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Atari To Release Old Games and New Console System
GrueMaster writes "Atari is announcing the re-release of their older games for the PS2 & Xbox. They are also talking about releasing a new console, which is a miniaturized version of the 7800 with built in games. Check out the story here. Being a collector of old Atari stuff, I'll be in line to get mine."
1. How is this different from the joysticks you plug into your TV? I personally like the idea of the joysticks, but I'm not sure I would pay $45 for a PS2 CD.
;-))
2. Nostalgia can be ruined by pushing quantity over quality. Since they'll be packing 85 games on the disk, there will be little incentive for players to play any one game for long enough to "master" it.
3. Who has the patience to master these games? Back in the day, we were bored. I remember spending hours on end in front of my GW-Basic interpreter, because it was rewarding. Now I can just pop on the internet and find all the information about BASIC that was so hard won. Alternatively, I might find something quicker and easier. I think the later would be the result for many Atari players.
4. The Atari games were pathetic compared to their arcade counterparts. Why bother with a pixelated version of Defender, when you can grab the arcade version in one of those joystick thing-a-ma-bobs?
5. Profit!!! (Hah! Pre-empted you on that one!)
Here's what I think Atari should do: Create a console on par with the SNES. That sort of hardware should be extremely cheap at this point, and could easily be manufactured for retail prices in the $20-$40 range. Sell simple "smart card" games (or something equally as inexpensive to manufacture) for $5-$10 a piece. This should give them several major selling points:
1. It mini, it's cheap, and it's cool!
2. The low cost will cause parents to consider it for a quick present for their kids.
3. The low cost games will encourage "impulse buys".
4. Very little expense would need to go into R&D.
5. Profit!!! (Did it again!
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
For those of you that followed Atari back in the day; you may be surprised to see the name rise from the grave. The name was bought by Infogrames:
On May 7, 2003, Infogrames officially announces its name change to Atari. The Company's U.S. operations became Atari, Inc. (formerly Infogrames, Inc.) and changed its trading symbol on the NASDAQ National Market to "ATAR." Although the holding company parent in France, Infogrames Entertainment SA, retained its current name and maintained its symbol on the Euronext under the code: 5257, all of the Company's worldwide operations were renamed Atari. The Company gained all rights to the Atari license when it acquired Hasbro Interactive, Inc. in December 2000.
I guess this is a re-re-re-release (I probably don't have enough res) of the old titles; it make me wonder how long will these games will be around?
What about us 2800 people? Why don't we get our comeuppance? I WANT MY SPACE INVADERS OLD SKOOL!
Frist post.
"Do you suppose that's why God lives in the Heavens? Because he lives in fear of His creations?" - Steve Buscemi
These have been released for the PC for a while and with all the emulators, etc. out there, I have to wonder if there is a demand for this?
I was sorry not to see Gauntlet included, maybe that'll be in the future. Crystal Castles was always visually appealing and fun (if aggrevating at times.)
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
See here for more details of the Atari Flashback Classic Game Console.
Nah, those old titles were pretty low-res. You're fine.
On Sunday, at Futureshop (a friend wanted to go) we saw a PC cd of 80 classic Atari games, some of the ones that jump to mind are: asteroids, defender, combat, circus, joust. It was about $20 (CDN) The screenshots looked like the games I remember playing as a kid. I love some of those games, but I'm scared to play them again as I wonder if I'll ruin my memories where I actually enjoyed these games.
....if you don't have to blow dust from the connectors when sticking in the cart?
And knowing which of your joysticks is a bit stiff and giving that to your friend?
And will it be the same when you see it on your massive widescreen TV instead of a little 14" that made anything seem high resolution?
the 7800 had the worst controllers in history (yes, worse than the 5200). They wore out quickly, where useless when they did, and where downright painful for long play time.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
On May 7, 2003, Infogrames officially announces its name change to Atari. The Company's U.S. operations became Atari, Inc. (formerly Infogrames, Inc.)
Ouch. Here we go with the Caldera/SCO debable, all over again.
"But it's not the same Atari! I'm telling you!"
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
If it's anything like this I'm happy
"You and your third dimension."
This is one of those cases where justifying "abandonware" sites becomes much more difficult.
Just because they aren't selling it today, doesn't mean that they never will.
Abandonware sites work on logic somewhat like: "Well, you have this car, but since you've left it parked in the driveway for 6 months without using it, you shouldn't complain if we hotwire it and go joyriding in it... we'll return it so you don't lose anything!"
So long as there is a concept of "Intellectual Property", however fictitious in reality, these issues will remain. It's either the law, or it's not - and if you don't like it, change the law!
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
These games should be public domain already... Patents and copyright are supposed to increase innovation, but they are doing the exact opposite. When a company can simply repackage and sell the same ol' stuff over and over again, why should they invest their money in new (potentially risky) endeavors?
Does this mean we can finally play "ET the Extra-Terrestrial" again?
Thanks to the internet, we can now all die alone together! -SomeWoman
I am a huge fan of the atari emulators on the PC and Xbox. But I have to say that I will likely get a copy if the Xbox version of this as well. There's something about it being 'legal' that increases the coolness factor.
Plus it will be funny to show my dad that all of the games he bought be as a kid are now on a single CD, and still being played on my Xbox today!
Now if only I could track down the old school games I used to play on the computer...anyone remember 'Tooth Invaders'?
MaMe and stella may work for smart folk, not for the masses and nostalgia freaks who actually buy stuff.
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I thought Atari was just a brand name getting thrown around these days?...
2600, 5200, Intellivision, Coleco nostalgia I can see... As well as NES, of course... But wasn't the 7800 a terrible flop?
Eh. Good luck, Atari. You'll need it. Nintendo can sell us Excitebike, Zelda and Super Mario again because they always were and will be great games. Anything that could be considered "great" on the 2600 was only because we didn't have anything better.
The retro console is $45.
Next time, don;t read so fast in your rush to "fp"
I survived the Dick Cheney Presidency 7 to 9 AM 7-21-07
This summer I found the two CD set for Atari Arcade Hits (volume 1 and 2) for $5. :)
I've played a LOT of tempest this year.
I highly recommend searching eBay if you want this stuff, or simply searching garage sales for old CDs.
--
GMail invites for iPod referrals
Too bad atari (the old atari, not the current owner of the brand) had an image as game console company, they made a great desktop system, the Atari ST. Man I loved that machine, I still have my Mega ST 1 lying around somewhere.
While my friends where fooling around with DOS, I had a system with a GUI (in 128KB rom) a nice high-res 640x480 monochrome monitor. I used WYSIWYG dtp and word processing software (great for school papers) while the rest still used WordPerfect for DOS.
It was cheaper than an IBM PC too.
Too bad their marketing department sucked ass, everybody assumed an Atari was a game system, and I had to explain over and over again they make desktops too.
... i am pretty sure i have an atari emulator already installed on my xbox. but, i guess there are people out there who like the "feel" of the old skool gamepads and such. i wonder, when will nintendo re-release the virtual boy - greatest console EVER! ;)
Free ET cartridge with every purchase.
Please donate your spare CPU cycles to help fight cancer and other diseases
Do you still have all of your old Game Boy carts? Well, you can throw them away, because even though the Game Boy Advance SP (or whatever its called now) supports old GB carts, you can still by SP-enhanced (SP-munged?) versions of old games at about $20 a pop!
I'm surprised Atari doesn't do that...
For a community that is generally pro-emulation I cannot believe you guys are supporting Atari! You don't want them to rerelease games for newer architectures. Then they are no longer pieces of abandonware software, they can claim anyone spreading their older software under emulation is warezing, etc...
Yay, I can run antiquated games on expensive modern hardware for money. Personally I was more pleased when it was getting spread around in the emulation scene for free.
Hey, Big Deal!
/. might be interested in?
As long as they're not making any money off of posting this, what's wrong with mentioning a new product that readers of
Do you hassel your freinds when they tell you about something that they saw/got that they think you might like?
This is neat, but actually I still find myself buying old used carts for my Atari. They aren't hard to find, and are often pretty cheap. One is the nostalgia factor for me, but also, is the fact that I have a five year old who likes games and computers. We also have a game cube, but I've noticed a ton of difference in terms of my son's reactions when playing the different systems. On the GC (and on Windows), my little guy zones out, and often will get angry at some point (like when I tell him to turn it off). When playing on the Atari, I noticed he actually just has fun. I hear him laugh, obviously enjoy himself, and act a lot more positively than with the newer stuff. So, we somewhat strictly limit when and what he can play on the modern machines, but the older one is fine. What the old systems lacked in graphics and sound, they did have a clearer idea what video games are supposed to be about, having fun.
But then I could just be a retro guy. (We also don't get Nicolodean and such garbage in our house. But I have downloaded old episodes of He-man, Smurfs, Gummy Bears, etc., for him. PBS and TVO are both decent however.)
ET (gak! Was that game ever frustrating?)
Superman (didn't get very far since it was borrowed)
Olympics (balls and paddles -- up to four players)
Surround (man did we waste hours with that one)
Tank Plus (tanks, planes, more hours of fun)
I have to wonder what games my kids will think of with nostalgia in 20 years. Sadly, the first five or six that came to mind are all franchises that they've never played the original for.
I was taking one day at a time, but then several days got together and ambushed me. (from a Rhymes with Orange comic)
Off-topic, but nostalgic:
What I remember is the *Sears* branded Atari console. I'm not sure why, but the Sears console was my first exposure to non-pong video games. I remember our old Sears, too -- it had that Sears smell (which exists to this day in any Sears store) -- and I remember the Sears Atari rigged up in the "sporting goods" section of the store -- which seemed to have a lot of tennis rackets, tennis balls, and lawnmowers -- surrounding the big television.
We'd plant ourselves in Sears, play Combat for hours, sip Orange Julius's, and eventually make our way to Aladdin's Castle (with the requisite 'Aladdin's Castle smell'), get 20 (25?) tokens for five bucks, and play stuff like Pac Man, Tron, Pole Position, and that "Journey" game -- they released it during their 'Frontiers' tour, I think -- where you hopped Steve Perry over rock formations and guided Neil Schon (sp?) up and down some weird cave without touching the side.
Wow. It's all coming back now.
I might actually get one of these. You remember when the joystick with atari game came out what last year? I had to pass that one up. My old Atari 2600 works and I still use it to play those games.
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
The Atari 2800 existed, in Japan, looked like the 7800
You can find info about it on the net, i found some on http://www.atarihq.com/museum/2678/2800.html
They also say it was sold in the USA by Sears...
100% of statistics are wrong.
And really, if I can play BattleZone with the dual analog controls on my PS2 dualshock controller? I'd *rather* play it on the console... this and the Sonic Mega Collection are going on my xmas list, right next to GTA: San Andreas, of course...
The complete list of games found in Atari Flashback includes:
a nyon Bombers ®
Adventure(TM)
Air Sea Battle(TM)
Asteroids®
Battlezone®
Breakout®
C
Centipede®
Crystal Castles®
Desert Falcon(TM)
Food Fight(TM)
Gravitar®
Haunted House(TM)
Millipede®
Planet Smashers(TM)
Saboteur(TM)
Sky Diver(TM)
Solaris(TM)
Sprintmaster(TM)
Warlord
Yar's Revenge
Personally, I won't be buying this. The only Atari game I want to play again is 'Dungeon Master' - but that wasn't a console game as I recall. I used to play it on my Atari ST way back in 1988 or so. That was one cool game!
So you don't think that "Atari" takes any risks, or doesn't spend money? Try counting how much money they spent on "ETM" and "D3"! Why shouldn't Atari re-issue games, especially if they package them up as they have done. I bet a number of surprised youngsters will see this in their Christmas stocking this year, given by Parents who want their kids to enjoy what they played with as kids.
To me they did : I consider it ethically all right to violate the copyright of works that are made unavailable otherwise by the unwillingness of the rights owner to "copy" them anymore.
>I wonder if "E.T." will be released
Sure. I'll bring the C4 to crack the concrete pad at the not-so-top secret landfi^H^H^H^game "archive". You get to paw thru the rubble. Good luck in not getting trapped in the pit just like E.T.!
Can't stop the Beta? Time to evacuate to ##altslashdot at webchat.freenode.net - Slashcott in effect.
> "You're right to say that a lot of them are bootlegged, and the code is not the
> right code, and the color is not the right color.
Perhaps this guy goesn't know how an emulator works! The interview would have been more interesting if it had been with someone who was a little more technical.
All Atari systems were too primitive. Actually the most interesting period for nostalgy playing is the late 80s-early 90s 16/32 bit systems. Their games were seriously designed (often in Japan) for playability and are therefore still fun to play even today. Their 2D graphics were still abstract and cartoony enough so as not to shock someone used to contemporary 3D like for example a PS1 or a Dreamcast would, yet not as ridiculously blocky and ugly as on a 2600. And they are abundant, and hence dirt cheap, on eBay. A functionning system and tens of games for under $75, shipping included.
The Anthology has 18 arcade games and 62 Atari 2600 games. And the mini-console is going to be a mixture of 2600 and 7800 games.
DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
They couldn't even get the Atari logo right! Ch-check it out!
FIFTY BUCKS?!?
Now isn't that nice?
(Why, oh, why do I remember that Godforsaken commercial?)
Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
Bah, without Pole Position who cares!
Do really dense people warp space more than others?
Now I would like to see the resurrection of Sir Clive Sinclair...
"Long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead." (John Maynard Keynes)
I know some people that were growing up back then and played all the atari games, etc. A lot of those people are now not really what i would call computer-literate enough to figure out how all the emulators and such work on a PC... they want to play the games with no fuss.. something as simple as a new console or a disc for your ps2/xbox is great.
2600, 5200, Intellivision, Coleco nostalgia I can see... As well as NES, of course... But wasn't the 7800 a terrible flop? Eh. Good luck, Atari. You'll need it. Nintendo can sell us Excitebike, Zelda and Super Mario again because they always were and will be great games. Anything that could be considered "great" on the 2600 was only because we didn't have anything better.
:-P
I know I'll probably get modded for being offtopic, but there is a comparable mini-console for NES games. They have a kiosk over the mall near where I live, I think the device is called "SuperJoy" or something like that. Anyways, its $50 and claims to have 2000 NES games built in (in reality its closer to 100 or so games). It comes with 2 gamepads and a lightgun. Everytime I pass their display, I'm tempted to buy one. I'm sure if you google "Superjoy" or "PowerJoy", you might find one of these gray market devices.
Recently when I was over there, I noticed that have a new device they are selling. It's a stand-alone DDR pad (also $50), but the stupid thing is 8-bit and I can't imagine who would want to play DDR to old midi music.
DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
First of all, it really makes you feel like an old fart, especially if you have kids. And, trust me on this, these games are dorky and far from exciting to anyone who plays them for the game, and not for the memories and geek bragging rights. Plus, it just is not new, sexy technology any more. In the old days, we didn't mind typing up pages and pages of BASIC code - that was an integral part of the fun. Try doing that nowadays. Chances are you'll just feel it's pointless. Times do change.
There's some cool stuff going on in the do-it-yourself scene though. Over at the Xbox-Scene forums there's lots of discussion about creating custom controllers and even full-blown old-school arcades. And since the Xbox is pretty hackable, with MAME readily available (Sourceforge link), it's just a natural choice.
It's not that they shouldn't re-issue games, it's that the economic motivation created by copyright should lean towards creating new works. Unfortunately there is no motivation to do so, outside of flat demand for older titles, when you have perpetual copyright on your existing library.
LRC, the best-read libertarian site on the web
Please don't confuse the two.
The old one was American this new one is French.
The old one was all about creating original games - the new one has yet to create a successful original franchise. Name one!
The old one was kinda cool. The games industry *should* be cool - watching the new Atari try to be cool is like watching your father disco dancing. It's just lame and embarrasing.
In fact the only thing they have in common is the old name. Something which resulted from Infogrames lawyers dusting off the deeds discovered in Hasboro's basement.
Just a note or two...
Nostalgia can be ruined by pushing quantity over quality. Since they'll be packing 85 games on the disk, there will be little incentive for players to play any one game for long enough to "master" it.
But I think we're missing the target audience here. I have a tough time believing that Atari thinks they can realistically sell these to anybody who hasn't gown up with them, let alone a pokeboy. At least not in large enough quantities to make a dent in sales. No, this disc is for old skoolers who might very well attempt to master it for old time sake.
1. It mini, it's cheap, and it's cool!
Come on. Any kid whose only exposure to gaming is a modern console is not going to find these games cool. My cousin has a knock-off system with 500 clone atari games on it or soemthing, but given the choice between the DC I gave them and that thing, the clone-boy gathers quite a bit of dust.
3. The low cost games will encourage "impulse buys".
And the GBA is already there. The SP's might be up there in price, but the old style GBAs are will within impulse buy range. The games are about $20 more expensive, but then, the graphics are lightyears better AND the unit is portable.
Not saying that these aren't worth picking up, just that they won't have anywhere close to the traction with the kids as they do with us.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
And it's got a built in screen and backlight... and a lithium ion battery.
I think that's a whole hell of a deal for $90 (currently).
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
http://www.atari.com/us/games/atari_flashback/7800 Not bad, but I don't really dig the game selection.
~Necromutant
They or whoever owns Atari's corpse in 20 years will just keep re-releasing this stuff on new systems forever. And of course Congress will oblige with copyrights that never expire. Sorry but I already shelled out for the real catridges once I'm not doing it again. Emulation is the only way to go IMHO. I don't begrudge anyone who wants to buy this but let's not turn this thread into a emulation users are stealing from the artists thread. I doubt most of the original programmers are even getting a dime from this.
"But Bonnell downplayed the impact bootlegging could have on sales for "Atari Anthology" and the Atari Flashback console."
"You're right to say that a lot of them are bootlegged, and the code is not the right code, and the color is not the right color."
Uh sure buddy. Whatever you say.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
He's a subscriber, so he had ample to time compose a reply before it was posted to the main page.
www.kitchengeek.com -- Nosh for
Who the Hell would buy a game that was just Joust or something with all the sprites replaced???
HONESTLY...
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
Atari offically died when the Tramiel family killed it with the Jaguar... Just like they killed Commodore. I wish we could find them anbd string them up... Anyway, cool and all but again the Gamecube get's the shaft all these 3rd party companies are releasing everything ps2/xbox. Frankly I dont want to see Nintendo go down the same road. If you have $99 go buy a gamecube NOW, yo'll thank me for it, it has some killer 1st party game and good 3rd party ones as well. Do you want MS in control of the Video Game market? I sure in hell dont! /rant ;)
Ubuntu- Linux for human beings.
The gba sp is pretty low right now. I'd expect the GBA to be lower. When you consider the number of concessions made for the portablity, it makes sense that the cube player is about 40 dollars.
The real difficulty of the system is media performance. Like it or not, Read Only is faster and cheaper. Flash carts are notoriously expensive, even with the mark up to American consumers. I wish I knew more about this aspect, so I could highlight how the difference in speed affects design, performance, and ultimately, your experience playing the game. Instead, I'll make baseless claims comparing card media to the load times in CDs. Debunk that!
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Open Source Sysadmin
Christ, your son is going to be made fun of left and right at school.
Don't do it, shielding your children completely from popular TV, movies and games will turn them into lonely, bitter youths.
My parents thought it'd be a good thing that I watched Seasame Street all the damn time, and now look at me, I post as an Anime persona on fucking Slashdot.
Trust me... your kid will be better off with some exposure than none.
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
It shouldn't be too hard to tack a minikeyboard to this and possibly reissue some of the old Atari computer games for those people out there who don't have access to the emulators. Or even reissue some Coleco or Intellivision games as well (of course depending on who owns the license) Other companies could do the same...it wouldn't cost that much in terms of development money. Thoughts from the rest of the crowd?
Requiem
Shh!!! You're giving away the secret! It's much cooler to let people think I can type 147 WPM. (I can't even THINK at 147 WPM, but he doesn't need to know that!) ;-)
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
I think the problem is that atari joysticks were 4-switch systems while the PS2 and other modern consoles use 8-switches in their direction controller.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
When he is 25 and I am 50, interviewing him for an IT job, and he brings up his transformer knowledge of the toys sitting in my office...
I'll hire him.
Here's what I think Atari should do: Create a console on par with the SNES. That sort of hardware should be extremely cheap at this point, and could easily be manufactured for retail prices in the $20-$40 range. Sell simple "smart card" games (or something equally as inexpensive to manufacture) for $5-$10 a piece.
;-)
I've been thinking about just such an idea for awhile now too, but with some variations/additions related to my open-system sensibilities:
* Use proven (if dated) technology based on off-the-shelf designs like Z80 and 68K processors. System functions (graphics, sound and I/O) would be handles by separate CPU cores working in tandem--a "quad Z80 system" perhaps. Development costs would be low as a result, and with a good design performance would be quite adequate. One FPGA could even hold most of the logic.
* Not only would it be mini, cheap and cool--it would be non-proprietary at the peripheral connectivity level at least. Games and memory cards would be distributed in the compact flash format, or maybe even on USB ROM keys. Users could connect the system to a PC's USB port like a palm pilot to load in games form the 'net. Same with game controllers--they'd use USB--none
of this oddball crap like consoles have today (blatanly implemented to screw consumers over).
* The hardware architecture would be simple enough (as would the BIOS/OS/API firmware) that hobbyists could develop their own creations. The manufactured device could even come with software along the lines of LEGO Mindstorms programming software, or STOS BASIC from the old Atari days or some such thing. Kids could make their own games on a PC, save them, share with friends, have contests.
* Once the device was released to production with stable specifications, said specs would be released as a gaming platform that could be implemented by other vendors. Hasn't worked for consoles (yet) but it made the PC industry what it is today.
Don't kow how well it would go over in the industry, given its MPAA/RIAA closed, protectionist culture. It basically takes the floor out from under the games software industry as it is now so I wouldn't expect publishers to clamour to develop for it. However, unless Atari or Nintendo or Microsoft or Sony made it getting developers on board would be a struggle regardless of how open the system was (hence the strategy for making development appealing to the mass public).
I think that even though it might be much harder to make billions with this strategy, I think that we've lost a lot in terms of creativity in computing since the "good old days" just prior to the shakeout in the 80s when computers were not only cheap but simple and oriented towards development (it's been a long time since you could boot into BASIC and create). It'd be great if somehow we could re-ignite that hobbyist culture again. Such a culture is barely a flicker now--and it exists almost solely because of Linux and the Free Software movement. I'd like to think that there are millions of geek-parents with a mindset similar to mine who'd put down $39.95 for a cool little digital camera-sized box that hooks to a television to play and can be loaded with little Johnny's latest creations.
Anyways...just in case someone DOES try to take and pervert this idea and patent the crap out of it, etc, I hereby copyright this idea and grant use under the Creative Commons License on this day, the 7th of September 2004
They did, it was called the Jaguar..
Actually, it blew the socks off anything that was avaiable at the time, or for years to come..
But the *stupid* Tramiel brothers.... Well what more needs to be said..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Copied from AtariHQ.com:
In brief, Atari was split-up in 1984 following the market crash. Time Warner kept the company's coin-op (arcade) division while selling off its home console and computer divisions to Jack Tramiel (former head of Commodore). Time Warner-owned Atari became Atari Games Corp. while the Tramiel-owned Atari became Atari Corp. Atari Games was sold to arcade giant Williams/Midway the early 90's, while Atari Corp. failed with its Jaguar and Lynx machines and merged in 1996 with JTS, a hard disk manufacturer. Finally, Hasbro came along in 1998 and purchased Atari Corp. for a mere $5 million, and and released a slew of revamped classic Atari hits for contemporary game machines and PCs. Hasbro fell on hard times and sold off its entire interactive group (including Atari) to French-owned Infogrames Entertainment. Similarly, Midway was affected by the downturn in the coin-op market and has exited from the arcade business -- which spelled the end of the Atari and Bally brand names in the arcades. Don't expect Infogrames-owned Atari to bring out a videogame machine anytime soon -- if not forever. With multinational conglomerates such as Sony and Microsoft vying for console supremacy, it's highly doubtful that there will be room for another contender...
----- Oooh, Shiny!
...for several reasons.
* It is overpriced by 100 percent--I'd say it has to be half its current street price to be considered as an "impulse buy"
* You need to hack the hardware or buy a game cube PLUS an adapter to play the games on a TV. That is completely stupid--either having to be a hardware hacker or spend way more. What the hell is wrong with putting a "TV Out" port right on the device, or including in the box an inexpensive docking station/charger that has it?
* The games are still too expensive--most are $20 or more. For games that simple they should sell for less than $10.
* You need classic joysticks, paddles or trackballs to fully recreate the experience of those old games. I'm not aware of any such addons to the GBA, and really--pressing little buttons just doesn't cut it for Centipede or Breakout. Yes, the GBA is about portability but the device I'm picturing would address the requirements of both the road and the living room.
First, I think that it is a wonderful idea to re-release the Atari Classics. The price point is right and there may actually be a good market there with little overhead development costs. I would guess that this will be released in Japan as well as North America and Europe. Nintendo has had some great success with their nostalgia releases in Japan, so Atari may be hoping for the same thing.
Now for the dark side of this, sort of... The original Atari was well known for suing anyone who even sniffed at any of their intellectual property. While this is not the old Atari, releasing so many of what seemingly were abandoned games could set the stage for some serious RIAA style legal action. I hope it will not come to anything that ugly, but if I were running an emulation or ROMs site, I would take the soon to be arriving cease and desist letters very seriously. I hope that Atari won't attack its fans this way, as I'm sure many of us will be buying the re-releases. But someone at Atari may be preparing to cry havoc and set loose the dogs of law!
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
I guess other companies are coming out with re issues of older games.
http://www.colecovision.com/
and something more interesting I just found.
http://www.cgexpo.com/
Classic Gaming Expo
Countdown to CGE 2005 ~ August 20th & 21st ~ 347 days 04h 36m 11s
Classic Gaming Expo enters it's eighth year as the world's first and largest event paying tribute to the people, systems and games of yesteryear. The 2005 event guarantees to be the biggest and best ever, with lots of surprises to be announced as the show draws near. As always, CGE is open to the public and gamers of all ages are welcome!
Classic Gaming Expo 2005
Dates and Venue Announced
Thanks to the overwhelming response of our guests at CGE 2004, Classic Gaming Expo 2005 will return to the bay area, California on August 20th and 21st. The event will move closer to San Francisco and will be held in the convenient and exquisite Hyatt Regency in Burlingame. So convenient, in fact, that you won't need to rent a car if you're traveling from out-of-town. Just two miles from the San Francisco airport and offering shuttle service to both the airport and the BART public transportation hub (which will lead you right into scenic hotspots in downtown San Francisco), you'll love this location. We sure did - The Hyatt was our first choice for the 2004 event but did not have the dates we needed. Get your tickets early and take advantage of the early-bird rates from our registration page. We'll have pictures of the hotel and surrounding area available here in the next few weeks.
Atari 2600 Meltdown Prototype Available
Classic Gaming Expo is proud to present another treat for the gaming community. Over the CGE2k4 weekend, we had the pleasure of meeting up again with old friends, Ed Rotberg and Roger Hector. As an added bonus, we also met Howard Delman, ex-Atari employee and one of the three founders of Videa (along with Ed and Roger). We discussed "the old days" and they told us about an unreleased game programmed by David Ross of Videa that they still had. Turns out, that game is Meltdown for the Atari 2600, and it had been licensed to Fox who never published it. After a period of time, the rights lapsed and reverted to Videa. After some discussion, we were able to arrange for the ROM to be released for everyone in the community to enjoy, free of charge! Just our way of saying thank you to all who support us and our work. Thanks for another great show!
Played Warlords.
The End.
(I, on the other hand, will be buying that CD. Then I will practice for a few weeks, call up my cousin to play again. REVENGE WILL BE MINE.)
"It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it."
And, trust me on this, these games are dorky and far from exciting to anyone who plays them for the game,
What are you talking about? Centipede? Missile Command? I play these games in MAME on a regular basis because they're utterly challenging, exciting, and fun. These arcade hits were the very definition of twitch gaming--concentrate with everything you've got, because if you don't, you're dead. This is videogaming immersion at its very, very finest. Give me Missile Command on my Xbox/PS2 with my big TV and I will be enthralled.
The coolest voice ever.
I remember at one point you fell through several screens and could somewhat steer. You tried to pick up gold bars or treasure chests, which were liberally scattered throughout the levels.
Because of the complexity, I am almost certain it was a 7800 game. I have spent hours going through Atari game lists online looking for this game. Anybody recognize it or know of a good venue to post this question?
--
Evan "Many hours spent at someone else's house"
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
I wish someone with a heart (and a lot of cash) would buy the rights to all those Atari games and release them to the public domain where they belong, IMO. There are few cultural reference points for those of us in our 30s as powerful as the video games of the 1980s. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that they influenced many of us deeply, many of us who went on to pursue careers in computing precisely because we were so amazed by these cheesy little games. In a sense, many people posting here played a role (no matter how small or large) in the direction that computing and video games have gone and the continued cultural impact of them. After a while, you get the real sense that these games should rightly belong to everyone. I don't view them as products anymore, but rather a piece of history (history is defined partly in terms of how we got where we are now, right?) It seems morally wrong for Atari and a lot of companies from that time to continue milking these old games (and our nostalgia) for whatever few bucks they can get out of it.
--Rick "If it isn't broken, take it apart and find out why."
One can be a purist and play the actual arcade game.
After 20 to 30-odd years of wear and tear and 'bit rot', that is becoming impossible.
Enter emulation and the (dubious?) success of MAME--'arcade in a PC'. The weak point is that the arcade game ROMs that 'power' it are (likely) still copyrighted and is illegal to have them unless you have the corresponding arcade game hardware.
So some arcade fans/programmers avoid all that and program 'remakes' that play (almost?) exactly like the originals.
The problem with that is that the copyright/trademark owners may/will come after you.
Case in point: Look at the way the 'Tetris' people crack down on all the tetris clone games that are out there--including the historic original IBM PC version that was first coded in Russia and was hosted at an informative 'Tetris History' website.
So all that is left is to get official, sanctioned emulated versions such as the 85 games-in-1 CD Atari is putting out in order to 'stay legal'.
In the end, isn't 'staying legal' what's it all about?
If a company holds such valuable property, why shouldn't they be allowed to make more money on it?
If a company chooses not to make more money on its valuable property, then why shouldn't the public be allowed to use it freely?
Anyway, it might not be as unlawful as you think: The factors influencing a finding of fair use under United States copyright law (17 USC 107) include whether the site makes any money off the alleged infringement as well as "the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work," which depends on the availability of copies of the work. If a judge finds that a use meets some but not enough of the fair use factors, the judge will likely assess smaller damages against the defendant.
Pole Position is on one of Namco's TV joysticks along with Xevious, Mappy, Galaga, and Ms. Pac-Man. The sequel to the Pole Position series seems to be the Ridge Racer series. It's also on one of the Namco Museum Game Paks for GBA.
Also available are the parent's SS and credit card #'s. Why should he deprive us of that information
There's a difference between published works and unpublished works. The abandonware creed applies only to published works.
And games like it are still plenty fun and addictive. Every year or so, I get the old 2600 out to play it. Kids will spend a long time on Kaboom and Warlords.
A lot of what you are saying is right, but it does not apply across the board. Really good classic games are still really good games today.
Blogging because I can...
First off.. Five Legendary Atari 7800(TM) Games .
Legendary and "atari 7800" should never be used in the same sentence. I had a 7800 and was horribly disappointed with the games, notably Choplifter.
The problem with these '80s re-releases of games is that it's the same 100 games over and over again. Yet I can fire up MAME and play around 3000 different aracade games, many of them obscure(the rest being Space Invaders or Pac Man knockoffs).
I think I would rather play 4-player Gauntlet II. Everyone loves Gauntlet II.
I myself only recognize copyrights for 20 years. After that, it's fair game. They had plenty of time to make their money in twenty years, and I get the benefit of a richer public domain within my lifetime.
I suggest you all do the same.
-ZOD-
I had a 1040ST and liked it a lot. I liked the 65XE and 130XE too, they had some interesting hardware in them.
I remember playing Seven Cities of Gold a lot back on the 400, I think. Lots of fun back then.
I used to like "Imperium Galacticum" and "EOS" on the Apple ][e/c as well.
Why just PS2 and Xbox? If they can release it for Xbox, they can release it for Windows, can't they?
Downmodding is the refuge of the weak. Don't downmod, make a better argument!
Is the hardware close enough to the original that it can somehow be modified to somehow (flash card? USB drive?) include the rest of the 7800's library?
The biggest problem with the PC version of this set, and what will most likely be the biggest problem of the console versions, is that it only contains games that were owned by Atari and developed by Atari. That means there are none of the Atari 2600 classics released by Coleco or Parker Brothers or Mattel (Activision, however, has released their own anthology of 2600 titles, which is already available for the PC and the consoles). Similarly, there will be no games like Pac-Man or Galaxian or Moon Patrol that Atari had to license from some other company before releasing (which means, sorry to say, E.T. won't be in the collection either).
On the other hand, the PC release is very nice. The game ROMs are stored in separate files on the CD, meaning they can be used with other emulators, and (most) other ROMs can be used with Atari's emulator, which is pretty solid. The PC release also includes a few ROM images that have been hard to find even on the Internet, such as the infamous Atari 2600 prototype of Tempest.
...and nobody has made the "Can I run Linux on this?" joke? This must be a sign of the apocalypse. That or everyone is still hung over from Labor Day weekend.
-
[Announcer] "Green Elf ... stepped in guano!"
[Green Elf] "Ewww!" (dies)
(insert-coins-to-continue-music)
>;k
I love it! Basically, you're complaining that people who download "abandonware" are getting screwed because they can't feel morally justified when the old games are actually available for purchase and usable on current hardware. That's friggin' brilliant, and I think that you should sue Atari for the emotional pain they're inflicting.
Coleco went bankrupt and the receivers sold the assets in around 1987 or so. I cannot remember if it was Parker Brothers which in turn was absorbed by Hasbro or if it went to Hasbro directly. It isn't entirely clear, but whatever rights Hasbro had to Coleco titles most likely went to Infogrames with its purchase of Hasbro's Interactive division. Ironically, over a decade later Hasbro purchased the rights to Atari corp (the home console and computer part of Atari), so in the end the former arch rivals endedup under he same corporate umbrella.
One thing that is for certain is that distribution rights to basically all Coleco games (generally all the ones that have the 12-second COLECOVISION intro scren) and leftover hardware and cartridge inventory went to Telegames. A coleco-compatible system and the related games have remained available continuously to this day. It appears that they have finally run out of stock of the console, but they still sell the cartridges and compilation CDs with emulator included for the PC. That is why Atari probably won't be putting out Coleco games--unless they do a 2000's take on them, plus the fact that Coleco didn't release many original titles (they were licencees with Konami, Exidy, Nintendo, Sega, etc).
Telegames was one of the first companies to really take issue with the ROM sites, however I can't really blame people for posing ROMS online--telegames continues to peddle cartriges at inflated prices--only collector enthusiasts would drop $25 (and higher!) for common games like Donkey Kong Jr or Pepper II when you can get 'em for a buck at a flea market or free images online.
At any rate, except for really obscure, oddball stuff almost NO GAMES drop off the face of the earth--if a company that was any significant size dies, its assets are generally scooped up by another venture.
Some people suggest its simply a resurgence in 80s nostalgia that made these products rise from the dead. I think that's partially true, however I think the nostalgia manifested itself in the emulator and ROM scene because the original publishers largely ignored the phenomenon--they only cried foul once they realised they missed an oportunity.
I still use my 1040, it's fun to noodle around in NeoChrome everynow and then.
...
Plus i'm still trying to complete 'Captive'
Fry: heh, Yakov Smirnoff said it
Leela: No he didn't.
No missile command, no sale. I would definately buy that. What about golf?!
There's also Activision Anthology (with their Atari VCS games) and Midway Arcade Treasures (Joust, Defender, Gauntlet et al), both for the PS2.
The REAL Atari died in 2003 when Midway closed the Milpitas offices. The REAL Atari has ALWAYS been coinop. It started coinop, it died coinop. Infogrammes is just a software company using the brand to sell games.
"You're getting brutal, Sark. Brutal and needlessly sadistic."
"Thank you, Master Control"
-Sark and the MCP
Couldn't they just license the mame roms for their games. It would give us MAME users a chance to legalize at least part of our rom collection.
P.S. Don't you just hate having 4000 games and no time to play......
Comic Book Guy has just fallen over an shat himself. "There's no emoticon for what I'm feeling!" --Comic Book Guy, Simpsons
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
Even when they did have product + software + support, they didnt know how to market what they had towards the end.
Such as the STacy for example...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Way back when, I worked for Avalon Hill and coded Wall Ball, whcih wasn't very good and remains deservedly "extremely rare". I was simply a wage-slave, so I never had rights.
Avalon Hill was later sold to Hasbro, so I presume my cart was included. Now, apparently, the revived Atari has bought portions of Habro's holdings, which may or may not include the rights to AH's computer games (the board games have clearly stayed with Hasbro.)
It doesn't really matter, buit it would be fun if someday my cart were to be re-released as part of some "Worst of Atari" 1,000 game set.
This next song is very sad. Please clap along. -- Robin Zander
From: Groklaw staff (staff@groklaw.com) [ADD "NOSPAM" BEFORE .com]
To: Anonymous Coward (tepples@pineight.com) [ADD NOSPAM AFTER @ SIGN]
Subject: Re: Abandonware
Yes.
--- Original Message ---
From: Anonymous Coward (e-mail)
To: Groklaw staff (e-mail)
Subject: Re: Abandonware
Is Abandonware piracy?
For more information, click here.
Actually, the Sega Master System version of Double Dragon had 2-player co-op play. The graphics were the closest to the arcade out of all the 8-bit ports.
Check out my foes list to see who is so retarded that they can't use the signature line!!!
When there is a new penis cream out do you want your friends to tell you about it? There is a game section for this news here at /.
Please use it.
I wish mine still worked. Like anything I don't keep my eye on, my mom let some kid of one of her friends have it some years ago without asking me. Last I heard it was tossed in a dumpster :(
I know this is incredibly offtopic, but I would kill for an iPod but do not have that kind of cash to drop on a music player. I've visited the website but am not certain it's legit. Too good to be true