DamonicFury

I'd guess if the sales of the upcoming Atari 400 mini are reasonably good, more Atari mini's might follow.  

IMHO, the best entry point would be the start of the 2005 reboot, "Rose."  The first season is a little bumpy, but fun, and Christopher Eccleston's Doctor is extremely entertaining.  The writers assumed no one watching knew a thing about the earlier series, so there's no worries about having missed important information.  And while I very much like that first season, the show only improves from there (for quite a long time, anyway.)

Fortress

I wish we could glimpse the alternate universe in which Ray Kassar was a truly great leader.  He came into control of a company bursting with talent and excellent products, just as those products were about to become massively in demand.  Sure, Atari made tons of money during those first years of his regime, but it would have done that with anyone in control.  Had it had someone who had the skills to make his programmers, his retailers, and his customers happy... there's just no telling how big Atari could have become.  It could have been the dominant force in video games and computers for decades.

And that's why you should never sell a valuable collection as a single lot!  It'll go for a lot more than 20$, but for nowhere near what it would have been worth had the individual items been sold separately.

I'll agree the games were excellent, but I don't understand wanting to actually go back to that era.  Unreliable floppies, frustrating copy protection schemes, ultra-expensive hardware, and, worst of all, super frustrating configuration that varied from game to game?  Ugh.  I don't miss any of that, and would never go back.  What's wrong with just enjoying that fantastic software via GOG or Steam or DosBox?

Interesting!  Good ol' Warlords may have been the first to be adapted to the arcade from the 2600 home game... https://atariage.com/forums/topic/191708-2600-warlords-was-released-before-the-arcade-version-yes-according-to-egm/

What's left to say about them?  KEA and RTL have been awesome for over thirty-five years now (gulp!) and are still awesome today.  They've sold millions of copies and are regularly cited when lists are complied of best ever metal albums, so it's hard to say they're really "overlooked."  

Enjoy the hell out of those killer albums by all means, but if you're looking for some awesome metal that didn't sell nearly as well, might I suggest Nevermore's Dead Heart in a Dead World, Strapping Young Lad's City, and Forbidden's Twisted Into Form (to name just a few personal favorites.)

To each their own.  I adore many kinds of metal, with a special affinity for thrash metal, but have never been able to enjoy death metal, despite decades of sporadically trying to get into it.  But if you're enjoying it, have a blast(beat)!

Wow, that's a tough one.  They both play many of the same great games (although sadly they can't use the same carts.)  I love the look of both machines... which appeals more to you?  Do you want something that's potentially expandable to have more RAM and external storage?  Then it's easily the 400.  Or would you prefer to collect a small but excellent library of large, fun-to-plug-in carts?  Then it's the 5200.  

A big consideration is the controls.  The 400 uses standard 2600 joysticks and paddles... simplicity itself.  The standard 5200 controllers are famously unreliable, non-centering, and many find them uncomfortable.  Replacements exist but they're usually quite expensive.  

If this is your first Atari 8-bit machine based on the 400/800 architecture, I'd probably lean a bit more towards the 400 (or maybe a 800XL as it already has 64K of memory, unlike the 16K 400.)  The 5200 is a bit more of a niche console that needs a bit more expense and effort to get around the controller hurdle, and will never have the large library or expandability of the computer line.  (But I do love it, both as a collector and a gamer!)

It's not a system for everybody.  And while a game system based on the excellent Atari 8-bit architecture was an excellent idea, Atari clearly messed up the execution, particularly with those controllers and its shoddy launch lineup.  

And yet, it's a really fun system to own and play!  The 69 released games are generally quite good, with very few duds and many truly excellent games.  And 69 carts, with only one being really hard to get, makes the system very attractive to collectors who want a full set.  (The idea of completing a 2600 or 400/800 set is laughable to all but the very wealthiest.)  The carts are much larger and more attractive than the 8-bit carts.  There's few things more satisfying in retro gaming than plugging those big 5200 carts into that big system!  The controllers are admittedly not great (though they have their fans), but it is possible to either refurbish them or replace them altogether.  And the system itself is just gorgeous... black, shiny, and huge.  

It depends on your definition of "better".  Want 2600 compatibility?  7800.  Largest library of games written to its strengths?  XEGS  Best graphic capabilities?  7800.  Best sound?  XEGS  Cheaper on today's market?  7800.  Expandability?  XEGS. 

And on and on.

Does this mean you are diving into the 5200 and its library now?  Looking forward to hearing what you think about it all!  Already noted, you hate the stock controllers... most of us do, but there are a handful of exceptions out there.  Hope you can find alternatives that work for you.

Unlike some other consoles (looking at you Colecovision), the 7800's usually work fine.  Save2600 identified some possible problem points... it might also be worth mentioning that their shells are a bit more brittle than most other consoles and should be shipped with extra care.  (I've had a few shipped to me that ended up in pieces!)  

As for the games, for me, it's all about the arcade ports.  Food Fight, Galaga, Robotron, Asteroids, and Xevious are all great ports.  The Donkey Kongs (Sr and Jr) would be good if it wasn't for the sound.  Besides the ports, I personally rather like Ballblazer.  After that... well... there's a lot of mediocrity in the library I'm afraid.  But the homebrew scene is excellent, particularly thanks to the efforts of "PacMan Plus" (Bob DeCrescenzo).

Thank you so much!

Jin... I think a lot of us, myself included, have made that mistake. In the future, either start the auction at the lowest price you will accept, or just use BIN at the price you'd prefer to sell it for. Better luck in the future!

If the Atarimania dates are to be believed, the disk version actually came out first in 1985. The cart version probably came out when they were looking for new carts to release for the new XEGS system in 1987.

Yes, that's true. But Star Raiders II is one of the universally compatible ones (In fact, it looks like it would work with the 16K 400 and 600XL machines as well!) http://atariage.com/forums/topic/136057-xegs-cart-compatiblity-list/

jaybird3rd is entirely correct, I believe. It's worth noting that both versions should work on all Atari 8-bit computers with at least 48K.

Um, there's not two separate released games. There WAS a totally different Star Raiders II that was being developed, but it was never released back in the day: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/246591-wilmunders-star-raiders-ii-released/page-1

Wow! Too busy or just lost interest?

Love your reviews and I like 2600 Pac-Man... but I may never understand your soft spot for the hot garbage that is Karate. :-) I'd seriously rather play Skeet Shoot!

Game that I enjoy that most other's do not would be Astrochase for the 400/800/5200.

Did people really not like the Taito Superman arcade game? I rather enjoyed it, particularly the 80's arcade rendition of the John Williams Superman theme.

Fully agreed! Forever grateful to Al for creating and maintaining this excellent site for all of us.

Lol! There's some truth to that... I sure don't miss rewinding, or trying to get a tape to the correct spot, or trying to splice a damaged tape.