E.F.G. Times

$150,000 ATARI CONTEST DETAILS

As we mentioned last month, the new Atari SwordQuest series (EarthWorld, FireWorld, AirWorld, WaterWorld) are games you can win—150,000 worth of prizes will be awarded. Here are the details for the first game, EarthWorld.

• With the help of the games and DC comic supplied, you must find five “word clues.” There are 11 clues, but only five are correct.

• Send your word clues to Atari. The best 50 entries will be invited to California for an all-expenses-paid playoff using a similar game made especially for the playoff. Other winners will receive an Official Atari Challenge Certificate of Merit.

• The winner of the playoff will receive a gold Talisman medallion with 12 diamonds, worth $25,000 and fashioned exclusively for Atari by the Franklin Mint.

• After all four medallions have been awarded, the ultimate EarthWorld, FireWorld, AirWorld and WaterWorld winners will be flown to Atari for a final playoff to claim the Sword of Ultimate Sorcery, valued at $50,000.

• EarthWorld deadline is March 15th.

• Just one entry per person.

• Good luck!

Monthly Contest

Each month we pick a home video game and award a free cartridge to the reader who achieves the highest score. To enter, send a clear photo of your score on a TV screen. The highest score we receive by December 10, 1982 will be the winner and he or she will receive the cart of their choice. This month…Kaboom! Send entries to: December Contest, Electronic Fun, 350 E. 81st St. New York, NY 10028.

Computer Price War Erupts

If you ever considered buying a home computer, now might be the time. According to an article in Time magazine, “this Christmas will be the breakthrough in personal computers,” and the prices will be right.

In 1980, sales of home computers hit 35,000. This year 1.5 million are expected to leave the stores and that number should double in 1983. To compete for that computer dollar, the manufacturers are engaged in a price war that can only mean good things for the consumer.

On September 1st,

Texas Instruments offered a $100 rebate on its popular TI-99/4A. which lists at $299. Commodore has cut the price on its VIC-20 by $40. Radio Shack’s TRS-80 Color Computer is $98 cheaper than last year. And Atari is giving $60 worth of discounts on its library of software.

It will be very interesting to see if this Christmas will do for computers what last Christmas did for video games. And if so, where will that leave video games?

Parker Brothers Strikes Back

Following the incredible success of Frogger and The Empire Strikes Back, Parker Brothers has several new titles planned for your Atari VCS. Keep your eyes open for these…

January—Super Cobra, Star Wars
February—Reactor
April—Sky Skipper, Tutankam
June—Revenge of the Jedi

This Man Is Not Normal

He is Rich Taylor, president of Telesys, a company that makes games for the Atari VCS. Telesys has quickly gained a reputation for producing “funny” games. First came Fast Food, in which Mr. Mouth has to eat as much food as possible to gain calorie points while avoiding the dreaded Purple Pickle. Now Telesys has Coco Nuts, where Stanley I. Presume must fend off coconuts thrown by a monkey in a tree.

We assume that this is why Mr. Taylor is seen here manipulating a joystick with coconuts on his desk and a demented gleam in his eye. On the other hand, maybe he’s just weird.

Joystick Finger Transplant?!

You can have a heart transplant. You can have a kidney transplant. But a finger transplant? Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago has been getting a lot of calls lately about an operation performed there in which two fingers of an Asteroids champ were sewn onto the hands of a young man who couldn’t score 100,000 points in the game. It seems this information was provided in The Winner’s Book of Video Games, by Craig Kubey.

The whole thing, of course, was a hoax perpetrated by Kubey. “I’m amazed anyone would take that part of my book seriously,” he says. “I think that’s even funnier than what I wrote.”

Stay Out Of Malaysia

Video games are already against the law in the Philippines and Indonesia. Now there is a movement in Malaysia to put a ban on them. “These games glorify violence, destruction, war, killing and racing,” said Martin Khor, of the Consumers Association of Penang. Mr. Khor went on to say that children are stealing from their parents to play video games and bringing the games to school to play during lessons. “Video games are destroying our traditional games and children are no longer interested in, say, flying kites or top-spinning.” he told The New York Times.

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em…

For the first time in ten years, the cover of Mad magazine is not graced with the presence of Alfred E. Newman, the mag’s mascot. Instead, the September issue featured another star—Irving Pac, Man of the Year. Irving is a vicious-looking, carnivorous, unfriendly version of the dot we all know and are sick to death of. He also appears inside the magazine, gobbling up articles and headlines.

Kids today are spending more of their quarters on video games and less on magazines. It is only natural for Mad—and other magazines of that ilk, such as Cracked—to try and regain some of that business. Crazy magazine, put out by Marvel, has stopped publication entirely. Watch for some video gaming TV shows shortly.

Computer Games From Spectravision

Hot on the heels of their first five Atari-compatible games come three new Spectravision games to be played on the Commodore VIC-20 computer. In Cave-In, you must dig your way out of a collapsed mine shaft before you are buried alive. In Reagonomics, you must balance your national budget despite a plummeting stock market, a monetary crisis and clashes with foreign powers. And Number Crunch allows you to improve your match skills and have fun at the same time. These games are $35 each.

News From Activision

• The world’s largest store, Macy’s, played host to the Activision Ice Hockey Tournament recently. Hockey stars Ron Dugay and Brian Trottier (pictured here) were on hand to try the home version of their profession. A group of 14-year-olds proceeded to beat the skates off them.

• Latest Activision game—Sky Jinks. It will retail for $22.95 and should be in the stores any day now. These guys must be hooked on planes. Similar to Barnstorming, Sky Jinks puts you in a P41 racer, flying through a slalom course of red and blue pylons. Sky Jinks, is the 19th game from Activision.

• With more than a million Intellivisions in use, Activision decided it was time to act. Pitfall! and Stampede will be available for Intellivision by Thanksgiving for $31.95.

Kermit The Frogger?

What do you get when you cross Atari and Sesame Street? We’ll find out in June when the first children of this union hit the stores. Atari Inc. and the Children’s Television Workshop have joined forces to produce games based on Jim Henson’s characters from Sesame Street. The games, according to Atari president Michael Moone, “will be child-tested, age-appropriate, discovery-oriented and blend entertainment and learning opportunities.” They will be available for both the Atari VCS and 5200 system.

There is no truth to the rumor that the first two games will be Big Bird Attack and Oscar the Grouch Laser War.

Watch For These New Arcade Games…

Jungle King (Taito)
Zektor (Sega)
Subroc 3-D (Sega)
Moon Patrol (Williams)
Slither (GDI)
Radical Radial (Nichibutsu)
Oli Boo Chu (TAI)
Gravitar (Atari)
Mighty Monkey (Yih Lung)
Pengo (Sega)

Kong Strikes Back

The theory of evolution was disproven last week when a baboon and a chimp scored significantly higher in Donkey Kong than a pair of human beings wearing similar clothing. However, in this version, you have to move this ape up a building and dodge flying pizzas.

In other Coleco news, there will be 15 carts for ColecoVision by Christmas. Also, there will be seven Coleco games for Atari VCS owners and five for Intellivision owners.

Is Heaven A Big Arcade?

Yes, but there are no change machines. Pictured here is Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello), ex-Saturday Night Live superstar priest, on the new CBS series, Square Pegs. The Father has been recruited to exorcise Marshall Blechman (John Femia), who is possessed by video games. It doesn’t look like Sarducci is making much progress.

It is rumored that more than 10 new TV shows about video games are in the works. Keep an eye out for next month’s Electronic Fun for more info, pictures and interviews about the shows.

Quote Of The Month

“Eventually, you die. But the question is, how well did you do until that time? Did you do better than other people? If you did, you won. It’s like life. Everybody dies, but it’s what you do in between.”

Lyle Rains,
Inventor of Asteroids,
in Secrets Of The Video
Game Superstars

Have you got an item for the EFG Times? News events, game tips, photos and other information are gladly accepted. Send material to: EF, 350 E. 81st St., New York, New York 10028.