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Thread: VTech Socrates

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    ServBot (Level 11) tom's Avatar
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    Default VTech Socrates

    V Techs only programmable, anyone's here got one of those and how many carts/peripherals were released for it?

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    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    Ive got one but dont know much about it.

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    My cousins had one back in the day, but I unfortunately don't remember much about it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tom View Post
    V Techs only programmable
    Don't forget the V.Smile. I see V.Smile stuff at my thrift store all the time. The collector in me is tempted to pick it up, but what's the point? I've seen a few Socrates now and then, and while they look interesting, I just can't bring myself to buy purely educational systems.

    --Zero

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) Sly DC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tom View Post
    V Techs only programmable, anyone's here got one of those and how many carts/peripherals were released for it?
    Hi tom,

    Here's your requested informations:

    V-Tech Socrates Peripherals:
    ----------------------------
    - Talking System Voice cartridge
    - Mouse System (with CAD Professor Mouse cartridge)
    - Touch Pad (with Magic Pen & Numbers/Shapes & Letters Touch Pad Cartridge)

    Socrates Games (complete list):
    ------------------------------
    - Game Wizard
    - Hodge-Podge
    - Facts 'N Fractions
    - Around the World
    - State to State
    - Amazing Mazes
    - Memory Mania

    That's it. I have the complete set (system, all peripherals and all games) to sell
    (or trade) if you are interested. Here's a picture of my set:

    http://www.ccjvq.com/slydc/tradesll/sell/socrates.jpg

    Let me know if you can see the picture, seems that with Firefox nobody can't.
    --- Sly DC ---
    Creator/Co-Author/Maintainer of many Game Systems FAQ,
    Digital Press Guide staff writer, member of the C.C.J.V.Q,
    Silicium Museum, NECGHQ and the CGCC.

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    I've come close to buying one of these online a couple of times now, but I just can't bring myself to pay for international shipping for one of these. Maybe one will pop up in my area some day and I can try it out.

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    ServBot (Level 11) tom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sly DC View Post
    Hi tom,

    Here's your requested informations:

    V-Tech Socrates Peripherals:
    ----------------------------
    - Talking System Voice cartridge
    - Mouse System (with CAD Professor Mouse cartridge)
    - Touch Pad (with Magic Pen & Numbers/Shapes & Letters Touch Pad Cartridge)

    Socrates Games (complete list):
    ------------------------------
    - Game Wizard
    - Hodge-Podge
    - Facts 'N Fractions
    - Around the World
    - State to State
    - Amazing Mazes
    - Memory Mania

    That's it. I have the complete set (system, all peripherals and all games) to sell
    (or trade) if you are interested. Here's a picture of my set:

    http://www.ccjvq.com/slydc/tradesll/sell/socrates.jpg

    Let me know if you can see the picture, seems that with Firefox nobody can't.
    Hia
    that's great thanks for the info. Nice collection of a full set there.

    Would love to have it, but buying is not an option for me at the mo.

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) Sly DC's Avatar
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    Hiya again!

    No problem for the infos, were here to exchange information not just blabber
    about the weather...!!! And also thanks about the full set, took me a while
    to get everything but seems my kids don't like it (because the full set is in
    English, they speak French ) so that's why i'm not keeping it. But i have another
    Socrates in French with the voice cartridge and 2 French games, looking for
    others French games but they are so freaking rare to find....sigh!

    Oh and if you ever want to see the Socrates in action, just try the M.E.S.S.
    emulator. It emulates the V-Tech Socrates but it's still in development but you
    can try the games (err...edutainment software is more like it) which gives you
    a good "try-out" before deciding to buy (or not) a Socrates in the future. And
    you'll need the BIOS of the Socrates before running M.E.S.S., for the BIOS:
    Goggle is your friend! (Sorry, can't put a link here)

    Have fun trying the Socrates with the M.E.S.S.! =)
    --- Sly DC ---
    Creator/Co-Author/Maintainer of many Game Systems FAQ,
    Digital Press Guide staff writer, member of the C.C.J.V.Q,
    Silicium Museum, NECGHQ and the CGCC.

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    Wow, I had no idea the library for this thing was so small... and I'm amazed VTech actually made French software for it too. Did every "game" get a translation, or just specific ones? Are there any games released exclusively in French?

    --Zero

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    I've still got one of these somewhere in storage without about 4 carts and the mousepad. I don't use it too much because a couple of the keys on the keyboard are inoperable. It might be an easy fix. Then again it might not since it's a membrane keyboard.

    One of the things I find most interesting about the Socrates is how the whole unit can be powered by batteries. IIRC it's 4 D cells for the base unit, and 2 AA's for the keyboard. I'm not sure why I find that so compelling; maybe because it implies that other console manufacturers at the time could have done the same thing but chose not to for one reason or another. Does anybody know about how long the battery life lasts? I imagine it could be as long as a couple of weeks of regular use.

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) vintagegamecrazy's Avatar
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    I used to have a console, I didn't own any games but the built in games were sufficient for what it was. It has about the graphical capabilities of something in between the NES and TG16. It's a good find to grab if you see one in a resale shop for $10 or less since they're not that common. I sold mine on Ebay for a whopping $10 so they're not popular at all. I saw another one at a thrift boxed but passed on the $25 price tag.

    Grab it if it's cheap.
    If they made a movie out of your top five worst sins, what would it be rated?

    Check out my list of trades on GameTZ Link

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