7800 vs. XEGS: which would you prefer?

[BassGuitari]

I have my eyes on getting an Atari XE game system next. I own an Atari 7800 already, but the appeal of the XE to me is the same as the 7800 - just as the 7800 plays all 2600 games, the XE plays (almost) the entire Atari 800 cartridge library. That's also not counting the disk-based and cassette-based game should I choose to invest in those peripherals.

From a collecting or retrogaming standpoint, definitely. Between the XEGS and 7800, you're getting the best of all worlds. 2600, 400/800 (which--at the risk of oversimplifying--you can essentially lump the 5200 into as well, for the most part), and 7800 functionality all in those two systems. That's a pretty good spread of software there.

 

But if I were me in the late '80s I don't know how stoked I'd have been on a new system that essentially only played old computer games, unless maybe I'd had an 800 or an XL with a bunch of games that I still played once in a while but my system died, or something. OTOH I was a very small child around that time and I loved Blue Max on my parents' old C64, so I probably would have wanted an XEGS just for that.

[7800Lover]

From a collecting or retrogaming standpoint, definitely. Between the XEGS and 7800, you're getting the best of all worlds. 2600, 400/800 (which--at the risk of oversimplifying--you can essentially lump the 5200 into as well, for the most part), and 7800 functionality all in those two systems. That's a pretty good spread of software there.

 

But if I were me in the late '80s I don't know how stoked I'd have been on a new system that essentially only played old computer games, unless maybe I'd had an 800 or an XL with a bunch of games that I still played once in a while but my system died, or something. OTOH I was a very small child around that time and I loved Blue Max on my parents' old C64, so I probably would have wanted an XEGS just for that.

 

Funny you mention that. I do know that the XE's compatibility with the Atari 800 disk library was how it was pitched on television.

 

 

On paper, that makes it sound like the Atari XE was superior to the NES. The problem was that when that commercial was aired, the NES was light years ahead of the Atari 8-bit computers. The XE was based on late 1970s technology and its games were considered to be archaic compared to the innovative NES titles at the time like Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, Punch-Out, etc.

 

That may not have sold the XE back then, but to retro enthusiasts like me nowadays, it certainly does.

[Ransom]

Yeah, but the Atari had the amazing Flight Simulator cartridge! And Bug Hunt! And a keyboard for advanced computer games! And....a REAL joystick!

 

It was a decent try at marketing it, but realistically it was never going to convince many people.

[+save2600]

I know you've got the keyboard, but that bog standard single button joystick model, despite changing up the color, was never going to cut it by the mid, let alone late 80's. Horrible oversight not to partially redesign the CX40 and add another button or go with a CX78 style pad at the very least. Computers such as the C64, Amiga and ST and their games would have benefited greatly had a simple 2-button design been implemented and adopted early on, starting with the A8 line. Boggles the mind why it wasn't, and all platform games relying on UP to jump, across a variety of systems since all suffered as a result.

Hell, despite being analog (at least it had a better self centering mech), even the Apple ][ had a nice 2-button joystick all those years ago.

[BassGuitari]

I know you've got the keyboard, but that bog standard single button joystick model, despite changing up the color, was never going to cut it by the mid, let alone late 80's. Horrible oversight not to partially redesign the CX40 and add another button or go with a CX78 style pad at the very least. Computers such as the C64, Amiga and ST and their games would have benefited greatly had a simple 2-button design been implemented early on. Boggles the mind why it wasn't and all platform games relying on UP to jump suffered as a result.

Can't really speak to the Amiga or Atari ST, which definitely should have had 2-button controllers minimum. But it makes sense, in a paradoxical way considering the XEGS itself made little sense, that Atari Corp. would just ship CX40s with the XEGS since all that system really was was an attempt to liquidate old hardware and backstock of software. They were never going to invest much in it.

 

OTOH, yeah, they already had the ProLine joystick, and I think the CX78 was also being packed with PAL 7800s and some 2600jrs at the time. Shitty as that was, at least it had two fire buttons that new XEGS-exclusive games could have used*. OTOOH, the 7800 was supposed to be their flagship system so maybe it made sense not to push new software on the XE?

 

*Or maybe the old XL/XE architecture simply didn't support multiple fire buttons?

[+save2600]

Oh yeah, you bet the A8 and 2600 architecture could/can support 2-buttons... they just chose NOT to ever design or upgrade the standard joystick to take advantage of the capability. I know I'm dreaming here, but imagine had there been a standard 2-button config all along. Talking about starting with the Atari 400/800. A little something extra to help distinguish their brilliant new computer line from their old original VCS game machine. Had *that* been the case, the Amiga/ST, XEGS, C64 etc. would have all had 2-button joysticks available as standard instead.

 

And no silly "Booster Grip" adapter needed for games like Omega Race either.

 

[mbd30]

Yeah, but the Atari had the amazing Flight Simulator cartridge!

 

It runs at an amazing 1 fps.

[Flojomojo]

How much (on average) did those Atari 8-Bit cartridges cost when new? There were more of them than I realized.

[BassGuitari]

How much (on average) did those Atari 8-Bit cartridges cost when new? There were more of them than I realized.

Do you mean the older 400/800 and XL carts, or the gray-shelled XEGS (re)releases?

 

I've got a 400/800 giganto-box Defender that IIRC has a $39.99 price tag on it.

[Flojomojo]

Do you mean the older 400/800 and XL carts, or the gray-shelled XEGS (re)releases?

 

I've got a 400/800 giganto-box Defender that IIRC has a $39.99 price tag on it.

I wouldn't know the difference, other than XEGS came out later. That $40 price is as I expected ... sheesh. That's like $100 today.

 

[BassGuitari]

I wouldn't know the difference, other than XEGS came out later. That $40 price is as I expected ... sheesh. That's like $100 today.

The older carts had dark brown shells with a metal back and top that was printed with "Left Cartridge" or some such.

 

The XEGS carts had light gray/off-white colored shells, sometimes with the same side "ribs" as found on 5200 carts, and sometimes smooth with a small lip and grip surface on the back (some XE carts came in both styles, others only one or the other, but I think the smooth type came later...not sure). In addition to the "new" XEGS games that had the blue labels and packaging, several older games were re-released in the gray shells but retained the silver XL-style label and packaging.

 

 

[Flojomojo]

Check this out ... Atari 8-bit computers for $70 via mail order ... in 1985. I don't know anything about the company or its reliability, but wow if this is how those old machines were valued at the time, XEGS at any price seems like a hard sell.

[+save2600]

Check this out ... Atari 8-bit computers for $70 via mail order ... in 1985. I don't know anything about the company or its reliability, but wow if this is how those old machines were valued at the time, XEGS at any price seems like a hard sell.

 

I still drool over ads like that, but yeah... CMO was legit and one of the best/most popular mail order companies of the time. Cool to see an Atari only ad of theirs, but makes sense since it was featured in an Atari magazine. They sold Commodore, Apple/Franklin/Ace and other brands too.

 

Lots of other great companies in that issue... Lyco, Computer Creations, World Trade and several more. Those were the days!

[Flojomojo]

At those prices, it would have been worth getting a $70 Atari 8-Bit just to play all those $5 cartridges, assuming any of them were in stock. Glad to hear this place wasn't as sketchy as it kinda seems.

[+GoldenWheels]

Check this out ... Atari 8-bit computers for $70 via mail order ... in 1985. I don't know anything about the company or its reliability, but wow if this is how those old machines were valued at the time, XEGS at any price seems like a hard sell.

yeah but if it's not an XEGS you miss out on the awesome case design and color scheme.

 

Wait....

[Eltigro]

Oh yeah, you bet the A8 and 2600 architecture could/can support 2-buttons... they just chose NOT to ever design or upgrade the standard joystick to take advantage of the capability.

 

 

Am I remembering correctly that there are some homebrew 2600 carts that take advantage of a second controller button when using a Genesis controller? I'm not up on all the latest homebrew stuff, but I thought someone mentioned that somewhere.

 

Edit: Yeah, here's a thread about it. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/158430-rom-hacks-to-support-2-buttons-with-genesis-controllers/

Edited January 30, 2017 by Eltigro

[Master Phruby]

Check this out ... Atari 8-bit computers for $70 via mail order ... in 1985. I don't know anything about the company or its reliability, but wow if this is how those old machines were valued at the time, XEGS at any price seems like a hard sell.

The 400/800/1200xl were all old stock by then. They were probably clearing them out for XE line.

[BassGuitari]

The 400/800/1200xl were all old stock by then. They were probably clearing them out for XE line.

I believe so, yeah. Gotta think, Atari stopped making the 400 and 800 in, what, early 1983? And the 1200XL only lasted a couple of months around the same time before the series standardized around the 800XL, and even that was on its way out by '85, what with Atari Corp. coming out with the 65XE and 130XE (and, later, the XEGS).

[Hillninja83]

I had a XEGS in 1987 when my family moved back to England from Germany (army child) I had no concept of video games was given it on Xmas day. I hold that console/computer hybrid In high regard but the blue xegs Carts go for silly money nowadays whilst the 7800 variants are a lot cheaper. Still go with XEGS due to missile command, lode runner and rescue on fractulus.

[+GoldenWheels]

On 1/30/2017 at 10:10 AM, Ransom said:

Yeah, but the Atari had the amazing Flight Simulator cartridge! And Bug Hunt! And a keyboard for advanced computer games! And....a REAL joystick!

 

It was a decent try at marketing it, but realistically it was never going to convince many people.

Fooled my parents! XD

[+save2600]

On 1/13/2017 at 9:39 PM, 8th lutz said:

I am going to a little farther. Atari made a mistake doing "The fun is back" Commercial. My younger brother and I remembered seeing that commercial either in 1987 or 1988.

O/T

 

Spoiler

Since this thread was bumped, re-examined some of the comments. While I personally loved the commercial back then, it's pretty true; a little too soon. Imagine if that "fun is back" campaign had hit during the Jaguar's life... better timing as the mid 90's is when more people were feeling nostalgic and getting into collecting. Think VCS compilation carts, which *was* talked about early on. But like Lynx compatibility - the concept vanished into thin air.

 

[MrMaddog]

20 hours ago, GoldenWheels said:

Fooled my parents! XD

 

More people did buy the XEGS as a home computer rather as a NES-killing console, ironic since the XEGS was redesigned because toy stores wanted to sell game consoles instead of computers.