbed it.

My 12 year old self's jaw would have probably dropped through the floor had he seen today's mail call. Even until a couple of weeks ago, I never even considered owning Intellivision games (I've passed on local offers multiple times from local gamers). My 12 year old self had three reasons for the Intellivision disdain. One, Intellivision was a competitor to my beloved Atari 2600, and I was an Atari loyalist. Two, I thumbed my nose at the Intellvision thumb disc pad controller. The joystick is the only proper video game controller. Three, I didn't like George Plimpton's smug mug pitching for Intellivision on TV ads with his air of superiority.

As an adult and a classic gamer, I've recently opened up to try platforms that I never considered before -- the I/O Effect, if you will. I recently got an SNES, and now I have Intellivision games (although not the console yet). I'm in no rush to start playing Intellivision games as I want to play Super Metroid on the SNES. I'll probably grab a few more Intellivision games along the way if I find them cheap, and at some point, I'll get the console. I really want the IntelliVoice module though.

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29 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

I'm in no rush to start playing Intellivision games as I want to play Super Metroid on the SNES. I'll probably grab a few more Intellivision games along the way if I find them cheap, and at some point, I'll get the console. I really want the IntelliVoice module though.

First off, great job on your Intellivision purchase! A few years ago I got an Intellivision Flashback for my birthday. I love that thing! I find the disc controllers rather comfortable. They work better if you rotate them like a steering wheel rather than using them like a d-pad. Some games only use four directions and there are sixteen on the disc, so if you rotate it you will be able to accurately cover all of them instead of accidentally not going in a certain direction and dying.

Good on you for doing the right thing and playing Super Metroid first.

I enjoy the Intellivision quite a bit from what I have played and I would like to get an Intellivision 1 someday. I don't want the model 2 as the buttons seem more painful on the controller and I would love to try out the system's port of Venture, which is one of the Coleco games that doesn't work on the model 2.

But each console has it's Super Metroids. Must-have games that you need to get as soon as possible. You know the 2600's Super Metroid--Tunnel Runner. Well, actually on the Intellivison I can think of two Super Metroids. Like the SNES's Holy Trinity of games, but this one is only a Holy Duology. You need SNAFU and Shark! Shark! as soon as possible!

SNAFU is like the Tron lightcycles or Surround on 2600, only its about 1000x better than both combined. The music is amazing and is constantly stuck in my head. The game goes for about five to six dollars.

Shark! Shark! is a game where you are a tiny fish and you have to eat the fish smaller than you. The more you eat, the bigger you get. The crab and shark can kill you regardless, however. It's a very fun game with two players. It goes for about $15.00, so it's a bit pricier. SNAFU is a better game in my opinion, plus it's cheaper, so get that one first.

But please, do play the actual Super Metroid first!

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The NSG effect line made me laugh 😆, but welcome to Intellivision land!

You got some Burgertimes, so good start there! I also like Space Battle and Demon Attack. The Intellivision is pretty cheap to collect for too, especially if you get lots off of eBay. 

The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg

Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube

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2 hours ago, socrates63 said:

Call it the @nosweargamer's Effect -- I watched a few of his videos on Intellivision games recently. I was very impressed by the IntelliVoice games. Last week, a lot of Intellivision games came up on AtariAge forum. The price was very good, so I grabbed it.

@nosweargamer has influenced a few purchases of mine, mainly his podcast did. His glowing review of One-on-One Basketball is one of the reasons why I chose it over Xevious. I can't wait until I get that one. I have never been a big Xevious guy until fairly recently. I was never a big sports guy, but I really like One-on-One. It's probably my favorite game I've played on the system so far. He also influenced Home Run to a degree. I watched his video on the game and thought it looked like fun. I played it on Atari Anthology with my dad and had a blast playing it. I wasn't going to get it on cartridge until I saw it for only two dollars. My dad bought that one "for himself".

Also, @socrates63, I didn't realize you had so many duplicates! Trade some of those in and get some new games! Like SNAFU. Did you get the system yet? I assume not as you didn't mention it.

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Thunder Castle is justification alone for owning an Intellivision. Just sayin' .....

After that you need to grab some of the homebrews as they are excellent! Especially the releases from KAI Magazine but also Maria from Cote gamers is really fun!

 

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

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On 9/23/2020 at 4:59 PM, socrates63 said:

I'm pretty excited today -- I drove about 20 minutes to pick up my very first heavy sixer from its original owner. She had bundled it with several controllers and a bunch of games. This will go on the shelf for display as I have a light sixer for daily use. This was a very pleasant surprise. I've been keeping an eye on FB Marketplace, checking in once in a while, hoping to find a heavy sixer locally. While in bed for the night yesterday, I took a peek and found the bundle posted a few hours earlier.

The console looks to be in great cosmetic and functional shape. The only thing I noticed was that the game select switch did not return to position like the reset switch does. The spring must be missing. I'm thinking of asking Crossbow to take a look and refurb it later.

It also came with some controllers (two sets of paddles not shown) and one of them is wireless. For me, it's more of a novelty as I already have arcade joystick controllers and the two other flight stick style controllers aren't anything special. I'm very happy to have picked up another Wico Bat joystick though. It's in better condition than the one I already had and looks to have gotten little use.

The games in the bundle are quite impressive in terms of diversity -- very nice -- and a couple I've not seen before.

 

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I do have several donor 2600 systems on hand for parts and I'm sure several of them have decent working select and reset switches on them I can replace it out with. I know you stated it would be a shelf piece of I've got a refurb kit on hand as well if you would like to make sure it stays fully functional in addition to looking nice?

 

 

Edited by CrossBow

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

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5 hours ago, CrossBow said:

I do have several donor 2600 systems on hand for parts and I'm sure several of them have decent working select and reset switches on them I can replace it out with. I know you stated it would be a shelf piece of I've got a refurb kit on hand as well if you would like to make sure it stays fully functional in addition to looking nice?

I'd love for you to do just that @CrossBow. I sent you PM. Let's make it happen.

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I bought a bunch of cool stuff from a collector on AtariAge forums, and it arrived today and covers 2600, 5200, and 7800.

  • 2600 Track & Field cart and controller, Starplex controller
  • 5200 trak-ball (my backup), Gorf, Wizard of Wor, Pac-Man
  • 7800 Alien Brigade, Frenzy homebrew

I also picked up recently 7800 loose carts and sealed games during the past few weeks. I'm now a dozen away from a complete 7800 NTSC collection.

 

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1 hour ago, socrates63 said:

I bought a bunch of cool stuff from a collector on AtariAge forums, and it arrived today and covers 2600, 5200, and 7800.

  • 2600 Track & Field cart and controller, Starplex controller
  • 5200 trak-ball (my backup), Gorf, Wizard of Wor, Pac-Man
  • 7800 Alien Brigade, Frenzy homebrew

I also picked up recently 7800 loose carts and sealed games during the past few weeks. I'm now a dozen away from a complete 7800 NTSC collection.

Wow awesome ! You even got 5200 Wizard of Wor aw well ! OH and GORF NICE! 😎👍

I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd

"For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."

 - M. Bison

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Good job on that starplex controller and even better that it doesn't have the woodgrain vinyl sticker starting to peel yet?! I actually have two Starplex controllers. One is mint in the box and purchased a few years ago from a guy at AA that apparently found a case of them and was letting them go for like $25 shipped each at the time I think? The other I got before that and is badly peeled on the sticker but I only paid like $5 for it from some game store in Houston when I was visiting relatives.

7800 Alien Brigade is an excellent game, but it was really more designed for the XE light gun. I've never managed to beat the game with a joystick but have with a light gun without much trouble.

Also that Track n Field set is very nice! I've only seen the cart twice in the wild and bought it both times. But they both had been 'coxed' in their earlier lives so they aren't very minty at this point. I also have the controller but it had a corner broken out of it. But again..it was a cheap purchase for like $10 if I remember at the time?

 

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

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57 minutes ago, CrossBow said:

Good job on that starplex controller and even better that it doesn't have the woodgrain vinyl sticker starting to peel yet?! I actually have two Starplex controllers. One is mint in the box and purchased a few years ago from a guy at AA that apparently found a case of them and was letting them go for like $25 shipped each at the time I think? The other I got before that and is badly peeled on the sticker but I only paid like $5 for it from some game store in Houston when I was visiting relatives.

7800 Alien Brigade is an excellent game, but it was really more designed for the XE light gun. I've never managed to beat the game with a joystick but have with a light gun without much trouble.

Also that Track n Field set is very nice! I've only seen the cart twice in the wild and bought it both times. But they both had been 'coxed' in their earlier lives so they aren't very minty at this point. I also have the controller but it had a corner broken out of it. But again..it was a cheap purchase for like $10 if I remember at the time?

Ah, to have been a collector 5+ years ago when things were much cheaper and more plentiful and simply available in some cases.

Yes, the Starplex is in great condition and no sign of peeling. $25 sounds very nice 🙂 I paid double that for this one.

I actually did pick up the XE light gun from Atarisales.com and forgot to add the photo. It's got a bit of heft to it and looks like it could serve as a prop in Buck Rogers.

$10 times six is what I paid for the Track & Field game and controller. It's neat that the 2600 has multiple games with controllers designed for them.

 

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Mail call with ❤️❤️❤️

I recently bought on ebay the Atari 30th anniversary issue of Video Game Collector magazine. I noticed that the seller was local and Seattle. I'd have reached out about local pick-up but it was only one magazine with $3 shipping. I'd probably spend more on gas if I went to pick it up.

Today, USPS dropped off a large box, and I couldn't remember what I may have ordered that'd come in such a large box. I also noticed the name on the return address, and it was a member of the Seattle retro gaming group -- odd, I don't remember buying anything from him 🤔. I opened the box and found a letter inside (photo attached). It turned out that the ebay seller was a local gamer and he recognized my name and decided to pack in a bunch of Atari stuff gratis. I was floored by the generosity and the fact that he remembered me. For sure, he took a big loss on my ebay purchase with the weight of the box and all the extra items.

I'm probably the only person who regularly posts stuff about Atari in that Seattle group. But it's cool to see that a lot of folks appreciate Atari even if they didn't grow up with it. I'm relatively new to engaging the retro gaming community, and this kind of love and support reminds me of the 80s when I was involved in the local Atari user group as a kid. It's gaming community done right. I also get similar feelings hanging out here in the I/O so kudos to all the members here. Common interest may have brought us here together but it's love and generosity that builds community and friendship.

 

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Edited by socrates63
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How very nice of him! I'm interested in what Video Easel is like. And those glasses are very cool, too! 

You're going to like that Ms. Pac-Man Plug 'n' Play. It has a nice version of Pole Position on it where you twist the stick like a steering wheel. I'm very nostalgic for that thing. I played lots of Xevious and Mappy on that thing in a kid's playroom at a car dealership when I was younger. That was when my parents were trading in their old car.

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Rampage and Double Dragon both arrived today from different sellers -- eleven more to go. 

Is it just my 7800? Why are these cartridges so hard to insert and take out? Even if I had all the game cartridges, I may still get that SD cartridge for the 7800 just so I don't have to deal with the inserting and removing the cartridge from the console.

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4 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

Rampage and Double Dragon both arrived today from different sellers -- eleven more to go. 

Is it just my 7800? Why are these cartridges so hard to insert and take out? Even if I had all the game cartridges, I may still get that SD cartridge for the 7800 just so I don't have to deal with the inserting and removing the cartridge from the console.

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Not just your 7800. Mine is really stubborn with taking out third party cartridges, too. When I first got the system, you bet Tunnel Runner was one of the first games I tried out (I think you can even see it in the background of the picture I posted when I first got the system). When it was time to take it out, it wouldn't budge. I really had to work it out. I internally freaked out a bit because I thought I had gotten something stuck in this awesome new system I had for less than an hour! The 7800 can be stubborn for sure.

I have considered taking a Dremel and widening the cartridge slot to make it a bit easier, but ultimately I don't trust myself enough! I will probably ruin the system if I try, so I am keeping it original.

Hope you enjoy those Activision games. I just listened to the 7800 Game by Game Podcast episode covering these two the other night.

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8 hours ago, HDN said:

Mine is really stubborn with taking out third party cartridges, too.

Mine, three. It can be hard to insert and take out the third-party carts. Some Atari-manufactured carts can be like that, too. So, I think that every A7800 owner has had that issue. Nothing big. It's just irritating at times, especially when you insert it and it doesn't go all the way in the cartridge port. :O)

Edited by DegasElite
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I checked my spreadsheet, and I'm at 44 7800 games.  Like I said, I think I've plateaued, and I haven't found anything to buy in years.  

Your Rampage and Double Dragon look really nice condition-wise.  Really nice buys.

And yep, me "four" on the tight cart port.  I've learned to kind of wobble them side-to-side a little as they go in or out.  

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13 hours ago, socrates63 said:

Rampage and Double Dragon both arrived today from different sellers -- eleven more to go. 

Is it just my 7800? Why are these cartridges so hard to insert and take out? Even if I had all the game cartridges, I may still get that SD cartridge for the 7800 just so I don't have to deal with the inserting and removing the cartridge from the console.

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They put a black plastic ring around the cartridge port, which is the cause of the tight fit. I actually opened mine up and cracked it on purpose. No more issues! 😆

Fyi, Tigervision cartridges have prongs inside that prevent them from fitting at all. Some people simply break the prongs off. I just use my 2600 junior for those games.

The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg

Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube

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