Done with Atari (sort of)

[WizWor]

I'll be 59 in April.  I got my first Atari when I was 16 (2600) and my first Atari computer when I was 18.  That was a 400 and it was $99.99 after a $50 rebate.  My first computer and my first rebate.  Great day.  An 800XL, a 1050 disk drive, and a 1027 printer got me through college.  Over the years, I have accumulated a lot of Atari hardware and software including a 1200XL, a few 800XLs, some 130XEs, and countless XEGS consoles.  I have boxes of carts (no ET) and have burned some games onto a cart myself.  I have an SD card reader for my Atari.  I stored my Atari stuff when I bought a 80286 computer.  When I had kids, I literally bought a hundred joysticks off ebay and we re-discovered Wizard of Wor, Bruce Lee, and many other great games.  It's  been a great ride.

 

But the reason I got a 2600 and all the Atari computers that followed was so that I could play very good imitations of the awesome games at the arcades.  

 

In November I purchased a Legends Ultimate Arcade.  It is awesome.  It's a free standing, full size arcade machine.  The controls are top notch.  Audio and video are great.  While it includes hundreds of great games, what is truly amazing is that you can play your own games on this machine.  I have compiled a collection of my favorite Atari games to play, but I have also enjoyed playing the games that the Atari titles are based on.  It truly takes me back to my youth.

 

I'm not ready to list my Atari hardware on Craig's List, but I honestly cannot see me playing games on an XEGS with a Wico Boss ever again.  

 

When I was a kid, I loved that I could power on my Atari computer and lose myself in a great arcade game.  Right now, I feel that way with the LUA.

 

Like I said, I'm not ready to liquidate my collection.  I expect to have an Atari computer in my home until my last breath.  I just won't be playing arcade games on it.

 

Have you seen these things?  Are you curious?  Have you bought one.  What do you think?

[mellis]

2 hours ago, WizWor said:

I'll be 59 in April.  I got my first Atari when I was 16 (2600) and my first Atari computer when I was 18.  That was a 400 and it was $99.99 after a $50 rebate.  My first computer and my first rebate.  Great day.  An 800XL, a 1050 disk drive, and a 1027 printer got me through college.  Over the years, I have accumulated a lot of Atari hardware and software including a 1200XL, a few 800XLs, some 130XEs, and countless XEGS consoles.  I have boxes of carts (no ET) and have burned some games onto a cart myself.  I have an SD card reader for my Atari.  I stored my Atari stuff when I bought a 80286 computer.  When I had kids, I literally bought a hundred joysticks off ebay and we re-discovered Wizard of Wor, Bruce Lee, and many other great games.  It's  been a great ride.

 

But the reason I got a 2600 and all the Atari computers that followed was so that I could play very good imitations of the awesome games at the arcades.  

 

In November I purchased a Legends Ultimate Arcade.  It is awesome.  It's a free standing, full size arcade machine.  The controls are top notch.  Audio and video are great.  While it includes hundreds of great games, what is truly amazing is that you can play your own games on this machine.  I have compiled a collection of my favorite Atari games to play, but I have also enjoyed playing the games that the Atari titles are based on.  It truly takes me back to my youth.

 

I'm not ready to list my Atari hardware on Craig's List, but I honestly cannot see me playing games on an XEGS with a Wico Boss ever again.  

 

When I was a kid, I loved that I could power on my Atari computer and lose myself in a great arcade game.  Right now, I feel that way with the LUA.

 

Like I said, I'm not ready to liquidate my collection.  I expect to have an Atari computer in my home until my last breath.  I just won't be playing arcade games on it.

 

Have you seen these things?  Are you curious?  Have you bought one.  What do you think?

Yes - and I prefer my Ataris. 

[+gnusto]

Play the way that rewards you the most of course.

 

I've had a full sized stand up MAME machine almost two decades; updated it a few times, and have really pretty much everything for it. I even ripped some of my PS3 games and play those on it too, and all the old arcade classics are of course perfect with fast enough hardware and a good monitor (so hard to find color accurate 5:4s these days...glad I still have a couple!).

 

I also have Altirra configured on that machine with a front end that can be play basically any Atari game ever made.

 

I still find myself using my 1088XEL a lot though. There are two reasons:

 

1) The hardware just has the right feel - sure, I've got everything loading off a cart or SIDE now, but it still feels like when I was a kid and all of this was new.

2) The versions of some of these games are arguably better on the 8-bit. It's all subjective and I'm sure many would disagree with me, but for myself, a game like Donkey Kong is *better* on the Atari than it was in arcades. It's higher resolution in the arcade version, but it plays different timing, and I like the Atari timing better. There are several games like that for me.

 

Now #2 I can still get with Altirra and on the arcade box, but when I'm playing an 8-bit game, I tend to default to the hardware. Goes back to #1 I guess.

[Mazzspeed]

You jump from hobby to hobby, today it's the arcade machine, tomorrow you might see a nice retro amplifier on FB maketplace and get into restoring that.

 

I do the same thing, you do whatever makes you feel good at the time. Life's too short to dwell on details.

[+slx]

Having very few arcades here, I only played arcade games a couple of times a year and while my Atari 800 saw a lot of gaming action, I also did a lot of programming on it. I can imagine that a real arcade stick will beat any arcade experience you could have on the 8-bit (and the LUA can probably recreate any Atari VCS/8-bit arcade conversion you have fond memories of). 

 

I'll keep my Ataris because I like the hardware haptics (just carrying around an 800 or letting the 400 cart door flip open) and because of that programming aspect, but then I'm more of a hoarder and find it hard to let go of stuff (and even regret having given away some Atari and other Retro stuff for next to nothing when I was unable to sell them for any price 10-15 years ago).

 

I find arcade games a bit lesss enticing these days than I did when there was less choice, especially when they're repetitive and the only goal is to score ever higher and higher. Even more than in the 80's I prefer games where there is some kind of "progress", where you see new stuff/areas coming up, etc. 

[WizWor]

6 hours ago, gnusto said:

I've had a full sized stand up MAME machine almost two decades; updated it a few times, and have really pretty much everything for it. I even ripped some of my PS3 games and play those on it too, and all the old arcade classics are of course perfect with fast enough hardware and a good monitor (so hard to find color accurate 5:4s these days...glad I still have a couple!).

 

I also have Altirra configured on that machine with a front end that can be play basically any Atari game ever made.

 

I still find myself using my 1088XEL a lot though.

 

I thought 1088XEL was a typo (seizure induced, probably).  Pretty cool project.  

 

I have been thinking of a MAME machine for a couple decades.  I even considered enclosing an Atari computer in a cabinet.  A lot of work and money.  I also played with a Raspberry PI.  I got pretty excited when the LUA arrived, but reviews were bad -- mixed at least.  I waited for the second wave.  Joined Sams Club last August because it was a little less expensive and included the pinball controllers.  Bought at midnight the first day they were available.  Out of stock in minutes.  I was very lucky.

 

I do agree that some of the 8-bit games are better (for me) on the home consoles.  This thing seems to emulate most of them very well.  And it looks nice in the corner of my recreation room.