Vidiot Mail

Vidiot Mail

Please address correspondence to: VIDIOT MAIL

P.O. Box P-1064, Birmingham, Ml 48012

SORRY, ATARI!

I was really interested reading your article about Atari's financial woes.

Poor Atari, controlling only 56 percent of the home videogame market. I feel real sorry for 'em. (Like boo hoo). Several months ago, I sold my Atari 2600 and bought a ColecoVision console. It's great—and with the Atari adaptor, I still buy an occasional 2600 cartridge, like Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Centipede, but find myself disappointed by the low res graphics compared to ColecoVision.

If Atari wants to control more of the market, why don't they start making versions of their great arcade licenses, like Dig Dug ancTBattlezone for the two other main videogames systems, Intellivision and ColecoVision? That way, they'd have the best of both worlds, making more profits from their own game consoles and the other two as well, instead of complaining of profil losses, with their arrogant nose in the air, with all this "we are superior" crap.

With the new Coleco Super Game Module coming out soon, Atari, if it makes cartridges for this system, could make some of the best arcode-to-home translations in its history. I hope Atari is considering ihis. If not, Coleco may one day rule the home videogame roost, while Atari is left in the dust, to wallow in their own self-conceit.

Jeff Silva

Tacoma, WA

POINTED

If you ask me, it's about time somebody put out a video magazine that covers the qames intelligently. That's all.

The Joystick Kid

Fremont, NC

POCKET LOGIC

I thought Rick Johnson's article about joysticks was right on! All this accessories silliness just kills me to little ittv bitty teeny tiny pieces. It's ridiculous! Stupid! And, worst of all, it's expensive!

Keep on telling it like it is.

Brian Giles

New York, NY

DOUBTING LEON

Did you guys really try out all the joysticks you said you did? Or did you just try out the six you wrote about? I can't decide whether to be disgruntled or not.

Leon Oester

Hebron, IN Yes.—Ed.

THANK YOU

I'd like to commend you for covering joystick accessories for the handicapped. It's an idea whose time has definitely come.

Chris Washington, M.D.

Miami, FL

NORTON A "NERD"?

What does Mark J, NERD-ton know about videogame protocol? If he tried any of the moves he writes about in MY arcade,he'd be laughed out into the street! If anyone ever come up to me and even said "Tickets to see GOD are on sale," I wouldn't leave my Centipede game. What a useless waste of space.

Christopher A. Green

Cass, Ml

There are many ways to waste space.—Ed.

HATEI

I really enjoyed J. Kordosh's article on video how-to books. In fact, I enjoyed the article more than the books. But one thing; ! can't find the "I Hate Videogames" book. Can you tell me where I can find this, so I can start hating videogames too? My allowance is really starting to suffer, and I want to save up enougn money to buy a baseball mitt. Thank you.

Matthew F. Burgess

Ontario, Canada Kordosh suggests you "try a bookstore.' —Ed.

MAMMY!

I really appreciated Toby Goldstein's article on Dick Clark. After so many years in the biz, we all seem to take Clark for granted. And, granted that 1 may no1 watch American Bandstand anymore (all those young girls make me ill), it gives me a nice feeling to know that my daughter can enjoy a contemporary show as much as I did 20 years ago.

Mrs. Amanda Modell

Lexington, KY

TYPICAL READER?

I am 30 years old, and I really enjoy your magazine. You seem to cover all aspects of "video lunacy" from those crazy arcade games all the way to the newest technology in stereos and such. Keep up the good work.

I even got a kick out of "Bit By The Vid Buzz' and "Arcade Dos And Don'ts."

Sammy-Bam-Whammy

Rockford, IL

OPINIONS!

1 like your poster in the April/May issue of the Magazine of Video Lunacy, VIDIOT (the Beatles). And here's my opinion of Burgertime flame Broiling vs. Frying, and Donkey Kong Jr.: HELP/

Here's my opinion of Super Pac—it doesn't look like he's so super.

Here's some good opinions:

Galaga—excellent; Satan's Hollowexciting, realistic.

I'd like to ask you a question: where can you get good Atari cartridges from Lindenhurst through Babylon? One more thing, can you give me some tips on Zaxxon ana Pac-Man? Please send me a letter from you.

Michael Ferrara

Lindenhurst, NY

Sorry. We can't gel through Baby/on.— Ed.

DUMB GAMESI

As I was reading your magazine, I noticed something about that dumb Journey Escape video game by Data Age. The object of that game is really stupid, so I was thinking about rock videogames. They should make one for the Who. How many guitars can you smash in eight minutes?

Gideon Greenberg

New York, NY

P.S. I heard Pac-Man was moving to the Midwest. Good, get rid of the bum! Maybe he could take his wife and baby with him!

GOOD MIX

I am an avid heavy metal and videogame fan. I own a ColecoVision, and a Pioneer stereo, so I play Zaxxon to the music of Van Halen, Donkey Kong to the Scorpions and Venture to Ozzy Osbourne. I really enjoy the mixture of rock and videogames in your magazine. Keep up the good work, ana how about one every month instead of every other month?

Jeff Hendershot

Hyattsville, MD

NO ROCK!

I think that your magazine is great, but your Rock Vidiocy sucks! I think you should have one issue just on videogames. Also, why don't they have videogames with Chomp-Chomp and Sourpuss, because they're a part of the Pac-Man family on the Pac-Man cartoon. They have Pac-Man, Mrs. Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man. Super PacMan, Pac-Man plus and Pac-Man mania games, so why not ChompChomp and Sourpuss?

Brian Spoo

Deer Park, Wl Spoo?—Ed.

PINBALL WHIZ!

I like '60s pinball games, they're more fun. I hate videogames. The only reason I bought your magazine was for the Beatles article. That issue was probably a big seller. I like to go to Roselana Park Amusement Park because they’re the only ones who haven't bought any of those videogames. They have all those cool pinbafl machines and gun ranges. Old pinball machines don't burn you out like all the new videogames.

I don't like all that E.T. junk either (extra trash). Who needs an ugly piece of rubber for a hero? Whatever happened to Batman and Superman?

All this E.T. crap makes me sick. I like cool heroes like Spock, yeah. There are some cool teens like me who haven't been brainwashed by all this garbage. Well, that's all you wanted to know how I feel about all this junk, I hope you understand how I feel.

Jim Havaiack

Rochester, NY

MOTIVATION

What exactly are you guys trying to do with your magazine? One issue looks like a comic book—no, not one of 'em, a/1 of 'em, except for maybe that Beatles cover you had a few issues back. I get the feeling that you're sort of floundering around, trying to cover more bases than you really can. I'm sure there may be an audience that enjoys rock music and videogames, just as there is an audience that enjoys rock music and home video in general—you know, videodiscs, cassettes, the whole thing. Only problem, as far as I can see, is that you're missing the boat in attracting any sort of serious "adult" readersnip to your mag simply because, let's face it, it looks like a kiddie mog and no one my age would be caught dead walking out of the campus bookstore with it.

How can you change it? Well, maybe get a little classier looking. Get glossy, get thicker—yeah, I know that means more ads, but face if guys, I haven't seen any ads in your book for how many months now? Look a little more high tech. I guarantee, kids these days are so into computers they look down on comic book antics like your Star Wars versus Star Trek hoo-hah— they'd rather see a computer console ana shiny new hardware. If you ask me, the audience you look like you're aiming for can't even afford a comic book, let alone $2.95. Their parents don't think they're old enough to get an allowance yet.

Either grow up—become a slick, hitech book that even moms and dads would enjoy looking at—or grow down, stop covering anything but the simplest of videogames, and maybe leave a few pages black and white so your readers can color them in.

Sheesh. You guys at magazines must think we're morons out here.

Gary Hirsch

North Miami Beach, FL

OLYMPIA

I just wanted to thank VIDIOT for having the Videolymptcs at Cobo Hall in April. I had a really good time, even if i didn't win anything. I also think that the girls who worked behind the registering counter were cute. Where can I get ahold of them?

Robert Rakaski

Royal Oak, Ml

It's all "behind" you now.—Ed.

NO GO!

Your magazine sucks! At first I thought it would be cool, with Darth Voder on the cover and all, but then I look inside. Four boring pages of Hardware/Software. Boring letters Boring VIDIOT news. What a stupid magazine. From now on, I'm going to buy Blip.

Joseph P. Black

Brooklyn, NY

JUST WAIT!

I have one question for you guys: why do you try to make another CREEM out of VIDIOT? Just to make more money? What you need to do is get different writers, people who know more about computers than they do about rock. When you decide to do that, let me know. I grew up with computers, as I went to a school for advanced kids. I'm only 17, but I'll write some good articles for your rag. I'll be wailing.

Patrick Richards

Miami, FL