Atari Collections and Licensing

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VideoGameCritic
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Atari Collections and Licensing

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 7th, 2020, 1:54 pm

It occurred to me how despite being some ubiquitous nowadays, the ready-to-play Atari collections like the Evercade and Atari Flashback consoles really don't provide the player with an accurate picture of the gaming scene in 1982.

Not many of us were playing Human Cannonball, Solaris, Crystal Castles, or Canyon Bomber - typical selections from these collections. More likely we were playing Pac-Man, Vanguard, Space Invaders, Phoenix, or Donkey Kong. Better yet, we were probably playing more third-party titles from the likes of Activision or Imagic, among others.

Due to licensing issues (I assume) these new collections feel "gutted" and incomplete. It bothers me because if a kid picked up one of these collections and started playing, he might think Atari sucks!

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scotland
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Re: Atari Collections and Licensing

Postby scotland » July 7th, 2020, 2:17 pm

That is a good point. When I played Atari, it was their best games that defined how I felt about the system. The same was true for other systems as well. Leaving them out does create a poorer impression. Its like an a BBQ restaurant saying they won't serve ribs or burgers. Talking away games like Space Invaders or Pitfall takes away the major entrees.

Of course, I have a similar feeling toward controllers. You cannot appreciate the game as it was not using the controller than aligned with the game play. Some of these 2nd generation systems had unique controllers, and sometimes more than one kind of controller. I suppose an Atari 5200 system with a better controller might actually flip the script and leave a better impression, but again, what games would get included.

goldenband
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Re: Atari Collections and Licensing

Postby goldenband » July 7th, 2020, 5:39 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:Not many of us were playing Human Cannonball, Solaris, Crystal Castles, or Canyon Bomber

Speak for yourself, I played the heck out of Crystal Castles! Would have done so with Solaris too if I'd known about it -- I certainly played a lot of Starmaster.

Canyon Bomber and Human Cannonball we didn't happen to have; Canyon Bomber isn't so hot but I like Human Cannonball.

But yeah, licensing restrictions inevitably gut these sorts of collections, which is a shame but also inevitable. The more businesses that have to get a cut, the more difficult it becomes to make a profit on these things.


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