OLD GAMES BECOMING NEW AGAIN

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Oct 11, 2004 by BILL RADFORD, THE GAZETTE

Here are some ways to visit the past through retro video and arcade games:

In November, Atari will release "Atari Anthology," a collection of 85 "vintage" video and arcade games for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox systems. The set, selling for a suggested $19.99, includes "Asteroids," "Missile Command," "Gravitar," Millipede" and "Super Breakout." Atari also returns to its roots with the Atari Flashback Classic Game Controller, also coming in November. The standalone, plug-and-play unit includes 20 classic games, including "Asteroids," "Centipede" and "Breakout," for $44.95. www.atari.com

In June, Nintendo released a limited-edition Classic NES Game Boy Advance SP resembling the original console from the '80s. Cost is $99.99. Nintendo also launched its Classic NES Series; the eight retro titles, each selling for $19.99, include "Donkey Kong," "Pac- Man" and "The Legend of Zelda." www.nintendo.com

Jakks Pacific has released several retro, plug-and-play game collections through its TV Games line. The collections, selling for about $20, take a stroll down memory lane with games such as "Pong" from Atari, "Pac-Man" from Namco, and "Grand Prix" and "River Raid" from Activision. www.jakkstvgames.com

Techno Source has sold more than a million units from its Intellivision retro-game line, which launched last year. The line includes Intellivision 10 and 25, plug-andplay game systems with either 10 or 25 preprogrammed games such as "Astromash" and "Space Armada." The Intellivision 10 system sells for a suggested $14.99 and Intellivision 25 for $24.99. The line also includes several LCD- based hand-held games selling for less than $10.

Next year, Techno Source will release electronic, handheld sports games based on the Coleco games of 25 years ago. www.technosourceusa.com

This month, Midway Games Inc. releases "Midway Arcade Treasures 2," a collection of 21 classic arcade games on one disc for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. Suggested retail price is $19.99. Games include "Mortal Kombat," "Total Carnage" and "Primal Rage." The set is a sequel to last year's "Midway Arcade Treasures." www.midway.com

StarROMS Inc. was established in 2003 to provide an inexpensive and legal source for downloading classic video games. Games such as "Asteroids" and "Missile Command" can be downloaded for play on your home computer at a cost of $2 to $6 per title. Before, a handful of game files, or ROMs, were available legally for download. www.starroms.com