For those of you who don't think there's a market for Atari

[lord_mike]

I gave my 10 year old nephew his belated Christmas gift, yesterday... an Atari flashback II... he loved it! AS his father said, we lost him for the evening. He played all night... he especially liked advenure.

 

A kid who was born 20 years after the atari 2600 was released... a kid from the nintendo, 3-D, first person shooter, multi-polygon generation, and he'd rather play atari the whole night than his brand new Nintendo.

 

That says something.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[fire!fire!]

So glad! I am about to do my own experiment. I am loaning one of my 2600 consoles to a lady with 3 kids that are 8, 9 and 13. She wants to play Frogger on what she had as a kid and to play with her kids with a joystick she is more familiar with.

 

Can't wait to see if they act the same as your nephew!

[Starhopper]

My (at the time) six and four year-olds were the same way. In fact, my oldest daughter, now seven, can kick all comers' respective hind ends at centipede. In fact, the Atari games ilicit a better response from them then their GBAs!

 

Suck on that, current gaming market!

[Recycled]

My kids....5 and 7, play everything: computer, Nintedendo DS, PS2, and (I've saved the best for last) the VCS.

[fire!fire!]

Almost makes me want kids....

[+HatNJ]

Yeah same here My wife isnt a gamer little Tetris sometimes maybe having 1 or 2 to have some one to play some classic Atari with isnt such a bad idea

[fire!fire!]

Yeah same here My wife isnt a gamer little Tetris sometimes maybe having 1 or 2 to have some one to play some classic Atari with isnt such a bad idea

 

LMAO

[shadow460]

When I first got my FB2, one of my friends dropped her ten year old son off. Once it got dark out, I set the FB2 in front of him and ricky29. I didn't hear from either one of them for a good three hours.

Ricky is a couple of years younger than me, and thus not as much into the 2600. The 10 year old had probably never seen a VCS in his life.

[Philflound]

I'm sure there is a decent market for Atari games, else there wouldn't be all these flashback games out in the stores. I'm not just talking about the Atari, but alot more of those joystick games you just plug into your tv. I saw pens yesterday at Shop Rite of Asteroids, Centipede, and several others. I believe they are real games too, not just novelty items, though I don't think there were batteries to test them.

 

If the market was just us nostalgic collectors out there, then there wouldn't be a market at all. Just isn't enough of us. So this has to be catering to some of the younger generation. Congratulate your nephew for me for liking something extremely simple in the way of video games. Nowadays there is just too much involved with 8 buttons, codes, save games, and such.

 

Phil

[+RichG1972]

I agree, my kids are 2 and 1, in March on the 14th and April on the 15th they will be 3 and 2 and they love playing my Atari 2600 4 switch woodgrain console.

 

I have 4 of them the 6 switch woodgrain console (restoration of which is fully documented and explained on this site), plus my 4 switch woodgrain, 4 switch Vader and my short rainbow Jr., which curently has no top to it, (if anyone can help me with a short rainbow top for the Jr, with the cart pins intact I'd be very grateful as the original top has the pins snapped off and it is cracked beyond recognition). My kids are so adept at playing Atari they even beat me at games I used to beat my OWN father at as a kid like Centipede, Megamania, Keystone Kapers etc.

 

I even created an official looking Atari scorebook complete with rainbow logo and all to write down the family scores in just like my father used to do when I and my sisters were kids (ahh the days of the old GE TV that had the bad video display board in it that my father had to use one of the spare pieces to one of his model ships to tap the board when the picture image would shrink and the taaping returned it to normal size, but alas those days are long gone). I even have ALL my original cartidges from my childhood and then the ones I had added to those back in 2002 when I bought the 6 switch.

 

My kids very reaction to the 2600 and the vast library of games it has is a testament to it's durability, heck I even have a 1985 NES and 2 R.O.B. robots, and they don't even touch that, it's all about the Atari.

 

Soon though it will be all about my 1982 Atari Pole Position coin-op arcade game as well once that's fully restored, I've been working on it since 2004 but it's a labor of love and anything worthwhile will take time to restore right and proper, if anyone has any vector graphics expertise or can help me duplicate the side graphics in full and recreate the sides I'd welcome the help. I'd also welcome help in locating a working set of Pole Position PCB's (non-jamma).

 

RichG1972

Edited January 29, 2007 by RichG1972

[+RichG1972]

I agree, my kids are 2 and 1, in March on the 14th and April on the 15th they will be 3 and 2 and they love playing my Atari 2600 4 switch woodgrain console.

 

I have 4 of them the 6 switch woodgrain console (restoration of which is fully documented and explained on this site), plus my 4 switch woodgrain, 4 switch Vader and my short rainbow Jr., which curently has no top to it, (if anyone can help me with a short rainbow top for the Jr, with the cart pins intact I'd be very grateful as the original top has the pins snapped off and it is cracked beyond recognition). My kids are so adept at playing Atari they even beat me at games I used to beat my OWN father at as a kid like Centipede, Megamania, Keystone Kapers etc.

 

I even created an official looking Atari scorebook complete with rainbow logo and all to write down the family scores in just like my father used to do when I and my sisters were kids (ahh the days of the old GE TV that had the bad video display board in it that my father had to use one of the spare pieces to one of his model ships to tap the board when the picture image would shrink and the taaping returned it to normal size, but alas those days are long gone). I even have ALL my original cartidges from my childhood and then the ones I had added to those back in 2002 when I bought the 6 switch.

 

My kids very reaction to the 2600 and the vast library of games it has is a testament to it's durability, heck I even have a 1985 NES and 2 R.O.B. robots, and they don't even touch that, it's all about the Atari.

 

Soon though it will be all about my 1982 Atari Pole Position coin-op arcade game as well once that's fully restored, I've been working on it since 2004 but it's a labor of love and anything worthwhile will take time to restore right and proper, if anyone has any vector graphics expertise or can help me duplicate the side graphics in full and recreate the sides I'd welcome the help. I'd also welcome help in locating a working set of Pole Position PCB's (non-jamma).

 

RichG1972

 

Hmmmm....I participate in this thread and posting to it stops......most curious, this has happened before when I replied to other threads...I reply to them and the threads go dead.

 

RichG1972

[jboypacman]

Hey the Flashback 2 is great.Its what got me back into Atari and Classic gaming.My best friends son is 5yrs.old and will play on my Atari 2600,7800,and flashback systems when his dad brings him over.He seemd to like Pac-Man alot(Good taste).

[mimo]

not a 2600 story, but my friends kids came round after school two weeks ago as their mum was out.

Jack age 12 saw my 800xl and asked to play on it.

He was saving for a Play station 3, but decided that the 800XL was far cooler.

He has since bought an XL, and borrowed some carts from me. His mates all think it is really cool.

He has even started to learn BASIC

[Clint Thompson]

That's the way my daughter Alexis is (4),... she's always like "I want to play the haunted house game.... so those ghosts don't get me!!"

[SeaGtGruff]

Hmmmm....I participate in this thread and posting to it stops......most curious, this has happened before when I replied to other threads...I reply to them and the threads go dead.

 

RichG1972

 

<points finger and shrieks>

 

Thread killer! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Thread killer, thread killer!

 

 

Seriously, though, I think we all have that experience sooner or later-- I know I do.

 

However, on the off chance that you really *are* a thread killer, please go post a reply in the thread about the Chicago airport UFO.

 

Michael

 

PS -- Just kidding!

[Zonie]

My kid (12) also likes the ole VCS. Then he saw my old C64. He begged me to set it up. I did, and we played some old games. He did like it, but oh, the 1541 loading times!!

[nathanallan]

I wish I could get my (step) 15 year old into the classic games. I tried to get him to play the FB2 but he just wasn't interested Another of the PS generation. I'm still gonna try!

[Video]

It seems for the most part, 10-12 is the magic cuttoff point for younger kids to not care what the games look like or play like.

 

I can get 8 year olds all day long to play Atari, but it's rare to find anyone around the age of 15 that likes to play them.

[jonfin826]

My friend from school came over the other day and played Combat on my Atari. He loved it so much, that he wants a VCS of his own as his birthday present. I'm always happy to see a person converted to an Atari-lover.