BassGuitari

For more strategy-oriented games, I like Flag Capture, Codebreaker, Surround, and Stellar Track. I also like Golf, Miniature Golf, Hunt & Score, Human Cannonball, and Bowling as more relaxed games, as well. And actually, Space War rarely gets much love, but there are "space shuttle" variations buried at the back of the cartridge that might scratch the "slower-paced/strategy" itch for some. I wouldn't have thought of E.T., but I like that mention. Game 3 is a pretty chill and relaxing game variation (provided you know how to get out of the pits!).

Looks like someone just had a posterboard made of the Missile Command cartridge label; everything about this screams "home-made." One-of-a-kind, almost certainly, but whoever told you it was a prototype of anything was either mistaken or making things up. 🙂

Ybox. 😛

Functionally equivalent, yes. The difference with the 2600 adapters for Atari 5200, Coleco, and Intellivision is, as you said, that they are standalone 2600 systems that use their host consoles as RF and power pass-throughs, cutting off compatibility with native software and effectively transforming them into elaborate 2600 systems. Unlike the 2600 hardware built into the 7800, they don't augment their host systems' functionality; they replace it completely. (Tangentially, the Intellivision System Changer is an interesting case because, besides power and RF, it also interacts with the Intellivision II's controllers. The System Changer has its own controller jacks, but you can also use the Intellivision II controllers from the console instead, which is pretty funky.)

But unlike the CX55 you brought up, the 7800 can play non-2600 games. Which makes it definitionally not a 2600.

The CX55 can't play 5200 games. 😜

I have an IBM 5150 and Compaq Portable in pieces on my workbench. 😛 And also a Gateway 2000 386/33c in a nonfunctional state (likely related to a corroded CMOS battery on an otherwise squeaky clean board, I suspect). For systems that actually work, I also have a Panasonic Sr. Partner, and an AST Advantage 486 (I forget the exact model) that's kitted out with RAM but needs proper video and sound cards. That one boots to Win95, though, so I don't know if it counts. (In a similar vein, I still have my old Compaq Armada laptop.)

It's not a 2600. 😉

They would have been fine enough (for me) if they didn't flip the Y axis. I think "pilot" control is fine for steering from a first-person perspective (ex: Star Raiders), but not for aiming a cursor. I really want to love the home ports of Star Wars: The Arcade Game, but the controls drive me nuts. It's frustrating because they were *this close* to being really good games! 😝

Besides prototype/unreleased stuff like the Atari 2700 and Kee Programmable Game System, I *think* the only ones I'm missing are the Atari 2800, the Irish all-black 2600jr., and, weirdly, a Sears Light Sixer. Otherwise, I think I've got every version, and then some: Atari 6-switch - heavy Sears 6-switch - heavy Atari 6-switch - light Atari 4-switch woodgrain Sears 4-switch Atari 4-switch - black Sears Video Arcade II Atari 2600jr. - small rainbow Atari 2600jr. - large rainbow Coleco Gemini Columbia Home Arcade Expansion Module #1 (for Colecovision) System Changer (for Intellivision II) VCS Adapter (for Atari 5200) For grins and giggles, I've also got a TV Boy and an Edu-Games 2600 (an Argentinian 2600jr. clone). If I had to pick a favorite, my gut tells me Atari Light Sixer. But, variety is the spice of life! 😁

The Y and O keys are the same in AZERTY...

Haven't had a ton of time for games lately, but Star Ship has been parked in my 2600 for the last month, so I've been sneaking in a few rounds here and there. 🙂

Okay, hang on: so you only had two games, and you liked one of them, but you decided the entire library is garbage?

That's a known idiosyncrasy of Atari Corp. cartridges. They produced thicker cartridge shells than Atari Inc. did, and they used the same one for both 2600 and 7800 games. The Red Label titles and 1986-88 reprints are right at home in 2600jr. and 7800 systems, but a little snug in the previous woodgrain/vader consoles.

Can't win them all. 😜