Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Summer Special - Favorite Childhood Toys OTHER Than the Atari 2600

Hi everybody, I feel a little guilty about not having an episode this week. This one is not about the 2600 though; rather, it's about the other toys I had and enjoyed as a kid. I don't necessarily think of the 2600 as a toy, but it was the last toy-like thing that I remember getting. I was 11 when I got it and was 8 months away from Middle School, which changed a lot of things for me. I was also a year from my first job as a paperboy, so I had cash in my pocket for the first time. I would either save up for an Atari cartridge or blow it at an arcade, I don't remember buying toys. Not until my 20s at least, which you'll hear about soon on the Retro Junkies Mini episode I did. I hope you like this episode, but I won't blame you for skipping it. Don't forget, next week we'll be taking a trip to the Atari Casino with Blackjack, uh, Casino, and Slot Machine. If you have any feedback you can send it to me at 2600gamebygame@comcast.net. Thanks everyone, enjoy the week and I'll see you on the 23rd!

Pivot Pool
Video of Pivot Pool
Earthquake Tower record
Earthquake Tower (with action photo!)
PlaySkool Holiday Inn set
Lego Swiss Villa set
Video of Swiss Villa by a collector
Mego Batman figures
Mego Magnetic Batman figure commercial
Atari Touch Me on KLOV
Police ripoff Simon commercial
More weird Simon commercials
Electronic Quarterback Android app!
Electronic Quarterback at Handheld Museum
Electronic Quarterback hilarious commercial
World of 2-XL
Play 2-XL online! It's awesome!
1978 2-XL commercial

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

2459, Mouse Trap, and 2463, Lady Bug!

Hello dere. This week I'm profiling a Coleco game, Mouse Trap, and what was supposed to be a Coleco game, Lady Bug. Lady Bug is actually a home brew done by Champ Games/John Champeau, it was never released by Coleco back in the 80s despite being advertised and given a part number. See, vaporware has been around forever! I am spending a few days next week with my dad who is visiting from Arizona, so the show will resume on July 23rd with Blackjack, Casino, and Slot Machine by Atari. If you have any feedback for any of these games, or for any games I've already covered, I would love to read or play it on the show! Just send it to 2600gamebygame@comcast.net. Enjoy your Cow Appreciation Day and I'll see you on July 23rd. Thanks for listening!

Pertinent Links

Mouse Trap on KLOV
Lady Bug on KLOV
Favorite Atari 2600 Games of Willie! Mouse Trap
Favorite Atari 2600 Games of Willie! Lady Bug
How To Beat The Home Video Games - Mouse Trap
Interview with John Champeau by Scott Stilphen
Champ Games fan page
Interview with John Champeau from the Champ Games fan page
Order Lady Bug from the Atari Age store
Nathan Strum's CheepTech web site
Henry Will's PM Lessons Learned Podcast

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

CX 2649, Asteroids, and CX 2650, Berzerk!

This week's episode is about Asteroids and Berzerk, two great early arcade ports for the 2600. Big thanks once again to Willie Culver for sponsoring the contest for this episode, where he gave away an Atari Flashback 4! Willie is a great guy, make sure you watch him on Youtube at Arcade USA or listen to the Colecovisions podcast and the upcoming Channel F Files! As I say in the show, I should have split these games up to make it a little easier on me, but then the Swordquest games wouldn't have been on the same show, and that seems wrong. So it works out. I'm still editing, but I think this may be the longest episode yet. In the future I may do more single-game shows for games I think will garner a lot of feedback. Next week I'll be talking about Mousetrap by Coleco and Ladybug by John Champeau. I'm hoping my copy of Ladybug is here soon! In future episodes I'll be doing Blackjack, Casino, Slot Machine, Yar's Revenge and Haunted House by Atari; Grand Prix and Barnstorming by Activision; Death Trap and London Blitz by Avalon Hill; and Swordquest: Earthworld and Swordquest: Fireworld by Atari. Send your feedback in any shape or size to 2600gamebygame@comcast.net. Thank you everyone for listening!

Pertinent Links

Asteroids on KLOV
Berzerk on KLOV
Photo of Atari Asteroids tournament machine
Willie's Asteroids video
Willie's Berzerk video
Willie's contest winner video! Thanks Willie!
How to Beat the Home Video Games: Berzerk
How to Beat the Home Video Games: Asteroids
Kid Stuff Asteroids Album