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1979 TI-99/4 Cartridges

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THE 1979 TI-99/4 CARTRIDGES

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

1979 Beginning Grammar Cartridge
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

1979 Demonstration Cartridge 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

Need a picture of this item

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


1979 Early Learning Fun Cartridge 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

1979 Football Cartridge
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

1979 Home Financial Decisions Cartridge
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

1979 Household Budget Management Cartridge
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

1979 Number Magic Cartridge
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

1979 Physical Fitness Cartridge
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

Need a picture of this item 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

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

1979 Video Graphs Cartridge
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


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

1979 Gamevision Connect Four Cartridge
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

1979 Gamevision Hangman Cartridge
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

1979 Gamevision Yahtzee Cartridge
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

1979 Gamevision Zero Zap Cartridge
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.



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e-mail me: Bryan Roppolo