MB Vectrex promotional folder

[turbogfx]

Since I’m new to this forum and haven’t contributed anything yet, I tought I’d start out with something small.

If found this Dutch promotional Vectrex flyer/folder today and bought it off a Vectrex owner.



This is my personal rough translation into English. I am aware that these sentences sometimes have strange grammar, but ironically so does the Dutch text on the folder, so I’m guessing that back in the day translation was not done by a pro either.


Vectrex Portable Game Computer
“Those who play it, are lost [without it].”
MB International

In the US people can’t keep their hands off it, and now we will have to succumb to it as well. To the Vectrex Portable Game Computer.
For a change, this [console] doesn’t have a keyboard to which you need to connect the TV, which in turn just so happens to be tuned to Dallas and – on top of that – was not built for this purpose.
[It is] a unique, portable, universally connectible game computer with its own display that is directly derived from popular arcade machines.
And so [it comes with] “bright graphics”, 3D effects, zooms, a realistic sound chip, an accurate 360° rotateable joystick, the option to connect a second control panel, and the included basic game Mine Storm already programmed [into the console].
The games are just sensational. They all come with their own colored overlay. Each increasing in difficulty and thus more challenging each time. Every single one of them are hits in their home country, America. And the choice [of games] grows with almost every day. Right now, already 18 different game cartridges exist, and over the course of 1984 you will possibly be able te expand your Vectrex into a real home computer.
Why don’t you take place behind a Vectrex at your local Vectrex dealer. See how far you can go. Just make sure you tell your parents where you’re at.


The folder has got detailed game descriptions and visuals for the following "18 games":
- Minestorm
- Scramble
- Cosmic Chasm
- Armor Attack
- Starship
- Solar Quest
- Hyper Chase
- Space Wars
- Starhawk
- Rip Off
- Berzerk
- Soccer/Football
- Flipper/Pinball
- Web Warp
- Fortress of Narzod
- Bedlam
- Spike
- Clean Sweep

dl.dropbox.com/u/13612030/Vectrex%20flyer%20NL%202.jpg
dl.dropbox.com/u/13612030/Vectrex%20flyer%20NL%203.jpg
dl.dropbox.com/u/13612030/Vectrex%20flyer%20NL%204.jpg

The game list in the folder includes 18 titles. The only game that is not present in the folder is Blitz!
Now, the game with the highest reference number in the MB Vectrex library was Spike (no. 8137), which was released in 1983. Blitz has no. 8131, so logically it should also have been released in 1983.
So I think the 18 games they talk about in the folder are actually all EURO Vectrex games except Mine Storm. My best guess why they decided to leave Blitz out of the promotional folder, is because American Football is just not very popular in Europe.

Also note that the flyer suggests that “over the course of 1984 you will possibly be able te expand your Vectrex into a real home computer.”
Maybe MB is hinting towards additional peripherals such as the light pen and the rumored keyboard attachment to be launched in Europe as well. Unfortunately in March 1984, European production of the Vectrex already came to an end.

This flyer is supposedly published by MB International (as noted on the front page of the folder), so maybe this was part of a European international flyer campaign to get some more Vectrexes off the store shelves and into consumer homes.

That’s all I can add or speculate right now.. if anyone here can add or correct anything, your insights would be greatly appreciated!

Hope you’ve found this somewhat entertaining ;-)

Cheers,

Turbogfx

[VectorX]

Nov 18, 2012 18:58:25 GMT -5 turbogfx said:

Since I’m new to this forum and haven’t contributed anything yet, I tought I’d start out with something small.

"Small"? This is quite big, actually! It amazes me what previously unknown Vectrex stuff keeps on crawling out of the woodwork here and there just over the past few years that we've yet to see.

Nov 18, 2012 18:58:25 GMT -5 turbogfx said:

Also note that the flyer suggests that “over the course of 1984 you will possibly be able te expand your Vectrex into a real home computer.”
Not sure what this might mean exactly,

A keyboard/computer expansion attachment, BASIC programs, and more were on the drawing board, but I don't think they got past the design phase with those (someone correct me if I'm wrong though).

Nov 18, 2012 18:58:25 GMT -5 turbogfx said:

but maybe MB hoped to launch additional peripherals such as the light pen in Europe as well.

A Light Pen found with French printing appeared on ebay (I think it was) several months ago, which it was believed that the Pen was never released over there. Who knows if it was real or not.

Nov 18, 2012 18:58:25 GMT -5 turbogfx said:

Hope you’ve found this somewhat entertaining ;-)

Very much so, thanks for sharing!

[TrekMD]

Very cool! And a nice contribution too! I have to say, though, the phrase “Once you play it, you’re lost" doesn't sound very attractive. I wonder if this was messed up by the translation.

[turbogfx]

Nov 18, 2012 20:03:13 GMT -5 VectorX said:

It amazes me what previously unknown Vectrex stuff keeps on crawling out of the woodwork here and there just over the past few years that we've yet to see.

Actually, after I posted this, I found this very same booklet at www.atarihq.com/vectrex/dutchad/vectrex0.jpg
This is also the Dutch version. Now, given the poor Dutch grammar in the booklet, and the fact that it says "MB International" I can't help but think that the original text was in English. Does anyone know anything about other language variations of these promo folder? I can't find any other online.

Nov 18, 2012 20:03:13 GMT -5 VectorX said:

A keyboard/computer expansion attachment, BASIC programs, and more were on the drawing board, but I don't think they got past the design phase with those (someone correct me if I'm wrong though).

Cool! Do you have a source link for this? I'd like to read a bit more about that.

Nov 18, 2012 20:03:13 GMT -5 VectorX said:

A Light Pen found with French printing appeared on ebay (I think it was) several months ago, which it was believed that the Pen was never released over there. Who knows if it was real or not.

Yeah, I saw that one too. But the Vectrex logo on that box was not the blue European logo, it was the grey US-style logo, so I thought it was meant for the French part of Canada or something. Could be wrong though...

[turbogfx]

Nov 19, 2012 0:04:23 GMT -5 TrekMD said:

I have to say, though, the phrase “Once you play it, you’re lost" doesn't sound very attractive. I wonder if this was messed up by the translation.

To be honest, this could be my fault as well. In Dutch, what it actually should mean is:
Vectrex, once you play it, you just can't help but keep playing. So maybe the translation should be more like: "you're lost without it".

I'll edit my translation, thanks for the remark. As said, I'm not a professional interpreter

That being said, as a native Dutch speaker, I can assure you that the way they phrased this in Dutch is not very attractive as well. So me correcting my re-translation in English now, is actually giving the original Dutch translation more credit than it deserves :-) Looks like they rushed this promo campaign a bit and didn't want to spend too much cash/time on it..

[turbogfx]

Edit in original post:

The game list in the folder includes 18 titles. Since the entire Euro (MB) Vectrex game library has 19 games, we notice only one game is not (yet) present in the folder: Blitz!
This would lead me to believe that Blitz! was in fact the 19th and final game published by MB in Europe before they halted production.

I don't yet have the EU Blitz! version in my collection but I'll make sure to check for publishing dates once I get it.

[TrekMD]

Nov 19, 2012 5:18:14 GMT -5 turbogfx said:

Nov 19, 2012 0:04:23 GMT -5 TrekMD said:

I have to say, though, the phrase “Once you play it, you’re lost" doesn't sound very attractive. I wonder if this was messed up by the translation.

To be honest, this could be my fault as well. In Dutch, what it actually should mean is:
Vectrex, once you play it, you just can't help but keep playing. So maybe the translation should be more like: "you're lost without it".

I'll edit my translation, thanks for the remark. As said, I'm not a professional interpreter

That being said, as a native Dutch speaker, I can assure you that the way they phrased this in Dutch is not very attractive as well. So me correcting my re-translation in English now, is actually giving the original Dutch translation more credit than it deserves :-) Looks like they rushed this promo campaign a bit and didn't want to spend too much cash/time on it..

Interesting that you say the original was not very good either. It just sounded odd to me when I read it. Have you tried running it through Google Translate? It doesn't always get accurate translations but it may phrase it differently.

[turbogfx]

^ Nah, trust me, the Google translation is horrible.

[VectorX]

Nov 19, 2012 5:08:55 GMT -5 turbogfx said:

Cool! Do you have a source link for this? I'd like to read a bit more about that.

I don't know where it is--it's online somewhere--but you can at least see a picture of it here: vectrex.wikia.com/wiki/Vectrex_Computer

[gliptitude]

Heh, "Once you play it, you're lost"/"Wie d'r mee speelt is verloren" was my second favorite part of this folder you've showed us. (My most favorite part is the grid floor that the Vectrex sits on in the picture.)

It's a goofy line and perhaps doesn't help the Vectrex's case among it's 1983 customers. But it's exotic and intriguing to me, even in translation.

[VectorX]

Nov 19, 2012 5:08:55 GMT -5 turbogfx said:

Cool! Do you have a source link for this? I'd like to read a bit more about that.

There's a brief mention of it here, just looking around real quick: www.cedmagic.com/history/vectrex.html

[desfeek]

Whoa...I love collecting strange Vectrex paperwork, and this totally fits the bill. This pamplet is very much like the ones Triton Electronics put out in the states (lists games with a screenshot and description), but that is more of a booklet than a tri-fold pamphlet. Thanks for the translation!

I love that you've analyzed it to determine Blitz's EU release order, and are hypothesizing the translation origins. There's always something else to learn about the Vectrex!

We already had a discussion here about the Vectrex keyboard: vectorgaming.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=vectrex&thread=205&page=1

[turbogfx]

Nov 19, 2012 9:35:00 GMT -5 VectorX said:

I don't know where it is--it's online somewhere--but you can at least see a picture of it here: vectrex.wikia.com/wiki/Vectrex_Computer

That picture blew my mind! Too bad it never got to see the light of day...

[turbogfx]

Nov 19, 2012 15:26:18 GMT -5 desfeek said:

I love that you've analyzed it to determine Blitz's EU release order, and are hypothesizing the translation origins. There's always something else to learn about the Vectrex!

We already had a discussion here about the Vectrex keyboard: vectorgaming.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=vectrex&thread=205&page=1

Thanks for that link.

Yeah for now I'll have to stick with some hypotheses. I'm hoping to have them confirmed one day though.

[VectorX]

Nov 19, 2012 17:46:56 GMT -5 turbogfx said:

Nov 19, 2012 9:35:00 GMT -5 VectorX said:

I don't know where it is--it's online somewhere--but you can at least see a picture of it here: vectrex.wikia.com/wiki/Vectrex_Computer

That picture blew my mind! Too bad it never got to see the light of day...

Yeah, I had my mind totally blown too the first time I laid eyes on the Vectrex game database. I didn't know of all the games and add-ons and the like that were planned to be released. It depressed me too, unfortunately (STILL does sometimes!)