etschuetz

I understand the concept here, but what I am shooting at here is in the catalogs you would get that showcased new games would say something on the lines of showcasing improved graphics when used on the 7800. The game was released as a 2600 cart, however. As the example I gave was Atari 2600's Super Football. I have searched the Catalogs, but maybe it was the actual Manual. I assume the html scans here on AA have all the text that would have been in the actual print manual, but I failed to find it. I am willing to chalk this up to youthful wishful thinking that the backwards compatibility would have enhanced the graphics of the game somehow. Wouldn't be the first time an over eager kid's imagination got the best of him/her.

If you wanna watch movies from Memory card without modding/hacking, I can hook you up with some software I purchased. It can convert DVD's to video files compatible with various electronic devices (no DS support right now). Just PM if you are interested. I can send you the key I purchased. The software website is www.slysoft.com

Okay, did a little reading on the PSP Go and PSP 3000. My predictions? PSP 3000 will continue to sell well, along with the DSi and DS Lite. However, the PSP Go will only get a niche market...perhaps more of the crowd, like myself, that have not adopted the PSP platform yet. Why do I feel the PSP Go will falter? NO UMD! What the F**K? I like the idea of a completely digital market, over having actual physical media. I do that on my DS Lite thanks to the R4DS flash cart. The PSP Go, however has a big problem...$249 price tag in the US and Europe. Wow! If we flash back to the beginning of the Portable Gaming era with the Game Boy vs Lynx vs Tubro Express vs Game Gear, we see something. We should learn something. The Game Boy won the hearts of millions not because of a robust hardware design. It didn't win because of compatibility with the home console system. It didn't win because of colors. It also didn't win because it was the biggest system. It won because it was inexpensive! That same issue is playing out now. The DS line has a huge plus for it in the way it caters to EVERY kind of gamer. It offers true gaming experiences with the traditional sense. It offers casual gaming experiences. It offers games of EVERY genre. It offers a lot in the line of portable funtionality with the help of the homebrew scene as well. The PSP is designed for the hardcore gamer. Nothing passe here. No casual titles really. The iPhone/iPod Touch are more for the casual gamer. Sure, it has some arguably good games, but it is more for the casual gamer. Among those three I mentioned, the DS is the cheapest, even in its DSi form, it is still the cheapest. The The iPod touch is a little more expensive at the comparable 16gb memory to the PSP Go, a difference of around 30 or so dollars. What sets each apart in its appeal? DS line has Touch features and Dual Screens. PSP line has a huge screen (no touch), Analog Control, and the Sony name brand. The iPod Touch/iPhone has the accelerometer, vibrant touch sensitive screen, along with the best MP3/AAC play back of them all (DSi doesn't have MP3 support). It will boil down to what you want, how much you want it for, and if you have the money for it to begin with. Me, I like the DS line more. I wouldn't mind getting a PSP Go when they are available, but not at 250 bux...unless I have money to burn.

Okay, my input. I haven't found a valid reason for a DSi for a few reasons, but NONE of them are anywhere near what the dolt that started this thread. Okay, the DSi Shop is impressive, and is a stab at the PSP's ability to access the Playstation Store. However, I don't feel a need to bother there. Nothing to special. Yes, the DSi Has more built in ram for running things like the DSi Browser (Incedently is the same crappy Opera Browser released for DS/DS Light). Right now, the DSi has no amazing features I need. You want to know why now? Here goes. To play music, videos, and specialty apps, I have the R4DS. I used to have the Datel Games N Music, but wanted more. With the R4, I can play MP3's, watch videos thanks to very well designed home brew apps, and I can download various roms and such. Now the camera, right now, is very niche, and hokey. Perhaps there will be games released that use features to utilize the Camera, but we will have to wait a year for that. The overall shape, and design of the DSi is not much difference from the DS Lite. I am not concerned again. Yes, the screens are "bigger", but by very very little. Nothing really revolutionary there. ON the homebrew scene, the GBA port has become quite a nice piece. There are memory expansions, GBA emulation software to play GBA roms, rumble packs, and more. If you don't want something, come up with some REAL reasons as to justify it, don't just lambaste it.

This is something I like to stand by. I am not a programmer, even though I have the degree (just never got into it after I graduated college), but looking at the older NES games versus the Atari 7800 titles, I always felt they could have done that. The Atari 7800 was a capable system. For short comings, Atari could have created "add-ons" to update and compensate (not the best option really). Regardless, the 7800 was more capable of the games on the NES and SMS that people realize. The issue, from my understanding, was always the fact that the processor would be interupted due to the bus design, or something of that line. If that was not the issue, along with TIME for the developers to properly develop games, along with an extra year to push the system, i.e. release it in 84 instead of 86, we would have seen more games that looked like the other systems' games.

Sad, quoting myself here, but oh well... The reason I suggested Linux, or at least some form of Unix, was to act as a means of handling the "features" I would wish for. You don't need a full spread OS involved, just the basic kernel, along with the necessary programs/files/drivers/etc to handle the functions such as BIN/ROM loading, SAV feature, Game Genie type cheat support, etc. If not Linux, the only other option is creating a basic firmware OS using 6502 code, all made from scratch...anyone up for that? Didn't think so. The use of a stripped down Linux OS would be easiest. Linux, depending on the kernel version was always designed for flexibility and compatibility. Most people think of Linux in the forms of Red Hat or Ubuntu, loaded with features. However, I run a version of Linux called "Freesco" that is designed to work on older 386 processors and up, and fits entirely ona Floppy. After I installed it, I added needed features that I wanted to take advantage of. Implementing this whole concept wouldn't be outrageous. If the Linux kernel did have issues, slapping in a compatible mircoprocessor would add price, but also maybe additional functionality. However, in the vein of keeping this inexpensive, just shaving down the kernel enough to provide only the needed functions isn't outrageous.

That's a really great score. How long did that take? Please feel free to join in on the current and future rounds. I think I sat there playing for about 3 hours? That may be a bit longer than it was. This screen shot (with my digicam) is about 2 years old. However, it doesn't really seem to take long to rack up a good score on those older arcade shooters.

Yeah, forgot about Space Wars 2000. I am telling you, it had to be "subliminal". I dunno lol

Sweet. Thanks folks. I am still hunting down a copy. I probably won't go through eBay for it, as I don't feel like getting ripped off at the moment, ya know what I mean? I do understand what everyone meant by the audio. I have Raiden in emu for the Lynx, SNES, Genesis and TG-16, and of those, I have to admit, I like the TG-16 version a LOT more. The Lynx version was rather impressive as well. Granted, the Genesis version has the info on the right side 1/4 of the screen, and that is nice, but I like how the TG-16 looked and felt. THe sounds didn't seem to "canned" like the Genesis version, and I didn't like the SNES sound either. One thing I noticed though, the Genesis version seems to have a bit more going on visually, such as the cows at the beginning. They are nowhere to be seen in the other 16bit releases I played. The SNES version should have looked a LOT better than it did, honestly, but It seemed to fall a bit short. I never played the PSX version, which I would love to. If anyone has an extra copy, I would like to acquire it. Just PM me. Thanks.

Why is it so many release games for the Jaguar seem to have a "thing" for eyeballs? I noticed a few games have a plethora of eyeballs as enemies (Trevor McFur). Why is this? Ultra Vortex had an eye in the center of the damage meters, as another example. Kind of freaky actually.

If this is a thread on here, sorry, just couldn't find it. Anyway, I am trying to find a port of Raiden for the Jaguar. I have it in emu for TG-16 and SNES, but would like to add this to my Jaguar collection to help round it out. I like this game. It is a really good and fun vertical scrolling shooter. I had a copy once, purchased from a used game outlet. Got home to play it, and it didn't work Returned it for another game. Anyway...I know the reviews say it looks just like the 16bit cousins, but I don't care. As long as the game play is intact, looks good, and plays well. Hell, even have problems finding it on eBay! Anyone that can give me some info about the game play and if it is worth it, I appreciate it.

I have the Lynx II and a copy of Checkered Flag. When I heard that the Jag version was so horrible, I was disappointed.

I am very interested in this, but the bad thing is the import price involved. Shipping over seas adds a HUGE chunk of change to the overall price...

I am assuming like some of the older Atari VCS brand games. I have a few in my collection that have that spring mounted dust protector.

I know this thread has ended a while back for the contest, but here is my High Score. It was after playing a two player game. The other died a long while back, I kept going.

The reason for the Topic in the form of a question is to bring up a vague memory of mine. I recall back in the early 90's when my family was buying up ANYTHING Atari at yardsales and such. We would even buy the catalogs and promotional materials (my loving mother sold everything on a yardsale when I was in the Marines back in 95). Anyway, I recall in a flyer, or catalog that had 7800 games in it along with late 80's 2600 games describing how some 2600 games were designed to "take advantage of the 7800 power" to provide enhanced graphics. One of those such titles was Super Football. However, I have played this game on the 2600 and the 7800. The game looks the same between the two. Now, the question lies is whether or not I made a mistake in regards to what I read back then, or did it mean something else. I recall that after reading that, I wanted a 7800 so bad to make my old 2600 games look better. Wondering which of these classics were designed to "take advantage of the new hardware". Today, however, I believe that it may have been printed, but was a marketing ploy by Atari to encourage 7800 sales. Anyone else remember this?

This ties into my What if thread a bit. I made that thread because I truly feel that the Atari 7800 system was a forgotten pet that was later found and quickly put on display without proper grooming. It continues to show the potential it had. I am glad to see that there are those out there (here) that are continuing its legacy.

Introducing a 7800 instead of the 5200 wouldn't have happened, due to when development took place on the two consoles. However, all of this feed back is what I was looking for. Thank you everyone. My "vision" of what "could have been" was just that...my vision/version. And it was also stated that if you play this game, you can add/alter/remove certain aspects. I am sure a professional analyst would have seen things a bit differently, if not completely differently. Aspects such as marketing and business relations are foreign to me. I have a very vague understanding of the concepts. In regards to retail? I never been anything more than a clerk at a store, so again, out of my range. Like so many others here. As fans we can only speculate as to what could have been. Why do it? Fun. Nothing more. Our favorite Atari systems are still being supported via the homebrew scene. That in itself is a big thing, as some consoles simply stop seeing it. Compare the NES, SNES, Genesis, and other consoles to the Atari Consoles. Who sees more after market support from the homebrew scene? The only ones I can think of is the Computer lines. Consoles, when dead, are usually left as such when development is concerned. So can you blame me for wanting to envision an Atari that practically dominated the market to the present day? I am an Atari Fanboy. I cut my teeth in video game playing on the 2600. Hell, I have every console made! So of course I would love to have seen atari come back. Again thanks to everyone participating on this little jaunt.

The reason I kept a few things "similar" to real world affairs in my retrospeculative story was simplicity. The reason I left Sega in a position of dropping out after the 8bit wars is to simplify, again. And, to also give more popularity to the Atari name for my story. In many ways, if Atari would have released the 7800 and was able to go with the "history" I created, the mergers and sales may have not happened, and the Atari company name would have remained as it was. To give some more insight on the Sega drop out is not to just simplify, but also to demonstrate that Atari would have maintained a level of dominance that would have beaten Sega in the US market. Nintendo, I feel would have still out done Sega then due to market penetration. It seems that Nintendo had more "popular" arcade titles of the early 80's that are recognized by many gamers of that time, in comparison to Sega. Sure, they had some great titles, but Nintendo was more recognizable. If Atari would have built a 16bit console based around the 68k hardware, I am willing to wager it would have been comparable to the Genesis. I still stand to the notion that many of the Atari Consoles released were not plagued with overly difficult, or underpowered hardware. It was a lack of giving the programmers adequate time to produce quality products. This story was to convey that sense early on with the 7800 portion. That with it being the ONLY console on the market during/after the crash, programmers would have had the time to learn the system and to take advantage of it. Everything after that was just wishful thinking. In regards to the Jag, I really feel it would have played out the way it did, regardless. Same with the Lynx. Granted, I am on the fence that my speculation on the Lynx was a mix of wishing, and possibility if it had the 3rd party support. I really think Nintendo would have had market dominance regardless, due to the more inexpensive system, and stronger battery life. However, the Atari Lynx vs Nintendo Game Boy battle would resemble the PSP vs NDS battle we see today. The reason for the Microsoft/Atari marriage deal was fantasy. I am a Sega Dreamcast fanboy, and feel that if it was more successful, Microsoft would have stuck to just being the OS provider of the console, rather than developing an independent system of their own in the X-Box, at least not so quickly. Again, this was all just pure fantasy speculation of what could have been. As an Atari fanboy, I couldn't resist on this. I agree that there are MILLIONS of ways the whole ordeal could have played out. Atari could have still fell flat after the Jaguar. It could have lasted a little shorter. I do feel that Atari would have been more of a competition to Nintendo and Sega if it would have had that 2 year jump, though.

That last paragraph is something that really says a lot about the Tramiel family. He bought the company, put his nose in everything, pissed off everyone, and killed potential products that would have put Atari back at the number one position in the consumer eyes. Jack "@$$" Tramiel is one of the worst tech industry business men I have ever read about, in my opinion. I have very little, to no, respect for the man, regardless of anything he may be credited for doing for the industry. Instead of coming into the company and trying to puff up his chest, he should have come in, let things continue coarse to some extent. During a 6 month, to 2 year process, eliminate elements that were either not profitable, or made no sense to the success of the company. On top of that, instead of flooding the market with TO MUCH CRAP, focus on just a few things. In the computer field, having a low end and a high end product makes sense, but in the video gaming industry, you don't want to do that. You want just ONE system on the market. Let the competitor become the "low end" product. Also, having a "hybrid" platform in the form of the XEGS was a silly move. It was "the best of both worlds" but ended up confusing consumers. Tramiel should have just made the 7800 out to be the XEGS all around. It would have been a better move. Let the computers be computers, and the game machines be game machines.

Lets just say that I don't like their policies and leave it at that. http://www.guba.com It is like Youtube essentially.

Lots of good info here. I just want to throw in a "wish list" if I may.... Add some form of ability to do save states of any cart. Not just HSC compatible carts. I liked someones idea on Game Genie type cheats. Create a whole new sub-genre to the 7800 - Cheat Code Creaters Club CuttleCart type support with an SD card slot of some sort to all the use of BINS (regardless of being either 2600 or 7800 roms) I really like the idea of support for Atari Computer peripherals. How about some sort of Networking interface like that old Modem device for Genesis/SNES back in the 90's? That is a BIG Wish there, I am sure. To do some of the stuff, like the ROMs and Save states would probably require a specialized firmware OS...more than likely based on Linux. Save states could be loaded automatically based on the game inserted. The only real issue I see here is creating a software pass through. The OS wold have to load up before the game was allowed to actually start. Of course, this would be similar to how the old Game Genie and Action Replay carts worked. Incorporating the Cheat system with the Save state loader would save time and possible space. The issue with Game cheats would be adding in to the expansion the ability to read memory and determine what memory does what at what times. Perhaps, those with the programming know how would be able to implement some advice to would be cheat code creators on how to do so?

Of course, we men don't make mistakes like that. It was a plot...a ploy! She did it to make you take her out on a romantic dinner, to wine and dine her. Just a cheap ploy. Yeah, that is it. That's the ticket.

This is a "What if..." Article I did for my Retro Gaming blog at http://osgreview.blogspot.com. I figured it would be fun to do a what if on the 7800 if it were actually released in 1984, instead of 1986. Enjoy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Atari 7800 Prosystem was released in 1986 to compete with the NES from Nintendo. Nintendo is credited with reviving the American video game industry thanks to its popular NES. To this day, it is a thriving and lucrative industry, even in the recession. However, what if the Atari 7800 was released in 1984 when it was ready to ship, two years prior to when Atari actually released it? The following article is a retrospeculative view on what if Atari would have released the 7800 as originally planned instead of the 2 year delay... **************************************** 1984, Atari releases the 7800 to a market that is void of any real competition. Coleco and Intellivison have effectively closed shop, and the only company still standing is Atari. The 7800 is released with Galaga and a few other marquee arcade titles that blow away anything anyone has yet seen. Atari also heavily promotes the backwards compatibility with classic 2600 titles. Fans rejoice, and parents are eager to buy this machine with its advanced graphics, and ability to play the dozens of older games they have been snatching up in bargain bins. For the next couple of years, Atari gives developers time to release quality home versions of various games. Releases keep looking stronger, and better. Few titles are released that are sub par, but it still happens at times..as is the market. NES appears on the market to cash in on the lucrative business that Atari was able to re-establish. In doing so, Nintendo decides to push a 2 year exclusivity deal on developers in order to control the market. Developers, who have been doing well on the Atari do not agree to this. Nintendo agrees to compete "fairly". Side by side comparison of games show that the Atari and the NES have their own share of advantages, but good programmers find ways to make 7800 games look just as good, if not better. Sega's Master System continues to slip further and further into a deep third after the neck and neck Atari vs Nintendo battle. There is no real clear victor in the 8bit war as both NES and Atari stay on an equal par. However, by 1987, Atari begins work on developing a new 16bit console based on the M68000 processor, and a custom graphics processor. By 1989, Atari leaves the 8bit market to NES, as it moves on to the 16bit era. By this time, Sega has decided to go back to being a third party developer. However, they embrace the Atari console due to being able to reproduce many of their arcade titles rather faithfully. Atari explodes in popularity and nearly annihilates Nintendo. NEC enters the American market with the TurboGrafx-16. Atari and NEC battle it out over the next two years, but NEC can't stand up against the power of Atari backed with its plethora of third party developers. NEC introduces the CD attachment by 1990. With the extra space, Atari releases their own CD attachment by 1991. Sharper, cleaner, and deeper games help propel Atari further. Nintendo finds a way though. They release the Game Boy and begin to take shape. Atari retaliates with the Lynx, a 16bit color handheld. With the developers behind Atari, especially Epix, Activision, Sega, and Williams/Bally/Midway, amongst others, Atari's Lynx and Nintendo's Game Boy take the competition to the portable market. However, due to the cheaper price, Nintendo is dominant in this market, with Atari pushing close behind. NEC's, TurboExpress, with the advantage of playing home games on the hand held, doesn't win over the hearts of gamers with its $400 price tag. Atari holds the 16bit market until 1991 when Nintendo finally introduces the SNES. Even though it uses a slightly slower 65816 chip, it has Mode 7 effects, more colors, and better sound. Atari, seeing this decides to push into the next gen again with the 32 bit panther. However, during this time, Atari is also developing the 64bit Jaguar. By 1993, Atari releases the Jaguar to the masses, with its huge compliment of developers, Atari remains ahead of the curve. NEC has officially dropped out of the market by this time, and Nintendo's 16bit sales have been getting higher. Atari also decides to update the Lynx to smaller, cheaper versions. between 1991, and 1995. By this time, the hand held is about the size of the original Game Boy. Nintendo's Game Boy is finally colorized, and is half of its size. Thus, Game Boy Color is still smaller than the Atari Lynx. Nintendo didn't take advantage of the CD craze, and because of some faulty business propositions with Sony and Phillips. Sony enters the console market in 1995 with the Playstation. Atari and Sony face off by this time. However, the Playstation has better 3D games, which the fans eat up. However, Atari still fights on with amazing 2D games. Nintendo was not on the scene until 1996 when the N64 was finally released. During this time frame, however, Atari is secretly developing the Jaguar 2 system. By 1997, Atari releases the Jaguar 2. It blows the PSX out of the water in power, visuals, sounds, and overall speed. Fans flock to the new Atari console. Nintendo, realizing how far behind the curve they are decide to pull out of the console market, completely dropping the N64 by 1998. They rely solely on their Hand held system to push them on, which does extremely well. By 2001, Sony introduces the Playstation 2 to the gaming industry, along with Microsoft taking a brazen move by introducing the X-Box. Its first gaming platform. Nintendo bravely reinters the industry with the GameCube. It isn't until 2002 when Atari enters the market. They release a console that is capable of competing with the other three consoles. Atari also introduces a brand new hand held to the industry that has Atari Jaguar 2 level graphics and game play. Far out pacing Nintendo's Game boy Advance. By this time, however, Nintendo introduces the NDS, and Sony is preparing the PSP. Atari's decision not to enter the gaming industry until 2002 put them as the underdog. However, Microsofts X-Box was quickly loosing out to Sony, Nintendo, and Atari. Microsoft signs a deal with Atari to release a brand new console taking advantage of HD-DVD. The system is officially released in 2007 and is called...Atari 360. Atari also released a newer version of their Jaguar Go hand held that incorporates a Touch screen to, plays movies, displays photos, surfs the internet and plays MP3s to compete with the DS and PSP. Atari continues to dominate the Market against the PS3 and Wii on the console market, and took the lead against then market leader Game Boy/DS and PSP. ***************************************** Obviously, this was ALL purely retrospeculation as to how the industry could have/would have played out if Atari would have made better business decisions in the console market. Today's Atari is a mere shell of what it was during the early 80's. Which is a real shame. If only what I wrote would have been remotely true.

I don't have my Atari's (minus the power cord-less heavy 6'er Sunnyvale ed.) in storage. I have them all sitting on top of an old 1984 Zenith Console TV. I will have to take a snap shot and post it for ya all to see it. Actually! I do have a couple pictures...but I digress. I can't put them into storage...I still play on them. And I agree, with 18 games, console, power adapter, and two controllers, it is NOT light. geesh... http://picasaweb.google.com/ETSchuetz/Gaming# - My Gaming pictures...not everything, but a good amount of it though. There is an old Atari cartridge holder I made in wood shop back in 7th or 8th grade. Still looks great, and works OH SO WELL! Comments welcome. (By the way, that holder I made...it is now about 16 to 18 years old)