- - - = ( VIC-20 Cartridge Rarity & Gameplay list ) = - - - By Ward F. Shrake and Paul A. Le Brasse with the help of many folks on the I'net Version 2.03 Released on December 31, 2000 Visit "VIC-20 Digital Archaeology" on the web: http://classicgaming.com/vic20/ In the spirit of the "friendly computer" this document may be freely copied and/or used by anyone who wishes to do so. We do ask that you give the authors credit by name if and when you use this listing in any other context. Thanks in advance! Notes about this document. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This list is the latest revision of a document that has been freely available since September 1995. It has been tweaked and adjusted by the same people for years. It is generally considered the best list of its type, and has been widely distributed around the Internet. One of the reasons this list is the "cream of its crop" is that the people that put it together have personally collected every one of these cartridges over the years. The small number of people working on this text makes it easier to judge relative rarity over a wider spectrum than might normally be the case. But more to the point, we know which carts took us years to find, and which we saw constantly. This list's organization is based on a confirmation system. If a cart is listed in the upper section, it most definitely exists. We've had our hands on at least one copy of that particular cartridge. In fact we "digitally archived" every one of the carts listed in the upper section. The resulting "ROM images" are available free on the web. You can find links to these archives on the author's web site... http://classicgaming.com/vic20/ Note that we did this without permission, but that we've often been given complimented for it, by various of the original programmers. In some cases, these authors no longer had copies of the games they had written, until we had done our bit to preserve this software! (If any copyright owners did object, we'd have that game removed.) One step below the upper section is a place for all of the carts that we are sure really do exist in cartridge form, but that have so far eluded our grasp. In other words, someone besides ourselves has positively confirmed these carts, but they are not archived yet. We took our time to get confirmation of each and every cart, one by one, through a network of well-known collectors we've grown to trust. Towards the bottom is a section for rumored carts that we have never found ourselves, and that as far as we know, neither has anyone else. (In other words "vaporware" games are kept seperate from confirmed games within this listing.) That alone makes the list highly reliable. Below that is a list of hardware-related items and utility programs. Listing them seperately reflects a few things, one of them being the fact that because they generally involve something more inside them than a simple ROM memory chip, that they don't easily fit into our archiving efforts. It is therefore less confusing to seperate them. Most people reading this list are retro-gamers. Why confuse things? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - As of version 2.00 of this list (August 2000), I am introducing big changes to the way I rate the relative rarity of each cartridge. We used to have letter codes, and a chart explaining them. From now on, I plan to include a simple "one to ten" numeric code instead. This change came about when the list's author was asked to contribute a new VIC-20 cartridge software section to "Digital Press' Collectors Guide," version six. (The "DPCG" for short.) Consistency with the other sections in that guide meant I had to rework this list anyway, so I figured I'd change the rarity codes here on a permanent basis. Gives me an excuse to finally get this list up to "version 2.0", too. Observant readers will note that I'm not currently using a "1" code. That is because I feel that these carts are slightly harder to find in the wild than (for example) an Atari 2600 cartridge. Perhaps much harder to find? The "8" and "9" ratings represent about five percent of the library each. Finding most of these took us a year or more of constant searching... and that includes searching via the I'net! That may improve in time, but the high numbers are deservedly so. The "10" code I reserved for prototypes that never saw mass production in the form of a cartridge. (But note that some did come out as tape games.) Besides these rarity changes, I added a (gasp!) suggested price guide. I had long resisted doing that, feeling it unfair of me to try to tell others what they should pay for something. "It is worth what you will pay for it; no less and no more" has long been my own personal opinion. I was in the unenviable position of having to create a price structure from scratch. Knowing what the cheapest carts usually go for was not a problem. (In this case, around $2 each.) But choosing an upper price is always going to cause some disagreement. I did my best to integrate two different schools of thought on this, so the list is twice as useful. The first school of thought is based on the observation that in most cases, it is rare for a classic game cart price to rise above what it cost at retail when it was new. (For a top price of roughly $40.) The other school of thought says that it seems silly for one cart to sell for more than a core system itself usually sells for. (Roughly $20.) I based my price suggestions on the $40 top price, and worked down to a known low of around $2 per cart. If it seems carts often go for far less than the prices shown here, just cut these prices in half. I took pains to make the relative price point steps valid, by custom-sorting the list based on prices, and hand-tweaking till everything "flowed". Sooner or later "price guides" were inevitable. Just remember not to be overly concerned with the prices I listed. They are a guideline, not something to be angrily enforced at gunpoint. "It's just a hobby." See Digital Press' web site for more info on their Collectors Guide. I myself am anxious to see the new one, with all the planned updates! (I do not stand to make money on any of this, if you are worried about a loss of credibility in regards to pricing, or any "ad" type comments.) http://digitpress.com/ Besides this document, other texts exist that modern Vic20 hobbyists or computer historians may find useful or interesting. These can also be found on the internet. (Ward's team wrote many of them. Very little other information about the Vic20 was freely available at the time.) Among the documents available are a "Frequently Asked Questions" text, various technical texts, archiving utility programs, a list of nearly 500 VIC-20 cassette tape games, and more. "Cartzilla!" is a huge text which actually discusses and reviews the 180+ software cartridges now known to exist for the VIC-20. (This list is used for quick reference.) It would have been a shame if we forget part of our culture's history. We few who first remembered the Vic20 with fondness are glad to see we are no longer so few in number! We are pleased that a decade and a half after the "friendly computer's" commercial lifespan ended, that people still enjoy playing and collecting the games we so lovingly preserved. Ward F. Shrake Rarity code Memory size | Price | Game \ | Company Cartridge name Part# \ play | | Year ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Academy IFR (Flight Simulator) [A989] 8k B 5 17 83 Atarisoft Battlezone [RX8547] 16k B- 5 15 83 Atarisoft Centipede [RX8504] 16k C 2 2 83 Atarisoft Defender [RX8507] 16k A- 3 8 83 Atarisoft Dig Dug [RX8510] 16k B 3 6 83 Atarisoft Donkey Kong [RX8513] 16k B 3 6 83 Atarisoft Galaxian [RX8541] 8k C+ 8 30 84 Atarisoft Jungle Hunt [RX8529] 16k B- 3 5 84 Atarisoft Moon Patrol [RX8532] 16k B- 3 5 83 Atarisoft Ms. Pac-Man [RX8544] 16k C+ 3 5 83 Atarisoft Pac-Man [RX8501] 8k C+ 3 5 83 Atarisoft Pole Position [RX8535] 16k B+ 3 7 83 Atarisoft Robotron: 2084 [RX8520] 12k B- 3 5 83 Beyond Mountain King 16k A+ 5 22 83 Boone Cyclon 8k A 10 $$ 83 Broderbund A.E. [Viccart-224] 16k B 7 25 82 Broderbund Lode Runner [Viccart-___] 16k B+ 5 19 83 Broderbund MasterType [Viccart-221] 16k B- 6 20 83 Broderbund SeaFox [Viccart-___] 16k B 8 32 83 Broderbund Skyblazer [Viccart-___] 16k A 8 36 83 CBS Soft. K-Razy Antiks [22107] 12k B+ 4 11 82 CBS Soft. K-Star Patrol [22108] 16k B+ 4 11 82 Commodore Adventure Land Adventure [Vic-1914] 16k B- 3 5 81 Commodore Alien (Super Alien) [Vic-1906] 8k C 4 7 81 Commodore Avenger (Vic Avenger) [Vic-1901] 8k C+ 2 3 81 Commodore Clowns [Vic-1931] 8k C+ 4 9 82 Commodore Commodore Artist [Vic-1935] 4k C 5 12 82 Commodore Cosmic Cruncher [Vic-1922] 8k B 2 3 82 Commodore Cosmic Jailbreak [Vic-1927] 8k C 4 8 82 Commodore Garden Wars [Vic-1932] 8k C 4 7 82 Commodore Gorf [Vic-1923] 8k B- 2 4 82 Commodore Home Babysitter [Vic-1928] 8k C- 4 6 82 Commodore Jelly Monsters [Vic-1905] 8k A 8 36 81? Commodore Jupiter Lander [Vic-1907] 8k B 2 3 81? Commodore Menagerie [Vic-1926] 8k C- 4 6 82? Commodore Midnight Drive (Road Race) [Vic-1909] 8k C- 3 3 81 Commodore Mission Impossible Adventure [Vic-1916] 16k B- 3 5 81 Commodore Mole Attack [Vic-1912] 8k C 4 8 81 Commodore Money Wars [Vic-1925] 8k C+ 4 9 82 Commodore Number Nabber, Shape Grabber [Vic-1941] 8k NA 5 10 82 Commodore Omega Race [Vic-1924] 8k A- 2 5 82 Commodore Personal Finance (utility) [Vic-1929] 8k NA 5 10 82 Commodore Pinball (or ...Spectacular) [Vic-1920] 16k C+ 3 5 82 Commodore Pirate's Cove Adventure [Vic-1915] 16k B- 3 5 81 Commodore Poker (Draw Poker) [Vic-1908] 8k C 4 7 81 Commodore Radar Rat Race [Vic-1910] 8k B+ 2 3 81 Commodore Raid on Fort Knox (Bank Robber) [Vic-1913] 8k C 4 7 82 Commodore Sargon II Chess [Vic-1919] 8k C 3 4 82? Commodore Sea Wolf [Vic-1937] 8k B- 5 15 82 Commodore Slot (Super Slot) [Vic-1904] 8k C 4 7 81 Commodore Speed Math & Bingo Math [Vic-1933] 8k C- 3 3 82 Commodore Star Battle [Vic-1902] 8k B+ 8 33 81 Commodore Star Post [Vic-1939] 8k C 5 12 82? Commodore Super Smash [Vic-1921] 8k C 3 4 82 Commodore The Count Adventure [Vic-1917] 16k B- 3 5 81 Commodore The Sky is Falling [Vic-1911] 8k B- 4 9 81 Commodore Tooth Invaders [Vic-1938] 8k C+ 5 14 83 Commodore Visible Solar System [Vic-1930] 8k C 3 4 82 Commodore Voodoo Castle Adventure [Vic-1918] 16k B- 3 5 81 Creative Apple Panic [VI AP C] 12k C 4 8 82 Creative Astroblitz [VI AB C] 4k B- 4 9 82 Creative Black Hole [VI BH C] 4k B 5 17 82 Creative Choplifter [VI CL C] 8k A 3 9 82 Creative Household Finance (education) [VI HF C] 8k NA 5 10 83 Creative In the Chips [VI CH C] 16k C 6 19 83 Creative Pipes [VI PI C] 8k C 6 19 83 Creative Rat Hotel [VI RH C]? 8k B- 5 15 82 Creative Serpentine [VI SE C] 8k B 4 10 82 Creative Spills and Fills [VI SF C] 8k C 6 19 83 Creative TerraGuard [VI TG C] 4k C+ 4 9 82 Creative Trashman [VI TM C] 8k B+ 4 12 82 Creative Videomania [VI VM C] 4k C 4 8 82 Daedalus Baldor's Castle 12k C+ 9 37 83 Epyx Fun with Music 8k B 8 32 83 Epyx Monster Maze 8k C+ 5 14 82 Handic A World at War 8k C- 9 34 8_ Handic Space Snake 8k D 9 33 82 HES Aggressor [C305] 8k C 5 13 82 HES Alphabet Zoo (education) [C326] 16k NA 6 18 82 HES Attack of the Mutant Camels [C318] 8k A 6 25 83 HES Facemaker (education) [C324] 8k NA 6 18 83 HES Gridrunner [C312] 4k B+ 3 7 82 HES HesMon (utility) [C302] 8k NA 3 4 82 HES HesWriter (utility) [C304] 8k NA 5 10 82 HES Kids on Keys (education) [C325] 8k NA 6 18 83 HES Kindercomp (education) [C322] 16k NA 6 18 83 HES Lazer Zone [C319] 8k A 5 21 83 HES Maze [C3__] 8k C+ 6 20 83 HES Mosquito Infestation [C3__] 4k B- 6 20 82 HES Pharaoh's Curse [C321] 16k A 7 28 83 HES Predator [C316] 8k B+ 6 23 82 HES Protector [C308] 8k B- 6 20 83 HES Robot Panic [C310] 8k B 6 21 82 HES Satellite Patrol [C3__] 4k B- 6 20 82 HES Shamus [C307] 8k A 5 21 83 HES Story Machine (education) [C323] 12k NA 8 25 83 HES Synthesound (education) [C306] 8k NA 5 10 82 HES Turtle Graphics (education) [C303] 8k NA 3 3 82 HES Vic FORTH (education) [C301] 8k NA 3 3 82 Imagic Atlantis [720051-1A] 4k A 2 6 83 Imagic Demon Attack [720050-1A] 4k A 2 6 83 Imagic Dragonfire [720052-1A] 8k B+ 5 19 83 Koala Tech. Dancing Bear 16k C+ 8 30 83 Mach. Lang. Amazing Maze 4k C 9 35 8_ Mach. Lang. Dot Gobbler 4k A- 8 35 8_ MSD Mobile Attack 8k C+ 8 30 8_ OEM Alien Sidestep 4k C- 9 34 83 OEM Bug Crusher 4k B- 9 38 83 OEM Space Ric-O-Shay 4k C 9 35 8_ Parker Frogger [PB1410] 8k D 2 2 83 Parker Q*Bert [PB1420] 4k C 3 4 83 Parker Tutankham [PB1430] 8k A 5 21 83 Reston Miner 2049'er 8k A+ 5 22 83 Romox Princess & Frog 8k C 9 35 83 Romox Topper 8k B 9 39 83 Romox Typo 8k C+ 9 37 83 Sega Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom [005-04] 16k B- 4 9 83 Sega Congo Bongo [006-04] 8k C 4 8 83 Sega Star Trek (S.O.S.) [004-04] 8k B+ 4 11 83 Sierra Cannonball Blitz [CBL-401] 12k B- 7 24 82 Sierra Creepy Corridors [CCL-401] 8k B+ 7 26 83 Sierra Crossfire [CFL-401] 4k B+ 4 11 81 Sierra Jawbreaker II [JBL-401] 8k C+ 5 14 82 Sierra Lunar Leeper [LLL-401] 12k A 7 28 81 Sierra Threshold [THL-401] 8k A 7 28 81 Sirius Bandits [220__] 8k B+ 5 19 83 Sirius Capture the Flag [220__] 8k B+ 7 26 83 Sirius Deadly Duck [220__] 4k B 6 21 82 Sirius Fast Eddie [220__] 8k C 7 22 82 Sirius Final Orbit/Bumper Bash (2-on-1)[220__] 8k C/B+ 7 27 83 Sirius Snake Byte [22031] 4k C 6 18 82 Sirius Spider City [22015] 4k B+ 6 23 83 Sirius Squish'Em [220__] 8k? A 9 40 83 Sirius Turmoil [22005] 8k B 5 17 82 Sirius Type Attack [22010] 8k B 6 21 82 Spectra. Ape Escape [SC-215] 8k C+ 7 23 82 Spectra. Cave-in [SC-207] 8k C- 7 20 82 Spectra. Number Crunch [SC-208] 8k B- 8 30 82 Supersoft Tank Atak 8k C 9 35 82 TG Software Droids 8k C 7 22 83 Thorn EMI Computer War [THC 22006] 8k C 6 19 83 Thorn EMI Fourth Encounter [THC 22005] 8k D+ 5 9 83 Thorn EMI Medieval Joust [THC 22007] 8k C 8 28 83 Thorn EMI Mine Madness [THC 22008] 8k C- 8 25 83 Thorn EMI Mutant Herd [THC 22004] 8k C- 4 6 82 Thorn EMI River Rescue [THC 22001] 8k C- 4 6 82 Thorn EMI Submarine Commander [THC 22003] 12k C 4 8 82 Thorn EMI Vic Music Composer (education) [THC 22002] 8k NA 5 10 82 Tigervision Polaris [7-007-20] 8k B 8 32 83 Tigervision Springer [7-006-20] 16k C 8 28 83 Tronix Deadly Skies 4k B+ 6 23 83 Tronix Gold Fever 4k C+ 6 20 83 Tronix Scorpion 8k B 6 21 83 UMI Alien Blitz [1619] 4k B- 7 24 81 UMI Amok [1611] 4k C 7 22 81 UMI Arachnoid [1605] 12k B 7 25 82 UMI Cloudburst [1636] 4k C 7 22 82 UMI Meteor Run [1613] 8k D+ 7 18 82 UMI Outworld [1635] 16k B+ 7 26 81 UMI Renaissance [1600] 12k C- 7 20 82 UMI Satellites and Meteorites [1650] 8k A- 7 27 82 UMI Skibbereen [1641] 4k C+ 7 23 82 UMI Spiders of Mars [1604] 16k B+ 7 26 82 UMI Sub Chase [16__] 4k C 8 28 82 UMI Super Amok [1642] 8k A 7 28 8_ UMI Video Vermin [1638] 8k A 7 28 82 Xonox Artillery Duel (CNS=1) [6235] 8k B 7 21 83 Xonox Chuck Norris Superkicks (AD=2) [6235] 8k C 7 21 83 Xonox Ghost Manor (SP=1) [6215] 8k D 6 18 83 Xonox Motocross Racer (TTB=2) [6245] 8k C 8 25 84 Xonox Robin Hood (SL=2) [6225] 8k D 6 18 83 Xonox Sir Lancelot (RH=1) [6225] 8k C+ 6 18 83 Xonox Spike's Peak (GM=2) [6215] 8k C+ 6 18 83 Xonox Tomarc the Barbarian (MR=1) [6245] 8k D+ 8 25 84 (Note that Xonox carts sometimes came two-per-case, as "double-enders". In other words, these carts had 2 sides that plugged into the computer. The initials seen above show what cart was paired with what other cart. All of the Xonox carts above were made as both single and double-enders but only the double-ender's part numbers are shown in the list above.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Confirmed but unarchived cartridges Boone Crater Raider Confirmed by: Seen in an eBay auction OEM Blackjack Confirmed by: Charles Bremer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hardware section. Please note that many of the items found below are pure hardware, or are at least more firmware than software. Some of them are just plain hard to categorize. Because Jim Brain already maintains a huge list of every single thing that Commodore ever put out, I see no reason to try to duplicate those existing efforts here. This is Vic20 cartridge-port-only stuff. (Note that even then, there are grey areas to consider.) You may also want to visit "ftp.funet.fi" via ftp, and check out their "/pub/cbm/schematics/" directories for more info. - - - = ( Utility cartridges, etc ) = - - - Arbutus Total Promqueen EPROM programming hardware. (This plugs into the Vic's user port, not the cartridge port.) Cardco Write Now! word processor Century Moses 65C02 assembler, 27 new opcodes Century Moses w/ 8K RAM 65C02 assembler, 27 new opcodes Commodore Basic version 4.0 [Vic-____] (4k ROM) Commodore IEEE-488 cartridge [Vic-1112] (4k ROM?) This device allowed VIC-20 fans to use older CBM printers and disk drives, via an IEEE-488 port and added BASIC commands. See funet's site for details. Commodore Machine Language Monitor [Vic-1213] (_k ROM) Commodore Programmer's Aid Cartridge [Vic-1212] (4k ROM) Commodore Super Expander with 3K RAM [Vic-1211A] (4k ROM) Commodore Victerm 40 [Vic-1610] (4k ROM) Commodore See game list for titles. To keep the 19xx number series as intact as possible, a few non-game items were listed in the first section of this list. Data 20 Display Manager 40/80 column display device Data 20 Video Pak 40/80 column display device Eastern Vic Rabbit datasette accelerator cart (2k) HES See game list for titles. To keep the HES cart numbering system as intact as possible, a few non-game items are listed in the first section of this list. Jason-Ranheim Promenade EPROM programming hardware. (Plugs into the Vic's user port. A C64 version was also made.) Kantronics Hamtext Client for amateur packet radio. Kantronics Radiotap Amateur radio interface item. Quick Brown Fox Quick Brown Fox word processor (8k ROM) Skyles Arrow datasette accelerator cart UMI Wordcraft 20 [16__] (16k ROM) - - - = ( RAM expansion memory cartridges ) = - - - Notes: I'll just briefly say that this section really needs a lot of work, and leave it at that. Any added info welcome! Abaris, Inc. Ram cartridge, 16k with battery backup APS RAM module, 64k Assembly Tech. RAM cartridge, 16k Cardco "Cardram 16", 16K Two banks of 8k. One 8-section dip switch selects where each 8k goes; four slot choices per each 8k bank. Century RAM Cartridge, 8k Century RAM Cartridge, 16k Century RAM Cartridge, 64k Commodore RAM cartridge, 3k [Vic-1211] Commodore RAM cartridge, 8k [Vic-1110] Internally, the PC board seems to be ready to accept another 8k of memory. Could solder more in. Commodore RAM cartridge, 16k [Vic-1111] Compuscope RAM cartridge, 8k Compuscope RAM cartridge, 16k MSD, Inc. RAM cartridge, 8k Personal... RAM cartridge, 8k ...Peripheral Products RAM electronics RAM cartridge, 32k Configurable. Marko's was set up to be a switchable 3k, 0k, 24k set-up. Stonechip Elec. "Vixen" cart, 16k UMI RAM cartridge, 3k UMI RAM cartridge, 8k Xetec RAM cartridge, 32k Each 8k bank has an on/off dip switch. - - - = ( Expansion chassis or "motherboards" ) = - - - (Please note that we are just now beginning to list any features that may have been on these items. More features may exist on each item.) Apropos Tech. RAMAX 2-slots, with 27k Apropos Tech. RAMAX Jr. 2-slots, with 19k APS Select-A-Ram 2-slots, with 64k Cardco Cardboard 3 3-slots, Cardco Cardboard 6 6-slots, Compuscope Expander 4-slots, Compuscope Supermother 8-slots, pause... Computer Place CP Vic-20 Expander 4-slots, Data Toolbox Quad-slot 4-slots, reset, fuse HES HesCard 20 5-slots, 5 select buttons, reset. High Tech Ent. Busmaster 6-slots, High Tech Ent. Busmaster II 6-slots, soft enable High Tech Ent. Minibus 3-slots, Voice World 24K Golden RAM 4-slots, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Vaporware" section -- carts which MIGHT exist Note that the market for the VIC-20 changed over to the C64 at roughly the end of 1983. In general, this means that carts that were planned to have been made for the VIC-20, which were first announced towards the middle or end of 1983, are less likely to have been made than carts announced earlier. In general. Don't take that as absolute gospel; there are always exceptions. But as a rule of thumb, it is fair to assume that carts announced near the end of 1983 probably got made as C64 carts instead, or got dropped entirely. Remember that even if a company decided not to go ahead with something as a production item, that does not rule out one or more prototype copies waiting to be found. And if prototypes can be found, they can surely be archived. We now have the hardware and know-how to duplicate tapes or ROMs. 20 Century Flash Gordon Summer 83 Power Play; press release only. It may have come out as Spider City by Sirius. Atarisoft Donkey Kong Jr. Never talked about in print that I know of, but Greg Hightower's "Eclectic Games" web site claims that he and/or his company made this title for the VIC-20 at some point. Atarisoft Joust Name listed in later ads, not in others, so this title was probably one of the last of the planned releases. There are four part numbers missing from the series, with three of those coming towards the end, so this makes sense. There is some confusion in the RX85__ series, but it looks like these holes are 16 or 17, 22 or 23, 25 or 26, and RX8538. Atarisoft Mario Bros. Jimmy Huey said this was once in development. No idea what part number it would have been, aside from it being one of the latter ones, as Stargate apparently is the earliest one. Atarisoft Stargate Name listed in early ads, not in later ads. I am guessing from the part number series that this was intended to be RX8516 or RX8517, as a Robotron (#20) box said Stargate was out already, and the other carts the box listed were shown in perfect "part number" order. Atarisoft Track & Field Never talked about in print that I know of, but Greg Hightower's "Eclectic Games" web site claims that he and/or his company made this title for the VIC-20 at some point. Atarisoft Typo Attack Tape? Seen on pg. 31, Sep84 "Compute!" Again, no idea what part number it would have been, but four holes exist, 3 of them later ones. Broderbund Martian Raider Tape? Seen in ad, 7/83 Compute's Gazette Broderbund Multi-Sound Sythesizer Seen in ad, 7/83 Compute's Gazette Broderbund Shark Trap Seen in ad in 7/83 Compute's Gazette. More recently, Leo LaFlamme confirmed that this game does exist as a tape. The instructions said his copy was the "cassette version"; in other words, we still do not know for sure if this came out as a cartridge or not? The tape part number seems to be: "007 3108321". That number came off the top of the tape where the write protect tabs are, Leo said. Commodore [Vic-1903] May be "Bridge; teach and play"? Brent Santin sent Ward some Sep 1982 promotional literature that lists that name as a planned cartridge. Commodore [Vic-1934] Name needed. (See comments for # 1940, below.) Commodore [Vic-1936] Apparently a clone of the arcade game Phoenix. Brent Santin found a third-party catalog from Sep 1982 that said this one was going to be "Space Vultures" when it was released. An ad in the Commodore-published "Power Play" mag (volume 1, number 1, page 29) advertised a game called "Lord of the Skies" saying that "Killer birds and their UFO allies are out to get you. As the birds become more valuable, the bombs fall faster and faster. Kill the bird before you get blasted." It was listed under "Space Games". Never released, but may have been programmed to an unknown extent? It most likely never went to market since Atari owned the rights and was sueing competitors. Commodore [Vic-1940] (See also # 1934, above.) These two carts are narrowed down to two potential titles, but we are not sure which is which. Brent Santin's third-party Sep 1982 promotional catalog lists "Wizard of Wor" and "Dog Patch" as soon to be released, as of September 1982. An ad in the Commodore-produced magazine "Power Play" (vol 1, no 1, pg 29) confirms that "Wizard of Wor" was planned and "coming soon". How far these were developed, we do not know? It seems the release of the Commodore 64 put an end to the development of these carts, but they might have been completed before being abandoned? We know that "Wizard of Wor" was released on the C64 as a cartridge. When you plugged that cartridge into Commodore's new "Magic Voice" add-on device, it had audible speech. "Dog Patch" would have been a home port of a 1977 arcade game. (A version of that game had been released on the Bally Home Arcade system.) Commodore Jack Attack It was said in an article in the spring 1984 issue of "Power Play" that Commodore planned to make a game called "Jack Attack" for the C64 and the Vic20. The C64 version exists and I just got in confirmation of a version from 1984 for the Commodore Plus/4 as well. (Jeff Hellige owns a boxed copy.) But as far as I know, no one has found a Vic20 version? If it did come out as a cart, we presume it would have been a brown-case, hand-assembled one, as the Vic20 was dying, commercially, by then. And since Commodore was the one killing it, (to push the C64) I doubt they ever made one? But if it did exist, and as a cart, the part number would likely have been Vic-1942? Note the we now have the existing holes plugged in Commodore's part # list, up through Vic-1941. Commodore [Vic-2011] VIC-Stat cartridge, per Jim Brain "CBM list". Commodore [Vic-2012] VIC-Graph cartridge, per Jim Brain "CBM list". Commodore [Vic-2013] VIC-Forth cartridge, per Jim Brain "CBM list". Commodore Basic 4.0 We have what seems to be a ROM image from a 4k add-on to Commodore's built-in "BASIC 2.0"; it claims to be "BASIC 4.0" and it does work. But we aren't 100% sure of its origin, what part number it would have been and so on? (We guess it would have been in the #12xx series?) Commodore (other info) Box art for the Vic20 system showed 2 unknown titles, but with little further comment. From the information available there it is hard to even know if these were planned as carts or as tapes: "Speed type" and "Electronic Calendar"? Creative Alien Hotel Peter Fokos (of UMI fame) told Ward Shrake this news: "Joann Lee worked on a project we started for Creative called Alien Hotel. I don't think it was ever finished because of the 84 crash, that's when we closed Tensor." Creative Save New York Press release only, in Jan 85 Computer Games. Most likely only came out for the C64, but the late announcement is intriguing in itself. Datamost Round About Unconfirmed, but on other collector's lists. Epyx Alien Garden May 1983 Electronic Games advertisement. Epyx PlatterMania May 1983 Electronic Games advertisement. First Star Panic Button Full review seen in May 84 "Compute!" mag HES Fort Apocyalpse Seen: Ad page 79, Nov83 Compute's Gazette HES Necromancer Seen: 1-line ad, pg111 Dec83 Compute's Gazette HES Slime 1-line ad @ $13, pg111 Dec83 Computes Gazette Jini Micro Mini Jini Seen in 1/2 page (99) ad in July 83 Gazette Oceans Int Blockbuster Seen in press release, pg 40, Aug83 Gazette Oceans Int Close Encounters Seen in press release, pg 40, Aug83 Gazette Oceans Int Frogman Seen in press release, pg 40, Aug83 Gazette Oceans Int Tank Wars Seen in press release, pg 40, Aug83 Gazette Note that some of the confirmed carts listed in the section above were once listed as being available from Oceans International. The confirmed copies are either from some other (or simply an unknown) manufacturer. Amazing Maze, Blackjack, Dot Gobbler and Space-Ric-O-Shay were all once this way so it would be premature to rule out finding more. Microware (five titles) See Tymac company below. Bought them out? Microware Key Quest 2-page review seen in Dec83 Compute's Gazette Parker Super Cobra Cliff Gregory saw this listed in a catalog of Parker Brothers games, saying it was going to come out in the fall of 1983, for the Vic20 and for other systems. Unconfirmed otherwise. Protecto Atari VCS Adapter Seen in various ads, unconfirmed otherwise. The ads were fancy and expensive looking, but never actually showed pictures of the item. Quick Brown QuickFinger Tape? 7/83 1-pg ad, Compute Gazette, pg. 79 Quick Brown QuickMail Tape? 7/83 1-pg ad, Compute Gazette, pg. 79 Quick Brown QuickSpell Tape? 7/83 1-pg ad, Compute Gazette, pg. 79 Romox Anteater Seen in Oct83 Compute!, page 45. Full page ad Showcase Astro Patrol The name "Showcase Software" turns out to be Showcase Chicken just another name for "Synapse Software". Ads Showcase Doughboy back in 1983 made it appear that way -- their Showcase Glub Club address and phone information were identical Showcase Pussyfootin' and even their shipping costs were the same -- Showcase Salmon run but that guess was confirmed; a "New Products" Showcase Squeeze announcement in the October 1983 "Compute!'s Gazette" magazine (page 140) reads as follows. "Synapse Software, a producer of games for Atari computers, has established the Showcase Software line for the VIC-20. The initial games produced are Astro-Patrol, a shoot-em- up game; Squeeze, a humorous game set on a farm; and Salmon Run. Each game sells for $19.95". (Ward can verify that those three do exist, at least as tape games; I own all three of those titles as Synapse cassettes.) Ward's interest in these titles (and one listed as a Synapse game, below) is that earlier ads said Synapse planned to make some of these as carts. Background info: although Synapse ran only a handful of ads in Compute! during 1983 & 1984, they did run ads in the Compute!'s Gazette on a pretty regular basis. July 1983 to October 1983 had ads which included small references to three titles they say were then "available" with "cartridge versions available soon". The names listed were "Astro Patrol" and "Squeeze" and "Harrier". Then in October came that "New Product" announcement listed above. Then the November issue had no ads from Synapse at all. Then in the December 1983 Gazette, which also had no ad from Synapse, comes an ad from this "Showcase Software" company. This December ad lists these seven titles as being for the VIC only, format unspecified. (Tape assumed.) The ad in December seems like an attempt to dump available stocks of remaining VIC-20 titles at bargain prices? They offered 1 free game with the purchase of any 2 of the other titles. The VIC-20 market was all but finished; Synapse ads in the Gazette during 1984 are C64-only. (They also take out more pages-per-issue.) We are tracking down which of these titles ever got ported over to the C64; some seem to have. Sierra Sammy Lightfoot Mentioned in Oct 83 Gazette ad, but not in ad for December. Did it only come out on C64? Sierra Tronsworld Unconfirmed, but on other collector's lists. Sirius Fantastic Voyage Seen: summer 83 Power Play Sirius Repton Seen: $25, 1-line ad, pg79, Nov83 C. Gazette Spinnaker Story Machine Seen: 6/84 Power Play ad. (Licensed to HES?) Spinnaker Alphabet Zoo Was this released as a HES cart only? Both? A fair amount of Spinnaker stuff was released by HesWare, and it can get a bit confusing. Synapse Harrier See "Showcase Software" titles above for more information. This is the only title that was promised early on as being "available" that was not sold later through Showcase Software. Why this one title was different is unknown. TG Software Nightstrike Seen: 1/85 Computer Games Tymac Bomber word Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?) Tymac D'fuse Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. Tymac Dot-a-lot Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?) Tymac Key Quest Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?) Tymac Res Q Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. Tymac Space Bats Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. Tymac Tic Attack Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?) Tymac Zap Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Info you can help us to find, to fill in some blanks. Missing carts: If you actually own a cart that is not shown somewhere in our lists, up above, please let Ward know about it, and he'll add it to this listing. (But please check the other sections, if it deals with a utility or a hardware type item, as these are generally listed seperate from games.) The top section is only for *archived* software cartridges, followed by vaporware listings, then hardware, utilities, RAM expanders, et cetera. Part numbers: In various places there are blank or incomplete part numbers shown. If we knew them, we'd list them. But we don't, just yet. Some manufacturers listed no part numbers on the carts themselves, but listed these on the package's outer box instead. Atarisoft did this for sure. Creative seems to be another one. Ditto for Sirius and Parker Brothers. Starting with version 1.8 of this list, I've made educated (but incomplete) guesses for some company lists, based on their patterns for other systems. If you have any original software boxes, or other paperwork, help us all out on this. Paul and I went through our collections long ago, so it is up to you now! Information about certain rumored carts: Anything we can get, will help! Ward enjoys being able to find different peices of historical puzzles. Over time, we fit together what must have happened. We've "regained" quite a bit of history that way, with the help of all of you out there in Internet land. (Thanks again!) Dates: If you have any solid date for any cart, please let us know. What this will do is let us establish a timeline, and compare and contrast it to events we know about from other sources. For instance, it would really be helpful to know when (exactly) certain carts were planned or talked about as "coming soon". That way, we can figure out what else was going on, that may have influenced decisions being made throughout the gaming industry. Things like the release of the Commodore 64, the gaming crash, when other game companies decided to release things which created some sort of conflict between competing companies, and so on, all obviously had the potential to change the course of VIC-20 history. Without solid dates, we can't easily contrast what happened when, and figure out the relationships between causes and effects. (Even semi-solid dates help! And it doesn't have to be dates of carts, or even for the Vic20 itself. Anything with the potential to help explain causes and effects, helps!) Confirmations of vaporware software: If you *now actually own a real cartridge* of a program we listed in our "vaporware" section of the list, let Paul or Ward know about it. We have only the information we listed, at this time. Many of the rarer carts we initially felt were "NR" (never released) did show up in time. However we are highly cautious about old memories of what *might* have been. We do insist that confirmations be made only when a person physically owns one. And of course, if it is not *anywhere* on our lists, and you're sure it is not a cartridge for some other gaming system, please, tell us about it! (The Emerson Arcadia "MPT-03" system has carts that have the same gold finger spacing and general shape. These are sometimes mistaken for VIC-20 cartridges. See http://classicgaming/arcadia/ for more info.) Ward's e-mail address: ward.shrake@classicgaming.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Some recent loans from kind folks on the I'net... Patrick Wickwire loaned his Cyclon cart for archiving purposes. If it isn't the only one of its kind, it is still remarkably rare! Tom Truszkowski loaned us his "Victerm 40" in prototype form, complete with handwritten label. The name on the label (Jeff Hand) turns out to be Commodore's main telecommunications person back then! "Uncle Roger" Sinasohn loaned two carts; Dot Gobbler and Fun with Music by Epyx. Dot Gobbler was a production cart, but I've only heard of maybe three collectors having a copy, in all the years I've been looking for Vic20 carts. Fun with Music was so rare that I'd never heard a single mention of it being available for the Vic20, until this one got loaned to us! Others have shown up since then, but not in any huge numbers, that's for sure. Cliff Gregory loaned me two real rarities; Amazing Maze & Bug Crusher. Cliff is also helping with oodles of scanned graphics, for the CD Project. Cliff has a very impressive Vic20 cart collection. Charles Dysert archived Romox's Typo cart, and e-mailed us the ROM image of the game, too. Getting the ROM that way made our day; it's really rare. Nice to know others have the technical skill and desire to keep these old carts from becoming extinct! Francois Leveille sent me "BASIC Ver 4.0" for the Vic20. What comes inside the Vic20 normally is version two; the 4.0 version was around from the PET days, but Commodore skimped out on things when they made the Vic20. (And later, the C64.) A shame, as this version of the operating system has many refinements. Of note to hacker types is that it has a built-in hex monitor! David Strutt sent me Xonox's Motocross Racer. This cart was one of the last Vic20 releases Xonox put out. While it is a production cartridge, it is rare enough that we were not even aware it was ever made for this system, until we were loaned one. (Usually a cart like this is at least on our "vaporware" lists.) This cart may be the last Xonox released for the VIC-20; the only other carts shown on other system's lists were all "never released". Edward Geist found the first copy of Droids. While he was not willing to risk sending his copy through the mails, to loan it to me for archiving, he did tell me where to go buy one myself when he saw another one up for sale. (Which is just as good!) Brent Santin loaned me three carts; "Squish 'Em" and "Vic Rabbit" and "Space Ric-o-shay". (Vic Rabbit was actually an EPROM and not a complete cart, but the info inside it is just as valid.) Squish 'Em came on one of Romox' special cartridges, meant to allow a special machine to reprogram it with any game they were permitted by license to "sell" to customers. (I'm glad we got all three of these, before they had succumbed to bit rot! A big thanks to Brent, for his help on both this and the CD Project.) Without the kindness of dedicated fans like these people, our VIC-20 cart archiving project would have never worked. Thanks for all your help, folks! If you contributed a cart (many did over the years) but don't see your name listed here, email Ward about it. Reminders help, as we did not list such things by name until very late in the project. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Closing comments "Digital Archaeology" is an interesting hobby. Other gaming systems have dedicated fan followings, who eventually track down all sorts of neat info about the games released for their favorite gaming systems. That is what I hope will continue to happen for the Vic20, both in stories and items. The "big three" console game systems (Atari 2600 VCS, Colecovision, and Intellivision) have fan followings that get to celebrate, from time to time, someone's finding of a rumored-but-never-found-before cartridge. I love reading the "2600 Connection" newsletter, for just such fun news. This is one reason I like the term "digital archaeology" so much, too; it does seem a lot like "digging up" forgotten treasures. Understanding the historical significance of such a find, or just appreciating it as is, makes this hobby a lot of fun. And yes, this is all a sneaky ploy to get more of you "out there" interested in helping to find such gems, as Paul and I simply cannot do this on our own. Too much physical space to cover, for one thing. So keep your eyes open, wherever you are located, OK? You never know what one-of-a-kind gem you'll run across in your travels! (End of document)