Armchair Arcade: Forums / General Discussion / ebay makes a grumpy old man smile again

Main Menu

BACK TO NEW WEBSITE
bullet

Current Issue
bullet

Past Issues
bullet

System Matrix
bullet

Forum

AA Store

Industry News
bullet

Submit Article/Art
bullet

Submit News
bullet

Links

About Us

DreamAuthentics

For your custom home arcade machine needs, visit here and use Coupon Code: DREAM220

Welcome

Sponsored Links

Awards Received

Armchair Arcade -> Forums -> General Discussion

<< Previous thread | Next thread >>

ebay makes a grumpy old man smile again

Moderators: Bill Loguidice, David Torre, crcasey, Mark1970, deshrill

Author

Post

davyK

Mon Apr 04 2005, 03:53PM

Registered Member #74
Joined Mon Jan 19 2004, 07:40AM
Location: Belfast, N.Ireland
posts 902

Just got a woody 2600 again via ebay. It's in pretty good condition and it is marvellous to hold those controllers again. This is the console that lit my interest in IT - it almost brings tears to the eyes of a cynical old hacker like me.

I sold my 2600 collection for a song in the late 80s and have regretted it ever since. I still have a few 2600 cartridges that I got for my 7800 but I'm looking forward to building a small but perfectly formed collection again. Incidentally - the 2600 games have a better picture played via a 2600 than on the 7800. The 7800 games look fine but the 2600 games are clearer and the colours are better on the real thing - maybe its a PAL thing.

[ Edited ]

Davy 'Grey Gamer' Kelly
Where's the retro of tomorrow ?

crcasey

Tue Apr 05 2005, 10:10PM

Location: Pismo Beach, CA
posts 1023

That is strange, you would think that the over all image would be better on the 7800. But when you consider that the 2600 draws the image on the fly under program control a slight timming difference in the 2600 to the 7800 could cause bleading or artifacts.

And by the way, congrats on the smile.
[ Edited Tue Apr 05 2005, 11:11PM ]

Cecil Casey - Moderator - crcasey@armchairarcade.com

Dragon57

Tue Apr 05 2005, 11:06PM

Registered Member #189
Joined: Mon Mar 22 2004, 11:05PM
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth area, Texas (USA)
posts 492

I also recently got a 2600 woody from an eBay auction. I also sold mine many years ago with great regret. I think I got a good deal and my smiles have been quite large. I join you in your warm feelings.

I generally agree that eBay has ruined the collectors market in some ways, but the fact I have a woody without a scratch and controllers that appear new, I just can't complain too loudly.

davyK

Wed Apr 06 2005, 04:03AM

Registered Member #74
Joined: Mon Jan 19 2004, 07:40AM
Location: Belfast, N.Ireland
posts 902

The joysticks aren't quite a big as I remember them, but the console itself is a bit of a brute - nearly the same size as the Saturn!

Re the 7800 thing - the picture isn't as clear, has washed out/different colours, and isn't full screen.

It is odd - it is the PAL version of the 7800 (complete with built-in Asteroids) and I thought that the 2600 mode would have been exact.

[ Edited Wed Apr 06 2005, 05:03AM ]

Davy 'Grey Gamer' Kelly
Where's the retro of tomorrow ?

donald_ferren

Wed Apr 06 2005, 01:31PM

Armchair Arcade Editor

Joined: Fri Jan 16 2004, 01:00PM
Location: Little Rock, AR
posts 228

Unfortunately, I never had a 2600 as a kid, but my uncle had one. We would play that thing every time we went over to his house.

A couple of years ago, I found a "Vader" system in my local flea market and have really gotten into collecting for the 2600 since.

The nice thing about these old game systems: since the graphics are so basic, it's all about the gameplay.

I collect Atari 2600 games & systems. Please check out my trade list.

Bill Loguidice

Wed Apr 06 2005, 03:43PM

Armchair Arcade Co-Founder and Editor

Location: Central New Jersey, USA
posts 4817

donald_ferren wrote: ...

The nice thing about these old game systems: since the graphics are so basic, it's all about the gameplay.

There's also beauty in the durability of it all, as well as the fact that there's only ONE button. Simplicity can be as wonderful as the most elaborate modern setup. If I recommended a system to start collecting for to anyone, it would be the Atari 2600. The fact that new, quality games get made for it all the time is a big help as well.

Bill Loguidice - Armchair Arcade Editor
www.billandchristina.com (includes videogame & computer collection)
www.mythcore.com (creative development company)
www.armchairarcade.com (soliciting articles NOW!)

davyK

Wed Apr 06 2005, 06:03PM

Registered Member #74
Joined: Mon Jan 19 2004, 07:40AM
Location: Belfast, N.Ireland
posts 902

There's almost a beauty in the purity of some of the 2600 games - just had a session of Super Breakout on it. Just the look of that game, the shades of colour, the simplicity of the game mixed with the difficulty of doing well - it just does it for me.

Incidentally, the 2600 version of Super Breakout on the 2600 hardware looks so different than when played on the 7800 it is night and day - it even looks better than on the 13-in-1 tv game I have!

I'm going to start to collect the older stuff first for it. On my hit list initially are (looking for complete - boxed with instructions):-

Dodge 'Em
Combat
Space Invaders
Super Breakout
Surround
Video Olympics

I have some of those cart only - but they're in very poor condition.

I have a 32-in-1 and it has some of those titles too but I'm not happy with using it too much due to the amount of power switch throwing required on 20-odd year old hardware. (For those that don't know - you have to switch the console on and off to move through each of the 32 titles on the cartridge).

My 5 and 6 year olds love Freeway and Flag Capture on the 32-in-1 cartridge - so I'll be looking for those too.

[ Edited Wed Apr 06 2005, 07:11PM ]

Davy 'Grey Gamer' Kelly
Where's the retro of tomorrow ?

Bill Loguidice

Thu Apr 07 2005, 12:52PM

Armchair Arcade Co-Founder and Editor

Location: Central New Jersey, USA
posts 4817

I have to check if there's that variation in the US 7800 versus a 2600. I've never noticed any, but I'll make a note to check it out.

davyK

Fri Apr 08 2005, 03:09PM

Registered Member #74
Joined: Mon Jan 19 2004, 07:40AM
Location: Belfast, N.Ireland
posts 902

I look forward to hearing if there is any, Bill. If anything, its probably just a shoddy PAL conversion job!

Davy 'Grey Gamer' Kelly
Where's the retro of tomorrow ?

crcasey

Sun Apr 10 2005, 02:26PM

Location: Pismo Beach, CA
posts 1023

For those of you who are doing the 20 in 1 or whatever I am talking with a cool hardware hacker who made a flash cart for the Vectrex. It seems with a simple hardware adaptor this same cart will work with just about any 8 bit system made. It has been tested on several systems so far including the 2600. It uses uploaded software menus to select the game, and it has it's own reset. No more power flipping. I will post more information after a few e-mail discussions with him. So stay tuned!

Cecil Casey - Moderator - crcasey@armchairarcade.com

Bill Loguidice

Sun Apr 10 2005, 04:29PM

Armchair Arcade Co-Founder and Editor

Location: Central New Jersey, USA
posts 4817

Looking forward to it, Cecil! Something like that would be tremendous.

davyK

Mon Apr 11 2005, 05:32AM

Registered Member #74
Joined: Mon Jan 19 2004, 07:40AM
Location: Belfast, N.Ireland
posts 902

Sounds good to me...especially for those non-cartridge homebrew games.

Davy 'Grey Gamer' Kelly
Where's the retro of tomorrow ?

Spin

Wed Apr 13 2005, 11:09AM

Registered Member #16
Joined: Fri Jan 16 2004, 07:07AM
Location: Ohio
posts 81

What I did was convert the BIN file to a wave
Then using the Starpath (Arcadia) Supercharger input it on to the 2600.
This was the easy way to get any game into the 2600.

Not sure if anyone else has the Supercharger but it works great!

Spin

Spin

Bill Loguidice

Wed Apr 13 2005, 01:13PM

Armchair Arcade Co-Founder and Editor

Location: Central New Jersey, USA
posts 4817

Supercharger's are hard to come by and not all games work with them. I think you need to hack them to accept games above a certain K. I don't have one yet, myself.

Spin

Wed Apr 13 2005, 04:03PM

Registered Member #16
Joined: Fri Jan 16 2004, 07:07AM
Location: Ohio
posts 81

I don’t want to brag but if you have never played the games go get one!
Dragon stomper held me captive for a long time.
Frogger is simply great! The best port!
Communist mutants from space was a ver nice Glaxian type game.
Escape from the mind master was a 3d type of game to include mini games.
Way ahead of it's time for the 2600!

I have loaded some of the hacks and independents with no problem.
No modified Supercharger here.
I just plug the audio cable into my Computer and play the wav file.

I do know it has a limited size but I have not hit the problem yet.
I have done most (if not all) of the Adventure hacks.
Adventure is still my favorite 2600 title.

I'm sure most Adventure fans know of the excellent remake for DOS called Indenture right?
I would love to get the source code of this.
It is simply a work of art!

Spin

Here are the stats from Atari Age
Starpath is one of the true bright spots in the history of the 2600. Founded in 1981 with the name Arcadia Corporation, they soon changed their name to Starpath for copyright reasons. The Starpath Supercharger debuted in 1982 at a price of $44.95. The Supercharger was in add-on module that expanded the RAM of the 2600 from 128 bytes to 6,272 bytes. This added high-resolution graphics and larger games for eager players. The Supercharger was inserted into the cartridge slot of the 2600, and a cable connected into the earphone jack of a standard cassette player. All Starpath games were on audiocassette, and were loaded by simply playing them in the cassette player while connected to the Supercharger. Starpath released some of the best games in the 2600 library, including the first true RPG for the system, Dragonstomper. However, while the unit was a critical success, it was only mildly successful at the retail level. Starpath was then bought by Epyx and disappeared. Today, Bridgestone Multimedia, a religious multimedia company, owns the rights to the Starpath catalog.

Spin

All editorial content © 2003 - 2006 Armchair Arcade, Inc., all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. All trademarks and copyrights are retained by their respective owners. No content is to be removed or reused from the Armchair Arcade Website for commercial purposes without explicit permission from the principal Armchair Arcade editors, or the original trademark or copyright holders. Armchair Arcade, Inc., is not responsible for the content of any external sources or links. Further, endorsement of any external sources or links is neither implied nor suggested.