Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle
General Chat => Arcade Lifestyle => Topic started by: level42 on July 30, 2014, 10:09:33 AM
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My parents are moving house so I removed the last of my stuff from their attic and found a HUGE stack of Robbedoes (Spirou in French) magazines. These were weekly issued and had lots of strips.
The issue was Flemish/Dutch language but clearly mostly done by/aimed at the Flemmish part of Belgium.
I had a subscription from around 1981 until 1985 judging by the dates.
I found a number of pretty cool ads for Atari, computers etc. so I decided to scan them.
Enjoy !
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Please be patient....scanning and uploading now :)
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No time to link individually, here's the Flickr album...
I'll give some comments later.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/level_42/sets/72157645630366060/
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very cool, love those cheesy dutch advertising slogans
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Thanks for sharing, nice to see the Atari 2600 games in its original release time. :D
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So cool! I was an avid reader of Spirou.
My grandmother would always buy me the yearly edition (a big book that gathered all the issues from the year) at the beginning of the summer holidays. I remember staring at those ads for hours.
The Star Wars figures adds were also cool because they tried to tell a story using the toys.
I love the Flash Gordon/Pepsi/Atari one... so bad it's good :)
... and I still have my TI-30 Galaxy!
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Thanks for sharing :)
Can I add some of them on www.atarimania.com ?
Franck
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thanks dude . i lvoe the flash gordon one ;D . nice idea
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Thanks for sharing :)
Can I add some of them on www.atarimania.com ?
Franck
Yes of course Franck, no problem ! :)
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lovely adverts, so eighties. :-*
thanks for sharing Andre.
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MORE ! :) and BETTER !!!
OK let me warm you up, this is unrelated...but it does show how damn BIG Level 42 was in the 80's in Holland...it is listed in one breath with all the big world-stars of that era, so....I really liked it :) By the way, this one is from Kijk magazine, so Dutch.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3885/15061902246_8c44202fe9_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oWYbML)Naamloos100 (https://flic.kr/p/oWYbML) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
Then I found this "magazine". It was a typical early 80's magazine, in the event of home videorecorders and rental movies. Most stuff in there is erotic and violent rental movies...but apparently the other stuff was about videogames.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5596/14898214089_fe8c19b32d_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oGvf1a)Naamloos102 (https://flic.kr/p/oGvf1a) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
Sadly this edition seemed to be a "teaser" edition because it is lacking the really interesting stuff....there are only the first number of pages..
Here's the index showing something I would LOVE to read:
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/15084547162_e87e73f0a1_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oYYfkm)Naamloos103 (https://flic.kr/p/oYYfkm) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
It says "ATARI KAMPIOENSCHAPPEN.....30..... and this edition was from 1983 so I bet it was the Centipede championships where I took part in.
It also mentions an article about the Atari 5200 which would be interesting to read, because AFAIK it was never officially released in Holland.
Alas, only the first 10 pages or so, all rental video rubbish :(
OK one more unrelated but still a lot of fun to see today, no comment necessary I guess....It says "The big three united"
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5583/14898310878_68ddbbd63c_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oGvJLW)Naamloos 2 (https://flic.kr/p/oGvJLW) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
Hey, remember that "Dunamicro"....wow it sure made a difference in picture quality with other tapes...................not :)
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OK back on topic I hear you say !
Here's one with a "TOPO" robot. This was famous in Holland because it was featured in "Wondere Wereld" ("amazing world") by Chriet Titulaer, a Dutch TV program about all the most recent technology stuff (god I miss that ;))
You could apparently win one and then it could do AWESOME stuff like bring your French fries.....by the time it would reach you the plate was probably almost empty and the one's left cold :P
No idea what that computer thing is ;)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5568/15061890306_854fa2c654_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oWY8eU)Naamloos 15 (https://flic.kr/p/oWY8eU) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
Then we move on to the Dutch electronics giant (well, it was in the 80's) Philips. Through Magnavox it had the Oddysey and was called Videopac in Europe.
IMHO this thing a piece of rubbish. My cousin had the G7000 and I hated the joysticks. The keyboard had to be operated using a large hammer to get the "keys" pressed and the games all looked the same because they used mostly built in characters...
The only positive thing I remember was Happelaar or Munchkin which was actually a fun Pac Man clone..
Anyway, this ad is a sad try by Philips to sell the follow up of the G7000, the G7400 as if it also could be used as a serious homecomputer.
As if the G7400 didn't look bad enough already, they put a HUMONGOUS thing on top that apparently made it possible to connect a taperecorder....
It is also funny that the ad actually says that it is compatible with all G7000 games except Nr.5, 31 and 40....whichever games that were.
The G7400 had "improved graphics" but what they really did was only add some nice looking backgrounds to the lousy G7000 graphics which remained mostly.
Of course, no one fell for all these dirty tricks, and only 3 G7400 machines were sold.....no, I bet it was more but to say it was a big success.....no. Philips quickly left the console market after this....only to make yet another flop.....
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3908/14898200529_109dc1f39e_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oGvaYn)Naamloos (https://flic.kr/p/oGvaYn) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
Apparently some marketing guys woke up at Philips and made a little bit more attractive ad for the G7400.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3857/15084541212_5ff23a9d47_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oYYdyL)Naamloos 5 (https://flic.kr/p/oYYdyL) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
I like that tank.....you think those guys had seen Tron... ? ;)
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I had so little fun with my G7000 that retrospectively, I think it kept me away from console gaming for a few years.
All you wrote is true + the games were so expensive!!!
The only thing I still like to this day is the packaging for the games, cool illustrations and nice huge plastic boxes.
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OK, this one is for the hand-held lovers here....not the brand you immideatly think about: Casio !
The games look rather simple. I think that racing game is still in production today though in other formats.
Anyway, very interesting, never seen any of those before.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3925/14898203909_991b41391f_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oGvbYD)Naamloos 12 (https://flic.kr/p/oGvbYD) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
I think I may have posted this before, or it was similar from KIJK magazine, but this is the Belgian one from Robbedoes. Vectrex goodness !
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3866/15081876201_3ce94ca236_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oYJymi)Naamloos 13 (https://flic.kr/p/oYJymi) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
Then my big love....this is from Dutch KIJK magazine and it was in the first two pages.
See that missing part ? That is where the Atari logo and name was.....I bet I used it for something as it is cut out LOL :)
The great thing about this ad is that everything is true what they claim ;D ;D ;D
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5560/15061886316_93fb338367_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oWY747)Naamloos 21 (https://flic.kr/p/oWY747) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
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I had so little fun with my G7000 that I retrospectivly, I think it kept me away from console gaming for a few years.
All you wrote is true + the games were so expensive!!!
The only thing I still like to this day is the packaging for the games, cool illustrations and nice huge plastic boxes.
Yep those plastic boxes were the Philips trademark, they used them for cassettes, reel-to-reel tapes, hell even CD's ;)
Still....indeed best and longest lasting packaging but also increased costs quite a bit.
My cousin had a G7000. His dad fell for the keyboard trick, making believe it could be something serious. The only thing you could do with it was enter your name, which would disappear again after you turned off power. Very useful ! ;)
I had a 2600 then, and I felt it was superior in every way possible.
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OK, two nice ads from CBS Electronics.....no comment necessary I'd say....
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3887/14898342557_500bd0e5de_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oGvUc8)Naamloos 3 (https://flic.kr/p/oGvUc8) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3915/14898253700_94e6809c09_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oGvrM7)Naamloos 7 (https://flic.kr/p/oGvrM7) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
Of course they showed the Colecovision versions on the TV.
OK, here's another one from KIJK magazine. KIJK is a popular-science magazine aimed at young people. The Atari ad above was from the same magazine.
Now...a computer I think most of you never even heard of. The COMX 35. Yes the 35 is indicating it's 35 (!) Kb RAM memory :)
It is probably the only homecomputer to ever use the RCA 1802 processor.
The ad says "THE SAME RELIABLE TECHNOLOGY AS USED IN THE SPACE SHUTTLE"........uhhhhhh, yes this was before....
Wikipedia says the processor was used in Space Probes....that sounds different then "Space Shuttle" but oh well...
The strategy of the company importing these from Hong Kong to The Netherlands was to include a LOT of software when you bought the machine and offered a lot of support through courses etc.
The price was somewhere between the Atari 600XL (which was cheaper) and the C64 and 800XL (which were more expensive) at the moment, but it had inferior graphics and sound to both of these systems.
They sold 5 of these I guess ;) .....wikipedia says it was probably most popular in Holland but I have never seen one in my life.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5581/15084882505_b5fd9f8b72_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oYZY28)Naamloos 26 (https://flic.kr/p/oYZY28) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
And then.....this is how Commodore tried to sell their computers. Strangely, they don't even mention which one !
Also..because this was in KIJK magazine, they tried to sell the machines as "scientific" as possible.
All the "regular" reasons for getting a homecomputer for serious stuff is mentioned, adressbook, tax-data, record-collection inventory, you name it.
And how about calculating that falling apple...yeah we really did that on those machines :P
I guess the machines sold themselves pretty well though :)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5560/15081865371_a3b291abf8_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oYJv8z)Naamloos 28 (https://flic.kr/p/oYJv8z) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
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But I kept the best for last my friends....
While browsing through all the KIJK magazines for ads like these I found a really old edition of july 1977.
Please note that date....pretty early !!!!
And then I find THIS article and it made me so happy :)
The text is a mix of trying to be enthusiastic about videogames and mentioning the evil of running down pedestrians (Death Race). In essence, the whole text seems "to go nowhere" ....it reminds me a lot of the "Driester" TV program about the arcade games in the early 80s....they didn't seem to have a clear point or didn't want to make one....
Anyway, some great pictures IMHO. The screens on the top are from the Fairchild system which is also mentioned in the article as being the first system to have cartridges (which is correct !). No word about the Atari VCS yet :)
Pretty funny that the also have a picture of en EM game and act as if it is a videogame....which shows how new this stuff was then :)
The title of the article is "Spanning en sensatie op Nederland 3", which translates more or less to "Excitement and sensation on Netherlands 3".
For the younger readers (and non-Dutch): In those years, there were only 2 (yes TWO) television channels in Holland. Nederland 1 and, you guessed it, Nederland 2. Those stations stopped broadcasting during night, and I think only wednesday afternoons (when small kids are off from school) one of the channels was back on air....can't believe such stuff now.
So....they mention "Nederland 3" as the alternative for regular TV watching, being the videogame consoles of those days (mostly Pong systems)....
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/15061882546_099fa3ba7f_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oWY5W7)Naamloos 16 (https://flic.kr/p/oWY5W7) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3870/15084884905_949f647e02_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oYZYJv)Naamloos 17 (https://flic.kr/p/oYZYJv) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3916/15084885795_2885f393c8_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/oYZYZR)Naamloos 19 (https://flic.kr/p/oYZYZR) by Level_42 (https://www.flickr.com/people/78196621@N08/), on Flickr
By the way, the photos were taken at "Play-in" arcade in Zandvoort.
If anyone is bored, feel free to translate the text.....I lack the time at the moment :)
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That's it guys, hope you enjoyed it.
I ditched all the Robbedoes and KIJK magazines except for the one with the article, nice to keep that one.
The Robbedoes one's I put on marktplaats but no-one is interested in strips anymore.....let's hope our games won't go the same way :shock: :roll:
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That's it guys, hope you enjoyed it.
Thanks for that cool trip!!!
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its nice to see old stuff ;)
Thanks !
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Oh guys, one more funny thing about that article in KIJK.
They describe an F-1 game they saw at the VAN show recently. People who know my SW cockpit may remember that it has a VAN sticker (masterfully recreated by Etienne).
VAN was the association of Dutch businesses in the coin-up industry.
Anyway they obviously went to a show by them and played an F-1. seeing the name, what they describe about the game and the year, it has to be Atari's or Namco's F-1. We all know that F-1 was Atari's only EM game they ever made.....the funny part is that they write that the game has a combination of CRT projection and movie projection......well they clearly didn't have a look inside the machine :)
http://youtu.be/i1WSYdn1b8I
It's also funny how they describe the crash scene of the game. ""in a flash you see the car exploding and the blood drops scattering about". I don't know about you guys, but I cannot see any blood in that picture that is so cleverly lit up at a crash......so this says something about either the imagination of the writer, or how the general tenure was about these games being violent....
I actually remember playing that machine at a camping site in Zeeland.....there were more EM games just like that but the special thing about this one was that you sit down in what looked like a car and the huge screen and loud sound effects, I mean really loud. I think it must have been the first or at least one of the first sit-down racing machines and as such was amazing at the time.
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We all know that F-1 was Atari's only EM game they ever made.....
You could call this an EM game, though I am sure it has CPU controlled electronics inside, but at least the game itself is mechanical:
(http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/flyers_arcade/atari/11000301.jpg)
There are a bunch of other redemption machines that Atari built in the 90s.
F-1: I have a few parts from that game laying around, including the plexi with the explosion picture on it, there is no blood to be seen. The picture is pretty cool though, I was considering making it into a backlit wall decoration/lamp.
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Added!
http://www.atarimania.com/
Thanks :)
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OMG.....I didn't even know about those machines from Atari ! ....welll mmmmm, let's say it is probably not what we all like to remember Atari mostly for.....
See I knew there was no blood involved....this shows again...never trust completely what you read in papers and magazines ;)
You're welcome Franck :)
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See I knew there was no blood involved....this shows again...never trust completely what you read in papers and magazines ;)
Maybe they mistook the flaming cloud in the forefront of the picture as blood, but then..., is this supposed to be the driver in flames?!?
(http://abload.de/img/img_82297jk4l.jpg)
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That is some gorgeous art!
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I agree. They just don't explode like this anymore nowadays. ;D :o :D