eBay brag?

[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]

Like many of you....  Well, there's really not that many left here, are there?  Hmmmm.

Like many collectors, I have a selection of saved eBay searches.  One item managed to somehow capture my attention enough to actually go see the listing.  Then I noticed it was a local seller.  Then I noticed I knew him!  (We've met, but are just acquaintances.)  Given free local delivery, I bid on several items and won these:

• Mind at Play: The Psychology of Video Games
• Open, Sesame (Bit Corp) for Atari 2600 (CIB, PAL)
• Cross Force (Spectravision) for Atari 2600
• Dactar 4 in 1 for Atari 2600
• Buzz Bomber for Intellivision
• World Championship Baseball for Intellivision

I didn't pay more than $5 for any one item.  Mind at Play and WC Baseball are the big scores for me.  I would have bought a lot more (or at least bid higher) if I could have afforded it.

[Thanks, Walton G.!]

Finally found a copy of Zap!

[The following was originally posted to the Usenet group rec.games.video.classic. I waited until after Christmas to post it to my blog so my mother wouldn't know what she was getting. As a result, this post has been backdated from when it was actually posted, five days later.]

My mother is hard to shop for, but an avid reader, so today I went to a used book store to see if I might find something for her. This led me to wander through a lot more of the hard cover section than I usually do on my infrequent trips there. And in doing so, I finally came across the game section. And what do I find on the shelf between the books on chess and bridge? A copy of Zap!: The Rise and Fall of Atari by Scott Cohen. I have been looking for this book for years! (Possibly because I've been unwilling to pay eBay prices.)

I've actually already read it before. It turned out my local library has a copy. (And yes, I considered doing something unethical like checking it out, failing to return it, and paying the fine, but I'm not that kind of person.) I realize it's not a perfect history. I also realize that it was republished by John Hardie through Xlibris. But that's just not the same as having an original, hard cover copy from 1984.

It makes a lovely addition to my collection. It's in very good condition with a tight spine, free of markings, and still has the dust jacket. Just some light wear along the top and bottom of the spine. Looks like it may have been read once (or possibly not) and then sat on someone's shelf for years before being traded in. Heck, for all I know it could have been sitting on the shelf at the book store for years. (Although not since the '80s, as they had a fire 11 years ago which forced them to restock.) Oh, and the best part was the price: $4 plus tax. (And I did find something for my mother, too.)

Today's finds (books)

[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]

I don't get to go thrifting much these days, but decided to hit at least one today. This turned out to be a good decision. No games in sight, but I found the 1984 Comsumer Reports Buying Guide and Don't Overdo with Video Games!. I may already have the former (I'll have to check), but not the latter. So far I've only had a chance to glance at them, but here are some notes.

The 1984 CR Buying Guide doesn't give ratings to the consoles, just reviews. All the info is condensed from the Nov 1982 and Jan 1983 issues of Consumer Reports, if you care to search those out. They review the Astrocade, Atari 5200, Atari VCS, Colecovision, Intellivision, and Odyssey^2. They also review a few games for each console in just a few sentences. I love what they say about 2600 Pac-Man: "The graphics aren't quite as good as in the arcade version, and the unresponsive joystick limits the player's control."

The full title of the second book is actually What to Do When Your Mom or Dad Says . . . Don't Overdo with Video Games!. It's by Joy Wilt Berry with illustrations by Bartholomew, and is the Weekly Reader version of "The Surival Series for Kids." (This means it has a flipside that's WTDWYMODS . . . We Can't Afford It!.) The illustrations feature a young boy being constantly tempted by what looks like an orange monster from Pac-Man, but with arms and a mouth. My favorite part is that all the games the boy plays are part of the fictional Gorp series of games. (Note that this book is copyright 1983 and Gorf debuted in 1981.) There's Gorp, Gorp Zapper, Combat Gorp, Space Gorp, Wizard Gorp, Star Gorp, Ms. Gorp, War Gorp, and Super Gorp. All we need now is Gorp Deluxe, Gorp Plus, Baby Gorp, Gorp Junior, Gorp Bros., and Gorp-o-tron, and we'll be set. 8)

[An hour later, I followed up with the following post.]
I gave it a better look. Here are some quotes I've added to my random signature file. William Cassidy and other O2 enthusiasts beware; they weren't kind to it.


"Gone are the simple home video games of the 1970's. Current machines have micorprocessor 'brains' that endow them with computer-like speed and sophistication."
     -- Consumer Reports on home video games (1984)

"The graphics aren't quite as good as in the arcade version, and the unresponsive joystick limits the player's control."
     -- Consumer Reports on Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 (1984 Buying Guide)

"The list of games available for the Atari 5200 should lengthen rapidly . . . ."
     -- Consumer Reports on the Atari 5200 (1984 Buying Guide)

"Here's another challenge to your ability to master the controls before they frustrate you."
     -- Consumer Reports on Night Stalker for the Intellvision (1984 Buying Guide)

"The only computer language available . . . is "Assembler" -- a cumbersome language of little practical utility on this equipment."
     -- Consumer Reports on the Odyssey² (1984 Buying Guide)

"The machine's [joysticks] worked reasonably well. But that was was about the only good thing the panelists could find in the Odyssey 2."
     -- Consumer Reports on the Odyssey² (1984 Buying Guide)

"Several panelists wondered why a machine with such potential was handicapped with an array of such crude games."
     -- Consumer Reports on the Odyssey² (1984 Buying Guide)

End of the Year Brag

[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]

Inspired by the story here of the thrifts overflowing with last minute tax write-offs, I visited a few in my area today.  While none seemed to be overflowing, I was pleasantly surprised to find some stuff. It's been a long time since I've found so much new stuff at once! (And it's been a couple weeks since I've done a proper thrift shop run.)

At the first stop I picked up a hard cover copy of the 1986 edition of the Guiness Book of World Records for $1.  This is the last edition to contain video game world records.  (And they'd only started in 1984.)  Off-topic, I also picked up DragonLance Chronicles vol. 4: Dragons of Summer Flame.  I enjoyed the original DL books back in high school, and this is by the same authors.  I'm sure it'll be worth the 50 cents I paid. 8)

The second stop was the highlight of the trip.  First I see two stacks of boxed Intellivision games behind the cash register.  But there's not an employee in sight!  @!#?@!  I managed to restrain myself and check the rest of the store.  First thing I find is two set of Pac-Man twin sheets for $3.99 each.  The total is two fitted sheets, two flat sheets, and three pillow cases.  This works out fine since I found a set of just the fitted and flat sheet in this same store some months ago.  Once my son's out of his crib, he'll have plenty of Pac-Man sheets. 8)

Darn right, "colors may vary"!

In the board games, I found a Pac-Man puzzle.  It's not a jigsaw puzzle, but more of a logic puzzle.  Take the 12 pieces and fit them in the four Pac-Man shaped slots in the tray.  Then move them to the three circular (Pac-Man with his mouth closed, it says) slots.  The box is in so-so shape, but all the pieces are there.  I wonder if I can still write to the address given for the solution? 8)  Oh, yeah, the box says "colors may vary," and they weren't kidding.  The box has yellow Pac-Man with a blue tray.  I got blue Pac-Men with a yellow tray.

Okay, now I'm back up front and ask one of the two salesladies (Where were they when I came in?) to show me the old games.  Most of the games had overlays and instructions, but I'm short on money.  At 99 cents each, I pick out the ten I don't think I have.  I forgot my list, as always, and don't want to pull it out right in front of the cashier any way.  I told her I'd have to dig out my Intellivision. What I mean is that my room is one big heap o' stuff right now, but of course she thinks I put it away in the attic or something.  Who am I to correct her?  Here's what I got:

• B-17 Bomber         
• BurgerTime          
• NFL Football        
• Tron Maze-A-Tron    
• Space Spartans
• Vectron
• Happy Trails (Activision)
• Carnival (Coleco)
• Beauty & the Beast (Imagic)
• White Water! (Imagic)

It turns out I already have Football, Maze-A-Tron, and Space Spartans. I also already have BurgerTime, but not with the box.  I left a dozen or more games there.  All common, but maybe I should go back. After tax, I spent a total of almost $21.

The next two stops yield nothing.  In fact, one seems to be trying to empty some parts of the store in some sort of clean up effort.  They did have two Champion Joysticks for the SNES, but at $10 each I'll pass.  (They're large, arcade quality joysticks.)  Besides, I already have one.

I'm late getting back to work, but there's really nothing for me to do this week anyway, so I make one more stop.  For 25 cents, I get the original, black cover version of How to Win at Nintendo by Jeff Rovin.  I've probably got half a dozen red cover versions, but this is the first black one I've found.  It's a shame thrifting isn't always like this any more.

[I'm not sure what the first stop was, but it was probably the Goodwill on University Dr. I think the second was Value Village on N. Memorial Parkway. The next two were probably the Breaking Free Rescue Mission Thrift Store, also on N. Memorial Parkway, and the Salvation Army around the corner on Oakwood Ave. I have no idea what the last stop would have been. Unless it was the short-lived store I've forgotten the name of on Oakwood on the other side of Memorial Parkway.

Today (2018), only the Value Village and Salvation Army stores are still there. Goodwill moved to Whitesburg Dr. and if Breaking Free is still around, I don't know where.

Today I'm kicking myself for not getting those SNES joysticks. They sell for a lot more than $10 today. And apparently they were made locally.]

Today's finds (future classics?) [N64 clock, strategy guides, Stop Thief]

[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]

I only had time to hit four yard sales today, but the first one was good. It advertised computer & video games. Turns out the guy was a former Electronics Boutique manager and was dumping a bunch of stuff. I picked up several expensive hint books for games and systems I don't have (yet) at $0.50 each! I even picked up a little bit of software, too. But the coolest item had to be a Nintendo 64 clock for $5. It has the big 3-D N logo in the middle. I don't have a clock in my office, so this will do. It might even be worth something to people like us in 20 years. 8) Of course, I'd trade it for an Atari logo clock in a heartbeat. 8)

Quick notes on some of the books:

The Battlezone Strategy Guide has some quotes from the creator of the classic arcade game. He talks about how being a home game allows the new Battlezone to have more depth.

The Summer 1999 Expert Codebook actually tells you how to find the secret room in Adventure! It's an "Extra" in the Saturn section. (Yes, there really is a short Saturn section.) Right below it is another Extra that talks about the stuff you can get by frying your 2600. They don't actually call it that, nor do they mention that you could potentially damage your system doing it.

The only other things I found were at my second stop. A Stop Thief board game ($1, eBait) and a computer data switch ($2). I think I'll eventually use the latter for the Intellivision Controller Interface when I get the money for them.

[The N64 clock is still on my wall, but I still don't own a N64. Nor did I ever buy the Intellivision Controller Interface, which is probably just as well since computers have all gone USB since. — 15 August 2010]

[Galen Tatsuo Komatsu posted the following regarding the Adventure secret room instructions four days later (6/23/1999):]

This originally appeared in the August'98 issue of Expert Gamer, in an article, "50 Greatest Videogame Tricks of All Time" which also appears on their videogames.com website.

Since you have the item in front of you, grab a copy of Atari B-TECH and compare the text of the trick in the two.

hmmm...

Brag, anti-brag, and book

[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]

I went to Value Village today. A couple months back, I bought about a dozen Intellivision carts with overlays & manuals (no boxes) in a bundle for $0.50 each (about $6 total). This seemed like a good deal, even though I only needed about half of them. Today I got in and they've got bundles of four Atari carts for $6.99! (About $1.75 each.)

I started to buy a package just for an Enduro manual, until I made out the price on it. Then I went up to the front and they had more bags behind the counter. Unfortunately, these had two rare carts I didn't have (in two separate packages, of course). I hated to encourage them by buying them, but for $1.75 I couldn't pass up (both for 2600):

• Frankenstein's monster (w/manual)
• Time Pilot (w/manual)

Hey, the Time Pilot seems to be a bit heavy. It's obviously not a prototype, though. Is this common for Time Pilots?

That's the brag. The anti-brag are the other six carts I had to buy:

• Combat
• Ice Hockey (w/manual)
• Missile Command (w/manual)
• Phoenix (w/manual)
• Vanguard (w/manual)
• Wizard of Wor (w/manual)

At least the Wizard of Wor is in better shape than my current copy. And I didn't have the manual for it.

Lastly, I picked up a book called The Home Computer Wars: An Insider's Account of Commodore and Jack Tramiel by Michael S. Tomczyk for $0.50. It should be interesting reading about the man who destroyed Atari. (There's a book title for you!) In fact, the book ends right after Tramiel's takeover. First I gotta read Hackers that I got back at Christmas, though.

I've already learned something from the back cover. Mr. Tramiel is a Holocaust survivor. Interesting.

[I later found out that the book was probably a better brag than the cartridges. It's apparently much sought, yet hard to find. — 18 June 2010]