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15,871 (+1,492 Jun 4 2007) pages of high resolution instruction manual scans, 3,038 cart scans, 1,708 end label scans, 501 box scans, 120 joystick pictures, 130 system pictures, and counting! 395,309 files with 80,528,556,223 bytes of content. Hundreds of NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) games. Tons of great games under $2.
All profits from the sales on this site are put back into the site.Shipping is $1.00 an item. This covers our expenses for cleaning, bagging, testing, packing, packing materials, pictures, finding the item and postage. |
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All Site Contents Copyright ©2004,2005,2006,2007,2008 DataAlchemy
Atari 2600/7800 FAQ
v. 12.3, Sep 4, 2000
Last minor update: Nov 22, 2000
Zube (Zube@cs.colostate.edu)
This FAQ is an evolving document. Please help make it better. If you have any additions, suggestions or corrections, please mail me.
Prologue
Previous maintainers
What's new?
What information is missing from the FAQ?
Where can I find the latest version of this FAQ?
General
What Usenet groups discuss or are relevant to the 2600/7800?
What is the rec.games.video.classic charter?
Are there any mailing lists that discuss the 2600/7800?
Where can I find cart lists?
What magazines cover the 2600/7800?
What magazines covered the 2600/7800 in the 80s?
What books cover the 2600/7800?
Any there any videos that cover the 2600/7800?
Where can I view Atari TV commercials?
Where can I view Atari print advertisements?
What the heck? An Atari 2600 music video?
Are there any other sources of general information about
the 2600?
What is irc, #rgvc and how do I get on them?
What happened to the 5200 information that used to be here?
What happened to Atari?
But I still see games with the Atari logo. What's the story?
What scores were needed to earn an Activision patch?
What does the Atari symbol represent?
What does the word "atari" mean?
Where can I find Atari-like fonts?
What shows, events or gatherings cover the 2600/7800?
Software
Where can I find games for my 2600/7800 or the consoles themselves?
Where can I download game instructions?
What are the best games for the 2600?
What are the most common and most rare games for the 2600/7800?
What was Gameline and what games were available for it?
Which games use a lightgun?
Which 2600 games use the kid's controllers/keypads?
Which 2600 games use paddles?
Which 2600 games use the driving controllers?
Which 2600 games have voice?
Which 2600 carts do not work on the 7800?
What is the Starpath CD and can I still get one?
Have any new games been released lately?
What is a multicart and where can I get one?
What are some cheats and Easter Eggs?
What programming resources are available?
What is the 7800 encryption algorithm?
Is 7800 Impossible Mission really impossible?
Where can I get solutions to the Swordquest series?
I've seen pictures of 2600 Doom. Where can I buy it?
Is there a list of 2600/7800 game programmers?
Hardware (general)
What are the different 2600/7800 models?
What types of clones exist?
What companies made 2600 adapters for their own systems?
Are there any emulators for the 2600/7800?
What 2600/7800 hardware was announced but never
released?
How do I hook up my Atari to a TV? / I've hooked up my system, but the picture is fuzzy.
How do I fix my paddles?
Where do I get my 2600/7800 fixed?
Do Bally Astrocade joysticks work on the 2600/7800?
Which light guns work with the 2600/7800?
What hardware peripherals exist for the 2600/7800?
What are NTSC/PAL/SECAM and why should I care?
What is a TVboy and where can I get one?
Hardware (tech)
What are the specs for the 2600/7800?
How large do 2600 games get?
Are there any published 2600/7800 technical articles available?
Pinout information?
Power supply information?
Projects
How do I build a composite/audio/chroma/luma output
interface for the Atari 2600Jr/2600A?
How do I build a video driver for the 2600/7800?
I hate the two mods above. Does anyone have anything better?
How do I build a composite output interface for the 7800?
How do I convert Sega controllers to Atari pinout?
How do I convert a Sega Master System lightgun to Atari pinout?
How do I convert an NES controller to Atari pinout?
Is there a general site that contains all this conversion stuff?
What is an Atari Game Recorder and how do I build one?
Epilogue
A: A. Karl Heller (kheller2@mac.com) maintained the 2600 FAQ up to version 11, and co-maintained it up to and including version 11.5. The classic community owes him a large debt of gratitude for his efforts.
Karl also deserves high praise for graciously stepping aside when his interest in maintaining this FAQ waned. Karl allowed me to improve his creation (starting with version 11) without becoming angry or possessive. I sincerely hope that I am as gracious as he when it is my turn to pass this FAQ on to someone else.
Maintainer's Note: This last sentiment, while sincere, surprised me by jumping out of Eric S. Raymond's "The Cathedral & the Bazaar" in a slightly different form. I believe there are only two explanations. Either Mr. Raymond and I think very much alike on passing things off when interest wanes or I've graduated from the "Remember What You Read But Forget Where You Read It" School of Innovation, or perhaps both. I apologize to Mr. Raymond if either of the latter two cases are true.
A:
- (Sep 4) Version bumped to 12.3 and posted to Usenet.
- (Sep 4) Mark Santora still has WOA98 and CGE99 tapes; information back from dead links file.
- (Sep 8) CGE 2001 scheduled for August 11, 2001.
- (Sep 10) Ballerup Transportable Hairdryer (!) for Atari 2600 added to hoax section.
- (Sep 14) Jack Berg Sales has new carts and Superchargers.
- (Sep 16) CCAG 2001 scheduled for June 23, 2001.
- (Sep 18) Incredible Atari 2600 "music video" in .mov (quicktime) format available.
- (Sep 22) O'Shea's out of 2600/7800 Dark Chambers.
- (Sep 22) 7800 composite out entry added.
- (Oct 19) Steven L. Kent's book due on November 1.
- (Oct 20) Atari VCS/2600 UK Release List link added to cart lists.
- (Oct 22) O'Shea's increases prices and minimum order.
- (Nov 12) Kent's The First Quarter now available from Amazon.
- (Nov 22) Links to Vic-20 2600 adapter ads added.
- (Nov 22) Sea Battle and Swordfight available for $29.95.
If you are the author of something in this FAQ and we have not given you a proper attribution and a thank-you, please email us.
Q: What information is
missing from the FAQ?
A: Bunches of stuff, some of which includes:
- 7800 encryption code (ha ha)
- Any link found in the dead links file. These links worked in previous versions of the FAQ, but have been relegated to the dead links file until I can find out where they went.
Q: Where can I find the latest
version of this FAQ?
A: The FAQ is maintained in html form and is amended as updates come in. Every so often (when there is enough new material), the html version is converted to text, edited a bit, and posted to rec.games.video.classic, rec.games.video.atari, rec.answers and news.answers. The text version is on the Web as well, but it is updated only before posting to Usenet.
Q: What Usenet groups discuss
or are relevant to the 2600/7800?
A: There are several groups:
- rec.games.video.classic
- rec.games.video.marketplace
- rec.games.video.atari
- alt.atari.2600
- alt.atari.2600vcs
- alt.atari.2600.programming
- alt.atari.2600.vcs
- alt.games.atari
rec.games.video.classic (rgvc) is probably the best place to start, as it is carried in most newsfeeds and generally has the most traffic. rec.games.video.marketplace is for the buying and selling of video games and systems and is not limited to atari or even classic systems. It is dominated by post-classic ads, which is why you will often see buy/sell/auction posts in rgvc. rec.games.video.atari usually contains Jaguar discussion, but will occasionally digress into 2600/7800 discussion when it pertains to the Jaguar (e.g. Tempest 2000). The five atari alt groups are not carried by many newsfeeds; consequently, the traffic in these groups is minimal.
Do not post to alt.2600 or any of its subgroups about the Atari 2600/7800. That group is for discussion of hacking and phreaking and you will probably get flamed if you do.
If you don't have a newsfeed at your site, but do have a newsreader (most web browsers have one built in), you can still get access to some, if not all of these groups. See the list of public news servers page for a list of places where you might point your browser to see the rgvc groups.
Many of these servers have only a limited number of groups, so if the one you choose doesn't carry rgvc, try another. Another possible solution is newsone.net, which does carry all of the 2600 related news groups. Make sure you use the "frames mode," or you'll get a new browser window for each news article.
Maintainer's note: www.feedme.org used to be recommended, but disappeared without a trace.
Q: What is the
rec.games.video.classic charter?
A: We have uncovered the following:
rec.games.video.classic is an unmoderated newsgroup which passed its vote for creation by 257:85 as reported in news.announce.newgroups on 13 Apr 1993.
And from the second Call for Votes,these bits:
5) Should a newsgroup rec.games.video.classic be created? This newsgroup would carry discussions regarding older, "classic" home video entertainment systems like the Atari 2600, Coleco, Intellivision, etc. This newsgroup would supersede alt.games.video.classic.
Finally, for those of you wondering if buy/sell/auction posts are discouraged on groups other than rec.games.video.marketplace, consider the following:
3) Should a newsgroup rec.games.video.marketplace be created? This newsgroup would carry offers to sell and requests to buy home video entertainment products and accessories like systems, cartridges, etc. The netiquette of the rec.games.video.* hierarchy would request that people NOT cross-post buy/sell discussions to other rec.games.video.* newsgroups.
Q: Are there any mailing lists
that discuss the 2600/7800?
A: There are at least three. Jeremy Wilson (xeno@inforamp.net) runs the classic videogames mailing list, which covers both home and arcade classic games. To subscribe, mail listserv@moose.to with the following message body:
subscribe classic-videogames your@email.address Your Name
There is also a UK Classic Videogame mailing list; ian@planetbuilders.co.uk for subscribe requests, ccnuk@onelist.com for the list itself. For more information, see this link. The above page also contains a database of classic UK collectors. There is also a separate UK list (ccnukfst@onelist.com) exclusively for sale and trade posts; ian@planetbuilders.co.uk for subscription requests to that list as well.
The Stella mailing list (also know as the Starpath CD mailing list and the Atari 2600 Programming list) is for those using the Starpath CD development tools to write 2600 games. To subscribe, mail majordomo@biglist.com with the following in the message body:
subscribe stella your@email.address
The informational snippet for this list is as follows.
"This list was designed as as support group for Starpath CD owners who are writing 2600 games through the developer software. It is hoped that TOGETHER we can write some new games for the 2600. Exchanging uuencoded binaries is okay as long as it's in BIN form, not WAV."
BTW, here are the stella list archives as well as the stella archive excavation, which culls many of the interesting bits.
Q: Where can I find
cart lists?
A:
The long out-of-date VGR cart lists have disappeared from VGR's site.
Alexander Bilstein (bilstein@alumni.utexas.edu) maintains a set of cart lists on his web site. These lists are updated frequently.
Dean Dierschow (dean@xocolatl.com) maintains game lists for several systems including the 2600/7800. The relevant files are at2600.lst, at5200.lst, and at7800.lst. These lists are a good starting point for the new or general game collector; alas, these files have not been updated since Oct 94.
The Giant List of 2600 Label Variations is for all of the sick collectors who want to know label differences in excruciating detail. John Earney (jearney@best.com) maintains the list, which looks like this:
Cosmic Ark IA3204
silver label with no picture, "for use with..." in 5 languages
silver label with picture 720104-1 Rev A. 1982 entirely to the
right of the picture.
silver label with picture 720104-1 Rev A. right edge of picture
is in the middle of 1982.
??? silver label with no picture
Boxed: silver box (c)1982
Digital Press (digitpre@ix.netcom.com) markets its Classic Video Games Collector's Guide which covers the Atari 2600/7800 and many other classic and neo-classic systems. The fifth edition is sold out but the sixth edition will be available shortly. They are currently taking pre-orders for the sixth edition using the PayPal service.
See the CVGCG home page or send $20 (checks should be payable to Joe Santulli) after the new edition is released to:
Joe Santulli digital press 44 hunter place pompton lakes, nj 07442
The Digital Press Collector's Guide CDROM Companion is a nice complement to DP's paper guide. It contains box, cart and handheld scans, screenshots, manuals, TV commercials, emulators and much more in a two-cd, not-for-profit set for only $12. See Sean Kelly's DP CDROM page for the full story and ordering information.
Atari2600.com, now run by Joe Cody, also markets a cart guide that was called JerryG's Guide to the Classic Video Games. It was available as a beta edition for $15, but alas, is now sold out. It is not clear if the proper First Edition will ever see the light of day, since it was originally scheduled to be released on December 12, 1998. See the JGCVC home page for more information.
In addition, JerryG maintains a cart list grouped by manufacturer. It currently lists 1625 titles.
Leonard Herman (rolenta@aol.com) is the author of ABC's to the VCS , a low-cost ($8.00) book containing descriptions of nearly all VCS games. See the Rolenta Press home page for more information.
For those with UK interests, Steve Rich (stever@rocketmail.com) and Chris Hind (chris.hind@usa.net) are the authors of the Atari VCS/2600 UK Release List.
Q: What magazines cover the
2600/7800?
A: The 2600 Connection is the premier bi-monthly Atari 2600 resource. This fanzine, published by Russ Perry Jr. (slapdash@enteract.com), is an excellent source of information about Atari video game collecting in general, including news, game reviews, interviews, and entertaining anecdotes. Rare and collectible games are frequently discussed. Classified ads in the Connection are relevant to all Atari game machines. Subscription price is $9 for a year's worth of bi-monthly issues (6) or $1.50 for single copies.
To subscribe send a check payable to Russ Perry Jr. to:
The 2600 Connection c/o Russ Perry Jr. 2175 S. Tonne Rd. #105 Arlington Hts, IL 60005
Back issues of the 2600 Connection are available from Tim Duarte (timdu@hotmail.com), the previous publisher for $1.50. There is also a master index of articles published in issues 1-50 available from Tim for the price of a self-addressed stamped envelope with extra postage. You can reach Tim at:
Tim Duarte P.O. Box 885 Mattapoisett MA 02739-0885
or visit the 2600 Connection Home Page.
Digital Press also covers the 2600/7800, but it is mixed with information about both neo-classic and modern systems. Hard copy subscriptions are $10 for six bi-monthly issues. Back issues (#13-#40) are available for $2.25 each, issues #1-#12 are available as a set for $20. Contact Joe Santulli (digitpre@ix.netcom.com) for more information.
Russ Perry Jr. (slapdash@enteract.com) also publishes Slap-Dash , an eclectic collection of video game information, personal opinion, references to beer and pictures of women bassists. Although a bit offbeat, it does contain information about classic gaming not found anywhere else. For example, Issue 6 contains bits of information culled from conversations of many Ex-atari employees. Send $1.50 for the latest issue (#6) to:
Russ Perry Jr. 2175 S. Tonne Rd. #105 Arlington Hts, IL 60005
Classic Gamer by Chris Cavanaugh, covers what you might expect. The first issue is available for $8, the second and third issues for $6 and issue four for $4.50. Yearly subscriptions for Classic Gamer are $15.
Also worth mentioning is Retrogaming Times, a free 'zine by Tom Zjaba.
The January 1996 issue of Ultimate Gamer has an article called The Atari Quest which has both pictures and information about hardware and cartridge prototypes. Some topics include Mindlink, 2600 Tempest, Airworld, Looney Tunes Hotel, Microgammon SB, Meebzork, and Sport Goofy. For those of you who weren't quick enough on the draw, Dennis Brown's Library contains jpg's of the article.
Q: What magazines covered the
2600/7800 in the 80s?
A:
- Atari Age
- Blip
- Electronic Fun w/ Computers and Games
- Electronic Games
- Joystik (Many complete issues are at stormaster and indexed at neonghost.
- TV Gamer (UK) (not to be confused with the non-classic, currently publishing Japanese mag)
- Video & Arcade Games (2 issues, Spring and Fall 83)
- Video Games
- Video Games Player (later Computer Games)
- Videogaming Illustrated
- Vidiot
Cover scans of many of these magazines have been made available by Phaze (phaze@aloha.net).
Q: What books cover the 2600/7800?
A: Leonard Herman (rolenta@aol.com) publishes Phoenix: the Fall & Rise of Home Videogames. It covers the home video game industry in detail from the pre-classic days, through the early 80s and up to 1993. At $12.99, it's a steal for the amount of information contained in it. The second edition is available for $10 to first edition owners, $19.95 otherwise (plus $3 for priority shipping or $1.50 for 4th class shipping). See the Rolenta Press home page for more information.
Another book is Zap! : the Rise and Fall of Atari by Scott Cohen. Here is some information on this out-of-print book:
AUTHOR Cohen, Scott.
TITLE Zap] : the rise and fall of Atari / Scott Cohen.
PUBLISHER New York : McGraw-Hill, c1984.
DESCRIPTION xii, 177 p. ; 22 cm.
SUBJECT Atari, Inc. -- History.
Electronic games industry -- United States -- History.
NOTE Includes index.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Bibliography: p. 164-168.
ISBN 0070115435.
"The Macra Terror" makes the following observation:
It's a good history of Atari itself, but somewhat lacking in perspective
(competing game systems receive few mentions) and sometimes snide in
tone. It also covers the career of Nolan Bushnell, through the creation
of PizzaTime (later Chuck E. Cheese) restaurants. It ends ironically
in the middle of 1983, with Atari execs talking about the great things
ahead.
Also note that searching for Zap! among stacks of books may not be that difficult. The copy I (Zube) have seen was a thin, hardback, blue-covered book with the title written in white down the entire length of the spine.
Thanks to John Hardie, the reprint of Zap! is now available. Send $15 to:
John Hardie 90 Judith Lane Valley Stream, NY. 11580
This cost is probably for US shipping only. Contact him at jhardie@pipeline.com for international orders.
The November 1996 issue of Next Generation magazine has excerpts from a forthcoming book by Steven L. Kent called (at the time) Electronic Nation. It covers the roots of the video game industry, including bits from people like Bushnell and Alcorn. Next Generation has printed several other bits in other issues as well. CNN reported that Kent's book is now called The First Quarter: The 25-Year History of Video Games and as of November 1, 2000, it is available. Amazon has it listed for $15.96, and Next Generation (12/00, p. 21) reports that it is exclusive to Amazon, so you won't find it anywhere else.
Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers is an electronic book (html format) available from Dadgum Games. A review of the book and several snippets from it can be found in Issue #42 of the 2600 Connection. According to the review, only six of the twenty-eight programmers interviewed worked on the 2600, so much information contained in the book is not directly relevant to the 2600 world.
Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984 by Van Burnham is scheduled for a spring 2001 release from MIT Press. See the Supercade web page for more information.
For comprehensive list of related material, see the Classic Video Game Literature List, maintained by Lee K. Seitz.
Q: Are there any videos that
cover the 2600/7800?
A: Once Upon Atari is a four part series exploring the early days of Atari. Produced by Howard Scott Warshaw (hsw@netcom.com), the series is a first hand look at Atari from the people who worked there. The four episodes are:
- House of Video Games
- The Enemy Within
- They Just Have To Like It
- The Agony & the Ecstasy
Episode 4 is available for $29.95 ($25.95 + $4 shipping). Episodes 1 and 2 are available together for $49.95 ($45.95 + $4 shipping). Episode 3 has not yet been released. All videos may be ordered in NTSC or PAL formats, by phone (1-800-711-3627), by mail:
Scott West Productions PO Box 610787 San Jose, CA 95161
or by the on-line order form, one click away from their Ordering Information page.
Scott Crawford (electronicon@hotmail.com) has this to say about the fourth part:
Once Upon Atari: The Agony & the Ecstasy is a great start to Howard Scott Warshaw's Once Upon Atari video series. It's an entertaining, educational, and most importantly, REAL glimpse of what happened at good ol' Atari. The video focuses on interviews with 2600 VCS programmers like Rob (Night Driver, Demon Attack, Missile Command) Fulop, Todd (Pac-Man) Frye, Carla (Star Raiders, Warlords, Indy 500) Meninsky, and Larry (Air-Sea Battle, Kaboom!) Kaplan. These interviews are at times hilarious (Frye's description of how he programmed 2600 Xevious, Fulop's profanity-laden rant in praise of VCS programmer Rick Maurer), as well as insightful (Ex-Atari Director Of Software George Kiss' regret that he didn't write a line of code while at Atari, Fulop's description of the job as "the definition of his life"). While the video is a bit light on running time (at 28 minutes), it is well worth picking up, as I've watched it about a dozen times in the 2 months since I got it.
Stella at 20: An Atari 2600 Retrospective is a series of documentaries from Glenn Saunders (cybpunks@earthlink.net). Both Volume 1, Tales of Stella and Atari and Volume 2, The Game Designers or One Person, One Game are around 90 minutes in length and are available for $25 each or $40 for both + shipping. If you buy both videos, you can add the Stella Gets a New Brain CD for just $10 more. See the ordering page for more information.
Two videos, one documenting the 1998 World of Atari show and one documenting the 1999 Classic Gaming Expo are available from Mark Santora (santora@earthlink.net) for $25 + $4 shipping each or $50 (shipping included) for both tapes. Contact him directly to order or to inquire about international orders or PAL format tapes.
There is also a video of classic videogame commercials from Sean Kelly. See the next entry for details.
Q: Where can I view Atari TV commercials?
A: The Digital Press CDROM contains Quicktime versions of many classic videogame commercials from the early '80s. Also, the Commercial Archive site is the home to many of the same bits, in both Quicktime and Realplayer formats.
For those of you who want it all just as it was, the Classic Videogame TV Commercial Archive video is available from Sean Kelly (skelly@xnet.com). 63 commercials, 36 minutes, $20 + $3 shipping.
Q: Where can I view Atari print advertisements?
A: Tom Zjaba (tomheroes@aol.com) maintains a video game ad site that contains scans from various magazines and comic books.
Q: What the heck? An Atari 2600 music video?
A: This very creative work by (if the info in the file is accurate) Kevin Rodgers & Markus Karlusis is worth the hefty 7.3 meg download. You'll need a Quicktime viewer or equivalent to view it.
Q: Are there any other sources
of general information about the 2600?
A: Christopher James Pepin (cpepin1@hotmail.com) maintains the Atari 2600 Fun Facts and Information Guide, which contains bits of information culled from Usenet postings, mailing lists and the 2600 connection.
Q: What is irc, #rgvc and how do I
get on them?
A: irc is Internet Relay Chat, a global realtime chat network. #rgvc is the rec.games.video.classic channel. At most times of the day or night you can find someone on the channel eager to talk shop. Thursday nights at 8 EST used to be the weekly gathering time, although it isn't clear if it still is. Note that the old rgvc irc channel #classic is no longer used for this purpose; stick to #rgvc if you wish to discuss the 2600/7800.
If you are on a unix box and your sys admin doesn't mind irc, you might be able to get on with a simple
irc -c '#rgvc'
Alas, irc does not come preinstalled on most machines, so if the above command doesn't work or if you aren't using unix, you'll have to be more resourceful. Here is an irc primer, complete with listings of where to obtain irc clients. Alas, it is quite outdated.
The Atari Gaming Headquarters site is the home of the #rgvc home page, which contains tips on irc etiquette, the #rgvc FAQ and a list of web pages and mail addresses of the regulars.
Q: What happened to the 5200 information that used to be here?
A: Most of the 5200 information that used to reside in this FAQ was either incomplete or horribly outdated. Keita Iida (keita@mindspring.com) maintains the official 5200 FAQ, which is both extensive and up to date. Most of the old entries now live in an auxiliary document that is kept for historical purposes only and will not be updated.
A: The Atari that everyone knew, loved and hated is gone. On July 30, 1996, Atari merged with disk drive maker JTS with more of whimper than a bang. Don Thomas (curator@icwhen.com) has written a short, insightful bit about the merger and the history leading up to it that asks more questions than it answers.
The story doesn't end there, however. On Feb 23, 1998, JTS sold substantially all of the assets of the Company's Atari Division, consisting primarily of Atari home computer games and the intellectual property rights and license agreements associated with such games (the "Atari Assets"), to HIACXI, Corp. ("HIAC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hasbro Interactive, Inc., for $5,000,000 in cash. Read the entire 8-K form that was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding this transaction.
In a related note, JTS filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection on December 4, 1998, and then converted it to Chapter 7 on January 28, 1999. What is the difference between the two? Christina Wood from PC World magazine (July 1998, p. 41) says this:
If the company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, don't worry. The business should operate as usual -- it's just reorganizing. If the company files under Chapter 7, worry. The enterprise is going out of business and planning to liquidate its assets to pay off certain creditors.Q: But I still see games with the Atari logo. What's the story?
A: In 1984, Warner Communications sold off the home (console) and consumer electronics (computer) divisions to the Tramiel family. These divisions became Atari Corp., which later merged with JTS and whose assets are now part of Hasbro Interactive. The update of Centipede came (in small part) from the ashes of Atari Corp. Interestingly, Hasbro has resurrected the Atari name and logo; many of their recent classic releases (Atari Arcade Hits 2, for example) appear under the Atari name.
You may have also seen the Atari logo for years in the arcades under the Time-Warner Interactive label (Atari Games). In 1996, TW sold Atari Games to WMS Industries (the Williams people), who turned around and spun off its Midway division (announced in 1997, completed (?) in 1998). Atari Games is now a subsidiary of Midway Games and was responsible for games such as Gauntlet Legends and Rush the Rock. You might also see the Atari logo for home conversions of these (and other) games under the Midway Home Entertainment label. In spite of this corporate shuffling, a few of the Atari veterans are still there including (as of Summer 99) Ed Logg, whose credits include the arcade versions of Centipede and Millipede as well as 2600 Othello.
The March 2000 Electronic Gaming Monthly reports that Midway has abandoned the Atari name, renaming Atari Games as Midway Games West. This is probably the end of the line for the Atari Games name.
Q: What scores were needed to
earn an Activision patch?
A: Rodney Siddall (rodneys433@aol.com) used to maintain the Activision Patch FAQ. The above page contains the FAQ itself, as well as pictures of some of the patches.
Q: What does the Atari symbol
represent?
A: According to the Aug/Sep 1983 Video Games Player:
The Atari symbol was designed by George Opperman in 1972. Pong was very big then, and the big letter A represented two opposing video game players with the center of the Pong court in the middle.
Q: What does the word "atari" mean?
A: The word atari comes from the game of Go, perhaps the world oldest board game. Several early 80's magazine references define atari as "you are about to be engulfed," but the rec.games.go FAQ denotes that word in this way:
atari : A group of stones is in atari if it has only one liberty left.Q: Where can I find Atari-like fonts?
A: iconsplus has made available an Atari-like font (the Atarian System v. 1.0) for both Windows and the Mac.
Q: What shows, events or gatherings cover the 2600/7800?
A:
US
- In 1998, there was the World of Atari, held in Las Vegas (August 21-23).
- In 1999, there was the Classic Gaming Expo, also held in Las Vegas (Aug 14-15).
- This year, the Classic Gaming Expo was again held in Las Vegas (July 29 and 30).
- According to the October 2000 EGM, next year's CGE is scheduled for August 11, 2001.
- For those anywhere near New Jersey, NAVA (North Atlantic Videogame Aficionados) meetings are held every so often. Watch the Web page or rgvc for announcements.
- CinciClassic, in its second year, was held in Cincinnati, Nov 5-7, 1999.
- The Northwest Classic Gaming Enthusiasts Annual Meeting was held on January 29, 2000 in Kirkland, WA.
- PhillyClassic was held in Radnor PA from Apr 14-16, 2000. Another is planned for April 2001.
- The Classic Computing and Gaming (CCAG) Show is scheduled for June 23, 2001 in Lorain, Ohio.
UK
- Britmeet 3, the third annual UK Classic Video Games convention was held on June 24, 2000. The web page has all the details, as well as info and pictures from previous conventions.
Q: Where can I find games for
my 2600/7800 or the consoles themselves?
A: Auction web sites seem to have taken over as the primary method of buying (and selling) on the net. Here are a few:
Ebay seems to be the only one that has reached critical mass, as yet. A fairly complete list of online auctions sites can be found at Auctioninsider.
There are still several sources for new game cartridges. Mail order firms such as Telegames USA are probably the best source for new games. They still stock many different games cartridges for all the Atari game machines. Some titles they carry are uncommon or rare.
Jack Berg Sales carries a few new 2600 games, new Superchargers and a few Supercharger tapes.
Here is a small list of places that carry new and used consoles and games:
Video Magic (vidgame@earthlink.net) carries both new and used Atari carts, some for sale, most for auction. Send the above address some email to request a paper catalog via snail mail.
Once in a great while, some retail stores will still have Atari cartridges in stock, although sometimes they are hidden in the back room. Another good source is discount liquidator stores, such as Toy Liquidators, Big Lots/Odd Lots, and Sears Outlets. These stores typically have huge quantities of a limited number of titles at closeout prices.
O'Shea Ltd. has 1.3 million bulk atari games for $2.00 each plus S&H (12 cart minimum). This is a new price (it used to be $.80) and a new minimum quantity. In the long past, games had to be ordered in bulk (quantities of 72, later 6). Then, for a long while, one could order single carts. This is no longer the case. Of course, you can still get the $.80 price if you order 1,000 or more carts. Contact Bill Houlehan (billh@oshealtd.com) for more information. They have recently sold out of many games; the following list reflects what's left according to their (insecure) order form (last updated July 16, 2000):
7800
- Asteroids
- Ballblazer
- Barnyard Blaster
- Baseball
- Centipede
- Dig Dig
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Galaga
- Hat Trick
- Jinks
- Joust
- Meltdown
- Ms. Pac-Man
- One on One (listed as Basketball)
- Pole Position II
- Tower Toppler
- Xevious
2600
- Baseball
- Battlezone
- Dig Dug
- Football
- Galaxian
- Gravitar
- Joust
- Jr. Pac-Man
- Jungle Hunt
- Kangaroo
- Ms. Pac-Man
- Pole Position
- Venture
- Solaris
- Super Football
If you care more about playing than collecting, Hozer Video Games (randyc@east.sun.com) will put almost any 2K or 4K image on a cart for $11 ($16 for royalty-included games); 8K and 16K images are $22 ($25 for royalty-included games). This may be the only way to play games such as Wizard, Chase the Chuckwagon or Cubicolor on your 2600. See the Hozer Video Games site for more information.
Other sources for both new games, used games and consoles include:
- 2600 Connection classified ads
- newspaper classified ads
- atari user group classified ads
- thrift stores, flea markets, second-hand stores
- rec.games.video.classic & rec.games.video.marketplace ads
- web pages of many collectors
- the Digital Press Collectors List.
- the Classic Videogames Collector's Listing.
Q: Where can I download game
instructions?
A: Greg Chance (gchance@videogames.org) maintains a doc archive among other things on his web page. Alexander Bilstein (bilstein@alumni.utexas.edu) also maintains an instruction manual archive. Between these two sites, you should be able to find manuals for most of the 2600 library.
Mitchell Orman (Msorman@aol.com) maintains a doc archive for 7800 games.
Q: What are the best games for
the 2600?
A: This can be a subjective matter, of course, but Mike Littau conducted an informal 2600 games poll on rec.games.video (before the split) a few years ago, trying to find answers to this very question. Here are the results, with some slight changes in format:
From: littaum@jacobs.CS.ORST.EDU (Mike Littau)
Subject: Atari 2600 poll results
Date: 12 Jun 92 16:49:35 GMT
Here are the results of the atari 2600 poll I conducted:
Best overall Best original idea
1. Adventure 1. Pitfall!
2.(tie) Solaris,Yar's Revenge 2. Adventure
4. Asteroids 3. Yar's revenge
5. River Raid 4.(tie) Stampede, Kaboom, Kool Aid Man
Best music or sound effects: Best adventure game:
1. Pitfall II 1. Adventure
2. Frogger 2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4.(tie) Haunted House, CA Games 3. Haunted House
5. Asteroids 4. Superman
5. Secret Quest
Best action game: Best sports game:
1. Asteroids 1. Activision Tennis
2. Demon Attack 2. Skiing
3. Missile Command 3. RealSports Tennis
4. Warlords 4.(tie) Super Football, RS Football
5.(tie) Chopper Command, Moon Patrol Activision Boxing
Best racing game: Best graphics for a game:
1. Indy 500 1. Solaris
2. Enduro 2. Pitfall!
3.(tie) Sprintmaster, Grand Prix 3. Moonsweeper
5.(tie) Barnstorming, Slot Racers 4.(tie) Barnstorming, Demon Attack,
River Raid
In addition, The 2600 Connection (issue #10) ran an article on the 2600 cartridge "Hall of Fame," listing the best 2600 games. There was an excellent capsule description of each game. Here is the list:
Combat Asteroids Honorable Mention: Super Breakout Centipede (and Millipede) Dragonfire Defender Donkey Kong (and Jr.) Demon Attack Adventure Mario Bros. Megamania Space Invaders Pitfall! (and II) HERO Missile Command River Raid (and II) Rampage Pac-Man Kaboom Miner 2049er Ms. Pac-Man Frogger Skatboardin' Solaris Q*Bert
Q: What are the most common and
most rare games for the 2600/7800?
A: Commonality and rarity of a game depends upon many things, including geographical location, cart and label condition, label variation and personal experience. VGR's cart list, the Digital Press Collectors Guide and Atari2600.com's Beta One all give ideas to a cart's rarity and subsequent worth. (VGR and the Digital Press Collectors Guide #4 use a scale, Atari2600.com's Beta One and the DP cdrom use prices, and DPCG #5 uses both).
For those of you who yearn to know the prices carts have fetched in the past, check out the Atari 2600/7800 Auction Price Database, which contains final auction price information for hundreds of carts culled from many net auctions.
Q: What was Gameline and what
games were available for it?
A: Gameline was a service offered by Control Video Corporation that admitted the downloading of games to the the 2600 over regular phone lines. The Gameline used a variable 800-2000 baud modem, according to Kevin Horton's no-longer-there Gameline Page. The Gameline Master Module originally sold for $49.95 and there was a one-time membership fee of $15. Charges were about $.10 a game or $1 for up to an hour of play. Contest games were $1 and there was a $.50 charge to enter a score. On your birthday, not only were you given free play for a day, but you also received a Happy Birthday screen, complete with cake, candles and music.
Perhaps the funniest bit of advertising from CVC was in the form of a Q&A session. The Q was, "What will happen if I don't join Gameline?" The A was "Eventually, you'll be the only one on your block without Gameline. Your friends will have mastered new games before you even hear about them. Are you willing to take that chance?"
While the service did not last very long, the charred ashes of the service begat what is now AOL.
The games that were available were:
Airlock Alien Atlantis Bank Heist Bermuda Triangle Boing Bugs Cakewalk China Syndrome Coconuts Commando Raid Cosmic Ark Cosmic Creeps Cosmic Swarm Cross Force Crypts of Chaos Deadly Duck Demolition Herby Demon Attack Dragonfire The Earth Dies Screaming Eggomania Encounter at L-5 Entombed Fantastic Voyage Fast Food Fire Fighter Flash Gordon Frankenstein's Monster Gangster Alley Gopher Guardian Infiltrate Jawbreaker King Kong Lost Luggage M.A.D. Marauder M*A*S*H Megaforce Mines of Minos Moonsweeper Name this Game The Challenge of Nexar Nightmare No Escape Picnic Piece O' Cake Planet Patrol Polaris Porky's Raft Rider Ram It R. of the Beefsteak Tomatoes Riddle of the Sphinx Room of Doom Save the Whales Shark Attack Shootin' Gallery Sneak & Peek Solar Storm Space Cavern Space Jockey Space Master Squeeze Box Sssnake Stargunner Star Voyager Tape Worm Threshold Towering Inferno Trick Shot Turmoil Warplock Word Zapper Worm War I
Q: Which games use a lightgun?
A:
- 2600
- Sentinel
- Shooting Arcade (prototype)
- 7800
- Sentinel
- Alien Brigade (joystick ok)
- Barnyard Blaster
- Crossbow (joystick ok)
- Meltdown
Q: Which 2600 games use the kid's
controllers/keypads
A:
- A Game of Concentration (Hunt & Score, Memory Match)
- Alpha Beam with Ernie
- BASIC Programming
- Big Bird's Egg Catch
- Brain Games
- Codebreaker
- Cookie Monster Munch
- Grover's Music Maker (prototype)
- MagiCard
- Oscar's Trash Race
- Star Raiders
Q: Which 2600 games use paddles?
A:
- Astroblast (joystick ok too)
- Bachelor Party
- Backgammon
- Beat Em' & Eat Em
- Blackjack
- Breakout (Breakaway IV)
- Bugs
- Bumper Bash
- Canyon Bomber
- Casino (Poker Plus)
- Circus Atari (circus)
- Demons to Diamonds
- Eggomania
- Encounter at L-5
- Fireball
- Guardian
- Kaboom!
- Mangia
- Music Machine
- Night Driver
- Party Mix
- Picnic
- Piece O Cake
- Solar Storm
- Star Wars: Jedi Arena
- Steeplechase
- Street Racer (Speedway II)
- Super Breakout
- Tac-Scan
- Video Olympics (Pong Sports)
- Warlords
- Warplock
Q: Which 2600 games use the driving controllers?
A: There are two: Indy 500 and Stell-A-Sketch. Interestingly, the driving controllers have found a use in another system: the Jaguar FAQ details their use in a home-built rotary controller for Tempest 2000.
Q: Which 2600 games have voice?
A: There are two: Quadrun and Open Sesame. Due to the limitations of the 2600, the screen is blank when the voice is played.
Q: What 2600 carts do not work on
the 7800?
A: There are known incompatibilities with some NTSC versions of the 7800 (PAL 7800s seem to be unaffected). Games that may not work include Robot Tank, Decathlon, Space Shuttle, Time Pilot, Kool-Aid Man and the Supercharger. In a recent Usenet posting, Jay Tilton (tiltonj@erols.com) describes a series of tests with various versions of the 7800. In short, 7800s manufactured in 1984 seem to be fully compatible, whereas those manufactured later have inconsistent incompatibilities. Here is an edited version of the posting:
I recently acquired another 7800 console, and discovered that it works with the notoriously cranky Activision carts and the Supercharger. I decided to sit down with all my 7800 decks and an armload of carts and see how much of the 7800 compatibility mystery I could sort out.
Test decks:
Serial # Board part#
Deck# 72R4BR- Country Expansion port CO25233- Board Date
----- ------------- ------- -------------- ----------- ----------
1 AT 8 5037836 Taiwan Full port 001 REV A 84-25
2 A1 76 5904610 Taiwan Full port 002 REV A 87-17
3 A1 77 5951337 Taiwan Hole/no pins 002 REV A 87-17
4 A3 87 5139813 Taiwan No port 002 REV B 88-28
5 A3 07 5298641 China No port 002 REV B 88-30
Board part number/revision is taken from the underside of the board, just above the cart slot. The full number always begins with "CO25233." The boards' top side has a different part number, "CO25234," but no revision level is given. Board dates are also taken from the underside of the board, near the Atari logo. I changed the notation a bit to make sorting by date easier. They're really written like "2584" instead of "84-25," which would indicate the twenty-fifth week of 1984.
The carts tested were:
- Decathlon (2 different carts)
- Robot Tank (3)
- Space Shuttle (5)
- Supercharger (2)
- 7800 Food Fight
Results: "Yes" = cart works fine.
"No" = cart doesn't do a thing.
"Roll" = cart works, but picture rolls.
"Lock" = cart plays for a while, then locks up the system.
Deck #
Cart 1 2 3 4 5
------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Decathlon 1 Yes No No Yes Yes
2 Yes No No Yes Yes
Robot Tank 1 Yes Roll Roll Roll Roll
2 Yes Yes Roll Roll Yes
3 Yes Yes Roll Roll Yes
Space Shuttle 1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
3 Yes Roll Roll Roll Yes
4 Yes Roll Roll Roll Yes
5 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Supercharger 1 Yes No No No No
2 Yes No No No No
Food Fight Yes Yes Lock Lock Yes
- Whether or not a given cart works on a given deck depends on both cart and deck. There's no real consistency among different carts of the same title.
- It looks like the Supercharger is the proof test of whether a given deck will be fully compatible with any 2600 cart.
- The conventional wisdom saying that a deck with the expansion port will work with anything is false. Presence or absence of the port is not a reliable indicator of compatibility with all 2600 carts.
- Likewise, the deck's geographical origin is not a reliable indicator. The one manufactured in China (#5) has fewer compatibility problems than the others, but it still has some.
- The oldest deck (#1) performed flawlessly in all tests. This is probably from the earliest production run, and was either sold in one of the limited test-markets or was warehoused until Atari Corp realized the home video game market was still viable.
IMHO, the manufacturing standards of deck #1 are better than the others. All the major chips inside are all socketed instead of being soldered directly to the board. Some of the other decks also have had some minor factory patchwork performed. They occasionally have resistors bridging points where they were clearly not originally intended to be, i.e. soldered directly to a chip pin or placed on the underside of the board.
Wondering if that 7800 deck sitting in the thrift store could be one of the fully-compatible ones? There are some very minor externally visible differences between my deck #1 and the others. I can't conclusively say these are 100% reliable indicators, but they are conspicuously different.
- The labels on the undersides of decks 2-5 have a box drawn around the serial number. Deck #1 has no box drawn.
- The serial number itself on deck #1 is different from the others. The "72R4BR" prefix is very much smaller than the rest of the number. "AT85037836" is one continuous string of black characters with no spaces, while on deck #2 (#3-5 are similar), "A1 76 5904610" does have the spaces, and the "76" is stamped in blue.
- The cart contacts of deck #1 have a definite copper color, while the contacts of the others have a silvery appearance.
Eric Chapin (wilykat@tds.net) has also run a series of compatibility tests on his Atari 7800 and the results are on his web page.
One other note: both Chris Cracknell (crackers@hwcn.org) and George Torch (vairxpert@hotmail.com) report that Superchargers may be permanently damaged when used on the 7800. Chris suggests trying Robot Tank first and then proceeding only if that cart works. George adds that his dead Supercharger was the original one (Arcadia, not Starpath) and that the serial number of his 7800 is 72R4BRA3055274987. If anyone else has experiences of 7800s ruining a Supercharger, please let me know.
Q: What is the Starpath CD and
can I still get one?
A: The Starpath Supercharger Game Collection on CD, or Stella Gets a New Brain was a non-profit, long-awaited labor of love from the CyberPuNKs (Russ Perry Jr., Glenn Saunders, Jim Nitchals and Dan Skelton). This CD not only contains NTSC and PAL versions of most of the Supercharger games (PAL Survival Island is missing), but also development tools, a collection of Supercharger and Vectrex material, and several surprises (including SoundX from Hozer Video Games and the UR Polo from Carol Shaw). While it was an amazing value for $18 ($15 + $3 shipping), it is now sold out: you'll have to look for rgvc sales or auctions if you wish to obtain one now.
But fret not. The commercial version (Stella Gets a New Brain v. 2.0) is now available. The cd is $20 + shipping + tax if you live in California and contains all the Supercharger games plus the Stella mailing list archives, company newsletters, projects notes, fonts, several homebrew games and bunches more. See for yourself. Here is the ordering page.
Two notes on the new Stella cd: first, the makeup of the disk is different. Some things on the first disk were not included (e.g. the vectrex stuff, Polo) while other things were added. Second, you can purchase the "Stella Super Pack" which includes the Stella cd and volumes 1 and 2 of the Stella at 20 videos for only $50 (+ shipping and tax, if applicable).
For general information about the supercharger, see the supercharger FAQ / Cyberpunks FAQ which contains some interesting information about the Starpath company, the supercharger, and the Cyberpunks.
Q: Have any new games been
released lately?
A: Over the past couple of years, several new games have been developed for the Atari 2600. Ed Federmeyer wrote both SoundX, a sound generator, and Edtris, a Tetris clone. They are both available for $16 from Hozer Video Games (mail randyc@east.sun.com for information).
Rescue Bira Bira by Chris Cracknell (crackers@hwcn.org) is also available from Hozer (here is the binary image). RBB is a modification of Jungle Fever with the adult bits removed. Chris' latest effort is a Video Time Machine meaning a 24-hour clock. It is also available from Hozer.
Piero Cavina (p.cavina@mo.nettuno.it) is the creator of Oystron, a shooter that is quite possibly the first game ever to feature space oysters. Get the full story and the game from the Oystron Home Page.
Several carts were available in very limited runs to those who attended the Classic Gaming Expo (CGE). In 1999, both Eric Bacher's Pesco and Igor Barzilai's Merlin's Wall were offered. This year, it's Swordfight and Sea Battle (High Seas) from Intellivision Productions. (Both of these are now available for $29.95; see the Intellivision Classic Videogame System Store Page for more information.) There was also Escape from Supercade!, programmed by Bacher and Barzilai, released to commemorate the upcoming Supercade book. According to the web page, the first 26 carts will be given away at CGE 2000 and the other 74 will be distributed among people who "registered to win" at CGE 2000. Unlike the other games, the rom for Escape from Supercade! will eventually be available for download.
Nick Bensema (nickb@io.com) maintains a page of links to newly developed 2600 games. Many of the games listed in this section are there, as well as several others including Cubis, The Dark Mage and Mondo Pong.
Bob Colbert (rcolbert@novia.net) seems to be the most prolific 2600 developer of late. Okie Dokie (a puzzle game), Cheetah (a Game Genie-type program for the Supercharger or emulator), and now Stell-A-Sketch (Etch-a-Sketch clone) are all available from Bob's home page.
Yak (Jeff Minter), author of Llamatron, Tempest 2000, Defender 2000 and the Jaguar Virtual Light Machine had some fun turning Space Invaders into Beast Invaders. I've been able to track down only the picture of the game, but not the game itself. Anyone have a pointer?
Hozer Video now carries many new games. To save space, here are the links:
Q: What is a multicart
and where can I get one?
A: A multicart is simply a multiple game cart. Sean Kelly (skelly@xnet.com) makes them for both the 2600 and 5200. Prices for the 2600 are $65 for a 64 game cart, $100 for a 128 game cart and $150 for a 256 game cart. The 5200 cart contains nearly all games ever made (including prototypes) for $125. Email him or see Sean's Web Page for more information.
Randy Crihfield (randc@east.sun.com) at Hozer Video Games also builds multicarts. A 128-in-1 cart is $100, as is a 32-in-1 Activision cart.
Other examples of multicarts exist, including Atari's 32-in-1 for the 2600 (PAL) and their 32-in-1 for the 7800 (which is a relabeled 2600 32-in-1; all games on the cart are 2600 games).
There is also the multi-game CD, Worship the Woodgrain, by Lee Krueger. The first run of 50 is sold out, but a second edition is shipping. You'll need a Supercharger to use the CD and you must modify your Supercharger to be able to play all the games (about 65% are playable without the mod).
Q: Where can I find a list
of cheats and Easter Eggs?
A: Galen Tatsuo Komatsu (gkomatsu@hawaii.edu) maintains the B-TECH list; mail him directly with "Send B-TECH" as your subject line. Note: this is not a mailserver so please give him time to respond.
Q: What programming
resources are available?
A: For 2600 users there is the 2600 Programming guide. The Stella Guide is another useful document.
Schematic, bankswitching and other 2600 technical information is available at Kevin Horton's 2600 page.
Another tech page which includes annotated source code for both combat and adventure is Dan Boris' VCS page.
A fairly comprehensive page is Nick Bensema's 2600 Programming Page, complete with gobs of source examples and programming tools.
John Saeger (john@whimsey.com) maintains the Atari Documentation Depot, which contains both 2600 and 7800 programming, development and game standards manuals.
Bob Colbert (rcolbert@novia.net) provides many development tools for the Supercharger on his home page. These tools are different than those found on the Supercharger CD.
Eckhard Stolberg's (Eckhard_Stolberg@public.uni-hamburg.de) VCS Workshop Page also contains many tools and source code files. Of particular interest is devkit2.zip which contains instructions on how to modify a 7800 such that it may be used as a development system and cart reader for 2600 and 7800 games.
Mac PowerPC users might wish to mosey on over to the Mactari site, which houses 2600 development tools for the Mac.
For the 7800 there was Harry Dodgson's (hdodgson@oeonline.com) Monitor Cart plus documentation. The 250+ pages included a stella guide, a 2600 programming manual which was a bit more readable, the Maria specs, and the 7800 docs plus numerous corrections to the Atari documentation. The package price was around $65. Alas, Harry has said that no offers will get him to make another monitor cartridge (he stopped making them a while ago when he didn't sell any in a 6 month period). About 3 dozen total were made.
Dan Boris's 7800 Tech Page also contains a wealth of information on the 7800.
Finally, see the Stella entry in the mailing list section. The stella mailing list is dedicated to 2600 programming.
Q: What is the 7800
encryption algorithm?
A: The 7800 uses a encryption key to determine whether or not the 7800 cartridge is valid and to allow the system to be put in 7800 mode as opposed to 2600 mode. The encryption algorithm is said to be proprietary. Rumors exist, however, that Atari released the algorithm for use on the the Atari ST series of computers. If anybody has this program we would all be very happy to have a look at it. It is also rumored that the code was released with the Lynx Dev-Kit for the Amiga, yet it does not appear in version 1.3. Rumors...rumors...
Not a rumor, however, is that as designed, the 7800 required a valid 960-bit digital signature generated by Atari before a native 7800 game (as opposed to a 2600 game) would run on the 7800; no digital signature, no Maria chip. Also, crypto export restrictions (960 bits are a lot even for military-quality crypto) are probably the reason that European 7800 consoles and games have no digital signature.
The final word on the encryption/authentication/validation/signature bits of the 7800 (save for the key itself) with respect to emulation comes from a section on Dan Boris' 7800 tech page called The Encryption Issue. You'll have to scroll about 3/4s of the way down to read the entry. In short, emulation of the 7800 is independent of the validation key, but the creation of new games that will run on unmodified 7800s isn't.
Q: Is 7800 Impossible
Mission really impossible?
A: Yes.
The cart was released with a bug where some of the pieces you need were hidden under computer terminals, but the terminals cannot be searched. This bug was fixed, but Atari probably never released the updated version. The PAL version is not impossible, as the programmer of the PAL version fixed the bug. A special thanks to Harry Dodgson for this tidbit.
Q: Where can I get solutions to the Swordquest series?
A: Walton C. Gibson (kalla@aspark.ece.uiuc.edu) maintains the SwordQuest Comic Book Archive which contains both the comics and the solutions.
Q: I've seen pictures of 2600 Doom. Where can I buy it?
A: You can't. It doesn't exist. The following list contains hoaxes, jokes, spoofs, parodies, fakes, etc. that do not exist. Some people were aiming for deception, others for humor and some for both.
- 2600 Doom. Electronic Gaming Monthly covered this in their January 1998 (#102) letters section.
- Pitfall III. Lee Krueger's bit of hijinx is documented on page 224 of DP #5.
- Garfield. Some clever chap faked a label for this game, which has only recently turned up in prototype form. The DP cdrom has a jpg of the label.
- Original artwork for the Starpath games Swords of Saros, Survival Island and Sweat!. The artwork for these games on the Stella CD was created by Dan Skelton. This item is not a hoax, as the CyberPuNKS were going after completeness, not deception.
- perl for the 2600. Issue #12 (vol 3, no 4; winter 1998) of the Perl Journal shows perl as one of the carts in a 2600 cart stack. For all you future deceivers, this image modification was done with "the gimp."
- The Mar/Apr 1999 2600 Connection takes April 1 very seriously by reporting on Quake 3, Timber, Tron, Wacko, Lucky Charms, a Camel Cigarettes game, (big breath here) Tomb Raider, Street Fighter II and a Microvision Emulator.
- The Spring Special 1998 2600 Connection is also chock full of hoax. Therein lie ET 2000, The Battle of Jericho, Alien Vs. Predator Vs. Men In Black, the 2600 CD, Sonic the Hedgehog, the Atari 26000, MS Windows, Word and Excel 2600, and a 2600 Robot. Many other hoaxes are mentioned but not shown.
- Final Fantasy VII.
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy. On his old web site, Ed Boon displayed the box art for MKT for the Atari 7800 (and the Astrocade and the Channel F). These pictures were not carried over to his new web site. Did anyone save these pictures?
- The John Deere Atari, complete with Johnny Tractor cart.
- Metrowerks Codewarrior.
- Battlesphere.
- Russ Perry Jr. mentioned (in a personal email) some other hoaxes: Space Haggis, Frank Traut's Jiminy's Farm and Barn and The Monkey Adventure, and an anonymous someone's Cybermorph.
- Lee Krueger has also created hoaxes for Alien vs. Predator, Planet of the Apes and the Greatest American Hero, as well as labels for Harry Dodgson's Monitor Cart and a new label for 2600 Pac-Man.
- The iMac meets the 2600 in the iTari from the Aalgar Corporation. This one was humor only, folks.
- The Ballerup Transportable Hairdryer for the Atari 2600. abonnevie@hotmail.com sent me this link claiming that he has "a pretty rare item." The site does have pictures of the case, the hairdryer and the cart, but it is lacking of detailed pictures of the connections between the hairdryer and the 2600. This stays in the hoax section until someone trustworthy independently verifies it.
Q: Is there a list of 2600/7800 game programmers?
James Hague (jhague@dadgum.com) maintains The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers. The list is both extensive and not limited to 2600/7800 programmers, so it may take a while to find 2600/7800-specific information.
Q: What are the different
2600/7800 models?
A:
This list is horribly incomplete. If you go to the bottom of the next question, you'll see a link to JerryG's much more complete list of clones and changers. I will, however, continue to add systems that are not denoted in that list.
2600 models
Atari VCS CX2600 - Original model. Woodgrain and black plastic enclosure. Light and heavy weighted plastic. Six silver switches across the upper front panel. Bundled accessories included two CX40 joysticks, one CX30 paddle controller, AC adapter, TV switch and a CX2601 Combat game cart. Sample wording on label on bottom of unit:
Mfd. by Atari, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA. Serial # 048181. Mfd. by Atari-Wong Ltd. in Hong Kong. Serial # 568213514. Manufactured for Atari Inc. by TRU Electronic Components Company in Taiwan. Model NO: CX-2600 Serial # 81281713"
Sears Tele-Games Video Arcade I - Same as above except external cosmetic differences (the "difficulty" switches are labeled "skill level", the switch panel is silver instead of black, and the woodgrain pattern is different.) Sample wording:
Mfd. for Atari Inc. by Dimerco Electronics in Taiwan for sale to Sears, Roebuck, and Co. Serial # 82077230.
Atari VCS 2600A - Revised model. Externally it is nearly identical to the original, except there are four silver switches across the upper front panel instead of six. The difficulty switches were moved to the rear of the unit. Internally, the motherboard is a simplified one-piece design. Sample wording:
Mfd. for Atari, Inc. by TRW Electronic Components Co. in Taiwan. Serial # 811510200. Mfd. for Atari, Inc. by Atari Taiwan Mfing. Corp. in Taiwan. Serial # 827030354.
Sears Tele-Games Video Arcade I(A) - Same as above except for external cosmetic differences. Sample wording:
Mfd. for Atari Inc. by Dimerco Electronics in Taiwan for sale to Sears, Roebuck, and Co. Serial # 82299647.
Atari VCS 2600A (black) - Second revised model. Externally it is nearly identical to the 2600A, except the enclosure has a more modern looking "black out" treatment. The areas of woodgrain on the original models are now simply black plastic. Internally, the motherboard is a slight revision of the 2600A. Sample wording:
Mfd. for Atari, Inc. by Atari Taiwan Mfing. Corp. in Taiwan. Serial # AT831150153. Manufactured for Atari Inc. by Atari Ireland, Ltd in Ireland. Model No CX-2600 AP. Serial 508 AI 0020153
Sears Tele-Games Video Arcade II - Entirely new model of the 2600 designed exclusively for Sears. Black wedge-shaped enclosure, with push button switches and LEDs on top panel. Essentially an Atari 7800 shell. Four joystick connectors on lower front panel with rocker switch. Internally very different from other 2600 models, but still uses the same basic chipset. Bundled accessories include two combination joystick/paddle controllers, AC adapter, TV switch and a Space Invaders game cart. Sample wording:
Sears, Inc. (Atari, Inc.) Serial # SV 392 005539.
Atari 2800 -- same as Sears Tele-Games Video Arcade II but with Atari label. Released only in Japan. Very rare.
Atari 2600 "Jr." - Third revised model. It is slightly larger than a VHS video tape case. Some versions have "Jr" stamped onto the bottom sticker. Large black buttons. Power and b/w switches slide, while Reset and Game Select are push buttons. Jet black with large metallic silver strip running lengthwise across the front with "Atari 2600" on it. Marketed as the "Under 50 bux, the fun is back!" machine. Bundled accessories include one joystick, AC adapter, TV switch box, and RCA connecting cable. Box is designed as a carrying case with handle and a white section which reads: "This Atari 2600 belongs to:". No bundled cart. The unit came in either a maroon or silver box. Sample wording:
Atari Logo Atari 2600
--------------------------------------------------
FCC ID: EBA72R2600
ATARI CORPORATION
MADE IN TAIWAN
[FCC wording deleted]
S.N. A1 81 1494278
---------------------------------------------------
[Atari logo embossed in plastic] [made in taiwan in plastic]
or
MANUFACTURED FOR ATARI CORPORATION,
BY ATARI TAIWAN MANUFACTURING
CORPORATION IN TAIWAN
MODEL NO. CX-2600 JR.
COVERED BY US PATENT NUMBER
4, 122, 422 OTHER PATENTS, AND
PATENTS PENDING
----------------
S.N.|A1 873 412187 |
----------------
[ATARI & FUJI LOGO] MADE IN TAIWAN
Atari 2600 "Jr." - same as above except silver plate has a larger rainbow strip without an embossed border.
A few miscellaneous notes:
All 6 switch Ataris had a large shield casing. There were at least
two 6-switch versions:
(6-1) The original. The entire bottom half of the console was made of quarter inch thick plastic (~6mm)! Combined with the thick aluminum RF casing, this is the heaviest 2600 ever made. Also, this 2600 has no 2/3 channel select switch. There is a channel select hole in the case and it's marked Channel A/B, but there's no switch inside on the PCB. These consoles came with "01 combat". (1977 models only)
(6-2) The lighter 2600. No armor plating. Bottom half of console is made of thin plastic, like the 4 switch models. Channel switch now present. Thick RF shield still present. Plain ol' "combat" included.
The were also minor variations on 4 front switch, woodgrain panel models. On some, the difficulty switches are marked "Expert/Novice" (or was it "Advanced/Beginner"?) and others are marked only as "A/B".
Finally, a hodge-podge of facts that don't fit anywhere else:
- Rumors persist that the pictures on the packaging varied.
- Both Pac-Man (see Atari Age V2 #4) and Centipede were pack-in carts.
- 2600s were made in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Sunnyvale, Ireland and China.
7800 models
Atari CX7800 - Vastly modified and enhanced 2600 model. Two joystick ports on lower front panel. New chipset (except sound chip; pokey chips could be added to carts). Side expansion port for upgrades and computer add ons. Bundled accessories included two CX24 ProLine joysticks AC Adapter, switchbox, RCA connecting cable, and Pole Position II cartridge. Plays all 2600 games except 3 or so (which ones?).
Atari CX7800 - Second Revision. Expansion port connector removed from mother board but is still etched. Shell has indentation of where expansion port was to be.
Atari CX7800 - Third Revision. As above but only a small "blemish" mark on shell.
Q: What types of clones exist?
A: Probably the most famous is the Gemini, an inexpensive clone 2600 made by Coleco. It sports an all black, box-shaped enclosure with six small slide switches (say that fast) on top of front panel. On the back panel, there is an RF modulator port and a power adapter port. Two joystick ports and difficult switches live on the front panel. Bundled bits include two dual-joystick/paddle controllers, a 9volt/500ma DC adapter, an RF cable, a TV switch and Donkey Kong and Mouse Trap carts. Sample wording:
Coleco Gemini VGS - Coleco Ind., Inc., Serial # AG0145189.
Q: What companies made 2600
adapters for their own systems?
A: ColecoVision Expansion Module #1 - Black, 5" x 10", 1 3/4" high in front, sloping to 2 3/4" in back.
_____ a = expansion connector to ColecoVision
______|__a__|__ b = 2600 cart slot
| _____ | c = color/b+w slide switch
| |__b__| | l = left difficulty slide switch
|......... | r = right difficulty slide switch
| clr gr : | g = game select push button
|________:_____| r = reset button
^ ^ <---- joystick ports
Chips inside are: "COLECO 73192 E4002" (TIA clone?), SY6507, SY6532. Curiously, there is an empty space for a 14 pin chip and assorted resistors and capacitors on the right side of the circuit board. The space for a "Y1" indicates that this was probably intended to be a clock generator. (Could this board also be intended for standalone use, such as in the VGS?) There is also an adjustment hole on the bottom that turns a potentiometer [probably color control]. The reset button on the main ColecoVision console acts as a hard reset for the expansion module. The connection to the ColecoVision unit isn't very physically stable, at least not on carpet, resulting in flaky performance. Sample wording:
"ColecoVision [tm]
Model No. 2405
Coleco Industries, Inc., Amsterdam, NY 12010
Serial # A0065820 For service help call:
F.C.C. ID# BNV8432405 1+800+842-1225
Coleco Industries, Inc. (Nationwide)
Made in U.S.A. Printed in U.S.A. 74859A"
Intellivision System Changer - Made by Mattel, copyright 1983. White, roughly about 5-6" square and 2" high, with a piece sticking out of the left side that fits into the Intellivision cartridge slot.
___________ <-Top face.
| _____ |
__| [__a__] | a == Atari cartridge slot b == insert into Inty II
| b | c == Game Reset (square button)
|__ cdefg | d, f == left and right difficulty (toggle switches)
|_________| e == Color/B+W toggle switch
Front face had two standard joystick ports. Known to work with virtually all 2600 carts except those that don't work with other adapters (i.e. those like Space Shuttle and Starmaster that use standard 2600 hardware functions). Does not work with the "original" (2609) Intellivision Master Component without factory modification. Sample wording:
(one white label and one orange label) "Model No. 4610 FCC ID: BSU9RD4610 Serial No. 003255
Commodore VIC-20/2600 game adapter - Rumored to exist. Was advertised by Protecto in mail order ads in during the 1983 time frame. Plugged into VIC expansion connector and provided 2600 software emulation. Original price, emulation quality, and reliability all unknown.
The September 1983 issue of Electronic Games (page 41) shows an advertisement for Cardapter, a 2600 cart adapter for the Vic-20. The distributor was Cardco, Inc. in the US, LSI Distributors Ltd in W est Canada, Hobby Craft Canada in East Canada, and Audiogenic in Europe. Additional information on this bit would be interesting.
JerryG (jerryg@hevanet.com) maintains a list of both 2600 clones and changers.
Q: Are there any emulators for the 2600/7800?
A: Dennis Brown (brownd@cs.unc.edu) maintains the 2600 emulator FAQ. It focuses mostly on the Activision Action packs and is also out of date. Question 5.2 of the comp.emulators.misc FAQ discusses emulators for the 2600 as well.
Speaking of the Activision Action packs, a word about them is an order since they aren't covered anywhere else in the FAQ. Activision released a total of 5 titles (which included the games + an emulator):- Atari 2600 Action Pack (Win 3.1, 486/33, 8 meg ram)
- Atari 2600 Action Pack (Mac, 68LC040-25 MHz or PPC 601-60, 8 meg ram)
- Atari 2600 Action Pack II (Win 3.1, 486/33, 8 meg ram)
- Atari 2600 Action Pack II (Win95, 486DX (?), 8 meg ram)
- Atari 2600 Action Pack 3 (?)
- Action Pack I: Boxing, Chopper Command, Cosmic Commuter, Crackpots, Fishing Derby, Freeway, Frostbite, Grand Prix, HERO, Kaboom!, Pitfall, River Raid, Seaquest, Sky Jinks, Spider Fighter.
- Action Pack II: Atlantis, Barnstorming, Dolphin, Dragster, Enduro, Ice Hockey, Keystone Kapers, Laser Blast, Megamania, Oink!, Plaque Attack, River Raid II, Skiing, Stampede, Tennis.
- Action Pack 3: Breakout, Night Driver, Combat, Private Eye, Space War, StarMaster, Canyon Bomber, Checkers, Pressure Cooker, Title Match Pro Wrestling and Yar's Revenge.
These packs used to be available for pre-paid download but the stores that used to carry them have disappeared. Any information on where to download the packs are appreciated.
Activision also recently released its Classics Collection (30 games + an emulator) for the Playstation. Reviews of it can be found in Issue 51 of the 2600 Connection, and the December 1998 Electronic Gaming Monthly.
Matt Pritchard (matthewp@netcom.com) mentions in a Usenet posting that the forthcoming commercial Intellivision emulator may include a 2600 emulator and images of all m-network/intv games (including unreleased ones). Alas, this one is on hold indefinitely as ownership questions need to be untangled.
The January 1996 Ultimate Gamer mentions that Atari had some plans for a 2600 emulator for the Jaguar CD. Dave Staugas, who programmed both Millipede and Krull, was working on it. According to Slapdash #6, it was approximately 90% complete, although that number is probably optimistic. With the demise of Atari, the probability of the emulator seeing the light of day is almost 0.
Temporary Sanity Designs was also developing a 2600 emulator for the Jaguar. Damien M. Jones (dmj@fractalus.com) was kind enough to send the following email detailing its development.
In April-ish of 1995 we (Bryan [Edewaard] and I, Temporary Sanity Designs) approached Atari with this idea. Since they'd never heard of us, they asked us for some proof that we could actually program; over the weekend, we put together a program which looked like Combat, running on an Atari TT or Falcon. It looked like Combat because we disassembled the cartridge, converted the 6507 code