NES Versus Atari VCS

[Recycled]

I'm not going to vote, because I have no idea, as well as I owned a 2600 in it's glory day, but never owned a NES and only played it a handful of times. I wasn't paying attention to video games during the golden era of the NES. I was vagely aware it even existed. Those years, 1985-1991 were my lost years. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll were my priorities. Of course, next to my children, my 2600 is my priority today.

[Lord Thag]

Hmm, I like both, but I find that the 2600 gets more play. Mainly because the games are pure, white knuckle action-based arcade style titles. The NES is a great system too, but I dislike the 'fluffy' kiddie half of the library, and I've never been much of a platformer fan. That being said, it has some great titles.

 

It's merely my opinion, but I find the Atari to be much more fun these days. Many of the NES games seem to me to be older versions of stuff that you can get currently on xbox or ps2. I like many of the shooters and castlevania type games on the NES, but that's about it.

[bedouin]

 

Both systems fit this description.

 

I don't know that the 2600 would lose in a vote between the NES on a Nintendo forum, if the question was put into the proper context; simply asking which systems is superior is too broad. How about, which had a bigger impact on gaming? I think even on a Nintendo forum it would be a 50/50 split.

 

If you want this poll to be more fair, group the 2600 with machines of the same vintage: Colecovision, Intellivision, Odyssey 2. Atari's NES competitor was the 7800, and I think even on an Atari forum, the majority of the people would say the NES is superior overall. Then again, frame the question in a technical context, the 7800 might win -- even on a Nintendo forum.

 

The truth of the matter is I probably had as much fun on my 7800 with its 2600 collection as I did my NES and SMS; there were some days in the 16-bit era that I wished I hadn't sold my shoeboxes of 2600 carts so I could play a game of River Raid.

 

Like most things on earth, there's no either/or, just various degrees of gray -- even within your own 'opinions' that you believe are rock-solid and never changing. People who voted for the NES in this poll might choose the 2600 two years later and have an entirely different and seemingly self-logical reason for doing so. The point is: who cares?

[wrldstrman]

As far as Nostalgia Value" I remember when there were no such thing as video games. So when atari came out it changed the game world from board games to video..So I vote atari from a stand point its the system that got everything rolling. But as far as collecting in these modern times I like the nes due to the fact you can still build a complete libary of games. where the 2600 has really become out of reach for the average person. I can remember my grandparents buying a 2600 back in the day and playing breakout. Back then owning a atari system was kind of like buying a new car you were the talk of the neighborhood. Wow, so and so has a atari. by the time nes came out a majority of homes had some kind of gaming system and it wasnt as big of a deal. so I think atari 2600 has more Nostalgia Value then the nes.

[Shawn]

No contest here, VCS all the way.

[Smiley]

I simply can't decide between the two; I played both growing up, and still love them both. The problems with the nes did piss me off back in the day, but was the last ninty console I ever had any trouble with.

[atwwong]

If you are talking about "nostalgia", I had a VCS in 1980 and didn't get my hands on an NES until 2000.

[Artlover]

I don't get it... the question is which one the public likes more, but the answers are all personal preference... I R CONFUZZLED!

1017276[/snapback]

Except the question is not which one the public likes more. You don't have to like something for it to be nostalgic.

 

Personal preference and public opinion AREN'T the same thing, as one is an individual viewpoint and another is a societal aggregate.

1017357[/snapback]

Actually, they kinda are the same. All public opinion is is when a group of public peoples share the same or simmilar personal opinion on something.

[NE146]

Well I can't speak for the public. However I am an expert on what I think, so I volunteer that easily

[JB]

I don't get it... the question is which one the public likes more, but the answers are all personal preference... I R CONFUZZLED!

1017276[/snapback]

Except the question is not which one the public likes more. You don't have to like something for it to be nostalgic.

"and is dearest to the publics heart?"

 

 

Personal preference and public opinion AREN'T the same thing, as one is an individual viewpoint and another is a societal aggregate.

1017357[/snapback]

Actually, they kinda are the same. All public opinion is is when a group of public peoples share the same or simmilar personal opinion on something.

1017662[/snapback]

If you'll forgive the excessively simple analogy...

1+1=2.

1 and 2 are not the same, even though 2 is made of 1s.

 

Public opinion is made up of personal preferences, but personal preference is not public opinion.

[Foxsolo2000]

I had both and for me the 2600 wins hands down

[Artlover]

"and is dearest to the publics heart?"

1017675[/snapback]

Which is not part of the actual poll question, only the thread text, which I am not considering. If being "dearest to the publics heart" is such a vital point to the poll question, it should have been part of it.

[Atari_Owl]

It also depends on wht country you're talking about

 

As Mr Kizza said, and based on my experience, in the UK, the VCS had far higher recognition than the NES. In fact a grand total of ZERO of the people i knew at the time (or since now i come to think about it) had NESs.

 

Again this is anecdotal but the gaming i remember in the UK was predominantly

 

79-82 Atari

82-86 8bit computers (Spectrum, C64 in particular)

87-90 16 bit computers (First ST then Amiga) MAster System and NES made almost no impact

90-94 mega Drive (Genesis) MASSIVELY more popular than the SNES, almost everybody seemed to have Sega

95/96-Now Playstation1/2

 

So in the UK i would say the highest nostalga value would probably be Mega Drive & Spectrum/C64

Then VCS

but certainly above the NES

Edited February 13, 2006 by Atari_Owl

[DracIsBack]

In the public's eye, there's no question. NES wins.

1016965[/snapback]

 

 

Didn't realize you'd done a statistically significant survey of people who own or have owned video game consoles to decide this. Please share the results and also your methodology for collecting the data.

 

[n8littlefield]

I am having a hard time voting as well, so I may not! My initial response was Atari all the way as it was my 2nd system after Monkeyshines and Pickax Pete graced my living room.

 

However, last night I was playing Castlevania and hitting all the secret spots for food/treasure without even thinking about it when I realized probably in terms of straight out memorable gaming experiences, it very well could be the NES for me.

 

I guess for me the Atari (and the Odyssey) introduced me to gaming, the NES made me a gamer.

[chrisbid]

generation x - VCS and NES

generation y - NES and SNES

 

since there are way more gen y types in the country, the NES is more in the total public mindset. gen x is the meat in the shit sandwich between baby boomers and gen y, and wont get as much attention as the years march on.

[n8littlefield]

I voted NES - but there was a reason why...

 

I think the reason I voted for Nintendo is simply because for sheer nostalgia value there are just more games that give me "warm fuzzies" on the NES. Many series began on the NES that are still around today - and while they might no longer be Nintendo exclusives, you still remember that they are sequels to NES games. Series like Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Megaman, Castlevania, and Ninja Gaiden are still seeing updates today. Nintendo reminds of characters that aren't used often in things like Warioware and Smash Bros. So - I guess that given that many NES game characters have had more longevity in the public eye, it means they are more likely to give you an emotional response.

 

The Atari 2600 - while I love it dearly - for me was most memorable for arcade ports. When I was young I loved Pacman, Defender and Missle Command - but they just don't have that feeling of the first beats of the music in Super Mario gives. Of course, I was older with the NES, so I might just remember more - but while the Atari felt like I was getting to play arcade games at home, the NES felt like a completely new world.

[NE146]

Again though to me, NES is still "Current-Gen"

 

Whereas the 2600 is from an time long gone.

 

So it's hard for me to get nostalgic about a current-gen system.

 

Just my opinion of course. I guess I still think the NES is current generation.. because man, it sure doesn't seem like all that long a time since it came out (even though I know it was). But that's just me

[JB]

"and is dearest to the publics heart?"

1017675[/snapback]

Which is not part of the actual poll question, only the thread text, which I am not considering. If being "dearest to the publics heart" is such a vital point to the poll question, it should have been part of it.

1017695[/snapback]

Fine. Then the poll is too vague to answer, as it puts nostalgia in quotes, and doesn't specify WHOSE nostalgia.

 

In the public's eye, there's no question. NES wins.

1016965[/snapback]

 

 

Didn't realize you'd done a statistically significant survey of people who own or have owned video game consoles to decide this. Please share the results and also your methodology for collecting the data.

 

1017729[/snapback]

I typed ^^VV<><>BA into Google, and it did the survey for me.

[SHAGOHOD X99]

I VOTE NES even though I love my 2600 VCS to death for the simple reason that, there were only about 10 or so games I truly couldn't live without during the time I only owned the 2600 which were...

 

Snoopy & The Red Baron, Keystone Kapers, Dig Dug, River Raid, Galaxian, Front Line, Crystal Castles, Chopper Command, Video Pinball, and Berzerk

 

...whereas by the time 1989 had rolled around I had spent more time playing on my NES with about 25 to 30 "can't live without" games on it. Stuff like Ninja Gaiden and the Contra series was just too good and it led me to collect the JPN versions of them all with a Famicom AV system. I no doubt love my 2600, but the NES has more memories attatched to it for me.

[AtticGamer]

Atari 2600, better built by far.

And I hate NES games.

[n8littlefield]

I'm sorry - but how do hate an entire SYSTEM of games? It makes no sense. The NES has a ton of games the 2600 had to begin with, Pacman, MsPacman, Joust, Donkey Kong, Popeye...

 

I understand preferring the 2600 - but I don't see how you hate games based on the platform they were released on. Does anyone else actually dislike games based on platform?

[Jeffy Arensmeyer]

nos·tal·gi·a

n.

A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.

 

It would seem that this is very age dependent. For those that lived through the literal Atari Age, they would be more nostalgic towards games and events of that era, whereas those that lived through the Nintendo Age would be more nostalgic towards that era.

 

But it's not uncommon for someone who missed an era because of age or whatever reason to be nostalgic towards and era that they "missed". I was a kid during the disco era, but really wish I could have been a bit older and experienced some of the events and trends of the time.

 

I didn't vote because I came through both eras, first with an Atari 2600 bought at an Otasco store and then with an NES that I put on layaway myself and paid out slowly until I had it. It's a tough call to pick one over the other.

 

During the Atari Era, there was more mail ordering and far fewer publications, so it seemed that when you did get a game or a magazine about Atari, it was that much more vivid and memorable. During the Nintendo Era, games were everywhere (in stores) and publications were finally "taking off", but games had become more difficult and took longer to complete, thus more nostalgia of actually playing the games came to pass.

 

I vote "both".

 

ò¿ó   

[Atarifever]

I'm sorry - but how do hate an entire SYSTEM of games?  It makes no sense.  The NES has a ton of games the 2600 had to begin with, Pacman, MsPacman, Joust, Donkey Kong, Popeye...

 

I understand preferring the 2600 - but I don't see how you hate games based on the platform they were released on.  Does anyone else actually dislike games based on platform?

1019296[/snapback]

Well, I hate the NES because it's so hard to get it to work, so anytime I see an NES game for sale I think, "it's really not worth it". Meanwhile, the same games on the GBA or in emmulators seem great.

[sandmountainslim]

Atari 2600, better built by far.

And I hate NES games.

1018940[/snapback]

Our Atari's will (Don't laugh at this, didya think they would last 24 years?) most likely outlive us all! Built like tanks. I do however love many NES games, not wild about the hardware and it's malfunctions but many of the games are absolutely wonderful