Atari2008

You know this is funny because I've been thinking of starting a similar thread for a long time. I also have a hard time loving the 7800. Although, I actually enjoyed it when I was younger. I grew up during NES era so the NES was my first console. Afterward I discovered my sister's 2600 and I became hooked on that. Sometime in the mid-90s, Radio Shack starting selling Atari games so when I learned that there was another Atari system - the 7800 - I jumped on it. At the time I was impressed with the 7800 because I never knew that there was an Atari system with NES-like graphics. So to me the 7800 was impressive. By then the 7800 was already an old console since this was well into the 16-bit era, so I no longer had my NES hooked up to compare it to. I was just impressed that there was an Atari system with that level of 8-bit graphics. I had Pole Position II, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr, Karateka (which I actually liked at the time), and the last game I bought was Scrapyard Dog which completely blew me away with its Super Mario-like game play. Fast forward to now, I'm struggling to love the unit. I even shelled out a considerable amount of money to get it repaired, got a bunch of games for it, including a homebrew, and still it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. Like there's something missing. When I play 2600 games on it, I have a great time and walk away happy. Even when I play the 5200 with all its flaws and horrible controllers, I still walk away amazed. The 7800 doesn't seem to do that for me and I'm wondering if there's any way around that.

a little rule of thumb with the parker brothers games the ones with the endlable title upside down are the fun ones to play mr.do/montezuma's revenge Nice rule. What about Frogger II? I won't touch Frogger or Q-Bert since the control scheme is screwed up. But I ended up getting an Atari title - Moon Patrol which is pretty sweet.

This is funny. I was at a video game store yesterday, one that has pretty much every system, and I was looking at their 5200 games on the shelf. It took so long since I literally had to pull out every cart one by one so I could see what game it was. Normally when I go look for 2600 games I just quickly glance since they all have end labels. Luckily I only have 6 5200 games at home but already I have to pull all of them out and lay them out just to see what's what. Too bad Atari would repeat the same mistake with the Jaguar. The 5200 has some cool games but it's definitely not the most convenient system in the world, especially for a quick gameplay session.

Galaxian (2600) - 20 minutes I need to play more 2600 games.

YES! I second that. That is my all-time favorite 2600 controller, that and the 6-button Sega Genesis pad.

The controllers were the first thing that really grabbed my attention about the Channel F. All the consoles that came after it seemed to have some variation of a joystick until the NES, but the Channel F's controllers really stand out in terms of their uniqueness. And they do look like they'd be fun to play with. I don't think I'm too worried about playing games since I already have a few systems at home that I'm pleased with, all Atari's actually - 2600, 5200, and 7800. I think for now I have my gaming fixes covered. So maybe the Channel F could be the conversation piece/shelf system in my collection, and I have a feeling I'll break it out periodically to play games with since I like showing all my systems love. It's funny I think you're the second person that also mentioned the Astrocade. I may have to look into that system since the Video Game Critic has just started doing game reviews for it and the games look sweet! Muncher looks like an awesome unofficial Pac-Man and that system also has cool controllers. Where do people get their Channel F games? There don't seem to be too many on eBay although 4Jays and Atari2600.com has some.

One game that was awkward to control using the keyboard was Dodge It. I heard real good reviews about the game but moving around with the cursor keys made the game a bit cumbersome and not entirely fun. I'm on the fence about the console since I suspect it's one that won't get as much gameplay as the others in my collection and given the fact that I have limited space and limited funds to spend on gaming , I'm not sure yet if the Channel F is the move to make. I guess if I find a cheap working one, then it can't hurt. This thread has been very helpful though and fun!

LOL, that was funny. I've read about some hardware issues, but primarily I've only read about how flimsy the controller wires are. I've read they're so flimsy that they could break on the inside without you even noticing from just normal use. That's one thing that had me a bit concerned, and the fact that there really don't seem to be too many Channel F replacement controllers out there for sale. So, I guess I'll have to be prepared to take extra care of one (if I get one ) to make sure it doesn't crap out. Are there any precautions you take or tips I should know? Also, does anyone repair Channel F systems? The Channel F II sounds appealing, especially given the volume issue. I want to be able to control the volume, since sometimes I play while listening to music or late at night, and I'm sure people don't want to hear bleeps and bloops all night long. Is the Sytem II any more durable? I'm assuming System II's are a little pricier since they seem to be rarer. On eBay, I've mostly seen System I's. Thanks for the list of games, I'll check 'em out in MESS. So far I've enjoyed Alien Invasion, Video Whizball, Dodge It, and Video Pinball as wel. Pac-Man goes without saying. I'm curious how the gameplay experience would be with the actual Channel F controllers rather than the keyboard. Part of what draws me to the F, is that I like retro things particularly from the 70s and 80s and the unit just seems to scream retro.

Okay, I'm in. Please add me to the list.

I have a 4-switch woodgrain.

I think Pac-Man for the Channel F is a cool game, and amazing when one considers the hardware. I'm saving up just in case I get a Channel F and decide to get Pac-Man.

I'm the member that had posed the original question to ianoid that opened up this thread, and I'm glad that he thought to pose it to the public because the variety of opinions and information has been very helpful. First off, that interview with Jerry Lawson was awesome! It was just the thing I'd been looking for, it was chock full of information on the early days of the system, its design, a glimpse into what Fairchild was like, and the parts about the 1976 CES was really fascinating. I do hope Mr. Lawson writes his book and that it gets published, I'm sure it would be an interesting read. The thing I'm torn about with the Channel F is that as a console and a part of video game history I find it very fascinating but on the other hand when I play the games in MESS, I'm less than impressed. Like I mentioned in the beginning, a handful of titles I find a bit amusing, if I had to pick a favorite it would probably be Alien Invasion, which from what I can tell is a relatively expensiv cart to get today, and again it's just a clone of Space Invaders. I have grown to like the unique look of the system and the 8-track look of the cartridges. I like retro items and the Channel F just seems to scream retro. The deal breaker for me will probably be price. I've mostly only seen boxed units on eBay lately and they've gone for $90 and up. I guess it must have a lot of collector value. I managed to find a place that has one System I for $35 bucks if it works, but of course with shipping it'll probably be close to $45-$50. I'll see, I'll probably give the rest of the library a few runs in MESS. I am a big Pac-Man fan but I do agree that it wouldn't make sense for me to get the system only to play Pac-Man since I have very good versions of Pac-Man for the 7800 and 5200, and Pac-Man is practically on every system. But to me Pac-Man seems to be the best game in the Channel F library, and I think there's something cool about being able to play it on the Channel F and with those funky controllers. I'll keep my eyes peeled and see if I find one dirt cheap. Is eBay the primary place to find one of these? Also, I do love the very 70s look of the Channel F and it's games. Definitely a time piece.

I first learned of the Channel F in the early 90s. The NES was my first system and it got me interested in other systems. Luckily we still had my older sis's Atari 2600 in the house so that's how I got into retro gaming. One day I found a book of hers on video games by George Sullivan and it briefly mentioned the Channel F and that's how I learned the system existed. I didn't learn too much about it but I thought back then that the name sounded funny. Still it sparked my interest, but it wasn't until recently that I started researching it. Having played the games in MESS, I don't think they're much to write home about although I can see given the time that they were unique, but the system still intrigues me. I think the whole design and look of the console is unique and the controllers as has been mentioned here. So I guess for me my interest in Channel F, which seems to be echoed in this thread, is as a historical document or artifact from that time. I've been a real nerd lately combing the web for any info on the Channel F that I can find, it's interesting and mysterious since there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of data as to how the system came into existence or how they decided to design the controllers the way they did. Does anyone know the dimensions of the system? Since it looks like it would primarily serve as a collectors item, I want to see if I have room on my shelf for it, if I eventually get one.

I just finished reading this book, and I highly recommend that everyone pick up a copy. From the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Montfort and Bogost take you down on a journey, not just down memory lane but through the inner workings of the VCS. I've been a VCS gamer for a long time but I'll be the first to admit that I have no clue how it works. This book does a great job of keeping the technical language yet making it accessible and interesting for the VCS gamer. I've truly gained an appreciation of the VCS and its programmers on a whole other level, and can appreciate games that I simply thought were cool and fun, even those that I thought sucked, on a deeper level as a result. No VCS fan should be without it. I'm definitely itching now to read more video game history books. This is fun!

Yea never seen a Channel F in person but they sure do look ugly from the pics. I read some article where they referred to the controllers as breast pumps.

I've actually noticed this too! Glad I'm not the only one. It really wasn't noticeable until I hooked up my 2600 and 7800 and did a comparison. 2600 games on my 4-switch VCS look a lot more colorful and vibrant than they do on the 7800. I prefer my 2600 games that way so I've decided to just keep my 2600 and 7800 hooked up and play each game on the corresponding system.

I have to revisit ET but when I first got it in the mid-90s, I enjoyed it very much. It was funny I got ET and Pac-Man at a garage sale. I was really excited to finally get new Atari games since that was the time before the internet was big and before eBay so it was the only place I knew to get Atari games. I remembered playing Pac-Man for a few minutes before getting bored, but I logged in quite a few hours on ET. I found it fun and also I found it's adventure style game play reminisicent of the NES games that I really enjoyed at the time.

Yep, Everybody Hates Chris is one of my favorite shows and this is one of my favorite episodes so it was nice to see it rerun over the weekend. It's funny every time I see a 2600 on TV I want to start playing.

I think the 2600 is 100% perfect.

I bought one a few months back, and I do think the games are cool but the controllers are a bit of a pain. I think it all depends on personal preference, since some people do like the 5200 controllers, but I'm not one of them. I'm very glad that I got a Wico Command Control which provides accurate control. As bohoki mentioned, it is a bit hard and expensive to find alternatives. Unless you geta keypad and a y-cable you'll still need the stock 5200 sticks for basic game functions (start, pause, reset) and that means that you'll still need to have original joysticks in working order. Repairing joysticks and buying alternatives might make a 5200 much costlier than a 2600 or 7800. Still the games are great. Berzerk with the voice synthesis is one of my faves, as well as its unique version of Pac-Man. Pole Position is good as well as Kangaroo. My library is very small but so far I haven't bought a game I didn't like. Also, many people find an Atari 8-bit computer as a good alternative to the 5200 since most of the games are similar, I believe. But I can't speak to that, I'm sure others will.

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing. It's so sad when you think about what could have been for the 7800. At least, today's homebrewers have introduced some variety and quality to the library.

Besides the 2600, I own a 2-port 5200 and a 7800. And I'm also a 20-something.

I do like that this is one of the few articles that actually portrays the 7800 in a positive light. The 7800 gets such a bad rap due to the way Atari mishandled it, but from the things people say you'd thing that the system in and of itself was inherently flawed and there was no way it could produce good games. Yet the first crop of games like Food Fight and Robotron as well as the homebrews show this not to be the case. It's nice to see the 7800 finally get its due.

The Crash of '83 is usually debated in this forum, and I'm always intrigued by it. Since I didn't live through it, I have no personal experience to go on, but the official stories of how games like Pac-Man and ET sunk a whole industry always sounded like a stretch to me, so it's nice to see this article that offers a more balanced approach. Of course, I'd love to hear what the experts in this forum think. Enjoy! IGN: Revising History: The Crash of '83

Please add me to the list too. This game looks awesome, and it's exciting that the 7800 library is getting a much-needed boost.