phuzaxeman

The 8bit version is decent. It's a solid port. But the 5200 version was more true to the arcade with the layout, font, colors, scale, and speed. The 8bit was wider, the font was different, and very slow filling up. It also had less colors. The speed of the 8bit was faster than the arcade which feels different. Video game fans of the 80s don't talk about how much games like 5200 Qix was very close to the arcade hence my post.

The 5200 shared Atari 400/800 hardware from the late 70s so the cost were lower. I believe the 5200 was made in California. At the end of the day, Colecovision sold more than the 5200 but Coleco only sold 2-3 million consoles from 82-85. The 5200 sold about 1 million in two years.

Yeah, the improved reputation and future development are two different situations although they are related. I'm actually happy where the 5200 is today. I'd like it to be like the lynx but there are a lot of great titles.

QIX was an iconic game. It's not a flashy game like the other titles but the 5200 QIX was the best version in 1982. I had both the 8bit and 5200 and the 5200 was more accurate to the arcade. Did you know the 1990 Game Boy port of Qix had Mario intermissions? Such a cool game. Any 5200 QIX fans out there?

I think the image of the 5200 is changing for the better. You can see it on the more positive reviews on YouTube. I've been reading more posts and support of the 5200 since there are more joystick options and homebrews like Tempest and Intellidiscs.

Just to help clarify....remember my studies in music production, the SPARS codes for an AAD album would be an analog recording, using analog mixing, and finally mastering in digital.

Those are good points. By the time Fractulus and Ballblazer were out, I had already made the 8bit switch. The duplicate 2600 library was a huge problem. Atari didn't learn and still did that on the 7800 despite other titles.

This post is spot on. To see 5200 Centipede in 82 was an amazing experience to witness. A lot of the hate comes from people that were not in that time. I had the 7800 in 87 and the NES and Sega was already out. The Atari brand was already fading and a new breed of gaming was already evolving.

Here's the thing, I had practically every video game magazine from 82-84. The 5200 coverage was overall positive. Even the controller issues was not an issue in many of the reviews. I had 4 friends to trade 5200 carts (Eric, Brian, Jeff, and Steve) and we all thought the 5200 was $hit back then. The baggage was much later (as apparent in the youtube video hate). If you want to talk about "baggage" the Jaguar was a real mess in its release. Atari did so many things wrong in their release of new consoles. I feel the launch of the Lynx was actually good but the Gameboy was just lighter, cheaper, better battery life, and had Mario. The lynx was great but too costly. I've owed every Atari console in its release date and the 5200 hate is one of the most exaggerated since the release.

I don't agree with this. The 5200 when it came out was cutting edge in 1982. The 5200 and Colecovision were kings of the new consoles in that era and were better than the 2600, Intellivision, Astrocade, and Magnavox Odyssey 2 that was still selling at stores. The image of the new cool Super System console was present even in the advertising. If you look at sales per year (about 1 million in 2 years), the 5200 did better than Atari 8bit, Jaguar, 7800, and Lynx. So any console released after the 2600 was considered a failure. It's unfortunate the 5200 didn't get the proper backup from Atari. If you looked at magazine ads, the 2600 mostly shared ads with the 5200. The better graphics and sound wasn't enough for many to make the jump to a newer system. If Atari would have concentrated on 3rd party support (which has been the problem with every Atari console not named 2600) and unique titles like Countermeasure and Space Dungeon, plus started a pack in game like Defender or PacMan, the 5200 would have lasted longer. But it's all hindsight because the NES changed the market and even Colecovision was discontinued. To me the non-existing images 7800 and joke of 64bit Jaguar was worse than the 5200. The XE game system was 70s technology in 87. That was the whole problem with Atari back then.

To repair just get a new flex circuit and buttons.

Having owned the 7800 (87) and 5200 (82) during their release dates, hands down the 5200 was much sleeker than the 7800 in terms of looks. Yeah it was big, but the shiny black was amazing to look at. Still looks amazing. A controller like the nes? The 5200 is the only atari console with analog controls. There were games like Realistic Baseball that used the keypad and analog controls that blew out the 7800 version years later. Pokey audio? 5200 has that. Better sound than the 7800.

This game is cool. I'd buy a 5200 version like the old days of HERO. Hero on the 5200 was amazing.

But the article also says that "the company plans to introduce hardware this year that can serve as a VCS add-on or function independently."

If you do a review on the rare games like the Hamster titles, you should get more views and supporters. I'll definitely watch.

Like what I mentioned before, I grew up on the Astrocade. And I had fun playing games IW, Astro Battle, and Galactic Invasion. But if you want to talk about a limited console, Astrocade in 82 was very limited not to mention there was hardly enough games. IW was definitely one of the best games on the console.

Is not a shell of its former self? In some cities, the 7800 released in 1984. The 7800 was stopped in 92. That's 8 years in existence with only 59 official titles released, a poor sound chip, and about only 3 million units sold. Atari was already a different company in the late 80s.

5200 had twice as powerful CPU than the Astrocade. The 5200 came with more ram built in, 4k vs 16k. It had a better resolution 384×240 pixels while the Astrocade only had 320×204. The 5200 had 256 colors available with 16 on screen at once. The bally only had 8 colors total. Sprites mean nothing if all the games were inferior to the 5200. Wizard of War looks better, sounds better, and flows better. There isn't a game on Bally that is near arcade quality. Had Atari been financially healthy in 87? The 7800, which I owned in 87, was competing with Sega and NES and wasn't anywhere near the race. There are games like Centipede, Real Sportsbaseball, and Mario Brothers released in 83 on the 5200 that are better than the 7800 versions.

In terms of gameplay and control, the analog sticks on the 5200 is a different experience. So gameplay and controls capabilities are not the same. The 5200 trackball in 82 for Centipede was also much different than Centipede for the 8bit.

Pac Man arcade is even more incredible.

Comparing hardware on a computer vs a console isn't a good comparison because both c64 and 5200 have different purposes. They are not in the same market. In some ways? What ways? There literally isn't a single game nor is the hardware in every aspect better than the 5200. 5200 PacMan is better than any version of PacMan in 1982 including the mono sounding and choppy looking Muncher from Astrocade. Unlike the 800 version, the 5200 version had all three intermissions too. The proof is in the pudding. 5200 was smoother, had better sound, and music was sounded like the arcade. Mucher sound was terrible. The 5200 and Colecovision were the top consoles in 82. The 7800, which I owned in 87, couldn't compete with Sega and Nintendo. 7800 sound was really bad, some games were good, but compared poorly to the NES. There are games like Realsports Baseball that were better than the 7800. 5200 library was stellar. So many great games.

First, comparing a 1000+ disk games C64 computer to a video game console is not a good comparison. There are a million threads on the 8bit vs. C64 discussions. Second, I grew up playing the Astrocade. My uncle and cousins owned the Bally, and my family would play it a lot. We would always compare the Bally with our first VCS. At the time, I felt some games were better on the Astrocade than the VCS. The Bally controllers took some time to get used to, but it was a lot of fun. I spent a lot of time playing Galactic Invasion and Bally Pin. But when the 5200 arrived in 82, it was a different beast in the console battle. 5200 had hands down better graphics than the Astrocade. In terms of graphics, the Intellivision was better than Astrocade, and the 5200 was even better than the Intellivision. The Astrocade was impressive during the date of its design, but the 5200 was easily better and on a whole different level. Compare Bally's Star Battle to 5200 Star Raiders or Star Wards. So many Astrocade games look like a better version of the Fairchild Channel F. Muncher vs. 5200 Pacman? Grand Prix vs. Pole Position? It's not even close. Atari 5200 had much better sound. Incredible Wizard had some great audio but listen to Pitfall II, Moon Patrol, and Berzerk. Hands down the 5200 is on another level. You have games like Berzerk and Realsport Baseball with speech too. 5200 also had more complex games like Star Raiders or Realsports Baseball that utilized the keypad, analog sticks, and two shooting buttons. Countermeasure also used the keypads to break codes while the top button rotated the cannon. The 5200 also has a high-quality list of games. Over 85%+ are arcade classics. Bally has no game that comes close to the 5200's Centipede version or Defender. This is because there are so many hits on the 5200. Astrocade has about three or four A-list games, while a bunch are the generic late '70s arcade and number games that are versions of Channel F, Atari VCS, and Odyssey 2 consoles. You won't play a game like Space Dungeon or Gremlin quality games on the Bally. Bally only had 28 official games. Astrocade was fun and had some decent titles. It was innovative for its time. But the 5200 was on a whole different gaming level. I grew up on both systems.

5200 and Colecovision were limited for 82? What other console wasn't limited and was better?

Like what I said in my post, the sounds were very close. I knew the differences graphically to the arcade even as a kid but you have to remember that prior to the 5200 and Colecovision, the 2600 and Intellivision were the standard. The 5200 was so ahead of its time in 82.

I remember seeing 5200 PacMan intermissions for the first time. It was so amazing. Atari was able to get very detailed in their gaming. Defender, Moon Patrol, Berzerk, and Centipede sounds were spot on close to the arcade. Graphics were so good. What happened, imo, was Atari was still highly invested in the 2600. Advertising marketed both systems at the same time. Ads would literally show both systems. Imagine Sony PS5 ads sharing with the PS4? That wouldn't work. If Atari released the 5200 in the summer of 82, and had the 5200 Pacman edition for Xmas, it would have been a hit. Or included the 2600 adapter in a 5200 combo, that would have also sold.