Astrocade/tapes

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Alienblue

Astrocade/tapes

Postby Alienblue » June 3rd, 2005, 7:38 am

..Critic, just read your response in the 'other
column about Astrocade and had to correct something...

Astrocade had about 39 CARTRIDGES made for it but, yes,
they LOOK like audio tapes (you even insert them flat,
like a tape)...but rest assured these ARE ROM CARTS...
Incredible Wizard, Munchie, Space Fortress, etc....

The confusion is, there was also a BASIC COMPILER, much
more sophisticated than those for other early units, that
allowed companies to produce games on REAL audiotape as well
...Esoterica released LITTLE ET, KANDYMAN, MS. KANDYMAN,
CASTLE CRISIS, SECRET OF SPECULATAR...all these and 100's
more were on tape to be played through the basic cart
(there are two versions, 1.5 and 2.0)

..so if you can still get a 'cade go for it! Or hey,
I'll trade ya 225 VCS Combats for it. <;

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Astrocade/tapes

Postby VideoGameCritic » June 3rd, 2005, 7:55 pm

Are you saying there are no moving parts on these "tapes"?  So there's no load time?

Alienblue

Astrocade/tapes

Postby Alienblue » June 3rd, 2005, 10:17 pm

Right, Dave! No moving parts, just a flat ROM board.
Other systems that had cartridges that looked like
"tapes"...Vic-20 (bit big, though) and Ti-99/4a.

Heck, CHANNEL F has carts that look like 8-track tapes!!!!

I love digital Archaeology! Why they made these carts
in these shapes, one wonders (weirdest of all..the
Arcadia 2001 carts, some of which look normal, others
are bigger and have the ends "skewered" so the cart is
inserted at an angle!....Still worth tracking down
both Astrocade and Arcadia 2001, though...)*

If you have any more Questions, I'll be at the
ET dig site! <:


*weirdest of all, though, would be the five COLECO TELSTAR ARCADE
caerts which are PYRAMID SHAPED.....PYRAMID POWER!!!


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