POLL: The Expansive Age-Range of NMS

In case anyone wants something to help pass the time until the ARG restarts.:wink:

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AAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH !!!
:scream:

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I’m so sorry! :sob:
By the way, saw one for bid on Goodwill about 2 days ago. It was up near $200 with 12 bidders.

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Just having a laugh.
I’m always singing some rubish. :grin: Feel a bit sorry for those who have to hear it though…

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ok Zaxxon was pretty great.

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You ‘n’ me both … along with the over-25% majority of those participating in the poll…!

Actually, I’m not surprised.

This game requires a measure of PATIENCE, which most* of the younger generations do not have (or allow themselves) – most evident in the use of modern tech: near-ubiquitous availability of WiFi and access to world-wide knowledgebanks (ie via Google etc) means most youth rather easily come to the conclusion that they can get “answers” almost “immediately”.

The culture of “immediate gratification” rather contrasts with the implicitly time-consuming nature of EXPLORATION which NMS espouses, so again it’s little wonder that this ARG-based “extension” of NMS shows a lesser involvement of younger minds.

THAT SAID, I daresay I’d not be far off in gauging our younger compatriots here as having more patience than their peers, and likely also a greater intelligence. However, that’s really over-stereotyping, no matter how correct or not. :wink:

I’d like to also point out that NMS was created with an eye to the “old Sci-Fi novels, and the art style of their covers” (totally not quoted paraphrase-like from Sean Murray), which would naturally be better known to us who actually picked up such books and read them… :smiley:

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THANK YOU, @DevilinPixy, for sharing this photo!
Gonna send it to my Dad…

We had this (I don’t think it was called “SuperElectron” though) when I was a young’n… I recall there was “BangBang” (jeans brand!) branding on the outer box… Could not tell you, for the life of me, why a video came console set had ANYthing to do with Jeans, but there you go…

The contents were EXACTLY the same… I just can’t remember if “SuperElectron” was on it.
The paddles, knobs + buttons, the flat switches, the 4 game modes + TINY rotating selector knob… and the reset pushbutton… and the game sound speaker on the unit…
TOTALLY rings bells.

PS - I grew up in Hong Kong. You got any photo of whatever panel or sticker says where it was made?? :wink:

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… but the Big Question is, of course, @sheralmyst

DOES IT STILL WORK?? :smiley:

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Must see, @Ospredox, if I can find likewise here in the UK; else maybe eBay / Amazon out of the Americas… or somewhere… :wink:

Got a handy list of the 10 games supplied…?

Holy heck, @DevilinPixy. :smiley:
My uncles + aunt had the 2600 at their place. As they grew up and moved out of Grandma’s house, we (my sisters & me) “inherited” it, and all their games – more than you’ve got shown up there…
(My mother is the eldest sis for my uncles + aunt, so…)

This box was a huge part of my childhood.

The only thing, though… I’d NO CLUE of the “heavy” vs “light” model.
IF it’s still at my folks’ place in HK, how might one tell the difference??
Thank you!

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Sadly I don’t. Next time I go to that store I’ll look for you! Although that might be in a long time. We don’t go there very often :frowning_face:

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Yes it does! Everything I still have still works, floppy discs, scoreboard, ! :star_struck:

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No worries, @Ospredox; I only really asked in case the answer was “already handy” – we all know there’s always Google. :wink: :+1:

Of course I appreciate your offer of checking at the store next you’re there.
V kind indeed; I’m Grateful.

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I have tried searching for a pong system using jeans branding, but could not find any. I did find some old Bang Bang commercial from the 70s though. There were quite a few pong systems systems made world-wide due to popularity.

The system I now own was marketed in Europe only I believe. It was manufactured by Superlectron, a Dutch calculator brand from Vianen (Holland). Below is an image from the bottom side of the box:

Note: The system used a chip which was of course not produced by themselves though:
GI AY-3-8500 chip

See below links to tell the difference:

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@Sheralmyst, that must say a lot about the WAY in which you keep your things – with care, well stored, respected for its value – and about yourself as a person, too. :sunglasses: :+1:

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That’s great, @DevilinPixy, thanks for that closeup pic and the 2 links.

Yeah, that makes sense, then - if Superelectron is (was?) a Dutch co, then I’d be “right” that that name had not appeared on our (or, my dad’s) Pong-clone.

Still, with so much in electronics being “made in Japan”, then “made in China” and “made in Hong Kong” (before “made in China” became a dirty word for “cheaply-made crap”), I am a bit surprised that there’s no mention of any Asian country, even on the Dutch box.

I wonder if that was one of those “assembled in Holland, using parts from Asia” type of “Made in Holland”… :smiley:

Actually, revisiting your image, it rather specifically says “Produced … for”, so it doesn’t seem to say where it was “produced”… :wink:

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This is an incredible thread! I guess I missed it being that it was created during my brief absence from the end of Aug-Feb 2018.
A very emotional time for my family as my 16 year son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 8/23/17. :blue_heart: So- a sincere h/t to you @kyle-culver Thank you for all you do. You’re an awesome role-model in more ways then you think.
I think I was smiling and giggling the entire time while reading the stories here. Who knew age could reveal such wonderful memories?! :wink:
As for my own personal experience and computer history/gaming, my love for the magic of it all didn’t hit me until my HS years in the 90’s. The age of dinosaur desktops, floppy disks & the Dot Matrix Printers. My P.E. Coach/Computer teacher taught us the beauty of MS DOS and the ability to create the animated art & images using specific commands. I forget the exact name- maybe it was ASCII art. But- I thought it was the coolest thing ever! Then, of course, I was introduced to a couple games on floppy disks, the names I can’t recall, either. There was also The Print Shop that I loved, where I would print banners, and signs and all that sorta stuff.
As far as gaming, I remember the Atari with the famous joystick. Of course, everything Nintendo. But, mostly my gaming always landed in the mall arcade: Aladdin‘s Castle or eating Pizza and playing Pac Man in local pizza joints.
Fast Forward to age 41, my kid and I share a love for retro 8-bit stuff, Nintendo, and arcade games. Imagine that! LoL! He is much more of a gamer than I have ever been.
But- NMS has difinitely rekindled the flame! It’s basically the only game that I can respect & would ever play these days!

Edited: for research purposes

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I’d think it was actually manufactured and assembled in Holland, not an existing product manufactured elsewhere to then be re-branded. However, most often when manufacturing a product, parts may still be manufactured and used from all over the world. I have no doubt that some of the electronics used on the boards, was manufactured elsewhere, as the actual game chip proves.

This specific company also manufactured calculators, which had been their main product. I have searched the internet and in almost all cases, mentioned as being manufactured in Vianen Holland as well. This to me is additional reason to believe they actually made these products themselves. Of course, most likely using electronics made elsewhere.

On the subject of the Atari 2600 heavy vs light, the heavy version was made in Sunnyvale California, while all the later versions, including the ‘light’ version, were made in Hong Kong.

Makes mucho sense, friend @DevilinPixy, for sure! I’d think it would “make better sense” to source some smaller parts from abroad, and manufacture larger parts “locally”, before local assembly for sale locally and regionally (nearby/ neighbouring countries, maaaybe)…

The Lights being made in HK would rather suggest that my uncles + aunt likely got a HK / Light version; HOWEVER … my eldest Uncle was, at the time, a senior team member with Cathay Pacific Airways and often based in Cali – in fact, he’s retired to East Bay, San Fran’ – so there’s still every chance he may have picked up an Atari set whilst in the USA…
Hmm… something to ask him, I guess. :smiley: Just for curiosity’s sake.

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Dear @LilLadyD76, ← bit of a giveaway, I’ve a couple years on you… :smiley:

I read your anecdote with great interest, piqued muchly by your mention of “animated art & images” under DOS.

I believe you’d be looking for the phrase “ANSI Escape sequences”, and possibly even a program called “TheDraw” , which made production of such art & animations much easier – I used it, in fact, to help friends with BBS’ to create some BBS DOOR art, on occasion. Lots of fun. :wink: :+1:

Forgive me for adding, real quick, for the sake of those in UK (and elsewhere) who might’ve missed the “HS years” reference – HS = America’s “high school”, equivalent to Senior Secondary (typically Forms 3-6, encompassing the old O-Level and A-Level years)

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