Atari 5200 Guy

I'd buy it in print form.  I'd love to have something like this to go along side the VCS.

NeoSprint just got another update today. Does anyone know what it was for?

If you can't find it there try here: 
https://www.atarimania.com/pgemainsoft.awp?type=U&system=8

If you can't find it there try here: 
https://www.atarimania.com/pgemainsoft.awp?type=U&system=8

If you can't find it there try here: 
https://www.atarimania.com/pgemainsoft.awp?type=U&system=8

Ahh.  I missed that part.  Thank you!

That makes sense and you are right…different times, different market.  Maybe all this revamping is gearing them up for a much bigger plan? 
 
Atari has an unreleased 5200 model they could use if they used their brains and actually did it.  THAT would be cool to see happen!

I wonder if they might do a Jaguar mini? Put Tempest 2000 in that sucker and I’m in!

I wonder if they might do a Jaguar mini? Put Tempest 2000 in that sucker and I’m in!

The 5200 cost Atari literally millions of dollars.  It nearly took the entire company down with it.  As much as I love the 5200 it had a dark side not many people know about.  I really doubt Atari would want to repeat history.  At least if they did with an HDMI system we won’t have to worry about that RF spark again.

That’s the company that I won my copy of Berzerk Enhanced Edition from that doesn’t work.  They are sending a replacement though.

That would be cool.  I’m surprised that the XEGS didn’t get picked for something like the 400 Mini.  I wonder why that model over the XL or the 800?

I wonder if those usb ports offer keyboard support?  If so the 400 Mini could possibly be used for programming.  That’s what made me want an 800 in the first place was because I loved programming in BASIC and Atari had its own BASIC language.  

Even if it only had the A8 cartridge port that would be enough.  The A8 line has loads of cartridge games that would keep anyone from getting bored.
If Atari really wanted to they could design a single board and use it for both an XE+ and a 5200+.  The size of the port used determines what machine is being emulated.
I really doubt Atari would do a modern 5200 mostly because of its history for the company and the controller design alone.  Even if it did receive some of the best arcade ports of the time I really believe Atari isn’t going to consider a stand alone 5200 revamp.

You’re welcome.

I’m sharing the link to the Atari U.S. site where the 400 Mini can be located: https://atari.com/products/atari-400-mini
I have to say I’m a bit mixed about this one.  I’d have chosen the 800 personally.  And even when this does emulate it I would have rather seen a stand alone 5200 recreation than have it a part of another system.  I know the 5200 was a consolized 400, I get it, but still.
The price is much higher than I would have expected, too.  $80 would have been average. At $110 that keyboard better work.  Some games used that keyboard to access some features.
Regardless of my feelings of this I like what Atari is trying to do and I like how they are returning to their roots.  Just as long as they don’t mess up the open source development that helped make the A8 machines so popular.

I just did a livestream last night showcasing the VCS playing ATS using Debian and Steam.

It played my ATS flawlessly. Whoever said the VCS couldn’t handle graphic intensive games was wrong. ATS has some impressive graphics. Not on the scale of CoD but can still be demanding. 
 
On my gaming PC ATS started crashing a lot. It never crashed or bogged down on the VCS. I’ll try it out with Borderlands 2 & 3, ETS 2, Sniper Elite, Saint’s Row, and Pac-Man CE DX. I’m curious at what the VCS is really capable of doing.
Keep in mind mine has been upgraded to 16 GB of RAM. However the AMD chipsets Atari used are nothing to sneeze at. Those processors are gaming processors pure and simple. 

It took me a while but Debian and Steam are installed. And look what my VCS is playing:

That’s American Truck Simulator on an Atari! It just loaded. I’ll make one delivery and let you know how the trip goes.

I was very hesitant about doing the PC Mode because I take original integrity seriously. Probably more than I should honestly. Im doing this for a few reasons.
Reason 1: The VCS has more modern PC chipsets in it than my gaming PC has ATM. It also has a much smaller footprint.
Reason 2: I want to join in on this month’s VCS challenge. While I could use my gaming PC I thought using the VCS would simply be cool.
Reason 3: We all need to face facts…all gaming consoles will reach the end of production and support. The Atari VCS will not be immune to this. If I can extend its ability to keep gaming then I’m all for it.
Reason 4: I would like to see if it can handle my large Steam library.
Those are my reasons. I’d rather play my VCS than XBOX to be honest. Long live Atari!

Debian on the VCS is underway.  Please stand by…

Well, I don’t know if I did a good thing or a bad thing but since I don’t use my XBOX One anymore I gave my VCS the XBONE’s external hard drive.

It’s 4TB. I’m going to try to install Debian again but it keeps looking like it wants to partition the VCS internal storage and I don’t want that.

Debian keeps trying to partition the VCS' internal storage space. I'm trying to find a way around that.

I'm trying to figure out how to get Debian on my Atari VCS. I have tons of old laptop hard drives lying around and an external hard drive case I can use for them. My PS5 is using it at the moment. I don't have a thumb drive that's more than 16 GB. The biggest one is currently attached to my VCS for all the games I purchased. I want to be able to access Steam without Windows because I have well over 300 games there. I'd like to see how it can handle my trucking simulators.
I don't really want to use the PC Mode on my VCS because it just doesn't feel right but, let's face it, Atari branded or not it's still a computer.

It played my ATS flawlessly. Whoever said the VCS couldn’t handle graphic intensive games was wrong. ATS has some impressive graphics. Not on the scale of CoD but can still be demanding. 
 
On my gaming PC ATS started crashing a lot. It never crashed or bogged down on the VCS. I’ll try it out with Borderlands 2 & 3, ETS 2, Sniper Elite, Saint’s Row, and Pac-Man CE DX. I’m curious at what the VCS is really capable of doing.
Keep in mind mine has been upgraded to 16 GB of RAM. However the AMD chipsets Atari used are nothing to sneeze at. Those processors are gaming processors pure and simple.