What happened to the mid 70's B&W Games?

Schusler

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On my quest to find a Atari Pool Shark I noticed an alarming trend---not too many around anymore! While I don't use VAPS as a be all or end all guide for the existance of these games I do like to see who owns and what and how many games are out there...

Now I do see titles like Sprint 2, Stunt Cycle and Video Pinball pop up more what about titles like Hustle, Destroyer and Steeplechase? Were some of these low production numbers or did some of these visit the big garbage dump in the sky?

I can see how some of these games would not make it in the 80's for profit BUT.....Where are they? Some abandoned op's warehouses?:confused:
 
They pop up every once in a while but if you ever find that warehouse that's full of them let me know. I really like them and they are a large part of my collection and if I had more room I'd get more. Here's what I have

Tournament Table, Breakout, Tank, Space Invaders, Sprint2, Seawolf, Atari Football, Subs, Pin pong, Drag Race, anti-aircraft. those are the working ones. then there are my projects Atari Basketball, Wheels, Demolition Derby, Trak10. Does warlords UR count it's 1980?

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Go to auction, can usually pick them up pretty cheap but it's a mixed bag for sure. Just hit every auction you can.
On my quest to find a Atari Pool Shark I noticed an alarming trend---not too many around anymore! While I don't use VAPS as a be all or end all guide for the existance of these games I do like to see who owns and what and how many games are out there...

Now I do see titles like Sprint 2, Stunt Cycle and Video Pinball pop up more what about titles like Hustle, Destroyer and Steeplechase? Were some of these low production numbers or did some of these visit the big garbage dump in the sky?

I can see how some of these games would not make it in the 80's for profit BUT.....Where are they? Some abandoned op's warehouses?:confused:
 
In the past 2 months I've picked up a Gun Fight and a Breakout. There was a Night Driver and an Atari Basketball for sale a few weeks ago...then about 6 months ago an Atari Football....so they are out there.
 
Apparently I'm doing this the wrong way!!!!! Time to hit more auctions!

This is another one I adding to my WTB B&W list.....:D


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I have a QudraPong cocktail, but it's non-working at the moment. I'm sending the board out to fellow KLOVer Bit_Slicer so hopefully in a few more months I'll be able to play it. I really like the look of the cabinet for some reason.

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All I have is drivers - Gran Trak 10, Sprint 2 and Sprint 1. I have seen a few for sale in the Seattle area though. Tank upright, Tank cocktail and Biplane come to mind. - Barry
 
I have a QudraPong cocktail, but it's non-working at the moment. I'm sending the board out to fellow KLOVer Bit_Slicer so hopefully in a few more months I'll be able to play it. I really like the look of the cabinet for some reason.


You gotta listen to Quadraphenia when you play that game!
 
You have to wonder, after 30-35 years, what percentage of the 70's B&W games are in landfills? 90%? More than that?

Once they quit making money for the Operators, they probably got shoved in the back of the warehouse. That lasted until they needed to make room. I've had Ops tell me the same tales that everyone else has heard. When they needed space, they'd just have the trash company bring a series of huge roll-off dumpsters. They'd fill them up with all the games that they didn't want, and then off they'd go to be crushed and buried.
[One Operator told me how he had a "soft spot" for the vector games, so he kept about 20 of them in the back of the warehouse for many, many years. But, he eventually made the mistake of taking a vacation. While he was gone, the owner told the guys to "get rid of all that old junk." So, this guy came back from his vacation to find that all the vector games had gone to the landfill.)

Occasionally, you find cases where the old games got stuck in the back of the warehouse, and stayed there for the next 20+ years. The first "warehouse raid" that I ever went on was back in 2002. This warehouse was a huge pole-barn structure in middle-of-nowhere rural Wisconsin. It was crammed full of old black & white games. I recall Tank, Anti-Aircraft, Breakout, Stunt Cycle, Night Driver, Gunfight, strange Pong clones, and lots more. I don't know what happened to all of them; if they survived or not. Before anyone gets all excited, that warehouse is loooooong gone now. I know that at least some of it passed into the hands of collectors as it was emptied out. I also know that some of it simply got thrown on the fire. Literally.
 
I have quite a few B&W games myself. I have Video Pinball, Head On, Avalanche, Depthcharge, and Clowns. Also, even though it is not a B&W I usually lump my Sea Wolf 2 in there as well, since it is really just the B&W Sea Wolf game on steroids.
 
I had a Gremlin Hustle for a little while. It was one of the first games I owned, and I guess I didn't fully appreciate the rarity. I sold it and before too long it wound up on ebay as a hideous Joust conversion. Ohh ya I gave him an earful! Bastage. It's long gone now I'm sure.

I know someone who has an original cp. Break open the wallet tho.
 
I have some...as they are the first video games I ever remember playing. Gun Fight, Lemans, Sprint 2, Paddle Ball, Hockey, Facination....and also some with color overlays like Space Encounters, Space Invaders Deluxe, etc.

Fun stuff!
 
The B&W's were just barely before my time, although I do remember playing SI, Sprint, Sea Wolf, and a few others. But thanks to blinddog bringing B&W's to the Seattle show in recent years, my appreciation of them has been growing and I bought my first B&W last week - Sea Wolf. I've been diagnosing the problem with it and hope to have it fixed soon.

While we're on the topic, what do people do about screen burn on B&W's? I don't imagine it's easy to find tubes that will work in them, so do people just live with the burn?
 
Sadly, most of them have been destroyed. There are vew very few B&W collectors out there---and now its really a space problem....some of the B&W are superior in many ways--fun factor and game longetivity (like Atari Subs, Bi-Plane, Atari Football).

We are actually getting an Atari Football ready for a Reality Show (The Kendra Show)...with a sharp as a tack B&W monitor...inside of cabinet is gorgeous...sat in private home for 30 years... Todd
 
While we're on the topic, what do people do about screen burn on B&W's? I don't imagine it's easy to find tubes that will work in them, so do people just live with the burn?

Sometimes you can find 19" B/W TV's at thrift stores. I've found 3-4 so far. I've got one in storage for just such an occasion. :)

Also, I did some research a while back and found a company in India that manufactures 19" B/W TV's. Although that was a number of years ago.
 
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