Christmas and Atari

[AtariDude]

I have been reading quite a few posts where it seems that a lot of people's first experience with Atari was obtaining a 2600 at Christmas time. I would like to start a poll of sorts. How many first obtained their Atari 2600 systems at Christmas time and how many games did you get if you did?

 

I would also like to hear from those who did not receive it at Christmas time. How many games did you get at the same time?

 

Thanks and I hope to hear from everyone soon.

[Joel D. Park]

My brother and I recieved our Atari at Christmas time. It was a 4 switch woodgrain. We got Combat, and I think Pacman. I can't quite remember what others, maybe Kaboom. I do remember that PacMan hadn't been out for very long, I remember mom and dad commenting that it cost like 35.00 or something. I feel guilty about it now.

[Lemmi]

i got my first atari 2600 Darth Vader model at christmas time and it came with 6 games /w manuals 2 controllers/Paddles and no boxes for anything, years later my mom told me she paid a friend $100 for it

 

Games were Demons to Diamonds/Pac-man/Combat/Breakout/Astroids/Missle Command

 

[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Lemmi ]

[King Asmo]

I recieved my Colecovision for Christmas.. 1982, I believe. I think I got 4 or 5 games for it.. the ones I remember getting were Zaxoon, Lady Bug, and Mr. Do. I later got the Super Action controllers and a couple more games (Mouse Trap and DK Jr., I think) for my birthday 3 months later. The next christmas I recieved Frogger and Q*Bert from my Grandmother, and Artillery Duel (single ender) from my Dad.. and probably a couple other ones from my parents that I'm forgetting.

 

My mom bought me my VCS adapter and my first 2600 games during the crash. This I remember really well.. it was the summer of 1984, and we're in Zellers shopping for other things, when I see this huge rack of video game stuff. So my mom lets me go over, and she can't believe the prices on the stuff. We got the adapter for $13.00 (marked down for $65.00) and a few Activision titles, which were marked down to a few dollars each. I remember getting Pitfall, Sea Quest, and Stampede. I don't think I got any others, but I'm not 100% sure. My mom kept offering to buy me more, but I didn't want to seem greedy so I passed. I could never figure out why she was being so generous until I grew older.. I guess she thought the markdown was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so she might as well get as much as she can right then. I remember opening up all the packages in the car, and being really surprised about how detailed the Activision boxes/instructions were.. a lot more colorful than the Colecovision ones. We pulled in the driveway, I threw everything back in the bag.. sprinted inside.. ran to find my little sister (I was about 8, she was 4), and yelled.. "LOOK WHAT MOM BOUGHT US!!!".

 

*Sigh* Those were the days.

[rasty]

I also got my 4-switches woodgrain for christmas, but I can't remember which year. Only got combat and Berzerk with it, but not too much later I got Defender also.

 

The system was courtesy of my parents of course, after my year-long requests that were driving them mad

 

I had fun with Combat but Berzerk entertained me less, mostly because I sucked at it, I believe..

 

I'm really glad I got it now, since my parents actually had the option of the Intellivision and I left them the choice!

 

greets,

Rasty.-

[maximebeauvais]

My brother and I recieved our Atari at Christmas with combat included. Also, Tron and Super Challenge Baseball.

[moycon]

I recieved the Atari 2600 for Xmas the year it came out. It came with Combat. The 1st game I got was a few weeks later...Breakout.

[Bill Lange]

I received neither our 2600 (my oldest brother bought our first one in '78) or my 400 (I bought it when I was in the 7th grade .. spring of '81) for Christmas. This year, I am getting two new joysticks and dust covers for my 2600 and 800XL.

[Fretwobbler]

As I child my parents were quite poor and couldn't afford to splash out on luxeries like an Atari, I had to wait until they appeared in second hand shops when I was about 10 in '85.

 

It was £15 and came with about 5 or 6 cartridges. My colection didn't take off until I started working in '91 and hit the boot sales.

 

Adam

[Ze_ro]

Well, I bought my Atari myself a year or so ago. At the time, I bought it with the only two games I found in the thrift store: E.T. and Donkey Kong.

 

However, I did get a Gameboy for christmas back around 1985 or so (when it was still very new) along with Super Mario Land, and I got my Jaguar as a birthday present I believe. I don't think I got any games for it besides Cybermorph... I bought the rest myself.

 

I'm not even sure what I want for christmas this year, as there's nothing I really need. I also don't think asking for Atari stuff would work well (parents don't know where to get it, or what to get). Maybe I'll just ask for an N64... that would be pretty simple.

 

--Zero

[Adrian M]

I actually received my 2600 on Easter in 1983. I still have it and it's the Black Vader model.

 

My parents bought it and 3 games: E.T., Star Voyager, and PAC-MAN (Pacman was the only game I really played---aside from Combat).

[Nateo]

I got mine about a year and a half ago, duiring the summer. I got Asteroids, Berzerk (my uncle told me it was a good game), Donkey Kong Jr., Joust, Space Invaders, and one other, I just forgot what it was.

[utamav91]

I remember Cocoa Puffs or some chocolate cereal had a promotion in which they gave away an Atari 2600 that first year. Must have eaten like 600 boxes of that fine breakfast food trying to win that thing. I think it was maybe one system being given away and the odds were literally 500,000 to 1.

 

By the way, what's up with all the lame giveaways in cereal now? It's all like coupons and stuff now. The toys were much better.

[ubersaurus]

The game boy came stateside in like 1990. I don't think you got one in 85 ;p

[Lemmi]

quote:

---

Originally posted by rasty:

The system was courtesy of my parents of course, after my year-long requests that were driving them mad

 

.-

---

 

heh i remember friends telling me how they had to beg their parents to get them a 2600, but i had no clue i was getting one and i never asked for a 2600 or any other system

 

I guess my mom just saw me and my friends playing my OLD Roberts sportsrama 8 pong machine all the time and decided to get me something new and now she thinks she went to far cause of my addition to video games

[jahfish]

surely this has forced you ask your parents .....

 

check the movie at playpal.de

 

i bet they were afraid you would cry as much as in the ET movie if you wouldn't get your system

[Noble Kale]

Always had my Atari - my dad bought one for himself when I was very young. Didn't really get to play it much, as it was a 'rainy day toy' - meaning my parents didn't want me to play with it much... As a result, I generally got to play my atari during the christmas season (very long holidays, and parents would do anything to keep me occupied)

 

But, I have two friends out looking for ataris for me for christmas... does that count?

(they have to out-thrift me first though )