Coleco

Broke down and bought this with some bonus money to replace my preprogrammed multi-cart. Are there any downsides to this that make it worthwhile to keep my older 128-in-one multi-cart (from around 2004 shortly after Blaster was released)? What games would you recommend trying first that have been made available/converted over the past 10 years?

Got mine yesterday. Package looks great, but haven't fired it up yet. Thanks!

I picked this game up around 85 at Kaybee for the 5200 when they were selling games for about 1.99 along with a really cheap Competition Pro (which makes the game a ton better if your joystick is perfectly centered. I loved the game and thought the graphics were great for the time. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess, but it got me back into playing the 5200 for a while.

Happy to help. Early 7800 w/ expansion port here.

Maybe Al could use them for home-brews. He usually needs some extra cart shells.

I'll buy a cart. I think everyone complaining about a developer's decision about how they will release and what they will price it at should lay off and develop their own games. Besides, you should own a 5200 -- it's a pretty cool machine.

I don't know if any more will be sold or made. Mean Hamster (Ziggystar) sold out of its initial run of 50 carts, I believe, and has dropped off the AtariAge radar since that time. He generally does not release completed ROMs for his usually excellent games. Gauntlet used a special bank-switching cart. More detail here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/199703-gauntlet-pre-order-and-playable-demo/ Anyone ever find any Gauntlet Easter Eggs, BTW?

this reminds me of a 5200 version of a Jeff Minter game (Tempest 2000). Trippy! Keep up the good work. Will be great to see this completed? Are bosses possible or physical (non-enemy) obstacles?

Multi-player coop or dog fight would be cool similar to Raiden in coop mode? And different perspectives in dogfight mode?

This does not bode well....

Uh, oh... did Princess Rescue get pulled because you had too many orders or because someone set you a legal notice? Hope it's the former.

Well, any updates? The last one on the web page promised something in two weeks, but that was on May 27. Is Curt OK? Is the design final and production under way?

Topic says it all: We had Gauntlet and Tempest in the past year, bringing some great additions to the library. Does anyone have anything else 5200-related afoot for the year ahead? Seems like tons of action in the INTV, CV, 2600 and 7800 worlds without much news on the 5200 front in recent months.

What astounds me is that, given how brief the 5200 was on the market, that there are at least three countries of origin stamped on 5200 controllers: Taiwan, USA and Mexico. Seems like if they spent as much time improving the damn things as they did shopping around for low-cost production, it might have worked a little better.

Now that I think about it, Gyruss works well with my Competition Pro digital stick as long as I have the analog stick that's attached perfectly centered. I remember Gyruss being very picky with a variety of sticks working in different ways. The Comp Pro was the only way to go. Maybe I just need more practice.

I wonder if my joystick is a little flaky then. It does not work well with Gyruss either. That game requires precise control from the analog stick. I just got it. I'll have to email Best.

Just played a few rounds. The joystick (a gold Best model) makes control very, very difficult. The trakball, on the other hand, is AWESOME with this game. Graphics and sound are amazing for the 5200. A must-have addition to any collection.

Ordered

Best wishes on a successful surgery and a speedy recovery, Curt.

Get well, Curt. May 2013 be a healthier year for you.

I got a rebuilt Best Electronics Gold stick under the tree! Merry Christmas.

I must have gotten mine in 96 for Christmas from a mail order place that was blowing them out for $39 or something. My brothers thought I was insane. I bought most of the games in my collection from video rental shops and KayBee Toys as they were doing closeouts. I don't think I paid more than $10 for a game early on. A place at the mall was selling JagCD units for $20, so I got one of those. The floodgates were open by then on the Jag closeouts -- Pro Controllers, Memory track, etc.. 99 cent Composite cables and S vidoe, Most CD games could be had for $5 or less. I paid $30-40 for Atari Karts and full price for Breakout 2000 and Iron Soldier 2 on CD. Then, I got Battlesphere (and I later passed on Battlesphere Gold).. stupid. Sold the entire kit, all games included for something like $750. Wish I hadn't. Hope the guy who bought it is still enjoying it, though.

So, I guess I'm not clear: Is someone still working on the 5200 version of this, or did they abandon that effort?

Yurkie, No, I think the improvements mentioned on that page have been available for some time now. It's possible that Best has something new cooking or their page simply hasn't been updated to reflect the announcement was already made.

Saw this on Best's homepage and wasn't sure if it was really new or if it was something that never materialized or something old like the gold upgrade: Coming this Week an announcement on a New Best exclusive Atari CX52 Joystick Upgrade http://www.best-electronics-ca.com Clearly the webpage isn't updated that often. Any insight?