Master Phruby Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Atari has always had a special place in heart. I started with the VCS and was actively engaged in the Atari vs Intellivision debate on the school yard. I later got a colecovision and loved that as my console. I replaced the Colecovision with a NES, then SNES, then Genesis/Sega Cd/32X and then a TG-16. I got rid of all that and picked up a Playstation then Playstation 2 followed the Xbox 360 as my primary console. On the computer side, I was always pro-Atari. The 400, 130xe, 1040STE. I even took my STe to colleage and would debate against the Mac owner down the hall to which computer was better. Finally, I got tired of backing a losing horse all the time. I picked up a Gateway 486 to replace the STe in college and learned to program it. I've been developing under the PC my entire career. I guess with age, you learn not to be cheerleader for a brand and start to pick out what meets you needs at the present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I think the Atari Kool-ade tastes better than the Nintendo Kool-ade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 While Nolan Bushnell may have claimed undue credit for many of the things that made up Atari's early successes, (...much like Walt Disney took credit for Mickey Mouse, which was the creation of Ub Iwerks) he did have the vision and the belief that the entertainment and fun that he'd experienced in the computer labs at the University of Utah could be brought to the masses in specialized electrical circuits connected to television monitors. Not quite right. The dream had nothing to do with television monitors, that came later. The dream with Spacewar! was in somehow putting a coin slot on a mainframe computer. The ones running Spacewar! were all vector monitor driven. There's also some question as to whether it actually occured in Utah, or if that's simply more of trying to claim an earlier start to things. According to Ted, Nolan had no such visions when he started at Ampex, and hadn't seen Spacewar! until he took some grad courses at Standford. Previous to that his vision was animatronic dancing bears and pizza, which is probably why he originally applied to Disney to be an imagineer before going to Ampex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightytodd Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 While Nolan Bushnell may have claimed undue credit for many of the things that made up Atari's early successes, (...much like Walt Disney took credit for Mickey Mouse, which was the creation of Ub Iwerks) he did have the vision and the belief that the entertainment and fun that he'd experienced in the computer labs at the University of Utah could be brought to the masses in specialized electrical circuits connected to television monitors. Not quite right. The dream had nothing to do with television monitors, that came later. The dream with Spacewar! was in somehow putting a coin slot on a mainframe computer. The ones running Spacewar! were all vector monitor driven. There's also some question as to whether it actually occured in Utah, or if that's simply more of trying to claim an earlier start to things. According to Ted, Nolan had no such visions when he started at Ampex, and hadn't seen Spacewar! until he took some grad courses at Standford. Previous to that his vision was animatronic dancing bears and pizza, which is probably why he originally applied to Disney to be an imagineer before going to Ampex. Thanks for the corrections, Marty. As always, you and Curt are the source for the most accurate telling of these stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I didn't become an Atari fanboy until the NES ended up dominating videogames so badly that barely anything was coming out for other systems. Honestly, though, I thought the other systems released in the late 1970s and early 1980s were just as interesting. Intellivision with its keypad/joypad combo and its line of games. Odyssey with its keyboard. The ColecoVision for its expansion modules and its line of games. The Vectrex with its vector graphics monitor. If I had the money back then, I probably would have bought all the systems along with the games I wanted to play on them. EVEN the 5200 with its...ugh...controllers. Of course, back then I was also into personal computers, and frankly the one that I would have wanted to own above all others was the Atari 8-bit personal computer. The 400, the 800, the XLs. It was rather unfortunate that when I had the money to actually buy a personal computer, the only one that I could realistically buy that had what I needed was the Coleco Adam, the full package for $300. Thanks, 1985, I really appreciated it. At least I had my own personal computer, though, which was something in the place and time that I had it, which was St. Vincent's Home in Fall River, MA. Back in that day, kids would be flocking to you if you even owned a video game of some sort at the school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Atari VCS is so COOL, you can even play the Kool Aid Oh Yeah!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underball Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I find that out of all the Brands of video game console Kool Aid, Atari Kool Aid drinkers tend to be the least obnoxious, and most intelligent and literate. Every consoles fandom has a portion that makes most people cringe, but Atari seems least like this compared with some rabid Nintendo and MS/X-Box fans I've run into over the years. But really, no matter what console you like or dislike, there's nothing worse than self-appointed "forum cops" who run around telling everyone with a negative opinion of anything that they aren't allowed to dislike something, because being polite on a message board is apparently more important than being honest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I better explain myself before I get shot!! What I mean is how many people here have a very balanced view of ALL past machines from 8-64bit regardless of whether they sport an Atari badge or not? Not sure I understand the question. I mean, yes, I have a very balanced view of MOST past machines (haven't played with or even laid eyes on a few of them) whether they sport an Atari badge or not but, for me, most of them suck. I own/like the Atari 2600, the Atari 5200 and the Vectrex, the rest don't interest me. My first computer was an Atari 800 (by choice, a couple friends had Apple ][s and I didn't care for them, hated TRS computers and wasn't keen on Commodores) and I love it still. Not until I saw SGI Impact 2s at my first real job did I like another computer again. And a friend of mine had an Atari 400 but I hated it (that keyboard was hell). Having said that there are some Atari products I don't like, or don't like enough. The Atari 7800, somehow, doesn't do it for me (and how stupid am I about that with recent Scramble, Moon Cresta homebrews?@!). I own a Falcon computer but haven't used it in a while, wasn't impressed after giving it a full (expensive for the time) try. I'm fully Linux now. My best friend had an Intellivision and a 5200 when we were kids. Loved the Atari 5200 (finally buying one years later), really didn't like the Intellivision (minus a few good games we played a lot). No desire to own one and it's one I grew up with. There is/was just something about Atari that "does it" for me. The 2600 is primitive beyond all others yet I really like it still. The 5200 rocks. It's just a look they both have (graphics, game play). Same goes for Atari arcade games, there was a run of a few years where they practically could do no wrong by me. Cinematronics was also solid there, some Midway and Sega games, but Atari ruled... until the later '80s when all new arcade games sucked for me. Wrong look, wrong game play. Forget it, I'll play Tempest. I remember seeing an Odyssey 2 in a store and trying to play it, hating everything about it (keyboard, game graphics, joysticks). Never liked the Nintendo and it's offspring. Most fans drink the Kool-Aide for their favorites. I agree that the fanatics are intolerable, their favorites are completely perfect and superior to all others. But fans are rarely fans of everything in the genre, they pick their favorites. I love the Vectrex as much as the 2600 and the 5200 but what I would really really love to see? The Atari vector arcade games ported to the Vectrex. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I never knew system/brand fanboy'ism until the 360 and PS3 came out. I thought we all just enjoyed games and bought the systems with those we selected to play. The Atari 2600 has a special place for me though. Pretty unique hardware. Games didn't have an "end" mostly. Due to AtariAge and Fred Quimby I can actually MAKE games for it. I guess that's drinking the Kool-Aid because it tastes good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wood_jl Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I find that out of all the Brands of video game console Kool Aid, Atari Kool Aid drinkers tend to be the least obnoxious, and most intelligent and literate. Every consoles fandom has a portion that makes most people cringe, but Atari seems least like this compared with some rabid Nintendo and MS/X-Box fans I've run into over the years. Well-said!!!!! Perhaps because we're getting so OLD!!!!! (I hear wisdom comes with age) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wisdom supposedly comes with age. With some people, though, their brains have totally crapped out by the time they reach their later years, if not sooner. Of course, maturity is supposed to accompany wisdom, but most people treat maturity as an optional thing along with wisdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Dart Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm noticing a lot of people missing the connotations of "kool-aid"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm noticing a lot of people missing the connotations of "kool-aid"... Shhh.. if they knew it'd be alot less funny to watch them drink it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underball Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm noticing a lot of people missing the connotations of "kool-aid"... I'm pretty sure only Atari "Age" fans would even recognize the reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) I'm noticing a lot of people missing the connotations of "kool-aid"... tasteless, unatural sugary crap? but we don't even wanna go there..... Edited July 19, 2012 by high voltage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underball Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm noticing a lot of people missing the connotations of "kool-aid"... tasteless, unatural sugary crap? but we don't even wanna go there..... It's a reference to the Jonestown Massacre. Whacko Cult from 1978 where they poisoned the Kool Aid at a huge gathering and killed everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 why bother with the poison.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkhan Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I drink all the Kool Aid. I love Kool Aid. Really though, I play whatever console has the best version of a game I want to play. You wont see me playing Commando for Atari 2600 because it blows. You will see me play Demon Attack, Atlantis, Cosmic Ark, and Astroblast. and you won't see me playing Fathom on the Intellivision, because it's impossible to control the stupid dolphin with that moronic controller! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 The Atari Kool Aid (sugar included) without water is yummy but gives me headaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Hey! No one told me there would be refreshments! Nah, I liked the 2600 and Jaguar and all, but I admit there were faults and whatever. A lot of the games were cash grabs and the hardware usually seemed to be a bit behind the competition (although this was usually because of the suits, not the engineers). Similarly, I'm a pretty big TurboGrafx-16 fan, but I'll readily admit that some of the games sucked and pretty much everything that had to do with its North American distribution/advertising/game selection was terrible. But I still like it and play it somewhat regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robocop2 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I just like video games 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJMagic Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) My first video game experience was donkey kong on the 2600 at my cousins house, then his Nintendo, I grew up loving both those. I always wanted a sega genesis cuz they had those cool colored cartridges. Hell I just bought a sears tele games with a ton of games on eBay (with box woo). My explanation to people as to why old Atari and Nintendo games are awesome is because the graphics are simple it allows you to actually use your imagination to create the game you want to play. Games today, while fun, lack a lot of you putting yourself into the game to have fun like older games Edited August 17, 2012 by SJMagic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodzillaIsMyCopilot Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I love video games. Period. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerSpaceFan Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Apparently Apple employees are forced to drink their koolade as mandated by this assimilation manifesto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCREAMKIDSARCADE Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Man I wish I could drink the fucking Atari look-aide. I have consumed just about every other. Still dot own an Atari system yet. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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