Action 52 on the NES

[LynchJustRules]

I just got done watching the latest AVGN review of Part 1 for Action 52 on the NES and it was hilarious!

For those of you that remember, was this game actually sold at video game retailers when it came out? (e.g. EB games, Funcoland, babbages, etc.)

And if a store did carry it, did they actually sell this game for $200?

[Blitzwing256]

It was only available through mail order in most popular magazines like egm and lamepro.

[Astrocade]

I remember renting it from the local mom & pop video store when I was a kid, so it was probably also available through video rental distribution companies as well.

[Ryaan1234]

I remember renting it from the local mom & pop video store when I was a kid, so it was probably also available through video rental distribution companies as well.

A while back we were talking about that game, and someone had mentioned that he was working at Blockbuster back in the day and they had a ton of unsold copies of Action 52 that ended up being reduced waaay below $200.

[Vectorman0]

Here's a great read on the company behind it. http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/special/active.html

[JimmyDean]

Looks like Active Enterprises had been living in Fantasyland. Sure, they promised almost unattainable goals and aspirations, but the sad part is that investors believed that they would deliver. Action Gamemaster, anyone?

[ReTrO-pLaYeR]

I just got done watching the latest AVGN review of Part 1 for Action 52 on the NES and it was hilarious!

For those of you that remember, was this game actually sold at video game retailers when it came out? (e.g. EB games, Funcoland, babbages, etc.)

And if a store did carry it, did they actually sell this game for $200?

It was 199.99 dollars to begin with. You could only get it from mail orders, which makes it pretty rare. A boxed copy can fetch about 100 dollars nowdays. There was a version of the Genesis, and a canceled version for the SNES.

CheetahMen II is even more rare, and was made from unsold Action52 cartridges. A sealed copy is worth quite a lot of money on ebay.

[Arkhan]

Ive coded shit on the PCE in a weekend just to see if something works, that are better than those games, lol

[peachstapler]

I have Action 52 complete in the box, and while I still paid triple digits for it, I didn't pay what the original owner paid in 1993. :smug:

[MachineGex]

Here's a great read on the company behind it. http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/special/active.html

That is a really good read. Thanks for the link!

I remember playing this cart only once(about ten years ago). I went through every game and never found one that I even remotely liked.
Besides Cheetahman, has anyone ever found a game on this cart that they liked?

[stonecutter]

I got 2 copies, one loose, 1 with box and manual for 8 bucks combined total. I still think I paid too much. What a piece of crap that was/is. I have since moved the copy with box and manual, keeping the loose copy for collecting purpose only lol.

[DDCecil]

I was lucky (unlucky?) enough to get it a loose cart from a now defunct rental store for $6 (along with Little Nemo) back in 1995. I didn't know anything about it at the time, and thought it would be one of the infamous pirated multicarts with Mario on it.

After a week of messing around with it, I traded it in to a local used game store for something like $9 in trade.

I do remember Alfredo not working...

[Astrocade]

When I started hearing about how collectors are willing to drop one or two hundred bucks for a copy, I nearly crapped my pants. I felt like a complete idiot for renting it when I was ten years old; I could only imagine how dumb I would feel paying triple digit numbers for it. :o

[Callin]

1. Release an expensive game nobody wants to buy.
2. Company goes under.
3. Save the copies nobody bought.
4. Wait until game is valued by collectors.
5. Sell them for $100+ on ebay.
6. Profit!

[JimmyDean]

General rule of thumb: multicarts suck.

[Ze_ro]

I've played the NES version, and it's every bit as awful as it looks in the AVGN video. I programmed junk in Basic on my C64 when I was 5 that was more fun than most of the "games" that ended up on this thing. It amazes me that Active really felt they could carry out any of the ridiculous plans they had when they couldn't even make a single game that was anywhere near enjoyable.

How is the Genesis version? Is it a different set of games from that on the NES cart, or did they find some way to port over the awfulness?

--Zero

[Enigmus]

I've played the NES version, and it's every bit as awful as it looks in the AVGN video. I programmed junk in Basic on my C64 when I was 5 that was more fun than most of the "games" that ended up on this thing. It amazes me that Active really felt they could carry out any of the ridiculous plans they had when they couldn't even make a single game that was anywhere near enjoyable.

How is the Genesis version? Is it a different set of games from that on the NES cart, or did they find some way to port over the awfulness?

--Zero


They ported over ALL the shit, but it's still bad, just better design at parts (Ooze, for instance).

Also, Action Enterprises must have had a LOT of mind-bending drugs to think the Cheetahmen were good enough for a "Disney-quality" cartoon series, a comic, a mascot suit, and a HYDRAULIC FIGURE. @_@

That, and the Action Gamemaster? 3 in. screen on a one and a half foot wide system? Really?

[Ed Oscuro]

1. Release an expensive game nobody wants to buy.
2. Company goes under.
3. Save the copies nobody bought.
4. Wait until game is valued by collectors.
5. Sell them for $100+ on ebay.
6. Profit!
Yes, declaring bankruptcy and spending real $$ to produce these damn things (back when the dollar was worth a dollar!) is totally worth the payoff of $100 years later.

The picture is even worse for people who mail ordered these things at $199, if that's true, due to inflation. Even if it was bought at $100, you'd lose money due to inflation, a lot.

[Zoe F]

They ported over ALL the shit, but it's still bad, just better design at parts (Ooze, for instance).

This is not accurate. The Genesis version is NOT a port. It is a completely original collection of games that were developed by a completely different company. The NES version was programmed by unknown Miami college students, but the Genesis version was programmed by FarSight Studios. FarSight are the same developers that worked on the very poorly regarded NES title Color a Dinosaur (seriously).

[MachineGex]

General rule of thumb: multicarts suck.

Not sure if I agree on this one. I have several multicarts that are loads of fun. The NES has some great bootleg multicarts. Plus, I am one of the few people who actually think Sachen made some descent games. Sachen has a few Multicart games that are fairly good. If Sachen would have polished a few of their titles, they would be some of my favorites.