Why do YOU collect Atari 2600 games?

[totallyterrificpants]

 

I own one of his albums. GG was nucking futs.

Same. I get my vinyl's from a local store and the guy who runs it has a few GG albums. I only have one, currently.

[Schizophretard]

Same. I get my vinyl's from a local store and the guy who runs it has a few GG albums. I only have one, currently.

 

I have had mine since high school. I have a lot of stuff from then including games obviously. Even clothes I still fit in. Someday if I ever go to a high school reunion I would like to show up in the same clothes they would recognize me in. Then play the part. Like if they said,"It has been a long time, man! Can I get your cell number?" Then I would respond,"I saw you just the other day in science class. Anyway, I can't even afford a pager. What makes you think I would be able to afford one of those big bulky things?"

[totallyterrificpants]

I like that idea. I approve.

[+Random Terrain]

Smart people collect Atari 2600 games because they attract da hot chix.

[totallyterrificpants]

Chicks dig it when you're a member of Pitfall Harry's Explorer's Club.

[Funkyspectrum]

I really loved the system from the start, it was the first gaming system i saw in the flesh but my parents couldn't afford to get me one so me and my friend would play it round at his house as he had one. He didn't have many games but we'd play them over and over, especially combat. i still think a lot of the games, despite the primitive graphics, are really playable. for me, playability isn't about how flashy the graphics are. i like systems from all eras but i do go back to the 2600 a lot and i still pick up titles for it from time to time, as and when i can afford to, despite having a harmony cart, too !

i really like the artwork on a lot of the carts, too, it really gives a fantastical glimpse into the realms you could imagine whilst playing the games as a little bit of imagination made the games much deeper too. i like how it wasn't "all laid on" in those days and you have to make your mind work for entertainment, too ! The cartridges still hold an allure for me and i'm always on the look out for them. sadly i live in spain now where the system doesn't seem to have been big at all. i have never seen a single one or game at thrift stores, which is a shame, so i do most of my buying online but i really love when i find an undiscovered treasure trove of games to buy for a reasonable price !

speaking of price, i think that's part of the thing, too. although some rare carts are expensive most games can be had reasonably inexpensively and that for me is a great part of collecting the games, too. i love the nes as a console, too, but the games on that are just a silly price these days. i suppose it was one of the first consoles that had "real" sprites etc so the games have a certain look. the 2600 looks very primitive, graphically, in comparison so i think the 16 year old collectors these days don't bother with it. this is a good thing ! i'm sure there must be a few younger collectors out there, though, but they definitely missed out on one of the greatest and most imaginative periods in gaming, i'd say !

[SSG]

So I was born in 95 and got my Atari in 2009. I originally started Atari because I had a phase for older games. Now I collect 2600 because I like arcade style games more than the new hand holding ones.

[thebiggw]

Chicks dig it when you're a member of Pitfall Harry's Explorer's Club.

 

This explains a lot because I was a "Mega-maniac"

[adamchevy]

I collect because of the originality of the system and games. I also collect because I am a programming enthusiast and I like the idea of a constrained environment that enables a person to create something great. The simplicity is really the genius of the Atari 2600. Because it looks simple and is fairly easy to understand, but under the surface it's truly complex and well thought out. Also, it's an American company, and as an American I am proud that video games were born in a big way in my country.

Edited August 22, 2016 by adamchevy

[Silverfleet]

While the NES is usually my go-to system for collecting (it was my first console that I called my own and the one I spent the most time with as a kid), I really love the Atari. Here's why:

 

I was born in 1982, and my family's first console was actually the Colecovision. That was my older sister's, and the first console I ever played. My cousins, also older than me, had an Atari 2600. Whenever we went over there to visit, they would be playing it, but they would never let me play it because I was very young and they were afraid I would break it. Around 1985-86, they got a NES, and the old 2600 got relegated to a TV in a guest bedroom. They would always be hogging the NES, so I would sneak off and play the 2600! My earliest Atari memory was actually sitting in that guest bedroom playing Air-Sea Battle and figuring out that you could change the game modes with the switches on the console. I thought that was so cool! They had a handful of other games I would play, including River Raid, Pitfall, and Popeye. I had it all to myself while they played the NES elsewhere in the house. That experience had a lasting impression on me.

 

A little later on, when I was around 11-12, another cousin found his dad's 2600jr and a shoe box of games and we hooked it up in his room. I think we spent more time playing that thing than his shiny new Model 2 Genesis. I remember playing Alien, M.A.S.H., and Star Voyager on that thing for hours! I don't know what it was about it, but the games were addictive and fun.

 

It wasn't until college that I actually bought my own. I picked up a box containing 100+ games, instructions, a 4-switch woody, and a pile of controllers for $35. Instant collection! Since then, I have amassed about 200 carts and a bunch of controllers, consoles, and more. I also picked up a 5200 along the way, and even a Jaguar. When I saw cheap Atari stuff I didn't have, I bought it. And I still do.

 

Ever since playing my cousins' abandoned Atari all those years ago, I had an immediate connection with it. I'm the kind of person that has to know everything about the stuff they like, so I find all the backstories and inside details of how the games were made fascinating. And part of that is collecting and playing the games themselves. I also love the aesthetic side of it. The console and cartridge variants are fun to collect, and I love getting boxed stuff for the cover art. And then there's the gameplay. For me, it's more impressive to play a fun game on the 2600 than to play something from the modern era.The arcade ports really interest me as well, as I like to see the differences and compromises they had to make to get it to work, especially on a 2600. Now, if I could track down a reasonably priced 7800...

[Keatah]

I collect because of the originality of the system and games. I also collect because I am a programming enthusiast and I like the idea of a constrained environment that enables a person to create something great. The simplicity is really the genius of the Atari 2600. Because it looks simple and is fairly easy to understand, but under the surface it's truly complex and well thought out. Also, it's an American company, and as an American I am proud that video games were born in a big way in my country.

 

I don't believe the versatility and complexity was purposely put in there. Not even nary a hint of today's VCS games were envisioned back then. It's just a lot of open-endedness and loose-ends that are being exploited. Remember, the original console was made to play only a handful of simple pong-like games with a limited number of objects and a mirrored playfield.

Edited August 22, 2016 by Keatah

[Flojomojo]

First you get the money

Then you get the power

Then you get the Atari games

[adamchevy]

 

I don't believe the versatility and complexity was purposely put in there. Not even nary a hint of today's VCS games were envisioned back then. It's just a lot of open-endedness and loose-ends that are being exploited. Remember, the original console was made to play only a handful of simple pong-like games with a limited number of objects and a mirrored playfield.

Yet another reason it's great to collect for. How many systems today were meant to be amazing, and are cookie cutter crap.

[Keatah]

Today? Not a whole helluva lot. I see (correctly or incorrectly) a lot of cookie-cutter material, little creativity, and everything following a safe formula.

[high voltage]

stamp collecting is boring

[kennetzel]

I collect because it brings back great memories. I was born in 1958, so the console didn't come out till I was in my early 20's. I got my first credit card and the Atari was the first thing I bought with it. That and the Space Invaders cart. I love Space Invaders. Between me and a friend of mine, we played that cart to no end. I ended up getting like thirty carts for the thing. I then packed it away when I made a move, and never unpacked it. One day I was going through some boxes, and there it was. I pulled it out, hooked it up and it worked like new, as did all the games. I got hooked again. I then started getting games I always wanted but never did back in the day off EBay. Now I have a few of the new ones, and keep checking the auction sites for more I never had. But they always bring back the memories of when I first got it...the visuals, the sounds...priceless.

[Jinks]

I collect because it brings back great memories. I was born in 1958, so the console didn't come out till I was in my early 20's. I got my first credit card and the Atari was the first thing I bought with it. That and the Space Invaders cart. I love Space Invaders. Between me and a friend of mine, we played that cart to no end. I ended up getting like thirty carts for the thing. I then packed it away when I made a move, and never unpacked it. One day I was going through some boxes, and there it was. I pulled it out, hooked it up and it worked like new, as did all the games. I got hooked again. I then started getting games I always wanted but never did back in the day off EBay. Now I have a few of the new ones, and keep checking the auction sites for more I never had. But they always bring back the memories of when I first got it...the visuals, the sounds...priceless.

Awesome!! Never put it away again!!

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

I was born during the time the 2600 was getting towards it's peak (1981). That was the first system I played as a kid before I was turned on to the NES, Genesis, and the SNES. I have about 250 carts as well as emulation through xboxes and the Wii. I enjoy it due to the fact is that it's simple, easy to learn without much of a curve, and a simple joystick. I always love the carts. They remind me of 8 track tapes with all of the cool and varied label designs from Atari to many of the third parties. A simple system but fun to use your imagination while playing.

[atari_envy]

I don't collect much anymore (money is a bit tight and I have most of what I really want). But when I did, it was like reliving my childhood. I was 10 back in 1980, and Atari was THE thing. My family couldn't afford a system, so I played at my friends.

 

Finally having my own system and buying lots of games was like getting the Christmas presents I always wanted over and over. Today, when I am having a crappy day/week, I go up to my Atari nook and let the smile slowly creep over my face while I enjoy some nostalgia.

[Bixler]

22-year old here, soon to be 23. My interest in Atari stems from a few interrelated factors:

• Lack of time. As my days grew more stressful, life got busier in college, and I got a girlfriend, the time to play longer, more involved video games evaporated pretty quickly. On a tight budget, I figured what the hell – I've always liked arcade games and shooting for high scores, and I've always enjoyed older video games, so I might as well give Atari a shot. Glad I did, too: I've gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the system that bennybingo sold to me for cheap years ago (gorgeous little 2600 Jr.)
• Comic books and budget. With my lack of time also unfortunately came a lack of time to read longer novels. Also, as a humanities student, I was reading upwards of 400-500 pages a week of dense material. Given how tired I was at the end of each day, I started to turn to comic books to get a bit of reading in before bed. Now I'm totally in love with the medium, and I've read many dozens of fantastic stories contained in both Western comics and manga. In turn, given this new hobby, my budget for video games also dwindled to virtually nothing. 2600 games are generally dirt cheap compared to modern video games (even 3DS games are, what, $30-$40 a pop?!) While I use a Harmony Encore now and have sold nearly all of my old carts, so I'm not a "collector," the price is great for how much content you get with the Harmony.
• High scores and comparative simplicity. While I still love a good story, I just don't have the time for RPGs or similarly involved, long games anymore – hence my growing interest in playing for a high score. Playing a 2600 game is so damn easy – press the "on" button, select a game from the Harmony menu, and you're off to the races with one button and a joystick. Manuals aren't even needed for many games; you can figure them out on your own pretty quickly. Well, that is, until you want to try some of the alternative game modes or really dig into the core of a game. Might have to hit up the AA manual archives for those.

Overall I'd say my tastes have changed as I have grown older, and I love firing up some tunes or a podcast and playing my 2600 for an hour or two to unwind at the end of the week. Timeless fun

[gilsaluki]

Fell into the collecting buzz. I too am old (1959). Mom bought me an 800XL in 1983 as a Christmas present (I was already married). Actually, I barely remember the 2600 when I was in high school and subsequently a young Airman in the USAF. I do remember one of the sergeants bringing in a TV and a 2600 to the shop (slow night). I thought it was real cool, but couldn't begin to afford it at my low military salary at the time. Years past, I have kids. I go am on temporary duty (TDY) to Keesler AFB, MS for training. Nothing to do in the room I went to a pawn shop. For $75 I got a 7800 with 75 games! That was it; game on as it were. Here I am still playing with the darned thing. Now have hundreds of carts and 5 systems. Can't get the Fuji out of me.

[Stage_1_Boss]

Some simple answers from me..

My cousins and I grew up with one of our first gaming systems being the Atari VCS / 2600, so I have some nostalgia attached to certain 2600 games. On top of that, I've had dreams where I'm at thrift stores, swap meets or yard sales and coming across games I never knew existed for Atari (and sometimes NES) .. most which don't actually exist, but, it's kinda neat when it happens.

[Dr Manhattan]

To play them, and really, for no other reason. The Atari 2600 is probably my all time favorite console. It's games still have incredible play value.

 

Also nothing beats a box full of carts and your 2600.

[IsARealBoy88]

Honestly, I was never really into video games at all until I was given a 2600 just a few months ago. But I fell in love with it as both a machine and because of the fact that it is still being produced for. I love the idea of this many people still playing and creating for a medium that is now decades old. Not to mention the games are actually good and hold my attention... Unlike new game systems.

[ZippyRedPlumber]

I collect games because of the simplicity & fun of the games & how arcade'like they are. Unlike the more complex games of today.

I also collect games for their obscurity.