Did anyone have an atari computer and STILL want a 2600?

[rhindlethereddragon]

They say the grass is always greener on the other side. Anyone who had Pac Man for the 2600 and saw it on an Atari 8-bit would probably want the Atari computer.

 

Was there anyone who had an Atari computer back in the day, and still wished they had a 2600, due to the volume of games, or to have Asteroids in color, etc??

[+bf2k+]

Not me!

[Ransom]

By the time I got the Atari 8 bit (1983ish), I'd already had a 2600, and had gotten rid of it.

 

But later on, yeah, I wanted a 2600 again. The 8-bit games are great, but the 2600's library, as you pointed out, was and remains tops.

[Ogma]

Same here...

 

First Atari in our house was a 2600 (though we may have had an Atari Pong before that). When the 800 was released, we moved on to that and pretty much never looked back (it was 800XL, then 130XE and then onto the ST line).

 

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on an old 6-switcher some time, though!

[MEtalGuy66]

YEah.. After playing the 5200/800/XL/XE versions of those games, the 2600 pretty much sucked by comparisson.

[Tempest]

Nope. I grew up with an Atari 400 and then moved onto an Apple IIe. By the time I got my uncle's old 2600 in 1986 the games were already starting to show their age. There are some great games for the 2600 that have no 8-bit counterpart, but I didn't know abot them back then so I really didn't miss them.

 

Tempest

[carmel_andrews]

I did like playing with a 2600 (in a shop and at a friends place) but my first atari owning experience was with the A8, and basically never looked back

 

Unfortunately i missed the first wave of 'atari mania' (the console games thing)

[Fletch]

I got a 2600 in 1980 and a 400 in 1982. Many Activision titles were very good on the 2600 and I really saw no reason to get the same title on the 8-bit. River Raid, Pitfall, and Decathlon really don't look or play any better on the 8-bit than on the 2600.

 

So though my purchases moved toward the 8-bit line as a whole, there were plenty of 2600 items that I still played quite a bit.

[Mirage]

I really would have preferred a computer in 1981, but did want both, and ended up with the 2600 due to lack of parental funds. Once I did move onto computers (Commodores though, not Atari at the time), I didn't really play with the 2600 much anymore, and ended up selling the whole deal to fund something, probably a disk drive. Later on though, once computers became more "advanced" and lost their personalities (think around 1989-90), that's when I started having fond memories of the early days, and specifically the 2600. I haven't lost interest in it since.

[Thorsten Günther]

I finally started collecting for the 2600 last year, and my Atari "career" began with the 800XL around 1985/1986. Although there are several games I just bought to get a first-hand impression of them on real hardware (as opposed to Stella), I mainly collect those titles that shine on the 2600 (like the Activision titles, these look and feel very similar to their 800XL couterparts in most cases), are exclusive to the VCS or are totally different on the XL (e.g. Thrust has keyboard control only as opposed to Thomas Jentzsch' version with driver controller/foot pedal control, Jawbreaker and Space Invaders are also very different).

 

Thorsten

[Marius]

Well... the only reason for me, wanting (and having) the 2600 are a few games.

 

Midnight Magic (a really fantastic pinball game, one I'm still missing for the atari 8bit line (and no David's Midnight Magic is a complete different game!)

Barnstorming

Private Eye

 

I'm very happy with Midnight Magic, and that cart is permanent in my 2600. It is the only game I'm playing a lot on it.

 

For the rest: my atari 8bit is the very best alternative.

 

Greetz

Marius

[littleman jack]

The only reason I really wanted a 2600 after having an 800 was to play Adventure.

 

However, there were many great adventure games for the 800 that kept me quite happy, such as Montezuma's Revenge, Pharoah's Curse, Castle Wolfenstein, Journey to the Planets, and Seven Seas of Gold. But I did have an urge to play Adventure.

 

However, I never got a 2600 until 24 years after getting the 800! Quite a long wait, but the 800 was quite fun in the meantime, and still is (although I'm on my 2nd 800). I love the 2600 now, however, for the quantity of games, the homebrews, and the cartridges (which are way easier than disks to use and maintain).

[+save2600]

YEah.. After playing the 5200/800/XL/XE versions of those games, the 2600 pretty much sucked by comparisson.

 

A lot of us were "duped" by superior versions of games on "better" systems, but there is a lesson I *think* I may have

learned here. For fun (certainly not for bragging rights because in retrospect... what a waste of time, money and LIFE!) and

in order, to the best of my memory, with most owned concurrently in large chunks:

 

I started out with a Radio Shack TV Scoreboard, a 4 switch 2600, then a TI-994/A, after that an Atari 400, quickly after that (thanks to the membrane keyboard) an Atari 800, then a Mattel Aquarius, a Magnavox pong standalone, a Timex Sinclair, an Apple II+, a Commodore64, then an 8-bit Nintendo, then an Amiga 1000, a Radio Shack CoCo III, next came an Amiga 500, the SNES, then a TG-16 w/ CD-ROM, a Gameboy, an Odyssey 2, a Colecovision, a Coleco Adam, a Sega Master System, then a 7800 and a Lynx, then a Neo Geo and a Turbo-Express, a Game Gear, a 5200, a Mac SE, then a Philips CDI, and now an Amiga 1200. Next came a Turbo-Duo, an IBM PeeCee, then an Atari Jaguar, a PSX, then an Amiga CD32, a Sega Genesis, a Nomad & a CD-X. An XE game system, then a N64, then the Jaguar Toilet CD add-on, an eMac, a Gamecube, an X-Box, PowerMac, a Vectrex, an Atari XL computer, an iMac, an Amiga 600, a Powerbook, a Wii and now... all I care to have left after spending countless dollars looking for "happiness" in all the wrong places is... <drumroll>

 

The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard, Atari 2600, my trusty TI-994/A , two Amiga's and two Mac's. Talk about thinning the herd!

 

Bottom line: would never be without an Atari 2600 despite ALL of the other systems that came and went. Sure, the 2600 sat stored away for a few years back in the mid 80's, but shortly after that, she's been out and about ever since!

 

Might have just been easier to say I've never had a TRS-80 Model III, Vic 20, Commodore+4, PS2, PS3, that red 3-D Nintendo thing, the Neo Geo handheld, a 3DO, CDTV, FM-Towns, MSX, Bally Astrocade, Channel-F, and an X-Eye. LOL! If I missed anything, it's because my memory is waning and glory be if I was not aware of anything else! lol

 

(currently looking for a mint TRS-80 Model III btw if anyone has one for sale...)

Edited February 9, 2009 by save2600

[Fres]

I bought a couple of 2600 jrs. and about 50 carts this past summer. I had never owned any 2600 equipment in the past. However, I ended up selling it all because it really didn't do much for me. I think I've realized that it's almost all about the nostalgia. Even though I played 2600 games at friends' houses when I was a kid, I guess I never got hooked the way I did with my 800. I grew up with an 800 and later a 130XE, so that's really where I spent most of my time.

 

I do like the assortment of paddle games on the 2600 (even Video Olympics). I wish there were more of these on the XL/XE line.

 

I also like the games Chopper Command, Adventure, Mousetrap, and a couple of others that AFAIK never made it to the computer line.

 

I think I disagree a little about River Raid, Pitfall!, and Kaboom! looking and playing the same on the 2600 as the 800/XL/XE. While they do play almost the same, the graphical and sound enhancements on the 800, while subtle, are nice. The pitch and catch option in Kaboom! is also a plus. I'm not sure about Decathalon because I never played it on the 2600. They're quality titles on both systems, though.

[rhindlethereddragon]

I bought a couple of 2600 jrs. and about 50 carts this past summer. I had never owned any 2600 equipment in the past. However, I ended up selling it all because it really didn't do much for me. I think I've realized that it's almost all about the nostalgia. Even though I played 2600 games at friends' houses when I was a kid, I guess I never got hooked the way I did with my 800. I grew up with an 800 and later a 130XE, so that's really where I spent most of my time.

 

I do like the assortment of paddle games on the 2600 (even Video Olympics). I wish there were more of these on the XL/XE line.

 

I also like the games Chopper Command, Adventure, Mousetrap, and a couple of others that AFAIK never made it to the computer line.

 

I think I disagree a little about River Raid, Pitfall!, and Kaboom! looking and playing the same on the 2600 as the 800/XL/XE. While they do play almost the same, the graphical and sound enhancements on the 800, while subtle, are nice. The pitch and catch option in Kaboom! is also a plus. I'm not sure about Decathalon because I never played it on the 2600. They're quality titles on both systems, though.

 

I had a colecovision and access to an Atari 800, but for some reason still wanted an Intellivision.

[ThumpNugget]

I had a 2600 for a year before getting a 400... Part of the bargain I struck with my parents to get the 400 was that I had to give the 2600 to my brother. He ended up getting a vic 20 a year later and sold the 2600 in a garage sell with all of the carts for $40.00 a year after that.. HECK of a deal for someone at the time.

 

I never really looked back at the 2600.. I even started losing interest in the 8-bit when I moved to Idaho in 1984 as I didn't know anyone with Ataris here. My parents bought me a modem and it sucked me right back in. I was a BBS junkie for several years after that I loved the BBS scene, I think it kept the 8-bits alive years longer than it would have otherwise..

Edited February 10, 2009 by ThumpNugget

[frogstar_robot]

I was a BBS junkie for several years after that I loved the BBS scene, I think it kept the 8-bits alive years longer than it would have otherwise..

 

I still miss it. It had a local flavor and small club feel that Internet blogs don't often capture.

[Ross PK]

I never wished for one. But while I had an Atari 800XL back in around 1990 when I was at school, a guy I knew said he'd sell me his Atari 2600Jr for like £2.50, but without the power lead, so I thought 'cool!'.

 

I bought it, and borrowed a lead of a friend, and played a few games on it like Carnival and Spiderman, I remember noticing just how basic the graphics looked compared to my 800XL and how simple the gameplay was, I still quite enjoyed it though.

 

I know I never had it for that long, but for the life of me I can't remember what happened to it.

Edited February 10, 2009 by Ross PK

[mos6507]

I really don't know where most A8 games were sold outside of mailorder. I rarely saw them in the stores, and if I did, the selection was severely lacking. I remember having to special order S.A.M. from a mom and pop computer store. Nobody seemed to ever have anything in inventory. Meanwhile you'd see mountains of 2600 cheap carts everywhere.

 

So I still played plenty of 2600 (and even 7800) after I got my A8.

Edited February 10, 2009 by mos6507

[Pengwin]

I never really wanted a 2600, especially after i got my 800XL, but I have recently been coveting 7800's

[Rybags]

No.

 

Had a 2600 in 1982 for under a year, it was sold to finance a 400.

 

Owning the computer and longing for the 2600 would be like having a Ferrari in the garage, but wanting a Fiat 500.

Edited February 10, 2009 by Rybags

[atarian63]

They say the grass is always greener on the other side. Anyone who had Pac Man for the 2600 and saw it on an Atari 8-bit would probably want the Atari computer.

 

Was there anyone who had an Atari computer back in the day, and still wished they had a 2600, due to the volume of games, or to have Asteroids in color, etc??

not me, The Atari 8-bit was great, never wanted a 2600 till many many years later

[atarian63]

They say the grass is always greener on the other side. Anyone who had Pac Man for the 2600 and saw it on an Atari 8-bit would probably want the Atari computer.

 

Was there anyone who had an Atari computer back in the day, and still wished they had a 2600, due to the volume of games, or to have Asteroids in color, etc??

not me, The Atari 8-bit was great, never wanted a 2600 till many many years later

[mimo]

I never really wanted a 2600, especially after i got my 800XL, but I have recently been coveting 7800's

go for it, 7800 rulez

[Buyatari]

They say the grass is always greener on the other side. Anyone who had Pac Man for the 2600 and saw it on an Atari 8-bit would probably want the Atari computer.

 

Was there anyone who had an Atari computer back in the day, and still wished they had a 2600, due to the volume of games, or to have Asteroids in color, etc??

not me, The Atari 8-bit was great, never wanted a 2600 till many many years later

 

I agree. I was suprised how the hobby side of things was so 2600 biased when I first started collecting video games. The 8bit stuff was largely ignored and still is to some extent. Back then if you had an 8bit system a 2600 was the last thing you were looking for. Sure the games were somewhat tough to find but many I knew at that time swapped copies and it wasn't hard to build up a collection of several hundred games in a matter of months.