Where could you buy a Creativision?

[MADrigal]

@carlsson: i'm sure that you'll sort that out one day. it sometimes takes very long, you just have to keep on searching patiently

[carlsson]

Now I have gone through every page of the four Hobbex catalogues I've got. This is the combined video game and computer oriented content found. I'm a bit sad that neither of those contain any definitive CreatiVision content, which means perhaps I should look elsewhere.

Summer 1983: Hanimex/Soundic SD050 + Shooting Gallery, Spectravision games for Atari 2600, Game & Watch, computer chess

Winter 1983/84: Competition Pro joystick, SD050 + Shooting Gallery, Game & Watch, Time & Fun, VTech Tri-Screen, Tomy Puckman & electromechanical Tomy games, computer chess, VIC-20 w/ peripherals + an unnamed C64 manual + the Creativision Data reference in the index, but no content

Summer 1984: Seiko MC-2200 pocket computer, SD050 + Shooting Gallery, Quick Shot joystick, VIC-20 and C64 w/ peripherals, Game & Watch, VTech Tri-Screen, some of the same Tomy games, computer chess

Winter 1984/85: to be determined, but it'd surprise me a lot if the content differs from the previous and following catalogue

Summer 1985: SD050 + Shooting Gallery, Mattel Intellivision (but repeatedly called Intervision), Spectravideo SVI-328 w/ peripherals, Seiko pocket computer, computer chess,

[MADrigal]

OK so Hobbex mail order has nothing to do with the CreatiVision. After all, if your games have a price tag, they were probably displayed in a shop. I assume that the price tag would have been useless if the games were sold via mail order.
So... the search continues...

[carlsson]

Well, Hobbex both were mail order and had at least one or two stores. For example, they advertised fireworks in the catalogue, but due to regulations they were not allowed to send fireworks via mail (duh!) so anyone who wanted to buy those would have to come to the store, but could look up in the catalogue on advance what to buy.

[carlsson]

I just found a full page advertisment from Elof Hansson in the computer magazine Min Hemdator, issue 4/1983! Among other things, it says they were the Nordic representative, not just Swedish. I don't know what it really means though, and it should be paired with the timeline of e.g. Salora Manager, if it turned up after the CreatiVision sales had dried up or if both were sold in Finland by different parties for a short while.

The same magazine also has a very brief editorial write-up, with the usual specs and a mention that the I/O interface can be used with printer, floppy drive or modem.

[MADrigal]

Have you got that magazine handy? Would you scan it?
If so, I will provide details of the scanning settings and info I need
Great spot though!

[carlsson]

A friend of mine got that particular magazine. He already scanned it at default settings, I can post you a link for preview. It has some bleed through on the pages, so it should for best results get rescanned with something thicker behind the pages.

[carlsson]

Now I have proof where you could buy the system: through the Ellos mail order catalogue, at least in the fall/winter of 1983/84.

[MADrigal]

WONDERFUL!

Got the information trough email, thanks!

I will reply asap. Congratulations on solving this mystery

[carlsson]

After one year of searching, I still haven't found the particular catalogue yet. Ironically there were plenty for sale before I knew I needed it. However I did buy the Ellos mail order catalogue for spring/summer of 1983 in hope that perhaps they begun to sell it before the first known advertisement. No such luck though, Ellos at this time only offered Soundic SD050 type systems and Nintendo G&W. Apparently the VTech Creativision wasn't added until the following fall/winter.

It gives me the following timeline:

November 1983 - advertisement from Elof Hansson in the magazine Min Hemdator(tidning) 4/83
November 1983 - review in the magazine Teknik för Alla 11/83
Fall of 1983 - listed for sale in the Ellos catalogue 1983/84 (that I don't yet have)
Fall of 1983 - mentioned in the index of the Hobbex catalogue 1983/84, but not for sale

No other mentions in home computer or video game magazines that I can remember, either before, during or afterwards.

I've got both the Hobbex catalogues of spring/summer 1983 and spring/summer 1984, which have no mentions at all about Creativision. I might try to find the catalogue of fall/winter 1984/85, but I doubt they would list it that late. I could also try to find the Ellos catalogue of spring/summer 1984 to see if they still carried it.

As mentioned before, Hobbex used to rent an outlet store in the same building where Ellos had their outlet store. Although I don't think the two companies had any joint owners, I can see why Hobbex at a later point took over surplus inventory from Ellos and sold in their store, which is indicated by some of my games have a Hobbex discount price sticker.

Someone had a faint memory that when they bought a new TV at a local supermarket, they got a free Creativision to go with it, but I'm not sure this really happened. If it did take place, it must've been a bit into the later half of the 80's, when the console no longer was commercially viable.

I also wonder about the other Scandinavian countries, which I haven't researched at all. As mentioned above, Elof Hansson considered themselves the Nordic representative, whatever it meant. It would also be interesting to know if there was any relation between Elof Hansson and Salora. Do we know anything about Creativision in Finland, or did the story start with the Fellow and Manager?