tjt (03/22/83)
I have a Coleco, with 9 cartidges (everything so far except Zaxxon and
Space Panic -- Zaxxon is too expensive (so far, but I want it), and Space
Panic is very BOORing (at least in the 3 minutes I tried it).)
I too agree that Coleco is so far very agressive and progressive about their
marketing. I was at first very pessimistic about them; they were very slow
about releasing their first few games. However, compared to the games for
the Atari 5200, Coleco is releasing theirs at a record pace. At a local
video store, they have a catalog that shows a rather impressive array of
future releases. At least they're trying to hook people, Atari is only
relying on their name...
I can't believe Atari is going to sit by and let others pass them by.
If I had to bet, I would bet on Atari in the long run. In the short run,
though, I wanted a state-of-the-art game, and so far I'm more than happy
with the Colecovision. Since the Coleco is about the same resolution (if not
better!) as the 5200, I don't think Atari has any technical advantages.
===Tim Thompson===Holmdel/BTL===hocda!tjt===mat (03/22/83)
So we are not supposed to use ``handles'' because they hide our true identities! Most of us handle types WILL give their names if asked, and I DO sign my articles. The Duke of DeNet comes from an incident in which my ``friends'' conspired to give me a tag. I go along with the game, but I DO NOT HIDE BEHIND the title. Please leave me out of any future flames. Mark Terribile Duke of DeNet
mark (03/22/83)
I think the thing that gripes most of us is Atari's total lack of upward compatibility. There are at least three families of incompatible cartridges for Atari computers and games, and most software houses are thinking twice before committing much energy to a new line of Atari frobs. (Even Atari seems to be holding back.) On the other hand, I notice that the Intellivision II appears to be upward compatible with the old version, and I see no reason why any future Colecovision product won't be upward compatible with their current cartridges. I have seen something called the Arcade II from Sears, which is apparently a variation on the Atari 2600. Anybody know anything about it?
woods (04/04/83)
It was my understanding that Sears new "Arcade II" was essentially an Atari
5200 (the new one), and not a 2600. However, I don't have validated sources for
this.
GREG
ucbvax!hplabs!hao!woods
menlo70!hao!woods
harpo!seismo!hao!woods
decvax!brl-bmd!hao!woodshlg (04/06/83)
I have seen the Sears "Arcade II" at a Sears store. If it is a 5200, then
it does not have all the buttons on the controller as the 5200 has. The joy
stick part does look the same, however.
Harry Goldenbloome
...!brunix!rayssd!hlgmark (04/08/83)
I found an Arcade II in a Sears store and played with it a bit too. It is a 2600 compatible machine, NOT a 5200 or 400 or 800. It takes the same cartridges as the 2600. It's in a spiffier looking box, with push-on-off buttons with status LED's instead of the level switches. The controllers were essentially 2600 joysticks, except that the stick rotates (I gather you use the same controller for paddle games). There are 4 (!) 9 pin sockets for controllers, and the joystick controllers plug into one of them. I suppose you can buy two more controllers for warlords, but I assume that due to compatibility considerations you can't have a 4 player joystick game. Certainly I don't know of any such games available. The display mentioned something about one of the new features being that the controller retracted conveniently for storage. From looking at it, I can't see how - it seems the same as the 2600. The box is smaller than the 2600 by an inch or so in all 3 dimensions, and I didn't see any provision for pockets to stick things in or retraction.