Special Issue! Adventure Vision photo checklist and price guide $4.99 US / $6.99 Canada Volume 1, Issue 2 Classic 8-bit Edition Published by www.VideoGameTrader.com Cover courtesy www.AdventureVision.com Includes the Video Game Trader Price Guide w/ prices for the Nin- tendo NES, Sega Master System, Atari 7800, Nintendo Game Boy Classic, Atari Lynx & Sega Game Gear Video Game Trader Magazine From the Editor What’s inside issue #2? Well, we got past the first issue and we are still around. Cool! ADVENTURE VISION SPECIAL ISSUE For this issue I wanted to focus on a little system that almost no one has heard about. 2 Adventure Vision – A History of Entex and the rarest tabletop The Adventure Vision. When this system was released, I was only 10 years old. We had system an Atari 2600 & a few games. The first tabletop I had was Frogger. I wish I still h ad it 3 VIDEO GAME OF THE MONTH today. I never had an Adventure Vision and never heard about it either. But in order to 4 TIPS & TRICKS FOR YOUR FAVORITE GAMES properly introduce you to this system, I needed a real historian. So I went looking, and 4 NEWS BRIEFS & THIS MONTH IN 1983 found one. We welcome Jim Combs to our happy little family. Jim is a wel come addition, but we still need lots more help. So, do you love video games? 5 VIDEO GAME TRADER PRICE GUIDE – Full checklist and prices for Nintendo NES, Sega Master System, Atari 7800, Can you write in third grade English? Do you not care about getting paid? If you Nintendo Game Boy Classic, Atari Lynx & Sega Game Gear answered yes to all three of those questions, then we are looking for you! We need reviewers and data gatherers. Email me if you are interested. Want us to spotlight a particular title? Have an idea for an article? Send us an email @ [email protected] . Put VIDEO GAME I would also like to give a big shout out to J2Games.com. Your assistance and advice has MAGAZINE in the subject line. been invaluable. Oh, and keep it coming ☺ All contents of this Magazine are copyright VideoGameTrader.com and/or their respected copyright holders. Please do not duplicate with out permission. Publishe d monthly. All images are original Video Game Trader Please visit us online @ www.VideoGameTrader.com images, or have been used by permission. To contact us, email [email protected] . For advertising information or for any other inquiries related to Video Game Trader Magazin e, please contact us at [email protected] . Thanks for reading!! www.videogametrader.com March 2008 | Video Game Trader Magazine | 1 ADVENTURE VISION : retailed for $69.99 and came bundled Bug Bomb to ward off those beetles, with a port of Defender. It featured based off the 1981 Konami/Stern arcade A History of Entex and similar LED technology as standalone game. tabletop games. The AV roughly the rarest Tabletop measures 13 1/4" x 10" x 9” with a However, lurking just around the corner, screen resolution of 150 x 40 was the Vectrex (created by Jay Smith). system By Jim Combs monochrome pixels generated by a It was released in October of 1982, and spinning mirror which consists of a quickly became heavy competition for Handheld games, some referred to as the Adventure Vision. This reflected the Tabletop games for their bigger size, vertical row of 40 LEDS. The AV runs on an Intel 8048 CPU cloc king in at 733 AV’s one year life span. Speaking of Mr. date as far back as the early 70's. One Smith, he created the first actual that stood out was the first cartridge kHz, 64 bytes of RAM with 1K on the main PCB. Sound is generated by a handheld cartridge system, the based tabletop gaming system, The Microvision, by Milton Bradley, in 1979. Adventure Vision, released in 1982. National Semiconductor COP411L clocking in at 52.6 kHz. An “ACC Port” for future system expansions can be Sadly in 1984, Tony left Entex to go found on the right side of the system, over to another electronic handheld but, similar in fashion to the port on the company called Tommy. Not long after bottom of the Super Nintendo, was Tony’s departure, Entex went out of never utilized. Four buttons in a business and liquidated all their assets. Diamond shape are placed to the left In the company’s time, they released and right of the mini joystick for a total of roughly 47 handheld and tabletop 8 buttons, allowing ease of use for games. Now, let’s play the Song of Time on our lefties or righties as well as for multi - Ocarina’s and warp back to 1970 to take player gami ng. On the top of AV unit, Here is an interesting note and some a look at the company behind the there are four cartridge slots to hold the fun trivia: The name “Entex” is actually Adventure Vision, “Entex Industries, games. Powering the AV, you need 4 derived from two of the founder’s first Inc.” Entex, based in Compton “D” batteries and there is a port for an letters of their names: “N” for Nicholas California, was founded in 1970 by G.A. AC Adapter to plug into. and “T” for Tony. They added an X at “Tony” Clowes, Nicholas Carlozzi and the end... NTX and just spelled out the Nick Underhill (who joined after Tony Only four games, each consisting of 4k word “Entex”. and Nicholas had already named the of ROM, were produced for the AV and company, but before the company all wer e based off arcade games In t he world of video game collecting, opened for business) and originally sold Defender, Space Force, Super Cobra, The Adventure Vision is extremely toys, Loc Blocks (which were similar in and Turtles (not to be mistaken for those sought after and rare, a Holy Grail, if fashion to Legos) and model kits before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that you will, among collectors. In its year making electronic handheld and tabletop everyone loves and grew up on. life span, Entex manufactured about games. Entex produced an internal Cowabunga dudes!). 10,000 units and only 1,000 each of the newsletter entitled “The Bull’s Eye” to three separate games. Recently keep staff informed about the complete packages of the AV have been company’s business; it is unclear how going for as high as $5,000 on Ebay, many of these were actually made. with the lowest being $1,500, just for a boxed system. If by some stroke of luck, Companies, like Mattel and Coleco, you see one of these babies lying competed with Entex in releasing around in the wild at your local Thrift smaller pocket-sized LED handheld Store or Flea Market, be sure to snag it, games. Some were head-to-head sports Defender, a port of the Williams 1980 and fast. Also, they are fragile, be sure games. These companies, among arcade classic created by m adman Mr. not to drop one by accident or it’s others, also released standalone Eugene Jarvis, is a very faithful and probably all over. tabletop games, including popular addicting port. arcade ports such as Frogger, Galaxian, Plug your cartridge into Adventure Donkey Kong, and Ms. Pac-Man to For the Asteroids lovers at heart, Space Vision, grab the joy stick and get ready name a few. Entex’s standalone Force is your game based off the 1980 for action. tabletop games included Space Venture Line arcade game. Invaders, Crazy Climber and Defender. Some pictures courtesy miniarcade.com & handhel dmuseum.com In 1981, Entex released a handheld For those who enjoy the R -Type side- system called Select-A-Game which scrolling shooter genre, you have Super Jim is a h ardcore used a VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Cobra w here you pilot a chopper over passionate gamer. You can find his works in the Display). Six games were released ten terrains, blowing up UFOs, rockets Digital Press Collector's before it went on to become the and mines, based off the 1981 Konami Guide Advance Edition, precursor to the Adventure Vision. arcade game. Tips & Tricks Magazine and Manci Games Now, let’s play the Song of Time once Magazine. In 2005, again and warp back to 1982, when And in Turtles you’re being chased by Jim was recognized at CG Entex released The Adventure Vision, beetles while having to rescue your six Expo as their special Video turtle buddies and get them home safely Game Historian Alumni created by Robert McCaslin. The AV through maze -like levels, your weapon a guest. 2 | Video Game Trader Magazine | March 2008 www.videogametrader.com Video Game of the Month: Quattro Adventure Genre: Action/Adventure Platform: NES, NES w/ Aladdin Deck Enhancer Release Date: 1993 Developed by: Codemasters Quattro Adventure is a collection of 4 platform action/adventure video games released for the NES in 1993 by Codemasters. All four games are on a single cartridge. It was released in two versions. The first was a standard Nintendo NES cartridge. The 2 nd release was in the form of an Aladdin Deck Enhancer cartridge. The Aladdin Deck Enhancer was an add-on for the NES that allowed you to play smaller cartridges. Boomerang Kid Do Boomerang really return when you through them? I don’t think so. Boomerang Kids found this out and now needs to find all of his boomerangs. Super Robin Hood Marion is being held captive in a castle by the Sheriff of Nottingham.