33 replies to this topic

[Eckhard Stolberg]

About StarSoft:
A little more information about how the name StarSoft came to be can be found in the StarSoft section of GameReset.

As for what S.S. stands for, my guess would be something like "Suntek Software".

Some time ago I opened up some of my pirate games with crappy labels. They were from different distributors (Quelle, Goliath, Rainbow Vision etc.) and came in different type of cases (with and without the S.S. initials, long and short cases etc.). Most of them had boards in them that said either Suntek or SAE on them. The SAE boards as well as the nameless boards were very very similar to some of the Suntek boards.

Some of my other pirate games that I didn't open, and that are from even different distributors in different cases, display the name Suntek on the screen. The only games that didn't fit in are the ones in the BitCorp cases. But IIRC all of those had BitCorp part numbers in the cases, even if they didn't come with a BitCorp label.

So even though there might have been others, I'd say that the vast majority of pirated VCS games came from only two companies: Suntek and BitCorp.


Ciao, Eckhard Stolberg

[Albert]

This is great information everyone, keep it coming! Alex and I have a huge update mostly related to international titles that we need to finish up this weekend. We've just been very busy with other things and haven't been able to spend as much time on it as we'd like. Just wanted to let everyone who's sent us scans and information about many foreign titles that it hasn't gone into a black hole somewhere. And we've been working on something else that will be revealed very soon (not related to foreign titles at all).

..Al

[slapdash]

C'mon guys! 2600 Connection? "Starsoft Nicht Exiestierent"? A few issues ago? Thanks to Eckhard for all his detective work, I was able to write up a cool cover story about Starsoft being made up and, as Eckhard mentioned, the "SS" probably being "Suntek Software".

[Albert]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Russ Perry Jr:
C'mon guys! 2600 Connection? "Starsoft Nicht Exiestierent"? A few issues ago? Thanks to Eckhard for all his detective work, I was able to write up a cool cover story about Starsoft being made up and, as Eckhard mentioned, the "SS" probably being "Suntek Software".

---

I need a 2600 Connection subscription. Must write you about that!

..Al

[jahfish]

seems like we got it!

[jahfish]

i think the various distributors just showed their original cart and said "same-same cheap-cheap, here is picture for label, write text .... "



only goliath carts and rainbowvision carts seem to be a bit more individual, having their names in the screen and actually different games while the cartridge illustration looks the same, or the title is the same ...

[slapdash]

Albert, send your address to my email. I was talking to Alex about that, but I didn't follow up I guess.

BTW, the issue in question is #60.

[jahfish]

hey russ, how much is the subscription?

[slapdash]

Subs are $9/6 US, $10.50/6 CN/MX or $12/6 rest of the world.

I always warn people though; if you keep on AtariAge and other sites, a lot of stuff will look familiar -- the News & Notes rarely has anything AA didn't get too, and sometimes articles come off the web too. Just FYI.