Atari 5200 why no 5200 flashback?

[Prosystemsearch]

It's fine if one sees the 1st Atari Flashback is crap. I don't think it is. It's certainly not. something that will break if you touch it too hard or hit it only a few times. They tried. It was the first one. There were indeed things left to be desired in the emulation chipset, and they learned with the flashback 2, 2+ and 3.

[Bill Loguidice]

It's fine if one sees the 1st Atari Flashback is crap. I don't think it is. It's certainly not. something that will break if you touch it too hard or hit it only a few times. They tried. It was the first one. There were indeed things left to be desired in the emulation chipset, and they learned with the flashback 2, 2+ and 3.

 

I think the majority opinion is that the first Flashback was a major disappointment because it was so far off from the look, sound, and feel of the original games. It really put a poor light on both systems it was trying to simulate, though, as with anything, a few people still professed liking it. Certainly the opposite was true of the 2 and 2+, since it used what was effectively an Atari 2600 on a chip, right down to the ability to hack a cartridge port in. The 3, 4/64, and 5 took a third approach to emulating/simulating an Atari 2600, and the 3 and 4/64 had their own minor issues that were not present in the 2/2+. We'll need to see if the 5 is improved yet again over the 3 and 4, but that's been AtGames's way of doing things, so it's likely. It still may not be quite as good as the 2/2+, though.

[garyd97]

Do you know if ATGames is looking at doing a 7800 flashback at some point?

 

I think the majority opinion is that the first Flashback was a major disappointment because it was so far off from the look, sound, and feel of the original games. It really put a poor light on both systems it was trying to simulate, though, as with anything, a few people still professed liking it. Certainly the opposite was true of the 2 and 2+, since it used what was effectively an Atari 2600 on a chip, right down to the ability to hack a cartridge port in. The 3, 4/64, and 5 took a third approach to emulating/simulating an Atari 2600, and the 3 and 4/64 had their own minor issues that were not present in the 2/2+. We'll need to see if the 5 is improved yet again over the 3 and 4, but that's been AtGames's way of doing things, so it's likely. It still may not be quite as good as the 2/2+, though.

[Bill Loguidice]

Do you know if ATGames is looking at doing a 7800 flashback at some point?

 

No, since there's likely not enough nostalgia there or unique games to license, but it should be part of their digital strategy, so we'll so how future products develop. I wouldn't count on it as a stand-alone product, though.

[Flojomojo]

It's fine if one sees the 1st Atari Flashback is crap. I don't think it is. It's certainly not. something that will break if you touch it too hard or hit it only a few times. They tried. It was the first one. There were indeed things left to be desired in the emulation chipset, and they learned with the flashback 2, 2+ and 3.

It had 7800 Asteroids, Desert Falcon, and a Food Fight (sort of, anyway) as well as Solaris (again, sort of). I liked these games even though they weren't super well realized on the original flashback. It was the first in the series and proved what was possible.

 

Back on topic, the bulk of the 5200’s small library was arcade ports (done better elsewhere) and licensed games (unlikely to get paid for for reissue). I feel that MESS is your best bet for this system, especially since there's no easy plug-n-go Android emulator for it.

 

Alternative, snarky answer: there's not enough plastic in the world to replicate the enormous, empty space of a 5200 console.

[onmode-ky]

It's fine if one sees the 1st Atari Flashback is crap. I don't think it is. It's certainly not. something that will break if you touch it too hard or hit it only a few times. They tried. It was the first one. There were indeed things left to be desired in the emulation chipset, and they learned with the flashback 2, 2+ and 3.

Regarding the 3 phrases I boldfaced above, I think it might be helpful for you to take a look at a pair of posts I wrote not too long ago, this one and this one, both concerning the developmental technology and history of 2600-based plug-n-play game systems. They may give you some new perspective.

 

onmode-ky

[Prosystemsearch]

I realize the it is more likely that we will see an Atari XE flashback rather than a 5200 flashback.

[Mazerati]

on the next flashback the bonus game should be the 5200 version of Pengo...i would pick one up just for that awesome version

[themushroom]

I've got several of the Flashbacks and X-on-a-stick units from thriftstores, and my only NIB unit will be the Colecovision Flashback. The Flashback 5 looked interesting but there's plenty of overlap AFAIR with previous units, and I am willing to wait a couple years before one shows up at Goodwill or the Korean junkshop down the street -- this will happen.

 

I like them and admit that sometimes they get the game right, sometimes they don't. Recently bought a FB2 and the most obvious two quibbles I have are a) what, no back-to-menu button? b) Asteroids Deluxe rendered as a 2600 title yet not as well-crafted as Asteroids, which BTW the unit doesn't contain the real 2600 Asteroids either.

Edited December 13, 2014 by themushroom