Do you prefer the NES or the Atari 7800? Experiement

[John Mayor]

This is just a fun little thread I thought of. My reasoning for this to most odd match up is that I am assuming (so do not be mad) that most users if not all are from NA. And judging by the theme I am also guessing people here are older.

 

So with that said, when these two guys first came out their sales were not exactly far apart for around the first 3 years, So i assume that many people here, especially on Atariage, owned at least both.

 

So because of this i am wondering which of the two you guys prefer based on a perspective from someone who had both or has experienced the 7800 first.

 

I already have two threads for my book, so I wanted to take a break today while those other threads got more answers with this fun experiment. I will not be making a poll for this thread.

 

Be sure to explain your reason for your preference. As the stories are the most interesting part!

[Seob]

Not from NA, but Europe. Never heart of the Atari 7800 back in the day, I knew the NES, but i thought it was inferior to the home computers on the market back then.

[Greg2600]

I grew up with the NES, everybody had it. Couple kids had a Master System, nobody had a 7800. I knew of the 7800 first, because they had the games in the Atari catalogs that came with 2600 games I got from toy store bargain bins in '84-86. I was slightly intrigued/jealous of the graphical jump from the lowly 2600 I had, but never enough to request a new system. By 1987 going into 1988, you HAD to have the NES. It was like buying a bicycle for a kid. Boys, girls, everybody had one.

 

I've always enjoyed how the 7800 presents the simpler arcade ports of the 80's. Beyond that, NES all the way. Actual sound/music, better controller, composite video, color cartridge labels, MUCH better graphics, Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Contra, Castlevania. I could go on and on. There was NOTHING on the 7800 game-wise that was in the NES league of Konami, Capcom, and first party titles. Once we saw SMB or Mega Man or heck just even NES baseball or Duck Hunt, there was no going back.

[+Gemintronic]

Yep. The NES pretty much ruined the 7800 for me. I kept looking at the advertisements for the Pro System Joypad and wondering WHY THE HECK I couldn't actually get one.

[Algus]

The 7800 would probably be my preferred system if it could even hope to compete with the NES's library. I love it to death but arcade ports are only such a small selection of gaming in general. And RPGs are the titles that make or break a system for me. I'd say it's unfair to judge the 7800 by its lack of RPGs but then the NES has some of my favorites and the SMS had a couple as well.

[Austin]

I can't give an unbiased opinion because I barely had a chance to play the 7800 when it was relevant, and I didn't find my own system until the late '90s.

[CatPix]

I didn't get one at the time, but I got a like new one in the late 90's (and I sold it.. what a dumbass... it still had all the plastics bags inside and the box was near mint >.>).

Back in those days, no Internet for me. I kept it for two years, taking the dust because I NEVER found any game for it. Even Atari 2600 games I couldn't find any (and in garage sales, I still never see any). So I sold it for buying NES and SNin games.

Edited January 22, 2014 by CatPix

[gamecat80]

I grew up with both systems in their heyday. I actually got the 7800 AFTER I already had the NES. The NES was bought around 1988 for the family and the Atari 7800 was mine, a Christmas present. Actually, we got the 7800 and TG-16CD at the same time, around 1990 or so. The TG-16CD was, of course, for the family.

That said, I find the NES to be a superior console in every way to the Atari 7800 -- better graphics, better sound, better games, better controllers, etc. HOWEVER, I will state that if the Atari 7800 had POKEY audio, more/better games (with some taking advantage of the MARIA'S high-resolution graphics mode, instead of the "standard resolution mode" like most/all games done on the 7800), composite video - or at least - better RF video, better controllers, then the 7800 could have creamed the NES... but it would have been an expensive, high-end system.

 

But as we know, it didn't work out that way, and the 7800 was done in a stripped-down bare-bones way as a "budget" console alternative to the NES and SMS.

[LidLikesIntellivision]

I'm from Brazil and I didn't heard of the 7800 until I joined this Forum!

 

We had many Nes clones and a late official Nes release. These Nes clones (both famicom and Nes) were very popular as the SMS was in Brazil.

No 7800 in Brazil and no clone as well.

 

I went the nes (clone) path and loved it at the time.

Now I own the 7800 and play it much, much more I play my nes.

 

So... I would say Nes was my prefered console when I was young (yes, only had Master System to compare) and the 7800 is better for me now.

[atarian63]

Way back when it would be NES. Now with all the new BOB stuff it is 7800 all the way. Not to mention a bunch of 2600 stuff and my cuttle cart. I never hook up the nes anymore,not in many years

[CatPix]

POKEY audio, , composite video - or at least - better RF video, better controllers,

I have to say, for POKEY, Atari engineers did at least let the option to include POKEY in the carts.

As for composite and controllers, Europe had the game pads instead of the joysticks. That was a step in the right direction! (even the Atari 2600 Jr ended being shipped with the 7800 gamepads, too) and the French model got a RGB output, so French players really prefer to play with the Atari 7800; especially with the 8 colors Atari 2600 Rf we had.

[retroillucid]

NES player since 1987 when I got the Deluxe Set for xmast

[Osgeld]

neither really, we still had a coleco, so when I went to my cousins house it was 7800, when I went to a friends house it was either NES or a tandy, I was just happy to play something other than coleco and apple II

[+save2600]

7800 and yes, Bob's stuff is incredible. Helps make that an easy choice. Seems there's always going to be more in the way of homebrews to look forward to on the 7800 as well.

[akator]

I preferred SMS back then and still do. I didn't see or touch actual 7800 hardware until I bought one off eBay in 2008. Everyone I knew in the late 80s was still playing games on their home computers (mostly C64 and Apple II), with about a third also having a NES. Even with a SMS I would still play the Apple II for some games that weren't available on consoles.

[Master Phruby]

I think both the NES and SMS were better systems during the day then Atari 7800 ever could dream. The NES was not made up of games I had played for years on my 2600/400. Most everything was original, bigger, better graphics and better music than the 7800 could every do. The 7800 library was small and seemed to be only sold at Federated Group discount stores. Twenty years later, I got a 7800 from a thrift store. The NES is still a lot more fun. Now my 7800 is only used a 2600 clone with Harmony plugged in. It's not worth changing the cartridge unless it is to play Beef Drop 7800..

Edited January 23, 2014 by Master Phruby

[Gregory DG]

NES and 7800 are masters of two totally separate genres. 7800 is better at arcade ports with single screens. Take Joust for example. The 7800 version has smoother gameplay and graphics. The NES is choppy with grainy looking graphics. Or how about Ballblazer? Definitely better on 7800. Then there's Robotron 2084... Oh, no NES version. I bet it was because it couldn't handle all the sprites required.

 

The NES is better at side-scrollers and long term RPGs. "BIG" games. Games that take a long time to finish.

 

There are no absolutes of course (Dig Dug feels better on NES IMO), but that's my take on it.

[Dauber]

7800 for me, easily. Always found the NES to be pretty charmless.

[Falconhood]

When NES came out, I was not impressed. When I stumbled upon the 7800 at the flea market, I almost PEED my pants!!!

so

7800>>NES.

[BassGuitari]

Generally, the NES. Part of that might be bias since I had one as a kid, but I honestly don't think nostalgia's really a factor since my favorite machines are ones that were old news even before I was born. Though for what it's worth, I don't think I'd even heard of the 7800 (or ANY Atari system to distinguish from just "Atari") until 1997.

It comes down to the games, and the 7800's library simply isn't as versatile as the NES's. The 7800 has lots of great early '80s arcade games, but so does the NES, albeit perhaps not as many. And often, the NES versions are at least as good if not better (notable exceptions include Commando and Xenophobe...well played, 7800!). But while the 7800 is an excellent platform for arcade games, it doesn't have anything that really comes close to Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, or Final Fantasy. Late attempts to address this were solid (Midnight Mutants, Scrapyard Dog, Alien Brigade), but smack of desperation. The stock joysticks and 2600 sound do the 7800 no favors, either.

Still, the 7800 has a charm all its own, and I enjoy playing mine when I get the hankering for it. And there's no denying it's a better-looking console than the NES is. But it's when I want to play Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Contra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or Tecmo Super Bowl that I wish the 7800 would have moved past the early/mid '80s arcade pigeon hole that has been dug for it.

[Rex Dart]

When NES came out, I was not impressed. When I stumbled upon the 7800 at the flea market, I almost PEED my pants!!!

so

7800>>NES.

 

 

That is quite a notable feature. I have never heard of the NES forcing people to wet themselves at flea markets.

[Falconhood]

Quality doesn't trump quantity. I mean, I love R-Type, but all those clones are just clones of it, with slight changes, and ultimately of they are clones of Vanguard/Defender.

[Austin]

Quality doesn't trump quantity. I mean, I love R-Type, but all those clones are just clones of it, with slight changes, and ultimately of they are clones of Vanguard/Defender.

 

A clone? Hardly. R-Type is simply the evolution of the genre. And a damn fine game at that.

 

But.. I'm not sure where R-Type even falls into this conversation. It's not like it was released on either the NES or the 7800.

[Falconhood]

 

A clone? Hardly. R-Type is simply the evolution of the genre. And a damn fine game at that.

 

But.. I'm not sure where R-Type even falls into this conversation. It's not like it was released on either the NES or the 7800.

it was just an analogy.

[NE146]

No contest. When I became aware of the 7800 I had long been playing my Famicom and then my NES and the fact Atari had a new system out barely even made me raise an eyebrow. I had an orphaned 2600 & 5200 with no games in site for years when I came across the Famicom bootleg system and it was in a whole new world... the 7800 was like "uhhh.. ok. next" at that point.

 

That perception would change later on though and I did 'retrobuy' a 7800 and some games. If it had come out after my 5200 before ever seeing a Famicom/NES, I probably would have dug it.