Joe Santulli and his staff have done it again! The new Digital Press Collector’s Guide is now available. This is Edition 6 (hard to believe there has been this many editions) and it just keeps getting better. I opened the mailing envelope and discovered a professionally bound 328-page book with a glossy cover which features a beautiful "techno" illustration of an Atari 2600 with a cartridge entitled "DIGITAL PRESS" inside the cartridge slot. The artwork on the cover is by Nick Robilik, who has also crafted some of the artwork on the covers of the Digital Press bi-monthly newsletter.

New additions to this edition of the guide are sections for the Commodore 64, Commodore VIC-20, the Coleco Tel-Star Arcade, Texas Instruments TI-99/4A, and the Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer. Are these sections any good? It depends on the collector. If you collect every game system out there, then these sections will be very important to you. If you're not a "completist," then these sections will not be of much use. Even though I do not own any of these systems mentioned above, I enjoyed reading about the editor's opinions of these systems, and discovering the parts they played in the history of classic videogames.

OK so let's get to the main entrée here – the Atari 2600 section. It's what I'm most interested in. The Atari 2600 section divided into two separate sections: U.S. releases (35 pages) and Imports (36 pages). The entries are updated and include title manufacturer, a scarcity rating, and price value. I'm not going to get into the details of how the price guide works – see the review of Edition 5 in issue 45 for that. One point that is interesting to note and remember is that the ratings and values are based on a "loose cart" system. Joe states that "the more rare the cartridge is, the more relevant the price of the box." The example he gives is that a collector would not pay extra for a Defender (by Atari) box, but a Demolition Herby (by Telesys) box could potentially double the listed price. In a nutshell, if you want to know the value of your collection, then you need to look at this guide.

I really enjoy the "Santulli Slants." This is where Joe adds his own personal opinions of the listed game - a nice touch. There are usually three or four of these per page, if not more. Also listed are Easter Eggs. One other new item in some listings are entries for dealer costs and a suggested retail price. For Dice Puzzle (by Panda): Dealer Cost: $5.25. Suggested Retail Price: $19.98. (from a 1983/84 price list) The Guide values it at $35. I find this interesting to see how the cart appreciates in value over the years. However, I can estimate that the suggested retail price of E.T. (by Atari) was most likely $30 or higher. This cart has depreciated in time. Not all 2600 carts have value. Unfortunately, these entries are few and far between. Perhaps more original price lists can be obtained for Edition 7.

Screen shots are no longer scattered at the bottom of the pages. Instead there are picture pages at the end of each section. The five-page 2600 picture section is a treat, as it contains "Rarest of the rare" (pics of 16 rare game cartridge labels), "The Best Playing Games" (16 screen shots of 2600 games DP Staffers still love to play), "Hardware", and prototypes. The ads for Pepper II and Turbo (both by Coleco), S.A.C. Alert (by Amiga), and Wings (by CBS Video Games) are included. Just seeing screen shots of these games is a blast.

There was only so much room, so there were some things from Edition 5 that had to be removed. (This thing probably could have been 500 pages plus). Scott Stilphen's updates for the Guide to Atari's Catalogs (which first appeared in 2600 Connection #20, Jan / Feb 1994) was removed from the paper guide but is now available on the 2600 Connection web site.
Guide to Atari's Cartridge Labels (which first appeared in 2600 Connection #17, Jul / Aug 1993) was removed from the paper guide but is now available on the 2600 Connection web site.
The Registered Owners of Cubicolor List was also cut, but it will continue to exist on the 2600 Connection web site. All of the other appendixes - The Okie Dokie Registry - which is on the www.atarihq.com web site - , Collector Connection, Internet Hotspots, Classic Videogame Literature, and the wonderful alphebetized Pyschopedia - all had to be removed due to space. This was a bummer but I can understand why Joe had to make this choice. On a more positive note, there are 19 new LORE articles. For those of you who are unfamiliar, these are unique stories about personal experiences with classic videogames. These are 19 excellent readings.

So how can this be improved? Maybe for edition 7 Joe can plan on a book that is half the size, similar to the size of Phoenix: The History of Videogames a book by Leonard Herman. Check out Leonard's Rolenta Press web site for more info on the Phoenix book. A publication this size is called a Trade Paperback, which is 8 x 5 inches. Who knows – I wouldn't be surprised if a publisher such as Beckett (publishers of the baseball card price guides) or Krause (publishers of Goldmine, record price guides) or some other publisher approaches Joe Santulli. This would allow for smaller type, but more possibilities and pages. There would be no holding Joe and his team back. He wouldn't have to deal with the headaches of publishing and printing, and could concentrate on doing what they do best – writing about their knowledge of videogames. I can see edition 7 now... 500 + pages with some color pictures… An index woule be nice too. For example, it would be nice to know every page on which the entry "Q*Bert" appears on in the guide. It's hard to find fault with edition 6.

Update: I have overlooked the the Import section! Roloff "Deleto" de Jeu and Marco Kerstens added 500 titles to it, mostly game cartridges from Brazil, Germany and Australia. They completely overhauled the section to make it even more informative and get things sorted out even better. A lot of entries for the Psychopedia were rewritten, but were unfortunately cut out according to Roloff. He believes that this information will be available to the public sooner in later in some sort of form. Roloff reminded me that the import section (I mean, that's the only serious new territory that many of us still have to explore) should not go unnoticed to the readers.

When you place your order with Joe, be patient. He ships them via USPS Special Fourth Class book rate ($2.20). It takes slightly longer for delivery than priority mail, but it gives Joe a break on postage expenses. If you are willing to pay the extra cost for priority mail or UPS, I am sure Joe will make exceptions.

To order via Check, Money Order, or Cash: price: $25 (USA), $30 (Canada), $40 (everywhere else) includes shipping!

Mail payment to:
Joe Santulli
44 Hunter Place
Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442
payment must be made out to Joe Santulli

To order via Credit Card/Online:
price: $25 (USA), $30 (Canada), $40 (everywhere else) includes shipping!
Click here to got to order online at the Digital Press web site