Post your latest/recent pickups!

[Jinroh]

On 8/19/2023 at 6:12 PM, Video 61 said:

yes! its not so much the 2600 jr. as it's the 2600 in general after Jack Tramiel relaunched the Atari systems in 1986. just like how 2600 and 5200 game boxes had identical designs but different colors in 1982, they did the same thing with the 2600 and 7800 in 1986. 7800 games came in silver boxes, and 2600 games came in red boxes. they all matched and were easy to tell the difference. here are some examples, the 2600 and 7800 boxes are the same design but different color

 

lance  

www.atarisales.com

. 

Oh wow I never noticed that I love to hear all your insider baseball @Video 61!

Very cool to see the Secret Quest box too. 🙂 Very neat game. Felt more like the NES or Sega Master System, than a regular old 2600 game.🙂

 

[Justin]

I picked up three new games this week, all new in the box in good condition:

• Pete Rose Baseball (Atari 2600)
• Cookie Monster Munch (Atari 2600)
• E.T. Phone Home (Atari 8-Bit Computers)

Let's take a look at the pickups!

 

 

 

Pete Rose Baseball is a really nice looking (the best looking?) Baseball game for Atari 2600. It's an Absolute release and has a copyright date of 1988. It was programmed by Alex DeMeo who also did Title Match Pro Wrestling for Atari 2600.

 

 

 

Cookie Monster Munch is one of the original Kids Controller games designed as a collaboration between Atari and Children's Television Workshop (Sesame Workshop). I have two brand new Kids Controllers put away, and I picked up this game not just because they are becoming harder to find - but because I had always wanted my future kids to be able to play the Kids Controller Sesame Street games as some of their very first video games. I think a 2 year old would still appreciate Cookie Monster even in 2600 mode 🙂 

Cookie Monster Munch is an educational game designed for children Ages 3-7 to help learn numbers and how to count by helping Cookie Monster catch and eat cookies. Alternate artwork is shown in Tim Lapetino's book "Art of Atari" page 212 showing the names "Cookie Monster's Garden" and "Cookie Monster Maze".  

Another interesting note about the Sesame Street Kids Controller games packaging is that they have always been very difficult to find in "perfect" boxes. These were made at a time when most Atari 2600 video games were displayed in stores on open shelves, as opposed to behind a sliding glass door. Games sat on store shelves at K-Mart, Sears, Kay-Bee and elsewhere, and anyone could walk up, pick up the game and walk around with it before putting it back where they would all get crunched together. Sesame Street games with Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Ernie and others were prone to being handled by excited children and made crunchy before mom told them to "put it back", so to find any Kids Controller games in a decent box is a challenge.

 

 

E.T. Phone Home is the often overlooked Atari 8-Bit Computer version of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600. It's a 16k cartridge originally released for the Atari XL line and works with all 16k Atari 8-Bit Computers. I think this version of the game should've also been released for the Atari 5200, but in the context of everything that happened I understand why it was not. I wonder if it was ever planned?

The objective of E.T. Phone Home is the same as the Atari 2600 version: you play as Elliott searching for pieces to help E.T. assemble his interstellar telephone so he can "phone home" and call his spaceship. Other than that, this version of E.T. is much different from the Atari 2600 E.T., as  E.T. Phone Home has much better graphics, controls and sound, and even has voice synthesis where you can hear E.T. call home. The game plays and looks much better and allows you to explore Elliott's neighborhood and feels like a much more "finished" game without constantly falling into pits.

My game has a 1986 copyright from Atari Corp. and was a Tramiel release as a 2nd printing. The only downside to this was that I would have like to have had a color instruction manual, but otherwise it feels the same as the earlier 1983 Atari, Inc. version.

 

From the back of the box:

You remember that marvelous moment, when the moon sailed high before the stars, the crickets sang softly in the fields, and Elliott held his breath. Something was waiting in the shed, and neither vou nor he knew what would happen next — but somehow you both knew it would change vour lives. Would you have been as brave as he was, to face that moment and see what it would bring? If so, you would have entered into Elliott's magnificent adventure — and now, with your ATARI Home Computer and this game, you can! YOU ARE ELLIOTT, searching for the hidden pieces which will create E.T.'s “phone" and make him speak to you. It's not easy — the agents are on your trail, and there's very little time before your extra-terrestrial friend loses all his energy. But if you save him, you’ll see his spaceship take him away! Plav it and discover — THE MAGIC OF E.T.

I got all of these games from @Video 61 and included free shipping on orders over $40 within the lower 48 states.

 

 

 

[RickR]

12 minutes ago, Justin said:

E.T. Phone Home is the often overlooked Atari 8-Bit Computer version

Could not agree more.  I bought this game back when it was new and loved it.  I still have the cart and manual but not the box 😞 

GREAT pickups @Justin.  It is always a pleasure to see boxed games. 

[Smell Dawg]

2 hours ago, Justin said:

Pete Rose Baseball is a really nice looking (the best looking?) Baseball game for Atari 2600. It's an Absolute release and has a copyright date of 1988. It was programmed by Alex DeMeo who also did Title Match Pro Wrestling for Atari 2600.

Wow, the back of the box certainly does make that game look great for the 2600!
 
All these titles appear to be in immaculate condition - nicely done!

[Justin]

4 hours ago, Smell Dawg said:

All these titles appear to be in immaculate condition - nicely done!

@Smell Dawg Thank you! 🏆

 

6 hours ago, RickR said:

Could not agree more.  I bought this game back when it was new and loved it.  I still have the cart and manual but not the box 😞 

I love to hear that @RickR!! The more I see what was available for Atari 8-Bit computers, let's say during the Atari XL period while the Atari 5200 was out, I really feel like the Atari 8-Bit Computers were the way to go for the greatest home gaming experience. With the understand I have now, I would certainly have chosen to go with an Atari XL computer in 1983 as opposed to spending money on an Atari 5200. Not only did the XL offer many of the same games, but a ton more. Plus it was a real computer. Definitely the way to go.

I find it surprising - even confusing - that almost universally there's never a mention of "E.T. Phone Home" for the Atari 8-Bit  when "Atari ET" is mentioned in the media. I think "Atari: Game Over" went through the entirety of that film without mentioning or showing Atari had another E.T. game out that was better done and provided a more fulfilling adventure. It's rarely mentioned in magazine articles, blog entires, general discussions about "E.T. and Atari." It's strange.

 

6 hours ago, RickR said:

GREAT pickups @Justin.  It is always a pleasure to see boxed games. 

Absolutely! I got into the habit early on, about 30 years ago right now. I checked out a book from the library that showed "a home video game collection" with a bunch of Activision games lined up in the box, displayed like books on a book shelf. And I thought that's a really great way of preserving and organizing your games. I was ordering directly from Atari and from @Video 61 very early on, so I was in the habit of having new games and keeping them nice once I had them. We're long past that being an easy thing to do, but I always make the attempt.

I also realized a tremendous part of the classic gaming experience for me was looking at the box, reading the verbiage on the back and staring into the screenshots, opening the box up and pulling out the instruction manual and game catalog. At a young age I began preserving those too. The classic gaming experience extends beyond the games themselves, and I wanted to preserve all of that.

Some classic gamers disagree, even get angry over people wanting the box. I understand that's their view, and different approaches work for different people. As far as Atari games go (2600-Jag) I always like to have the complete game.

Thank you for looking!

[Justin]

I also find it interesting that somewhere along the line in 1986 Jack Tramiel said "Yeah, go ahead and make more E.T.s" 

[RickR]

10 minutes ago, Justin said:

I really feel like the Atari 8-Bit Computers were the way to go for the greatest home gaming experience.

That was me making that same decision!  The computer part came in handy, as I used it in high school and college to do word processing and sign in to computer mainframes during off-hours when you didn't have to time share with anyone else.  Then when the homework was done, it was nice to have a gaming machine to play with. 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I missed out on the 2600 so getting games either new or CIB is win for me, even if the box is crushed.  I get to experience what others did decades ago.  I made the same mistake with my 5200 and 7800 games...I didn't keep the box or instructions.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Awesome score, @Justin!

[TrekMD]

Those are some good games.  I have never played ET Phone Home but it does look like a cool game.  I think people have 2600 ET trauma and ignore it!  😆

The baseball game is pretty cool.  I own the 7800 version of that game.

Edited September 1, 2023 by TrekMD

[Justin]

1 hour ago, TrekMD said:

The baseball game is pretty cool.

@TrekMD At the moment I think it's the best Baseball game on the Atari 2600! I think Champ Sports Baseball is going to be the new GOAT when it's released ☺️

 

1 hour ago, TrekMD said:

I own the 7800 version of that game.

@TrekMD Definitely the best Atari 7800 baseball game! If you move the difficulty switch just the right way you can place sports bets with Pete Rose 

 

1 hour ago, TrekMD said:

I have never played ET Phone Home but it does look like a cool game.

@TrekMD It's a 16k cart, I really would've enjoyed a 64k version of this game! I've gone in depth before about how I think a proper E.T. game should've looked ☺️

[RickR]

15 hours ago, Justin said:

Atari had another E.T. game out that was better done and provided a more fulfilling adventure.

I haven't played in decades, but I remember the computer E.T. was much more fun.  No pits!  The main theme of the gameplay was the same, but the execution was a bit different.  And there was a huge carrot in winning....speech!  I think E.T. actually says "E.T. Phone Home" when you put the device together.  It is quaint now, but back then, a really big deal to get that kind of speech with no additional hardware. 

I now want to go back and play it and my do that this weekend.

[AtariSphinx]

On 8/31/2023 at 9:31 AM, Justin said:

E.T. Phone Home is the often overlooked Atari 8-Bit Computer version of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600. It's a 16k cartridge originally released for the Atari XL line and works with all 16k Atari 8-Bit Computers

Great pickups!   I am a huge fan of the silver Atari computer boxes ever since I was a kid going over to my friends house whose father worked for Atari.   His hallway was lined with all the computer silver box games and programs. That drove me to get as many of them myself in the last few years.

I love the small box silver ones (like the one you purchased) as they are 2600 sized vs the huge paper sized versions.  There are not many USA releases (around 16) with Europe getting mostly the same ones but with different art work and manuals. 

There is a color version of that ET manual that was originally in these small silver boxes but they cheaped out later on color.  You can find that on Ebay but need to make sure it is the small box one that fits.

[TrekMD]

Here are some of my latest pick ups...

[Smell Dawg]

18 hours ago, TrekMD said:

Here are some of my latest pick ups...

Whoa!!! I had completely forgotten about Cosmic Commander's existence.  Have never seen one in person, much less used one.  Looks fun!!

[TrekMD]

It pretty much works like a joystick but it looks so cool with the display, etc. 

[Smell Dawg]

Few more purchases received recently - I've been so busy with work and other parts of life that I'm falling behind on playing through my previous receipts, much less so anything new coming in!

Space Invaders and Surround certainly need no introduction.  Absolute cornerstones.

 

Frogger took a lot of my quarters in the arcade; only have minimal experience with the 2600 version.  Never even heard of Dolphin before, but the giant squid on the box's back is hilarious looking already, ha.

 

It's been so long that I don't even remember how to play Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Seeking this one out was a request for a nostalgic family member.  Looking forward to re-experiencing this one, for sure.

[socrates63]

Today's mail call --

I got Pac-Man Arcade from AA user tep392. I'm not a huge fan of maze games, but I keep collecting Pac-Man games 😂 It's like with Mario -- I just love the IP and design.

I was planning to get For the Love of Spock a while back, and while searching, I ran across this geek documentary compilation. I waited for the price to drop and finally picked it up.

I should have gotten Pelé's Soccer ages ago, but finally got around to finding a copy for a reasonable price. I see CIB copies often coming up for over $50 on ebay. When I was a kid, Pelé was the Messi of those days.

[TrekMD]

That is an excellent version of Pac-Man.  I have the 5200 version but it is pretty much the same thing.  Atari did a good job with Pac-Man for the 8-Bit systems and the 5200 but the Pac-Man Arcade version is as close to the arcade as it gets.

That is a cool Blu-Ray!  Three documentaries?!  Nice!

[TrekMD]

This arrived over the weekend...

[Sabertooth]

The AtariXP reissue of Haunted House, pictured with the Butcher Biller art print.  Link to "unboxing."

 

[RickR]

Those stop motion videos are the BEST!  A+

Is that you on piano?  Or just stock music?

 

[Sabertooth]

2 hours ago, RickR said:

Those stop motion videos are the BEST!  A+

Is that you on piano?  Or just stock music?

 

Thanks, Rick! They are fun to make but it's taking me forever to open all 10. LOL

I can't take credit for the music. Stock old-timey. 😉

[sramirez2008]

On 8/13/2023 at 12:55 AM, socrates63 said:

During my 15 day hospital stay, I ordered a bunch of games. Here's a batch from Repentless Video Games. I just love the quality of the label and workmanship from RVG. They're on par with AtariAge cartridges and official Atari cartridges from back in the day (in my opinion).

With the addition of Bloody Human Freeway and Venetian Blinds, I think I have cartridges of all the Activision unreleased roms--maybe there are more but I dunno.

Just based on the cartridge label alone, I had to have Rescue the Princess. I assume this is a hack of Princess Rescue which I bought several years ago. I'm always game for hacks involving Space Invaders or Pac-Man.

Very nice. You can get a box for Venetian Blinds from Marc Oberhäuser's Etsy Store. Patch not included. It took a lot of points to earn that patch.😉

Edited September 16, 2023 by sramirez2008

[TrekMD]

Wait, Venetian Blinds is an actual game?  I thought it was just a demo.