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Atari 2600 originally desinged to be backwards?


Swami

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This may have been addressed in the distant past, but far to many posts to look through. I am wondering if it's possible that the Atari 2600 board was originally designed to face the opposite way, or even the whole console. The cart label faces the back, the controller plugs are in the back. Somehow it ended up sloping the other direction and the switches, RF line and power cord were arranged for the way it turned out.

 

Edit: add picture

I like the way you think bud.

 

I was reading in the Hyperkin Retron77 thread about how people were blasting a rather cosmetic decision of labels facing frontwards. As a product of the NES generation, I finally bought my first Atari in 2012. And while I can't remember which game I tried to play first, I do remember turning the cart label facing me and it didn't fit. Why? Was my system broken? Then I had an epiphany: "Turn the cart around, doofus!" Worked like a charm after that... :dunce:

 

While you're at it, you might as well pick up a 4-switch Atari so that the two difficulty switches will be facing you when you "turn it around." May come in handy... 8)

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I like the way you think bud.

 

I was reading in the Hyperkin Retron77 thread about how people were blasting a rather cosmetic decision of labels facing frontwards. As a product of the NES generation, I finally bought my first Atari in 2012. And while I can't remember which game I tried to play first, I do remember turning the cart label facing me and it didn't fit. Why? Was my system broken? Then I had an epiphany: "Turn the cart around, doofus!" Worked like a charm after that... :dunce:

 

While you're at it, you might as well pick up a 4-switch Atari so that the two difficulty switches will be facing you when you "turn it around." May come in handy... 8)

Variation from 2600 to 7800.

2600: cart backwards, controller ports in back, switches on top (or back).

Intellivision: cart goes in the side, controller ports on top either permanent or removable, switches on top or controller

ColecoVision: cart label forward, controller ports nearly inaccessible on top, switches on top or controller

5200: cart label forward, controller ports in front, switches on top or controller

7800: cart backwards, controller ports in front, switches on top or front.

 

I think it was part of the evolution of the console, like the TV, as someone said, From focusing on neat and stylish to functional.

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The main labels on the cart face in the direction they do, so that other people walking into the room...etc can see exactly what game you are playing without even looking at the screen. Kinda like a way to advertise the game since as was noted the system was designed to sit on a coffee table in front of and between the two players.

 

Do you happen to have a source for this? I have never read or heard anything that corroborates, or even suggests this.

 

It doesn't really hold water:

 

A) Why "advertise" what has already been purchased? Even in a less literal sense, chances are people in or near the room knew what was going on

B) It assumes the console will be positioned in such a way that someone walking into the room will be able to see the cartridge label, and would see it first, which may not necessarily be the case

C) By the time you get close enough to identify the cartridge by the text on the label--because that's what they were at first--you'd have seen and/or heard the game in action already

D) Your friends could simply tell you what they're playing

E) It seems like a really convoluted justification for what was fundamentally an aesthetic choice for the design of the console

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Do you happen to have a source for this? I have never read or heard anything that corroborates, or even suggests this.

 

It doesn't really hold water:

 

A) Why "advertise" what has already been purchased? Even in a less literal sense, chances are people in or near the room knew what was going on

B) It assumes the console will be positioned in such a way that someone walking into the room will be able to see the cartridge label, and would see it first, which may not necessarily be the case

C) By the time you get close enough to identify the cartridge by the text on the label--because that's what they were at first--you'd have seen and/or heard the game in action already

D) Your friends could simply tell you what they're playing

E) It seems like a really convoluted justification for what was fundamentally an aesthetic choice for the design of the console

It also doesn't hold because while it works with Coleco games, all of Atari's own cartridges have the picture upside down, and the title hidden in the cartridge slot.

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I was reading in the Hyperkin Retron77 thread about how people were blasting a rather cosmetic decision of labels facing frontwards. As a product of the NES generation, I finally bought my first Atari in 2012. And while I can't remember which game I tried to play first, I do remember turning the cart label facing me and it didn't fit. Why? Was my system broken? Then I had an epiphany: "Turn the cart around, doofus!" Worked like a charm after that... :dunce:

 

 

I actually got my first system around the same time. But I read a lot about Atari before then, and saw pictures of the system so I knew which way the cartridges went. Until I came across an M Network game, and I was so confused by it I had to just guess. Same when I got my Coleco Gemini. Managed to guess right both times.

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Get a Darth Vader model and re-route the ports to the front! That would be really cool. I think it would be rather ugly with a wood-grain unit, but the Darth Vader model is all black and the ports would like fine.

 

Well, as long as you don't play games that use paddle, driving, or keyboard controllers, the Polyvox Atari 2600-S might be the system for you:

 

otimo-atari-polyvox-2600-s-completo-func

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Course the only issue with this thought, is Atari and most of the other 3rd party game publishers, actually have that front label on upside down so the title is in fact obscured. But like in the case of Coleco made carts, the labels aren't upside down when inserted into the console.

 

Allow me to quote myself since it is quite apparent that those quoting me didn't read my entire post...

 

I never said I had a source, this is just what always made sense to me. But to be honest, the isn't even a reason to have front labels on the carts because you never see them from your perspective when they are inserted into the system. You also don't see them when they are stacked upon another on a shelf..etc.

 

The only time you see the front labels on the carts clearly, is when you have them sitting face up either on the deck of the 2600 or around the ground around the system. I guess I just always lived in homes where the entry to the living room area would place it so that the 2600 was something you saw when it was on the ground or on the coffee table. As such, you saw the back of the system first from that perspective when walking into the room.

 

In any event, I never stated it was fact or that I read it anywhere, it is just how I always interpreted it when I had mine growing up.

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A) Why "advertise" what has already been purchased? Even in a less literal sense, chances are people in or near the room knew what was going on

B) It assumes the console will be positioned in such a way that someone walking into the room will be able to see the cartridge label, and would see it first, which may not necessarily be the case

C) By the time you get close enough to identify the cartridge by the text on the label--because that's what they were at first--you'd have seen and/or heard the game in action already

D) Your friends could simply tell you what they're playing

E) It seems like a really convoluted justification for what was fundamentally an aesthetic choice for the design of the console

 

A - Not to 'advertise' what was being played (Wrong word to use...). But to let others know what game is in the system. You are also assuming this is meant that the only people in the house would be those invovled in the purchase of the game. What about friends who came over etc? They wouldn't likely know every game you had purchased.

B - In the homes i lived in...it usually was yes. So this was stated strictly from my perspective back then and now.

C - You would have heard the game but not really seen it yet, again depending on how your home was laid out they might not see the screen just yet. And you can't assume that someone walking into the room would be completely familiar with the game based on sound. My mother certainly never did quite remember the sounds from all the games. My step dad stated they all sound the same him at the time.

D - Yes they could tell you, but then if we were in the middle of playing games, we didn't exactly like talking in during game play.

E - Not convoluted from the way I always perceived it then and now honestly.

 

Never expected that to be taken so seriously? I thought we were all just speculating here anyway?

Edited by -^Cro§Bow^-
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A - Not to 'advertise' what was being played (Wrong word to use...). But to let others know what game is in the system. You are also assuming this is meant that the only people in the house would be those invovled in the purchase of the game. What about friends who came over etc? They wouldn't likely know every game you had purchased.

B - In the homes i lived in...it usually was yes. So this was stated strictly from my perspective back then and now.

C - You would have heard the game but not really seen it yet, again depending on how your home was laid out they might not see the screen just yet. And you can't assume that someone walking into the room would be completely familiar with the game based on sound. My mother certainly never did quite remember the sounds from all the games. My step dad stated they all sound the same him at the time.

D - Yes they could tell you, but then if we were in the middle of playing games, we didn't exactly like talking in during game play.

E - Not convoluted from the way I always perceived it then and now honestly.

 

Never expected that to be taken so seriously? I thought we were all just speculating here anyway?

Yes, we are just speculating. And sorry about missing that part of your post.

 

I would also like to add something to C. How can you tell what game it is by sound? Only a handful have game music, not just a tune at the beginning. Many games don't have much for sound, and there's a ton of recycled sounds.

 

Edit: Another thought just occurred to me. Could they have been based off 8track tapes? The label facings I mean. I never saw one in action, so I don't know how they go.

Edited by up2knowgood
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Never expected that to be taken so seriously? I thought we were all just speculating here anyway?

 

For the most part, we are. :)

 

Perhaps you didn't intend it, but the wording of your post was a statement of fact: "The main labels on the cart face in the direction they do, so that other people walking into the room...etc can see exactly what game you are playing without even looking at the screen. Kinda like a way to advertise the game since as was noted the system was designed to sit on a coffee table in front of and between the two players. So those behind the console would be able to clearly read what game was loaded into the system. Course the only issue with this thought, is Atari and most of the other 3rd party game publishers, actually have that front label on upside down so the title is in fact obscured. But like in the case of Coleco made carts, the labels aren't upside down when inserted into the console." Nowhere in this post is there anything to indicate that it was opinion or conjecture.

 

And it didn't ring true, so I questioned it. Because in case it was true, I'd have liked to have learned something. :)

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I actually got my first system around the same time. But I read a lot about Atari before then, and saw pictures of the system so I knew which way the cartridges went. Until I came across an M Network game, and I was so confused by it I had to just guess. Same when I got my Coleco Gemini. Managed to guess right both times.

Fun fact, when I first started collecting for Atari, I initially ignored the M-Network carts because the form factor was so strange, I didn't even think they were Atari games. It didn't help at the time GameXChange labeled all precrash systems as Atari with a flat rate price of $1.95 each, so who knows what is what? After reading up on the M-Network carts on Atariage, I picked up classics like Burgertime, Bump n Jump, Frogs and Flies, and a handful of others. I think Frogs and Flies is one of my favorite M-Network carts.

 

The other third party carts like Imagic, Activision, and Coleco, made no question which system they were meant for. M-Network don't stack well at all, have a very narrow profile, and a thin end label with the game title and nothing more.

 

Finally, yes, I did first attempt to insert the cart backwards. 5 seconds later I turned it around, then marvelled at the action of the retractable dust covers. Why was Atari the only company to ever do this? So the idea that it let to much confusion and head scratching on my part simply isn't true. I worded my post to sound more dramatic then the whole experience truly was.

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Fun fact, when I first started collecting for Atari, I initially ignored the M-Network carts because the form factor was so strange, I didn't even think they were Atari games. It didn't help at the time GameXChange labeled all precrash systems as Atari with a flat rate price of $1.95 each, so who knows what is what? After reading up on the M-Network carts on Atariage, I picked up classics like Burgertime, Bump n Jump, Frogs and Flies, and a handful of others. I think Frogs and Flies is one of my favorite M-Network carts.

 

The other third party carts like Imagic, Activision, and Coleco, made no question which system they were meant for. M-Network don't stack well at all, have a very narrow profile, and a thin end label with the game title and nothing more.

 

Finally, yes, I did first attempt to insert the cart backwards. 5 seconds later I turned it around, then marvelled at the action of the retractable dust covers. Why was Atari the only company to ever do this? So the idea that it let to much confusion and head scratching on my part simply isn't true. I worded my post to sound more dramatic then the whole experience truly was.

Yeah, they are super weird, and super hard to store cause of that T shape. Also, I don't know if it's the same chain, but the Exchange around me, far better for music than games.

 

Yeah, for me I looked at the end label and went from there. Didn't hit me till later the main label was facing a different direction compared to Nintendo and Sega.

 

My first M Network game was Astroblast, and I did sit there for several seconds flipping it in my hands trying to decide how it should go in. Didn't help that I had never seen an Intellivision at that point, so I was just flying blind. I was also afraid putting it in the wrong way might break it, so I was really hesitant on inserting it.

 

I actually got my system off Ebay, and set all the original Atari games aside, because I hadn't read about the dust cover, and didn't know how it worked. I played the Activision games first. Then noticed the cartridge slot had a dust cover, got a paperclip and discovered magic.

 

Funny story, I actually came on here fearing I got a fake when I got a sliding dust cover that didn't lock because I was so familiar with all the Atari games locking dust covers. :dunce:

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M-Network cartridges are definitely kind of annoying. They're just Intellivision cartridge shells with dongles attached to make them fit in an Atari system, and they're not flush, so the dongles create a taper when you stack them up. They're the kind of cartridge that wants to be stored upright in a box or drawer.

 

Really cool thing about Astroblast, since the title came up: you can use either a joystick or paddle controller. If you haven't played it with a paddle, you must. :)

 

Just as an aside--and I'm not making fun of anybody--but it's amusing and interesting to read about people having trouble just figuring out how cartridges are inserted into an Atari, and how there's a whole serious discussion going on here trying to make sense of its design. Just goes to show how truly far removed we are now from the earliest game systems, to the point they practically seem like alien technology now. And I was there once, myself--I started getting into retrogaming in the mid-'90s, and even the VCS's power switch was odd and foreign to me. I don't recall any confusion with the cartridge interface, though,* since it was logical that the end label should read right side up.

 

(*Except for the time I got a copy of Star Wars: The Arcade Game in 2000, very early on in my classic gaming "career." I was so excited to get it home, and it wouldn't fit in my Atari, and I was confused and irritated to no end. Turned out, it was the Coleco version. :P :rolling: )

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Just as an aside--and I'm not making fun of anybody--but it's amusing and interesting to read about people having trouble just figuring out how cartridges are inserted into an Atari, and how there's a whole serious discussion going on here trying to make sense of its design. Just goes to show how truly far removed we are now from the earliest game systems, to the point they practically seem like alien technology now.

 

I'm reading through this thread thinking Jesus...how old are these kids? :lol:

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Just as an aside--and I'm not making fun of anybody--but it's amusing and interesting to read about people having trouble just figuring out how cartridges are inserted into an Atari, and how there's a whole serious discussion going on here trying to make sense of its design.

I'm also taken aback by the confusion over the 2600 cartridge interface. Look again at the picture in post #31: there's a console, and there's a cartridge. Both are facing the camera right-side up, so that neither the picture on the cartridge label, nor the text on the cartridge or console, are upside-down. If you just imagine yourself picking up that cartridge and sliding it into the cartridge port, without ever having to flip it over or turn it around, it's hard to see how else one should do it. Would it really be "less backwards" if the label was upside-down or on the back side of the cartridge instead??? It seems that there are some people with some very strange ideas about what constitutes "good design," perhaps because they've become accustomed to the bad designs in so many of today's devices and appliances (which is not to say that all the old designs were good).

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I'm also taken aback by the confusion over the 2600 cartridge interface. Look again at the picture in post #31: there's a console, and there's a cartridge. Both are facing the camera right-side up, so that neither the picture on the cartridge label, nor the text on the cartridge or console, are upside-down. If you just imagine yourself picking up that cartridge and sliding it into the cartridge port, without ever having to flip it over or turn it around, it's hard to see how else one should do it. Would it really be "less backwards" if the label was upside-down or on the back side of the cartridge instead??? It seems that there are some people with some very strange ideas about what constitutes "good design," perhaps because they've become accustomed to the bad designs in so many of today's devices and appliances (which is not to say that all the old designs were good).

 

AND . . . from my point of view, the NES is exactly the same except the cart is just laying down (and enclosed) instead of standing up.

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5 seconds later I turned it around, then marvelled at the action of the retractable dust covers. Why was Atari the only company to ever do this?

 

Arcadia 2001 carts have a similar dust cover. Some of them anyway. I used to own a stack of Arcadia games, some with the cover and some without. I assume the ones without were later releases and it was removed to cut costs. I never actually found a console, don't know anything about it really and eventually got rid of the games.

 

Channel F and Odyssey2 carts have much less elegant mechanisms (calling the Odyssey2's a "dust cover" seems like giving it too much credit).

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I'm also taken aback by the confusion over the 2600 cartridge interface. Look again at the picture in post #31: there's a console, and there's a cartridge. Both are facing the camera right-side up, so that neither the picture on the cartridge label, nor the text on the cartridge or console, are upside-down. If you just imagine yourself picking up that cartridge and sliding it into the cartridge port, without ever having to flip it over or turn it around, it's hard to see how else one should do it. Would it really be "less backwards" if the label was upside-down or on the back side of the cartridge instead??? It seems that there are some people with some very strange ideas about what constitutes "good design," perhaps because they've become accustomed to the bad designs in so many of today's devices and appliances (which is not to say that all the old designs were good).

With the Genesis, SNES, N64, and Jaguar, most hold it label down and rotate vertically into place. I almost did it that way with the Atari, but again, saw that end label, flipped it and then put it in. It was I wanted to make a note of the game and looked at the wrong side that it was the other way around from what I expected. Failed my Observation roll.

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