Atari 2600 Label Variations
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Atari 2600 Label Variations This Atari 2600 label list is a compilation of input from many collectors in the field. A lot of hard work has been given by these collectors. You know who you are, and are too many to list. I thank you for everything you’ve done. Since this list is a joint effort, it will be available for all to use. It is a shame that when you input something, you are not fit to use it. So make a copy for yourself or ask me for one. I tell you to do this, so the list does not vanish in case something ever happens to me or my website. To update this list on my website, contact me at [email protected]. I will try and correct any mistakes and add any new info as I come across it. I’ve compiled a new and improved list from the one you’ve seen throughout the years. I’ve also made it much simpler to use. Any questions or comments, just contact me. I’m always on the Atari Age website as Philflound and that is also my AIM name. Rarity is going to be based on the label variation of the cartridge, not the game itself. There are many websites and guides that give the rarity of the carts, so it is just duplicate info you don’t need. I am giving rarity 3 grades along with a (?) grade. There may be more than one grade for variations. For example, Combat has 26 variations listed at this time. 2 of these are Common, 9 Uncommon, and 15 Rare. Common of course will be the least expensive versions to find, Rare should be the most expensive. A (?) means I do not have enough data to determine how rare a label variation is, or if it even exists. My estimates are guesses. On the rarest games, a common will be given if only one label is known, or if more than one label is known, but are about equal in occurrence. No prices will be given here, but will be the sole judgment of each individual to determine. I may question the existence of a variation if it is possible to make. Such as having an end label of a later version glued on to an older version of the game. Be wary on these types of variations, though they may be legitimate. A “*” after the entry means that I have a scan of this particular label variation available. Scans are now available on the videogamevariations.com website. If there is a particular variation with the cartridge itself in general, then I will show a scan of the carts. For example, Data Age with the rough surface, smooth surface, and casting mark; Apollo with the width of the company molded; Coleco with the “MADE IN…” molded in back, and the various M Network mold variations. This will be done because the labels themselves may be identical, but the variant lies in the mold. PAL notations on 3rd party software will be noted in the entry only if there is a PAL designation somewhere on the cartridge. That means that a cartridge could be PAL, even if there is no designation in the entry or on the cartridge. Rarity: Common (C) – this would be found 6 out of 10 times Uncommon (U) – this would be found 3 out of 10 times Rare (R) – this would be found 1 out of 10 times, if that Unknown (?) – cannot determine the rarity Abbreviations: ML: = main label EL: = end label Cart: = the actual plastic cartridge Typo: = typographical error © = copyright ® = registered ™ = trademark Manuals: I’ve added instruction manuals to the list. This is what I’ve seen or had in my possession. There will probably be much more than what I have so far, so again, if you have something that is not listed, please give me a scan of all pages if possible including covers. Page count listed does include covers and any unnumbered pages if they are numbered within the manual. Page count given will be individual pages, though the manual may not be stapled, and folds open to create one or two large pages, which I’ll try to note. Logically, if something is Rev 3 or C, then there should be 2 or 3 others before it. Some manuals did not have a Rev listed, meaning that this would be the first version and a Rev 1 should be the second printing. Color given on the manual is for the front cover, most likely the outside background of any photos or drawings shown. I am not going to give rarities for this section, just listing for information. Boxes: Boxes listed will be all versions that the cartridges came in, with a possibility that it was released in a bag instead of box. Copyright year will be listed first, along with the general color of the front of the box. Some boxes may have a Rev listed, usually found on the little flap at the top or bottom of the box. Variations of the box may be noted if there is something significantly different with a photo, sticker, or such. Printed and Made in countries will be listed. Most box sizes are standard with Atari games, but odd shaped such as larger, smaller, or thinner may be noted, especially if there is more than one size for a particular game. Again, no rarities will be given for boxes, just informational purposes. Also, if there are specific years made on a cartridge label, say 1982 and 1987, then logic should say that there should be two boxes for the same years, or close to them. So if you see several labels with different years, but don’t see several boxes listed, try and do some detective work and find out if there are boxes not listed. With Atari and Sears, there seems to be four box variations with the physical construction of the box. The early games were released originally in a book type opening box where the front of the box opens to view the contents. There are three other types of boxes. The first is standard opening of the box from the top flap, where the whole top flap tucks into the box. The bottom flap also tucks into the box. The second version is glued on both top and bottom, and there is a hang tag glued to the top of the back of the box. This little hang tag tucks into a slot on the top flap. There is a new third version that I discovered with Video Olympics, and may be on others. It is a glued top flap that is similar to a cereal box with a tab. I’m going to call this the tab flap style box. So when labeling the boxes, you will see book style opening box, standard flap style box, glued flap style box, and tab flap style box. If none of these are listed, then I have not personally seen the box and would need collector input to list it correctly. Another thing that we recently discovered is that several titles have boxes that were printed in the same year, but by two different companies. The years range about 1980-81 so far. We’ve only discovered a few titles, and some only have one company that we know of so far in that particular variation. Superman has both companies with the same box with one very slight difference (see Superman section). Adventure we found had both companies making the same box with no difference. We’ve also discovered Asteroids had one of the companies and Combat had both, though on 2 different versions. The companies that have printed boxes are Bertco Graphics, Adpak San Francisco, Ivy Hill, Shorewood Packaging, SUS, and HOP so far. Company info is found on the bottom tiny flaps. Anytime I run across any of these companies on the flaps, I will list it in the information of the box version. If anyone finds boxes that have any of these companies printed on them that I have not designated in the listing here, please contact me and let me know so I can add it. I also decided to add the dates the boxes were printed. Some boxes have more than one date, which will be noted after the printer, or noted if there is no printer. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ATARI There are many different label variations for Atari. Early labels were text, then went on to pictures with a black background. From there, the picture had a silver background, which became a dull grey after that. They then went to a reddish brown background label. There are also exceptions to the rules on special labels for outside licensed games such as Peanuts, Disney, and Sesame Street, along with a couple of others that will be noted. Label type 1st txt - ML: large letters. EL: 2 numbers before name. 2nd txt - ML: small letters. EL: no numbers before name. 3rd txt – ML: game program now has slanted “e”. 1/2 txt – special combo of one type of text on main label, and another on end label. 2/3 txt – special combo of one type of text on main label, and another on end label. PicBl – An all text label was removed and replaced with a drawn picture of the game. The background behind the picture is black. PicSil1 – Picture remains, but the black background is now silver. Atari 2600 is above photo in the center. PicSil2 – Larger picture, Atari 2600 is small in the upper right corner.