Questions for original XEGS owners/users

[BassGuitari]

One of the things I find most interesting about old systems are the stories of peoples' experiences with them in their time and place. Particularly if they're a little off the beaten path. In this case, I'd like to get more insight into the XEGS scene (if there really was such a thing?). I'm hoping people who owned, used, or at least saw the XEGS in the late '80s or '90s can enlighten me on some specific things I'm curious about regarding this console:

 

- When did you get your XEGS, and from where (retail store, second-hand, mail/direct order, etc., liquidator, etc.)?

- Were other platforms under consideration before it was purchased?

- Was it your primary gaming/computer platform? Did you have other systems in addition to your XEGS?

- Was it your first Atari 8-bit hardware, or a replacement/compliment to previous Atari computers you had?

- Did you use it as a video game console, or as a personal computer?

- If you used a disk drive or tape drive, which model?

- The XEGS came with one gray CX40 joystick which I don't believe was sold separately (at least in North America); what joystick/controller did you use for two-player games, or in lieu of the gray CX40?

- Or were you able to source a second gray CX40, and if so, how?

- Apart from the included XG-1 light gun (and, depending on how you look at it, the keyboard) what peripherals or optional controllers did you have for your XEGS? And were they purchased new /NOS around the time you got your XEGS or were they older "legacy" or "hand-me-down" items?

- Did you use a mouse with your XEGS?

- If you used a Trak-Ball, which model?

- Aside from the repackaged Blue Box cartridges and small-box "Also Plays On XE/XL Computers" titles, what other software did you have? And were they purchased new or were they older "hand-me-down" carts/disks/tapes? (Was NOS software from the likes of Parker Bros., Sega, and Activision, or early '80s Atari 400/800 stuff still available?)

- What magazines, periodicals, or other publications did you read regarding the XEGS?

- Were there any local XEGS clubs or user groups?

 

Thanks in advance for any responses you can provide! ?

[Justin Payne]

Well, unfortunately for this topic, I only received my XEGS about a year ago from a very generous person. Back in the day I owned a 800 and eventually "upgraded" to a 130xe. I do remember seeing the XEGS at my local Toys R Us and thinking, "Wow. They're still selling the Atari 8-bit line". I mean, most people had moved onto 16 bit computers and the NES was dominating the console market. The entire line had the advantage of having a ton of software already available and probably picked up used for a song but you just couldn't beat the graphics of the newer systems. I think this was targeted at parents who wanted to get their kid a computer, without breaking the bank, while at the same time satisfy their kids desire for a console.

 

[leech]

I got my XEGS, along with my first 130XE, 800, 600XL, 4 1050s, two Indus GTs... all from the Deseret Industries way back when.  Sadly I only have one 1050 left, but I still have all the others.

At least the XEGS had the keyboard with it.  Sadly none of the bundled games though.

[+Eyvind Bernhardsen]

My parents bought an XEGS from a friend in 1992ish for my younger siblings to use because I’d gone off to university with the family 800XL, and a year or two later I bought one for myself at liquidation prices as dealers were getting rid of their Atari stock. They’re both still working, though one of the keyboards has gone bad.

 

I also got a few of the XEGS cartridges, but the only one I can remember is Rescue on Fractalus. My brother has most of the cartridge collection now.

 

Since I already had an 800XL I didn't get any peripherals specifically for the XEGS, but I did buy a used XF-551 and an XC-12 around the same time, and I already had a 1050 and an Indus GT. I bought a lot of second hand software and hardware, I particularly remember getting The Eidolon and Koronis Rift, and paddle controllers. No trackball, sadly. 

 

By then Atari magazines were getting thin on the ground, but I subscribed to New Atari User until it folded. I didn’t know anybody near me who owned an 8-bit Atari.

[Mathy]

Hello guys

 

I don't know how many Atari 8 bit computers I already owned before I got my first XEGS, but it wasn't my first one.  A local computer store, selling PCs today, but back then they sold Amiga's, from a shop in the cellar of the house the owner lives in, somehow bought a bunch of XEGSs and was selling them for IIRC 55 Dutch Guilders (25 Euros).  So I got me one and found out it came with an Italian power plug, which of course wouldn't fit in a Dutch socket.  But that was not the problem, the problem was, this one didn't work.  So I brought it back and exchanged it for a working one.  And asked what they were gonna do with the broken one.  Can't remember what they said, but I told them I'd buy the broken one for 10 to 15 Dutch Guilders.  That's how I became the owner of two XEGSs.  IIRC Guus Assmann fixed the broken one for me for the price of one XEP80 (I had three at the time).  Years after that, I upgraded one of them to 64kB + 1024kB of RAM with full software control over BASIC, OS ROM/RAM, Selftest and Missile Command.  And separate ANTIC and CPU access.  (Read all about that here.)

 

Silly thing is, one of them came with the famous grey CX40, the other with a standard black one.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

 

 

[+slx]

IIRC I got my XEGS (Spanish) NIB at a kind of computer fair that was held next to a hotel in Maastricht in late 1994 or early 1995. I think it was from a dealer and cost 650 fl but am not very sure about that. It was my third Atari after a new 800 and second-hand 800XL and I never used it except for testing. 

[mutterminder]

I got mine first one in Price Club or Sam's Club in the early 90's.  I had previously had an 800XL in the early 80's however, by the time I saw the XEGS, I was a firmly entrenched Atari ST user.  However the XEGS package was attractively priced and made me nostalgic for my old Atari so I picked one up. However, since it didn't have a tape deck, or a floppy disk drive, and those were not commonly available at the time, it turned out to be more of a novelty, as all I could get were the re-release cartridges. Some of these were at Toys R Us, but it didn't seem a good investment for my gaming dollars, with my Atari ST and my Sega Genesis having much better games.  I think I ended up scratching my 8-bit itch at the time by running an Atari 800 emulator on the ST.