Atari 5200 why no 5200 flashback?

[Prosystemsearch]

I would like to see this happen? What are the main drawbacks? They could made a new controller for this flashback like the did the flashback 1, which was modeled after the atari 7800. Pic related. It's what Infotari could model it after.

[gamecat80]

There were not many games made for the Atari 5200, and most of them were just re-hashes of released Atari 2600 games, just with better graphics and sound. I guess that's why?

[raindog]

You might as well hope for an Odyssey2 Flashback since even that outsold the Atari 5200.

 

But I could totally see an "Atari Flashback XL" with 400/800/5200 games (modified for digital control in the case of 5200 games, or the lack of a keyboard on 8-bit computer games) on it.

[Bill Loguidice]

Never say never, but I agree, it's much more likely we'd see an Atari 8-bit Flashback than an Atari 5200 one, simply because you wouldn't have to worry about the relatively weird controllers and it's more or less the same thing (plus, the XEGS stuff was already consolized). Rather than thinking in terms of system, it's better in terms of Flashbacks to think in terms of available/licensable game libraries and then work backwards from there. Bonus points for high profile licensable games. Having a library of say, for example, 100 unrecognizable games is not helpful, while having a library of say 50 games, but 20 or so of those are very recognizable is.

 

With that said, AtGames is pursuing an aggressive digital strategy, so that may in some way apply over to their hardware line at some point. I for one would love to see an "Atari Generations Flashback" that covers as many Atari platforms and eras as possible in one unit.

 

In any case, there are plenty of other companies out there, so this type of thinking shouldn't be limited (as I'm doing it) to AtGames. I just don't know who else might have the capability to make it happen.

[roadrunner]

About half the games are 3rd party titles.
It would probably cost Atari too much to get the rights to use any of those games.

[108 Stars]

Why no Lynx flashback? There was a nice niche for cheap handhelds a couple of years back.

 

The reason is probably the same in both cases. It is not worth recreating the old hardware. Atari 5200, Lynx and Jaguar are only known to nerds. None of them achieved any kind of mainstream popularity. And those clones of old systems with built-in games usually do not target core gamers but people that vaguely remember "the Commodore" or "the Atari".

 

Honestly, I doubt many of the customers are even aware of the difference between 2600 and 7800. A 5200 Flashback would be just the same as the other ones to the general audience.

[Bill Loguidice]

Why no Lynx flashback? There was a nice niche for cheap handhelds a couple of years back.

 

The reason is probably the same in both cases. It is not worth recreating the old hardware. Atari 5200, Lynx and Jaguar are only known to nerds. None of them achieved any kind of mainstream popularity. And those clones of old systems with built-in games usually do not target core gamers but people that vaguely remember "the Commodore" or "the Atari".

 

Honestly, I doubt many of the customers are even aware of the difference between 2600 and 7800. A 5200 Flashback would be just the same as the other ones to the general audience.

 

Bingo. We have to HONESTLY ask ourselves is that something that "me and my AtariAge/insertwhateverothernichegroup-frequenting buddies" really want, or is it something that "LARGE groups of people" would really want. If it's the latter, then there's a good chance it would be considered by a company like an AtGames. If it's the former, there's a good chance a company like AtGames would only be able to practically consider it as part of a digital only strategy. Physical goods are high risk, while digital goods, naturally, are relatively low risk. It's obviously not as satisfying for our group, but positive steps, no matter how small, are still positive steps, and you never know where things may lead.

[+Gemintronic]

Those of you with individual tastes just stop it! These corporations are living entities now and they worked hard to invasively data mine what you really want!

[Bill Loguidice]

Those of you with individual tastes just stop it! These corporations are living entities now and they worked hard to invasively data mine what you really want!

 

Niche interests can be served by the homebrew community, where our needs can be satisfied better than any corporation ever could, even if it means we pay more to have it be so. It's not realistic to expect large (relative) companies to cater to us since it's been proven time and again we don't have sufficient buying power as a group to justify the costs involved, particularly since what we want is probably not the same as the average person. I don't think such a scenario is unique to the videogame/vintage computer community.

[onmode-ky]

Never say never, but I agree, it's much more likely we'd see an Atari 8-bit Flashback than an Atari 5200 one,

It's worth noting that the original, aborted plan for Flashback 3, as intended by Curt Vendel back when the FB2 had just gotten off the ground, was to be just that, an "800 computer in a 5200 case." There was also a plan for a portable Flashback 2, but Atari chose to pursue neither project and instead sidelined the Flashback name for ~5 years. Furthermore, all subsequent Flashback systems were not funded/initiated by Atari themselves; they most likely decided the concept was not marketable enough to the mainstream audience (i.e., the same thing that's been said earlier in this thread). But, for a brief time, it did look like there would be an Atari 8-bit computer Flashback.

 

onmode-ky

[+wood_jl]

We love Atari, but we are an extremely small chunk out of the rest of the demographic. Most people equate Atari with the 2600, and some arcade machines. Those people are very middle-aged by now. Most people don't know what a 5200 is. Most people don't even know that Atari made computers. Most people don't know what a 7800 is. We do. They don't. That's why. Very simple.

[Andromeda Stardust]

While we are dreaming, we might as well dream big.

 

Coleco/Intelli are a reality now, but when the day comes that Atgames delivers HDMI flashbacks, I would like to see a Vectrex version. Sure it wouldn't have the flicker or phosphor trails of vintage CRT, but IMO the games are very unique and have a completely different type of vintage feel. Overlays can be added to the video output and HDMI would have sufficient resolution to create crisp sharp vector lines without excessive jaggies or aliasing.

[+save2600]

Why no 5200 Flashback? Besides the fact most people do not remember it and… I can hear it now: "I took the controllers out of the box and_they_broke"!

 

On a serious note, I think a tiny XEGS Flashback would be really, really cool.

[raindog]

Anyone who wants an Atari 800 (or even 5200) on a stick has the pieces available already. A Raspberry Pi (or one of the faster clones), a joystick and a casemod await. The "X-on-a-stick" devices are mostly of interest to collectors here, since we all have better emulations (if not the original equipment) readily available to us. So it's easy to think of the target market as being collectors, but it's not. It's people with vague nostalgic feelings about the emulated/recreated systems, who aren't exacting about every detail being perfect. These are mass-market products. They're sold at Target and TRU, not AtariAge. They are not going to be made unless they're going to sell tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands -- more, at any rate, than the entire population of this site.

 

I'm actually surprised that no one has 3D-printed (or even had mass-produced) a modified Atari 2600 joystick case to fit the Pi. I bet it would sell larger quantities than most homebrew projects, simply because the overlap between the maker community and the "nostalgic for the '80s" community is quite high.

Edited July 18, 2014 by raindog

[raindog]

I brought these up in tabs but forgot to copy-paste till now. Some inspiration, perhaps, for people who might like to take a stab at the "X-on-a-stick" Raspberry Pi/3D-printed case idea.

 

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:195529 tiny Atari 400 case (too small for RPi, but love the idea of having a tiny USB membrane keyboard integrated into a "Flashback" type of machine)

 

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:321624 The whole package, an RPi portable with its own screen (different than a PnP but clearly it's possible).

 

I'm sure the ultimate "bunch of emulators and homebrew on a stick" device will show up on Kickstarter soon, if it hasn't already.

 

Edit: OMG, AtariAge, your rich text editor sucks so hard. That is supposed to be five links, and instead I got two links with a bunch of my text jammed into them. Here they are again, minus descriptions:

 

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:195529

 

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:158331

 

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:30129

 

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:30008

 

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:321624

Edited July 18, 2014 by raindog

[Prosystemsearch]

We love Atari, but we are an extremely small chunk out of the rest of the demographic. Most people equate Atari with the 2600, and some arcade machines. Those people are very middle-aged by now. Most people

don't know what a 5200 is. Most people don't even know that Atari made computers. Most people don't know what a 7800 is. We do. They don't. That's why. Very simple.

Yet the 1st Atari Flashback had BOTH 7800 Prosystem and VCS 2600 games inside it. It even had 7800-like joysticks and a 7800, themed outer shell! It is not impossible.

[roadrunner]

Yet the 1st Atari Flashback had BOTH 7800 Prosystem and VCS 2600 games inside it. It even had 7800-like joysticks and a 7800, themed outer shell! It is not impossible.

 

 

Those 7800-like joysticks don't work on a real 7800.

Hopefully if they did make a 5200 flashback the controllers will plug into a real 5200.

 

[Prosystemsearch]

 

Those 7800-like joysticks don't work on a real 7800.

Hopefully if they did make a 5200 flashback the controllers will plug into a real 5200.

 

>The Flashback 1's bundled joysticks will not work fully on a real 7800 Prosystem.

UM, Source??

[2600 Forever]

Good god, kid, stop it already. How about you post a picture of all your wonderful Atari hardware and games?

[Prosystemsearch]

Good god, kid, stop it already. How about you post a picture of all your wonderful Atari hardware and games?

Stop What?

[jetset]

Good god, kid, stop it already. How about you post a picture of all your wonderful Atari hardware and games?

 

How many do you think would be hot-linked to the AA site database pics? And "All" is not an acceptable answer. Too easy. We want numbers.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

>The Flashback 1's bundled joysticks will not work fully on a real 7800 Prosystem.

UM, Source??

SOURCE: You DO know you are on Atariage right? Newsflash we happen to just know a lot of this stuff. Nobody is looking to lie or give you misinformation, for what purpose? Next time you have a doubt then YOU verify it. If you are not going to accept others peoples answers then stop asking stupid questions. a simple googled search confirms regarding the Flashbacks controllers "although their plugs look identical, they are incompatible." The original Flashback is well known around here to be a piece of crap, looks like a miniature 7800 but in fact all the included 7800/ 2600 titles are ported to a NES on a chip and the controllers are incompatible. There is a Wiki as well as many links to be found with a simple Google search that will give you all this info and all the verification you need. The way you been acting would be like me signing up to a Vintage Car collectors sight, asking all kinds of questions and when given answers asking "SOURCE??????" of course I would dare not do such a thing because you know, that would make me an annoying TROLL.

[mos6507]

I tried going to AtGames.net today and the site doesn't even come up. Kudos for them for being able to get something onto store shelves but they are not a very big company and I'm not sure how long they'll be able to stretch this kind of product-line out.

[Prosystemsearch]

SOURCE: You DO know you are on Atariage right? Newsflash we happen to just know a lot of this stuff. Nobody is looking to lie or give you misinformation, for what purpose? Next time you have a doubt then YOU verify it. If you are not going to accept others peoples answers then stop asking stupid questions. a simple googled search confirms regarding the Flashbacks controllers "although their plugs look identical, they are incompatible." The original Flashback is well known around here to be a piece of crap, looks like a miniature 7800 but in fact all the included 7800/ 2600 titles are ported to a NES on a chip and the controllers are incompatible. There is a Wiki as well as many links to be found with a simple Google search that will give you all this info and all the verification you need. The way you been acting would be like me signing up to a Vintage Car collectors sight, asking all kinds of questions and when given answers asking "SOURCE??????" of course I would dare not do such a thing because you know, that would make me an annoying TROLL.

Yes, my bad.

[NightSprinter]

Heh, source? Just wait until the move is done and I get my flashback1 and toolbag out of storage.. I'll step-by-step-teardown the thing in such detail, it'll make my OWN head spin! Actually.. head spinning wouldn't be so good with a bulging disc in the neck.. Let's just go for mind-blown.