The MilkMan Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 After looking around here at the games by Zellers, I remembered seeing a box I have for Starmaster. The price tag says Zellers on it. This price tag is a sticker, the ones listed here at AA look like they ( the price tags ) are printed as part of the box. And, the ones listed here, seem to be French. Whats the scoop on Zellers? What was it? Was it a store? Was it a European company? A company to release duplicate Atari titles with different box art etc. or what? Although my price tag says Zellers, there is no French text. The whole thing looks US...any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 You probly read this already but there is a little info on the top of the company page here at AA. http://www.atariage.com/company_page.html?...00&CompanyID=61 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The MilkMan Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 Ah Ha! Don't know how I missed that bit at the top...thank you for pointing out the obvious. Doesn't help that I'm half alseep either... bjk7382, you da' man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The MilkMan Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 The write up posted here at AA says... "The only thing to indicate their origin was the name 'Zellers' in small letter in the price square on the top right corner of the box. All the Zellers games were existing Atari 2600 games given new names and packaging" I guess they eventually sold regular games there then too? Seeings how mine is not re-named or re-packaged...weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Kay Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Zellers didn't come out with the store-brand games until the mid-late 80's, IIRC. I bought lots of "name brand" games from Zellers as a wee one. The last one I remember buying was Solaris when it came out (WOW! It was great) at Zellers in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. As an aside... the Zellers in Eastern Canada also sold Atari 8 bit merchandise... but I don't know if they sold 7800 stuff... Woolco (Zellers big competitor in the 80's) also sold Atari 2600 and 8-bit computers and software... but no 7800 merchandise. The knock off games were a late 80's thing at Zellers. I refused to purchase any as they were generic and cheap looking. I demanded name brand!!!! So it seems to me the knock off store-brand import games came out about that same time as the 2600jr peaked. Hope that helps! Cheers! Joey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esc Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Zeller's is a Canadian retail store, its main competition in Canada is Wal-mart. They sold their own branded games for the Atari 2600 and sold other games and hardware for the Atari back in the 80s and 90s just like everyone else. I don't recall them selling their own branded games until well after the crash, it might have been the late 80's and early 90's when I would see bins full of Zeller's carts for $1.00 each. What you got there is an Activision game that just happens to have a Zeller's price sticker on it. Zeller's is still around today, and is pretty successful. They are owned by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) which is the oldest known established company in Canada (and perhaps North America?) (established in 1670) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The MilkMan Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 Smooth. Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindfield Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Actually, I remember somewhere around 1985 or 1986 rummaging through the clearance bins at Zellers and pillaging their cheap 2600 carts. I didn't see any Zellers-branded carts, tho, only common Atari carts and third-party companies. (For some reason I explicitly remember picking up Journey Escape among them) So they probably didn't start that business 'til after the re-introduction of the 2600 Jr. in '86/87. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I do believe that The Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest continuously operating company in the world. It started off as a British crown corporation responsible for extracting fur from the great wilderness that was North America in the 17th century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Monkey Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I think the earliest I saw the Zellers "branded" carts was 1989. I got a real kick out of the way the "manuals" were written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esc Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Yeah, it might have been mid-80s they started clearing those carts out. I remember looking at the carts in the bargin bins, hoping to find something 8 bit related. I never bought them because I had sold my 2600 many years earlier to help pay for my Atari 400. I do recall looking at a bargin bin $3.99 Asteroids cartridge at Zellers, and commenting on how my parents paid $67.99 +Tax for the same cartridge back in 1981 or 1982. Funny thing is by 1986, I was already using an Atari 520ST. When I saw people STILL buying Atari 2600 cartridges, I was shocked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esc Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I think the earliest I saw the Zellers "branded" carts was 1989. I got a real kick out of the way the "manuals" were written. I would expect that Zeller's wouldn't have been given the opportunity to sell those carts earlier due to some sort of litigation. I guess by 1989 or later that most of the companies that were infringed upon either didn't care, couldn't stop the pirating, or had gone out of business. Here is a manual for Earth Attack (Defender Rip off) LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 As an aside... the Zellers in Eastern Canada also sold Atari 8 bit merchandise... but I don't know if they sold 7800 stuff... Woolco (Zellers big competitor in the 80's) also sold Atari 2600 and 8-bit computers and software... but no 7800 merchandise. Through the 1980's, I used to haunt my local mall (of which Zellers was an anchor store), and I don't ever remember seeing any 700 stuff for sale. This was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, BTW. I have also never seen any turn up at local garage sales, flea markets, etc. If it was sold by Zellers (or Woolco), it was spectacularly unsuccessful (or only sold for a very short time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 As an aside... the Zellers in Eastern Canada also sold Atari 8 bit merchandise... but I don't know if they sold 7800 stuff... Woolco (Zellers big competitor in the 80's) also sold Atari 2600 and 8-bit computers and software... but no 7800 merchandise. Through the 1980's, I used to haunt my local mall (of which Zellers was an anchor store), and I don't ever remember seeing any 700 stuff for sale. This was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, BTW. I have also never seen any turn up at local garage sales, flea markets, etc. If it was sold by Zellers (or Woolco), it was spectacularly unsuccessful (or only sold for a very short time). Actually, Zellers was threatened with "legal action" by Atari, and they wisely decided to discontinue their line of pirated titles by the mid '80s. I believe that Curt Vendel has correspondence pertaining to this. As an aside, I contacted the HBC archives a few months ago in an attempt to procure a list of all known Zellers titles and any existing sales figures. The archivist that I spoke with was "shocked" to discover that Zellers pirated software and stated that "they didn't archive records from the home computer / entertainment division" in the '80s...if you want to believe that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esc Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Actually, Zellers was threatened with "legal action" by Atari, and they wisely decided to discontinue their line of pirated titles by the mid '80s. I believe that Curt Vendel has correspondence pertaining to this. I'd like to see that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdie3 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 "ZELLERS - Where the lowest price is the law (even if we had to rip Atari off in the eighties)!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Monkey Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Actually, Zellers was threatened with "legal action" by Atari, and they wisely decided to discontinue their line of pirated titles by the mid '80s. I believe that Curt Vendel has correspondence pertaining to this. It had to be later, or didn't happen at all. I found the Zellers games for the first time when I was living in Halifax. I only was there from the summer of '88 to the spring of '90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 As an aside, I contacted the HBC archives a few months ago in an attempt to procure a list of all known Zellers titles and any existing sales figures. The archivist that I spoke with was "shocked" to discover that Zellers pirated software and stated that "they didn't archive records from the home computer / entertainment division" in the '80s...if you want to believe that. Hmmm... I can understand that they do not have detailed sales figures by unit. These are routine business records and would not be considered archival. The decision to sell pirated software, however, would presumably have been made at a fairly high level in the corporation and minutes of board meetings should definitely be preserved. What about catalogues or sales flyers/promotional literature? That may be the easiest way to get a list of the cartridges sold. If such things exist, the HBC archives should have them, and they should be open and accessible. Is there anybody in/near Winnipeg who could drop by the HBC Archives to check? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyranthraxus Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 As an aside, I contacted the HBC archives a few months ago in an attempt to procure a list of all known Zellers titles and any existing sales figures. The archivist that I spoke with was "shocked" to discover that Zellers pirated software and stated that "they didn't archive records from the home computer / entertainment division" in the '80s...if you want to believe that. I'd try again and not mention the word 'pirate'. The employee might of thought you are some sort of crusading whistle blower. Its all in how you ask When I worked there as a stock boy about 3 or 4 years ago. One day we mysteriously had a bunch of C64 4th and Inches games to put in the clearance bin and $2 each! Who knows what else is in dusty warehouse corners? I recall that about 5 years ago in Florida a store found crates of Return of the Jedi toys which their mangement was wise to auction off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Kay Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 I'd try again and not mention the word 'pirate'. The employee mightof thought you are some sort of crusading whistle blower. Its all in how you ask Actually, with a name like the "Hudson's Bay" Company, no wonder they get scared when they hear "Pirate"!!! Cheers! Joey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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