SPACE Newsletter - March 2017

March 2017

March 2017 Edition the Taiwan plant instead, and a different approach to European product distribution. It was also Tramiel then who sold that Irish plant in Raheen to Dell in 1990. Hope to see you at SPACE this month! Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting, Friday, March 10, 2017. HELLO WORLD!

Message from Captain Irata: “I want my ATARI!!!” HOO-RAH!

From his recent Antic podcast interview, I recently learned that Steve Gerber, who was head of the Software Development Centre that Atari set up in the UK in October 1982, was the same Steve Gerber who ran the Atari Regional Software Acquisition Center located at APX headquarters in California from October 1981 to October 1982. I was unaware of that connection! I also learned that JACC (Just Another Computer Company) was both the first to release a 16K RAM board for the Atari 800 other than Atari’s own, and that JACC was predecessor to Roklan, developer of many games for the Atari computer, including Atari’s own Pac-Man cartridge. Finally, I am digging into transitions at Atari internationally from July 1984. I was just able to clarify that the Atari comsumer products manufacturing plant at Raheen, Ireland, initially stayed in Warner Communications’ hands for a few months, before Jack Tramiel took it over that September, along with the nearby European distribution center. But, it was only three months later that Tramiel appears to have abandoned everything in Ireland he had then just acquired. He went for full ownership and control of

Well, it happened once again. Only Glen and myself showed up for the February SPACE meeting. We waited until around 8:00 PM and decided to call it a night.We spent the time at first on personal issues, and then at 7:30 PM, which is our usual start time, we went through the whough 8-bit DOM for the month,.

I wanted to apologize for not being at the Atari meeting in February. It is my duty as an officer to be there. I will try harder to come more often. There will be no DOM Review in this month’s newsletter because I could not purchase the DOM in February. Again, my apologies… As for Lance, he is getting slowly better and is improving, again, slowly. he might be able to drive again in approximately the Fall of 2017. The worst case scenario? Spring of 2018.

Pictures, demos, and music fill up most of Side One. The balance of Side One is the only game on the disk. It is a scrolling game which will definitely need the instructions Glen has provided.

I believe that he will improve and I am helping him every step of the way. I want to make it to the March meeting because there is much to discuss concerning the Club. I will explain if and when I get to the Club in March.

As you can probably determine, we didn’t have much to report for sales and receipts for the February meeting. I bought the normal monthly 8-bit DOM for $3.00, and that was it. No expenses were paid out.

EXCELSIOR!

I wish that I had more to report, but I was not there in February. So, this concludes the Report. In Stan Lee’s closing salutation…

So, add the $3.00 to the January balance of $303.54, and we ended up with a balance at the end of February of $306.54. We are going to need a lot more than $3.00 per month to keep this Club going. I know when members who missed the meetings show up later they catch up on the DOMs they missed, and that is really needed now that our membership is around nine paid up. Here’s hoping that the March meeting will turn out better. See you then.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: President’s Corner: Treasurer’s Report: Trivia Time: Secretary’s Report: Recent Atari News:

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TRIVIA TIME Jack Tramiel, one-time owner of Atari Corporation, was a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland during WWII. Atari Arcade Games Logo from 1996: For Decoration and Posterity…

Recent Atari News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES THE FIRST ATARI© COMIC BOOK SERIES IN OVER THIRTY YEARS! Swordquest Launches in May with a Special 25-Cent #0 Issue February 20, 2017, Mt. Laurel, NJ: Dynamite Entertainment continues its partnership with Atari©, one of the world’s most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment, to create a new comics line based on beloved Atari titles. In the early 1980s, as videogames lit up living rooms across the country and licensed comic books saw prominence in the industry, Atari released their own based on their popular line of titles. Now, Dynamite Entertainment, the modern leader in licensed comics, brings fans Swordquest comics we’ve been waiting for since 1983! Peter Case was a boy on a quest… the quest to win the prizes from Atari’s Swordquest challenge! He was counting down to the release of the final game: AirWorld, only to be shattered when the news surfaced that it would be never released. Now, Peter is an adult… and things aren’t going well. The bad news news is he has to move back in with his mother. The good news is she still has all of his Atari stuff. With nothing else to look forward to, his obsession with Swordquest is reignited, in a more daring --and fantastic--way! Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims (XMen ‘92, Down Set Fight), and art by Scott Kowalchuk, Swordquest makes its triumphant return to the printed page at a special introductory price of just twenty-five cents! “Most anyone who remembers remembers Atari’s heyday remembers Swordquest. It was one of the crown jewels of their line of games, complete with its own real world prizes,” says Dynamite CEO and Publisher, Nick Barucci. “When we announced our intention to publish a new line of Atari comics back in 2014, Swordquest was one of everyone inquired about most. What Chris and Chad have come up with will delight every kid who ever dreamed of winning that gold goblet! Also, we wanted to have fun with this series, so we’re releasing the #0 issue at the same price as an arcade game cost to play back in the 80s: only twenty-five cents. Sure, Swordquest was a console game, but if it was an arcade game, it would have been two bits for the 8 bits. Not only do we get to have fun with this cool pricing, but this also allows fans to try out the series at the lowest cost possible, and retailers can stock the shelves to get readers with minimal risk.” Swordquest #0 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ March 2017 Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchan-

dise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in May.

Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies with their local comic book retailers.

Atari has offices in New York and Paris.

Swordquest will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital. About Dynamite Entertainment: Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more. Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which include the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt. In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and best-selling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high-profile in comics and entertainment, including Kevin Smith, Alex Ross, Neil Gaiman, Andy Diggle, John Cassaday, Garth Ennis, Jae Lee, Marc Guggenheim, Mike Carey, Jim Krueger, Greg Pak, Brett Matthews, Matt Wagner, Gail Simone, Steve Niles, James Robinson, and a host of up-and-coming new talent. Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles - including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger’s Project Superpowers - have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors. In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM Award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%), and again in 2011. The company has also been nominated for and several industry awards, including the prestigioud Harvey and Eisner Awards. Dynamite Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dynamitecomics Dynamite Twitter: http://twitter.com/DynamiteComics Dynamite Official Website: http://www.dynamite.com/ Comic Shop Locator Service: 1-888-comicbook, or visit: http://www.comicshoplocator.com About Atari: Atari (www.atari.com) is an interactive entertainment production company. As an iconic brand that transcends generations and audiences, the company is globally recognized for its multi-platform, interactive entertainment, and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world-renowned brands like As-

© 2017 Atari Interactive, Inc. All rights reaerved. Atari word mark and logo are trademarks of Atari Interactive, Inc. ATARI on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atari ATARI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/atari ATARI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atari

The next SPACE meeting is on Friday, March 10, 2017, at 7:30 PM We hope to see you there!