1981 Atari Catalog

If you've ever wondered why I don't have more Atari coverage, one reason is because I got an Intellivision in 1981 and loved it years before acquiring a 2600. Two of my uncles had the 2600, and one eventually gave me his, and both gave me a bunch of loose cartridges. Another reason, and why I haven't made videos of Atari games, is that my system is outputting a very poor picture. I think the cable that's hardwired to the console needs to be replaced, and I'm not skilled at electronics repairs. I'll record some gameplay if I ever do get it repaired or get a replacement. I've got 37 cartridges, including many classics like Super Breakout, Pac-Man, Defender, Asteroids, Space Invaders, Joust, Missile Command, Pole Position, Combat, Pong Sports, and Crystal Castles, as well as River Raid, but that one is broken. In any case, here are scans of a 45-year-old Atari catalog that features 45 games, and has the apostrophe in the wrong place for Yars' Revenge.

Space Age Games (Starlog - February 1983)

Last year I acquired an assortment of Starlog issues from the early 1980s, and they often include video game articles, among other interesting features. This four-page story from 1983 was written to help Starlog readers choose the video game console that is right for them. It compares the price, microprocessor, controllers, and game library of the Atari VCS (2600), Odyssey 2, Intellivision, Emerson Arcadia 2001, Colecovision, and Atari 5200. Near the end of the article, there is a mention of possibly renting Atari 5200 games by downloading them through a phone line to a module made by a third-party. I don't believe this ever materialized, though I wonder if there are any prototypes of the module out there. It's not far-fetched, as Intellivision did have game streaming through its PlayCable service in 1981, but I've never heard of renting 5200 games before.

Gaming Ads: Backfilling #21

It's been one year and two days since my last ads update. Browsing comic books from the 1980s has led to the acquisition of some good retro game ads, and for this post I'm adding five from Atari and three from Mattel Electronics.

Gaming Ads: Backfilling #18

In the October 27th blog update I noted that I was nearing the 500th post and I am but I was off on the numbers. I must have been looking at the total post count which includes some drafts. Therefore, this is actually post #498 and I'm going to spread out the ads across three posts for a Thanksgiving week celebration. This will be the smallest post with four games from the early '80s. One ad is for Mario Bros. but it's not from Nintendo, it's an Atari game for the 2600 and 5200. The second ad is for Riddle of the Sphinx from Imagic. This is actually the first and only ad I have thus far from Imagic so it will join the "Publisher Singles" albums and won't get its own blog post. I'll briefly mention it was founded by former Atari and Mattel employees in 1981 and closed in 1986. It released more than 20 games, many of which featured impressive graphics for the time. Lastly, from Parker Brothers are ads for Frogger II: ThreeDeep! and Super Cobra.

Year 8: July Update

I've been very slow to get any videos done this year and have been falling behind on blog posts too. Sorry! I rarely talk about my personal life, aside from the past in relation to toys and video games, but that's what will likely keep me from updating very often going forward. There isn't much to say other than I lost my long-time job earlier this year and am starting something new this month that will keep me busy. When I've had free time of late, I've been playing Marvel's Midnight Suns from 2K and Firaxis which was a free game on the Epic Game Store earlier this summer. Although it has tactical combat, it's not like Firaxis' XCOM games that I'm a big fan of. Players control a team of three in battle, drawing and using cards to perform most actions. Outside of battle players control an original character, interact with the Marvel heroes to gain friendship, edit card decks, explore their home and its grounds, and select poolside, casual, and battle outfits.

As I sit here after viewing the numerous digital press events from the past two months, I can't recall anything that stood out. Let's see, the Nintendo Direct announced Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Super Mario Party Jamboree, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. There are plenty of sequels and updates in development, like Sid Meier's Civilization VII, Gears of War: E-Day, and Age of Mythology: Retold. Unfortunately, my PC is on the old side and I don't have a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X so I probably won't be able to play the games I'd like to try later this year, such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Star Wars Outlaws, and Assassin's Creed Shadows.

                                        Mario & Luigi: Brothership                                      TMNT: Mutants Unleashed

Rumors appeared online in May about a Total War Star Wars game but there still hasn't been an official announcement. Also, two months ago Outright Games and Mattel unveiled a multi-year deal. The family-friendly game publisher will be releasing at least three titles based on Mattel properties this year: Matchbox Driving Adventures, Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets, and Barbie Project Friendship. Other upcoming games from Outright include Transformers: Galactic Trials, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed, and Nick Jr. Party Adventure.

In an unexpected move, Hasbro and Mattel teamed up to create a Hot Wheels Optimus Prime, and it does transform, of course. Optimus is exclusive to Mattel Creations and is currently sold out; I'm not sure if that's final or if more are in production. LEGO always has a lot of cool sets on the way but I'll only highlight a few: Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 from The Legend of Zelda series, the Transformers' Bumblebee, and Star Wars TIE Fighter & X-Wing Mash-up. With the Star Wars set you can create standard TIE Fighter and X-Wing ships or swap the wings between the two iconic starfighters.

Something unexpected occurred in video games as well. Back on May 23rd, Atari announced that it had acquired the Intellivision brand. It now owns the Intellivision name and classic game catalog, not the company Intellivision Entertainment (renamed Amico Entertainment) or its long-in-development console, the Amico which I'd thought dead on more than one occasion. The sale provides Amico Entertainment some much needed financial help but, surprisingly, it isn't ready to give up on the console yet. While it can still release games based on Intellivision properties for Amico, those will be under license from Atari. 

One final note before I sign off. Author Lewis Packwood contacted myself two years ago to ask for permission to use a Captain Power photo from the blog in his then upcoming book. I agreed and while I've not read his book, nor am I benefitting from its sales in any way, I thought it was worth mentioning as the subject matter will likely interest Vault 1541 readers. The title is Curious Video Game Machines: A Compendium of Rare and Unusual Consoles, Computers and Coin-Ops. There is a nearly 40-minute video about it on YouTube with store links in the description.

Thanks for visiting,

Jonathan

Year 6: October Update

This year is flying by, as it always does, and although I expected to make less videos this year, I thought I'd be able to have more blog posts than I've managed. Comments are rare so I'm not sure if anyone looks forward to posts but I do apologize. Since my last update a few months ago LEGO unveiled an Atari 2600 set at the end of July that is now available for $239.99. Atari is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and though the company itself has changed ownership numerous times since over the decades that I wouldn't call it the same company, it is the anniversary of its founding even if it is technically a renamed Infogrames these days. 

With the holidays approaching I was going to recommend custom LEGO minifigures that had been in a testing phase earlier this year but I can't seem to find it now (you can make basic figures at LEGO.com but not the detailed ones with added text that I'm thinking of). Those were going to be around $11.99 if I recall correctly and maybe it will officially launch soon even if I don't see it at this moment. There are third-party companies that offer something similar for minifigures, however, they are not official. Another custom creation option are action figure from Hasbro that cost $59.99. The Hasbro "Selfie Series" requires using an app to take a photo and then have it digitized onto an action figure type of your choosing, such as Power Ranger, G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Marvel, and Ghostbusters. Also, as mentioned yesterday in the Quest for the Dungeonmaster post, Hasbro announced new action figures in a line called Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon Classics that features characters from the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.

The Sega Genesis Mini 2 released on October 27th for $99.99. It can only be purchased through Amazon.com and orders are being fulfilled by Amazon.jp as Sega opted to only sell it through the Japan retailer. Apparently, this has to do with the shortage of electronic components and keeping the costs down, and so the system is likely somewhat limited, certainly more so than the first Genesis Mini. This one looks like the Model 2 but has upgraded hardware over the first Mini and actually has a dozen Sega CD games built-in along with 48 other games, including some that were never previously released on the 16-bit console.

When I was working on posts for Batman Day last month I did try to make a video for a Batman game but discovered my Batman Commodore 64 game is broken. I never understood how to advance past the first level as a kid and now with the Internet available I found someone else playing the game. In their video there is a platform that in my game is not complete as there is a graphics glitch that cut it in half and because Batman cannot jump (or swing in this instance), I cannot complete the level. I'd have returned the game back when I got it had I known it was actually defective; I just thought I was overlooking something. Oh well. 

I've probably already posted any Halloween related games or toys I own over the previous five years so I don't really have anything special for the holiday to share. However, I can post this McDonald's sign again that I must have used at least three or four times on the blog already...

Happy Halloween,

Jonathan