sukotsu9

While sacrilegious, that sounds amazing! Did it accept NES carts, or was it a 101-games-on-a-chip type? And while I love my 7800, I still have the ol' 2600 for rough-and-tumble playing with my kid. The 7800 is tough, but my Cuttle Cart isn't. As far as disadvantages go, the 7800 controllers really are bad (uncomfortable) and the games, though graphically advanced, are only somewhat fun. Homebrews are really the boast of the system.

Yipes! Have parachute pants come back yet? Acid washed jeans and a t-shirt with something "Awesome!" on it would probably work. Don't forget the headband! I voted for Mrs. Pac-Man in the poll, but I'm not sure it's the best game. "E.T." has the cultural significance of being a symbol of the Crash (though I honestly don't think it's responsible, the great Landfill Legend is a telling sign of '80s overindulgent doom). Very poorly written third-party games for the Atari are probably more to blame, as well as some Atari Corp. management decisions. It would be nice to showcase a GREAT game on the 2600, something fun & graphically intriguing, but I'm not sure what that'd be. I wouldn't bother with "Combat", and "Warlords", while fun, is pretty simple (a PONG variation). Otherwise, "Yar's Revenge" is generally accepted as one of the best games and it's flashy. That way, you can communicate that the 2600 could've been a more competitive system had the market been different (if the market hadn't been glutted with crappy games, there might've been fewer but better games).

There's an important point there: are you looking to live demo the Atari in class? It may not hook up to a TV at school unless it is an older LCD with RF input. It'd crack me up if they still had a CRT type TV on an aluminum rolling shelf in the library somewhere. That'd be the ultimate demo.

I never looked at the old site. But now that you bring it to my attention, the old style fuji and the rainbow header definitely feel "retro". However, will they just be criticized for creating a webpage "stuck in the '90s"? Still, if I'm gonna play Battlezone on my web browser, might as well play it at Atari.

Just cleaning around the office this weekend and ran into this box. The free 7800 is still available. Remember, it doesn't work "as is", but I'm betting it can be salvaged. Please, I'm tired of tripping on it!

Much like credit cards, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a fallback to type in the license number (e.g. the card won't swipe). And as far as "the government's watching" paranoia, were you paying by cash? Because any electronic transaction automatically places you in that Target (location) buying that "subversive" game (motive). They've got a security system too, so there's a visual of you being there either way.

Truly an awesome find. I'm not a MIB collector either, but I wouldn't open it. Someone out there has got to house this treasure.

I've always unplugged mine since I burned out an AC adapter back in '83. The Atari was always plugged in then, and sure they get warm, but it's not like I played non-stop for days or anything. Yet, somehow, it burned out.

7800 is long gone. Still have an Intellivision cart "Bomb Squad" from a rummage sale; free for shipping or a Sesame Street 2600 cart.

A Memorial Day bummer: gearing up for an afternoon of Atari and it passes out. First I plugged in my CC2 and fired the system up. "No MMC found"; I'm really paranoid about pushing that card in too far. So I power off, pull the CC2, reseat the MMC, insert & power on... to a black screen. No Atari logo, no sound, nothing. I try a 2600 Qbert, same black screen after power on. I haven't opened the console yet (no time) to see if anything looks "odd", but shouldn't a 7800 always display the Atari logo when it's powered on and correctly connected to the TV (game or not)? I got this unit off eBay in rough shape (but for cheap) and I'd been thinking about buying a "new" one from Best anyway. Still, does anyone know of someone selling A/V modded 7800 consoles? I might be able to pull the mod off myself (some skill), but I'd rather not risk frying a "new" console. Any ideas for reviving this old one?

Funny that the mold of the gun looks very similar to the mold used for a toy that shot yellow plastic BBs (not very far, I might add). Except mine was dark blue with black grips (made before the anti-violence campaigns I guess).

I agree that modern games are a little too challenging from a straightforward standpoint. I'm still boggled by controllers, but the real challenge is that there's usually a "trick" (notsomuch a cheat) to get through a certain event. Note: I NEVER beat the AT-AT in N64s Rogue Squadron just because I never figured out the catch. Then I gave up on the game. For the folks that say new games are easier, I'll agree that save points are much easier to come by than past generations of gaming. Remember the smoldering anger and frustration of dying only to start at the beginning again? And the Internet has made finding those "chance" events in modern games easier. I watched a friend of mine sit down with a stack of printouts for GTA: San Andreas like he was ready for a physics exam. Too bad the kid doesn't study as hard for school!

Holy cow! You have a flat panel dedicated for Atari gaming?! Too envious.

Just another quick note about "Plutos": I'm playing last night and the missus walks over and asks, "Huh? Is that Atari?!" Nevermind the 7800 in the floor. "I thought everything was supposed to be square and blocky." Dead serious, like those were the programming restrictions (You can make anything you want, as long as it's blocky). In her defense, I do play more 2600 games than 7800, though. And the graphics on these protos are really good ("Sirius" is almost SNES good).

Not whining: $200 (or more?) of broken CuttleCart2 down the drain would be a tragedy. And mine broke the same way: long MMC got pushed in too far and unseated the bracket. Luckily, only one of the contacts on my bracket broke, and a (very ugly) solder did the job. Had me terrified for a minute though; most of the games I play are homebrews, hacks and protos (PLUTOS ANYONE???).

I've really tried with the ProLines, but I can't hang. I thought with constant exposure I'd build up some strength and they'd be solid performers, but no. It might be that mine are really worn out, too. They look the coolest; I remember seeing them years ago and thinking they were the "future". But the aesthetic design didn't take into account ergonomics. A modified pistol grip (didn't somebody make a joystick like this?) would've been less attractive, but easier on the left hand. A cool double trigger probably would've sold a lot of 7800s, too!

Finally got my CC2 going: Plutos is AWESOME! Very similar to "Star Soldier" from the NES (one of the few games I liked on that platform). But Sirius is too damned hard to play outta the box! Either the blasters are too weak or there're too many asteroids (or I'm just no good...). Maybe this was partly a proof of concept that the 7800 could really handle a LOT on the screen? Many, many thanks for pursuing these games; Plutos is going to get some major play!

Watched "Once Upon Atari" recently and was corrected in my view of how "wrong" the programmers were treated. I always thought easter eggs came about because Atari didn't credit the programmers and they made poor money for their slavery/obsession. Then the $100k raises were mentioned. A VCS programmer nowadays won't ever see that kind of money (I doubt PS3 programmers do either) mostly because the skill has become a commodity. Man, when Atari was getting rolling, you could probably count the people skilled at game programming; maybe count on 1 hand the people who were really good at it for the VCS. Now, people just don't value the ability. 300 seems a few many for a limited run. Ironically, an age-yellowed, Schlitz-stained copy of Actionauts from 1980 would probably fetch $100-200 easy. But for the hard work & investment in the age of computing, $50 for a new production is probably pushing the envelope, regardless of recouping your costs or getting respect for your work.

Good song! The first 'oops' made me laugh.

I always temper discussions about the 7800's hardware/games with a realization of its potential. Had the ProSystem gotten the green light in '84, you would've seen much better games developed on it by '87. It would've trumped the NES (or delayed a few years) and we'd be on an alternate timeline. But I digress... The existing titles on the 7800 are pretty offbeat, so you've got to be the kind of person that enjoys that. If you bought an NES because everyone was playing Mario, the 7800 may not appeal to you. But if you tended to buy bargain bin NES titles, the counter-culture appeal of the 7800 is worth investing in. Nowadays, the 7800 is THE system to own, as the 2600 compatability is as valuable as it would've been in '84. It doesn't have that nostalgia "print it on a t-shirt" image like the 2600, but it's compact and fits over the VCR. Just remember to replace the joysticks.

River Raid has got to be the main gun in my Atari arsenal, then and now. Whenever people come over, that's the game we always end up playing. I like a lot of the new homebrews/hacks/protos (Stratogems is my fave), but good ol' River Raid is the game to keep beside the console.

I was never really attracted to the vector games (typical lack of colors), so I can't say I played a whole lot. My two votes would go to: 1. Tempest - "twitch" game? Maybe, but there's nothing like it... ever. Serious fun. 2. Star Wars Arcade - Finally gave us the video game we wanted since '77: a chance to fly an X-Wing. Extra points for coloring the fireballs and trying not to look as boring as Battlezone. It took Lucasarts how long after that to make Rogue Squadron? I'm not busting on Battlezone, it's pretty fun, but the the vector arcade game always destroyed me. It was like a product of the drug-enhanced '70s, mysterious and confusing. Something you'd see on the outskirts of TRON land. Really weird, the more I think of it. Was there a backstory to that war? Also, Asteroids. While it remains a classic game, it really looks like it came out of a laboratory oscilloscope - just a step above Space War. I'd vote for it being a fun game, but I can't call it beautiful.

While I'm willing to accept the low budget or poor quality of game movies, I'm always disappointed when it's a fighting game movie and none of the actors display a vague knowledge of martial arts! The worst I've seen was "Mortal Kombat", a game I liked a lot at the time. Hell, even Liu Kang didn't perform any moves my kid couldn't do (albeit with CGI and wires). DOA looks the same. With Hong Kong cranking out killer wuxia flicks (also on a budget), I can't figure out why someone with a game license doesn't pay one of those directors to give us a movie worth watching.

I haven't run onto any gems of photos where I or my little sister, who grew up playing Pac-Man, are gaming. Instead, I keep finding "would be" high score photos for various Activision games that I wanted a patch for. I've got a million blurred, unreadable Pitfall photos...

Your sig says it all! Honestly, I didn't know Baer before I read the Odyessy article (RSS does work). But he's certainly a tech-visionary.