comical 5200 mention in 1990 VG&CE

[unoclay]

Was reading one of my old issues of Video Games and Computer Entertainment (Nov 1990, Elvira on the cover), came across this little joyful nugget in an article about video game controllers (authors Bill Kunkel and Joyce Worley, both since deceased ;'[   )  

 

not typing out the whole thing, but the relevant text:

 

Between the game and the gamer stands the controller........an inadequate controller can sabotage the best hardware in the world.  Want proof?  Ask an old-time gamer about the Atari 5200.

The Atari 5200 was Atari's long-awaited, vaunted followup to the 2600........and (included) one of the most ineptly designed joystick controllers in history.  The only place you're likely to find a 5200 today is in an electronic-gaming museum, while the system it was designed to replace, 2600, continues to sell......

 

Envisioning the  2020 retro gaming community, in 1990, was clearly beyond the scope of this article.  ;']

Loved this magazine, and its so fun to re-read the style and content of early game journalism, even when they get stuff "wrong".

 

 

[fiddlepaddle]

In general, journalists are terrible prognosticators. They are trained to document the past, and that focus can blind a person to potential futures.

Not sure I'd agree the 5200 controller sabotaged the system. it's really OK for a lot of games. As far as reliability goes, I remember my original controllers had some problems long after the warranty was out and Atari replaced them free of charge and they still work. I have taken them apart to clean and applied Caig R5 Power Booster to the contacts.

[unoclay]

the controllers didnt help anything at all.  but the video game crash was the real culprit that killed Atari's fortunes, and then a little Japanese import of a family "computer" system shortly later.....

 

I remember the controllers being a big problem when we were kids.  My grandpa would repair them, i think (airplane mechanic) and i do think the reason i ended up with a Wico (still have it today) was the ongoing frustration with those breakable flawed controllers.  Pretty sure my gram went to Hills dept store and just grabbed the Wico to solve the issue.  Cant thank her enough for that one.

[phuzaxeman]

In time, everyone knows the flex erodes and the buttons won't work. However, almost every review that came out in that time of the 5200 release never talked about the controller ruining the system. It's Yeats later when the controller didnt function is when the hate came out. 

Edited November 21, 2020 by phuzaxeman

[bohoki]

yea the controllers were lacking but yea the 2600 was still on shelves in 1990 probably the last year i remember them at kb toys there was a flood of master system stuff about then

[reklen]

I remember working at Toys R Us in 1993 or 1994.  Still carried the games, but not the system.  Couldn't give away those Turbo Graphx games and systems.  I remember buying a Sega CD for fifty dollars, but not the Turbo for twenty.  Sega CD is still worth about fifty but I paid alot more for the Turbo when I finally got one last year.  Wasn't into games in the Nineties as I am now or in the 80s.

 

[Lynxpro]

Warner forced Atari Inc to discontinue the 5200 even though it was projected to eclipse the Colecovision in sales within a few more months. It wasn't because of the controller. It was because the Colecovision was $100 cheaper from the start and grabbed mindshare in gamers' imaginations early on because of its 2600 Adapter [Expansion Module I (?)] option when Warner had put the kibosh on Atari's own engineers demanding that the 5200 be backwards-compatible with the 2600 from the start. GCC would then whisper sweet nothings into Warner's ears about being able to design an even-more-advanced-yet-2600-compatible-console that would also be cheaper to manufacture to boot that got the 5200 suicided.

Edited December 11, 2020 by Lynxpro