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From: Gamester81
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  • We're could I find a Bally astrocade in good condition? Any good websites

  • Space & star, two names that appeared nearly on every game in the 70's and 80's

  • The condition of your bally is MINT. That is a dimond of a collectors peice, how much did you pay?

  • Too bad you don't show controllers and screen at the same time while playing. These controllers are unique, so it would be very interesting to see them in action.

  • Damm that's a great system butt not a lot of them are sold on eBay

  • Gamster81 nice youtube account

  • With only 20 to 50,000 units produced, the Bally Astrocade is pretty rare. Though I have a Fairchild Channel F, a few pre-O2 Magnavox Odysseys, Coleco Telstar & pre-Atari 2600 dedicated (no carts) consoles, the Astrocade is definitely the pride & joy of my collection. BTW, if your at all interested in the Ohio Labs 75 game multi-cart I mentioned, perhaps I could take/post some pics or a video of it in use. It looks like a a regular cart, but has 5 tiny dip-switches on it for game selection.

  • In the early 80's my cousin had a Bally Astrocade (cost $700) & we often played when I went there. Because of my nostalgia for it, I bought 1 off Ebay in 2001, for $200.  The price included 11 carts. Because it said noting on Ebay, I was totally shocked to open the well worn box & find a brand new Astrocade. It/all attachments were still shrink wrapped! It was NEW/Never used! I also bought from Ohio Labs, a 75 game Bally Multi-Cart. I can no longer find any mention of it online.

  • Wow those are some really interesting games... too bad the controllers probably cost a lot (even the astracade ones which I assume are interchangeable).

  • Is there any chance you have Artillery Duel that you could run a demo of?  I have it on 2600, but I remember it being much more elaborate on my Bally Astrocade I grew up with..

    thanks so much for showing this system..

    I about lost it when I saw the box.. took me back.. :)

  • you'r a real expert man

  • Wait... Is Bally is a Exercise place?

  • Is Star Battle officially from Lucas Arts?

    Or was it a rip off.

  • i saw one of these at good will!! i would of gotten it if i knew it was that rare, probly gone now

  • This is awesome...never saw nor played one. The graphics are fantastic for the time and I love those controllers! That Outlaw style game looks much better than the Atari and if I had seen the Star Wars type game in 1978, I would mowed lawns for several neighborhoods!

  • The "2 Grass 100" computer you mentioned in the video was sold and is actually shown in the first National Lampoon's Vacation movie. Watch the early scene where Clark Griswodl is mapping out their traval route on a computer. Clark is typing on the computer while Rusty is holding a Bally controller and playing Pac Man against the car.

  • I still have one of these which I got as a christmas gift in '81. Still runs fine. Over the years I've picked up additional controllers, Bally basic, and even a multi-cart. "The Wizard" is probable the best Wizard of Wor clone ever made

  • I had one of the Prof. Arcade Systems. Great console. My favorite was the Pinball game. It was the first game that figured ball spin into the play architecture. I played it so much that one of the memory chips began to suffer from heat stress. I identified the defective chip but could not find a replacement. When the chip failed rendering the console useless, I bought a VIC 20. The Bally was a far superior game console to anything else at the time!

  • The only problem I have with watching your video game vids is I want the game(s) or console(s) your talking about. xD

    Very cool system I'll have to keep my eyes open for this console. :)

  • Woooo! Columbus Ohio!!

  • 2-grass? You mean Z-grass..

  • i found one in my attic awhile ago it has 2 controllers tons of games the labels fell of probally because of age and noback case

  • Dude you seriously blow my mind! Just to think that Bally was such a marketing machine!! I mean Bally total fitness??!!?! I thought it was just some BS name!

  • That keypad is the same as on one of my old TI calculators.

  • 9:50 reminds me of this game on one of the Atari systems called Outlaw. You ever heard of it?

  • @RvBFanatic yes

  • Ordered a Bally Home Library Computer in 1977. After receiving my 3rd unit in early 1978 (1st 2 had heat problems...one of the reasons for delaying the release (also FCC approval). I also bought the Basic cartridge when it was released. Also I bought the cassette tape interface.Played with Basic, Could read/write programs to the cassette.

  • The wood finish on most of the old video game consoles are really ugly

  • u entered 110 not 10 lol

  • 2:43 GET ON WITH IT!!!

  • that's the system that the Griswald's used to map out there vacation plans getting to Wally world lmao

  • @rifleman1002 My Cray 10k (MSRP: $105,000). Can run every video game in the world at %1.5 CPU usage (max settings on all of them). It's a great upgrade over the 4000. I'll sell you the only other one in existence for $5. ;p

  • cool shirt!!!

  • Nice system, it reminded me a bit of Intellivision..

    Great video, keep up the good work:)

  • lol when you set the max score in star battle you entered 110

  • To clarify your bewilderment of the abbreviation of ILLINOIS, ILL. We didst start abbreviating states with two letters until the early 80s. Before then we abbreviated them like this, Mass.-Massachusetts's, WA- Wash., AZ-Ariz. etc. I'll post a link from Wikipedia on your Facebook page.

  • Thank you for sharing and showcasing this wonderful system. I won a Bally Home Library Computer System loose on ebay years ago only to have come to me broken in parts. Your videos are very professional and you did a wonderful job covering the system. Your system is such excellent system! A++++++++++

  • another great video and review. Keep them coming and have a good holiday!!!

  • this exact bally in the box is selling at my retro/neo game shop for 300$ they wouldn't even let me try it bacause it so 'rare'.

  • Good god damn, the Star Battle is sweet! "I have you now!"

  • My rarest system probably has to be my playstation 5... That's right suck it!

  • @nick41324 I'm sorry, but PS5 is just small time

    I've been hitting Call of Duty: Halo Reach 18 on my Sega Exodus

    that's right, suck it

    (lolwut.jpg)

  • @nick41324 you kiddin? I got the Xbox 2. Complete brother of the 360. way better too.

    These are my rarest consoles. Dreamcast 2, Xbox 2, WiiExtream, PS7 (suck it), and the Cray 4000 EXT Gaming console ($30,000). It maxed Crysis at .5% CPU usage.

  • My rarest system is probably my Intellivsion.... My rarest accessory is probably my Konami Laserscope.

  • "There's a palenthora of different business models they have" - palethora? palenthora? plethora? :D

  • John, where you got it? And how muchdid you pay?

  • awesome...I actually liked the design compared to the odyssey or atari 2600

  • @bpotts0401 IMO, The Astrocade had the best controllers of the era. Literally a pistol handle/trigger, short joystick/working knob/paddle on top. It was technologically superior to other systems (in price too, $700+) of the era, but only about 20,000 were sold. When I got mine off Ebay in 2001, after opening the very worn/tattered box, I was amazed that everything inside was BRAND NEW! BWT, has anybody ever seen/have a 75 or 150 game Astrocade multi-cart by Ohio Labs? ($150-200) I've the 75.

  • Hey thanks for showing this!!

    I live sorta,kinda near Illinois so maybe I might run into one someday????

    Out here in the rural area I live in I imagine most everything was mail order back then!

  • @russell56443 Do you mean at like a yard sale or flea market? If so I wouldn't hold your breath. They are fairly rare. Only like 20k to 50k sold (compared to 10 million+ Atari 2600's). I got mine off Ebay in 2001. When occasionally looking out of curiosity & or for cartridges for mine, I usually see a dozen+ carts, but I have never seen more than 1 system (& usually none) @ a time for sale. If you are just curious to play it, you can use the MESS Emulator. Works well/plays 20+ games.

  • That looked advanced for '77 at the end

  • i hate wood grain.

  • Were some BASIC programs built-in on some models? Or was it only on Cart?

  • Wow I never heard of this console before. 4 controller ports? Did this come out before Atari 5200? Also the controllers are neat. SNK should have made an NES rotary stick controller like that for games like Ikari Warriors. That would have been awesome. Thanks for posting this :)

  • nice and rare system,

    you have a lot of cool videos,

    saludos, from chile!

  • Gamester, did you order the 7800 expansion module? Pre-orders are available on the atariage forums, I'm trying to spread the word out. Curt Vendall is behind it and if you know Atari then you know Curt and the quality work that he is doing.

  • Do you have Family Fun Fitness for NES? I got one for like 3 bucks few weeks ago. Looking for Stadium Events now :P Funny thing is I got Family Fun Fitness in Lithuania, an extremly rare place to find NES stuff. I only seen 3 NES in Lithuania.

  • are tha controllers compatible with atari or sega controllers? that's what the plug on the controler looks like to me.

  • Gamester81 is the best man on you tube for me, Keep it up dude! love all you're videos

  • I like you man, you know your stuff, you dont make a big deal out of it you keep it cool. Thanks for doing what you're doing man! Keep it up!

  • a vintage game shop has one of these behind the counter, not for sale however.

  • @Gottshaw

    I hate when stores do that. Once I found a game store with a Sega Saturn and a bunch of games behind a counter. I asked the clerk how much was the system? He told me it wasn't for sale. So what is was the point of having that in the store then?

  • Shit man you collect crazy obscure shit. Nice Job.

  • I used to have a Bally and it was a pretty unique system i felt and my favorite game for it was Incredible Wizard aka Wizard of Wor which is a excellent port of one of my favorite arcade games.

  • Let's see your star wars video game collection

  • Super Review John! and the games look fantastic especially the star wars clone, not bad for 1978 i wouldn't mind playing that. Plus Gunfight looks alot like the Handheld version Gunfighters.

  • Great review this is a great system. My wife and i were playing the gun fight when i first got it, so fun. I love the look of the system too systems just don't look as cool anymore as they used to.

  • the games look alot like atari 2600 games

  • Wow starfight looks pretty damn good. Awesome console

    Great video

  • Thanks for sharing! Yeah I really think those controllers were ahead of their time I like em.

  • Cool

  • for star battle u put 110 for max score

  • Is this system connected with Bally Fitness? They have the same logo.

  • @Andrew301 Yes, Bally diversified, which is why they survived after 1983 despite abandoning this market.

  • hey john i was wondering if you could do a review of the odessy 2 (hope i spelled that right). because all i know is that it took catrigies and had a controller as well as a keybord or something on the consol itself. so if you could please do a review of that consol that would be really cool.

  • Great redo, I'm glad you decided to do this one again. I'm surprised you don't consider something like your Super A'Can your rarest system. Aren't you, like, 1 of 5 people who has one in the US? Haha.

  • lol james has it

  • Wow really really great review!

    Never heard about that system im impressed !

  • I'm sure you've already done this review.

  • star battle, LOOKS BADASS!!!

  • nice vid

  • Gamester81, work on your video transitions: you cut to quick to another shot so we don't hear the last words that were said lol. But still, great videos, love all the retro stuff you demonstrate. A+

  • LOL, "very carefully". Yeah, right. I allways notice how you abuse your systems when you show them off. Take better care of the controllerchords man!

  • @bjoran83 im not the only one whos noticed gamester chucking his systems around!

  • @simongale43 "chucking" lol hardly.

  • @Gamester81 lol sorry just a turn of phrase!, i commented before i had watched this video, and now realise my comment doesnt really fit!, sorry gamester! any news on the pinball machine your thinking of getting?

  • realy interesting videogame-system and controller design. btw. you lost your youtube partnership?

  • WOW that looks awesome. i didn't even know they made this

  • Thanks for sharing this vid. I had never heard of this retro console/computer before today. It looks fantastic. It is a shame its life-span was so short and that Bally were so short-sighted and didn't market this machine as a games console. Who knows maybe they would have given Atari a run for their money. The Gunfight game reminds me of Outlaw on the 2600. Do you think they tried to clone it? Great vid.

  • @DLiberator78 realy interesting videogame-system and controller design. btw. you lost your youtube partnership?

  • @MasterKOfficial Hi there, I don't know if your question is aimed at Gamester81 or myself as I never had a YT partnership to begin with. :-)

  • @DLiberator78 oh sry xD the answer was for gamester81 xD

  • @MasterKOfficial No problem, thought so. ;-)

  • Game systems have come a long way since then and know i fear for the future

  • That last game you showed kind of reminds me of Star Strike for the Intellivision. Awesome video as always man!

  • don't eat the family truckster!

  • you did this before!

  • @Jakkinator45 yep but I didn't like the first review and I didn't show any gameplay before. I also added some more information in this one that was not included in the first review.

  • Interesting controller design!  Great video man.

  • really nice :] +1

  • wow great find :D

  • Wow !!!!

    Gold trim and clear plastic! Retro galore.

    As you know the "Famicom" stands for "Family-Computer". So you cant blame this company for marketing it as a computer way back then. It seems more logical.

  • Shame this thing didn't take off.

    I have the 2600, the Channel F, the Colecovision, the Phillips G7000, and several others but this thing looks like it could have blown them all out of the water!

  • Damn, very interesting man! Glad that one of the YT vidoegamers (someone cool) has one. I worked out at Ballys for at least ten years...not as cool as Pac Man tho! LOL!! The Gameplay is awesome! Its kinda like the Ti994/a.

  • wow. looks like it was ahead of its time.

  • Nice Vid John, Im impressed with the quality of the games giving the time.

  • you got some crazy stuff gamester

  • how much is that worth

  • Thanks for showing this John, I know RedChairGaming340 got this system with 15 games for around $75 I believe which is a steal. We know that went for way more at the CGE.

  • This looks really awesome! The controller looks great, but do you have to use two hands or can you just use the one? Btw you say "let me show you..." A LOT!

  • lol. got me

  • I think you meant almost like a paddle. 07:09

    Great system. I'm on the lookout.

    One day, I'll have a collection that rivals yours.

  • i thought you alredy did this

  • It looks to me like the back of the system not only acts as a storage spot for the controllers, but it also looks like it has slots for storing cartridges...

  • I always wanted one of these but sadly could find one. Now I know why.

  • good video man

  • Very cool!

  • I figured the Apple Pippin would be the rarest or the TriStar 64 for N64

  • It seems that all these video game related mail order only items always end up rare. Great video.

  • Love that Star Wars arcade clone-- who would have thought that the thing had a contemporary clone? Not me!

  • gambling became legal in atlantic city in 1976.

  • Very interesting controllers.

    They remind me a bit of those on the Fairchild Channel F, except that those didn't have the separate trigger fire button.

  • Was this the one they showed in National Lampoon's Vacation? I remember they were playing some obscure video game system early in the movie, I can't remember which one though.

  • wow, how old are you to have that many consoles? O_O

  • @storino03 who cares. Give the man his props for having more consoles than you or I will ever own.

  • @storino03 Old enough to screw your mom!

  • Bally? Isn't that the same company that owns health clubs? I guess it is true that they also made video games. The logo in 1:45 seems to confirm that.

  • Excellent review John. Thanks for clearing up the 3 differen version of this system. I was in the market for one of these but stayed away cause i didn't know the difference between them and the reasons why. thumbs up dude.

  • Wow, Gunfight looks much better than Outlaw! Excellent video John! :)

  • @elbryan42 - I was thinking the same thing. I love Outlaw, and Gunfight looks even better.

  • My rarest console is Playstation 2. lol

  • my rarest system is the Atari 5200 "Atrix" model. only about 900 made

  • Finally!

  • Meh...I'd rather play with the cabbage patch doll.

  • that is in such amazingly great condition!

  • i want that shirt.

  • My rarest system is RCA Studio II

  • Star Battle looks like Star Wars! Spectacular video John!

  • my two rarest systems are my Neo Geo pocket color and my famicom

  • @StickPeopleAndPuff How rare is the Neo Geo Pocket Color, how much would those be on eBay or Amazon?

  • @BrandonScott1001 they run probably 40-80 bucks

  • @StickPeopleAndPuff not even close. got mine for 29 shipped with metal slug first mission.

  • @StickPeopleAndPuff thats a fricken steal bro. I need that sonic game too, but been wasting my money on other crap.

  • @StickPeopleAndPuff how is a famicom rare?

  • @fmdof in north america it is

  • @fmdof if your in america because it is a japanese system, i mean its not as rare as ^ but still

  • OMG! My dad had one of these!!!!

  • i like your shirt

  • my rarest system is my NES :) good vid John

  • @henryblazer20 nes is the 3rd best selling system ever

  • @henryblazer20 that's like the most common system to find. u fail

  • Star Battle looks very similar to Midway's Space Encounters... At least I'm pretty sure Midway made it... it might have been someone else.

  • looks great im trying to do reviews man

  • Very awesome system. I think I missed the Star Battle of 2005 though lol.

  • That's like old, private school right there. Sweet video mayn.

  • my rarest system is my fairchild f looks abit like outlaw 2600

  • why did you redo the review??

  • The Bally Home Library Computer actually has good graphics for the time.

  • nice review

  • Thanks for showing the gameplay footage, it made me relate more to the systems hardware. Cool Tie Fighter game, it's like a funky shoot em up. :D

  • my rarest system is my fairchild f

  • That computer is in very good condition for its age.The game play looks alot like Atar 2600 games. Very good review John. Looking forward to the Allgengamers podcast tomorrow!

  • i thought the expansion module was called the ZGRASS

  • My rarest system is the Color TV Game 6 white version

  • Man that last game would probably give epileptics the floppy jiggles.

  • everybody 14 prety good

  • What would you say is the least rare version of this thing, I kind of want one now. Great video Gamester, keep up the awesome rare console videos!

  • awesome vid man check mine out

  • cool.

    never heard of that before.

  • Pretty cool graphics for being that old pretty rare too, nice video John.

  • Epic win.