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What got you back into Atari? Lets here your stories.


MidnightSun

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Well my dad bought it for himself in 1984, then I played with it from 1989 on up untill my grandmother threw it away in 1993, then In 1999 I saw a pic of me standing next to the TV and there she was the ole 2600 immortalized in a picture. So I got an urge to have a 2600 and never stopped since! :D

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The thing that returned me to the Atari was the Jakkspacific 10 in 1 joystick. I haven´t played an Atari since 1993 or so, when I gave my console to a cousin, but, a month ago, I saw the familiar joystick on a market, and I bought it ("For 20 dollars? Why not? It has some of my first videogames") When I came back to my house and I connected the "Atari" to my TV... Nostalgia invaded me. A few days later I returned to that market and I saw how they put the price to 35$. Why? I don´t know, but almost nobody is going to buy an Atari for that price when there are Playstation games for the same.It´s sad that young people don´t appreciate old games, but it´s true.

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I got my first Atari in 1983 and played it until about 1987 when it broke. I then got a 7800 in 1988 and played it until 1991 when I got an NES. Even with the NES, I still played my 2600/7800 every once in a while. It wasn't until about 1999 that I started thinking about Atari again. Once I discovered ebay, I started working on owning every 7800 game (a childhood dream of mine). Since then, all I play is Atari.

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I got my 2600 for Christmas in 1981 and put it in a grocery bag in the basement when I got my 800XL for Christmas in 1984. I still have the system and the games.

 

1st time back. 1992-3.

 

My brother told me that the All For One store in the mall had some 2600 games for a $1 a piece. I had never been in the store before. From what I had seen in passing it by, it just looked like a lot of junk. I went in the store and found Battlezone, Joust, Ms. Pac Man and others.

 

What's funny now is that I actually debated whether to purchase them or not. At the time I was a broke college student, so maybe it's understandable. The games were nine or ten years old. :D

 

What took me out of Atari back then was I had broken all of my joysticks and wasn't sure where to get new ones. I didn't even think of the fact that my roommate from two year's before had an Amiga and it used Atari compatible controls.

 

2nd time back. 1995.

 

Got my second computer, a Compaq Presario. First game I bought for it was the Activision 2600 Action Pack. I bought it because, hey, this is probably my only chance to play those great Activision games that I lusted after in my youth but could never have.

 

3rd time back. 1998.

 

Found the 2600 Nexus when I was trying to figure out how Space Shuttle in emulation. Haven't left Atari since.

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Actually I have had an Atari 400 since I was a kid (only with a few games) and never owned a 2600 until about year ago. I found some of my old 400 stuff and started playing with it, and then went searching on ebay for 400 stuff. but when I was overrun with 2600 stuff on ebay I decided that was the system to collect for, and now I have 5 2600 (some work, some don't) and 2 400's. And I have some quite rare and unique things for the 2600 now, like ROM chips with reader, Eprom reader, Ect...

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This deserves a stary. Back in 1997, I bought a 2600 at a thrift store that didn't work. At the time of purchase, I was thinking back to when I sold my 2600 and 50 games at a local flea market so I could buy a SNES just 7 years earlier.

 

I got on the internet at school (my computer at the time was crap) and started hunting for an answer to my broken systems woes. Then, I found a rarity list and discovered rgvc the same day. I never got the system working but, through talking with folks on rgvc, I found out about "classic gaming events" and "swap meets" such as Cincyclassic held right in my very town!

 

At that first event I attended, I met Rob Mitchel (of these boards) as well as Bill Augustine who was a fanatical "collector" as well as the organizer of the event, along with a bunch of other devoted gamers of all sorts. I guess I didn't really consider myself a "collector" of the classics until after that event since I really had no clue what I was doing or even that there was anyone else in the world besides myself, fascinated with classic video games.

 

I later learned that even the likes of MarcoK had been spoted at a Cincyclassic event dating back to 1995? (My memory if fuzzy there.) As stated earlier, that Cincyclassic event changed my life for the better and I've been crazy about atari games ever since then. It allowed me to meet hundreds of collectors and fanatics just like me, share stories, and just joke around. Since then, I have attended a few other gatherings and events as well. But MOST IMPORTANTLY, I had this great feeling that I was not alone anymore and the community seems to continue to grow and get better as time goes on.

 

One thing I've come to realize is that those who are attracted to claasic video games are kind, and don't have those prudent and ugly attitudes that most folks working at the stores selling those next gen. systems do (UGHH!).

 

Years later, I have lots of Atari games (fastly approaching 500 NTSC 2600 games), have met countless individuals and have a blast at any event that has to do with video games at all. It was all made possible by the internet. One of the reasons I come to atariage is b/c of the great community here. :)

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In the 70's Dad & Mom bought some of the Atari Pong units for my brother and I. I remember Pong, the Video Pinball one, and Stunt Cycle. We later got the VCS and enjoyed many Combat and Indy 500 marathons.

 

Years later all the video games stuff ended up at the Goodwill after Mom decided it was cluttering up the closet under the stairs.

 

About a year and a half ago I was with my brother at an electronics type of swap meet selling some of his extra stuff. A guy in the next row from where we were had a boxed 2600 (4-switch woody) with more than a dozen boxed games in super shape (Adventure, Air-Sea Battle, Basic Programming, Asteroids, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Combat, Missile Command, Brain Games--and Sears titles Backgammon, Poker Plus, Night Driver, and Warlords.) He also had a boxed Genesis system too. Ten dollars was his price for all the game stuff.

 

I told my brother about that discovery and he asked me if I bought it or not. I said no, as we were in selling mode that day, but we decided for ten bucks it was a good deal so I went back to get it even if we didn't use the Genesis. After I put all the stuff by my pickup truck at least a half-dozen people asked if the Atari was for sale.

 

Been collecting since then.

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