Magazine Scan: VIC! Volume 11

I borrowed this magazine from a friend long enough to scan it. I had no idea there was a Commodore Japan until I was in my 40s. By the time I heard about it, it was all from the lens of an unfortunate part of computer history. But at the time this magazine was published, things were very different so now I know a bit about it from the lens of a bright future. I sure wish I could have experienced this time period, even for just one day.

This file should be fairly suitable for viewing on a desktop or a smartphone screen with zooming. If anyone wants a substantially higher quality version, please let me know.

VIC! Volume 11

Update: commentor AndreaP has alerted me to the existence of Volume 5 of this magazine on archive.org. Thanks!
https://archive.org/details/VICVol5

More MAX Machine games

There was a pretty big batch of MAX Machine games going down on Yahoo Auctions.

Four boxes were completely new to me, and some boxes replaced older boxes that weren’t as nice looking.  I resold the leftovers on Yahoo Auctions

This is the collection as it stands now:

I’m still looking for Bowling, Billiards, Gorf, Slalom, and MAX BASIC to complete the collection.

MAX Machine Manuals

Here are PDF files of the MAX Machine manuals I’ve accumulated and scanned. These are suitable for viewing in your web browser, but if anyone would like to print these, I’ll link to a temporary higher-resolution file.

MAX Machine – Avengers

MAX Machine – Clowns

MAX Machine – Jupiter Lander

MAX Machine – Kick Man

MAX Machine – Mole Attack

MAX Machine – Money Wars

MAX Machine – Omega Race

MAX Machine – Radar Rat Race

MAX Machine – Road Race

MAX Machine – Super Alien

MAX Machine – Wizard of Wor

 

MAX Machine – Kickman, Super Alien, and Road Race

The guy who had listed Kickman for the MAX Machine at 14,800 yen suddenly dropped the price all the way down to one yen! With a more standard auction situation like that, I was able to buy the cartridge at not too bad a price at all.

And in September I picked this item up after bidding on a MAX Machine for a friend, which included this in the lot. It was my first time to see this sort of plain-wrap packaging.

 

Software Collection

I am much more of a hardware collector than software. But I do have a fondness for certain software brands, machines, or particular titles. So I’ve assembled a mish-mash of stuff.

For example, the Commodore branded cartridge manuals. This was initially the only thing I was going to collect. This collection has grown recently. I’m only interested in the ones with the fun artwork, so Gorf, Dragonsden, etc. aren’t really of interest to me. I know I still need Avenger,which I think my friend is holding on to for me, and maybe a couple more.

I also have some of the boxes, which I never actually intended to collect, but lucked into a couple of batches of them in good shape, so I guess I’ve started collecting them, anyway! When it comes to the boxes, as opposed to the manuals, I definitely want Dragonsden and Gorf and… well, you know, all of them. My friend has about ten of these for me, too, but some are duplicates. I also added my MAX Machine boxes because it brought more balance to the arrangement.

Next are my arcade classics (and Bop ‘n Wrestle, because it didn’t really fit anywhere else). Not likely to expand on these too much because boxes for Atari’s C64 releases were kinda boring, and that’s where many of the classics are.

My ratty Plus/4 carts. Nice artwork, though!

And finally, my RPG/fantasy stuff. Taking this picture, I feel like a sucker for settling for the small Shogun clamshell. I expect to add Knight Games to this collection, and if I can ever track down a nice Alternate Reality: The City or The Dungeon box, those too.

MultiMAX!

これは何でしょうか。

自分よりずいぶん才能がある友達が作ってくれたMAXマシーン専用のMultiMAXカセットになります。メニューを見ると多分わかります。

とても便利なカセットです。本物のカセットの箱は気に入りますが、レアなものなので収集するのはすごい時間がかかるし見つけても値段が高いです。なので、少しずつ収集しながらこのカセットでゲームを楽しめます。実は、多分もう本物のカセットは利用しません。これがずっと刺したままに置くと、カセット端子にやさしいです。

中身を少し見てみよう。もちろん、ゲーム満々です。

キックマン

ゴーフのタイトル画面

ゴーフ

ウィザード・オブ・ウォーのタイトル画面

ウィザード・オブ・ウォー

アプリケーション系もいろいろあります。

ミュージック・メーカー

多くのソフトは複数のバージョンがあるのでゲームの細かい違い・バグフィックスとか見えます。

アベンジャーバージョン .01のタイトル画面

アベンジャーバージョン .01。みんなが知ってるゲーム。

アベンジャーバージョン .02のタイトル画面。

アベンジャーバージョン .02。まだバージョン .01との違いが見つけられませんが、何かあるでしょう!まぁ、右下にバージョンが映るところだけで違うかもしれません。

アベンジャーのコモドール64バージョンのタイトル画面

アベンジャーのコモドール64バージョン。随分違いますね!

このカセットはMAXマシーンのための物ですが、コモドール64(日本版でも)・コモドール64C・コモドール128でも対応します。

ご興味のある方は只今2個だけ友達が予備のを作りました。値段は2500円になります。コメントをしてメールで返事します。将来にもっと作る可能性がありますので、売り切れ場合でもコメントをどうぞ。購入に関するコメントは公開しません。

New MAX Machine cartridge

Did I say that I wasn’t going to buy the MAX Machine games? Just be happy with the MultiMAX and skip the hunt. But, well the box art is so unique, and I guess I love the hunt. So this makes my fifth MAX Machine boxed game. I had been monitoring this auction on Yahoo Auctions for about a year – a new old stock Wizard of Wor for 9800 yen (about $98USD). Too much, too much, I thought.

And it really is. But one day someone shared a link about the far more common Commodore 64 version being listed on eBay, used and without box or manual, for $100. So suddenly the MAX Machine auction in question seemed like a much better deal. And even if I find another comparable version that starts at a lower price someday, it could take years and only end up slightly cheaper than this one. So I took the plunge.

The real kicker*? The same seller has listed a new old stock Kickman for MAX Machine for 14,800 yen!
(*see what I did there?)