Atari 5200 Guy

Now THAT is cool!  What is that Centipede object?

LOL...I still get called "ma'am" on the phone when talking to customer service centers dealing with billing issues.  Hilarious.
 
In my area, the 5200 was known but not well received.  The 2600 was where all the action was.  Then there was like 2 years of nothing before the NES arrived.  Our area didn't get anything video game related until 1987 when the NES mysteriously showed up without any advertising.  Anything Atari was usually found at yard sales from people clearing out their garages, attics, closets, etc.  Even then most of what was found was 2600 or 2600 related.  And cheap!  I think the most I spent on an yard sale Atari was $20.  Mom and I bought them when we found them off and on.  Most of the time the controllers were trashed and the consoles didn't play too well or were missing switches...but we still picked them up.  I think at one point I had 12 2600 consoles with a few for parts because they wouldn't do much of anything.  I'm not exactly sure what happened to those because Mom and I were constantly moving from place to place for a while.  I think they got put in storage...and after a short while Mom neglected to keep up the storage payments.
 
My area never got anything Atari again until long after the company was sold.  Atari Jaguar stuff turned up at a computer store with a bad rep.  I traded off my fairly new AMD K6-2 500 Mhz tower setup for a Jaguar. CD, and a bunch of games.  All of it was new in boxes but the boxes were rather rough.  I don't regret doing it but I do regret selling off all that Jaguar stuff.  I mean, I had DOOM that played better than my PC version less music and I didn't have to fangdangle the computer settings to play it.  Myst was very fun on the Jaguar and the only port of the game I actually completed.  Jaguar got some good games but I felt it could have done more.  It's a shame no well-known third-parties ever jumped on or licensed their good games to be ported to it.  Anything would have helped.
 
Atari remains my favorite because ... well ... it's Atari.  But other consoles in my collection battle for top-dog mostly because of the sentimental memories tied up with them as well.  Every game machine and game I had before leaving high school came from either my Mother or Grandmother.  They were gifts.  And that little NES kept me off the streets, out of trouble, and more.  I might not have done my homework always but I wasn't out causing trouble either.  Atari encouraged my wanting to read and the NES even more with the Nintendo Power magazines.  It's hard for me to not like the other non-Atari consoles as much because they were there growing up with me when, at times, it seemed like no one else was.  Mom would sometimes come and play but often times her asthma kept her from doing too much at once.
 
I love the 2600, 7800, Lynx, and Jaguar consoles but the 5200 is where it all started for me.  And those were very difficult to find in the wild then...and more so now.  I keep it close to my heart.  Every Atari console I have I sometimes just sit and stare at them, thinking back on the memories that put them in my life in the first place and those involved I no longer have.  

Now THAT is cool!  What is that Centipede object?

I have every A7800 game on the list on the right that was sent from Atari that you received, Justin, in your picture. In fact, I have over fifty A7800 games in my collection, with some still with the boxes. I have had an Atari collection, starting with the A2600, for over thirty-six years now. We started our collection back in 1982, back when I was going to be eight that year, for USD$129.00 in 1982 dollars. Now, over 300 games later for five platforms, I could not be happier. I can relate to the part where people call you "ma'am". They did that to me when I was twelve. I will be forty-four next month. Thanks for sharing, Justin.

My wife and daughter made my birthday an Atari birthday this year!
 

 
Have to say the Retron 77 has been fun so far! I found the AtariAge community image for the SD Card, and its been working great. 

Hi to all!

After a long time away from retro gaming I am back with some news:

Stay tuned for the ATARI STe version of the 2017 C64 Hit „FROGS“.

4 Player game including MIDI gaming, DMA Sound, all new graphics (+ C64 original graphics), computer controlled Frogs…

COMING SOON!

www.hd-videofilm.com/frogs

Trailer 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-tnO_VCYaE

C64 original game: http://frogs.drwuro.com/#ABOUT

Here is my first attempt. Fun game but have not spent a whole lot of time with it until tonight. Played on real hardware of course. GAME ON!
 
26,480
 
 

 
I am going to try to do a YT video later.

Game Boy Micro was almost too small as it was. I had one and it was cool but to small to enjoy.

Thanks, guys. We finally got a hold of AT&T (like that was easy) and they decided to "enhance" our towers but it backfired. Now every AT&T customer, locally, is without service, still. It has been two days at least and my wife is disabled and needs her phone. One day is understandable (that is pushing it) but two days is too long. She has no way to contact me if I have to run errands and she should need me.
 
Went to Boost mobile, who uses Sprint, and I think every other customer in there was from AT&T. But I believe we might be switching her from AT&T to Boost.

If it is emulated then it might be using a well established Linux OS. It makes sense to use that type of OS because it is free to use however one wishes. If that is the case then it will most likely accept any USB controller unless Sony tells the OS otherwise. Just a theory though.

I have a few 5200 games CIB that Atari Corp rereleased. Silver replaced with a dull gray and copyright changed. Boxes are of a lower quality too. I was asking about copyright on that Junior box because it is interesting to learn what Atari did. It is a cool looking box.

Lol. That was funny.

That is AWESOME!  It will be interesting to see if Nintendo lets this thing see the light of day, since they've been cracking down on ROM downloads recently. 
 

I want to clarify one point from my previous post: 
 
I'm not suggesting all of these boxes were printed with a 1984 Copyright from Atari, Inc. (Some may have been?) Rather that the box artwork and the overall design had been completed by Atari, Inc. under Warner in 1984, and later printed up by Tramiel's Atari Corp., with updated copyright text, when the Atari 2600 Jr. was first introduced. This is similar to Atari Corp. shipping early 7800s in Atari, Inc. boxes and later transitioning into their own design.
 
There are many examples of Atari, Inc. era boxes and labels being used by Atari Corp. with updated copyright text, etc. For example I have a 1986 E.T. with updated text and an Atari Corp copyright. (This shouldn't really exist should it? Since it was the worst game ever and they were all buried in the desert but that's another story for another day.)

I don't know how many train enthusiasts we have on these forums, but Japan has developed a very interesting train system. 500 km/h or 311 MPH.
 

 
There have been talks about using this train system in the USA. Wikipedia has more info on this new transportation technology.
 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maglev_train_proposals
 
All I can say is ... Amazing!

it comes with the USB power cable but not that little brick that you plug into it
 
I saw a pic of the front of the console. It looks like it uses USB ports for the controller ports. I'm wondering now if I could use USB co.ntrollers with analog sticks on them and if it will work

I don't know how many train enthusiasts we have on these forums, but Japan has developed a very interesting train system. 500 km/h or 311 MPH.
 

 
There have been talks about using this train system in the USA. Wikipedia has more info on this new transportation technology.
 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maglev_train_proposals
 
All I can say is ... Amazing!

Perhaps they are saving the dual shocks for the PS2 mini classic.
But whats the deal with not including power supplies? I remember when Nintendo started this with the new 3DS. I never thought I'd see the day  with multiple systems that don't include everything needed to play. And $100 is little high to me for this kinda of thing.
 
I like the next gen of plug n plays going on, but I don't see me getting this anytime soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atxeYOtd-RE

Why do these things have to be "mini" why can't they be 1:1 scale? And why the lack of Dual Shock? That's very limiting.

Sports cars!!
 
Mom had a Datsun 280-ZX from 1980 with T-tops. It stayed in the family for 13 years. Not being able to find parts for it anymore Mom sold it. Ever since my love for the import sports machines has grown. And I've learned quite a bit about what cars exist locally and overseas.
 
What links I share are of vehicles I have found for sale online in Japan. This is strictly so others can see the cars. It is in no way an attempt to promote the sale of anything.
 
Nissan was Mom's, me as well, favorite sports car maker. They took good car of us and her 280 when we needed it. So I searched used Nissan cars first for sale in Japan. I found this.
 
https://carfromjapan.com/cheap-used-nissan-180sx-1997-for-sale-5ae06f61e0f49d570ef37360
 
A silver Nissan 180SX. It looks beautiful and this is the first time I have seen real photos of one outside of a video game. No, I can't afford a new car...I can barely afford the one I have now.

Not trying to steal your spotlight, Justin, but my experience was similar.  One day Atari stuff was readily available, the next...it was almost impossible to find anything with the name Atari on it.  It was like it all disappeared overnight.  As I mentioned before, the last 5200 game I got was Moon Patrol on my 11th birthday.  I didn't see anything Atari again until liquidated 7800 stuff hit a Circus World in Springfield, Missouri's mall...and that was by chance.  I believe that might have been 1990, 1991 at the latest.  Then I got a Jaguar advertisement in the mail from Go Atari.  I didn't even know about Lynx until the PlayStation days. 
 
What most newer generations might not ever understand.  Getting an Atari made you the bee's knees.  Yes, there was Intellivision and Colecovision but it seemed like Atari was where all the action was.  If you owned an Atari you were somebody.  Everyone wanted to come to your house to play Atari.  And it was always the woodgrain model that was sought after...not the 5200, 7800, or even the 8-bit computers...it was the little woodgrain console that captured what Atari was about and consumers' hearts.    

Actually, yes you will see all those languages on an American Atari box. Not sure about the consoles but new carts in silver boxes rereleased by Atari Corp did that on the back of 2600 boxes...some 7800 boxes, too, if not all. Would make sense to see those on an American box as well. Make a single box for all console versions. Would be cheaper to produce.
 
Does that box have Atari, Inc or Atari Corp on it, Leaf?

Not trying to steal your spotlight, Justin, but my experience was similar.  One day Atari stuff was readily available, the next...it was almost impossible to find anything with the name Atari on it.  It was like it all disappeared overnight.  As I mentioned before, the last 5200 game I got was Moon Patrol on my 11th birthday.  I didn't see anything Atari again until liquidated 7800 stuff hit a Circus World in Springfield, Missouri's mall...and that was by chance.  I believe that might have been 1990, 1991 at the latest.  Then I got a Jaguar advertisement in the mail from Go Atari.  I didn't even know about Lynx until the PlayStation days. 
 
What most newer generations might not ever understand.  Getting an Atari made you the bee's knees.  Yes, there was Intellivision and Colecovision but it seemed like Atari was where all the action was.  If you owned an Atari you were somebody.  Everyone wanted to come to your house to play Atari.  And it was always the woodgrain model that was sought after...not the 5200, 7800, or even the 8-bit computers...it was the little woodgrain console that captured what Atari was about and consumers' hearts.    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=nl2h8LDq_oI
 
 
 
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/playstation-classic/