Yep Sears was the BOMB back then. That's where we shopped for about everything other than groceries. And getting that Sears Wish book in the mail every September was such a treat! I wore that thing out before December hit.
In Brazil for most people Dactar, an Atari 2600 clone was the Atari we played. And it started being manufactured in the end of 1982, and picked up in 1983, before the official Atari was released here. I still have mine.
Thank You for these videos. They bring back alot of memories, like this one:. Back before the days of "release dates", I remember that Sears would put out the games for sale BEFORE the actual Atari versions would be on sale at other stores, like Toys R Us and KayBees. I remember coming home from School and my Parents had bought me the Sears version of PAC-MAN and I couldn't believe it. It wasn't supposed to be "released" until a week later. My Friends were so jealous because I got to play PAC-MAN for a whole week BEFORE it was actually supposed to "oome out". From that point on, I would always check SEARS first to see what new games were coming out BEFORE they actually were in other stores. Such a good memory and good times.
Circa 1983-84 I arrived home from school to find my father was home early (or maybe he hadn't gone to work that day) and he'd picked up a Sears Tele-Games console from a Sears surplus outlet. It came with Combat. I still have it in a box somewhere, along with about 30 games (mostly second-hand). I think our DC adapter was Sears-branded.
Hey John,I had the Sears Telegames Atari.I still remember my Dad purchasing this Sears Telegames System at Sears,I don’t remember the exact year,probably in the early 80’s. As a young Kid like yourself I enjoyed Target Fun,your Video brings back a lot of memories. I’m glad u bought this Game System while u had the chance.
My family's first game console was also the Sears Video Arcade. I remember the afternoon that it blew up (after many hundreds of hours of play)...the moment my older brother popped Asteroids into it! We had to wait about a year, until we finally got a "real" Atari VCS, until we were able to play that awesome game. What I wouldn't give for that original Sears "Video Arcade", today!... Thanks so much for sharing, many great memories, here.:)
My dad bought my brother and I the Sears Tele-Games system after I bugged him for a year for an Atari 2600. We would waste whole weekends playing that thing! Boy,that was so long ago...that system stopped working years ago but I just kept it for the memories.
Is there anyone in the Atari online community that is known for or that likes to diagnose abd repair them? Mine still functions well, but in case it doesn't it would be nice to know if anybody in the game community works on them.
Same, had the sears 2600. Things were very very different as we were right in the beginning of the world of video games, from going to the arcade to even at the shopping centers the incredible excitement when you seen a Pac-Man arcade or donkey Kong or anyone of them having a few quarters made living life a heck of a good time! from the music to the arcades to home gaming systems, best times ever to be alive! There was no nothing like walking into an arcade with black lite carpet and arcade sounds going off! I can remember the sounds of which games were there before even getting inside the arcade.
Oh, that blend of game sounds was like a symphony to my ears. If you haven't already discovered them, you've GOTTA check out the Arcade Ambiance series. Just put it on in the background and drift back to '83! th-cam.com/video/x6aNPsjNwFo/w-d-xo.html
Memories from my early childhood, since where I grew up in Iowa, we were about 4 years behind the times back then...until the early 1990s when everything finally caught up with current stuff. The Gold Mine arcade at the local mall was like some kind of fever dream, and still is often the setting for my dreams in my 40s...heck, even the pinball machines!
@@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785 What really amazes me is some of those 90s pinball machines were way ahead of their time, once you play a few it becomes a very different type of an experience that you cant get away from. But the $$$ is outrageous but also an investment that makes them worth owning!
On Target Fun/Air-Sea Battle, games 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 27 are all one player. But you have to use the right controller and the computer just continuously shoots, no ai.
This was a fantastic tribute to the Sears Tele-Games arcade system, which we briefly conversed about sometime ago when I made mention of having one myself, since my father worked at Sears at the time. I may have said this to you previously, but in regard to the Target Fun game - when picking it out at Sears for a birthday gift, I asked the sales rep/cashier what game was included with it and she replied with, "Target Fun, which is Air Sea Battle," inspiring me to react with, "I love that game!" (ha) I was then allowed to pick out other titles, which were Dodger Cars, Adventure, and Bowling. So, in seeing this now, and regardless of having to recently sell many of my boxed (and complete) Atari and Tele-games titles a few months ago to pay bills before thankfully being hired for a new job this year, I was thinking of how - in seeing the Sears Best box - that, and I know that this term is something of a cliché - the "journey" through so many titles throughout the seasons into years was just beginning with various game companies (especially Activision and Imagic), and that so much of my free time was spent playing those games on the weekends or in between homework whenever possible, while looking for anything new in the stores or magazines to save up for, or to ask as a birthday or Christmas gift. It was a unique time of interactive entertainment in childhood, essentially, so - thanks as always for the great presentation by providing a personal connection of these fond gaming memories.
I have a lot of Ataris and my favorite one is a six-switch Tele-Games. When I bought it, it was really dirty and the power input was broken, but after cleaning it up and fixing the power, I was amazed to find it had no outer damage including the paint, basically looks brand-new and has at least as good of output as any Atari in my collection. I'm pretty sure these first went to stores in 1978, because that's when the trademark was registered after they filed for it the previous year, whereas Atari did release the original in '77.
It is not only a video game piece of history but also a retail piece of history. Back then Sears was the worlds largest retailer and had the power to force Atari to produce game consoles under there inhouse brand name. Today that would be like Walmart or Amazon forcing Sony and Microsoft to make a Great Value or Amazon Basics branded consoles for them to sale.
There's nothing like finding a minty heavy sixer! Great find! Another cosmetic difference between the CX10 and CX40 is the CX10s don't have the word TOP on them. Also, if you play Moon Patrol on expert difficulty, you'll get the music during gameplay!
Congrats on the find. I'm not a retro gamer but it was cool to see your excitement and I want to learn and remember from the games of the past and rediscover what made them so great. That's because I'm starting my own business this year which will launch with 12 game modes (kind of like the initial 2600 had the 9 launch games).
Long after most of my friends had theirs, my parents finally bought me an Atari in September, 1982. It was the Sears Tele-Games version. What we got was also a "heavy sixer". I don't know if that was still de rigeur at that time or if they were trying to get rid of some dust-collecting stock they'd discovered in a warehouse. I always appreciated having the skill toggles on the front for one reason: playing Activision's StarMaster. Switching from gameplay to the game map was accomplished by toggling the skill switch and so I took to playing the game while seated in a chair with the console at my feet. I would use my big toe to flip the the skill switch, thus saving me precious seconds and ensuring that I always had my fingers on the fire button. If the skill switches were on the back of the unit, this would have been impossible.
I'm truly impressed how good it looks and how well it plays. AMAZING FIND! Definitely interested in seeing the internals of both the joystick and the console. My Atari 2600 VCS as a kid was a heavy sixer too. Pretty sure it is the internal shielding that makes it heavy.
CX10s (and Heavy Sixer stuff generally) were sold well into 1978 as well. I have a theory that the hex discs were abandoned very early on, given how incredibly rare they are (other possible evidence: joystick tops never have any kind of adhesive residue, and promo materials sometimes depicted CX10s with no hex discs). They were superfluous anyway and would have been one of the first things to go when cost-cutting time came.
Nice! Before I got my first Atari, my first memories were playing games at the local Sears store on the Tele-Games system, so I have a fondness for these. Got my first light sixer for Christmas '80 and have it to this day. Fast forward to a couple years ago, I walk into my vintage video game store and there's a Sears heavy sixer on the shelf for $50. Didn't spend too much time thinking about it and bought it. It wasn't CIB like yours, but I had always wanted one, and have been happy with it since. Then I go into the store a year or two later and they have a Sears Tele-Games II (Atari 2800) with the special controllers and didn't hesitate on that one either. I think I have an Atari problem!
Great stuff! My first 2600 was a Space Invader pack in (also included Combat) bought in 1979. The joysticks were CX10, which differ in having four springs to reach down to the circuit board, which was mounted lower inside the case. The CX40 was a way of cutting costs by simplifying the workings and increasing the reaction time for movements. Invaders was played to the point of rolling it over, after which it was sidelined.
It's a really nice piece of history in excellent shape Jon, it was made to be yours in a day of the future! 😄 In Europe, Italy especially, we had the Matra 3600, a 2600-clone console with 128 games built in plus a cartridge slot. I don't know if it was any good as the original but hey, it was very common to find in toy stores, little shops and also big distribution stores.
That’s definitely a Year One Heavy Sixer, and it’s a beauty. Still Atari no matter the choice of sexy shell! Those gray power supplies were only early issue as well. The CX-10 also doesn’t say “TOP” ...on top.
I got an Atari from Sears but mine was called Sears Video Arcade. They also had a Sears Super Video Arcade which I believe was an Intellivision. I honestly don't remember anything about the name Sears Telegames
You're right. The branding changed slightly during its run at sears, but it was always labeled "TELEGAMES" just above the cartridge slot (replacing "Video Computer System").
Hey, very informative Video, Jon. As a German I never even knew that Sears sold branded "2600er". Cool stuff. Your nostalgic feelings really came through. Thanks for sharing!
What a fantastic find! Love to see the internals and the difference between the CX10 and CX40. I have never seen walnut woodgrain on an Atari before. Looks nice!
Great video! Love the attention to detail. I still have our Sears Telegames heavy sixer. I break out at Christmas time where my brother and I love playing Combat and Race. So much fun. The cx10 was great - was not super durable. But they seemed to get worse for a while and I remember going through a bunch of them.
I believe you are correct on it being the first one here on the market. When I was a kid my dad and I went to Sears to get mine, and those were brand new on the market then. As a kid getting this right after it came out made you the coolest kid in the neighborhood. Also when you hear people complain that consolesand game are too high if you adjust the price of these new back in the day it's about 950 bucks now. The games cost roughly the same, as today too adjusted for inflation even including 30-40 or so in DLC in a modern game.
I remember when I got my Atari, I saw an ad where Sears had The Teli-Games on sale for $20.00 less than the Atari. So, I asked my dad if he would buy it for me, he said he would buy the Atari version, saying he did not want to waste money on a cheap knock off. I just could not get him to understand there was no deference in the system because they were both made in the same factory. But whatever I got an Atari out of it.
Thanks for sharing, Jon! I love seeing the alternate titles and art for Telegames branded carts. At 55, I'm still an Atari fan; your GSP post helped me update the firmware, and load additional games.
I loved that fake walnut woodgrain and aluminum top around the switches! The Sears Telegames heavy 6er was a tank... until you screwed up the polarity using a multi end reversable polarity AC adapter. It was my first too, I loved it, and I still have it, hoping to one day find a way to repair whatever blew up inside of it and caused it to start smoking. I still have hope to somehow revive it, 30 years later. Any advice anyone? Solder in a new transistor or something? 🤷🏼
I had a Tele-Games system which looked like that (from 1981?) which came with Space Invaders, Target Fun, and two joysticks (not sure about paddles?) A really nice find that brings back some memories, thanks for sharing.
My grandparents had a Sears branded console and it came with the CX-10 joysticks. I know because whenever there was a problem with any of the joysticks not working properly, I'd take them apart, and I remember the spring and plastic board arrangement, as well as it having a hard plastic insert for the stick. I don't remember them ever having a metal badge with the company name on it though. My memory could be faulty, but something that would eventually fall off seems like something I'd remember. Maybe they stopped including the badge on later production runs? Those switchboxes used to piss me off. You'd be playing and suddenly the picture would get all static-y, then you'd fiddle with the switch to try and clear it up. About 10 years ago, the guy I rent a room to wanted to know if he could hook up the Atari 2600 that was in the basement. I hooked it up for him and the picture was really crappy. The next day, I popped the cover off the switchbox and wrapped some bare wire around each set of contacts, essentially bypassing the switch itself. The picture was DRAMATICALLY better. Sadly, he quickly decided that it was too old and the games too primitive to hold his interest.
Hey, Jon.!👋 Nice seeing you again. You are such a lucky guy being able to get one of those year one “Atari 2600”’s, even though it is Sears’ knock-off version. Ohhh just to hear those classic video game sounds again just gives me goose bumps. Great video! Thank you for the memories.👍
great find Jon especially with the box and unit looking great!I love the sounds when you hit reset switch!! my friend had one of these back in 1980....I honestly wish icould go back to those great days....😢
I know I’ve commented about the Brewing Acadamy UAV (Ultimate Atari Video) mod before. On my light sixer I was able to retain RF while adding composite and s-video, WITHOUT ALTERING the case or removing any components. If there is any way to send pics of the work I did (and how non-invasive and clean it can be done) I would be happy to send them along, if that sort of thing is of any interest to you. In my book, it’s the only way to go if you want a non-destructive Atari upgrade. Again, great content as always. I really value your ability to give detail while adhering to a true “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” methodology 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
We definitely borrowed someone's Target Fun cartridge! But watching you open the game box, and seeing those slim 'S'es, the matte finish... wow, FLASHBACKS, mostly tactile how the label felt... Ah, the antenna box, of course, it's so iconic it's burned into my memory :) Internals? Yes, I'd like to see a vid on them. We'd open our joysticks in desperate attempts to fix the broken plastic ring with Krazy Glue... alas, the fixes never held up :-/
I would definitely be interested in seeing a comparison of the internal makeup between the CX10 and CX40. Maybe even the CX40+ as well (the one that came with the 2600+).
That's a great piece of history. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂 My first console was the NES, so I don't have a lot of nostalgia for the 2600, but I do remember playing it once at a family friend's place, and I have a couple of the AtGames Flashback units, so I have a little experience with the games. I definitely need to plug those back in someday and play some more.
I had that Sears system as a kid too. If you have a copy of DK junior, try it out on the Sears system, and then on an actual Atari system. When I was a kid, I found that most of the enemies that climb on the vines don’t show up on the Sears system, but did on the Atari system. I didn’t realize how hard the game was until I took it to a friend’s house that had the real and probably newer Atari.
Yep the sears version telegames was how I first saw and played it. along with an older pong and the video pinball. Old OG sears stores were great back then for all kinds of stuff
I'm happy for you! Space and $$$ restraints have forced me to curtail my retro game related purchases, but I'd definitely buy an old heavy sixer, Sears branded or otherwise.
Whoa! Everything looks super-shiny here, especially for it's age! It looks even better than my SNES, and NES! Even looks better off than my yellowed Dreamcast! It's also 14 years older than me! Nice upload!
Awesome video and awesome system. Definitely do a CX-10 versus a CX-40 video. And a heavy sixer versus light sixer. And a Sears heavy sixer versus an Atari heavy sixer.
Yah, i still have my original TeleGames console. I think its from 78 maybe,i forgot. My parents actually had the idea to get it. It was pretty expensive for that time. A lot of the games we bought through a local family hardware store that had a big toy sales section and got into electronics and gaming. It cost maybe 500-600 $ or something, i cant recall exactly. My mom n dad actually liked Blackjack and moms favorite that and Pinball. I got Adventure straight off. Had Asteroids, Street Racer, Math, Pele's Soccer, Maze Craze, Defender. Yars Revenge, Star Raiders. I just bought Outlaw, Jungle Hunt, Phoenix, at a fleamarket for like hardly anything and Venture from a collector on ebay. Now i got the Gamestation Pro so i can get a bunch of other games through that instead of having to search out old cartridges that may be too expensive. I saw a mini golf game that i dont think i ever saw before that i kind of want now. Lol
Got a Sears system back when I was 13. What was cool is you could play the Atari carts on it. So, I used to go and get used games from Budget tapes and records.😊
Great video! This is what my parents bought around this time. It started my love for games. I am glad it came with Target Fun instead of Combat I don’t think we would ever get Air Sea Battle so it was a great game as a pack in. I would think the Sears brand was cheaper since my parents didn’t have much money and barely just bought luxury type items. I remember playing Bowling, miniature golf, breakout and Target fun as some of our first games. Eventually the power supply input got a short in it and we would wrap the power cord around the game cartridge to get it to stay on. I also curious if the extra weight of the system was the metal shielding they had to put in them for regulation. 😊
Awesome, man. It looks great! I wouldn't do much beyond clean it myself but I'm not really a collector. For me and my brothers, Coleco Gemini was Atari...We got Donkey Kong and Mousetrap with ours. The old Dual Command controllers with the stick and paddle are still my favorite of all the Atari controllers. Anyway, great find and great video!
Great find Jon. That thing looks really clean. I never had a Sears system, only Atari. But I’ve always liked the look of the Sears a bit better than the Atari systems. Fun stuff!
Not being from the US i hadn't seen the Sears variant before, i think i quite like the Maple effect or whatever it is they were going for, along with the silver around the buttons and cart slot. Enjoyed the vid as always, many thanks.
When I discovered the Sears video arcade and saw the gorgeous asthetic I was straight on eBay, grabbed one, paid ridiculous postage to UK and had it SVideo modded. Its my main rig with the Plus Cart (+) always in for those lovely 2600 evenings! 😊
No oxidation of the console, for this console was created in an era to last. I got my 2600 in 1981/82 in Canada onsale for $199.99. It was a 6er, but would not be a heavy 6er along with Asteroids and Combat. A shocking day 😊that I thought was a dream. I actually now owned what I always watched via commercials. Have you played Atari today?
Cool to see. I never had an Atari, but several friends did. Not having the option to choose between channel 3 and 4 would have been awful in my city. We had a local station broadcasting on 3, so we might have seen a background of CBC Halifax on every game.
Jon, I'd be interested in that joystick comparison you spoke about. I still remember having to replace the plastic joystick internals several times. But I was extremely lucky because there was an Atari service center in the same town where I grew up, which made it very convenient to get parts!
My first Atari was one of these in about 1981. I loved that thing. I had a lot of cartridges which were pretty expensive back then. I remember after the video game crash though buying them $3 to $5 apiece.
I remember when this was in the "Wish Book" along with the Bally Astrocade and the Fairchild Channel F. Of the three, the Sears Tele-Games was the clear pick, since there were more cartridges available for it. (15 if I remember right. Amazing!)
There is a heavy sixer database on AtariAge. I had Sears #11878S (no longer do, but now you can look up who I am on AA in that thread :) ) - yours does not appear to be in there, so you've rescued an unknown unit. I personally sold mine because I just had too many VCS's/2600's at one point... kind of regret it, but I just had to draw the line somewhere and I grew up around the regular Atari 4 switch models (and mine is more complete than my heavy sixer was) so that's what I kept. I do think your power supply is original - mine was also grey and had an even lower serial. I think you're probably right that the whole thing is a 1977 model, though I don't even know if they made these beyond 1977. I do like the CX-10 better than the CX-40, especially when playing for long periods.
Thanks for the heads-up. If it's the same thread, I replied recently with a request to add mine. Maybe it just hasn't yet been done since the OP has to do the edit.
@@GenXGrownUp Yeah I noticed after I posted my comment that it hadn't been updated in quite a while. Oh well, hopefully there's enough info there already that someone else can pick up the torch if need be and start maintaining the list again.
I just thought you always had one on the shelf behind you. Congrats man. I had just purchased a heavy sixer 2 weeks ago at a swap meet for $20. Paddles and games included. Guy left his girlfriend to run his booth and I got an epic deal
Yeah, sadly that's just an old non-working four-switcher decorating my set. Oh my, great deal but I bet they had an uncomfortable drive home after that sale!
For comparison sake $180 in 1977 is worth about $905 today. In addition to the Sunnyvale label on the bottom of the unit another telltale sign this is a heavy sixer is the curved bottom edge in the woodgrain. In later six switch models the woodgrain has a straight edge bottom.
I’m in such an Atari mood lately. Picked up a modded 7800. There’s so few 7800 games that I end up going back to 2600 games after awhile. A good 2600 game just doesn’t age or get too old to enjoy. Ever. If you truly think Atari isn’t playable anymore, the problem is you, not the 2600.
Oh man, i do remember that system. They greying could be a time-factor on the power supply. There is probably a chemical that could clean it up but i dunno if it's really worth the effort. I really wish i had been watching this channel a year ago. I let ALL of my older systems go due to the fact that they were just sitting and gathering dust and i was just spending more money for the sake of an occasional play. However, i do believe in the preservation of older systems and there should be a few libraries, in every state, to educate people on the history of computers and gaming as it really is a BIG part of our culture now and it's affecting everything from breakfast cereals to clothing to even furniture as a side-effect.
Just finished modding my heavy sixer with Tim Worthington's RGB mod. I would say it was well worth the effort. It's been fun to play these games with my kiddo. Truly a cool system to own.
Guess I'll have to check out that mod. The Atari 2600 generates the video natively from luminance and chrominance. So I'm curious how an RGB mod could be better than sending composite or S-video to the TV and having the TV separate it to RGB. Seems like it would be a lot more complex as well.
What. A. Find!! 🤯 I’m with you on preferring the swirling Sears woodgrain look to the VCS’ straight lines woodgrain. And yes: a comparison between the CX10 and CX40 joysticks would be cool.
Awesome vid!!! I have 2 Sunnyvale heavy-sixers but one is the rare "hybrid". I have the grey adapter too but mine causes a ton of interference. --- My 2 cents....The only thing i use to preserve my vintage plastics is 303 Areospace protectant and I consider the finish to be "perfect". (Meguires is too oily). The plastics (system carts and cables) and silicone/rubber are getting to old and need a penitrating treatment to prevent degradation. Enjoy your new toy!!!
Jon, can you talk about vintage game shows that take place throughout the country? I’d like to start attending some of these shows so I can bull up my collection of handhelds and cartridges. Nice work!
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
Poor Sears.
Used to be an incredible store which carried great toys, Craftsman tools and my Toughskin jeans.
I also had Toughskin jeans in elementary school! And Toughcord (I think that's what it was called) bedspreads and curtains.
The Sears Christmas wishlist catalog was something I loved to browse as a kid...omg. 😢
It's incredible that they had such a hard time competing with Amazon when Amazon just stole their business model and modernized it.
@@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785the BB gun pages were fun..
Sears was the Walmart of its day; they had it all!
Yep Sears was the BOMB back then. That's where we shopped for about everything other than groceries. And getting that Sears Wish book in the mail every September was such a treat! I wore that thing out before December hit.
The Sears wish book was fun to browse through as a kid, even if you knew your parents weren't going to get what you wanted from it. 😭😂
Except when your mom wonders why you took last year's Wish Book to the bathroom in March...
In Brazil for most people Dactar, an Atari 2600 clone was the Atari we played. And it started being manufactured in the end of 1982, and picked up in 1983, before the official Atari was released here. I still have mine.
Dactari
Don't you ever sell it either(: money comes & goes but that's your's😊
Thank You for these videos. They bring back alot of memories, like this one:. Back before the days of "release dates", I remember that Sears would put out the games for sale BEFORE the actual Atari versions would be on sale at other stores, like Toys R Us and KayBees. I remember coming home from School and my Parents had bought me the Sears version of PAC-MAN and I couldn't believe it. It wasn't supposed to be "released" until a week later. My Friends were so jealous because I got to play PAC-MAN for a whole week BEFORE it was actually supposed to "oome out". From that point on, I would always check SEARS first to see what new games were coming out BEFORE they actually were in other stores. Such a good memory and good times.
Happy to share, and thank you for watching! 😀
Circa 1983-84 I arrived home from school to find my father was home early (or maybe he hadn't gone to work that day) and he'd picked up a Sears Tele-Games console from a Sears surplus outlet. It came with Combat. I still have it in a box somewhere, along with about 30 games (mostly second-hand). I think our DC adapter was Sears-branded.
Hey John,I had the Sears Telegames Atari.I still remember my Dad purchasing this Sears Telegames System at Sears,I don’t remember the exact year,probably in the early 80’s.
As a young Kid like yourself I enjoyed Target Fun,your Video brings back a lot of memories.
I’m glad u bought this Game System while u had the chance.
My family's first game console was also the Sears Video Arcade. I remember the afternoon that it blew up (after many hundreds of hours of play)...the moment my older brother popped Asteroids into it! We had to wait about a year, until we finally got a "real" Atari VCS, until we were able to play that awesome game. What I wouldn't give for that original Sears "Video Arcade", today!... Thanks so much for sharing, many great memories, here.:)
Just curious, but why would you buy a VCS when you already had a machine that was thoroughly identical (with the exception of the labels)?
My dad bought my brother and I the Sears Tele-Games system after I bugged him for a year for an Atari 2600. We would waste whole weekends playing that thing! Boy,that was so long ago...that system stopped working years ago but I just kept it for the memories.
Is there anyone in the Atari online community that is known for or that likes to diagnose abd repair them?
Mine still functions well, but in case it doesn't it would be nice to know if anybody in the game community works on them.
Same, had the sears 2600. Things were very very different as we were right in the beginning of the world of video games, from going to the arcade to even at the shopping centers the incredible excitement when you seen a Pac-Man arcade or donkey Kong or anyone of them having a few quarters made living life a heck of a good time! from the music to the arcades to home gaming systems, best times ever to be alive! There was no nothing like walking into an arcade with black lite carpet and arcade sounds going off! I can remember the sounds of which games were there before even getting inside the arcade.
Oh, that blend of game sounds was like a symphony to my ears. If you haven't already discovered them, you've GOTTA check out the Arcade Ambiance series. Just put it on in the background and drift back to '83! th-cam.com/video/x6aNPsjNwFo/w-d-xo.html
@@GenXGrownUp If you haven't seen - The video craze ( where were you in 82) definitely worth the watch! Really takes you back as well!
@@quantumfx2677 Added to my watch list. Thanks!
Memories from my early childhood, since where I grew up in Iowa, we were about 4 years behind the times back then...until the early 1990s when everything finally caught up with current stuff. The Gold Mine arcade at the local mall was like some kind of fever dream, and still is often the setting for my dreams in my 40s...heck, even the pinball machines!
@@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785 What really amazes me is some of those 90s pinball machines were way ahead of their time, once you play a few it becomes a very different type of an experience that you cant get away from. But the $$$ is outrageous but also an investment that makes them worth owning!
On Target Fun/Air-Sea Battle, games 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 27 are all one player. But you have to use the right controller and the computer just continuously shoots, no ai.
Game 12 my fav. Win before comp gets 33.
Sure enough! Of all the years, I never even tried single-player.
Got me too, I'm trying that after work
This was a fantastic tribute to the Sears Tele-Games arcade system, which we briefly conversed about sometime ago when I made mention of having one myself, since my father worked at Sears at the time. I may have said this to you previously, but in regard to the Target Fun game - when picking it out at Sears for a birthday gift, I asked the sales rep/cashier what game was included with it and she replied with, "Target Fun, which is Air Sea Battle," inspiring me to react with, "I love that game!" (ha) I was then allowed to pick out other titles, which were Dodger Cars, Adventure, and Bowling.
So, in seeing this now, and regardless of having to recently sell many of my boxed (and complete) Atari and Tele-games titles a few months ago to pay bills before thankfully being hired for a new job this year, I was thinking of how - in seeing the Sears Best box - that, and I know that this term is something of a cliché - the "journey" through so many titles throughout the seasons into years was just beginning with various game companies (especially Activision and Imagic), and that so much of my free time was spent playing those games on the weekends or in between homework whenever possible, while looking for anything new in the stores or magazines to save up for, or to ask as a birthday or Christmas gift.
It was a unique time of interactive entertainment in childhood, essentially, so - thanks as always for the great presentation by providing a personal connection of these fond gaming memories.
This 56 y/o enjoys your channel AND your podcast. Many great memories that we share!
Thank you for watching AND listening, Steve! 🥰
I have a lot of Ataris and my favorite one is a six-switch Tele-Games. When I bought it, it was really dirty and the power input was broken, but after cleaning it up and fixing the power, I was amazed to find it had no outer damage including the paint, basically looks brand-new and has at least as good of output as any Atari in my collection. I'm pretty sure these first went to stores in 1978, because that's when the trademark was registered after they filed for it the previous year, whereas Atari did release the original in '77.
Great find! Just unearthed my 2600 and thinking of trying a composite mod on it. Would like to see more on the Sears system!
It is not only a video game piece of history but also a retail piece of history. Back then Sears was the worlds largest retailer and had the power to force Atari to produce game consoles under there inhouse brand name. Today that would be like Walmart or Amazon forcing Sony and Microsoft to make a Great Value or Amazon Basics branded consoles for them to sale.
Great point!
There's nothing like finding a minty heavy sixer! Great find! Another cosmetic difference between the CX10 and CX40 is the CX10s don't have the word TOP on them. Also, if you play Moon Patrol on expert difficulty, you'll get the music during gameplay!
Congrats man. My first "Atari" was also a Tele-Games heavy 6'r. Such a beautiful piece. Great find man. Enjoy it.
Thanks for allowing me so share wih you. 😁
Something special about playing Atari games on original hardware.
Congrats on the find. I'm not a retro gamer but it was cool to see your excitement and I want to learn and remember from the games of the past and rediscover what made them so great. That's because I'm starting my own business this year which will launch with 12 game modes (kind of like the initial 2600 had the 9 launch games).
Aahh, back when woodgrain was in. I still have my original Atari and all the games. Tucked away in a nice waterproof bin.
Woodgrain will always be in for me.
I have a Sears Tele-Games Heavy Sixer as well. What a great find.
Sears used to account for more than 1% of the US’ GDP. That’s why they could say to Atari, “we’re going to make you an OEM of our brand.”
Long after most of my friends had theirs, my parents finally bought me an Atari in September, 1982. It was the Sears Tele-Games version. What we got was also a "heavy sixer". I don't know if that was still de rigeur at that time or if they were trying to get rid of some dust-collecting stock they'd discovered in a warehouse. I always appreciated having the skill toggles on the front for one reason: playing Activision's StarMaster. Switching from gameplay to the game map was accomplished by toggling the skill switch and so I took to playing the game while seated in a chair with the console at my feet. I would use my big toe to flip the the skill switch, thus saving me precious seconds and ensuring that I always had my fingers on the fire button. If the skill switches were on the back of the unit, this would have been impossible.
I'm truly impressed how good it looks and how well it plays. AMAZING FIND! Definitely interested in seeing the internals of both the joystick and the console. My Atari 2600 VCS as a kid was a heavy sixer too. Pretty sure it is the internal shielding that makes it heavy.
CX10s (and Heavy Sixer stuff generally) were sold well into 1978 as well. I have a theory that the hex discs were abandoned very early on, given how incredibly rare they are (other possible evidence: joystick tops never have any kind of adhesive residue, and promo materials sometimes depicted CX10s with no hex discs). They were superfluous anyway and would have been one of the first things to go when cost-cutting time came.
Nice! Before I got my first Atari, my first memories were playing games at the local Sears store on the Tele-Games system, so I have a fondness for these. Got my first light sixer for Christmas '80 and have it to this day. Fast forward to a couple years ago, I walk into my vintage video game store and there's a Sears heavy sixer on the shelf for $50. Didn't spend too much time thinking about it and bought it. It wasn't CIB like yours, but I had always wanted one, and have been happy with it since. Then I go into the store a year or two later and they have a Sears Tele-Games II (Atari 2800) with the special controllers and didn't hesitate on that one either. I think I have an Atari problem!
We may share the same affliction.
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great stuff!
My first 2600 was a Space Invader pack in (also included Combat) bought in 1979.
The joysticks were CX10, which differ in having four springs to reach down to the circuit board, which was mounted lower inside the case.
The CX40 was a way of cutting costs by simplifying the workings and increasing the reaction time for movements.
Invaders was played to the point of rolling it over, after which it was sidelined.
It's a really nice piece of history in excellent shape Jon, it was made to be yours in a day of the future! 😄 In Europe, Italy especially, we had the Matra 3600, a 2600-clone console with 128 games built in plus a cartridge slot. I don't know if it was any good as the original but hey, it was very common to find in toy stores, little shops and also big distribution stores.
I still remember going to SEARS at the SRQ Mall, upstairs in the sight and sound area, spending hours playing missle command!
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing Jon and congrats on such a cool pickup. Enjoy!
In the 90s the 2600 made a comeback. The mini-2600 with a ton of original games included on the mini-console.
That’s definitely a Year One Heavy Sixer, and it’s a beauty. Still Atari no matter the choice of sexy shell!
Those gray power supplies were only early issue as well.
The CX-10 also doesn’t say “TOP” ...on top.
I got an Atari from Sears but mine was called Sears Video Arcade. They also had a Sears Super Video Arcade which I believe was an Intellivision. I honestly don't remember anything about the name Sears Telegames
You're right. The branding changed slightly during its run at sears, but it was always labeled "TELEGAMES" just above the cartridge slot (replacing "Video Computer System").
Hey, very informative Video, Jon. As a German I never even knew that Sears sold branded "2600er". Cool stuff. Your nostalgic feelings really came through. Thanks for sharing!
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for allowing me so share wih you. 😁
What a fantastic find! Love to see the internals and the difference between the CX10 and CX40. I have never seen walnut woodgrain on an Atari before. Looks nice!
Great video! Love the attention to detail.
I still have our Sears Telegames heavy sixer. I break out at Christmas time where my brother and I love playing Combat and Race. So much fun.
The cx10 was great - was not super durable. But they seemed to get worse for a while and I remember going through a bunch of them.
You and I both.. my Atari was a Sears Tele-Games Heavy 6er
I believe you are correct on it being the first one here on the market. When I was a kid my dad and I went to Sears to get mine, and those were brand new on the market then. As a kid getting this right after it came out made you the coolest kid in the neighborhood. Also when you hear people complain that consolesand game are too high if you adjust the price of these new back in the day it's about 950 bucks now. The games cost roughly the same, as today too adjusted for inflation even including 30-40 or so in DLC in a modern game.
I remember when I got my Atari, I saw an ad where Sears had The Teli-Games on sale for $20.00 less than the Atari. So, I asked my dad if he would buy it for me, he said he would buy the Atari version, saying he did not want to waste money on a cheap knock off. I just could not get him to understand there was no deference in the system because they were both made in the same factory. But whatever I got an Atari out of it.
Thanks for sharing, Jon! I love seeing the alternate titles and art for Telegames branded carts. At 55, I'm still an Atari fan; your GSP post helped me update the firmware, and load additional games.
If anyone hasn't mentioned this yet, $180 in 1977 is the equivalent of over $900 now. Not something you just buy for the kids.
They have, and you're right. 😀
I loved that fake walnut woodgrain and aluminum top around the switches! The Sears Telegames heavy 6er was a tank... until you screwed up the polarity using a multi end reversable polarity AC adapter. It was my first too, I loved it, and I still have it, hoping to one day find a way to repair whatever blew up inside of it and caused it to start smoking. I still have hope to somehow revive it, 30 years later. Any advice anyone? Solder in a new transistor or something? 🤷🏼
Telegames. I got mine at sears bout 79. Always atari 2 me
I had a Tele-Games system which looked like that (from 1981?) which came with Space Invaders, Target Fun, and two joysticks (not sure about paddles?) A really nice find that brings back some memories, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing. Still have my OG 2600, and it still works.
My grandparents had a Sears branded console and it came with the CX-10 joysticks. I know because whenever there was a problem with any of the joysticks not working properly, I'd take them apart, and I remember the spring and plastic board arrangement, as well as it having a hard plastic insert for the stick. I don't remember them ever having a metal badge with the company name on it though. My memory could be faulty, but something that would eventually fall off seems like something I'd remember. Maybe they stopped including the badge on later production runs?
Those switchboxes used to piss me off. You'd be playing and suddenly the picture would get all static-y, then you'd fiddle with the switch to try and clear it up. About 10 years ago, the guy I rent a room to wanted to know if he could hook up the Atari 2600 that was in the basement. I hooked it up for him and the picture was really crappy. The next day, I popped the cover off the switchbox and wrapped some bare wire around each set of contacts, essentially bypassing the switch itself. The picture was DRAMATICALLY better. Sadly, he quickly decided that it was too old and the games too primitive to hold his interest.
I've never actually seen one of these before! Pretty cool to see. My cousin had a Gemini growing up, it was some kind of Atari clone console.
Hey, Jon.!👋 Nice seeing you again. You are such a lucky guy being able to get one of those year one “Atari 2600”’s, even though it is Sears’ knock-off version. Ohhh just to hear those classic video game sounds again just gives me goose bumps. Great video! Thank you for the memories.👍
great find Jon especially with the box and unit looking great!I love the sounds when you hit reset switch!! my friend had one of these back in 1980....I honestly wish icould go back to those great days....😢
Some days, I feel the same way.
@@GenXGrownUp 👍
I know I’ve commented about the Brewing Acadamy UAV (Ultimate Atari Video) mod before. On my light sixer I was able to retain RF while adding composite and s-video, WITHOUT ALTERING the case or removing any components. If there is any way to send pics of the work I did (and how non-invasive and clean it can be done) I would be happy to send them along, if that sort of thing is of any interest to you. In my book, it’s the only way to go if you want a non-destructive Atari upgrade.
Again, great content as always. I really value your ability to give detail while adhering to a true “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” methodology 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
We definitely borrowed someone's Target Fun cartridge! But watching you open the game box, and seeing those slim 'S'es, the matte finish... wow, FLASHBACKS, mostly tactile how the label felt... Ah, the antenna box, of course, it's so iconic it's burned into my memory :) Internals? Yes, I'd like to see a vid on them. We'd open our joysticks in desperate attempts to fix the broken plastic ring with Krazy Glue... alas, the fixes never held up :-/
Lots of interest in that follow-up, so I think it's a done deal. Thanks for allowing me to share this with you! 😁
I would definitely be interested in seeing a comparison of the internal makeup between the CX10 and CX40. Maybe even the CX40+ as well (the one that came with the 2600+).
Awesome video and a good purchase.
Thanks for allowing me so share wih you. 😁
That's a great piece of history. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂
My first console was the NES, so I don't have a lot of nostalgia for the 2600, but I do remember playing it once at a family friend's place, and I have a couple of the AtGames Flashback units, so I have a little experience with the games. I definitely need to plug those back in someday and play some more.
A friend of mine just gave me a Tele-Games console when he cleaned out his father’s house, nice to see some of the history behind it.
Very cool.
I had that Sears system as a kid too. If you have a copy of DK junior, try it out on the Sears system, and then on an actual Atari system. When I was a kid, I found that most of the enemies that climb on the vines don’t show up on the Sears system, but did on the Atari system. I didn’t realize how hard the game was until I took it to a friend’s house that had the real and probably newer Atari.
Yep the sears version telegames was how I first saw and played it. along with an older pong and the video pinball. Old OG sears stores were great back then for all kinds of stuff
I'm happy for you! Space and $$$ restraints have forced me to curtail my retro game related purchases, but I'd definitely buy an old heavy sixer, Sears branded or otherwise.
Whoa! Everything looks super-shiny here, especially for it's age! It looks even better than my SNES, and NES! Even looks better off than my yellowed Dreamcast! It's also 14 years older than me! Nice upload!
Ha! "14 years older than me" made me chuckle! 😁 Thank you for allowing me to share this with you!
My father worked for Sears for over 40 years and when this came out he bought one for me. I hooked it up and never looked back.
Awesome video and awesome system. Definitely do a CX-10 versus a CX-40 video. And a heavy sixer versus light sixer. And a Sears heavy sixer versus an Atari heavy sixer.
Thanks again Jon I look forward to what you upload next.
Thanks for watching. 😀
Yah, i still have my original TeleGames console. I think its from 78 maybe,i forgot.
My parents actually had the idea to get it. It was pretty expensive for that time. A lot of the games we bought through a local family hardware store that had a big toy sales section and got into electronics and gaming.
It cost maybe 500-600 $ or something, i cant recall exactly. My mom n dad actually liked Blackjack and moms favorite that and Pinball.
I got Adventure straight off. Had Asteroids, Street Racer, Math, Pele's Soccer, Maze Craze, Defender. Yars Revenge, Star Raiders.
I just bought Outlaw, Jungle Hunt, Phoenix, at a fleamarket for like hardly anything and Venture from a collector on ebay. Now i got the Gamestation Pro so i can get a bunch of other games through that instead of having to search out old cartridges that may be too expensive.
I saw a mini golf game that i dont think i ever saw before that i kind of want now. Lol
Would love to see a comparison video of the two joysticks!
Got a Sears system back when I was 13. What was cool is you could play the Atari carts on it. So, I used to go and get used games from Budget tapes and records.😊
Absolutely. It was manufactured by Atari for Sears - just re-branded. 😀
Great video! This is what my parents bought around this time. It started my love for games. I am glad it came with Target Fun instead of Combat I don’t think we would ever get Air Sea Battle so it was a great game as a pack in. I would think the Sears brand was cheaper since my parents didn’t have much money and barely just bought luxury type items. I remember playing Bowling, miniature golf, breakout and Target fun as some of our first games. Eventually the power supply input got a short in it and we would wrap the power cord around the game cartridge to get it to stay on. I also curious if the extra weight of the system was the metal shielding they had to put in them for regulation. 😊
Awesome, man. It looks great! I wouldn't do much beyond clean it myself but I'm not really a collector. For me and my brothers, Coleco Gemini was Atari...We got Donkey Kong and Mousetrap with ours. The old Dual Command controllers with the stick and paddle are still my favorite of all the Atari controllers. Anyway, great find and great video!
Great find Jon. That thing looks really clean. I never had a Sears system, only Atari. But I’ve always liked the look of the Sears a bit better than the Atari systems. Fun stuff!
That picture quality looks fantastic!
Not being from the US i hadn't seen the Sears variant before, i think i quite like the Maple effect or whatever it is they were going for, along with the silver around the buttons and cart slot. Enjoyed the vid as always, many thanks.
Hey, Tom. Thanks for your kind words and generosity! I appreciate you allowing me to share this new treasure with you! 😁
When I discovered the Sears video arcade and saw the gorgeous asthetic I was straight on eBay, grabbed one, paid ridiculous postage to UK and had it SVideo modded. Its my main rig with the Plus Cart (+) always in for those lovely 2600 evenings! 😊
No oxidation of the console, for this console was created in an era to last. I got my 2600 in 1981/82 in Canada onsale for $199.99. It was a 6er, but would not be a heavy 6er along with Asteroids and Combat. A shocking day 😊that I thought was a dream. I actually now owned what I always watched via commercials. Have you played Atari today?
Cool to see. I never had an Atari, but several friends did.
Not having the option to choose between channel 3 and 4 would have been awful in my city. We had a local station broadcasting on 3, so we might have seen a background of CBC Halifax on every game.
Oh, my!
Jon, I'd be interested in that joystick comparison you spoke about. I still remember having to replace the plastic joystick internals several times. But I was extremely lucky because there was an Atari service center in the same town where I grew up, which made it very convenient to get parts!
Just did some AC work at a house where the guy had a telegames box in a collection, Looked new. Great condition.
Oh wow!
Would love to see the joy stick and console tear down and comparison to the version that came after them!
Great acquisition and solid video
Congrats, nice piece to add to your collection
Glad I found this channel. Love your stuff on RetroDaze. Keep it up, dude!
Hey, glad you found us. Welcome! 😁
My first Atari was one of these in about 1981. I loved that thing. I had a lot of cartridges which were pretty expensive back then. I remember after the video game crash though buying them $3 to $5 apiece.
I knew you would make a video on it when when we sold it to you. I’m glad to see it went to a great home as always.
You don't know me! You can't read my mind! Er...
OK, maybe you were right! 😁
@@GenXGrownUp Oh I know you.
I remember when this was in the "Wish Book" along with the Bally Astrocade and the Fairchild Channel F. Of the three, the Sears Tele-Games was the clear pick, since there were more cartridges available for it. (15 if I remember right. Amazing!)
There is a heavy sixer database on AtariAge. I had Sears #11878S (no longer do, but now you can look up who I am on AA in that thread :) ) - yours does not appear to be in there, so you've rescued an unknown unit. I personally sold mine because I just had too many VCS's/2600's at one point... kind of regret it, but I just had to draw the line somewhere and I grew up around the regular Atari 4 switch models (and mine is more complete than my heavy sixer was) so that's what I kept. I do think your power supply is original - mine was also grey and had an even lower serial. I think you're probably right that the whole thing is a 1977 model, though I don't even know if they made these beyond 1977. I do like the CX-10 better than the CX-40, especially when playing for long periods.
Thanks for the heads-up. If it's the same thread, I replied recently with a request to add mine. Maybe it just hasn't yet been done since the OP has to do the edit.
@@GenXGrownUp Yeah I noticed after I posted my comment that it hadn't been updated in quite a while. Oh well, hopefully there's enough info there already that someone else can pick up the torch if need be and start maintaining the list again.
I see your T-Shirt and in my head, I can hear the sound of the Bretzel bumping around in the Pac Man maze.
🥨 😀
$179 would be about $950 in today’s money
I just thought you always had one on the shelf behind you. Congrats man. I had just purchased a heavy sixer 2 weeks ago at a swap meet for $20. Paddles and games included. Guy left his girlfriend to run his booth and I got an epic deal
Yeah, sadly that's just an old non-working four-switcher decorating my set. Oh my, great deal but I bet they had an uncomfortable drive home after that sale!
Very cool! Looks like a solid unit.🎉
Our living room had wood paneling so the console blended in perfectly haha.
This is a piece of history here. Wow
I am actually surprised at the good condition of everything despite the age. It looks well cared for. Nice find.
For comparison sake $180 in 1977 is worth about $905 today.
In addition to the Sunnyvale label on the bottom of the unit another telltale sign this is a heavy sixer is the curved bottom edge in the woodgrain. In later six switch models the woodgrain has a straight edge bottom.
I’m in such an Atari mood lately. Picked up a modded 7800. There’s so few 7800 games that I end up going back to 2600 games after awhile. A good 2600 game just doesn’t age or get too old to enjoy. Ever. If you truly think Atari isn’t playable anymore, the problem is you, not the 2600.
Love it!
Oh man, i do remember that system. They greying could be a time-factor on the power supply. There is probably a chemical that could clean it up but i dunno if it's really worth the effort. I really wish i had been watching this channel a year ago. I let ALL of my older systems go due to the fact that they were just sitting and gathering dust and i was just spending more money for the sake of an occasional play. However, i do believe in the preservation of older systems and there should be a few libraries, in every state, to educate people on the history of computers and gaming as it really is a BIG part of our culture now and it's affecting everything from breakfast cereals to clothing to even furniture as a side-effect.
Just finished modding my heavy sixer with Tim Worthington's RGB mod. I would say it was well worth the effort. It's been fun to play these games with my kiddo. Truly a cool system to own.
Guess I'll have to check out that mod. The Atari 2600 generates the video natively from luminance and chrominance. So I'm curious how an RGB mod could be better than sending composite or S-video to the TV and having the TV separate it to RGB. Seems like it would be a lot more complex as well.
What. A. Find!! 🤯
I’m with you on preferring the swirling Sears woodgrain look to the VCS’ straight lines woodgrain. And yes: a comparison between the CX10 and CX40 joysticks would be cool.
I'm very happy with it. I think a controller comparison is likely on the way. 😀
$179.99 in 1977 is like over $900.00 today
🤯
I think my telegames was a light sixer but this brings back memories at any rate.
Awesome vid!!!
I have 2 Sunnyvale heavy-sixers but one is the rare "hybrid". I have the grey adapter too but mine causes a ton of interference.
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My 2 cents....The only thing i use to preserve my vintage plastics is 303 Areospace protectant and I consider the finish to be "perfect". (Meguires is too oily). The plastics (system carts and cables) and silicone/rubber are getting to old and need a penitrating treatment to prevent degradation.
Enjoy your new toy!!!
Jon, can you talk about vintage game shows that take place throughout the country?
I’d like to start attending some of these shows so I can bull up my collection of handhelds and cartridges.
Nice work!