Atari 5200 Guy

Seen this today and it gave me a smile. Feel free to drop any image (within respectful boundaries obviously) that entertained you or made you smile. 

At least put out a comic book with very cryptic clues.  MarioQuest BrosWorld . 

I about killed myself doing it...but 100,400.  Shhh, don't tell the boss I played during a work break today.
 

Well...if we include Saturday mornings...
 

First try.

This is one of the 2600 games that made me turn a check against the 2600 back when I was still rocking the 5200.  I didn't realize until now just how much different this port of MARIO BROS. really was compared to the 5200 version I grew up with.  And I'll even admit that the 5200 even had animation issues but was still closer to the arcade than the 2600 version.  I know it sounds like I'm complaining.  On the contrary it's more of an observance.  
I always thought that this game felt unfinished on the 2600 and my comparing of the manuals made for both ports (2600 & 5200) confirm some of my suspicions.  Once again due to 2600 limitations the game play changed a bit from the original arcade.  Coins became wafers, less enemies on the screen at one time, that glue is constantly on the screen which is only suppose to come out when too much time has been used to complete a level; the fun factor, however, is still here.  At least this looks somewhat like the arcade unlike another game we all know (hint hint, Pac-Man).  I still stand by my first impressions of this game...it's not finished.  Playable but not finished.  
I spend more time watching the glue ball more than I do anything else.  It's not a bad game by any means, misses a few essentials that made the arcade the smash hit it became, but it did keep the simultaneous 2-player action.  It's too quiet, though.  I wish it had a few more sound effects like what was in the 5200 version.  Still, not bad.  I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 joysticks.  Not one of my favorites, though.  I mean MARIO BROS. in general...not the 2600 port.
I'll try some more again later.  I'd really like to experience this with the 2600 controller. 
 

Looks like the same shell used for the VCS adapter.  I bet the 7800 circuitry inside could be used as a stand alone system as well.  If that is the case then the 5200 was a very flexible and expandable unit.

VCS adapaters have increased in value over the years.  Even when it was released I seen no purpose to have it.  I remember the thing costing as much as an entire 2600 system when I first seen one in the mid 1980's.  I think it was like $149.  See why I said it made no sense to me?  Why would I want to put something in my 5200 that basically down graded the thing.  I understand backwards compatibility now and how important it can be but back then it just didn't make much sense.  To be honest it still doesn't make no sense to me today but only on the 5200 system.  It was a nice feature on the 7800.

Umm...how...is...this...possible?!?  It shouldn't be doing that.  The 2600?  The system that gave us a crummy Pac-Man, a blocky Centipede, is pulling this off?  How?  OK.  We need to borrow Doc Brown's DeLorean and travel back in time to about 1980 and let Champ Games show the Atari programmers how it's done.  Period.  No ands, ifs, or buts.  Very impressive!
The things homebrewers are doing these days with these Atari machines is impressive.  I'd love to get my hands on the revised 5200 Pac-Man. That one looks and sounds a lot better than the one the 5200 officially received.  But to see Robotron on the 2600...that couldn't have been an easy task.  I wonder if someone were to tackle it if those games like Moon Patrol and Centipede we did get could be redone to look/sound more like the arcades? 
 

I spent some time with some old friends today; Dig Dug, Centipede, Joust, Pole Position, and Frogger.  Also present was Pac and Ms Pac, Space Invaders, Moon Patrol, and Vanguard.  A little time was also spent with RS Tennis, RS Soccer, and Football.  All on the 5200 which, quite frankly, is getting along in years.  About like me; both beaten, battered, and bruised but still holding our own doing the best we can to hang in there.  We take a fall and dust ourselves off to try again another day.  At the end of the day my 5200 and me still hold a strong bond.  Only my maker would be the only one to separate that.  
If it sounds like I've done gone crazy you'd be right.  But, in all honesty, the 5200 is my go to system when things in life are bugging me to the point I have to find an outlet.  So I brought the 5200 into the main room of the home and played some games.  I was only going to grab a few games but I couldn't decide on a few so I brought all of them along for some fun.  It was then when I realized that If I had a working 5200 and TV for every 5200 game I owned I'd have one hell of an arcade room.
Today's Adventure with the 5200 took a different approach.  You see, I have this book that could be one of the first books of its kind.  It's about how to beat video games...in the arcades that is.  It's title is The Complete Video Warrior: How To Beat The Video Games.  Yep...inside are tips on how to beat the most popular arcade games...from the 1980's that is...before the game crash.  Asteroids, Battlezone, Berzerk, Centipede, Defender, Frogger, Galaxian, Gorf, Missile Command, Pac-Man, Phoenix, Red Baron, Scramble, Space Invaders, and Star Castle; tips for these games ready to be read to help improve a player's scores to those games.
And so it began; the time to discover if those tips could be used in any manner on the 5200 ports of those games.  I made a list: which games did the 2600, 5200, and 7800 get individually?  The 2600 and 5200 almost always got the same games during 1983.  It was very common for Atari to do their game ads with both 2600 and 5200 game boxes in the ads.  That's when the 2600 got its silver and red boxes which was exact by design to the 5200's boxes...just in red instead of blue.  Out of all of those games in the book nine of those made it to the 5200, eight of those I have. 
And I learned one thing; the 5200 plays by its own rules.  Some of the pointers are with the general mechanics of those games but when it comes to patterns the 5200 has its own for players to discover.  In some ways the 5200 plays a bit tougher than those arcade machines.  It can be brutal at times just as much as it can be gentle.  And that book, while cool to read, doesn't hold a torch to the 5200.  I think I'll just stick with the strategies I use to play the 5200 games.  Works best for me.
 

Umm...how...is...this...possible?!?  It shouldn't be doing that.  The 2600?  The system that gave us a crummy Pac-Man, a blocky Centipede, is pulling this off?  How?  OK.  We need to borrow Doc Brown's DeLorean and travel back in time to about 1980 and let Champ Games show the Atari programmers how it's done.  Period.  No ands, ifs, or buts.  Very impressive!
The things homebrewers are doing these days with these Atari machines is impressive.  I'd love to get my hands on the revised 5200 Pac-Man. That one looks and sounds a lot better than the one the 5200 officially received.  But to see Robotron on the 2600...that couldn't have been an easy task.  I wonder if someone were to tackle it if those games like Moon Patrol and Centipede we did get could be redone to look/sound more like the arcades? 
 

I spent some time with some old friends today; Dig Dug, Centipede, Joust, Pole Position, and Frogger.  Also present was Pac and Ms Pac, Space Invaders, Moon Patrol, and Vanguard.  A little time was also spent with RS Tennis, RS Soccer, and Football.  All on the 5200 which, quite frankly, is getting along in years.  About like me; both beaten, battered, and bruised but still holding our own doing the best we can to hang in there.  We take a fall and dust ourselves off to try again another day.  At the end of the day my 5200 and me still hold a strong bond.  Only my maker would be the only one to separate that.  
If it sounds like I've done gone crazy you'd be right.  But, in all honesty, the 5200 is my go to system when things in life are bugging me to the point I have to find an outlet.  So I brought the 5200 into the main room of the home and played some games.  I was only going to grab a few games but I couldn't decide on a few so I brought all of them along for some fun.  It was then when I realized that If I had a working 5200 and TV for every 5200 game I owned I'd have one hell of an arcade room.
Today's Adventure with the 5200 took a different approach.  You see, I have this book that could be one of the first books of its kind.  It's about how to beat video games...in the arcades that is.  It's title is The Complete Video Warrior: How To Beat The Video Games.  Yep...inside are tips on how to beat the most popular arcade games...from the 1980's that is...before the game crash.  Asteroids, Battlezone, Berzerk, Centipede, Defender, Frogger, Galaxian, Gorf, Missile Command, Pac-Man, Phoenix, Red Baron, Scramble, Space Invaders, and Star Castle; tips for these games ready to be read to help improve a player's scores to those games.
And so it began; the time to discover if those tips could be used in any manner on the 5200 ports of those games.  I made a list: which games did the 2600, 5200, and 7800 get individually?  The 2600 and 5200 almost always got the same games during 1983.  It was very common for Atari to do their game ads with both 2600 and 5200 game boxes in the ads.  That's when the 2600 got its silver and red boxes which was exact by design to the 5200's boxes...just in red instead of blue.  Out of all of those games in the book nine of those made it to the 5200, eight of those I have. 
And I learned one thing; the 5200 plays by its own rules.  Some of the pointers are with the general mechanics of those games but when it comes to patterns the 5200 has its own for players to discover.  In some ways the 5200 plays a bit tougher than those arcade machines.  It can be brutal at times just as much as it can be gentle.  And that book, while cool to read, doesn't hold a torch to the 5200.  I think I'll just stick with the strategies I use to play the 5200 games.  Works best for me.
 

There's a lot of memories suddenly flashing back.  I loved that thing.  Took it to school with me everyday.  Played it during study hall.  Teacher asked me once why I wasn't studying.  He he.  I replied that I was studying; I was studying how to put those Tetris pieces together.  That machine is on my hunt down list.  Come to think of it I don't know what happened to my old Game Boy.

There's a lot of memories suddenly flashing back.  I loved that thing.  Took it to school with me everyday.  Played it during study hall.  Teacher asked me once why I wasn't studying.  He he.  I replied that I was studying; I was studying how to put those Tetris pieces together.  That machine is on my hunt down list.  Come to think of it I don't know what happened to my old Game Boy.

I agree on the 5200 pause button. That thing was a life saver. 
I agree on the Xbox hard drive. PlayStation made me hate memory cards with a passion.  Dreamcast, too.  There was never enough space for all your games and there was always that one game that hogged a whole memory card.
I see where they were going with four controller ports.  The 5200 was first to have them, n64 was first to use them successfully.  Just play Super Smash Bros with three friends and you will understand.
Gyruss is one 5200 title I have been after for a long time now.

I agree on the 5200 pause button. That thing was a life saver. 
I agree on the Xbox hard drive. PlayStation made me hate memory cards with a passion.  Dreamcast, too.  There was never enough space for all your games and there was always that one game that hogged a whole memory card.
I see where they were going with four controller ports.  The 5200 was first to have them, n64 was first to use them successfully.  Just play Super Smash Bros with three friends and you will understand.
Gyruss is one 5200 title I have been after for a long time now.

First try.

No Harmony cart, @TrekMD

I wouldn't be caught without one.  I'm sure everyone who plays video games has that one console that played an important role in their life; the one console that no matter what will always be remembered.  Mine is the 5200...and it has to be a four port. 

The 5200 is my top favorite game system of all time.  After years of asking Mom for an Atari when I was a kid the 5200 was what I woke up to one Christmas morning.  I spent hours on Super Breakout before Mom woke up (I was an only child so...yea...it was all mine I tell you...MINE!!  Bwaahaaahaha!!)  Oh...excuse me.  Where was I?  I probably spent a good 30 minutes learning the system and controller before I paid attention to the game itself.  I didn't care that it was Super Breakout, it was an Atari.  That's all I cared about.  There was an Atari in my living room ready to be played.  That was in 1982.  I was 8.  That machine became my best friend almost instantly.  
1983 I seen a lot of arcade favorites make into our home but there were some I wanted that I either never found, our area never got, or I simply missed them.  Gyruss being one of them.  Mom loved Centipede...that was her game.  Mine was Pole Position and Vanguard.  Those were my two favorites.  I liked Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and others but had played them soo much at the arcades that by the time I got home I wanted to play something different.  
My 5200 stayed with me for almost 7 years.  I have another one now that is still going strong and still gets played regularly.  The controller is doing everything it can to hang in there but, sadly, has not aged as well as the machine.  My last game for the 5200 was in 1985.  That's when I got Moon Patrol and when I realized Atari stuff disappeared off store shelves practically overnight.
Super Breakout was the only official game to support all four controller ports in a four-player game that I am aware of.  Space Dungeon is exclusive to the 5200 and was not officially released on any other console.  The same for Countermeasure.  The 5200 does have a few exclusives that were fun to play and the system does bring home the arcade experience.  There were some really killer games in the works for the 5200 that appeared complete but were finished at a time when Atari was gearing up for the 7800 release and a change of ownership.  We all know the rest of that story.  
Look up Super Pac-Man on the 5200 sometime on Youtube.  That was one of the prototypes that were completed.  Also look up Millipede and Jr. Pac-Man 5200 prototypes while you are there.  Those were done on the 5200, also. 
Was it a bad system?  Nope.  Not if what I had lasted as long as did.  The controllers were still working well when the system blew a resistor for some reason. 
Are games on the 5200 identical to what the A8 got and vise versa?  Not all of them.  Pac-Man on the 5200 is completely different than the Pac-Man on the 400/800.  The ghost AI is more arcade accurate on the 5200 version and the 5200 version has the intermissions; the 400/800 version ghosts are not arcade accurate and lacks the intermissions completely.  While it would be easier to play the game on the 400/800 using a standard 2600 joystick the 5200 version is the one that is closer to the arcade.  Centipede and Tempest (released later) actually use the sounds directly from the arcades since those arcades also used POKEY for the sounds.  A no brainer.  
RickR already answered but it's basically a stripped down 65XE.  It's probably the only console/computer hybrid that actually worked right.  If only it's technology hadn't aged and Atari supported it better it might have been more successful.  As it is the XEGS is a great little console.  If one is willing to invest in it the XEGS is a great little computer.  And as odd as the cartridge slot is it is easy to get use to. The XEGS is where I first learned Atari BASIC.  I put a lot of hours in learning how to program it. I also put a lot of hours in Racing Destruction Set from EA.  I played that one often.  

No.  While I was getting the replacement mom's boyfriend at the time seen my Atari and tossed it in the trash on a rainy day no less.  He didn't know I was attempting to repair it.  So, no, its long gone.  But all the controllers were still functioning like new when that happened.  I may have played it everyday but I didn't let it get dirty.  I babied that thing.

The 5200 is my top favorite game system of all time.  After years of asking Mom for an Atari when I was a kid the 5200 was what I woke up to one Christmas morning.  I spent hours on Super Breakout before Mom woke up (I was an only child so...yea...it was all mine I tell you...MINE!!  Bwaahaaahaha!!)  Oh...excuse me.  Where was I?  I probably spent a good 30 minutes learning the system and controller before I paid attention to the game itself.  I didn't care that it was Super Breakout, it was an Atari.  That's all I cared about.  There was an Atari in my living room ready to be played.  That was in 1982.  I was 8.  That machine became my best friend almost instantly.  
1983 I seen a lot of arcade favorites make into our home but there were some I wanted that I either never found, our area never got, or I simply missed them.  Gyruss being one of them.  Mom loved Centipede...that was her game.  Mine was Pole Position and Vanguard.  Those were my two favorites.  I liked Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and others but had played them soo much at the arcades that by the time I got home I wanted to play something different.  
My 5200 stayed with me for almost 7 years.  I have another one now that is still going strong and still gets played regularly.  The controller is doing everything it can to hang in there but, sadly, has not aged as well as the machine.  My last game for the 5200 was in 1985.  That's when I got Moon Patrol and when I realized Atari stuff disappeared off store shelves practically overnight.
Super Breakout was the only official game to support all four controller ports in a four-player game that I am aware of.  Space Dungeon is exclusive to the 5200 and was not officially released on any other console.  The same for Countermeasure.  The 5200 does have a few exclusives that were fun to play and the system does bring home the arcade experience.  There were some really killer games in the works for the 5200 that appeared complete but were finished at a time when Atari was gearing up for the 7800 release and a change of ownership.  We all know the rest of that story.  
Look up Super Pac-Man on the 5200 sometime on Youtube.  That was one of the prototypes that were completed.  Also look up Millipede and Jr. Pac-Man 5200 prototypes while you are there.  Those were done on the 5200, also. 
Was it a bad system?  Nope.  Not if what I had lasted as long as did.  The controllers were still working well when the system blew a resistor for some reason. 
Are games on the 5200 identical to what the A8 got and vise versa?  Not all of them.  Pac-Man on the 5200 is completely different than the Pac-Man on the 400/800.  The ghost AI is more arcade accurate on the 5200 version and the 5200 version has the intermissions; the 400/800 version ghosts are not arcade accurate and lacks the intermissions completely.  While it would be easier to play the game on the 400/800 using a standard 2600 joystick the 5200 version is the one that is closer to the arcade.  Centipede and Tempest (released later) actually use the sounds directly from the arcades since those arcades also used POKEY for the sounds.  A no brainer.  
RickR already answered but it's basically a stripped down 65XE.  It's probably the only console/computer hybrid that actually worked right.  If only it's technology hadn't aged and Atari supported it better it might have been more successful.  As it is the XEGS is a great little console.  If one is willing to invest in it the XEGS is a great little computer.  And as odd as the cartridge slot is it is easy to get use to. The XEGS is where I first learned Atari BASIC.  I put a lot of hours in learning how to program it. I also put a lot of hours in Racing Destruction Set from EA.  I played that one often.  

The 5200 is my top favorite game system of all time.  After years of asking Mom for an Atari when I was a kid the 5200 was what I woke up to one Christmas morning.  I spent hours on Super Breakout before Mom woke up (I was an only child so...yea...it was all mine I tell you...MINE!!  Bwaahaaahaha!!)  Oh...excuse me.  Where was I?  I probably spent a good 30 minutes learning the system and controller before I paid attention to the game itself.  I didn't care that it was Super Breakout, it was an Atari.  That's all I cared about.  There was an Atari in my living room ready to be played.  That was in 1982.  I was 8.  That machine became my best friend almost instantly.  
1983 I seen a lot of arcade favorites make into our home but there were some I wanted that I either never found, our area never got, or I simply missed them.  Gyruss being one of them.  Mom loved Centipede...that was her game.  Mine was Pole Position and Vanguard.  Those were my two favorites.  I liked Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and others but had played them soo much at the arcades that by the time I got home I wanted to play something different.  
My 5200 stayed with me for almost 7 years.  I have another one now that is still going strong and still gets played regularly.  The controller is doing everything it can to hang in there but, sadly, has not aged as well as the machine.  My last game for the 5200 was in 1985.  That's when I got Moon Patrol and when I realized Atari stuff disappeared off store shelves practically overnight.
Super Breakout was the only official game to support all four controller ports in a four-player game that I am aware of.  Space Dungeon is exclusive to the 5200 and was not officially released on any other console.  The same for Countermeasure.  The 5200 does have a few exclusives that were fun to play and the system does bring home the arcade experience.  There were some really killer games in the works for the 5200 that appeared complete but were finished at a time when Atari was gearing up for the 7800 release and a change of ownership.  We all know the rest of that story.  
Look up Super Pac-Man on the 5200 sometime on Youtube.  That was one of the prototypes that were completed.  Also look up Millipede and Jr. Pac-Man 5200 prototypes while you are there.  Those were done on the 5200, also. 
Was it a bad system?  Nope.  Not if what I had lasted as long as did.  The controllers were still working well when the system blew a resistor for some reason. 
Are games on the 5200 identical to what the A8 got and vise versa?  Not all of them.  Pac-Man on the 5200 is completely different than the Pac-Man on the 400/800.  The ghost AI is more arcade accurate on the 5200 version and the 5200 version has the intermissions; the 400/800 version ghosts are not arcade accurate and lacks the intermissions completely.  While it would be easier to play the game on the 400/800 using a standard 2600 joystick the 5200 version is the one that is closer to the arcade.  Centipede and Tempest (released later) actually use the sounds directly from the arcades since those arcades also used POKEY for the sounds.  A no brainer.  
RickR already answered but it's basically a stripped down 65XE.  It's probably the only console/computer hybrid that actually worked right.  If only it's technology hadn't aged and Atari supported it better it might have been more successful.  As it is the XEGS is a great little console.  If one is willing to invest in it the XEGS is a great little computer.  And as odd as the cartridge slot is it is easy to get use to. The XEGS is where I first learned Atari BASIC.  I put a lot of hours in learning how to program it. I also put a lot of hours in Racing Destruction Set from EA.  I played that one often.  

My Atari 5200 and Knight Rider.  We got three channels if we were lucky and NBC always came in decent even in bad weather.  I never missed an episode unless we were out of town.  As soon as that theme started I was at the TV with the rest of the world tuned out.
 

The 5200 is my top favorite game system of all time.  After years of asking Mom for an Atari when I was a kid the 5200 was what I woke up to one Christmas morning.  I spent hours on Super Breakout before Mom woke up (I was an only child so...yea...it was all mine I tell you...MINE!!  Bwaahaaahaha!!)  Oh...excuse me.  Where was I?  I probably spent a good 30 minutes learning the system and controller before I paid attention to the game itself.  I didn't care that it was Super Breakout, it was an Atari.  That's all I cared about.  There was an Atari in my living room ready to be played.  That was in 1982.  I was 8.  That machine became my best friend almost instantly.  
1983 I seen a lot of arcade favorites make into our home but there were some I wanted that I either never found, our area never got, or I simply missed them.  Gyruss being one of them.  Mom loved Centipede...that was her game.  Mine was Pole Position and Vanguard.  Those were my two favorites.  I liked Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and others but had played them soo much at the arcades that by the time I got home I wanted to play something different.  
My 5200 stayed with me for almost 7 years.  I have another one now that is still going strong and still gets played regularly.  The controller is doing everything it can to hang in there but, sadly, has not aged as well as the machine.  My last game for the 5200 was in 1985.  That's when I got Moon Patrol and when I realized Atari stuff disappeared off store shelves practically overnight.
Super Breakout was the only official game to support all four controller ports in a four-player game that I am aware of.  Space Dungeon is exclusive to the 5200 and was not officially released on any other console.  The same for Countermeasure.  The 5200 does have a few exclusives that were fun to play and the system does bring home the arcade experience.  There were some really killer games in the works for the 5200 that appeared complete but were finished at a time when Atari was gearing up for the 7800 release and a change of ownership.  We all know the rest of that story.  
Look up Super Pac-Man on the 5200 sometime on Youtube.  That was one of the prototypes that were completed.  Also look up Millipede and Jr. Pac-Man 5200 prototypes while you are there.  Those were done on the 5200, also. 
Was it a bad system?  Nope.  Not if what I had lasted as long as did.  The controllers were still working well when the system blew a resistor for some reason. 
Are games on the 5200 identical to what the A8 got and vise versa?  Not all of them.  Pac-Man on the 5200 is completely different than the Pac-Man on the 400/800.  The ghost AI is more arcade accurate on the 5200 version and the 5200 version has the intermissions; the 400/800 version ghosts are not arcade accurate and lacks the intermissions completely.  While it would be easier to play the game on the 400/800 using a standard 2600 joystick the 5200 version is the one that is closer to the arcade.  Centipede and Tempest (released later) actually use the sounds directly from the arcades since those arcades also used POKEY for the sounds.  A no brainer.  
RickR already answered but it's basically a stripped down 65XE.  It's probably the only console/computer hybrid that actually worked right.  If only it's technology hadn't aged and Atari supported it better it might have been more successful.  As it is the XEGS is a great little console.  If one is willing to invest in it the XEGS is a great little computer.  And as odd as the cartridge slot is it is easy to get use to. The XEGS is where I first learned Atari BASIC.  I put a lot of hours in learning how to program it. I also put a lot of hours in Racing Destruction Set from EA.  I played that one often.