The Atari 5200 gives the Intellivision and the ColecoVision a run for their money.

[walter_J64bit]

I've been exploring the intellivision and the ColecoVision thanks to YouTube. Form what I've seen it looks like the 5200 is on par with the other systems other than 5200's Controllers dying too fast and the video game crash. I think it could had held it's own against the other systems.

[TrekMD]

The 5200 has a good game library.  In fact, it has some of the best good-to-bad ratio for games.  Never mind that 8-bit games can be converted to it.  Had Atari released the self-centering controllers, I believe things could have been different, as that was the weak point for the system.  Not that the ColecoVision controllers were all that good.  The Inty controller is not bad but does take getting used to it.  Also, the planned smaller 5200 (5100?) would have been nice.

[walter_J64bit]

There's no doubt at Coleco botched their games on other console I've seen Donkey Kong for intellivision, I know the intellivision can pull off  Donkey Kong and intellivision's Zaxxon looks just the 2600's Zaxxon! 😒

[TrekMD]

Well, I'd say they didn't want to spend the money to make better versions.  That's what happened with DK on the 2600.  Garry Kitchen asked for 8K ROM but they told him he was limited to 4K due to cost.  With 4K he would have added the two other screens to the game.  He's said this at interviews and retro events.  Can you imagine if the 2600 version had had all four screens while the ColecoVision and other more advance systems only had three?

[Justin]

2 hours ago, TrekMD said:

Well, I'd say they didn't want to spend the money to make better versions.  That's what happened with DK on the 2600.  Garry Kitchen asked for 8K ROM but they told him he was limited to 4K due to cost.  With 4K he would have added the two other screens to the game.  He's said this at interviews and retro events.  Can you imagine if the 2600 version had had all four screens while the ColecoVision and other more advance systems only had three?

Crazy thing is, I believe Atari announced they were going to release a new and improved Donkey Kong and DK Jr for the 2600, when Atari acquired the Coleco 2600 library. When they were asked why they released the same DK and DK Jr for 2600, they said they had given it an Atari cartridge shell and better label 😑

I think @Video 61 may remember more details about this story than I do.

[TrekMD]

You know, when I first saw the Atari releases of DK and DK Jr, I thought that that is exactly what they had done.  New and improved versions of both games.  But, nope.  It was the same thing Coleco had released. 

[- Ω -]

This kind of stuff is why I take whatever a spokesperson says with a grain of salt.  I've experienced the vaporware phenomena too many times in my life.  I've also been burnt being an early adopter.   Live and learn.  Now in my "golden years", I look back and think, "If I only knew then what I know now."

[RickR]

 

Here's the thing...Colecovision or 5200 (or both) could have helped Coleco or Atari survive the crash.  If they had focused all their efforts on those systems alone.  Forget about Adam.  Forget about 2600, 7800, XEGS.  Buckle down and ride it out.  Make a ton of new games.  Get as much out of the hardware as possible.  Release improved controllers. 

For Atari - improve the controllers, release the smaller footprint 5200.  Release games!  I absolutely believe it would have made it with focused management. 

One of the greatest "what-if's" in the business. 

[sramirez2008]

2 hours ago, RickR said:

release the smaller footprint 5200. 

Little PAM would have been sweet. Brett Weiss shows one here.

.

Edited September 20, 2023 by sramirez2008

[Justin]

1 hour ago, sramirez2008 said:

Little PAM would have been sweet. Brett Weiss shows one here.

.

Did the Heritage Auctions 5100 end up selling?

[sramirez2008]

11 hours ago, Justin said:

Did the Heritage Auctions 5100 end up selling?

Good question. You have to create an account with HA to see and I don’t want to do that. They were asking for offers of $18,000 or more, which is to rich for me.

Edited September 21, 2023 by sramirez2008

[TrekMD]

$18.000?!?  No thank you.  I'll enjoy pictures and videos of it.  For free!  😆

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I can’t believe I missed this post.  
 

At one point I had all three systems in my collection about a decade ago.  I will give my biased opinion.

I understand why people loved the Intellivision.  I get it.  But I’m a single child and it felt like most of the Intv games were aimed at two players at first.  I did enjoy Lock n Chase, Beauty and the Beast, Snafu, and Auto Racing but I couldn’t use the controllers for very long.  I absolutely hated those side fire buttons.

Colecovision I had more fun with discovering games that my 5200 didn’t get.  Space Fury and Pepper II were my favorites. The controllers were more comfortable than the INtV controllers so I could do an endurance run if I chose to.  I actually enjoyed the CV and should have held on to it.

Now we come to the 5200.  As much as I love my 5200 it is not without its fair share of issues.  I agree the controllers are the breaking point of the entire system.  I got use to the controllers as a kid.  It was an Atari and I wasn’t going to ask to exchange it for fear I wouldn’t get one at all.  So I learned the system.  It grew on and up with me.  
 

Now…if all three would have continued to support themselves and each other they all might have survived the game crash.  A game crash that went by me unnoticed.  There were prototypes for the 5200 that appear complete that should have been released.  I’m sure those with 5200 systems would have loved Jr PAC-Man, Super Pac-Man, Sinistar, Millipede (mom was actually expecting that one), and others.  Those would have been huge sellers, game crash or not. I’m sure there were unfinished games for the other two as well.  But all three companies, even if they hated each other, made games for one another.  And you don’t see that these days.  I know the 5200 didn’t get games from Mattel or Coleco but those two did support the 2600 and Atari developed games for both competitors.

Bottomline: I agree. All three should have just continued to make games for themselves and each other. In doing so they might have survived the crash.

As it is today each one could not be here without the others.  Their games fill blanks the other guys didn’t fill. I don’t like the intellivision controllers but I liked the games. I enjoyed the Cv more but at times the controllers seemed sloppy.  The 5200 I do enjoy most but I can honestly say that my hands have grown and make the controllers a bit uncomfortable…and that’s something I don’t remember experiencing before.

id love to see the 5100 get a release and id love to add the Video System X to my collection as the holy grail item.

 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

On 9/18/2023 at 10:29 PM, Justin said:

Crazy thing is, I believe Atari announced they were going to release a new and improved Donkey Kong and DK Jr for the 2600, when Atari acquired the Coleco 2600 library. When they were asked why they released the same DK and DK Jr for 2600, they said they had given it an Atari cartridge shell and better label 😑

I think @Video 61 may remember more details about this story than I do.

So if I want to improve any cartridge game I just have to put it in an Atari shell and put a better label on it??  Will Gradius fit in an Atari shell?

[Justin]

10 minutes ago, Atari 5200 Guy said:

So if I want to improve any cartridge game I just have to put it in an Atari shell and put a better label on it??  Will Gradius fit in an Atari shell?

Yes

[TrekMD]

15 hours ago, Atari 5200 Guy said:

I can’t believe I missed this post.  
 

At one point I had all three systems in my collection about a decade ago.  I will give my biased opinion.

I understand why people loved the Intellivision.  I get it.  But I’m a single child and it felt like most of the Intv games were aimed at two players at first.  I did enjoy Lock n Chase, Beauty and the Beast, Snafu, and Auto Racing but I couldn’t use the controllers for very long.  I absolutely hated those side fire buttons.

Colecovision I had more fun with discovering games that my 5200 didn’t get.  Space Fury and Pepper II were my favorites. The controllers were more comfortable than the INtV controllers so I could do an endurance run if I chose to.  I actually enjoyed the CV and should have held on to it.

Now we come to the 5200.  As much as I love my 5200 it is not without its fair share of issues.  I agree the controllers are the breaking point of the entire system.  I got use to the controllers as a kid.  It was an Atari and I wasn’t going to ask to exchange it for fear I wouldn’t get one at all.  So I learned the system.  It grew on and up with me.  
 

Now…if all three would have continued to support themselves and each other they all might have survived the game crash.  A game crash that went by me unnoticed.  There were prototypes for the 5200 that appear complete that should have been released.  I’m sure those with 5200 systems would have loved Jr PAC-Man, Super Pac-Man, Sinistar, Millipede (mom was actually expecting that one), and others.  Those would have been huge sellers, game crash or not. I’m sure there were unfinished games for the other two as well.  But all three companies, even if they hated each other, made games for one another.  And you don’t see that these days.  I know the 5200 didn’t get games from Mattel or Coleco but those two did support the 2600 and Atari developed games for both competitors.

Bottomline: I agree. All three should have just continued to make games for themselves and each other. In doing so they might have survived the crash.

As it is today each one could not be here without the others.  Their games fill blanks the other guys didn’t fill. I don’t like the intellivision controllers but I liked the games. I enjoyed the Cv more but at times the controllers seemed sloppy.  The 5200 I do enjoy most but I can honestly say that my hands have grown and make the controllers a bit uncomfortable…and that’s something I don’t remember experiencing before.

id love to see the 5100 get a release and id love to add the Video System X to my collection as the holy grail item.

 

That is a fair opinion, however biased you may think it is.  Each system has its strengths and weaknesses and they had their share of unique titles. 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

On 11/27/2023 at 9:44 PM, TrekMD said:

That is a fair opinion, however biased you may think it is.  Each system has its strengths and weaknesses and they had their share of unique titles. 

I agree. I did try to enjoy the INTV but the hand pain I got from using it was a turn off.  However I kept trying to find ways to hold the controllers in ways to try to find that sweet spot.  Sometimes I did depending on the game being played.  I still have a large library of INTV games in my collection in hopes of grabbing a INTV II someday.  Advanced Dungeons and Dragons was fun too.

i tried to be biased.  I hope I succeeded.  I tried to. I do like all three  but I did give the CV more attention when I had one.  Pepper II was hard to put down.

 

[TrekMD]

There are controller alternatives for the INTV today that are more comfortable to use.  You do need an Inty II or a Sears Super Video Arcade to be able to use them, though.  I recently got this Intelli-Stick for my INTV II.

[Scott Stilphen]

On 9/18/2023 at 10:29 PM, Justin said:

Crazy thing is, I believe Atari announced they were going to release a new and improved Donkey Kong and DK Jr for the 2600, when Atari acquired the Coleco 2600 library. When they were asked why they released the same DK and DK Jr for 2600, they said they had given it an Atari cartridge shell and better label 😑

I think @Video 61 may remember more details about this story than I do.

I'd like to know what publication that announcement appeared in.

[Justin]

7 hours ago, Scott Stilphen said:

I'd like to know what publication that announcement appeared in.

I never said it appeared in a publication. Where are you getting that?

[- Ω -]

On 11/29/2023 at 7:36 PM, TrekMD said:

There are controller alternatives for the INTV today that are more comfortable to use.  You do need an Inty II or a Sears Super Video Arcade to be able to use them, though.  I recently got this Intelli-Stick for my INTV II.

I whole ❤️edly love my RetroGameBoyz joystick for my Big Sexy 5200, so I know how much you probably like that one as well.  BTW, it's highly gratifying to me to see that someone else prefers the joystick on the right (proper) side!  ☺️

[Atari 5200 Guy]

On 11/29/2023 at 9:36 PM, TrekMD said:

There are controller alternatives for the INTV today that are more comfortable to use.  You do need an Inty II or a Sears Super Video Arcade to be able to use them, though.  I recently got this Intelli-Stick for my INTV II.

Now that is cool 

[sramirez2008]

8 hours ago, - Ω - said:

I whole ❤️edly love my RetroGameBoyz joystick for my Big Sexy 5200, so I know how much you probably like that one as well.  BTW, it's highly gratifying to me to see that someone else prefers the joystick on the right (proper) side!  ☺️

He made a similar one for the 5200.😉

As for the Right Stick Brotherhood…I believe we each have one of these.

Edited December 2, 2023 by sramirez2008

[- Ω -]

13 hours ago, sramirez2008 said:

He made a similar one for the 5200.😉

As for the Right Stick Brotherhood…I believe we each have one of these.

Yup, I will not play my 5200 without it!

[7800 Pro Gamer]

On 9/20/2023 at 11:19 AM, RickR said:

 

Here's the thing...Colecovision or 5200 (or both) could have helped Coleco or Atari survive the crash.  If they had focused all their efforts on those systems alone.  Forget about Adam.  Forget about 2600, 7800, XEGS.  Buckle down and ride it out.  Make a ton of new games.  Get as much out of the hardware as possible.  Release improved controllers. 

For Atari - improve the controllers, release the smaller footprint 5200.  Release games!  I absolutely believe it would have made it with focused management. 

One of the greatest "what-if's" in the business. 

I agree with this.  I can't speak on Colecovision but Atari really spread itself thin at a time when they needed to buckle down.  I understand not wanting to abandon the 2600 as it was still selling but they needed to focus.  

Consumer confidence is key, I think they needed to say publicly that the 5200 is for the advanced game player who wants the arcade at home but you can still play all your 2600 games on your 2600.  So no need for an adapter, you already have the console!  Then fix the controller issues and offer a rebate to early adopters to get the fixed controllers for cheap while packing it in with future releases.  And finally continue supporting the 5200 with top of the line software showing that 5200 is in a league of its own.  Advertise that if your not ready for advanced games, then we still offer 2600 software but for those game players who want a next level challenge, who have mastered the 2600 then get the 5200 as it's the future of video games. 

I feel they conceded too much by creating adapters and the like and made consumers feel vindicated in their complaints.  Regardless, I'm a 7800 guy so I'm glad the 7800 came out, but man I wish they were more focused even at that time.