My insane quest for Super Marathon for the Pippin

I got into the games biz in 2004 for a small shareware company called Freeverse.

Through some odd twists of fate, I ended up becoming a producer and I made Marathon: Durandal for the Xbox 360. It's a sort of port/updated version of the game.

I've always been a huge fan of Marathon. But I've never been able to play the only other Console version of Marathon. I've on and off again hunted for the game for Pippin. Lately I feel like I really might miss the opportunity. So I kicked my search into high gear.

Now I'm no collector. But I find that I must have this game. I exhausted the obvious places (Ebay, CL) and moved on to more obscure sites. I started contacting Bungie (working on Marathon: Durandal gave me lots of contacts). I tracked quite a few of them down. Sadly none of them seem to have a copy.

I was told by Marriott_Guy to try this forum.

Does anyone know of anyone/anywhere I can find a boxed copy of Super Marathon?

 

I think all of us pippin and marathon enthusiasts are asking the same thing.
I've been looking for years...

I've seen pics of a sealed copy and rips of it, but I have a feeling that any production copies may have been inhouse to bde or bungie, or perhaps there was only a run made for reviewers.

It's beyond rare, and i'd just stick to playing the dumped copy since one might as well consider it an unreleased game.

Just for reference, the mac version far surpasses it in quality- it's more or less the same game, but a 66mhz 603 really wasn't that much better than a LOW end ppc, even with console optimizations.

 

Oh I know that the Mac version looks much better. This is almost more about the journey than playing the actual game. But I really want to play it on a Pippin.

I know of 2 copies that for sure exist.

The first is in Bungie's lobby (I've seen it). It's shrink wrapped and most likely will never be opened. But a friend of mine at Bungie might be able to loan it to me to play. Problem is I want to play it.

The 2nd copy went to a guy who was the winner for a Marathon level making contenst. I'm working on getting in touch with him.

There's a possible 3rd copy with a former Bungie employee, and he's looking for me, but does not think he has it anymore.

Our old sales manager at work was originally Bungie's sales manager. In about 2001-2002 or so, he cleaned out his garage and threw out several copies of the game and pippins (along with a bunch of other Mac and Bungie stuff). It killed me when he told me that.

 

Ohh, I know nothing about Pippin but I wish you luck!

 

The first thing I've got to say is HOW THE HELL DID I MISS MARATHON: DURANDAL ON XBLA?!

okay, well now that my wallet is $10 lighter...

Good luck on your quest. I've been hunting for a pippin stuff for years. I think in all that time I've only seen Super Marathon once.

I'm not sure how helpful this is but you could try getting in touch with someone at bungie.org, some of the people there are insane bungie fans so there is a chance one might have a copy or at least know where one is.

 

I'm actually one of those bungie.org guys. I used to also run Marathon.org (during it's sad final days with Simon).

I've still got a few more avenues I can travel down for this game.

I hope you dig on the XBLA version. If you ever want to do some co-op, my gamer tag is Hippieman.

 

Good luck, and if you run into Justin Fic tell him that we need more BDPE!

 

Actually, Super Marathon did see retail release. I got my copy from Bandai directly, but it was advertised and available through Mac Mall and Maczone. I saw a few copies on the shelf at MacMall's retail store in Torrance back in the day, so I know for sure it was released and available.

 

Ah Marathon! what would have been of this game had it been released on windows too...

Kids these days like to talk about how full of FPS the world is right now, but compared to Doom going ballistic back in 93 this is nothing. I remember how every single company HAD to have a FPS, so there were a lot of crappy games going around, and I mean CRAP, you could barely play those.

Marathon wasnt bad at all, but it was limited to a platform that was extremely unpopular back then, so much that it actually almost disappeared.

Back on the topic, I didnt know that Durandal for pippin was so rare, that console didnt had a lot of games, and most were bad even for early 3D standards.

What about asking some old apple resellers?

 

I just got my Pippin today. It's in excellent shape. I can't wait to get home to play it.

Just to state the obvious, you wouldn't be interested in parting with your copy of Super Marathon would you? I have only been able to find 2 copies, and neither owner is selling.

 

To Hippieman,

I just want to thank you for your work on Marathon: Durandal for the 360. It is one of the games I play the most and is damn entertaining.

BTW, are there any plans to bring another Marathon game to the 360? Like the first one so I know what the hell is going on?

 

I'd love to do the other 2 Marathon games. Bungie is the holder to all of this. Right now they are focusing on other titles. And their recent split from MS has put a strain on things.

The reason we did M2 was it really stood as a stand alone game the best. Infinity is too confusing, and M1 is too small. M2 fit in just right. Great weapons, great story, great network modes. We figured if we only got to bring one Marathon to the Xbox, it would be M2.

Now speaking of Marathons. I finally found my copy of Super Marathon. It's still in the shrink wrap and sitting on my kitchen table now. I still wish I knew what the Disc looked like.

 

Tear that thing open and give us some nice unboxing photos! You know it's the only chance most of us will ever have to see it.

 

It's killing me. But the damned thing is perfectly shrink wrapped. If it was torn already I'd just dive in. But I can't bring myself to open it. Maybe in a few days.

 

It is a very difficult decision indeed. :/
Congratulations for getting your copy!:thumbsup:

 

Sorry for the bump, but a local retro game store near where I live managed to obtain a complete @WORLD unit, but there aren't any games to play on it. Does anyone here know where to find a copy of Marathon or other playable/enjoyable games for this damn thing? I'd hate to waste 400 bucks on something that will just rot on a shelf. I buy systems to play them. I don't buy them to be an assburger and watch them collect dust (that's only for my Vita to do, hehe).

 

That's a high amount to pay for the unit. The only decent games are Racing Days and Super Marathon which are super rare. I paid beyond what you did for the machine to get my copy of Super Marathon.

 

You could download pippin iso's and then burn to a disc, the pippin has no protection and plays burned discs fine.

 

Old thread, but the quest Hippieman undertook still resonates with me today. I've always had an interest for the Pippin because of its obscurity, but don't have the money to purchase on. What's really enthralling, is the process of contacting former employees of defunct companies in an attempt to confirm the release of games, or attempt to locate some specific title. I've done this on multiple occasions, even contacting foreign employees with the help of translators. Fun thing to do, and even better when you do locate people.