Retro Scan of the Week: “Omega Race Finally Comes Home!”
January 1st, 2007 by Benj Edwards
Archie? Is that you?
They just don’t make game ads like they used to. Say, did anybody have the Booster Grip accessory that came with Omega Race? I’d never even heard of it until I came across this ad. I’m guessing that it plugged into the 2nd player port to provide the extra controls — a really neat idea. The quantity and diversity of hardware accessories made for the Atari 2600 is astounding. Somebody should compile a list of them someday, if they haven’t already.
By the way, Happy 2007!
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January 1st, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Oh my, yes.
We had that, and it was freakin’ awesome. Played pretty smooth, if my prepubescent memories serve me correct.
Oh, and I’m pretty sure the add on control was a pass-through on the joystick, not plugged into the second controller.
January 1st, 2007 at 11:52 pm
I guess it used one of the paddle lines as second button. So, it is possible to have a third button with the second paddle line.
That is exactly, how second button of Atari ST and Amiga mice feature second button. I have such mouse and it works perfect with my Atari XE and there are some software that utilizes this feature. To be exact, for 8-bit Atari (AFAIK) the paddle line has to be contacted to the power line, as the hardware does not detect the paddle-ground connection. But that’s really a simple thing.
January 2nd, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I had it too, and still do. It wasn’t as fun as the actual arcade machine, but it was still pretty fun. That and Wizard of Wor were two of my favourites. It was indeed a pass-through connector, but I have no idea how the thing was wired. It never even occured to me to wonder about it.
January 4th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
i want that game on my home page