7800 Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Got mine for Christmas... I want to say 1980 when I was 5 years old. I'm not sure if it was the heavy or light sixer but it was definitely a sixer. Came in a HUGE box with Combat, paddle controls, 2 joysticks, etc. Also unwrapped a bunch of games for it like Street Racer, Canyon Bomber, Outlaw, Superman, etc. My Dad hooked it up and showed me how to use the switch box. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Easy. Christmas 1982. It came with Combat (I think it was the last year it did - after then it was Pac-Man). Luckily I got Berzerk at the same time as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariTexas Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 1980 with Combat. Loved to go to Sears at the time and drool over all the new shiny boxes of new games that came out 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspicious_milk Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 82? I think. Well, I'd begged for one for christmas, but my older sister got one and I didn't. A Coleco Gemini! It came with Donkey Kong and Mousetrap. I collected games for it over the next few years as she lost interest. Eventually both joysticks quit moving left and I'd replaced them with cheap Gemstiks from K-Mart. Years later when we were both teens and fought over everything, it became VERY apparent it was her machine, so I mowed a few lawns and purchased my very own newly released 2600 Jr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennetzel Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 (edited) I got mine at Kauffman's department store and it was a light sixer...it then got lost during a repair and replaced with a Sears Telegames light sixer. I now have a darth vader which works real well. Edited June 24, 2013 by kennetzel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHATETHEBEARS Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Was the first VCS you got used? If not, were you able to exchange it for a working one? I highly doubt it was used. It was just defective in some way. And yes, we got a working one on December 26th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Heaver sixer for Christmas in '78. I was nine at the time. My dad was worried I would break the tv when I installed it. Truth be told, if he installed it, the tv would have been broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbeliever Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Heaver sixer for Christmas in '78. I was nine at the time. My dad was worried I would break the tv when I installed it. Truth be told, if he installed it, the tv would have been broken. Sounds like MY Dad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeETC Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Sounds like MY Dad. "No, no, no! You have to plug it into the box, then screw the prongs to the screws! Just let me do it." *crack* 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbeliever Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Well, that was scary. EXACTLY like my Father. lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 (edited) Been retro collecting starting with NES in 2003. My first Atari came 9 years later: After years of Atari bashing due to the proported inferior graphics compared to NES, I decided to see what the fuss was and I bought one in May 2012. Woodgrain 4-switch. Ebay lot + 8 games, and another lot with 16. It's been a great ride, buying up classic carts on the cheap, as well as brand new homebrews from the AA store. Edited June 26, 2013 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I saw and bought my first Atari 2600 in 2011. A Darth vader SECAM model, with some games with it. The 2600 is nothing but a classic here so you cant really find one in the wild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodLightning Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 1981 or 1982. I had to wait a year due to the price tag, which was high for us in '79-'80. For christmas, my mom bought me a 4 switch woody with Combat and a boxed Asteroids purchased and wrapped separately. I think Circus Atari was bought weeks or months later to have an additional paddle game. Pac-Man was a big deal with layaway and waiting lists at the major department stores and I got that cartridge most likely from J.C. Penny's. At some point, I joined the Atari Club and got Atari Age magazine through which I read about the 5200 Supersystem and ordered the exclusive early release of Defender for 2600. I'm not sure of the order this happened, but I saved up for Pitfall and Keystone Kapers cartridges and really had fun with those two. The bulk of my cartridges were found in later years from thrift stores, although I do rememeber grabbing many new boxed games for 50 cents each, after the crash. The TV was a 1970's J.C. Penny/RCA 27" wooden console, really a piece of furniture with plenty of room on top for rabbit ears, VCS, and a box of cartridges. I bought and repaired a light sixer in recent years through ebay as I have always wanted the six switch version from day one! Both consoles are in Sterilite tubs, waiting to be taken out and played. The 4 switch works, but needs a new color/bw switch. I also have a 7800 which is used more frequently, but that is drifting off topic.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I got my first Atari in 2011 (in fact I had years expecting to get one.) Atari 2600 Jr. for $3 at a flea's market, no games, no joysticks and no power source. It was brown of dust. I cleaned it carefully, in fact inside it was like new. I bought the joysticks at $1 each one, three games for $2 and one universal power supply. I tested it, and it doesn't worked , I was about to trash it when I tried again one of the games, and it appeared on screen briefly . Simply the contacts were dirty and the other two games didn't worked. I was lucky to choose a working cartridge for the final test. Otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have trashed it. By the way, this is my current Atari cartridges collection http://atariage.com/forums/gallery/image/8818-nanochess-atari-collection/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totengott Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 mine is kinda similar to OP's, I never had one as a kid, but I played my cousin's all the time. I might have been 6 or 7, so the games didnt make much sense to me. I was an NES kid, and got my first woody 4 banger maybe a year ago now, always wanted the 2600, and just now getting around to finding one in great shape on ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandmountainslim Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 (edited) Birthday 1982. It was/is a Vader model. I still have it but it's put away and I use Stella and 2600Emu for Android exclusively now. Edited July 1, 2013 by sandmountainslim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfAmongWolves Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Christmas 1983, a 4-switch woody. It came with PacMan and Combat. It also included the paddle controllers, but no game to use them with. The first game I bought for it was Cosmic Ark at Kiddie City. I still have that console today, and it's the only one I use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young but loving the classics Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Got a broken 2600 jr from a 2nd hand store with Pitfall II and Dig Dug in 2011. Late 2011 I won an eBay bid for 3 Jr Consoles, 1 Vader, 18 games, paddles, 3rd party joystick, 2 driving controllers, kids keypad and manuals. I use the vader mainly and have around 111 games now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeETC Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Got a broken 2600 jr from a 2nd hand store with Pitfall II and Dig Dug in 2011. Late 2011 I won an eBay bid for 3 Jr Consoles, 1 Vader, 18 games, paddles, 3rd party joystick, 2 driving controllers, kids keypad and manuals. I use the vader mainly and have around 111 games now. How much was the winning bid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jointfilms.com Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I already had Intellivision and loved it. But in 1982 when Coleco came out with the Gemini I got one for Christmas. It's interesting to me that I didn't go for the Colecovision to "upgrade" from Intellivision. But I think it was hard to argue with the amount of games that were out there for Atari. Sure, a lot of them were horrible. But I'm sure that was my thinking. Go for the system with tons of games to choose from. I certainly enjoyed the Gemini. Loved that the paddle and joystick were one controller. I remember playing Joust, Crystal Castles and Mario Bros for hours. Sure, looking back they might not seem too impressive. But at the time, they were great. (oh, and yup, I'm new to this forum….) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famicommander Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 My parents had one before I was born and I found it it a box sometime in the mid 1990s. I've been using it ever since. It's a four switch woody. I also picked up a Heavy Sixer at one point, but I traded that one for a Colecovision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rack776 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 (edited) I grew up in the late 70s early 80s I always liked the Atari alot, I was about 5 or 6 when my parents got a 6 switch Light Sears Tele Games 2600 (about 1982-1984ish) I never bothered to play my sisters nintendo NES very much, I moved on to other interests...now 30 some years later I'm back into it! We had 8 games and I still have them, Target Fun - 27 telegames Pacman Space invaders Street Racer Home Run Football Math Grand Prix Barn Storming (I really love the old Activision Games) My friend accross the street (in the 80s) had a colecovision and I rember the games he had were really pretty cool Sir Lancelot Spy Hunter Congo Bongo Qbert and a few others I dont rember When we moved to our new house my new friend in the new neighborhood had bought a 2600jr new arround 1986, I remember playing the heck out of that in his basement. River Raid Chopper Command Atlantis Donkey Kong Pole Position....fun times I loved that game. I was just at a flea market and picked up , congo bongo for $5 , Qbert for $2, and Atari's Superman for $1 (It would be my luck that spyhunter & sir lancelot are friggin rare & expensive.) About a week ago I dug out my families old light 6 switch "Sears Tele-Games - Video Arcade" i got it working again by cleaning the game contacts with a q-tip & rubbing alchohol The system works really good on an old tube type TV my wife had since highschool. I used a coax to RCA adapter from radio shack and it works well...the joy sticks have a lot of wear & slop so i have to rebuild them someday but they still work. I consider myself lucky to still have the exact same console I grew up playing.....who knew in the 1980s they would be considered "classic" -Jason Edited February 10, 2014 by rack776 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ripdubski Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 (edited) At some point in 1978 my parents got it. 6 switch Atari unit. Not sure what happened to it after I lost interest in it roughly 1984. Recently reacquired an Atari light sixer refurb with composite out mod from Best. The output is awesome and the unit looks brand new. Elated! Edited February 10, 2014 by Ripdubski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Christmas 1980. I thought it was a Heavy Sixer but it's a Light Sixer. Used it heavily until 1986 when I got both a 7800 and a 1040ST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 In 1977 I worked all summer mowing lawns to buy a motorcycle. Sometime in the fall I was in a Sears and saw a display of the Telegames Video Arcade. I spent my money on that instead of the motorcycle and never regretted it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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