Listed
below are all the cartridges that were available for
the TI-99/4 in 1979. Note
that these are cartridges that were manufactured in 1979 and not
1980-1983. Even
though they look similar to their
1980-1983 counterparts (there were some variations through the years),
they all
carry 1979 manufacture dates and/or 1979 copyrights.
TI stamped the bottoms of all their cartridges with manufacture dates
that showed the week and year of production. If a cartridge had a stamp
of LTA4579 on the bottom, then it would have been manufactured in the
45th week of 1979 (November 1979).
All
cartridges made in 1979
came
packaged in the older 99/4 style boxes with flip-out covers (this
box-style carries part number 1037111-1 and a 1979 copyright) along
with the older 99/4
style manuals. The old style 99/4 manuals do not say "Command Module"
on the cover, instead the solid black bar on the manual is left blank.
The text on the cartridge label itself also was different during the
99/4's lifetime, using a darker red color than that of the orange 99/4A
cartridge labels. Click here to see a
table of the
1979 manufactured items that I have in my collection along with their
production dates
1979 Beginning Grammar
This
cartridge carries a 1978
copyright on the opening screen, making it one of the earliest titles
programmed for the TI-99/4. Beginning Grammar is an educational
program for kids that teaches basic grammar with entertaining and
unique games. I love the school bus that travels on the
screen with music playing in the background in the beginning, along
with most of the learning activities. Considering the age of this title
it's still a better learning tool than many of the offerings today. The
1979
versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Beginning Grammar is PHM 3003
with manual number 1037109-3. All 1979 made cartridges will have an LTA
date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing (such as LTA
4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the 47th week of
1979).
1979 Demonstration
Here
lies the original 1979 Demonstration cartridge for the TI-99/4 which
covers everything that the
computer had to offer. It's quite a neat program, full of color and
wonderful music that might even
convince you to buy the system today (at least for a classic computer
collection!). If
you are interested in getting an original 99/4 this cartridge is a
must-own, since not only does it have catchy background music, but also
shows what was considered new at the time in
1979. The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Demonstration is
PHM 3001 with manual number 1037109-1. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Diagnostic
This
was the first cartridge in the TI part number listings, but was not the
first developed as it carried a 1979 date on the title screen instead
of 1978.
Apparently TI wanted to get some of the more "impressive" titles
developed in 1978 to showcase the system. This program was made to
check if everything was running properly on the 99/4 console,
and could be used for both the home user and repair technician. One of
the more interesting things on the module is the Joystick Test which
has an option for 4 sticks (joysticks 3 and 4 were for the never
released Infrared controllers). The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Diagnostic is
PHM 3000 with manual number 1037109-99. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Early Learning Fun
This
cartridge carries a 1978
copyright on the opening screen, making it one of the earliest titles
programmed for the TI-99/4. Early
Learning Fun is one of the first educational games that I grew up
with and have fond
memories of. It's a very nicely done program that
teaches simple things like the alphabet, numbers, counting, etc. and
has many game variants that can be fun to play just to see all the
different shapes and figures. For some reason I always loved the guy
who has his finger
pointed in the air and says "!!!". The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Early Learning Fun is
PHM 3002 with manual number 1037109-2. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Football
This
was the first video game title developed for the TI-99/4 (meaning non
educational or home productivity). Unlike the Football games of today
where the player controls each individual on the field, this early game
only allows you to select plays in order to win a game. Also, it must
be
played against another human opponent. One nice extra feature to the
game is the coin toss at the beginning to
see which team will get to receive/kick. The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Football is
PHM 3009 with manual number 1037109-9. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Home Financial Decisions
This
cartridge carries a 1978
copyright on the opening screen, making it one of the earliest titles
programmed for the TI-99/4. Basically,
Home Financial Decisions helps the user on loans, car purchasing
decisions, and
savings. I've never tested the cartridge to see how well it works, but
it could be fun to see what it has to say about buying a car nowadays.
Who knows, maybe it can help me on my next car purchase! The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Home Financial
Decisions is
PHM 3006 with manual number 1037109-6. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Household Budget Management
Similar
in theme to Home Financial Decisions, this program focuses on expenses
in
the home and helps point out how you can better manage your money. It
also allows you to save records of your
expenses to cassette tape so everything does not have to be typed in
all the time. Overall, the cartridge seems pretty thorough
and complex and might be better than some of the current money
management programs out there today. The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Household Budget
Management is
PHM 3007 with manual number 1037109-7. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Number Magic
This
is another simple, but neat, educational program for kids that teaches
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The idea of the
game is to get your bunny across the screen on a track, either racing
against a clock or just on your own. Every correct answer will move the
bunny
one step, so it takes correct answers to win the game and complete the
race. The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Number Magic is
PHM 3004 with manual number 1037109-4. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Physical Fitness
This
cartridge carries a 1978
copyright on the opening screen, making it one of the earliest titles
programmed for the TI-99/4. Physical
Fitness consists of a little character who takes you through
various exercises and tries to show you how to do it. After each
exercises is completed for the recommended number of sets you can then
go onto
another routine.
If you want to get in shape using your 99/4 this is the way to go! The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
boxes and manuals. The product number for Physical Fitness is
PHM 3010 with manual number 1037109-10. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Video Chess
If
you ever need someone to play Chess with you can always pop in this
cartridge
for a round or two. Apparently this game was developed in conjunction
with David Levy, an International Master Chess player, to help give it
a harder edge for those who need it. There are various skill levels
provided, so if you are not that good at Chess you can always
select the "Lose" option so that the computer purposely loses (hey, if
it
makes you feel better!).
The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4-style
style boxes and manuals, along with a keyboard overlay. The product
number for Video Chess is
PHM 3008 with manual number 1037109-8. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LTA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LTA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Video Chess Overlay
This
is the overlay that came packaged with Video Chess back in 1979. It
shows the keys that you use on the TI-99/4 keyboard for certain
functions when playing the game (note that the overlay will not fit on
a 99/4A's keyboard). This overlay carries part number 1015992-3.
1979 Video Graphs
Wow! That's all I have to say on this one.
For a 1979 computer painting program Video Graphs seems really
advanced. There
are many options provided here, such as creating animated
objects (for the game of Life), watch pre-made animated objects,
draw free hand on the computer with 16 different colors, and also use
building blocks to make a picture. The building blocks are used by
moving the joystick over a shape that you want to use and then placing
it on the screen. Overall, a really neat program and my personal
TI-made
favorite from 1979, especially since you can save your creations to
tape! The
1979 versions of this cartridge came packaged with the older 99/4 style
style boxes and manuals, along with a keyboard overlay. The product
number for Video Graphs is
PHA 3005 with manual number 1037109-5. All 1979 made cartridges will
have an LA date ending with 79 stamped on the bottom of the casing
(such as LA 4779, which means the cartridge was manufactured in the
47th
week of 1979).
1979 Video Graphs Overlay
This
is the overlay that came packaged with Video Graphs back in 1979. It
shows the keys that you use on the TI-99/4 keyboard for certain
functions when painting (note that the overlay will not fit on
a 99/4A's keyboard). This overlay carries part number 1015992-4.
1979 Gamevision Connect Four
At first this may seem like a simple
conversion of Milton Bradley's popular board game, but let me tell you
it was
programmed very well! First off, there are a few variations which are
not available on the board game, such as Drop Out which gives each
player the option to remove one piece on the board (his or his
opponents) in
addition to dropping a new piece in place. The other variation is
called Wild Spot where one of the spaces on the board is a red/blue
"MB" logo. This
space acts as a wild spot for either player (meaning that if 3 of a
kind of either red or blue pieces are connected to it, the wild spot
will act as a 4th piece for a win). There is of course the regular game
of Connect Four which can be played against the computer or a another
person. Personally I have never been able to beat the computer, which
means I either am bad at this game or the computer is one of the best
Connect
Four players out there. If you want a challenging game of Connect Four
this cartridge might be your best bet. The Gamevision
Connect Four cartridge carries part number MB 4965 and a 1979 copyright
date.
1979 Gamevision Hangman
Another Milton Bradley adaptation of a
popular game, although this time it is not a MB board game. This is
pretty much the classic Hangman with the ability to play against both
the computer or an opponent, with some extra options thrown in. One of
the interesting options is the ability to "Buy a letter", where the
computer will give you a letter for free but it will cost you 3 turns
(you have 11 turns before you get hanged). Also, there is the option
for a scrambled word puzzle making it harder to try and figure out what
the word is. While this game might be simplistic it can still be fun
for a few rounds. The Gamevision Hangman cartridge
carries part number MB 4966 and a 1979 copyright date.
1979 Gamevision Yahtzee
This is a computer conversion of the
popular Milton Bradley board game of the same name. Since I do not know
how to play Yahtzee (I probably should know!) I can't comment on the
accuracy versus the physical board version, but there are
two options of play: Regular and Challenge, as well as the ability to
compete against the computer or another player. The one thing I do know
about this cartridge, though, is that it is by far the rarest of the
1979 releases since Milton Bradley recalled Yahtzee in the summer of
1980 due to a bug found in the program. Therefore, it was only on the
market for less than a year and selling for a system that was not
exactly
flying off the shelves. If you do ever come across the Gamevision
version of this title (TI produced their versions of the Gamevision
titles in 1981-1983, after MB stopped production of the carts) be sure
to pick it up! The Gamevision Yahtzee cartridge carries part number MB
4967 and a 1979 copyright date.
1979 Gamevision Zero Zap
Zero
Zap is supposed to be a computerized pinball game even though it does
not act
or play very much like it. Instead it has been referred to as a video
game adaptation of pachinko, mainly since there are no flippers to keep
the ball (arrow) in
play. The idea is to shoot an arrow into a play field where it
will bounce around the screen, in turn hitting numbers which
raise your score. However, if the arrow hits the bottom of the screen
or a "Zero" you have to shoot again (you begin with 5 shots). Watching
the arrow explode and spiral out of control after hitting a "Zero" is
pretty neat. The game is very fun since there are many
different play fields to choose from and you can even design your own
and save/load it to/from cassette
tape! That's right, you can actually construct your own screen. This
has
to be one of the earliest game titles that actually allowed a player to
design and save a play field for a video game. The Gamevision Zero Zap
cartridge carries part number MB 4964 and a 1979 copyright.