DP Guide questions: Odyssey2/Videopac section

[o2william]

I was looking through my DP Guide (7th Edition) today while doing research for my O2 site, and although the Guide has been an invaluable source of information, I still have a few unanswered questions. Plus I may have noticed one or two mistakes (gasp!). Here goes...

1. There are several Philips games listed with French titles such as 4 en 1 Ligne, Bataille sous Marine, Champe de Bataile, Tortues, etc. (Note these are from Philips, not Radiola or Siera, and they're not Brazilian games either.) Were games actually released with these specific titles? The packaging for most Videopac games showed titles in many languages including English, French, German, Dutch, etc. So, for example, was there actually a game called "Tortues" that didn't also have the English title "Turtles" on it somewhere? If not, what is the purpose of listing these titles separately in the Guide? (Or, are these supposed to be the French Canadian games?)

2. The DP Guide says that the prototype called "Defenders" is the same as the Jopac game Exojet (BTW, Exojet is spelled wrong in the Defenders entry), but Defenders doesn't have Videopac+ graphics. However, one person who found a prototype (Arnoud Helmantel) says on his web site (http://crash.grafisis.nl/videopac/mainpage.html) that Defenders is a copy of #39+ Freedom Fighters. Is the DP Guide in error? Or are there two different prototypes?

3. Loony Balloon seems to have disappeared from the non-U.S. game releases section. The prototype version without Videopac+ background graphics is still listed (and spelled wrong -- "Looney" shouldn't have an E). The entry says it is "Identical to the Brazil release, except that it does not display the Videopac+ background graphics." Does that mean the Brazil version shows Videopac+ graphics if you play it in a G7400 console?

4. Does the Pick Axe Pete proto for the Odyssey3 have the same background graphics as #43+ Pick Axe Pete?

5. Has anybody figured out if Play Tag is the same game as Plantage? Also, was Plantage ever actually found with the name "Catch"?

6. The Guide says that Maurice Simon discovered a company that worked with Philips, and they confirmed that Tutankham was developed, and Spiderman and Star Wars were planned. Has any more information surfaced about these games?

7. Pairs/Space Rendezvous/Logic is listed as "a.k.a Matchmaker!/Buzzword!/Logix!" The middle game is actually the same as Out of This World, which wasn't paired with the other games outside of Europe.

8. Does the Jopac game "Western+" have enhanced G7400 background graphics? The entry doesn't say.

9. Finally, has ANYONE seen the Jopac game "Des Chiffres et des Lettres" in action? What is it like?

Thanks,

[Arcade Antics]

Thanks! I'm not sure I can offer much help off the cuff here, but I'll throw out what I know. :)


1. There are several Philips games listed with French titles such as 4 en 1 Ligne, Bataille sous Marine, Champe de Bataile, Tortues, etc. (Note these are from Philips, not Radiola or Siera, and they're not Brazilian games either.) Were games actually released with these specific titles? The packaging for most Videopac games showed titles in many languages including English, French, German, Dutch, etc. So, for example, was there actually a game called "Tortues" that didn't also have the English title "Turtles" on it somewhere? If not, what is the purpose of listing these titles separately in the Guide? (Or, are these supposed to be the French Canadian games?)

I've thought of it as the same deal as the 2600 games (for example) where the same game is produced a few different ways outside of the US. If I'm understanding you though, you mean that this case should be considered separately since it's essentially a packaging differentiation, unless someone has carts without the English title. Right? :)


2. The DP Guide says that the prototype called "Defenders" is the same as the Jopac game Exojet (BTW, Exojet is spelled wrong in the Defenders entry), but Defenders doesn't have Videopac+ graphics. However, one person who found a prototype (Arnoud Helmantel) says on his web site (http://crash.grafisis.nl/videopac/mainpage.html) that Defenders is a copy of #39+ Freedom Fighters. Is the DP Guide in error? Or are there two different prototypes?

Spelling error on Exojet was corrected; the rest I'm not sure on, have to dig back through our notes - could be both.


3. Loony Balloon seems to have disappeared from the non-U.S. game releases section. The prototype version without Videopac+ background graphics is still listed (and spelled wrong -- "Looney" shouldn't have an E). The entry says it is "Identical to the Brazil release, except that it does not display the Videopac+ background graphics." Does that mean the Brazil version shows Videopac+ graphics if you play it in a G7400 console?

Spelling errors fixed; will have to compare notes with our overseas correspondents.


6. The Guide says that Maurice Simon discovered a company that worked with Philips, and they confirmed that Tutankham was developed, and Spiderman and Star Wars were planned. Has any more information surfaced about these games?

Not that we know of... yet. ;)


7. Pairs/Space Rendezvous/Logic is listed as "a.k.a Matchmaker!/Buzzword!/Logix!" The middle game is actually the same as Out of This World, which wasn't paired with the other games outside of Europe.

D'oh! Thanks!! Corrected! :)

[o2william]

Thanks for your reply!

My first point deals with something that is rather confusing about Videopac games: the multiple European titles. I'll try to explain further. Take a look at the box and cart for Videopac 11 (http://213.84.191.59/videopac/games/showgame?game=12).

They each show different titles in multiple languages: "Cosmic Conflict," "Guerre de l'Espace," "Krieg im Weltall," etc. This is how the majority of games were distributed in Europe.

So, what title should you put down in the Guide? English seems like the best choice, and sure enough, there is a DP Guide entry under Non-U.S. Game Releases for "Cosmic Conflict."

However, there's ALSO an entry "Guerre de L'espace" (the French title listed on the cart). But I don't see an entry for "Krieg im Weltall" or the others, so I conclude that the Guide isn't listing all the language variations separately. Why then, is "Guerre de L'espace" listed at all? Is there a variation of this game that ONLY had "Guerre de L'espace" printed on it perhaps? If not, why list this one and not "Krieg im Weltall" and the others?

According to BuckyB's Videopac label variations page (http://213.84.191.59/videopac/labelvariations/index.php), there is no cartridge label with only French titles. There is one with NO title on the label however. I wonder what the box looks like on these?


In Canada, Odyssey2 games were often distributed with inserts that showed French and English titles. Before, I speculated that maybe this is the reason for the French games' existing in the Guide. But I don't think that's the case now, since the French Canadian title of Cosmic Conflict is "Conflit Cosmique." That one's not in the Guide.

If you find out any more answers to my questions, please post 'em! I'm trying to increase the accuracy of the games listings on my O2 site. Thanks!

[slapdash]

So, what title should you put down in the Guide? English seems like the best choice, and sure enough, there is a DP Guide entry under Non-U.S. Game Releases for "Cosmic Conflict."

However, there's ALSO an entry "Guerre de L'espace" (the French title listed on the cart). But I don't see an entry for "Krieg im Weltall" or the others, so I conclude that the Guide isn't listing all the language variations separately.

I'll offer a hypothesis about this... My guess is that when some of us were putting out our feelers to make our lists, we often didn't have all the info required. So, you find a reference to "Guerre de L'espace", you list it separately, and then maybe you forget exactly how that one got added, so when you find the multilanguage box, you don't figure it out that you already have this listed separately. And lists get around, so any errors like this get perpetuated.

For my lists, I eventually listed the title with all languages as one entry, but even then I think there are some that don't have as many languages on the cart as are on the box (or vice versa?), so then which do you use? Argh.