Gabriel

Definitely. In those days it wasn't purely about singular big blockbuster titles. Neither the PS1 or PS2 owed their success to singular killer apps that represented the only thing to play on the system. The PS1 and PS2 libraries were broad and deep. No two fans of the system need have anything resembling the same game list. And there are a wide variety of popular games. That was lost in the 360 era when everything drifted to being an FPS or over the shoulder action game that had to sell 10 million copies or it wouldn't break even, and if it wasn't one of those two genres, then it had a print run of 3,000 copies.

When the PS2 was released, I was doing my late in life going to school thing. I was completely broke. My roommate had decided to get one at launch. He knew Wal-Mart was going to get them at a certain date and time, so he went to buy one. Neither he or I thought he would have any problem getting one. No console previous to that had been the slightest bit difficult to get. Even the N64, which had been hyped as somehow "impossible" to get at launch was in plentiful supply. The PS2 launch was different. There was a line at Wal-Mart when my roommate got there. There was also a guy walking around introducing himself to anyone who showed up. The guy told everyone that he owned all the places in line because he ran a business and planned to sell all the consoles he bought on ebay. However, if someone wanted one of those places in line, he would sell the spot in line for $250 (PS2 extra). My roommate also found out the store manager for the store was in on this arrangement and getting a cut of the profits when he complained. Furthermore, he discovered arrangements like this were going on all over town wherever PS2s were showing up. My roommate didn't get a PS2 until several months after launch. It still stands as the ONLY console launch I've ever seen where getting the console was difficult. Even the Wii's lack of availability was tremendously overblown. Moving on over a year, after I got my first real professional job, my first purchase of my first paycheck was a PS2 and Ace Combat 4. My TV had broken down just a few days before, so my first plays on my brand new PS2 were via a tiny 13" TV. I suppose if I had to name my favorite games on the PS2, they'd be classic compilations. The PS2 is where such collections hit their apex. There are so many great ones for the system. Taito Legends vol 1 is a personal favorite because Phoenix. Ironically, the first time I ever scored 1 million on Laser Blast wasn't on the original cart. It was on the Activision collection for the PS2. I loved playing the Time Crisis games (2, 3, and Crisis Zone) on my PS3. Back then I had this HUGE tube TV which weighed probably a legitimate ton. It made playing Time Crisis games great. Sadly, that TV died, and playing light gun games has never been the same. After playing on a gigantic screen like that, downgrading to playing on a 19" set just isn't worth it. Despite my huge fandom for RPGs, the only series I spent real time with was Xenosaga. I played about half of the first one on the PS2, then finished it on the PS3. I played the second game entirely on the PS3. Then my phat PS3 died early in my play of the third game, and I had to start that installment over on my PS2. I retired my original fat PS2. It never stopped working. I just decided to let it take a break, just in case at some future date I needed a fat model. For a long time I thought about doing the hard drive thing and getting the system modded to play imports, but I never got around to it.

Don't be silly. Video games didn't exist in the west until the launch of the NES. Nintendo invented video games.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/71774-8-bit-to-5200-conversions-where http://atariage.com/software_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=650

Blaster is already on the 5200. I used to love Elite on the C64. Is there an Atari 400/800 version of the game? Could it be converted to run on the 5200? That would be a true blast from the past for me.

A, B, X, Y

"Games expected to be blockbusters are Warp Speed..." Hahahahahaahahaahaha.... ::sniff:: hahahaha... ::choke:: ::sniff:: No. I say this as someone who actually did look forward to Warp Speed (on the Genesis). I was the only one who cared about that game. No one expected it to be a blockbuster. It would have been amazing if you could have found someone other than me back then who even had an inkling of the game's existence. I played the shit out of it on my Genesis. I was so desperate to have something, ANYTHING like Star Raiders again.

Genesis = I've kept a Genesis perpetually hooked up since I bought my first one in August of 1992. Sega CD = The only times I haven't had a Sega CD hooked up is when one died and I was waiting for a repair or replacement. So the Sega CD has been in active service for me since early 1993. PS3 = I'm on my third PS3, and I have a fourth one in reserve just in case. The only times I haven't had a PS3 in service has been while I was waiting on a replacement. I think I got a PS3 fairly close to launch, so let's say I've had a PS3 constantly hooked up since December of 2006.

I was in Walmart today and saw the Space Invaders and Centipede versions of these. I briefly considered buying the Centipede one, but decided against it. But I thought it was neat.

Has anyone ordered any of these? http://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/5961/NAMCO+Arcade+Machine+Collection+Tank+Battalion+PAC+MAN+Galaga+Galaxian+RALLY+X.html I don't think they actually play the games. I think they're just miniatures, but they look cool. I've been thinking of picking up one or more so my figmas can have a game room.

There was some kind of Columbia Video Game Club in the early 80s. Initially they focused heavily on Coleco and Imagic games like your sample advertisements. In fact, I think Donkey Kong, Venture, and Atlantis were the opening salvo of their promotion. I remember, for some reason, they advertised out of a major music chain. Sam Goody? Musicland? The only reason I remember is because when Donkey Kong for the 2600 was released, there was a line from the store halfway down the mall of people waiting to buy it. I don't know if any of that is right, but it's what immediately came to mind from seeing those ads.

I've seen it mentioned before. I think it resumes again a few keys later. I'm not good enough at the game to have first hand knowledge of it, though.

The 5200 has its own gravitational field.

Defender Tempest Space Dungeon

The R-Zone's power of suckage is one for the ages.

I'm so sorry. But I hear there's medication to treat it now. Remember. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You're a victim, not a bad person. On a more serious note, I remember these things first appearing in WalMart electronics sections and then being migrated to the toy aisle and then being migrated to the clearance aisle. I remember the systems being marked at 99 cents and the games being marked at a quarter each. And even then no one was buying them.

Well, shoot... It looks like it was called Cyber Commando and was arcade only. I thought I had read about a PS1 JP only home port of it back in the day. I guess not.

Pot adjustment.

I promise that I will in no way contribute to any potential supply shortage of the Nintendo Switch.

It's a bit of a hangar queen. As long as it's getting regular use, it's fine. But if it sits for an extended period of time, it's going to need a bit of maintenance before playing again. It somewhat boils down to the controllers. I don't know why it is, but while they're being used regularly, they're fine. It's only after periods of disuse that they start to have problems. On original sticks the button contacts would fail, requiring cleaning or complete refurbishment. Even on gold sticks, the sticks have a tendency to drift and require adjustment. Also, with the 5200 you're constantly changing controllers. For all the talk of the alternate digital solutions, there are some games those flatly won't work with, requiring the use of the original or a Wico analog. Then there are trackball games. The Pokey chip drifts over time. That throws off the controllers too, and requires opening up the system every once in a while to do some readjustment. Also, there are certain games which don't auto adjust for the values the controllers can send to the system and instead just rely on absolute values. To get those to work you have to adjust the Pokey to values which allow left/right/up/down to work. It's all very minor stuff, but compared to something like a 2600 which can sit unused for ages with no problem and played confidently with a joystick conroller like the day it was new, it's a bit of work.

Could anyone hack Robotron (7800 or 5200) so the Grunts are Smurfs, Jawas, or teletubbies? Anyone? Uhm. ... OK, I'll be going now.

Not that it means anything, but I certainly agree with this idea. I used to play Cyber Sled all the time, and back then I didn't have any issue with the controls. But now, after years of dual stick controls being the standard, going back and playing PS1 Cyber Sled feels incredibly unnatural. Doesn't the JP only CyberSled 2 use the dual analog?

It's not that bad. I think your key purchases are: Atari 5200 2-port system. Let's guess about $150. 2 Best Electronics controllers. Let's say about $120. AtariMax SD flash cart. I think they're about $150. Those are your key items. Consider that the starter set. Let's just round it up to $450. It's probably not a casual expense, but, look at it this way, once that is out of the way then everything else is gravy. You have access to all the games. You have access to homebrews. You have controllers that are going to last a long time. From my perspective, that isn't too bad. After that, there are a few key items you'll want to add: Controller adapter/Masterplay interface style device = I like the controllers, but it's undeniable that having one of these is handy. Track Ball = You'll want this for Centipede, Tempest, and Missile Command. If you love any of those three games, then this controller should actually be acquired before you get a controller adapter. Controller Holder = Unbelievably handy for Space Dungeon and Robotron. Something to keep in mind about the 5200 is that it's a system which requires you to be faithful. The 5200 isn't a system to casually mess with. It's a system you have to show a level of devotion to. If the 5200 is a major focus of your retrogaming, then you'll probably enjoy it. If the 5200 is just something you want to fiddle with on rare occasions, then you're going to get frustrated.

Captain Hunt of the space patrol had been pursuing the mysterious reptilian Norg after the latter raided the Federation outpost on Third Ceti. In an uncharted solar system, Captain Hunt engaged in a fighter duel with the pirate to bring him to justice. Just as their duel began, their crafts were paralyzed, and they heard a telepathic transmission. "We are the Nortem. You have attempted to bring violence to our area of space. This is not permitted. Since you are primitive life forms, we will transport you to a place where you may continue your violent ways, even against each other, should you so wish. Let it be done." In moments, Captain Hunt felt his fighter hurled unimaginable distances, possibly outside even the bounds of reality. When the transport was complete, he was somewhere else as was his opponent. The difference was that now a mysterious energized beam connected his fighter to that of the criminal Norg. Norg had already begun to attempt escape, but the beam seemed to lock their ships together more firmly than any Federated tractor beam. It was then he saw the objects. They were simple cubes, diamonds, and for lack of a better description, spinners. They tumbled through space, each pulsing with different colors of neon energy. He wasn't sure what they were, but they definitely looked to have substance and mass, and they were starting to fill the space around the fighters and tumble towards them. He opened a comm channel to Norg. "Listen, you scaley son-of-a-bitch, I don't know what's going on, but it looks like we're stuck together. Unless we want to get smashed by pinwheels, you and I need to start working together." The lizardman replied, "I sssee your point, human. We are trapped togethhher, and only foolsss fight in a burning houssse. Asss you humansss sssay, what isss our next move?" "Move with me so we don't fight each other's momentum. Let's hope our photon bolts work on those things out there, and use your shields liberally." "How do I know you won't sssimply ssshoot me, human?" Hunt looked at the pulsing of the energy beam connecting their ships. "Something tells me the Nortem have the fates of our ships firmly connected. Heads up. Here comes the first cube." Captain Hunt hoped his old asteroid belt training would serve him well, and prayed not only that his nemesis from moments ago wouldn't betray him, but that they could work well together.