NovaXpress

I agree with my fellow Nebraskan on this one. I've went through 4 2600 consoles (plus 2 colecovisions, 2 5200s, 2 NES). I knew of other kids who moved onto a Gemini or whatever clone when their first system broke. The Gameboy I bought in 1990 still works. I don't know of any families with more than one Gameboy per kid, and only one rich family who even has that.

The VCS console was not produced consecutively for those 14 years. The NES is just going out of production this year. 1985-2003= 18 years of UNINTERRUPTED production. Keep trying.

Hey guys, no one ever said Gameboy was the most successful CONSOLE. The word used was SYSTEM, which Gameboy and the 2600 both qualify as. As far as console games, NES might still get the nod. While the 2600 kicked off the console era, it also crashed and burned in 83. The resurrected 2600 of the late 80s never made any impact and was seen as a joke. The NES actually revived a dead genre and was so successful that video games haven't left the toy stores since. And again, for those born after 1980 the Atari doesn't matter at all.

Yes, the baby is even creepier when in color. This is amazing, I want to know what the old school Atari designers think of what's being done today. I bet even a David Crane never thought that this was possible.

Hey man, we're ALL marks for this stuff. I am definitely one of the "fanboys." That's why we spend our energy with this board, so that we all know we're not alone in this. I have a lot more fun discussing rhetorical classic gaming questions than I would talkin about Iraq qith my co-workers. I really enjoy shooting the bull about these topics with you guys. So it looks like the answer to "The most successful system in history?" is: It all depends. On your age and how one defines "success."

I actually prefer the term "mark" derived from pro wrestling. I first heard "fanboy" in reference to comic books. Now we apply these terms to videogaming . . . Man, am I a geek or what?

Now this is a topic where the fanboys can really shine!

Simple answer: It depends on your age. I am over 30. I would gravitate toward Atari. My girlfriend's kid is 9. He knows what a Gameboy is. He wouldn't know what that weird black thing is. How many children have ever even used a joystick? And all the people who weren't children in the 70s and 80s will never recognize tyhe 2600 as anything but a mysterious relic. They will all be familiar with the Gameboy.

How could you expect to "get" the game when you won't read the manual? Star Raiders was astounding in its day, it was state-of-the-art for years and still worth a play.

Right on, I finally found some pong numbers. I'm not getting a definitive total but check this out: Atari sold 150,00 units in their FIRST SHIPMENT to Sears in 1976. That's 150,000 sold over Christmas. I've also found numbers for other units. Many Magnavox and other competing units sold over 100,000 of each edition per year, with several models released per year. Some of the clones must have flopped, so no way of knowing the total. The Pong craze lasted until 2600 Space Invaders took over, so thats a lot of units sold worldwide. Again, we can't find a total but it likely sold in the millions, though I'd say nowhere near 50 million, don't know where I pulled that from. The info is all over the place, but here is a decent document: http://www.classicgaming.com/museum/faqs/r...alpongfaq.shtml So did more people play a game of pong or try the 2600? Hard to say, I do feel that Pong was aimed at a family market while the Atari was marketed at teenage boys once the companies saw where the money was. Aside from all that, did we decide that Gameboy wins?

If a lot of rare carts are showing up, the perhaps the bad economy is forcing collectors to part with their treasures. Other possibility: how much would it cost to create a fake Quadrun? A lot less than the ebay price I would think. Maybe even a run of 100 sold slowly through various outlets. There's really no way of knowing. I recently bought a Turbo cart off ebay, the only one i've heard of! It has the box and manual and everything! I don't know why Coleco ever released it though, you cant really control anything and eventually the screen says something about April Fools. I guess that companies released a lot of bad games like this during the crash.

When you buy the first version of any console, you know what you're getting into. Some people complain when the system price drops as well. Hey, you paid extra for the right to have it early. Through the life of the system improvements are expected to be made. Sony has used 7 different DVD systems since they introduced the PS2. The have a responsibility to improve their system. They have a right to release new additions. It is idiotic to say that the PSX "screws over" current users in any way. If you don't want the features, don't buy it. The standard PS2 will still be fully supported and fully viable. Most people will still choose to pay less for the stripped-down model. So did Starpath "screw over" Atari users by releasing an upgrade then?

Every single one of my relatives, from grandmas to bitter uncles gave Pong a try. Is there anyone who didn't play it at least once in the 70s? So here's my question: have more people ACTUALLY played pong or the 2600? No figures I can find but I'd bet anything that pong wins. How many total pong consoles were sold? I've seen estimates from 50 to 100 million. That would put it above Atari. So what is the real question we're asking here? 1. Which system sold the most? Gameboy. period. The NES, PS series, and probably Pong also beat the 2600. 2. Which system has been played by the most people? Hard to say because people can pplay with their friends, but sales indicators are the best we can go on. Gameboy solidly wins. 3. Which is the most important video game system ever? Now that would be the Atari 2600. It brought the joys of programmable systems to the masses and set the stage for what we now enjoy today. Carry on

I played this on an emulator and was amazed. Why the hell would anyone create a text game for Colecovision? The must have had some blank ROMs to fill. The game goes so far beyond sucking that I want a copy too!

The Game Boy series has sold 118 million systems so far, put every Atari system together and you won't come close to that many. Don't kid yourself, a far more diverse group of people have played Game Boy. Tetris was a huge hit among adults who never played games before, Mario has reached more gamers than Pitfall Harry ever will. You guys really need some perspective on this, the sales numbers don't lie. All the kids out there have grown up with Gameboy just like I grew up with Atari. There's just 2 or 3 times as many kids playing it. The Gameboy will be worshipped in the future with far more reverance than even the 2600. I would argue that the basic pong consoles reached more people than the Atari.

Don't be an Atari mark. The Game Boy has vastly outsold the 2600, as has the NES, PS1, and soon if not already the PS2. The video game market has increased exponentially since the 70s.

No way. I'm betting that one day you're actually gonna be making polygon-based graphics on this machine. I'd love to know what old school programmers think of what's going on today. I'd much rather see a full-color dancing Shakira. In my living room.

Hey man, there's NOTHING you can do that will scare me as much as that creepy dancin' baby!

Thanks for catching the Piltdown Man reference, that was pretty much a guarantee to go over everyone's head. I just read the piece again. MMMMM, that's some tasty invective!

Tell that to Fox Corp (Futurama)

Great work on the label. I know that Fox produced the show, but Warner owns Batman. A 2600 cart would only have been released by Atari. Of course, the Fox style label looks FAR cooler than I think an Atari one would.

Why don't you photoshop gurus mock up a Batman in the Atari style, since Warner owned both properties? Wait, I'm gettin some deja vu here. . .

You peope are still following this crap?

7 is Infiltrate

First three released simultaneously: Star Voyager Trick Shot Demon Attack Next four released simultaneously: Atlantis Cosmic Ark Fire Fighter Riddle of the Sphinx Next one released alone: Dragonfire I dont remember exactly what happened next, I was into the 800 by then