Matterhorn #4

[Andre]

Hello,

 

It seems, we now have at least three carts of 'Matterhorn' confirmed. Check it out:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=21177

 

I am wondering how high the bids will go.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[robcatron]

Hello,

 

It seems, we now have at least three carts of 'Matterhorn' confirmed. Check it out:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=21177

 

I am wondering how high the bids will go.  

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

 

I would say if you let the winning bidder have a scan of your end label, so they can put one on this one -- it will go a little higher ;o)

 

I guess everyone's notice the missing end label. Heck, if I am going to pay big bucks for a game, I want it intact ;o)

[Callipygous]

I was sent the following review of Matterhorn. My translation would be a little rough due to lack of practice and knowledge of expressions. So perhaps someone out there might like to try it.

[deathtrappomegranate]

Do you know where the review came from?

 

Telematch?

[Callipygous]

Ich denke ich das email mit Zeitschrift review(?) habe, aber ich muß nach ihm suchen.

 

I will post it when I get a chance to search!

[Heaven/TQA]

it looks like lovely telematch...

 

as "Steckmodule" is an old expression from the 1st "wave" videogames hype...

 

and i love the sentence "..der Fairness halber sei gesagt, dass mir zum test ein EPROM zur Verfügung stand. Das Endergebnis könnte durchaus anders ausfallen..."

 

for our english guys... "it's fair to say for testing i have the game on EPROM. so the end result might differ..."

 

if this review is from telematch mag and was published around 1984-1986 then what has changed in the biz? nothing...

[Callipygous]

Okay found it. The review is from the October 1984 of Telematch.

 

Yes, the whole eprom thing is mysterious. The Tigervision games were announced at the summer CES of 1983. The parent (Tiger Toys) supposedly pulled the plug shortly after that, but apparently there was still development going on more than a year later. Notice the seller mentions he has other prototypes. So maybe those other games are not lost.

 

Heaven, keep going with the translation One paragraph a day and it will soon be done

[Callipygous]

Congrats to a DeathbyPomergranite on winning this rare cart.

 

Andre, what do you mean by "Matterhorn #4"? Are you hinting of something to come?

[Andre]

Andre, what do you mean by "Matterhorn #4"? Are you hinting of something to come?

 

No, I simply considered the swiss mountain Matterhorn to be the Matterhorn No. 1

 

Sorry for the confusion,

 

Andre

[Callipygous]

No, I simply considered the swiss mountain Matterhorn to be the Matterhorn No. 1

 

That one would be really expensive!

[emkay]

I was sent the following review of Matterhorn. My translation would be a little rough due to lack of practice and knowledge of expressions. So perhaps someone out there might like to try it.

 

 

OK Here's a try :

 

Matterhorn

 

Run to the Hills – or not?

 

If you did know from the beginning what's the deal at going to climb the mountain, which looks like an easy walk at the beginning, you would never even consider to do so. But you have to finish it because you will earn all the honour by solving it through all the hints and you want to see what's happening at the end.

Go get the secrets of the Matterhorn. So take heart.OK – The top of the mountain is 4050m high and the way is something more difficult than the way from your flat to the next butcher's shop. The colorful set with trees is looking friendly until some agressive birds fireing lightnings against you. Perhaps you - or your alter ego on the screen - is hit, you will feel carbonized.

(in germany „verkohlt“ means „carbonized“ and it says „teased up“)

Your alter ego will turn fully black to show the full outburn.

Between the trees you will find the bird's nest's with eggs. You can always chose between leaving them in one piece or destroying them. Well, the second way should be the prefered way, because later the bird's are leaving the eggs and all they want to do is fireing lightnings at you.

Fortunately you are able to parry against the birds. On the pathway you will find white sticks, and by using the Fire-Button you will recognize they are usable as fire-arms. So keep open fire – you have eleven shots!

Did we mention that the lightings will hit craters in the earth? In there you can take cover or jump over them. While you are progressing from level to level (shown on the lower screen as „altitude“) take care about the down-running time. From altitude 5 the way will get more higher angled and vegetation is going more less.Please take care about the trees that gave you more protection before.

 

You can be very proud by reaching level 10. If you know Jungle Hunt, you will recognize the similarity in some gaming elements like the bigger or smaller rocks that are rolling down the hill, and you have to chose between jumping or ducking. At level 15 graphics and gameplay will get exciting. Then you are right to feel like a World-Champion – In climbing of course. A fire spitting Dragon will cross your way then. If you are able to do the unbelievable and to kill the Dragon and you are still on the top of the mountain.... and then? Back to start.

 

 

Matterhorn is to me a nice reaction-game with attractive but non outstanding graphics. The title music is listenable and the sound is rare. The gaming speed has its playable limit exept the „rockstaggerphase“. To be fair, it has to be said that only a Eprom version was testet. The final version can be much different.

 

Summary: A program at higher middle-class

[deathtrappomegranate]

Congrats to a DeathbyPomergranite on winning this rare cart.

 

Thanks CallousPygmy

 

I figured that I could live with the missing label; although if a glut of Matterhorns now appears I'll not be happy.

 

I remember a CIB Carnival Massacre going for $250 or something earlier this year, and then several showed up.

 

@emkay - thanks very much!

[Callipygous]

Emkay- Vielen Dank!! Ich erwartete die Übersetzung nicht durch eine Person. I plan to have a website and include a lot of "tidbits" like this. Of course, I have been saying this for about two years now.

 

 

Death -I have been a pygmy in the recent auctions!

[emkay]

@deathtrappomegranate & Callipygous

 

No problem

[atarivision]

Although the Matterhorn cartridge sold for $264.75, I was rather surprised by the lack of bidding participants.

 

After six days, the price was only $27.00, on only three bids. Of course, you expected people to snipe, but only two bidders came in with late bids. There were only six bidders total that participated in the auction over the course of the week.

 

I was very surprised not to see a few more of the familiar names that you usually expect to see bidding on the rarer Atari 8-bit cartridges. I mean, if 99.999% of collectors do not have this cart in their collections, then why didn't more people go for it?

 

If anybody thought about bidding, but decided not to, are you willing to share why? I bid, albeit only a lousy hundred bucks. I doubted that the end label would discourage bidding activity, since the cart is so rare that most collectors would rather have it in that condition, than not have it at all.

 

As for the $264.75 price, I think it was a steal by eBay / Atari / Classic Game collecting standards. After all, ask yourself how much would a similar Atari 2600 cartridge go for if there were only 3 or 4 known specimens in existence? I say easily 5 times as much.

[Tempest]

If anybody thought about bidding, but decided not to, are you willing to share why? I bid, albeit only a lousy hundred bucks

 

I guess in my old age I've decided that blowing $300 on a single game is ridiculous. I'm fairly well off, I have a good job and few expenses, but lately it seems that I just can't justify spending that kind of money on a game that I'll probably play once or twice out of curiousty and then throw in a drawer for the next 20 years. I've found my attitude towards collecting has been changing over the last year or two. I'm much more stingy with what I collect and how much I spend.

 

Tempest

[Andre]

Hello,

 

I was very surprised not to see a few more of the familiar names that you usually expect to see bidding on the rarer Atari 8-bit cartridges.  I mean, if 99.999% of collectors do not have this cart in their collections, then why didn't more people go for it?

 

1) auction was for US and Canada bidders only (extremely stupid, since a lot of collectors live outside north america and the US Dollar is currently extremely cheap compared to the Euro (=1,25$).

2) missing end label,

3) rather poor description (no word about if the cart works or not),

4) there was a Reserve Price (most people do not like this)

 

Just my thoughts,

 

Andre

[+davidcalgary29]

I didn't bid on this one because I assumed that it would attract the interest of too many people and end up going for too much money; I didn't even end up putting this one on my watch list.

 

So much rare, unusual, and exciting hardware / software was produced for the 8-bit line over the course of its long life (more so, I'll warrant, than for any other Atari plaftorm), that it's really hard to justify spending this much on a cart when you can get really neat stuff like a 1090 expansion unit (albeit incomplete), or perhaps even a 1055 drive for nearly the same price. That being said, I'm happy to see that "Matterhorn" is going to a Canadian collector (and AA regular, at that) I'm sure it's the only one here.

[video game addict]

But he's from the UK ain't he? I think there are still 0 copies in the great white north!

[deathtrappomegranate]

But he's from the UK ain't he?    I think there are still 0 copies in the great white north!

 

Yup. I'm from the UK. I did recently post a message suggesting that Canadians wouldn't like to hear their country being called "USA jr", but that was not patriotism, just what anyone with a central nervous system might think. I do have lots of family members in Canada though, and I'd be very proud if I were Canadian.

 

@ atarivision: I agree. I expected to have to pay a lot more for Matterhorn.

 

The 2600 market is much bigger, and it's really a supply and demandthing, I think. Huge numbers of people had a 2600 as kids, and so there are many people with nostalgic thoughts about that system.

 

So, even though a "very rare" 8-bit cart is much harder to find than a "very rare" 2600 cart, the 2600 prices are consistently higher. I am not very unhappy about this. The 8-bit games are usually better, and nearly always closer to the arcade games (if they were arcade conversions).

 

If you want to make money by buying and selling, then 2600 is the way to go.

 

Otherwise, welcome to the weird and unpredictable world of the A8!

[+davidcalgary29]

My apologies. Let me just say -- again -- that I'm glad that an AA member was able to grab this one! I agree that it was a great price for such a rare cart, and don't think we'll see another one offered up for auction for at least a few years.

[video game addict]

Anyone want to take a stab at what a CIB version would fetch?

 

$500+

 

Also the Carnival Massacre mentioned above is that since the one Mark SG bought? I thought his was closer to $400-500 range?

[robcatron]

Although the Matterhorn cartridge sold for $264.75, I was rather surprised by the lack of bidding participants.

 

After six days, the price was only $27.00, on only three bids.  Of course, you expected people to snipe, but only two bidders came in with late bids.  There were only six bidders total that participated in the auction over the course of the week.

 

I was very surprised not to see a few more of the familiar names that you usually expect to see bidding on the rarer Atari 8-bit cartridges.  I mean, if 99.999% of collectors do not have this cart in their collections, then why didn't more people go for it?

 

If anybody thought about bidding, but decided not to, are you willing to share why?  I bid, albeit only a lousy hundred bucks.  I doubted that the end label would discourage bidding activity, since the cart is so rare that most collectors would rather have it in that condition, than not have it at all.

 

As for the $264.75 price, I think it was a steal by eBay / Atari / Classic Game collecting standards.  After all, ask yourself how much would a similar Atari 2600 cartridge go for if there were only 3 or 4 known specimens in existence?  I say easily 5 times as much.

 

In general, prices are waaaay down on Atari 8-bit items. I was totally discouraged when one of my extra Orc Attacks (that I was saving for a trade) sold this past weekend for less than $30.

 

Two years ago this time, to put things in perspective, I sold a boxed Alternate Reality the City for $178, an Ultima 3 for slightly over $150, heck even a Sirius Repton for about $75! Now those games would (and do) command much lower prices (Nir just got an Alternate Reality the City for only $12.50, and it is in really nice shape!) -- definately a buyers market.

 

Plus, even I (after making hasty bidding mistakes several times over the last two years) have finally figured out that a lot of the games (talking mainly boxed disk or tape games here) can be had from B&C for less than $20 (I just got a new Dropzone for $9.95). I don't know how many times I bid $30 bucks and won something, just to check B&C later to see they had the same item new for $9.95! Live and learn

 

I am not sure where all of the folks that paid the big bucks went to over the last two years (doc-in-a-box must now have every boxed Atari computer game ;o)

 

I really wasn't surprised at all that Matterhorn only brought that. My copy brought $258 two years ago, when people were paying big $ for Atari computer items, and it was in much, much better shape

 

not sure where I was going with this rambling post, but just my two cents worth )

[video game addict]

Worth every penny!

 

I think when yours went up, alot of people had no clue what it was, was it real..was it fake, alot of people had never heard of it, but there was no precedent set, no one knew how much it would be worth or go for, and especially since it had a label, and was not known to exsist, I'm sure some people were afraid to drop big money on it and possible get ripped.

 

Also once something surfaces, that usually opens up the doors to other collectors, more people drag theirs out, and oh yeah I have one of those! mentalities, well turns out there wasn't in this case, but often, one will show up, then BAM! there's two or three more in the next couple three months, or thru the next year. Even thou it had never been seen before.

 

So people think I'd better not go to deep on this one just yet, watch a boxed one show up, and then I'll be pissed I dropped so much on a loose one! ;o But there has been a drought with this title, and even though these are worse times for sellers, there are more people who are looking for this cart now, more people believe it is real, and even with the missing end label, it's so rare it's worth some serious jack! I thought about bidding, but that label turned me off more than anything. Seeing the ending price thou, I would not have been in the running But it's good to see a fellow AAer pick it up!

 

Oh and I think doc-in-a-box saves his 8bit money for about 10 months out of the year, then goes hog wild for a couple weeks and outbids everyone!

[deathtrappomegranate]

Well, my max bid for Matterhorn was much higher than the final price. I didn't expect to see one on eBay for a long time, and, even in less than perfect condition, I am very happy indeed with the deal.

 

@robcatron:

 

The volatility of 8-bit prices is clear, as is the fact that they are generally very low right now. I suspect that it will pick up again. I often wonder whether, because of the passage of time, everyone who knew the Atari machines way back when will become too old and/or disinterested to collect this stuff. However, a recent thread here suggests that there are several A8 enthusiasts who are (relatively!) young, and I'm encouraged by that.

 

I take the fact that prices are low right now as an indicator that it's a good time to buy, and not such a good time to sell. Although I did get close to $100 for a BBSB last weekend...

 

It is sad that Orc Attack should make so little. A fairly rare and fairly violent game like that should always have a ready market!