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COLECO Handhelds - Vintage Arcade Collectibles
In the early 1980's Coleco started making handheld and Tabletop games based on popular arcade titles. They managed to license authentic games for some of the most popular arcade games at the time: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Quic Wiz, Total Control4, Head To Head, Boxing, Football, Baseball, Bowlatronic or Alien Attack to name a few. Some of them are really sharp looking, having been modeled after coin op machines and bearing really cool designs. In the early 80's, handheld gaming was minimal at best, only because the arcade scene was still popular at the time and the Atari 2600 was starting to run into the problem that would eventually become the Video Game Crash of 1984.
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However, Coleco was undeterred in their quest to get some quality handheld games on the market. The first came in the form of little, wide versus games that enabled two players to jump into a game at once. These were the original Coleco handhelds, consisting of four sporting activities- Football, Soccer, Baseball and Basketball- and putting them into a simple graphic display.
Most of these Tabletops are very collectable. Coleco arcade electronic games were very popular in the 80s, and collectors love getting their hands on them. Games can cost anywhere from $10-$500. If the item has the original box, expect to pay alot more! Also, the minter the box is, the higher the value. Remember that rule.
Zaxxon was an interesting piece of design for the folks at Coleco because the game had the representation that it almost looked 3-D, giving players the illusion that they were really flying in and out of the screen, rising over walls and lowering themselves to shoot out ground targets (like the original arcade game).
In fact, the developers used a mirror and dual displays to create the illusion, and that made Zaxxon the quirkiest of the Capcom tabletop releases.
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Here is a list of important information you need to know when purchasing Coleco electronic games
- Make sure the seller is stating if the item is in working condition. Remember that these vintage tabletops are from circa early 1980's. If they are not properly taken care of, chances are, it does not work!
- If you are looking for a complete arcade game, the second biggest thing you want to worry about is what is missing. What do I mean by that? The majority of these old games are usually missing the battery covers. Coleco did not do a good job in attaching the battery lids to the electronic device. People often mis-place the cover or loose it. So remember to ask if the battery cover is attached! What else could be missing?
- Another problem that the popular tabletops face from age are the missing labels. The glue usually comes undone, and the label falls off. This usually happens with the side, and top front stickers. If a seller does not have multiple pictures and does not state that all the labels are intact, you will defintely want to ask the seller that question.
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