Starpath Supercharger Collection
Released in 1981, the Supercharger by Arcadia (later rebranded as Starpath) is a really interesting device and I always enjoy pulling it out and playing the games. This video shows off my Starpath collection and demonstrates what this thing is all about. I also demonstrate how to load the games directly off of your tablet thereby preserving your tape library. In my opinion this cartridge was far ahead of its time and showed a lot of forward thinking. You know what else was far ahead of its time, the Apple Newton. Timing is everything. This device expanded the Atari 2600’s memory and enabled multi-load games, making possible games with much better graphics and depth. On the downside, the games had to be loaded off of cassette tape, so you would not get the immediate satisfaction of plugging in the cartridge and playing straight away. In my opinion the pluses far outweigh the minuses. This device was just short of revolutionary for the time period. It’s a shame it never really had much success. It was expensive debuting for $44.95 for the Supercharger and $29.95 for launch titles.
Don’t have a Supercharger? You can still play the games through emulation or with a Harmony cartridge.
Stella Emulator:
http://stella.sourceforge.net/
Atari 2600 Harmony Cartridge:
http://harmony.atariage.com/
Youtube Original Post Date: 08/09/2015
