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Submission + - Marble Madness 2: The Cancelled Sequel to Classic Arcade Game Recovered for MAME (arstechnica.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Atari pulled the plug on the release of Marble Madness II almost exactly 31 years ago after the follow up to their hit game failed to perform well in location tests. For decades the only way to play this now sought after rarity has been on one of a handful of known surviving units when it was exhibited by a private collector at annual events.

That has all changed after the ROM mysteriously appeared on The Internet Archive and was subsequently emulated by MAME developer David Haywood. Ars Technica provide background information on this story and talk with a number of the digital archaeologists involved, discussing the events that unfolded, speculate as to why the game may have failed, and look at what it finally being emulated means to the community.

Comment Re:Needs a federal excise tax (Score 5, Informative) 229

They brought in a sugar tax in Ireland for fizzy drinks. Now the manufacturers put in the maximum allowed concentration of sugar that doesn't incur the tax and they cover the shortfall with artificial sweeteners like Aspartame and Acesulfame K. The end result being that the couple of times a year I indulge in a bottle of Lucozade orange it tastes like ass compared to the old version

Which doesn't help here, because I have to avoid Aspartame and Acesulfame K on the advice of my GP as they've been identified as migraine triggers. By cutting them out of my diet I've experienced almost no migraines in the last 3 years. The only time I get a migraine now, I can easily go over what I've consumed in the past few days, and always end up finding a product where the recipe has been changed to include those. As a result we now have to pay a 2x - 3x premium to import the same products from the US because the companies here are too stupid to realise we'd rather just pay the extra 10p a drink to avoid the chemical sweeteners. The problem is the ones full artificial sweeteners are being pushed everywhere, in many places you can't even get proper versions, those places have lost my custom too as a result. Places are quite happy to charge premium prices for a cocktail then ruin it entirely with Lemonade filled with sweeteners, or not disclose that there are no full sugar options until after you've purchased your drink. These things really should be on allegen lists, like nuts etc.for people who need to avoid them. Luckily some smaller startups have twigged on and are offering proper drinks for a slightly higher price, but it's more difficult to find those when you're out and about due to the stranglehold the older drinks manufacturers have on the industry.

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