Atari 5200 Guy

I' m not posting my score just yet but I finally made it to the level with the Slipice and got 68,800.  I kicked the thing off...I really didn't notice anything other than the fireball becoming more relentless and unforgiving.  I'll try again.

Maybe I ought to pick this up for the 2600.  

For me classic gaming has been about giving a home to games and consoles no one wants any more; a chance to see what's out there costing very little or nothing at all.  It was also making huge mistakes without realizing it like just handing someone all of your dupes without getting anything for them in return.  I've discovered games I either couldn't find or couldn't afford in new condition.
For a while almost every yard sale during the late 1980's to mid 1990's almost always had a 2600 collection up for grabs. For a price between $5 to $10 one could grab a 2600 with controllers and at least 15 games.  You could also sometimes talk the seller down a bit on price, too, and using any visual flaws to your advantage.  I remember asking Mom one Saturday if we were the only people on the planet that had a 5200?  Because I never found those but looking in the backseat of the car from one day's worth of yard sale hunting turned out about five or six 2600 setups with lots of games.  Well over $500 in 1980's merchandise for about $40 - $50 total.  I was stunned.
Once we would get home I'd take the machines apart, give the plastics a bath, remove the tarnish off the switches, and test all the games on the motherboards, essentially killing two birds.  What worked I would hang on to, broken units I held on to for parts.  After having 10 units and lots of games my room got crowded and I had to thin out the 2600s.  My NES, 7800, and SMS had there spaces but the 2600s were growing out of control.  If I was smart I would have asked my grandmother if I could keep most of it at her house.  I would have lived there anyway.  If I'd only known, right?
I did get a demographic of what Atari games were popular in my area.  Pac-Man and Combat were with every 2600 I ever found. ET was almost always present along with Defender and Space Invaders.  Pitfall! was favored by a few.  Oddities included Dig Dug, Moon Patrol, Enduro, and Donkey Kong.  Those I found once or twice.
My first thought into collecting classic games again was they were old so I can get some games cheap.  Yea.  I never thought of these old games going for high prices.  Even some resellers still around are asking high prices.  I'm not complaining but just stunned how games no one could sell for $1 is now selling for $100.  Unreal.
I enjoy what I have but understand that the classic gaming market is starting to dry up.

Holy crap!  How in the... I mean nice!

Man.  That was about like that Sunsphere in Knoxville in 1982.  Long way up, and nothing between you and falling other than some gold tinted glass.  It had a gift shop and restaurant inside.  Pretty cool actually.

Man.  That was about like that Sunsphere in Knoxville in 1982.  Long way up, and nothing between you and falling other than some gold tinted glass.  It had a gift shop and restaurant inside.  Pretty cool actually.

The @TrekMD theme song:
 
 

I've been to Florida once on a vacation when I was 7 or 8(?).  Went to Disney World which was a lot of fun and then Sea World.  On the way there and back we stopped in Tennessee.  Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville along the way.  Knoxville is where the 1982 World's Fair was.  Nashville had a place called Liberty Land and there was a concert there where I seen Sammy Hagar, Cheap Trick, and someone else I don't remember.  On the way back through we seen another concert.  It was a good trip but I won't go into why that trip was so full of activities.  
I made lots of trips with my family to Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. I use to get season passes every year which was worth it even if you only made two visits per pass.  Silver Dollar City is built on coal mining land with lots of rides, shows, arts and crafts, and food exclusive to that place.  Expensive but the Lumberjack there makes some of the best burgers you'll ever sink your teeth into.  I highly recommend people making that trip at least once in their life.  When you are done there Branson has all kinds of shows and other activities including go-karts, mini golf, helicopter rides, shops, malls...you name it.  
I'd personally like to go back to Arkansas one more time to dig in the Crater of Diamonds at least once.  Out of all of the years I've lived in Arkansas I knew of the place, heard a lot about it, but never made the trip to dig.  I think that it would be fun. 

If you try to use a VCS Adapter on an unmodified 4-port you will fry the 5200.  Crossbow is right...on 4-ports look for an asterisk mark (*) on the serial number sticker.  Mine does not have it and mine has not been modified.  I checked when I took it apart to clean it.

Holy crap!  How in the... I mean nice!

I've been to Florida once on a vacation when I was 7 or 8(?).  Went to Disney World which was a lot of fun and then Sea World.  On the way there and back we stopped in Tennessee.  Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville along the way.  Knoxville is where the 1982 World's Fair was.  Nashville had a place called Liberty Land and there was a concert there where I seen Sammy Hagar, Cheap Trick, and someone else I don't remember.  On the way back through we seen another concert.  It was a good trip but I won't go into why that trip was so full of activities.  
I made lots of trips with my family to Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. I use to get season passes every year which was worth it even if you only made two visits per pass.  Silver Dollar City is built on coal mining land with lots of rides, shows, arts and crafts, and food exclusive to that place.  Expensive but the Lumberjack there makes some of the best burgers you'll ever sink your teeth into.  I highly recommend people making that trip at least once in their life.  When you are done there Branson has all kinds of shows and other activities including go-karts, mini golf, helicopter rides, shops, malls...you name it.  
I'd personally like to go back to Arkansas one more time to dig in the Crater of Diamonds at least once.  Out of all of the years I've lived in Arkansas I knew of the place, heard a lot about it, but never made the trip to dig.  I think that it would be fun. 

First try.

Tell who what?

If there was one thing in this game I'd like to give Mario it's a baseball bat.

First try.

If there was one thing in this game I'd like to give Mario it's a baseball bat.

That 5200 Jr prototype looks like they would have succeeded in reducing the 5200's original size.  I'd have been happy with it.  The 5200 was suppose to be more powerful than the 2600 so I can understand its size; to make it look "beefed" up.  I also really like the piano finish except it scars and scratches very easily.  I'd love to get my unit refinished or buffed if it would remove the scuffs and scratches without hurting it.  That piano finish is beautiful when it's not messed up.  
Hehe...obviously Sony thought so, too.  At least with its color scheme.  

The first PS3 units had chrome where later models had silver but the color scheme is still there; piano black with a chrome/silver trim.  So in some ways the 5200 has kept some what a positive influence on the market.

That 5200 Jr model is sexy!  THAT's the 5200 that should have been released.  That's the 5200 that should be sitting in my collection.  

That 5200 Jr model is sexy!  THAT's the 5200 that should have been released.  That's the 5200 that should be sitting in my collection.  

That 5200 Jr prototype looks like they would have succeeded in reducing the 5200's original size.  I'd have been happy with it.  The 5200 was suppose to be more powerful than the 2600 so I can understand its size; to make it look "beefed" up.  I also really like the piano finish except it scars and scratches very easily.  I'd love to get my unit refinished or buffed if it would remove the scuffs and scratches without hurting it.  That piano finish is beautiful when it's not messed up.  
Hehe...obviously Sony thought so, too.  At least with its color scheme.  

The first PS3 units had chrome where later models had silver but the color scheme is still there; piano black with a chrome/silver trim.  So in some ways the 5200 has kept some what a positive influence on the market.

That 5200 Jr prototype looks like they would have succeeded in reducing the 5200's original size.  I'd have been happy with it.  The 5200 was suppose to be more powerful than the 2600 so I can understand its size; to make it look "beefed" up.  I also really like the piano finish except it scars and scratches very easily.  I'd love to get my unit refinished or buffed if it would remove the scuffs and scratches without hurting it.  That piano finish is beautiful when it's not messed up.  
Hehe...obviously Sony thought so, too.  At least with its color scheme.  

The first PS3 units had chrome where later models had silver but the color scheme is still there; piano black with a chrome/silver trim.  So in some ways the 5200 has kept some what a positive influence on the market.

For me, there are two or three things going, and if you're lucky, they can overlap at the right moments. Ultimately though it's just playing as long as possible and racking up as many points as you can without getting killed.
My biggest suggestion: Watch out for those fireballs!

Tell who what?

Tell who what?

That 5200 Jr model is sexy!  THAT's the 5200 that should have been released.  That's the 5200 that should be sitting in my collection.