Atari is simpler times

[BIGHMW]

37 minutes ago, BIGHMW said:

1983, when I got my first 5200 unit (May 19th, 17th birthday), we had Men Without Hats, the rest is history.

 

Things were more simple back then, and the games were (and still are!) great too!!!

SPEAKING OF Men Without Hats, well....

 

 

[zzip]

15 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

Radio 1990 (on USA weekdays at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT, remember it, sponsored by Atari, of course!!!)

Oh yes, I remember this   We still had 13-channel knob TV sets without cable boxes.   The cable company decided to put USA network on a low channel, so this was the only way I could get music videos for awhile.   And yes they did show lots of Atari commercials! 

[marlowe221]

I totally understand the sentiment in the OP even though I came to the system a little later than most people in the forum.

 

I didn't get mine until '89 or so (I was born in '82). I wanted an NES like all my friends had but we couldn't afford it. Instead my mother picked up a Vader model and 20-ish carts at a yard sale for $40. I was thrilled to have it and played the crap out of it. I still have that console and it still works to this day. It was my only console until 1993 when I got an SNES - even then I would still trade it out with the 2600 at times and play it instead of the newer console.

 

Now I keep a Retron 77 and a small stack of games on my computer desk hooked to my monitor at all times. I can switch over inputs and have a quick game of Beamrider or Galaxian any time. It's great! I play plenty of modern games too (though more indie games and fewer AAA games as time goes on) but I will always make sure I have a way to play Atari. It just fills a gap that nothing else really does for me.

[BIGHMW]

Agreed. Fully.

 

BTW, here in Port Townsend, WA back when I first moved up here from L.A. back in 1987, I brought my original 5200 unit and also my Intellivision II I acquired in a trade/loan in 1984 for a pair of headphones as collateral with an old friend of mine, and before I left I picked up 4 new CX52 controllers knowing we would be so isolated from the rest of the "real" world. But, after moving, I also found some mail-order distributors of Atari cartridges so I was able to get a ton of 5200 carts back then, I also started to support the Intellivision II as well, scoring tons of carts from Toys R Us (mostly INTV brand carts as they took over naming rights) and accessories, and also I hit the now-defunct Community Thrift Store as well as many other second hand shops in the area as well, where I was able to acquire a working ColecoVision and also a couple of Woody 2600 (2600A) units (and a long rainbow Jr.) as well as tons of used games and accessories all cheap at that too.

 

Then came the late-90s/early 2000s and I had to downsize so I only kept the 2600 and my 5200, and then, only the 5200, as I decided that if it came down to only one unit it would be the one i have had first. Then came the discovery of AtariAge (and later other online distributors too, like videogames.org, and AtariMax and all the rest), and today here I am, single for the past 3 years, proud to be single, and armed with all of Atari's 4 major cartridge units (2600, 5200, 7800, and the XEGS), and enjoying a second youth, not just because of my developmental and psychiatric issues but also because I truly believe that if you act younger, you'll live longer too as a consequence. I also preach "youthful enthusiasm" among people like myself in our 50s.

 

Truly Atari was (and can be again) a sign of simpler times. Hopefully those times will come again, and with the retro-gaming industry at its peak of popularity almost to the point where it is now mainstream, I'm sure they will. Like they say, what goes around, comes around.

[Ed in Rancho]

Adventure remains one of my favorite games, and the graphics are as rudimentary as you get can.

I loved the sounds in Street Racer, also very rudimentary but fun.  Too bad it was 2-player only.

I spent many hours on Break-out.  Basic gameplay, but very addictive

[MegaTurrican]

Hello, Im new here and I agree, Atari is simpler times back when game were fun I had good times with Seaquest, Pacman, Decathlon, Jungle Hunt, Bowling...with friends and family.

I left modern games 1 year ago, I sold xbox one, 3ds and rest of modern system very tired, not funny anymore and I'm coming back to the roots.

 

- Atari is the purest form of videogame:

* Highscore games with awesome replayability.

* Very short games and feel good when you finish.

* Real games not interactive movies with sad and depressing arguments and/or endless farming.

* I don't think on finish game, only enjoy.

* Great covers and art not generic manga/anime plague of almost all modern games.