Atari2600.com Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I recently uncovered a small stock of Halloween game carts with Pleasant Valley Video labels. These have been sitting in our inventory since 1998. The game carts were originally acquired from Wizard Video Games by Pleasant Valley Video who attached the handwritten 'Halloween' labels to the carts. Some of the stock made to out to video game dealer Renny Mitchel in Phoenix, Arizona. Collector/Dealer/Publisher JerryG purchased them from Renny in the early 1990's and we eventually received them from Jerry in 1998. We have a limited stock on hand at $44.95ea + shipping. Halloween, Wizard Video, Cartridge only with handwritten label JC Atari2600.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 5 Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Count me in on this one! Halloween is harder and harder to find these days, and I like the story that goes along with these. Question to the masses... Does the Pleasant Valley Video label take away from the value or add to it? Is it worth more to remove the label? I like the PVV story and think it adds to the value, but was wondering what the general consensus was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I recently uncovered a small stock of Halloween game carts with Pleasant Valley Video labels. These have been sitting in our inventory since 1998. The game carts were originally acquired from Wizard Video Games by Pleasant Valley Video who attached the handwritten 'Halloween' labels to the carts. Some of the stock made to out to video game dealer Renny Mitchel in Phoenix, Arizona. Collector/Dealer/Publisher JerryG purchased them from Renny in the early 1990's and we eventually received them from Jerry in 1998. We have a limited stock on hand at $44.95ea + shipping. Halloween, Wizard Video, Cartridge only with handwritten label JC Atari2600.com Is there a reason the link you give says Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2600.com Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 The games are Texas Chainsaw Massacre not Halloween. Sorry for the typos guys. JC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I'm on it. Joe, if you can post a representative pic of the carts, it could help. Personally I have the Halloween version by PVV and I wanted both of them... In addition to my copies with the release labels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Count me in on this one! Halloween is harder and harder to find these days, and I like the story that goes along with these. Question to the masses... Does the Pleasant Valley Video label take away from the value or add to it? Is it worth more to remove the label? I like the PVV story and think it adds to the value, but was wondering what the general consensus was. the ones from Plesant Valley Video are more rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninermaniac Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Joe, if you can post a representative pic of the carts, it could help. If you click on the screen shot in the link it shows a pic of the cart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Ah, the familiar PVV font. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucebidder Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I recently uncovered a small stock of Halloween game carts with Pleasant Valley Video labels. These have been sitting in our inventory since 1998. The game carts were originally acquired from Wizard Video Games by Pleasant Valley Video who attached the handwritten 'Halloween' labels to the carts. Some of the stock made to out to video game dealer Renny Mitchel in Phoenix, Arizona. Collector/Dealer/Publisher JerryG purchased them from Renny in the early 1990's and we eventually received them from Jerry in 1998. We have a limited stock on hand at $44.95ea + shipping. Halloween, Wizard Video, Cartridge only with handwritten label JC Atari2600.com I ordered one through the site thanks man... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Does anyone know anything about the history of PVV or how they negotiated the purchase of the carts initially and who actually ran the company? I remember buying like 20 games from them really early on in my collecting (early 90s) and being disappointed that I received a bunch of games with handwritten labels and photocopied instructions. In fact, I ended up giving them away to a friend who I also gave a 2600 to as a play system. Soon thereafter, PVV disappeared. I recently uncovered a small stock of Halloween game carts with Pleasant Valley Video labels. These have been sitting in our inventory since 1998. The game carts were originally acquired from Wizard Video Games by Pleasant Valley Video who attached the handwritten 'Halloween' labels to the carts. Some of the stock made to out to video game dealer Renny Mitchel in Phoenix, Arizona. Collector/Dealer/Publisher JerryG purchased them from Renny in the early 1990's and we eventually received them from Jerry in 1998. We have a limited stock on hand at $44.95ea + shipping. Halloween, Wizard Video, Cartridge only with handwritten label JC Atari2600.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattG/Snyper2099 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 There is a fairly detailed history of PVV here on the forums. They also distibuted Gauntlet and Malagai with and without labels as well. They were around selling similar bootleg/relabeled games about the same time Best Electronics was and in some cases, they had the same suppliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 There is a fairly detailed history of PVV here on the forums. They also distibuted Gauntlet and Malagai with and without labels as well. They were around selling similar bootleg/relabeled games about the same time Best Electronics was and in some cases, they had the same suppliers. I did a search and other than the basic information you posted here, I don't really think that answers my question. Did they in fact obtain the original carts or roms from the original manufacturers or were these just straight up bootlegs? Who actually owned PVV and why did they disappear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 (edited) I did a search and other than the basic information you posted here, I don't really think that answers my question. Did they in fact obtain the original carts or roms from the original manufacturers or were these just straight up bootlegs? Who actually owned PVV and why did they disappear? Ask bfstats. The guy who owned the company ripped him out of $300. I can't remember his name off-hand. Question to the masses...Does the Pleasant Valley Video label take away from the value or add to it? Is it worth more to remove the label? I like the PVV story and think it adds to the value, but was wondering what the general consensus was. I doubt that these have any added value either way, especially for the reason that CPUWIZ states below. Edited June 25, 2008 by PingvinBlueJeans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 There is a fairly detailed history of PVV here on the forums. They also distibuted Gauntlet and Malagai with and without labels as well. They were around selling similar bootleg/relabeled games about the same time Best Electronics was and in some cases, they had the same suppliers. I did a search and other than the basic information you posted here, I don't really think that answers my question. Did they in fact obtain the original carts or roms from the original manufacturers or were these just straight up bootlegs? Who actually owned PVV and why did they disappear? They used Apollo PCB's and Telesys cartridge cases, all EPROM's. No ROM versions of Halloween or TXCSM exist. They are very early repros IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 They used Apollo PCB's and Telesys cartridge cases, all EPROM's. No ROM versions of Halloween or TXCSM exist. They are very early repros IMHO. Correct...Wizard used materials obtained from the Apollo suppliers to make the original cartridges. As such, it's very easy for anyone to hack up an Apollo cart and make a perfect repro (sans label). There's really no way of knowing if the unlabeled cartridges sold by Pleasant Valley Video really came from Wizard or if they were simply an aftermarket creation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2600.com Posted June 28, 2008 Author Share Posted June 28, 2008 They used Apollo PCB's and Telesys cartridge cases, all EPROM's. No ROM versions of Halloween or TXCSM exist. They are very early repros IMHO. Correct...Wizard used materials obtained from the Apollo suppliers to make the original cartridges. As such, it's very easy for anyone to hack up an Apollo cart and make a perfect repro (sans label). There's really no way of knowing if the unlabeled cartridges sold by Pleasant Valley Video really came from Wizard or if they were simply an aftermarket creation. These Texas Chainsaw Massacre cartridges with PVV hand written labels are inside Wizard cartridge cases. The cases are similar, however Apollo game cartridges have 'Games By Apollo" molded into the rear case. Wizard video games have a blank in this location, as do these TCM carts. JC Atari2600.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 They used Apollo PCB's and Telesys cartridge cases, all EPROM's. No ROM versions of Halloween or TXCSM exist. They are very early repros IMHO. Correct...Wizard used materials obtained from the Apollo suppliers to make the original cartridges. As such, it's very easy for anyone to hack up an Apollo cart and make a perfect repro (sans label). There's really no way of knowing if the unlabeled cartridges sold by Pleasant Valley Video really came from Wizard or if they were simply an aftermarket creation. These Texas Chainsaw Massacre cartridges with PVV hand written labels are inside Wizard cartridge cases. The cases are similar, however Apollo game cartridges have 'Games By Apollo" molded into the rear case. Wizard video games have a blank in this location, as do these TCM carts. JC Atari2600.com Joe, they are inside Telesys cartridge cases, just like all Wizard carts. It's not a bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninermaniac Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I got mine. I like it because it comes right apart so you can see the inards and check out the neat yellowish PCB inside. Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I got mine. I like it because it comes right apart so you can see the inards and check out the neat yellowish PCB inside. Nice! Yellow? It should look like this (same board used in Lochjaw)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 (edited) These Texas Chainsaw Massacre cartridges with PVV hand written labels are inside Wizard cartridge cases. The cases are similar, however Apollo game cartridges have 'Games By Apollo" molded into the rear case. Wizard video games have a blank in this location, as do these TCM carts. The "Wizard cases" are the same generic style cases used by Telesys, Panda, and a few other companies. They are basically Apollo cases with a blank template where the 'Games By Apollo' logo should be (just as TNT Games used blank Activision cases, etc). They also lack screws (which Apollo cases had). These are simple design modifications. There were only so many sources for cartridge materials, and most companies back then used many of the same suppliers. Wizard obtained both the boards and shells to make the original Halloween and TCM cartridges from the same companies that supplied Apollo. When I said that anyone could hack up an Apollo cart and make a perfect repro, I was simply referring to the PCB (not the cartridge case). I got mine. I like it because it comes right apart so you can see the inards and check out the neat yellowish PCB inside. Nice! Yellow? It should look like this (same board used in Lochjaw)... Indeed...it should have an Apollo EPROM PCB inside. If these Wizard carts from PVV have anything else, that means they were indeed repros/fakes (which is not surprising). niner, can you post a pic of the PCB? Edited June 29, 2008 by PingvinBlueJeans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I got mine among other things incredibly fast. Thanks again Joe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucebidder Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I got mine. I like it because it comes right apart so you can see the inards and check out the neat yellowish PCB inside. Nice! Yellow? It should look like this (same board used in Lochjaw)... I opened mine and it looks exactly like yours CPU. I also just got mine this week. Mine is not yellow. It is labeled AP200 or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I have some extra Texas Chainsaw Massacre manuals if ppl need. In perfect shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bfstats Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Ask bfstats. The guy who owned the company ripped him out of $300. I can't remember his name off-hand. This was the event that ended my collecting in 1991. I read about Pleasant Valley Video in one of Bill Kunkel's articles in Electronic Games magazine. There was a letter to the editor written by PVV owner Jim Redd encouraging people to order his catalog of titles. I did and was astounded at the number of titles I had never heard of. An order for Chase the Chuckwagon was promptly placed and I received the game within two weeks of ordering. As mentioned in this thread, the "manual" was a photocopy. What was most interesting was the cart itself. It was a label-less Mystique case with brown sealing tape wrapped all the way around and a strip of beige masking tape on which was hand-written "Chase the Chuckwagon" in black magic marker. I was genuinely surprised when I plugged the cart in and it worked. First time I had ever seen the game, so I was pleased enough to place another order. After all, his communication was good (strictly letters - no e-mail then) and he shipped promptly. My next order, as PingvinBlueJeans states, was for $300 worth of other titles I'd never laid my eyes on. Needless to say I was very excited to find this guy and his company. When weeks went by without a delivery I wrote to him and got no response. After 2 months I contacted the Better Business Bureau of whatever town in Ohio PVV resided in and was told there were MANY complaints on file. I was done! Didn't buy another game until discovering this site (then The Nexus) in the late 90's. By the way, I still have the cart, but I hated the brown sealing tape. Peeled it off and made an inkjet repro label. Cheesy but better. I may also have some of the correspondence from this "episode". If I can find it (still unpacking from a move), and if anyone cares, I'll post it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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