A Dummies Guide to Atari

[CX40Hero]

Its been 10 years since I last collected Atari and now I’m starting again from scratch.

I imagine there are people out there who have more than 30 years between collection times and even people on this forum that are still wet behind the ears an waiting to take the plunge into buying a VCS.

What advice would you offer to someone just starting out in 2018?

What version of the console would you be looking for?

Original CX40 on a 7800, Genesis gamepad?

Top 10 games.

Top 10 games that you MUST have in your collection to be classed as an Atari gamer ie Ms Pac Man, Asteroids, Space Invaders ETC (less rare the better!!!)

Keep the console original or AV, S-Video Mod (which is better)?

Must have Homebrew games?

Thanks to the huge Atari Community the world of Atari is ever changing and I just wanted some ‘up-to-date’ advice for someone just getting back into the hobby.

Thanks All!

[Flojomojo]

Yikes ... I would at least entertain the possibility that you're very late to the party, as in, the lights are up, the chairs are on the tables, and the closing crew is mopping up. Maybe things aren't all dried up in UK boot sales, but in the US, I see approximately 1 cartridge "in the wild" per year lately.

 

If you just want to play the games, I'd consider emulation. Stella 5.0 is fabulous. If you want to be a collector, you're looking at months of being a payer of shipping fees on eBay. I don't think there's much sport in just buying overpriced stuff from online auctions, at least not compared to scrounging around and hoping for great finds.

 

I guess if you're hellbent on original hardware, get a heavy sixer and a batch of common games like Space Invaders, Berzerk, Defender, Yars' Revenge, and whatever you liked 30 years ago. This site is the best place to buy homebrew games and you can't go too wrong with any of them.

[CX40Hero]

Yikes ... I would at least entertain the possibility that you're very late to the party, as in, the lights are up, the chairs are on the tables, and the closing crew is mopping up. Maybe things aren't all dried up in UK boot sales, but in the US, I see approximately 1 cartridge "in the wild" per year lately.

 

If you just want to play the games, I'd consider emulation. Stella 5.0 is fabulous. If you want to be a collector, you're looking at months of being a payer of shipping fees on eBay. I don't think there's much sport in just buying overpriced stuff from online auctions, at least not compared to scrounging around and hoping for great finds.

 

I guess if you're hellbent on original hardware, get a heavy sixer and a batch of common games like Space Invaders, Berzerk, Defender, Yars' Revenge, and whatever you liked 30 years ago. This site is the best place to buy homebrew games and you can't go too wrong with any of them.

 

'' hellbent or original hardware'' yup, that's me

It is hard in the UK at the moment, but not impossible:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/281303-we-all-have-to-start-off-somewhere/

[Keatah]

In the 1970's and 1980's I had a collection, a literal library, to envied by all. Got rid of it in the late 1980's through wild and strange circumstances - of which are unimportant in context of this thread.

 

After having no real collection of anything, and wanting a collection of something⁽¹⁾. I tried to get back into it in the 1990's in fits and bursts. And it just didn't work. This just before ebay and the internet. Didn't work too well. So I focused on the platform I kept, Apple II, and didn't look back except out of curiosity. During the following years I collected and buffed up and rounded out my Apple II paraphernalia with purchases from the then-new ebay. Periodically I would check into cart-based systems I previously had, but even then everything was so thinned out it was disheartening. Getting back into collecting videogames was a bust. And that was some 20 years ago. I can't guess what it's like today. But unless you get lucky I hear it's a washout.

 

Going to thrift stores and garage sales never was kind to me. I had only a few great finds, like an Atari 800 for $6. An Apple //c for $3.93. And the rest was thinned out isolated garbage. And buying anything new was as expensive, or more, than my original stuff. The thought and task was overwhelming.

 

Yet at the same time, in the 1990's emulation was arising from its experimental roots, experimental as in college papers, or exercises demonstrating programming techniques. I somehow got to playing DASarcade and a new "force" exploded in me.

 

I got in on the emu "scene" early and have enjoyed every year of it to present day. Emulation enabled me to fullfil the extraordinarily ambitious childhood aspiration of building an ALL-IN-ONE console. A console that would let me collect and play every game ever made, including computer games, video game consoles, and a bonus of arcade cabinets! And even more importantly it returned (to me) the systems and games that were snatched out from under me in the late 1980's.

[Flojomojo]

'' hellbent or original hardware'' yup, that's me

It is hard in the UK at the moment, but not impossible:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/281303-we-all-have-to-start-off-somewhere/

OK, you're off to a good start, but for the love of Nolan, put a rubber on that naked joystick.

[Keatah]

As far as practical recommendations I can give you some generic guidelines that have worked well for many in the past.

 

1- Seek out one or two platforms you like. Get the major peripherals and controllers and accessories for it.

2- Get a small library of favorite carts to go with it. Could be as few as 25'ish or so.

3- Clean everything up, adjust, mod, fix, replace.. anything that needs attention.

4- Get a flashcart of some sort, whatever works on your system.

5- Emulate the rest of the systems you're not physically getting into.

 

This likely doable for $250-$300 depending on how lucky you get with the main console.

 

Many people, especially the oldsters, more and more these days, are taking that avenue. They're avoiding walls of carts, and physical stuff that junks up their gaming room. They get one or two favorite systems and build a small collection around it, and fill in the blanks with emulation. It works! And we can't speak highly enough of it!

 

This way you get your original hardware. And still get to play other things that would otherwise be impractical like arcade games and cabs and other consoles.

Edited September 9, 2018 by Keatah