Re: [stella] Piracy -- copyrights expired?

Subject: Re: [stella] Piracy -- copyrights expired?
From: PatMan <dgeller@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:28:32 -0500
>Why else would Atari have encrypted cartridges on later models than
>the 2600?  (I forget if it was the 5200 or the 7800)

It was the 7800...

>To make them more difficult to reverse engineer.

No, actually it was an attempt to avoid what happened with the 2600 --
every two-bit company coming out with some schlocky game that was less
interesting than watching a TV test pattern... Whoever wanted to make
games for the 7800 would have to "clear" them thru Atari so they could
get the encryption coding that allows them to be played on the 7800
(Due to US restrictions on the export of encryption methods, the 7800
released outside the US did not have encryption lockouts)

This is a somewhat similar policy that Nintendo had with the NES -- the
games required "lockout" chips to run on the machine (I believe one
company -- Tengen, I think -- found a way to get around this lockout
on their system)

--
Stella list is Administered by krishna@xxxxxxxxxxxx <Glenn Saunders>
Archives (includes files) at http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/archives/
Unsub & more at http://www.biglist.com/lists/stella/stella.html
+-shameless plugs-------------------------------------------------------+
| Stella documentary at http://www.primenet.com/~krishna                |
| Nick's VCS links via http://www.primenet.com/~nickb/atariprg.htm      |
| Write the best game, win framed autographs of famous Atari alumni!!   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Current Thread