Clint Thompson

I have waited countless years for this thing to finally arrive! (I think SainT started on it sometime in 2016?)
Picked it up as a development tool, it'll be cool to see what can be done with unlimited space!

 

I have waited countless years for this thing to finally arrive! (I think SainT started on it sometime in 2016?)
Picked it up as a development tool, it'll be cool to see what can be done with unlimited space!

 

4 XBOX games for free! 

I know Brad at Best can repair Jaguar consoles, too. He's good at it. Sorry. I forgot to mention him. :O)

Btw, the photo of the black XEGS is from 2011:
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/181654-custom-recolor-for-xegs-case/
Some decided to repaint their XEGS black.  It's not a prototype, nor does it have anything to do with the Super XE.  Speaking of the video from the original post, that's from Kieren Hawken, who's rather infamous for peddling misinformation.  The Atari Mirai prototype shell that was found back in 1996 is still a complete mystery as to what it was intended to be, and Hawken's video adds nothing to suggest it might have been for the Super XE.
@Clint Thompson Is this the 7800 poster you were looking for?

What a bargain for those pins at original prices!

those are original pins…

Hi Everyone!
In my quest to collect a full set of Atari enamel pins, I need three more to complete the set.  Does anyone know or have these remaining three pins I can purchase.  Thank you in advance!

Where can one purchase one of these CX30 Evoled Paddles? They look incredible. I've been out of the loop...
*Nevermind, I see that Video61 was selling them but apparently are on back order just like the trak ball sadly.
Any chance these will be stocked again in the near future @Video 61 ?
Thanks

So awesome, thank you!

They could have and should have added a hidden USB port at the top center of the console and released a small library of USB Atari games in 2600 or 7800 styled carts that you could have plugged in to the top. Micro versions of cartridges, those would have been cool and fun to collect.

Where can one purchase one of these CX30 Evoled Paddles? They look incredible. I've been out of the loop...
*Nevermind, I see that Video61 was selling them but apparently are on back order just like the trak ball sadly.
Any chance these will be stocked again in the near future @Video 61 ?
Thanks

hi Clint,
 
glad you are back. we have a small quantity in stock right now, $39.95 plus shipping. just e-mail me at video61@atarisales.com
 
lance
www.atarisales.com
 

Is there a way to treat the VCS as an Nvidia Shield? As in can I stream games from my high-end PC to the VCS and play them that way in a completely different room?

I JUST ORDERED A JAGUAR GAMEDRIVE!  Sorry to yell, but I'm so excited.  From Stone Age Gamer.  Thanks again for the heads up.

Awesome 🙂
I hear more are incoming in the next week so keep the eyes peeled! I still haven't picked up one myself!

Outside of loading up T2K on a flash cart, I am in the same boat. I'm not a collector these days and refuse to pay eBay prices for Jaguar games. No offense to any collectors if that's your thing to get into, I just can't... well, I refuse to do it. Especially in the tune of $100+ Sad too, to think that Best Electronics had them new for like $40 just a few years ago but now they're completely sold out.
I'll probably just burn one to a cart someday and throw it in a clear shell and slap on professionally printed label.

Excellent observation @Clint Thompson!! That is spot-on 
 
Haha yes! Geraldine knew me by name.
I had the direct number to the front desk. This was a (408) number as opposed to the 1-800 number. The (408) number had a more corporate feel to it, as though they were primarily there to take calls from suppliers, developers, etc. whereas the 1-800 number was really the consumer sales line. I didn't know about the 1-800 number for some time, and by then I had already developed a relationship with Geraldine as a contact.
I've mentioned this a few times, including the stories I've shared before here:
 
When I caught the Atari bug and thought I was the only kid on the planet who had an interest in Atari and classic games, I scoured every Toys R Us, Kay-Bee and Sears I could find. While I had just a skosh of success finding clearance Asteroids and E.T. games, along with an occasional Missile Command, RealSports Soccer, and of course a selection of Atari Lynx games, I couldn't for the life of me find an Atari 7800 system or games.
My brilliant mom suggested I call information (this was pre-google) and ask if they had a phone number for Atari in Sunnyvale, CA. Sure enough they did, and the operator offered to connect me to the front desk at Atari.
When the phone rang, Geraldine answered "Good afternoon, this is Atari" in a very polite voice. I suspect she immediately recognized she was speaking with an 11 year old and knew how to handle the call. I briefly told her that I was calling because I had a renewed interest in Atari and was unable to find Atari items locally. I explained that I had grown up playing 2600 & 7800, but my family sold our Atari collection five years prior and bought Nintendo, and now I had a reignited, fiery interest in Atari and was interested in purchasing a new Atari 7800 system and games. Geraldine was very understanding and helpful. She explained that Atari still had a great supply of 2600 and 7800 games, hardware and accessories, and offered to send me a brochure and ordering information, and would include information for the Lynx as well. I cannot tell you how excited I was. I held it together though and acted as professional as an 11 year old could have. I shared enough of my story for Geraldine to remember me in future calls. I would end up calling Atari and speaking with Geraldine about once every month or so. She always knew my name and she was always very gracious and very helpful. In hindsight I'm surprised she didn't send me an Atari Advantage poster or stickers or something.
I was also able to get Julie Wade and John Skruch on the phone on at least two occasions, and spoke with them about the potential of new 7800 games being released for 1993, and was told that new games were "on the horizon" but the focus had shifted to getting the Atari Jaguar ready for launch and continuing support for Atari Lynx. In hindsight I believe they were referring to unreleased Atari 7800 games like Toki, Super Off-Road, Electrocop and others, but I can't say that with certainty. I also ended up semi-prank calling Jack Tramiel at home a few times and recorded our conversations, but that's a story that should be shared in another thread.
As a side note: I remember it was a Saturday around lunch when my mom suggested I call information and ask if they had a phone number for Atari. The operator put me through, but because it was the weekend Atari was closed and I had to wait until Monday to call them back. It felt like an eternity having to wait the rest of the week for the envelope from Atari to come in the mail! When it arrived that Thursday, it was like Christmas. I spent hours reading through every word of every page that Geraldine sent me. For the first time, I could hold something in my hands that came from Atari, that would serve as my ability to order games and systems, it was my connection to the World of Atari and everything that came after.

After watching some more videos about the XEGS, I found that my suspicions about the CX78 Joypad being more aimed at the XEGS (or Super XE Game System) even more credible with another clue.... look at the Atari XE Light Gun connector... it's identical to that of the CX78:

 
Were there any other Atari joysticks or otherwise with the connectors like that., CX78 Joypad and Light gun aside?
 

After watching some more videos about the XEGS, I found that my suspicions about the CX78 Joypad being more aimed at the XEGS (or Super XE Game System) even more credible with another clue.... look at the Atari XE Light Gun connector... it's identical to that of the CX78:

 
Were there any other Atari joysticks or otherwise with the connectors like that., CX78 Joypad and Light gun aside?
 

I've been down the 8-Bit XE/XEGS rabbit hole lately. Not sure why really but it landed me here (it's been a while!)
Sadly the video is gone so I'm missing a bit of context as to what this is all really about but seeing that the Atari Mirai casing is most like the SuperXE Game Console is fascinating to me. Personally...and quite honestly, I've always found the pastel colored buttons to be hideous. Outside of that, I owned an XEGS once when I was a teenager. Had a dream about this game machine and tons of carts at a thrift store, went a few days later and sure enough there was this most bizarre XE game console with about a dozen carts for all of $20. Of course I bought it.
Not sure why I got rid of it but looking back now after researching it all again, some newly discovered (non-closed minded) things about it are starting to stand out.
1. You have to truly appreciate that Atari got the composite video output right on this one! I still can't believe it wasn't offered out of the box on the Jaguar in 1993 but was included on a repackaged Atari XE system in 1987.
2. 99% of most 8bit Atari computer games at the time didn't need a keyboard. This was a nice consolized version of a great computer. One that I couldn't love though because the pastel Easter egg color buttons just screamed wonk to me. However.... I've got a solution for that now... and now I want an XEGS again.

3. Something seems amiss. It's 1986.... Atari releases the 7800 in the U.S. and includes the Pro-Line joysticks. They would later release the XEGS and Euro or PAL version of the 7800 in 1987. The same year they included the supposedly coined CX78 joypads for the inclusion with the 7800. Sure, many claim it was in response to the NES but.... why only the PAL version and not in the U.S.?
Which brings me to another very seemingly non-coincidental design choice.... that the XEGS was supposed to include or use the XE joypads. From a design standpoint, it makes 100% sense:

So here you have the triangled XE system in the left corner... and XE text on the top right. I was thinking, wait a minute. That looks STRIKINGLY SIMILAR to something else....
Well... well... well... what else has a sharp triangle cut corner and big bold buttons? The CX78 *ahem* Atari XEGS Joypad:

Even the backside of the CX78 joypad shares the top lines of the XEGS....

So are those red buttons supposed to be pastel and ugly colored too or is red the way to go? Either way, I now feel like that the XEGS joypads were ditched in favor of being released with the 7800 in a too little, too late attempt. Though why not include it with the XEGS in the first place if that actually were the case? The CX78 joypads certainly flows more with the design aesthetics of the XEGS than the 7800, just as the Jaguar joypads flowed more with the lines of the unreleased Panther than it does with the Jaguar (since they actually were Panther joypads repurposed for the Jaguar after all). We have data design disks that confirm that, stating Panther controller drawings and sure enough, it's the Jaguar joypad.
Does anyone have the Atari 7800 action set poster or a picture of it handy? I did a quick google search but came up empty handed.
Tell me the CX78 isn't a repurposed XEGS joypad. Change my mind.

I've been down the 8-Bit XE/XEGS rabbit hole lately. Not sure why really but it landed me here (it's been a while!)
Sadly the video is gone so I'm missing a bit of context as to what this is all really about but seeing that the Atari Mirai casing is most like the SuperXE Game Console is fascinating to me. Personally...and quite honestly, I've always found the pastel colored buttons to be hideous. Outside of that, I owned an XEGS once when I was a teenager. Had a dream about this game machine and tons of carts at a thrift store, went a few days later and sure enough there was this most bizarre XE game console with about a dozen carts for all of $20. Of course I bought it.
Not sure why I got rid of it but looking back now after researching it all again, some newly discovered (non-closed minded) things about it are starting to stand out.
1. You have to truly appreciate that Atari got the composite video output right on this one! I still can't believe it wasn't offered out of the box on the Jaguar in 1993 but was included on a repackaged Atari XE system in 1987.
2. 99% of most 8bit Atari computer games at the time didn't need a keyboard. This was a nice consolized version of a great computer. One that I couldn't love though because the pastel Easter egg color buttons just screamed wonk to me. However.... I've got a solution for that now... and now I want an XEGS again.

3. Something seems amiss. It's 1986.... Atari releases the 7800 in the U.S. and includes the Pro-Line joysticks. They would later release the XEGS and Euro or PAL version of the 7800 in 1987. The same year they included the supposedly coined CX78 joypads for the inclusion with the 7800. Sure, many claim it was in response to the NES but.... why only the PAL version and not in the U.S.?
Which brings me to another very seemingly non-coincidental design choice.... that the XEGS was supposed to include or use the XE joypads. From a design standpoint, it makes 100% sense:

So here you have the triangled XE system in the left corner... and XE text on the top right. I was thinking, wait a minute. That looks STRIKINGLY SIMILAR to something else....
Well... well... well... what else has a sharp triangle cut corner and big bold buttons? The CX78 *ahem* Atari XEGS Joypad:

Even the backside of the CX78 joypad shares the top lines of the XEGS....

So are those red buttons supposed to be pastel and ugly colored too or is red the way to go? Either way, I now feel like that the XEGS joypads were ditched in favor of being released with the 7800 in a too little, too late attempt. Though why not include it with the XEGS in the first place if that actually were the case? The CX78 joypads certainly flows more with the design aesthetics of the XEGS than the 7800, just as the Jaguar joypads flowed more with the lines of the unreleased Panther than it does with the Jaguar (since they actually were Panther joypads repurposed for the Jaguar after all). We have data design disks that confirm that, stating Panther controller drawings and sure enough, it's the Jaguar joypad.
Does anyone have the Atari 7800 action set poster or a picture of it handy? I did a quick google search but came up empty handed.
Tell me the CX78 isn't a repurposed XEGS joypad. Change my mind.

@DegasElite I was about to say I've never heard that before, but apparently I have -- it's what I wrote down in my Fatal Run write-up in my Strategy Guide in 6th Grade. (If you download the PDF it's at the top of Pg. 5). I wrote "Fatal Run is one of the last 7800 games = originally designed for the Lynx." I'm not sure that's true, in fact I would suspect it's not, but I wouldn't have written that in my Strategy Guide if I hadn't heard it somewhere and believed it to be true. Maybe @Video 61 knew something about it at the time and had told me.
RoadBlasters absolutely should have been on the Atari 7800. It should've been a best-selling title. Right along with Marble Madness, Tetris and Paperboy. Atari Corp. (Jack Tramiel / Home Consumer Div.) should've had an exclusive agreement with Atari Games (Warner Communications / Coin-Op Arcade) to have exclusive rights to all of the Atari arcade games for Atari systems and computers.
Instead they formed Tengen and found ways to put everything on Nintendo.
 
THANK YOU @Clint Thompson that means a lot! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I wish I had done more at the time so I would have more to share with everybody today. I had always wanted it to be a website. I had to settle for paper at the time but a few years later we got started on what would grow into what you see today. I think it's really cool that you also remember the mail order forms and lists from Atari from the early 1990s, I haven't met too many people who were ordering from Atari at that time or recall the forms and catalogs they would send in the mail. I'm glad I was able to include those in the Strategy Guide to share with everybody.
The Strategy Guide has gotten a good response. I'm thinking about creating a modern version of it - a free downloadable PDF laid out like an old "Nintendo Power" Strategy Guide, complete with tips & tricks for all the best Atari games, with some "personality" mixed in, in the form of annotations and quotes from Atari I/O members & staff. That would be a lot of work but could be a fun project.

I'm still determined to pick up an XEGS but transported this brand new 130XE and (XEGS Joypad 😉 ) from 1987 right here into the future!

 

I'm still determined to pick up an XEGS but transported this brand new 130XE and (XEGS Joypad 😉 ) from 1987 right here into the future!