Was the Action Max console reissued with a DVD?

[Cauterize]

I stumbled upon two brand new Action Max consoles at the car boot sale this morning for the tiny sum of £2.50 each. Both of them are brand new inside.
While the outer box has taken a bit of damage, the contents have never been touched... well, all but the video at least.

As the photo shows, there is no video included in either of the systems. Instead, to my amazement, upon opening the first one a blank labeled DVD fell out of the box in a paper sleeve. I popped the DVD into my computer and it is a direct copy of the Video that should have been included with the system.

So, it's raised a few questions...

- Does anyone know the Action Max was ever reissued, or is this new old stock?
- If so, was the Video converted to DVD for modern audiences without VCR/VHS players?

[Cornelius]

Very interesting! What does the box say? I assume it must reference VHS or DVD somewhere, and I think that would tell you if it was an official re-release (which I highly doubt). More likely is just that someone copied the video to DVD and tossed it in. I copied the 3 I have to DVD a long time ago, and I think someone else on DP made DVDs of the complete collection a while back. Does your DVD have just the one game, or all of them?

edit: yeah, it says on the front of the box that it is for VHS.

[HaggarCodyGuy123]

Look on the bottom of the dvd. If it is purple, it is probably a dvd+or-r which would mean that someone just recorded the vhs footage to a recordable dvd.

[Cauterize]

Look on the bottom of the dvd. If it is purple, it is probably a dvd+or-r which would mean that someone just recorded the vhs footage to a recordable dvd.

Yeah it's definately a quick VHS -> DVD copy made with a DVD Recorder.
It's more the fact both systems are brand new and packed with the same DVDs in the same slipcases. Almost as if they were mass produced for a reissue of some sort?

[Bojay1997]

Yeah it's definately a quick VHS -> DVD copy made with a DVD Recorder.
It's more the fact both systems are brand new and packed with the same DVDs in the same slipcases. Almost as if they were mass produced for a reissue of some sort?

No, it's more likely that some liquidator found a stash of these in storage and decided that if they wanted to sell them, they would have to include a DVD as the VHS tapes may have gone bad. That's the original box and pack-in literature and World of Wonder has been out of business for many years and I haven't heard anything about anyone buying the rights to this particular product for a re-release like they have done with Teddy Ruxpin several times.

[jb143]

No, it's more likely that some liquidator found a stash of these in storage and decided that if they wanted to sell them, they would have to include a DVD as the VHS tapes may have gone bad. That's the original box and pack-in literature and World of Wonder has been out of business for many years and I haven't heard anything about anyone buying the rights to this particular product for a re-release like they have done with Teddy Ruxpin several times.

Sounds like the most plausable explanation to me. If they had been used then someone probally just made the DVD's for personal use. And all 5 or so "games" would easily fit on 1 DVD.

Now what would be fun* would be to make your own videos. Or make Action Max compatable versions of classic action movie scenes and put those on a DVD. Adding the flashing circles wouldn't be too hard.

*More fun that playing the regular games more than once anyways

[EviLEd76]

I loved this "system" back in the day. I would go back and forth between this and my Atari 7800. I had all the tapes except for Fright Night that was unreleased. I would like to watch them again for the hell of it.

[jb143]

I would like to watch them again for the hell of it.

I did that a few years ago. I didn't remember them being so aweful. In Sonic Fury for example, as a kid I thought it looked really cool, but now I can tell they were just hanging toy jets from strings and moving them around.

Nostalgia: A device that removes the ruts and potholes from memory lane.