Bally Alley - The Newsletter for Astrocade Users

Articles and News

Here you will find Bally Arcade / Astrocade articles and news from books, magazines, and trade papers.

	Arcadian Classified Ad Kilobaud Computing, July 1979, Page 128 A classified ad advertising the Arcadian newsletter. (1 page, plus cover) The text from the ad is here.
	Arcade Resurrection By Bob Fabris "Microcomputing" (Unplublished) Bob Fabris submitted this article in the winter of 1981 to "Microcomputing" magazine, but it was never published. (7 pages) The full article, in text format, can be read here.
	Astrovision Aiming At Bigger Piece Of Game Pie Comsumer Electronics Monthly (March 1982, Page 94) Vice president of AstroVision, George Ray, gives an extremely upbeat company forecast up through 1990. There is some pretty far-out thinking going on here. Either George had NO clue about what was going on behind the scenes or he is straight-out lying. He seems sincere enough, so I think that the upcoming shake-up that moved the entire industry just wasn't foreseen by him or by anyone.(1 page) The full article, in text format, can be read here.
Astrocade's The Incredible Wizard for Astrocade	*Astrocade's The Incredible Wizard* for Astrocade** By Danny Goodman Radio Electronics, April 1983 Video game review of The Incredible Wizard. The review score is 9/10 (excellent), which is great in itself and is only better when compared to the review of the Atari 2600 version in the July 1983, which scored 5/10 (fair). (2 pages)
	Astro Update "Astro Update" (Electronic Games, July 1982, Pg. 11) This is a small piece of news listing the new games to be released for the Astrocade. Most of these games never did come out. (1 page) The news byte, in text format, can be read here.
A Broker's Bubbly Ballyhoo for Bally	A Broker's Bubbly Ballyhoo for Bally By Dan Dorfman Daily News, April 29, 1982 A Wall-Street-Journal-type look at Bally Manufacturing Co. (1 page)
	Animating the Death Star Trench By Neesa Sweet The Very Best of Fantastic Films, February 1981 Larry Cuba describes how he animated forty seconds of animation for Star Wars: A New Hope. (6 pages)
	Astrocade: One More Time By Mark Brownstein Video Games, June 1983 This is not a review of the Astrocade console; it's an overview of the system. It covers both the history and the current situation. In 1983 this would have been very helpful to Astrocade owners that were in the dark. It even mentions rare (released) hardware items like the Blue Ram expansion (which I've never seen mentioned in mainstream press elsewhere). This is a color article (1.35MB). A smaller (612K) B&W version (without the magazine cover) is also available for faster download here. (2 Pages, plus cover)
Astrocade [System Review]	Astrocade [System Review] By Danny Goodman Radio-Electronics, July 1982 Another review of the re-released BPA from Astrocade. This is the second review of this console in this magazine in four months! (2 pages)
Astrocade Enters Video Space Wars	Astrocade Enters Video Space Wars (No Author Mentioned) Leisure Time Electronics, February 1982 News item describing that Astrovision is about to spend ten million dollars on TV advertising. (1 page)
	Astrocade's Extended Play By Mark Brownstein Video Games, March 1984 First paragraph: "Over the last year we've reported quite a bit on Astrocade, this in spite of the fact that the firm went belly up more than a year ago. In a recent issue, we presented reviews of Astrocade games-- some of which were available before Astrocade's bankruptcy, and others which became available after the system's most recent demise." (2 Pages)
Astrocade Sues Commodore and Atari	Astrocade Sues Commodore and Atari By Barry Bayer Infoworld, June 1982 The suit claims that Atari and Commodore are using patents licensed exclusively to Astrocade that deal with bit-mapped graphics for video display. (1 page)
	Astrocade's_Underground By Danny Goodman Joystik, Sept. 1983 This article is about how Astrocade users get along without support from Astrocade, Inc. In 1983, this was quite a lot of exposure for this console. The article begins: "You can't really call the group an "underground," because it operates openly, almost vocally. But, few of the millions of Atari, Mattel, Odyssey and Coleco players are aware that an entire cottage industry has grown around the highly rated, but rarely seen, Astrocade Professional Arcade system. To gain appreciation for the third-party support out there, consider that almost 400 individual programs are currently available for the Astrocade- more than for the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision combined." (4 Pages)
	Astrovision Arcade is Packaged and Expanded CES Trade News Daily, Jan. 10, 1981 Astrocade has repackaged the line, added Bally BASIC and plans ten new cartridges. (1 page)
	Astrovision Shoots For The Stars "High Fidelity Trade News" (Circa 1982) The future plans of Astrovision, Inc.. (1 page) The full article, in text format, can be read here.
Video Games, October 1982	Atari Vs. Astrocade By R.H. Video Games, October 1982 A short news item that gives the reason why Munchie (the Astrocade Pac-Man clone) was never released. (1/4 Page)
	Bally Introduces New Programmable Game Unit Byte, Oct. 1977 "The new Bally Professional Arcade home TV entertainment center is a well-engineered example of the new breed of programmable game modules which use microprocessors for logic and control functions." This short piece of news is available in text format, here.
	Bally Professional Arcade from Astrovision, at CES booth 2501. Show Daily Arcade $299, ZGRASS-32 Keyboard $599, Complete System $898. "32K Computer. With the plug-in ZGRASS-32 keyboard, the Arcade becomes the easiest computer to use and the most powerful system available for creating graphics on the TV screen."
	Computer Programs in BASIC (Excerpt) By Paul Friedman Computer Programs in BASIC, 1981 This book is a listing of many programs written in BASIC that are available from different sources for various microcomputers. Two programs for the Bally Arcade are mentioned. They are "Guess The Number" (from "Creative Computing") and "Battlestar Galactica" (from "Kilobaud Microcomputing"). The front cover of the book and the two pages with the Bally-related information are all that have been scanned. Most of Bally-related excerpt is in text format here.
Computer Shakeout Article	Computer Shakeout Article (No Author Mentioned) Unknown Magazine, March 1981 Too many new computers at CES could mean a shakeout is coming soon. (1 page)
	Chip Set Marks Difference Between Arcade and Home Games By John C. Dvorak InfoWorld, May 12, 1982 Brief article talks about how using a chipset (in particular the DNA shipset) in conjunction with a CPU makes the graphics smoother. (1 page) A text version of this article is available here.
	"Express Stop" User Letter Printed in Electronic Games Magazine, November 1982 Letter from Alfonzo Smith, Jr. (Cleveland, Ohio) asking what happened to the BASIC Express newsletter. The editor explains that the newsletter is no longer published and that an upcoming article concerning the Astrocade will be published in the January issue. (1 Pages, plus magazine cover)
	Game Workout - Astrocade By Michael Blanchet Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, January 1983 A review of the Astrocade console. Includes some screenshots of unreleased games. Color article plus the cover of the magazine (3.9MB). A smaller (847K) B&W version (without the magazine cover) is also available for faster download here. (4 pages, plus cover)
	Have a Bally with Bally By Richard Nitto KILOBAUD MICROCOMPUTING (November 1979): 142-144 A review of the Bally Arcade console. This review, unlike many reviews for this system, concentrates strongly on Bally BASIC, so much so that it nearly avoids the topic of the cartridge games altogether. There are numerous short examples of Bally BASIC syntax. This article also includes a type-in game called "Battlestar Galactica." This is also one of the few mainstream publications of this system aimed at a general audience. This scan was made from a bound copy of the magazine. It is nearly impossible to read the inner-column of the article because the binding was so tight that the inner column couldn't be scanned properly. Therefore the article, minus the table, figure and the "Battlestar Galactica" program listing, is available in text format, here. (6-Page PDF, 3.4MB).
	Fantastic Combinations of John Conway's New Solitaire Game "Life," The By Martin Gardner Scientific American, October 1970 and February 1971 These are the two articles that got the computer program "Life" so popular in the early to mid-seventies. The first article, by Martin Gardner, from the October 1970 "Mathematical Games" section is called, "The Fantastic Combinations of John Conway's New Solitaire Game 'Life'." The next article is a follow-up to the first article.
"For Bally Arcade Users"	"For Bally Arcade Users" By Hank Scott Science & Electronics, May/June 1981 A letter, with answer, from the Input/Output Dept. ("Letters to the Editor" column). (1 page)
	Hard Sell: The $300 Question: Astrocade or Intellivision? By Roger Dionne Video Games, October, 1982 Which System is better, the Astrocade or the Intellivison? (4 Pages)
Hardware: Astrocade and Z-Grass 32	Hardware: Astrocade and Z-Grass 32 By Marc Stern Radio-Electronics, April 1982 Review of the re-released BPA from Astrocade. (2 Pages)
	Home Computer From Bally Byte, July, 1979 "The Bally Computer System contains the built-in 'Bally Brain,' a micro-processor that has a 12 K byte memory. Each optional Bally Videocade cassette adds up to 8 K additional bytes." (1 Page) A text version of this document can be read here
	Inside Electronic Game Design, Excerpt By Arnie Katz with Laurie Yates Inside Electronic Game Design, 5 Pages An overview of the Astrocade as a "nice try" programmable game console. This excerpt also ponders "what if" the Astrocade had won the console war against the Atari 2600. The information presented isn't entirely accurate in some respects, but it's interesting none-the-less. Also available in Text Format. (7 Pages, Including Front and Back Covers)
	Joystick Jury: Joystick Jury: Readers Rate Game Controllers "Electronic Games" (June 1982) Reader comments regarding the joysticks of the era. The Bally/Astrocade's controller is mentioned several times both in positve and in a negative light. (3 pages) The full article, in text format, can be read here.
Latest Micros Offer Power and Graphics	Latest Micros Offer Power and Graphics Carl Warren Popular Electronics, May 1982 From article: "The AstroArcade [sic] is a Z-80 based add on system starting at $299 for the basic game unit with a $599 keyboard unit that houses a disc controller. It also has serial ports, cassette tape controller and voice synthesizer, and is totally oriented toward color." (2 Pages)
	Mass Impact of Videogame Technology, The By Tom Defanti Advances in Computers, Vol. 23, 1984 This is a fifty-page "book" from 1984 about how videogames have affected technology. It's written by Thomas A. Defanti, the man behind the ZGrass language and the UV-R computer. Abbreviated "Table of Contents:" 1. Introduction 2. History of Videogames and Related Developments 3. Coin-Op Game Manufacturers 4. Types of Games 5. Market Considerations 6. Videogame Hardware 7. Videogame Hardware 8. Legal Issues 9. Future Developments 10. Conclusions 11. References An alternate version is available here. This alternate version has two pages scanned per page. If you plan to print the "book" out, then this is probably the best version to download.
	Peanut Butter and Jelly Guide to Computers By Jerry Willis with Deborrah Smithy and Brian Hyndman Copyright 1978 ISBN: 0-918398-13-4 This Beginners-type book covers several early videogame and computer systems. The Bally/Astrocade gets a short mention here as the Home Library Computer. The Bally/Astrocade related text excerpt can be read here.
	Personal Computing: A Beginner's Guide By David Bunnel Copyright 1978 ISBN: 0801558433 Talks briefly about how "Some video games are beginning to look more like computers as the technology advances, while some personal computers are also beginning to look more like video games. The most glaring example of the merger of these two products is the Bally Professional Arcade." The Bally/Astrocade related text excerpt can be read here.
	Personal Electronics Buyers Guide, The By Charles J. Sippl and Roger J. Sippl Copyright 1979 This book clearly views the Bally Arcade as a computer system rather than a game console. This is an EXTREMELY tightly bound book. For this reason scanning the inside margins was very difficult (some of the text and part of the pictures are missing). For an easier read (but no pictures), read the text version. A text version of all the Bally/Astrocade related material is available here.
	Professional Arcade Gives You More!, The [Advertisment] Electronic Games, August 1982 Full page color advertisement for the BPA.
	Professional Arcade Upgrades To A Computer (No Author Mentioned) Electronic Games, Winter 1981 Astrovision plans revival. Includes the front cover (in color) of this magazine. (1 page, plus cover)
	Programmable Calculators: How To Use Them By Charles J. Sippl and Roger J. Sippl Copyright 1978 A book on how to use programmable calculators seems like an odd place to find references to the Bally Professional Arcade, but it doesn't seem too strange when you remember that the BPA does include a calculator. This huge 526-page book covers all ranges of calculators and explains that eventually the home computer, such as the Bally, among many others, will be taking the calculators place. (3 page, plus cover) Complete text excerpts of the Bally-related material from this book can be downloaded here.
Rolling Your Own	Rolling Your Own By Danny Goodman Radio Electronics, September 1983 Details how "the open access to the Astrocade has caused a closely knit and loyal following of Astrocade enthusiasts to band together in users groups and in open exchange of information." (2 pages)
	Space Fortress Review (No Author Mentioned) Video Games, October 1982 Includes the back and front covers (in color) of this magazine. Notice that the back cover lists the arcade versions of Gorf and The Adventures of Robbie Roto!
	Test Lab: Astro Professional Arcade By Henry B. Cohen Electronic Games, June 1982 An Astrocade console review that contains a screenshot of an unreleased game (Coloring Book). This is a color article (3.2MB). A smaller (244K) B&W version (without the magazine cover) is also available for faster download here. (2 pages, plus cover)
	Video Encyclopedia, The By Larry Langman Copyright 1983 This is the definition of "Astrocade" as defined in the glossary of terms. The full excerpt, in RTF form, is here. The Bally/Astrocade related excerpt, in text form, is here.
Video Games [System Comparison]	Video Games [System Comparison] (No Author Mentioned) Consumer's Reports, November 1982 An article that chooses the Astrocade as the best game machine choice of 1982 (versus the Atari 2600, Intellivision and Odyssey 2). (7 pages).
Video Game Death Could Put Supplier on Ice	Video Game Death Could Put Supplier on Ice By Dan Dorfman Chicago Tribune, October 14, 1982 Is Astrocade About to go Out of Business? (One page)
	The Videogame Design Process By John Kao Entrepreneurship Creativity & Organization: Text, Cases & Readings 1989 This seven-page case study was found via a search of Google Books because there is a brief mention of John Perkins, the programmer of Artillery Duel for the Bally/Astrocade. The case study was written in 1985 and covers the entire videogame industry. If you're a fan of the history of videogames, then you will find some great gems here. This document has given very minimal proofreading, but it is also available in a fully searchable RTF file here.
Where are They Now? Bally, Interact and VideoBrain	Where are They Now? Bally, Interact and VideoBrain By David H. Ahl Creative Computing, September and October (1981?) Two articles here. The first poses the question to readers asking what happened to three computer companies. The follow-up has the answers. Good historical information here. (3 Pages)
Z-Grass 32 Keyboard	Z-Grass 32 Keyboard (No Author Mentioned) Interface Age, April 1981 Short news item that has information on the Z-Grass 32 keyboard expansion unit. (1 page)