TwoShedsWilson Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 I'm putting together a project, just because I want it, and I keep finding different numbers as to what the 7800 actually launched for in price. I've been searching and digging through all of the old Sears catalogs I can find online and I can't find anything definitive as to what it cost in May of 1986. I'm also very curious what it was sold for in the 1984 run or if any sales data for that exists at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 According to Electronic Games Magazine Sep 1984, it was expected to sell between $120-150 in 1984. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShedsWilson Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 I'm guessing that would be the $140 price point I found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShedsWilson Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 This is why I'm asking. I'm making it because I want it and I can't find it anywhere. I know some of the information is wrong/incomplete. Mostly I'm getting the layout where I want it then plugging in the info will be fairly easy. I also have a few more sections I want to add to cover a bit more about the system. I'm going to attribute as best as I can, but I will not be selling it so I don't plan on spending too much time on that. I still have a ton of research to do. 7800.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 I seem to recall that the 7800 was originally to debut at $159 but most places actually sold it for $129.99 back then. I couldn't get my folks to bite on getting me one until the price dropped to $89.99 on sale at a local K-Bee. That is the price sticker that was on mine. But they also didn't get it until late '87. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 Looking nice. I am curious where you got the 1987 date for PAL 7800s. I have never seen any PAL 7800s earlier than mid/late 1989. Mitch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShedsWilson Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 36 minutes ago, Mitch said: Looking nice. I am curious where you got the 1987 date for PAL 7800s. I have never seen any PAL 7800s earlier than mid/late 1989. Mitch Pulled it from Wikipedia. Like I said, research left to do. I want to have it as accurate as I can make it so I’m sure I’ll be asking more questions from time to time. I do plan to have at least one copy printed up in a nice hardcover for myself and one more thing I won’t spoil yet. Then on to the 5200. it’s weird to me how much information is just gone. It’s not like I’m trying to find shipping manifests from the 1500s, but it sure feels that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 Does Wikipedia cite anything for that date? The universal "Asteroids" BIOS used in PAL 7800s wasn't even completed until early '89. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShedsWilson Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 Not that I could find. Honestly I thought stuff like release dates would be easy. It’s fascinating how little real information is left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShedsWilson Posted July 26, 2021 Author Share Posted July 26, 2021 Reformatting to fit the printer I plan on going with, so a lot of the pages are messed up. I've made my first pass at the story of the 7800, but please tell me if I've got anything just wrong or whatever other input you might have. 7800.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 On 7/23/2021 at 4:53 PM, TwoShedsWilson said: it’s weird to me how much information is just gone. It’s not like I’m trying to find shipping manifests from the 1500s, but it sure feels that way. Some information -- e.g. corporate sales figures, market share -- was never public to begin with, so finding it decades later is going to be impossible. If you have the patience, searching through a magazine like Business Week will turn-up some articles where analysts and industry-watchers share their educated guesses about sales figures and related topics. This is not hard data, but it is as close as we are going to get at this distant point in time. I did this exercise for the early-1980s, but there was limited coverage of video games after about mid-1984 (as who was going to invest in a crashing market). I did not review 1985 and onwards. Note that much (if not all) of the business press from this time period is NOT online. Researching these articles will require visiting a decent-size library and reviewing microfilm (or fiche). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShedsWilson Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 I've decided to go ahead and do this right. To that end I now have a Word document with 7 years (so far) of every article I can find on Atari. I'm even going to have to pony up for the NY & LA Times subscriptions to stop hitting the pay wall. If anyone has an article that you think might be helpful, please let me know. I'm approaching this by painting a clear picture of the end of 1982 to show where Atari was when it began to develop the 7800 so that context can help explain why some things went why they did and how some decisions were made. I might also be asking for personal stories and/or quotes about the 7800 and its games. I've even started getting permission to use the pictures and such that I'm using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 11 hours ago, TwoShedsWilson said: I've decided to go ahead and do this right... The screenshots provided so far, used to represent the games, could use an overhaul. Looks like they originated from the outdated ProSystem emulator with a significantly incorrect default color palette in several places and poor emulation of some games. The images also cropped and stretched inconsistently within the same game, much less among the library. It is especially noticeable with Double Dragon. Presently: Better: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Muddyfunster Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 you could try archive.org, there are lots of old magazine archives on there. I used it extensively when researching old magazine articles about 8bit micros in the UK. Your mileage may vary but I found it to be a good source of information, interviews etc. I found a reference to the 7800 in a UK magazine (Computer & Video Games - issue 68 - June 87) https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-068/page/n129/mode/2up (go to the last but one page - 130). Good luck with your project 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoShedsWilson Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 (edited) Moved to here, but I'm so thrilled with the input! This type of research is new to me so I'm learning as I go. Every part of this is a work in progress except the 3D boxes and logos, everything else is negotiable. I hadn't fully made up my mind where I wanted to get my screenshots. I'd prefer to grab from a real 7800, but I don't have 95% of the games or an appropriately modded 7800 to capture from. Edited July 27, 2021 by TwoShedsWilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 That is cool. Maybe this video will be helpful to get some info on the system... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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