OT: Commodore VC20/VIC20
Liste aller Commodore-VC20/VIC20-Cartridges (externer Content)
- - - = ( VIC-20 Cartridge Rarity & Gameplay listing ) = - - -
By Ward F. Shrake and Paul A. Le Brasse
Version 1.9m, released June 6, 1998
Visit "VIC-20 Digital Archaeology" on the web:
http://members.aol.com/wshrake/index.htm
...
In the spirit of the "friendly computer"
this document may be freely copied and/or
used by anyone who wishes to do so. We do
ask that you give the authors credit by
name if and when you use this listing in
any other context. Thanks in advance!
Notes about this document.
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This text lists all the cartridge software that we believe now exists
for the VIC-20 home computer system. This is the latest revision of
a document that has been steadily evolving since 1995.
We broke this document into many different categories. This reflects
the idea that, since this is a Digital Archaeology project, and we are
in essence digging this stuff up from a nearly forgotten past, that we
are more sure that some carts truly exist than we are of other carts.
Paul LeBrasse and I (Ward Shrake) spent a summer collecting and then
digitally copying every single cartridge that is listed in the first
part of this list. Therefore, we know that these carts truly exist.
The "classic era" was famous for vaporware. That is, some company would
publicly announce that they were going to make some product. They might
take out ads in magazines, or just send out a written press release.
Then they would, for various reasons, never actually release the item.
Especially at the end of the Vic20's market lifetime, many odd things
happened. Some companies changed their minds, while others found that
they did not have the money to put something on the market. Some titles
intended for cart release only made it out as tapes. And of course some
titles never made it because their parent company went out of business.
Obviously, we want to make sure such titles are not confused with or
intermingled with carts that we know, positively, exist in some form.
If for no other reason, why subject cart collectors to frustration?
My point is that simply seeing some ink on paper is not proof that
something does exist. At the same time, not being able to easily find
a copy of something does not necessarily rule out that at least one copy
was made. Paul and I have often been tempted to dismiss some title
as being simply a figment of some company's imagination, when someone
on the net suddenly announces that they've found one somewhere. (I just
announced "list stagnation" when three such titles popped up.) With
uncertainty in both directions, I felt we needed some way to display
a hierarchy of certainty, along with the usual notations of rarity.
Anyone familiar with game cartridge collecting knows that the generally
accepted method is to use rarity codes. We used these, obviously, but
I felt that something more was needed, to separate the wheat and chaff.
So from this revision onwards, if a cart is included in the first part
of this listing, that means that (a) the cart definitely does exist and
that we are sure of this because (b) we have a digital copy of it. These
digital copies (ROM images) are all or mostly to be found at various
spots on the Internet; check out ftp.funet.fi or use a search engine.
In the past revisions of this list, the first section had included many
carts that were confirmed by someone, but that no ROM image existed to
prove it. With this revision of the list, any such cart (confirmed but
not archived yet) is included in the second part of this listing, not
the first part. This just seems logical. When half the list was in that
boat, doing things the old way made sense. With only a handful of carts
now confirmed-but-unarchived, this way currently makes more sense. I
both suspect and hope that more carts will trickle in from time to time.
We seem to be well into diminishing returns, but haven't found it all.
Of note here is that most of the other "classic" era videogame machines
(Atari 2600, Intellivision, Colecovision, etc) have had a group of very
serious cartridge collectors throughout their complete lifetimes. The
lists of what is or ever was available for those systems has long been
established, due to this continuing collection effort among many people.
The Vic20, on the other hand, was killed off in popularity by its parent
company in an effort to get the market to upgrade to the Commodore 64.
There has only been a serious effort to dig up the Vic20's software in
the last two years or so. The "more popular" gaming systems have done so
continuously since the early 1980's.
That may sound like whining; in fact, I'm probably bragging about how
well our little group of digital archaeologists managed to do. I will
note here that even some of the people who had once written Vic20 games
have said that until we dug this stuff back up, even they did not have
copies of the games that they themselves had created! And once we made
the software library available to others all over the globe, I was
pleasantly surprised to see that software emulators were written to
take advantage of all that software. I'm pleased how things are going.
Please note that many other documents exist, that modern Vic20 users
or computer historians may find useful or interesting. These can all be
found on the Internet. (I wrote many of them myself, since very little
other information about the Vic20 was freely available at the time.)
Among these available documents are a "Frequently Asked Questions" text,
various technical documents and archiving utility programs, a list of
450+ Vic20 cassette tape games, and more. "Cartzilla" is a huge text
that I finished up now, and have released on the I'net. It takes this
list farther; it actually reviews and discusses 182 known Vic20 carts.
All in all the Vic20 community seems to be doing very well. Enjoy it!
Ward F. Shrake _and_ Paul A. Le Brasse
Explanation of codes used. (Some may differ from what you're used to.)
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S Super-Common Reserved for a few carts that seem to show up
everywhere, always. No shortage of these! These
could be great on gameplay, so don't be harsh...
C Common Generally a semi easy-to-find Vic20 cartridge...
but Vic20's might be harder to find than carts
for other classic systems, at least at present.
U Uncommon This means average/middle difficulty in finding.
R Rare Takes a bit of hard work to locate one of these.
You'll probably end up searching the Inet for it
unless you get really lucky on a thrifting trip.
ER Extremely Rare Nearly impossible to find. May be frustrating!
We reserved this category for carts we've only
seen 1 or 2 of total, everywhere we've looked.
More could show up in time, as more people start
to collect for the Vic20. For now, its difficult.
PR Prototype only This category is new, as of version 1.8 of this
list. It describes carts that, so far as we can
tell, were never released as a production item
but that do definitely exist in prototype form.
Needless to say, these carts are incredibly rare.
NR Never Released We used to use this category when we had seen or
heard of a cart that *might* exist. Please note
that we handle them differently now. We first put
them in the separate "vaporware" section until
someone out there finds one, at which time we
move it up to "confirmed but unarchived" on a
verbal confirmation. They climb up to the upper
section of this list only when we have digitally
archived the cart's ROM image for posterity. (In
other words, if it is in the upper part of this
list, you can likely find a ROM image for it on
the Internet, no matter how rare or unique a cart
may be. And yes, there are Vic20 emulators, too.)
Rarity code
Size |
| Game \ Year
Company Cartridge name Part# \ play \ made
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Academy IFR (Flight Simulator) 8k B R 1983
Atarisoft Pac-Man [RX8501] 8k C+ C 1983
Atarisoft Centipede [RX8504] 16k C S 1983
Atarisoft Defender [RX8507] 16k A- C 1983
Atarisoft Dig Dug [RX8510] 16k B C 1983
Atarisoft Donkey Kong [RX8513] 16k B C 1983
Atarisoft Robotron: 2084 [RX8520] 12k B- C 1983
Atarisoft Jungle Hunt [RX8529] 16k B- C 1984
Atarisoft Moon Patrol [RX8532] 16k B- C 1983
Atarisoft Pole Position [RX8535] 16k B+ C 1983
Atarisoft Galaxian [RX8541] 8k C+ ER 1984
Atarisoft Ms. Pac-Man [RX8544] 16k C+ C 1983
Atarisoft Battlezone [RX8547] 16k B- U 1983
Beyond Mountain King 16k A+ R 1983
Boone Cyclon 8k A PR 1983
Broderbund A.E. [Viccart-___]16k B R 1982
Broderbund Lode Runner [Viccart-___]16k B+ U 1983
Broderbund MasterType [Viccart-221]16k B- R 1983
Broderbund SeaFox [Viccart-___]16k B ER 1983
Broderbund Skyblazer [Viccart-___]16k A ER 1983
CBS Soft. K-Razy Antiks [22107] 12k B+ C 1982
CBS Soft. K-Star Patrol [22108] 16k B+ C 1982
Commodore Avenger (Vic Avenger) [Vic-1901] 8k C+ S 1981
Commodore Star Battle [Vic-1902] 8k B+ R 1981
Commodore Slot (Super Slot) [Vic-1904] 8k C C 1981
Commodore Jelly Monsters [Vic-1905] 8k A R 1981?
Commodore Alien (Super Alien) [Vic-1906] 8k C C 1981
Commodore Jupiter Lander [Vic-1907] 8k B C 1981?
Commodore Poker (Draw Poker) [Vic-1908] 8k C C 1981
Commodore Midnight Drive (Road Race) [Vic-1909] 8k C- C 1981
Commodore Radar Rat Race [Vic-1910] 8k B+ C 1981
Commodore The Sky is Falling [Vic-1911] 8k B- C 1981
Commodore Mole Attack [Vic-1912] 8k C C 1981
Commodore Raid on Fort Knox (Bank Robber) [Vic-1913] 8k C C 1982
Commodore Adventure Land Adventure [Vic-1914] 16k B- C 1981
Commodore Pirate's Cove Adventure [Vic-1915] 16k B- C 1981
Commodore Mission Impossible Adventure [Vic-1916] 16k B- C 1981
Commodore The Count Adventure [Vic-1917] 16k B- C 1981
Commodore Voodoo Castle Adventure [Vic-1918] 16k B- C 1981
Commodore Sargon II Chess [Vic-1919] 8k C C 1982?
Commodore Pinball (or ...Spectacular) [Vic-1920] 16k C+ C 1982
Commodore Super Smash [Vic-1921] 8k C C 1982
Commodore Cosmic Cruncher [Vic-1922] 8k B S 1982
Commodore Gorf [Vic-1923] 8k B- S 1982
Commodore Omega Race [Vic-1924] 8k A- S 1982
Commodore Money Wars [Vic-1925] 8k C+ C 1982
Commodore Menagerie [Vic-1926] 8k C- C 1982?
Commodore Cosmic Jailbreak [Vic-1927] 8k C C 1982
Commodore Home Babysitter [Vic-1928] 8k C- C 1982
Commodore Personal Finance (utility cart) [Vic-1929] 8k NA U 1982
Commodore Visible Solar System [Vic-1930] 8k C C 1982
Commodore Clowns [Vic-1931] 8k C+ C 1982
Commodore Garden Wars [Vic-1932] 8k C C 1982
Commodore Speed Math & Bingo Math [Vic-1933] 8k C- C 1982
Commodore Commodore Artist [Vic-1935] 4k C U 1982
Commodore Sea Wolf [Vic-1937] 8k B- U 1982
Commodore Tooth Invaders [Vic-1938] 8k C+ U 1983
Commodore Star Post [Vic-1939] 8k C U 1982?
Commodore Number Nabber, Shape Grabber [Vic-1941] 8k NA U 1982
Creative Apple Panic [VI AP C] 12k C C 1982
Creative Astroblitz [VI AB C] 4k B- C 1982
Creative Black Hole [VI BH C] 4k B U 1982
Creative Choplifter [VI CL C] 8k A C 1982
Creative Household Finance [VI HF C] 8k NA U 1983
Creative In the Chips [VI CH C] 16k C R 1983
Creative Pipes [VI PI C] 8k C R 1983
Creative Rat Hotel [VI RH C]? 8k B- U 1982
Creative Serpentine [VI __ C] 8k B C 1982
Creative Spills and Fills [VI SF C] 8k C R 1983
Creative TerraGuard [VI TG C] 4k C+ C 1982
Creative Trashman [VI TM C] 8k B+ C 1982
Creative Videomania [VI VM C] 4k C C 1982
Daedalus Baldor's Castle 12k C+ ER 1983
Epyx Fun with Music 8k B ER 1983
Epyx Monster Maze 8k C+ U 1982
Handic A World at War 8k C- ER 198_
Handic Space Snake 8k D ER 1982
HES Vic FORTH (utility cart) [C301] 8k NA C 1982
HES HesMon (utility cart) [C302] 8k NA C 1982
HES Turtle Graphics [C303] 8k NA C 1982
HES HesWriter (utility cart) [C304] 8k NA U 1982
HES Aggressor [C305] 8k C U 1982
HES Synthesound (utility cart) [C306] 8k NA U 1982
HES Shamus [C307] 8k A U 1983
HES Protector [C308] 8k B- R 1983
HES Robot Panic [C310] 8k B R 1982
HES Gridrunner [C312] 4k B+ C 1982
HES Predator [C316] 8k B+ R 1982
HES Attack of the Mutant Camels [C318] 8k A R 1983
HES Pharaoh's Curse [C321] 16k A R 1983
HES Kindercomp [C322] 16k NA R 1983
HES Story Machine [C323] 12k NA ER 1983
HES Facemaker [C324] 8k NA R 1983
HES Kids on Keys [C325] 8k NA R 1983
HES Alphabet Zoo [C326] 16k NA R 1982
HES Lazer Zone [C3__] 8k A R 1983
HES Maze [C3__] 8k C+ R 1983
HES Mosquito Infestation [C3__] 4k B- R 1982
HES Satellite Patrol [C3__] 4k B- R 1982
Imagic Demon Attack [720050-1A] 4k A C 1983
Imagic Atlantis [720051-1A] 4k A C 1983
Imagic Dragonfire [720052-1A] 8k B+ U 1983
Koala Tech. Dancing Bear 16k C+ ER 1983
Mach. Lang. Amazing Maze 4k ER 198_
Mach. Lang. Dot Gobbler 4k A- ER 198_
MSD Mobile Attack 8k C+ ER 198_
OEM Alien Sidestep 4k C- ER 1983
OEM Bug Crusher 4k ER 1983
Parker Frogger [PB1410] 8k D S 1983
Parker Q*Bert [PB1420] 4k C C 1983
Parker Tutankham [PB1430] 8k A U 1983
Reston Miner 2049'er 8k A+ R 1983
Romox Princess & Frog 8k C ER 1983
Romox Topper 8k B ER 1983
Romox Typo 8k C+ ER 1983
Sega Star Trek (S.O.S.) [004-04] 8k B+ C 1983
Sega Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom [005-04] 16k B- C 1983
Sega Congo Bongo [006-04] 8k C C 1983
Sierra Crossfire [CFL-401] 4k B+ U 1981
Sierra Lunar Leeper [LLL-401] 12k A R 1981
Sierra Threshold [THL-401] 8k A R 1981
Sierra Cannonball Blitz [CBL-401] 12k B- R 1982
Sierra Jawbreaker II [JBL-401] 8k C+ U 1982
Sierra Creepy Corridors [CCL-401] 8k B+ R 1983
Sirius Deadly Duck [220__] 4k B R 1982
Sirius Fast Eddie [220__] 8k C R 1982
Sirius Snake Byte [22031] 4k C R 1982
Sirius Turmoil [22005] 8k B U 1982
Sirius Type Attack [22010] 8k B R 1982
Sirius Bandits [220__] 8k B+ U 1983
Sirius Capture the Flag [220__] 8k B+ R 1983
Sirius Final Orbit/Bumper Bash (2 on 1)[220__] 8k C/B+ R 1983
Sirius Spider City [22015] 4k B+ R 1983
Spectra. Ape Escape [SC-215] 8k C+ R 1982
Spectra. Cave-in [SC-207] 8k C- R 1982
Supersoft Tank Atak 8k C ER 1982
Thorn EMI River Rescue [THC 22001] 8k C- C 1982
Thorn EMI Vic Music Composer [THC 22002] 8k NA U 1982
Thorn EMI Submarine Commander [THC 22003] 12k C C 1982
Thorn EMI Mutant Herd [THC 22004] 8k C- C 1982
Thorn EMI Fourth Encounter [THC 22005] 8k D+ U 1983
Thorn EMI Computer War [THC 22006] 8k C R 1983
Thorn EMI Medieval Joust [THC 22007] 8k C ER 1983
Thorn EMI Mine Madness [THC 22008] 8k C- ER 1983
Tigervision Polaris [_-00_-20] 8k B ER 1983
Tigervision Springer [7-006-20] 16k C ER 1983
Tronix Deadly Skies 4k B+ R 1983
Tronix Gold Fever 4k C+ R 1983
Tronix Scorpion 8k B R 1983
UMI Alien Blitz [1619] 4k B- R 1981
UMI Amok [1611] 4k C R 1981
UMI Outworld [1635] 16k B+ R 1981
UMI Arachnoid [16__] 12k B R 1982
UMI Cloudburst [1636] 4k C R 1982
UMI Meteor Run [1613] 8k D+ R 1982
UMI Renaissance [1600] 12k C- R 1982
UMI Skibbereen [1641] 4k C+ R 1982
UMI Satellites and Meteorites [1650] 8k A- R 1982
UMI Sub Chase [16__] 4k C ER 1982
UMI Video Vermin [1638] 8k A R 1982
UMI Spiders of Mars [1604] 16k B+ R 198_
UMI Super Amok [1642] 8k A R 198_
Xonox Spike's Peak (GM=2) [6215] 8k C+ R 1983
Xonox Ghost Manor (SP=1) [6215] 8k D R 1983
Xonox Robin Hood (SL=2) [6225] 8k D R 1983
Xonox Sir Lancelot (RH=1) [6225] 8k C+ R 1983
Xonox Chuck Norris Superkicks (AD=2) [6235] 8k C R 1983
Xonox Artillery Duel (CNS=1) [6235] 8k B R 1983
Xonox Tomarc the Barbarian [____] 8k D+ ER 198_
(Note that Xonox carts sometimes came two-per-case, as "double-enders".
The initials shown above show what cart was paired with what other cart.
Part numbers shown above are for the double-ender versions. Cliff Gregory
positively confirmed all but Tomarc and Sir Lancelot as single-enders; he
and I both assume they were made as singles. Tomarc must have been, as it
has no other cart to pair it with, unless there is another double combo?)
- - - = ( Confirmed but unarchived cartridges ) = - - -
OEM Blackjack Confirmed by: Charles Bremer
OEM Space Ric-O-Shay Confirmed by: Michael J. Novak jr.
Spectra... Number Crunch (SC208) Confirmed by: ?? via Paul LeBrasse
Unknown Baseball (MG-305) Confirmed by: Jerry Greiner
- - - = ( Vaporware section ) = - - -
20 Century Flash Gordon Summer 83 Power Play; press release only. It
may have come out as Spider City by Sirius.
Atarisoft Joust Name listed in later ads, not in others, so
this title was probably one of the last of
the planned releases. There are four part
numbers missing from the series, with three
of those coming towards the end, so this
makes sense. There is some confusion in the
RX85__ series, but it looks like these holes
are 16 or 17, 22 or 23, 25 or 26, and RX8538.
Atarisoft Mario Bros. Jimmy Huey said this was once in development.
No idea what part number it would have been,
aside from it being one of the latter ones,
as Stargate apparently is the earliest one.
Atarisoft Stargate Name listed in early ads, not in later ads. I
am guessing from the part number series that
this was intended to be RX8516 or RX8517, as
a Robotron (#20) box said Stargate was out
already, and the other carts the box listed
were shown in perfect "part number" order.
Atarisoft Typo Attack Tape? Seen on pg. 31, Sep84 "Compute!" Again,
no idea what part number it would have been,
but four holes exist, 3 of them later ones.
Boone Crater Raider Tape? Seen in full page ad, Oct & Nov 83
Compute's Gazette, along with Cyclons (Which
was later released as a tape by SoftSmith.)
Broderbund Martian Raider Tape? Seen in ad, 7/83 Compute's Gazette
Broderbund Multi-Sound Sythesizer Seen in ad, 7/83 Compute's Gazette
Broderbund Shark Trap Tape? Seen in ad, 7/83 Compute's Gazette
Commodore [Vic-1903] Name needed. Anyone know what it was gonna be?
Commodore [Vic-1934] Name needed. Probably an older Bally/Midway.
Commodore [Vic-1936] Name needed. Planned as a Commodore original?
Commodore [Vic-1940] Name needed. Probably an older Bally/Midway.
These four Commodore titles above seem to be
really elusive. Some possible titles include
Wizard of Wor, Space Vultures, Speed Type,
and Electronic Calendar. (These are all names
taken from the backs of original Vic20 boxes,
but the names don't match any software title
as yet known to have been made by Commodore.)
I've also been told a BASIC 4.0 cart was once
in existence; BASIC 2.0 is what is inside the
Vic20's internal ROMs. Commodore also said in
early 1984 that a cart called Jack Attack was
soon coming out for the C64 and the Vic20.
Commodore [Vic-2011] VIC-Stat cartridge, per Jim Brain "CBM list".
Commodore [Vic-2012] VIC-Graph cartridge, per Jim Brain "CBM list".
Commodore [ViC-2013] VIC-Forth cartridge, per Jim Brain "CBM list".
Creative Save New York Press release only, in Jan 85 Computer Games.
Most likely only came out for the C64, but...
Datamost Round About Unconfirmed, but on other collector's lists.
Epyx Alien Garden May 1983 Electronic Games advertisement.
Epyx PlatterMania May 1983 Electronic Games advertisement.
First Star Panic Button Full review seen in May 84 "Compute!" mag
HES Fort Apocyalpse Seen: Ad page 79, Nov83 Compute's Gazette
HES Necromancer Seen: 1-line ad, pg111 Dec83 Compute's Gazette
HES Slime 1-line ad @ $13, pg111 Dec83 Computes Gazette
Jini Micro Mini Jini Seen in 1/2 page (99) ad in July 83 Gazette
Oceans Int Blockbuster Seen in press release, pg 40, Aug83 Gazette
Oceans Int Close Encounters Seen in press release, pg 40, Aug83 Gazette
Oceans Int Frogman Seen in press release, pg 40, Aug83 Gazette
Oceans Int Tank Wars Seen in press release, pg 40, Aug83 Gazette
Note that some of the confirmed carts listed
in the section above were once listed as
being available from Oceans International.
The confirmed copies are either from some
other (or simply an unknown) manufacturer.
Amazing Maze, Blackjack, Dot Gobbler and
Space-Ric-O-Shay were once this way.
Microware (five titles) See Tymac company below. Bought them out?
Microware Key Quest 2-page review seen in Dec83 Compute's Gazette
Parker Super Cobra Cliff Gregory saw this listed in a catalog of
Parker Brothers games, saying it was going to
come out in the fall of 1983, for the Vic20
and for other systems. Unconfirmed otherwise.
Protecto Atari VCS Adapter Seen in various ads, unconfirmed otherwise.
The ads were fancy and expensive looking, but
never actually showed pictures of the item.
Quick Brown QuickFinger Tape? 7/83 1-pg ad, Compute Gazette, pg. 79
Quick Brown QuickMail Tape? 7/83 1-pg ad, Compute Gazette, pg. 79
Quick Brown QuickSpell Tape? 7/83 1-pg ad, Compute Gazette, pg. 79
Romox Anteater Seen in Oct83 Compute!, page 45. Full page ad
Showcase Astro Patrol Tape for sure. Ad pg 91 Dec83 C.Gazette...
Showcase Chicken Tape? Ad pg 91 Dec83 C.Gazette, box art only
Showcase Doughboy Tape? Ad pg 91 Dec83 C.Gazette, box art only
Showcase Glub Club Tape? Ad pg 91 Dec83 C.Gazette, box art only
Showcase Pussyfootin' Tape? Ad pg 91 Dec83 C.Gazette, box art only
Showcase Salmon run Tape for sure. Ad pg 91 Dec83 C.Gazette...
Showcase Squeeze Tape for sure. Ad pg 91 Dec83 C.Gazette...
Sierra Sammy Lightfoot Mentioned in Oct 83 Gazette ad, but not in ad
for December. Did it only come out on C64?
Sierra Tronsworld Unconfirmed, but on other collector's lists.
Sirius Fantastic Voyage Seen: summer 83 Power Play
Sirius Repton Seen: $25, 1-line ad, pg79, Nov83 C. Gazette
Sirius Squish'Em Seen: 1/85 Computer Games
Spinnaker Story Machine Seen: 6/84 Power Play ad. (Licensed to HES?)
Spinnaker Alphabet Zoo Was this released as a HES cart only? Both? A
fair amount of Spinnaker stuff was released
by HesWare, and it can get a bit confusing.
Synapse Harrier "Available soon" ad, pg 29, 8/83 C. Gazette
TG Software Droids Tape? Seen in Oct83 Compute!, page 69.
TG Software Nightstrike Seen: 1/85 Computer Games
Tymac Bomber word Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?)
Tymac D'fuse Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81.
Tymac Dot-a-lot Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?)
Tymac Key Quest Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?)
Tymac Res Q Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81.
Tymac Space Bats Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81.
Tymac Tic Attack Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?)
Tymac Zap Seen: 1/84 Compute's Gazette, page 81. (MW?)
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Hardware section. Please note that many of the items found below
are pure hardware, or are at least more firmware than software.
Some of them are just plain hard to categorize. Because Jim
Brain already maintains a huge list of every single thing that
Commodore ever put out, I see no reason to try to duplicate
those existing efforts here. This is Vic20 cartridge-port-only
stuff. (Note that even then, there are grey areas to consider.)
- - - = ( Utility cartridges, etc ) = - - -
Arbutus Total Promqueen EPROM programming hardware.
(This plugs into the Vic's user
port, not the cartridge port.)
Cardco Write Now! word processor
Century Moses 65C02 assembler, 27 new opcodes
Century Moses w/ 8K RAM 65C02 assembler, 27 new opcodes
Commodore Machine Language Monitor [Vic-1213] (_k ROM)
Commodore Programmer's Aid Cartridge [Vic-1212] (4k ROM)
Commodore Super Expander with 3K RAM [Vic-1211A] (4k ROM)
Commodore Victerm 40 [Vic-1610] (4k ROM)
Commodore See game list for titles. To keep the 19xx number series
as intact as possible, a few
non-game items were listed in
the first section of this list.
Data 20 Display Manager 40/80 column display device
Data 20 Video Pak 40/80 column display device
Eastern Vic Rabbit datasette accelerator cart
HES See game list for titles. To keep the HES cart numbering
system as intact as possible, a
few non-game items are listed in
the first section of this list.
Jason-Ranheim Promenade EPROM programming hardware.
(Plugs into the Vic's user port.
A C64 version was also made.)
Kantronics Radiotap Amateur radio interface item.
Quick Brown Fox Quick Brown Fox word processor (8k ROM)
Skyles Arrow datasette accelerator cart
UMI Wordcraft 20 [16__] (16k ROM)
- - - = ( RAM expansion memory cartridges ) = - - -
Notes: I'll just briefly say that this
section really needs a lot of work, and
leave it at that. Any added info welcome!
Abaris, Inc. Ram cartridge, 16k with battery backup
APS RAM module, 64k
Assembly Tech. RAM cartridge, 16k
Cardco "Cardram 16", 16K Two banks of 8k. One 8-section dip
switch selects where each 8k goes;
four slot choices per each 8k bank.
Century RAM Cartridge, 8k
Century RAM Cartridge, 16k
Century RAM Cartridge, 64k
Commodore RAM cartridge, 3k [Vic-1211]
Commodore RAM cartridge, 8k [Vic-1110] Internally, the PC board
seems to be ready to accept another
8k of memory. Could solder more in.
Commodore RAM cartridge, 16k [Vic-1111]
Compuscope RAM cartridge, 8k
Compuscope RAM cartridge, 16k
MSD, Inc. RAM cartridge, 8k
Personal... RAM cartridge, 8k ...Peripheral Products
RAM electronics RAM cartridge, 32k Configurable. Marko's was set up to
be a switchable 3k, 0k, 24k set-up.
Stonechip Elec. "Vixen" cart, 16k
UMI RAM cartridge, 3k
UMI RAM cartridge, 8k
Xetec RAM cartridge, 32k Each 8k bank has an on/off dip switch.
- - - = ( Expansion chassis or "motherboards" ) = - - -
(Please note that we are just now beginning to list any features
that may have been on these items. More may exist on each item.)
Apropos Tech. RAMAX 2-slots, with 27k
Apropos Tech. RAMAX Jr. 2-slots, with 19k
APS Select-A-Ram 2-slots, with 64k
Cardco Cardboard 3 3-slots,
Cardco Cardboard 6 6-slots,
Compuscope Expander 4-slots,
Compuscope Supermother 8-slots, pause...
Computer Place CP Vic-20 Expander 4-slots,
Data Toolbox Quad-slot 4-slots, reset, fuse
HES HesCard 20 5-slots, 5 select buttons, reset.
High Tech Ent. Busmaster 6-slots,
High Tech Ent. Busmaster II 6-slots, soft enable
High Tech Ent. Minibus 3-slots,
Voice World 24K Golden RAM 4-slots,
Info you can help us to find, to fill in some blanks.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Missing carts:
If you actually own a cart that is not shown somewhere in our lists, up
above, please let Ward know about it, and he'll add it to this listing.
But remember to check the other sections out, if you have a utility or
hardware type item, as these are not generally shown in the top section.
The top section is only for *archived* software cartridges, followed by
vaporware listings, then hardware, utilities, RAM expanders, et cetera.
Part numbers:
In various places there are blank or incomplete part numbers shown. If
we knew them, we'd list them. But we don't, just yet. Some manufacturers
listed no part numbers on the carts themselves, but listed these on the
package's outer box instead. Atarisoft did this for sure. Creative seems
to be another one. Ditto for Sirius and Parker Brothers. Starting with
version 1.8 of this list, I've made educated (but incomplete) guesses for
some company lists, based on their patterns for other systems. If you have
any original software boxes, or other paperwork, help us all out on this.
Paul and I went through our collections long ago, so it is up to you now!
Information about certain rumored carts:
For instance, there are four holes in Commodore's numbers series. We hope
to at least find out what names Commodore planned to call these releases.
(And whatever else we can find out about them, of course.) One of the big
reasons I want to find part numbers for each cart, is to find gaps in that
company's product line, which would tell us we haven't found everything
for that company, just yet. Look at the gaps for HES, for instance. We
have eight empty holes that we know of, but only four carts with no part
numbers. Obviously, we seem to be missing at least four HES carts, right?
Look at Atarisoft. Now that we have all the numbers for them, a pattern
emerges. (They skip numbers by threes; 1, 4, 7, 10....) The part numbers
seem to back up the idea that four more carts were once planned, and we
do have four Atarisoft carts listed under vaporware, so that matches too.
These are just examples, but you get the idea. If you run across anyone
who has things like old magazines or catalogs, brochures or what not, see
if there is any info in them that we have not listed. If you happen to
know anyone you can ask, don't be shy! As time goes on, and we talk to
some of the original programmers and such, it is becoming increasingly
obvious that human memory is not perfect. Many things are being lost to
the ravages of time. Let's find all we can, before it disappears forever!
Confirmations of vaporware software:
If you *now actually own a real cartridge* of a program we listed in our
"vaporware" section of the list, let Paul or Ward know about it. We have
only the information we listed, at this time. Many of the rarer carts we
initially felt were "NR" (never released) did show up in time. However we
are highly cautious about old memories of what *might* have been. We do
insist that confirmations be made only when a person physically owns one.
And of course, if it is not *anywhere* on our lists, and you're sure its
not a cartridge for some other gaming system, please, tell us about it!
A select few "ROM images" that are not yet archived:
We have successfully archived most of the "confirmed" carts above. A few
still remain elusive. Paul and I both can digitally copy these in moments,
*if* we had a copy loaned to us. Failing that, the owners of the carts
will have to do it themselves. As there are still many "vaporware" carts
that may turn out to have at least one copy in existence, somewhere, I
wrote a text document that explains the technical process of archiving
these old Vic20 cartridges. I even wrote software to make the job easier.
(But please, follow in our footsteps and act responsibly when archiving.)
If anyone gets ahold of ROM images that are not in the current archives,
please pass them on to the appropriate web or FTP sites for distribution.
Some recent loans from kind folks on the I'net... Patrick Wickwire loaned
his Cyclon cart for archiving purposes. If it isn't the only one out, it
is still remarkably rare! Tom Truszkowski loaned us his "Victerm 40" in
prototype form, complete with handwritten label. That one is now archived,
too. "Uncle Roger" Sinasohn loaned two carts; Dot Gobbler and Fun with
Music by Epyx. Dot Gobbler was a production cart, but I've only heard of
maybe three collectors having a copy, in all the years I've been looking
for Vic20 carts. Fun with Music was so rare that I'd never heard a single
mention of it being available for the Vic20, until this one got loaned to
us! Cliff Gregory loaned me two real rarities; Amazing Maze & Bug Crusher.
Without the kindness of dedicated fans like these people, the Vic20 cart
archiving project would be standing still. Thanks for all your help, folks!
Pictures of box art, cartridges, tapes, whatever.
The short story on this is to tell you that there is a CD-ROM project
going on, and to check Ward's web page for all the details. A few of us
are pooling our resources, taking some time, and planning to put all
sorts of Vic20 artwork onto a CD-ROM, readable by common web browsers.
To see a current list of what we have already, and what we still need,
please visit this URL: http://members.aol.com/wshrake/cdhaves.htm
(Ward's main web page is at: http://members.aol.com/wshrake/index.htm )
In closing:
Digital Archaeology is an interesting hobby. Other gaming systems have
dedicated fan followings, who eventually track down all sorts of neat info
about the games released for their favorite gaming systems. That is what
I hope will continue to happen for the Vic20, both in stories and items.
The "big three" console game systems (Atari 2600 VCS, Colecovision, and
Intellivision) have fan followings that get to celebrate, from time to
time, someone's finding of a rumored-but-never-found-before cartridge. I
love reading the "2600 Connection" newsletter, for just such fun news.
This is one reason I like the term "digital archaeology" so much, too; it
does seem a lot like "digging up" forgotten treasures. Understanding the
historical significance of such a find, or just appreciating it as is,
makes this hobby a lot of fun. And yes, this is all a sneaky ploy to get
more of you "out there" interested in helping to find such gems, as Paul
and I simply cannot do this on our own. Too much physical space to cover,
for one thing. So keep your eyes open, wherever you are located, ok? You
never know what one-of-a-kind gem you'll run across in your travels!
