Pole Position II (boxed version)

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Would you guys like to see another mess up I found?

See if you can spot it.

[7800 Pro Gamer]

My eyes must be bad I'm having a hard time spotting it...

[RickR]

I'm guessing those copyright dates are not correct?

[Justin]

If you're about to say "Atari Corporation didn't exist in 1983, Atari, Inc. did" - that is not a "mess up". Atari Corporation aquired those IPs including ROMs for 2600 and 7800 cartridges and their associated copyrights, which then became copyright of Atari Corporation.

One "mess up" you could reasonably cite is that Pole Position II was released for the Atari 7800 in 1984 (yes, Atari 7800 video game systems and software had retail availability in 1984 and should be thought of in my opinion as 1984 technology) however it reflects a 1983 copyright. This could be because work commenced on Pole Position II for the 7800 in 1983, or more likely it could be because Pole Position II was released in arcades by Atari in 1983, and that is where the legalities of the copyright for "Pole Position II" date back to between Atari and Namco. Who knows.

[DegasElite]

Atari could have acquired those rights to PPII in 1983. Heck, they could have created the cartridge in 1983 for 1984 release. I don't know. But, you're right, as the A7800 was supposed to be released in 1984 and was pushed back to I believe 1986. I got my first A7800 around Christmas of 1987 or 1988. I think it was a mistake to not release it before the NES was released in 1985. A colossal mistake.

[Justin]

2 hours ago, DegasElite said:

Atari could have acquired those rights to PPII in 1983

Yes, all of the original Pole Position II material is Copyright 1983.

 

2 hours ago, DegasElite said:

A colossal mistake.

I agree.

[RickR]

And the art is fantastic!

(I'm legally required to say this for the next 90 days)

 

[TrekMD]

I just love that the cart has a COLOR label!  I bought one of these a while back just for that reason.  😆

[Atari 5200 Guy]

What I spotted as an error is the copyright date for Namco and Atari seems to be reversed to me.  If you look at the included black label PP II, the dates are reversed.

My take on the dates: if Namco did not have PP II until 1988 then how did Atari get the rights to it in 1983?  What time machine did they use?  Because if Atari owns a time machine I want to use it to go back to the eighties.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Atari 5200 Guy

[7800 Pro Gamer]

When I get home I'm gonna look at the original text label and see, but if your right and the dates are reversed then yeah, it's probably an error.  You have a good eye for this stuff regardless!

[Atari 5200 Guy]

10 hours ago, TrekMD said:

I just love that the cart has a COLOR label!  I bought one of these a while back just for that reason.  😆

Me too!  The label variation Atari used on PP II included with the systems always looked out of place to me.  Im grateful to have a boxed version.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

1 hour ago, Silver Back said:

When I get home I'm gonna look at the original text label and see, but if your right and the dates are reversed then yeah, it's probably an error.  You have a good eye for this stuff regardless!

Thank you for the kind words.  There are times when I just like to sit and admire the games in my collection.  Ill take em out, look them over, sometimes skim over the manuals, look the boxes over, read the description on the back, then put them up. The whole time I'm doing that I often wonder who might have got these for a gift or just because?  What store did these come from? I will also take trips down memory lane when I saw lots of Atari games hanging on pegs or locked behind a glass door.  

It amazes me how old these games are but are still working well.  Some days they look better than I do.  I was spoiled by my mother and one grandmother.  Today I am very grateful to have those memories and to have been able to receive those systems and games.  I don't try to brag about it...instead being spoiled to video games has given me a passion for them.  I once wouldn't even look at a 2600 only because I had the 5200.  To me at the time there was no comparison.  The 5200 was top dog.  Fast forward a few decades and the tables have reversed.  Im enjoying discovering the 2600, and 7800, in ways I did not get to before. Even though the 2600 is primitive it's library speaks volumes, loud and clear.  No wonder it has become an icon.

So, if I stumble across something I've not noticed before I try to share it to see what stories come of it.  I enjoy finding them because I enjoy reading the members' responses.  Plus it makes for a conversation topic.

[7800 Pro Gamer]

Your right they flipped the dates!