One reason to buy a 5200...

[+sramirez2008]

Hi everyone,

 

What was your reason for buying the big beauty? Was it a particular game, available Trak-Ball controller or the fact that you could start, pause and resume your game without having to touch the console? Admit it, this is a really cool feature.

 

My reason was simple...Space Dungeon!

 

 

 

 

[0078265317]

Reason was that was all they had on the market as a kid. Not much choice. 2600 was outdated graphics. And Nintendo was not there untill 85. So this was the filler.

[edladdin]

As a kid, I was blown away by graphics and amazing music/sounds. My original 5200 disappeared while I was off at college, so the reason to re-acquire last year was the game I fell in love with back then.... Space Dungeon. Also very happy to recapture the other great ports from back then: Gyruss, Qix, and Moon Patrol.

[Ransom]

Back when it was released, it was the obvious upgrade from the VCS/2600.

 

As far as keeping one in my collection now, it's really all about the controllers. The trak-ball is fantastic, of course, but the standard controller (Best upgraded) is also key. There's nothing like playing the games that have been designed (or redesigned) for that controller, using real hardware.

[+sramirez2008]

Defender game play is excellent with the standard controller.

[+Cafeman]

Space Dungeon is awesome, but I loved the 5200 BITD and never owned Space Dungeon. I own it now.

 

All the games were red-hot back in the day. The games were the reasons to own 5200. Remembering how limited the graphics and sounds were of most consoles and computers back then, 5200 was exciting. Even though CV had arguably more detailed visuals in screenshots, 5200 was a beauty in motion and to listen to.

 

Pac-Man was fantastic compared to 2600. Ms Pac-Man was great. These actually had the intermissions in them. And the sound and music were so close to the arcade , it was exciting. Plus you had Start/Reset/Pause right on the controller . That was awesome.

 

Joust, Defender, Vanguard, Berzerk (with speech!), Jungle Hunt, Centipede and on & on.

[+sramirez2008]

I never owned any consoles BITD. I started to seriously consider adding the 5200 to my collection during last years Classic Game Fest. After seeing the games in action and speaking with AA member TrekMD, I was convinced to give it a try. Glad I did!

[VectorGamer]

The only reason I bought a 5200 was because it was a retro system to add to my collection when I was starting out and it was available locally on Craigslist.

 

I was overall disappointed with the system. Until I got the Atarimax cart which allowed me to have the entire library and 8-bit conversions at my fingertips. Now I think it's a nice system.

 

The stock controllers work well for some games and down right awful for others. I tried to play DK Junior on the 5200 but with the stock controller the game was unplayable.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I never owned a 5200 back in the day either. It wasn't until I played star raiders and especially Rescue on Fractalus that I sought out a 5200. This would have been about 15 years ago. Found one locally for $20 in rough shape at the flea market and it has quickly become one of my favorite classic consoles!

[bohoki]

my neighborhood friend had one and when i saw pac man i thought wow this is arcade quality or better i only had the 2600 and i was mostly satisfied i'm glad i never begged my parents to get one

 

sometime around 1986 a different friend wanted a nintendo so he sold me his 5200s(a 4 port and a 2 port 4 controllers the 2600 adapter and a tracball) and about 10 games for $40 since then the 2 port stopped working so i couldn't use the adapter anymore

and up till i got smart i was basically just pressing start with the side of a penny on my last working controller

 

after i graduated high school and some junior college i got some skills to fix the other controllers and eventualy make my own controllers from scratch i would cycle though my hobbies (rc cars,legos,commodore64,various other things)

 

trying to think of the killer app for 5200 i guess its space dungeon

 

but to me it was just space invaders

Edited July 26, 2016 by bohoki

[toiletunes]

I bought my first 5200 because it was relatively inexpensive ($30 plus shipping = $46 iirc, including a stack of games), Plus I was looking for a new (to me) older gaming experience (already did 2600/7800 to death). Super Breakout and Space Invaders rock! Pac-Man is good (with a proper controller) as are a lot of the arcade ports- Some of the games (Ms Pac-Man) try to calibrate the joystick, which is a pain. In the end, I got an XEGS, but still use the 5200 for paddle-type games.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

I got my 5200 a few years ago as I bought it off ebay. It was a 2 port console with a stack of games for a really good price. Everything was in immaculate condition. I paid $85 with free shipping. The controllers didn't work so I opened them up and cleaned them out and wiped up the cell membranes and got them to work 100%.

 

Down the road I picked up the multi cart, trak ball controller, got my controllers refurbished by Best electronics, and a 4 port console a member got me as a birthday gift last summer. I truly enjoy it and enjoy the games and also the 8 bit conversions on some of the games. Lot of great arcade conversions like Pac-Man, Space Dungeon, Qix, Kangaroo, Robotron 2084, Moon Patrol, Tempest, and Missle Command with the trak ball. Makes you relives the arcade days and as close as it gets to the real thing. You have to enjoy the pause feature. That is innovative for 1982/1983. I don't regret owning one and I reccommend it.

 

[+sramirez2008]

Nice! Thanks for including the pics Retrogamer. Like you, I also have a 2 and 4 port, Best Electronics controllers, Atarimax and a couple of Trak-Ball controllers.

 

One can never have too many Trak-Balls.

[kogden]

I had a 5200 for a while as a kid w/ a Wico stick and trakball. My dad got it for me because it had a lot of cool games I was familiar with from his 800 and an innovative control scheme. Was also durable. Was replaced pretty quick with a 130XE when they upgraded their ST's.

 

The one I have now has a rebuilt controller and one semi-reliable original controller. I haven't got a Trakball yet. I was thinking of doing an AV mod and building a PC Gameport->5200 adapter but I've been too lazy since I already have upgraded Atari 8-bit computers with most of the same game library.

 

Analog control with Star Raiders is a lot of fun though. Pole Position's control scheme is much better on the 5200 also.

[BassGuitari]

I saw it in an issue of EGM in the '90s, in an article about retro systems. I was vaguely aware of "Atari" but didn't know there was more than one Atari console (except for the Jaguar, which could still be found at discount liquidators at the time).

That article really kick-started my long-brewing obsession with retro games and game collecting. What I *really* wanted to track down was the 2600. That was--and still is--the definitive classic system in my eyes (NES wasn't "retro" yet, just old). But that 5200 looked badass. Sleek and futuristic-looking, even in 1997. And its games were described as arcade-perfect (not quite, it turned out, but still great!), as opposed to the abstract blocks and buzzes found on the 2600 (which were charming in and of themselves).

And on the way to getting a 2600, I acquired an Odyssey 2 and Intellivision; since I'd already gone off-course before I even got on course, it stood to reason that at some point I may as well get a 5200. And 7800. And Coleco. And Odyssey 300. And Odyssey 500. And...

[+sramirez2008]

I've managed to limit my collection to Atari consoles only. Having said that, I've always wanted an Intellivision and Vectrex.

[edweird13]

I didn't have a 5200 BITD. When I started collecting systems Adventure II was being developed. I bought the system for that game and for star raiders. Adventure II was one of my first purchases from AtariAge. Once I got a gold controller and a trac ball that helped make it one of my favorite systems.

[Lendorien]

When I was a kid, my cousins had a 5200. They had more money than my family. I didn't own a video game console until I was in college. I got my 5200 at a thrift store about 4 years ago.

 

What I remember from back in the day was Joust. I'd never seen the game before and I was enamored with it. To this day, Joust is one of my all time favorite arcade games, but it was the 5200 that got me hooked on it.

 

When I got my system, following fixing the controllers, one of the first things I did was pick up Joust. But to be honest, the game I play most often on it is Moon Patrol. Lame, I know.

 

Seems like a lot of people loved Space Dungeon. I recently picked that one up. I'll have to try it again. I will admit that graphics are sometimes a roadblock for me. Arcade games are fine, but when you get slightly more cerebral with old school systems I find it hard to get into them.

[+sramirez2008]

Joust is another great port.

 

Hope you have the Controlller Holder for Space Dungeon, as it is a twin stick shooter like Robotron and the holder really makes a difference. Both games play well with the stock controllers.

[ave1]

Got my 5200 at a thrift store close to 20 years ago after being really into collecting 2600, 7800, Intellivision, and Colecovision games. Within a few months of getting mine a coworker decided he wanted to trade me a bunch of 5200 games for my entire comic book collection. I never regretted the trade! It's a really awesome system to have.

[metzger130]

I bought my first 5200 about 4 years ago. I remember growing up and playing it at a friends. we played a lot of real sports baseball and berzerk. Baseball was amazing as you could select different pitches. I now own 3 5200's, 2 4 port system and 1 2 port, and the trak ball. I love playing missile command with the trak ball and space dungeon , river raid and baseball are among my favorites. I still need to get the atari max for it as while I own a nice amount of games, there are some that i would like to get but are a bit pricey. First off is the 2600 atari max then the 5200 one.

[syn]

I picked up Robotron the other day and it's awesome! I have the two controller holder and it's bringing back fond memories of when I bought Robotron for my 1200XL. The plastic controller holder was pretty fragile looking back (home computer tray).

[+sramirez2008]

metzger130 River Raid for the 5200 is one of my favorites. I really like the addition of the hot air balloons and tanks that fire at you.

[+sramirez2008]

I picked up Robotron the other day and it's awesome! I have the two controller holder and it's bringing back fond memories of when I bought Robotron for my 1200XL. The plastic controller holder was pretty fragile looking back (home computer tray).

 

Since you have a controller holder, try to pick up a copy of Space Dungeon. You won't regret it!

[metzger130]

I picked up Robotron the other day and it's awesome! I have the two controller holder and it's bringing back fond memories of when I bought Robotron for my 1200XL. The plastic controller holder was pretty fragile looking back (home computer tray).

I need to find robotron, if it's anything like playing space dungeon on the 5200 it'll be a blast. 2 controllers at the same time. Messes with my head all the time.