My new Atari 2600!

[Sega Dude]

I scored a working Atari 2600 at a thrift shop for $9.99. I got two games with it too. Yars' Revenge and Riddle of the Sphinx. It also came with 1 joystick, and conjoined paddle controllers (two on one wire) and the original TV switchbox. I have a few questions about it.

 

1. Why does it work on channel 2 and not channel 3 or 4? I'm used to 3.

2. Is the joystick supposed to be stiff? Its very hard to move and not to responsive. So I've been using a Sega Genesis controller.

3. Why does a controller from a system (the genesis) that came out 12 years later work on the Atari anyways?

4. How do I select the additional games on Yars' Revenge?

5. What games do you recommend?

6. What are good sites, besides ebay, to buy games?

7. What 3rd party joysticks are good?

8. What are some good 2 player games I can play with my dad?

 

Here are some pics!

[Tr3vor]

1. if you want it to be on channel 3, there is usually a channel select switch on the bottom.

2. my joysticks are stiff, so i suppose thats how they are supposed to be.

3. the genesis controller has the same pinout as the atari. i guess sega didnt care about atari's pinout.

4. you use the select switch

5. space invaders, dig dug, combat.

8. combat, yars revenge, and other 2 player games.

[+save2600]

Stiff joys are good. If they're real loose, good chance the white yolk is broken or worn. And re: Sega's pinout... they were later sued by Atari for that in the early 90's and settled out of court. With the millions Sega gave Atari, they also had a game arrangement. Sega was supposed to port some of their titles to the Jaguar and Atari was going to convert some of their winner titles for some of Sega's machines (lol) Of course, nothing came to fruition and I bet Jack took the money and ran. Rumor has it that he re-invested the money in a last ditch attempt to promote the Jaguar, but ummm.... gimme a break. I was there and actively into the Jag at the time. Marketing was horrible and spartan. Unless they overpaid getting those silly 'Do The Math' commercials on the air. lol

 

As far as good 2600 games - almost ALL of the commons are great and can be found cheap. As a general rule, the more rare and expensive the 2600 game, the less fun it is to play. Just about ALL of the arcade conversions are great and anything by Activision, Imagic, Parker Bros. and Mattel you can't go wrong with either. Have fun!

 

Oh and how the heck could I forget the awesome homebrews that can be bought here (although I think the store is currently down again)! Again, can't go wrong with most of these:

 

Thrust

Stratogems

Lady Bug (great arcade conversion of a pac-man clone that's a little overrated here on AA IMHO)

A*Star

AVCStec Challenge

Dungeon

Star Fire

Fall Down

Sea Wolf

Medieval Mayhem

Warring Worms

Gunfight

Sea Battle

SWoops

...and any of the minigame compilation carts or holiday carts too you can't go wrong with. LOTS of great stuff going on for the VCS!

Edited December 2, 2009 by save2600

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

5. Mr.Do, Demon Attack, Enduro, Berzerk, Solaris, Tunnel Runner, Kaboom, Subterranea, H.E.R.O, Defender II........and check out some of the homebrews!

8. RealSports Tennis, Decathlon, Mario Bros. .

[+atari2600land]

#6: Right here in the Marketplace forum.

[Kurisu]

Wait, are you serious? Atari sued Sega over the pinouts on the controller ports? But isn't the plug type a standard one, non-proprietary one? How could one sue over the wiring being identical: hell, it would make more sense to make it compatible than not, just for everyone's sake (developers, consumers, etc), and I am pretty sure the wiring setup is pretty standardized anyway: Isn't it always a case where one of the last pins is the ground, and such?

 

I am just saying, I don't see how they really could have had a base, but if you have more details I would love to hear.

 

On topic: your stiff controllers are probably the normal CX-40's, the hard ones that are kinda..blah. I ended up with Flashback 2 controllers, and honestly have a hard time playing with the "real" controllers. I love CX-10's, but they have too much delay for my play style. They feel good though, XD.

 

For channel changing, yes, there is almost always a switch, but since you have a 6 switch unit, it MIGHT not be accessible without opening up the unit. Not likely with you having a light sixer case, but it COULD still be hidden.

 

Also, just a tip, you will want to play most games with the difficulty switches on "b" till you get realy good at them: A is normally the harder mode, but of course, this depends on the game: check out the instructions here on the site, to see what all is going on with each game you get.

 

Uhm, not much else to say. Everyone else has covered games to get and such pretty well. Have fun!

[theclaw]

That has to be shady business on Atari's part if they really did sue Sega. Commodore 64 used a similar pinout to the Atari 2600 as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Sega Master System and Amiga, among others, also did.

[+save2600]

Wait, are you serious? Atari sued Sega over the pinouts on the controller ports? But isn't the plug type a standard one, non-proprietary one? How could one sue over the wiring being identical: hell, it would make more sense to make it compatible than not, just for everyone's sake (developers, consumers, etc), and I am pretty sure the wiring setup is pretty standardized anyway: Isn't it always a case where one of the last pins is the ground, and such?

 

 

Standards don't materialize out of thin air you know. lol Taken from a video game faq:

 

This lawsuit, over Atari's claims that Sega infringes its patents, was settled out of court on 9/28/94. Sega got to use Atari's patents. Sega had to pay Atari, immediately, a total of 50 million covering the remaining 7 years of patents. Sega also had to buy 4.7 million shares of Atari stock for $40 million. Sega and Atari get to cross-license 5 games a year, excluding Sonic games.

 

So yeah, $90 million total. Not chump change. Lots of lawsuits going on between Sega, Atari, Nintendo, Philips, Sony, Accolade, etc. back then.

 

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/games/video-games/faq/part1/

[so_tough!]

I'm surprised some of you crazy kids didn't know about this sega/atari deal. If only good things had came from it! I was looking forward to playing some sega games on the Jaguar! I wonder hoow sega felt about this?

[Atariboy]

There's nothing there about controller ports that you just linked us to.

 

Was that really what that lawsuit was about?

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

That has to be shady business on Atari's part if they really did sue Sega. Commodore 64 used a similar pinout to the Atari 2600 as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Sega Master System and Amiga, among others, also did.

 

Not similar pinout, identical. From the Vic-20(possibly even the PET line), C=64, all other C= 8-bit models, and every Amiga computer had the same ports as the Atari 2600. I don't know if they liscensed the technology, or not... but they all can use the same sticks.

[+save2600]

There's nothing there about controller ports that you just linked us to.

 

Was that really what that lawsuit was about?

 

Yes - was about the DB9 'standard' and maybe more. It's filed under patents. I must have read that specifically somewhere else or perhaps in Phoenix: The Rise And Fall of Video Games or some like minded video history journal.

[Atariboy]

There's nothing there about controller ports that you just linked us to.

 

Was that really what that lawsuit was about?

 

Yes - was about the DB9 'standard' and maybe more. It's filed under patents. I must have read that specifically somewhere else or perhaps in Phoenix: The Rise And Fall of Video Games or some like minded video history journal.

 

I meant from someone else that could provide a confirmation that your statement was correct. I've never heard about that lawsuit being about controller ports.

 

I can find no confirmation about that, and just information on a lawsuit Atari brought against Sega about scrolling in games.

[Red 5]

Buy Tunnel Runner and play with the sound up and the lights out.

 

For two players Combat, Maze Craze, Super Challenge Baseball, and Warlords (even better with 4 players... but you need to sets of paddles)

[+save2600]

 

I can find no confirmation about that, and just information on a lawsuit Atari brought against Sega about scrolling in games.

 

http://www.vintagecomputermanuals.com/Vintage%20Computer%20Hardware/Atari/Atari%20Computers%20From%20Boom%20to%20Bust.pdf

[theclaw]

It really is fancinating to be reminded how the companies operated back then. Anyway, some of my favorite 2600 games were Pitfall II and Keystone Kapers.

[littleman jack]

For buying games, besides the marketplace in the forums here, you can find some online at atari2600.com, at 4jays' website, at video 61's website, at best electronics website, and often at flea markets. Also, if you have any of these chain stores nearby--Game Exchange, Game Force, Game Source, or Play N Trade.

 

For two player games, I recommend Joust, Combat, Maze Craze, and Space Invaders. And if, and when, the Atari Age Store comes back, I recommend the homebrew games Incoming! and Flap Ping for two player fun.

[VectorGamer]

 

5. What games do you recommend?

6. What are good sites, besides ebay, to buy games?

7. What 3rd party joysticks are good?

8. What are some good 2 player games I can play with my dad?

 

 

Congrats on the find and welcome to AtariAge...

 

#5 - Space Invaders, Asteroids, Galaxian, Ms. Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Stargate, Pressure Cooker, Frogger (both the Official by Starpath and the Parker Bros. version), Centipede, Millipede, Reactor (YES - Reactor - I love this game!), Gorf (YES - I'm one of the few that likes the 2600 port), Indy 500, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Kaboom!, Phaser Patrol, BerZerk, Communist Mutants From Space, Dig Dug, Enduro, Maze Craze, Missile Command, Warlords, Wizard of Wor, Moon Patrol, Circus Atari, Crystal Castles, Breakout, Demon Attack, Phoenix, Q*bert, Robot Tank, Fast Eddie.

 

The home brew scene is dope:

 

The newly released Juno First, Racer (also a new release), Medieval Mayhem, Space Invaders Arcade, Galaxian Arcade, Pac-Man Arcade, Defender Arcade (may not be available - contact the author of this one), Strip Off (another new release)

 

#6 - Scour the Marketplace here on AtariAge. There's peeps like me that have a bunch of 2600 dupe carts for sale or trade that won't take you to the ringer. Also, check the "Spreading the Love" thread for free stuff - just pay shipping and make a contribution.

 

GameGavel.com - a dedicated video game auction site. I've gotten a lot of good deals over there.

 

Atari2600.com - I've bought a lot of "Naked Ladies/Wounded Warriors" carts off of them for cheap. Nice way to get the games for a low price.

 

Half.com - eBay bought these guys a while back. You can get a lot of good deals here also.

 

Gooddealgames.com - Carry a crap load of home brew games.

 

Besides the Net, go to Video Game Expos as they hit your area. I've picked up a ton of stuff at shows.

 

#7 - I prefer the Wico joysticks.

 

#8 - Racer, a new home brew release, is really fun in two player mode.

 

Others: Medieval Mayhem, Warlords, Joust, Indy 500, Maze Craze, Wizard of Wor.

[Kurisu]

Standards don't materialize out of thin air you know.

 

This is true.

 

So, Atari owned the patent on the port type then, or something like that? Interesting.

 

Not upset to hear such: It is the same vein as Konami suing Andamiro over PIU, but that's another world... I just wonder why I would never have heard about this, being the Sega fan I have been all these years...

 

Eh, I blame the lack of internet. XD

 

anyway, back on topic....

[Sega Dude]

Thanks every for the super quick replies. I'll try to get to a local store that sells classic games this weekend and Ill keep you recommendations in mind. Ill also check on those online stores for some games. Thanks again guys!

[keilbaca]

First off, welcome to AtariAge!

 

1. There is a channel select on the inside of the Atari on the 6 switch Atari's. You might have to get a small screwdriver to flip the switch on the inside.

2. Yes and no. The stiffness is caused by the boot, but stiff does not always mean accurate. The switches on the inside are what make it accurate.

3. The pinout is the same between the Genesis and the Atari.

4. You press the select button, and you use the manual on the AtariAge site. Just click on 2600 on the top, do a search for Yars' Revenge and read the manual.

5. Oh my... Sooo many good ones. First off, any homebrew here on AtariAge. Secondly, Kaboom!, Warlords, Super Breakout, Tunnel Runner, Ms. Pac-Man, Enduro, just about anything from Activision.

6. Right here on our website, is a fantastic community who is usually selling Atari games at one point or another. 99% of the people here are fantastic people to deal with, package the product VERY nicely, and are very friendly.

7. Wico bat joysticks, TAC-2, the Slik-Stik, but most importantly, go buy yourself a flashback 2. They are shaped just like the original Atari 2600 joystick, but the insides are carbon rubber like what they use in today's controllers. By far my favorite joystick, most accurate, and you keep the Atari 2600 feel of the controllers.

8. Indy 500, Combat, Space Invaders, Frogger, Ms. Pac-Man, Warlords, Medieval Mayhem, and Wizard of Wor.

[Sega Dude]

Hey guys. I went to the local store that has Atari games and got 2 games. Breakout and Star Raiders. Breakout works fine and its fun to play. The paddles are just a teeny bit jumpy. Do I NEED the video touch pad to play Star Raiders? Is the a way to play without it? Can I use a keyboard controller?

Edited December 5, 2009 by Sega Dude

[Cebus Capucinis]

You can use a normal keyboard controller, yes. But without a keyboard or touchpad you'll just be dying very quickly.

[atari_envy]

I have, probably, two dozen standard Atari CX-40 joysticks. Seems like each has their own personality. Usually stiff is better because the really loose ones have been played a lot. But I have had a couple extra stiff CX-40s that were not responsive. Bottom line, you might be able to find a different one that plays better.

 

Best Electronics has an upgraded original Atari joystick as well as alternative sticks.

 

The CX-40 is still my favorite and is a classic. I would recommend picking up a Best Electronics gold CX-40 (I love mine) or a couple used ones on eBay/elsewhere to give them another chance.

[Sega Dude]

Here an update on the joystick. Every direction is pretty responsive except up. It takes like a full second to respond which isn't good when your trying to avoid the swirl on Yars' Revenge. The fire button isn't all that responsive either. Also on another note I shoke one of the paddles and I can here something rattling inside. Should I be concerned?