Page 53 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #3

games Atari had to se- Sears Name Atari Name
cure licenses for weren’t
(e.g. Space Invaders, Arcade Golf Miniature Golf
Pac-Man), nor were Arcade Pinball Video Pinball
those based on other li- Baseball Home Run
censed properties (e.g. Breakaway IV Breakout
Superman). There were Cannon Man Human Cannonball
also three games that Capture Flag Capture
Atari created but only Chase Surround
sold through Sears (see Checkers Video Checkers
sidebar). Circus Circus Atari
It is interesting to note Code Breaker Codebreaker
that while Sears similarly Dare Diver Sky Diver
renamed Mattel's Intellivi- Sears Exclusive Dodger Cars Dodge 'Em
sion as the Super Video Gunslinger Outlaw
Arcade, they didn't rename any of Mattel's games. Math Fun With Numbers
The boxes and instructions were different, but the Maze Slot Racers
cartridges and overlays are generally indistin- Maze Mania Maze Craze
guishable from Mattel's normal releases when Memory Match Hunt & Score
found loose. Outer Space Star Ship
As a collector, you Poker Plus Casino
might ask whether the Pong Sports Video Olympics
Sears version of games Race Indy 500
and consoles are rarer Slots Slot Machine
and therefore more desir- Soccer Championship Soccer
able. In general, all or Pele's Soccer
Sears releases are Space Combat Space War
slightly rarer than their Speedway II Street Racer
Atari or Mattel counter- Spelling Hangman
parts. Whether they're Steeplechase (Sears exclusive)
more desirable, however, Stellar Track (Sears exclusive)
depends on the collector An “Outlaw” in Submarine Commander (Sears exclusive)
you're dealing with. Some “Gunslinger’s” Tank Plus Combat
collectors who don't care Clothing Target Fun Air-Sea Battle
about most cartridge label
variations do collect Sears
labels. Others don't care at all, except for the Atari Name a.k.a.
"Sears exclusive" games.
If you do decide to start collecting label varia- Atari Video Cube Rubik's Cube
tions and start examining your duplicate games Basic Math Fun with Numbers
very closely, you might be amazed at just how Championship Soccer Pele's Soccer
many differences you'll find. There are some defi- (A Game of) Concentration Hunt & Score
nite sub-types within the main Atari label varia- Fun with Numbers Basic Math
tions described earlier. And even within those Hunt & Score (A Game of) Concentration
sub-types, you can find some very minute Pele's Soccer Championship Soccer
changes on labels that appear identical at first Rubik's Cube Atari Video Cube

glance. And com/~jearney/. It hasn't been up-
that goes for dated in a few years, however. I
third party guess even John got overwhelmed
companies, by all the small changes one can
too. find. So, if you decide to collect
John Ear- label variations, set a limit on what
ney began you'll keep. Otherwise you'll proba-
compiling a bly quickly find your collection
list of 2600 (rather than your extras) overflow-
label varia- ing with Missile Commands, Space
tions, which Invaders, and maybe even Com-
can be found bat, regardless of the name on the
on his home label.
page at http://
Atari “Silver” Label vs. Atari “Rust” Label www2.best.
Classic Gamer Magazine Spring 2000 53