phuzaxeman
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Posts posted by phuzaxeman
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What I could never understand was why they didn't make the 5200 backward compatible for one of the main selling points of the Colecovision was the 2600 adaptor which enabled many 2600 owners to swap over without losing their precious collections of Atari games and which gave the Colecovision a massive games library to choose from. Atari had to have seen this factor so why didn't they use it to their advantage for surely 2600 owners would have bought the 5200 had they been able to play their 2600 games on it?
there was an adapter for the 2600 but they made it too late. had the 5200 threw in the 2600 adapter with the system, it would have sold more....
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i had my pet hamster live in it when i was a kid...
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another example of the 5200 superiority over the 7800 in terms of overall comparison.
the 5200 easily could take the 2600 yet the 7800 couldn't do much even to shine over the "ill fated" 5200....
Again, the 5200 owners need to express penis envy by cutting down the 7800. It's so odd to me that 5200 owners are so hell bent on trying to prove that their fun system is fun by cutting down another of the Atari family.
there's no envy for me. i own both systems since the 80's let alone every atari console. i like my 7800 but i think the my 5200 is much better. it's the games that make a system and the 7800 lags big time...
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mine works great! haters are jealous :-)
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And thus, it follows, calling the 5200 controller a piece of garbage is also a statement of opinion, not fact, and clearly, one that quite a few people very familiar with the 5200 controller disagree with you, about. So... there you go.
Calling the 5200 controller junk is an opinion. Stating that most people who bought the system felt this way is not.
most people? how much? can you prove that? unless you have objective evidence, then it's still an opinion. if you asked 7 of my friends back in the day (that had 5200's) if the controllers were "junk," you'd get 7 answers of the controllers aren't junk.
hence, saying the controllers are difficult to use and have had a reliabilty issues and saying they are garbage are two completely differnent things.
Didn't one of the gaming sites do a survey, poll or ranking about the worst game controllers? IIRC, the 5200 was way up there.. up there, that is, in being bad.
And I'm pretty sure Atari itself recognized the problems in the 5200 controller design, hence the changes that were made for the 7800.
If you like the 5200 controller, that's fine. That's your opinion and your experience. But you've got to recognize that you're seroiusly outnumbered by the amount of people who have a negative opinion of the things.
And at this point, I'm not sure what "back in the day" opinions matter for. What matters today is that these controllers are a serious detriment to the system still being used. They weren't very good then, and they're really no good now. I wonder how many 5200 systems have been trashed because someone found one, tried to use it, found that the controller was no good, and just gave up. Not everyone is going to know about the repair solutions available, or the rare and often costly alternatives.
:-) no one is denying the problems of the controllers. do u really think after of 20 years, a system's controller would not need some replacement or repair if it had been played a lot during the years? most people that would actually buy an old system would look online for controller problems.
as far as the 7800 controller as a real improvement, that's a joke. look around and do the research on how many problems and how uncomfortable these joysticks are.
why do i have to recognize that i'm outnumbered that i like the 5200 controllers? i could care less about what the majority says about the 5200 controllers just as much as i could care less that many people think the jaguar was a waste. i still enjoy them all (ataris) and i think that's the point. i know in this point in time, my rebuilt 5200 controllers have lasted over 2 years with not a problem.
most people that own luxury sport sedans around 30 grand buy the bmw 325i, audi a4, infiniti g35, volvo s40, or the lexus 250i. that's what outnumbers all cars in that price range. however, i drive a loaded subaru legacy. doesn't it matter that i'm outnumbered? not really. my car still kicks those cars on the xcross, 1/4, and 0-60 times, plus comes with awd and is the safest among the bunch, and still has all the bells and whistles....i'm off tangent and just trying to make an analogy, but i think you get the point....it's all a matter of preference.
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Another vote for the controllers sucking.
What surprises me the most is theres a person in the world that prefers playing Super Breakout with that thing instead of a 2600 paddle.
if you're good at the analog 5200 controllers and you get high scores than why use the paddle?
it's just a matter of preference.
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don't get me wrong as a kid, i had issues with the 5200 controller. i even opened the start button and put foil and that seemed to work until my parents bought me some new controllers.
the simple fact that we're debating and this thread is on its way to over 60+ replies support that some people live with 5200 faults yet still think they're still good, some people hate the joysticks, and others are somewhere in between.
in this genre of atari video game systems, there isn't a perfect controller: 2600 gave me the most blisters plus there's only 1 button, my 7800 gave me the most cramps and is one of the most unconfortable, and the 5200 was the most confortable for me, but needed to be fixed the most.
it all comes down to the people that have sentimenal value for the 5200 aren't going to care about what all the haters think.
had atari originally release the 5100 (5200 jr), released their self centering joystick, and made the 5200 directly compatible to the 2600, it would have done better.
but the country was going through the crash and it really wouldn't have mattered, since atari was also losing millions already....timing is everything and the crash wiped out colecovision too.
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I hate those damn 5200 controllers. When I bought mine, I had two, that worked fairly well. Didn't use them very much, and here we are, a couple years later, and they barely work. What the hell is that about?
And even when they did work, it was hellish to do anything. What good is pac-man if I can't make those tight turns when I need it most? Breakout with analog may have sounded like a good idea, but that failed pretty hard as well.
It may be harsh, but those things are a total bitch to deal with, and I hate their breaking down for no damn reason, I hate their analog controller's terrible inaccuracy for digital-controller based games, I hate the buttons that don't work half the time, and I hate their tiny cord. Everything about them is just pisspoor and just sort of thrown together to compete with the intellivision. I can tell you this, I've used the INTV a lot more than the 5200, and I never had control issues with the buttons, or the disc. Not even in Pac-man!
this response is almost too funny with how many "i hate..." (no offense)
sounds like you never updated your controller and you just owned the 5200 within the last 5 years. :-)
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since the world series is starting, i wanted to get your opinions.
in the area of graphics, sound, gameplay, and overall quality, which version is better?
gosh, the 7800 developers messed up on this one. from sound to gameplay, the 5200 eats the 7800 version easily. what's cool is the 5200 version has some great voice sythesis, great gamesplay, and cool graphics.
for classic baseball, the 5200 version was the best...
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And thus, it follows, calling the 5200 controller a piece of garbage is also a statement of opinion, not fact, and clearly, one that quite a few people very familiar with the 5200 controller disagree with you, about. So... there you go.
Calling the 5200 controller junk is an opinion. Stating that most people who bought the system felt this way is not.
most people? how much? can you prove that? unless you have objective evidence, then it's still an opinion. if you asked 7 of my friends back in the day (that had 5200's) if the controllers were "junk," you'd get 7 answers of the controllers aren't junk.
hence, saying the controllers are difficult to use and have had a reliabilty issues and saying they are garbage are two completely differnent things.
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You know it really doesn't matter that 1% of people who once owned an Atari 5200 actually prefer the joysticks. I know I know I'm being a little generous on the % here but .5% or 1% it doesn't matter...
and what study did you get that 1% or less stat? i agree that controllers were problematic, but still the problem of the joysticks are overated in my eyes.
you could say the 5200 is the worst system of all time, but it doesn't change the fact the system has a lot of quality games for the time and there are lots of people that still own and enjoy this unique system. the fact of the matter too is that people still develop carts and accesories for the sytem, talk about it in forums, many websites and fansites, and buy the 5200 stuff on ebay, so it really doesn't matter that you may think it's a horrible system. moreover, in the classic game community the 5200 has many fans comparably.
i've got over 40 games on the intellivision, 25+ on my coleco, 15+ on the 7800, over 50 on my 2600, almost every game on the lynx, and multicart for my 5200, 20+ on the jag, and still i end up playing my 5200 more than any of those systems mentioned.
i could give a rats a$$ about the critics that complain about the 5200 controllers because it doesn't change my opinion about the 5200.
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I find it bewildering that some are trying to argue that the 5200 and/or 5200 games are superior to the 7800... and even the Jaguar!
I own a 5200. I like my 5200. But face facts - there are few games on the system that are really still fun to play today. Now, there are probably some games that I don't play because I don't like them. I have 45 game carts, and the one I play most is Pac-Man. Others are Pengo, Space Invaders, Astro Chase and Koffi. That's it. Five.
The 5200's Activision titles are not much better than their 2600 counterparts. And a game like Super Breakout is better on a 2600 with a paddle, IMO.
As for the 7800, yes, it's a great convenience that it's backwards compatible. That way I need just one machine to play two complete series of games, 2600 and 7800. There are way more than five 2600 games I'll still play, and I have 240 in total. As for the 7800's library, where my count is 42, I tend to favor the ones I can use a 2600 controller with - Galaga, Ms Pac-Man, Food Fight, Dig Dug and Donkey Kong. That's also five. And I've got the three new Pac-Man hacks that are incredible.
And thanks to having a joypad, I can play the games that need two buttons, like Xenophobe and the unique Ninja Golf.
And I'm also a Jaguar owner. I'm pretty sure there the number of good games on the Jag outnumbers the 5200, and they're not all old arcade ports. Doom, Wolfenstein, Iron Soldier, Raiden, Tempest 2000, AvP, Missile Command 3D, Atari Karts, Battlesphere... and probably a few others.
As I said, I have a 5200. I'm proud to have a 5200. I like the 5200. But don't put it in fights it can't win.
5200 is not better than a jaguar in terms of graphics, sound, etc. if you compare the 5200 to the intellivision, 2600, colecovision, and anything out during that time, it was the top.
now the jaguar's competition, (n64 and ps1) was far above the jaguar as far as games. i love my jaguar for the fact that its unique but really compared to a ps1 or n64, it will get killed.
the 7800 competed with the nes and that pretty much was not even a competition too.
you look at the lynx, and it was cutting edge technology and led the pack of handheld portables.
so the 7800 and jaguar failed pretty badly against its competition in perspective. not only that, the percentage of good games to bad games on a lynx and 5200 is so much better than a jaguar and 7800. gosh the jag had a lot of horrible games (trevor, ninja, club drive, ultra vortek to name a few)
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Unless you wanted to play the best version of Qix that isn't an emulation of the arcade game, or the ONLY version of Space Dungeon other than an arcade(Taito STILL hasn't brought this one home).
....Having said that ... four games (and maybe a handful of other 5200 exclusives) wouldn't be quite enough to make me want to hold onto yet another console, especially one as bulky and problematic as the 5200. It looks cool, but all of the games can be had elsewhere...
four games wouldn't be quite enough? i could name more than a dozen of great 5200 games worth keeping.
bulky? that didn't stop the xbox sales?
problematic? other than the controllers, nothing problematic. get the controller upgrades.
i find it funny how people make these claims yet own a 7800 or jaguar when those systems really don't have many decent games like the 5200.
to name a few:
missle command and centipede on the trackballs, space dungeon and robotron on the dual controllers, super breakout, pengo, gremlins, berzerk, dreadnaught factor, countermeasure, star raiders, real sports baseball, star trek, pac man, super cobra, zenji; there's just so many great games on this system for a true collector.
the atari 5200 and the lynx have the most high percentage of good games to bad for atari video consoles. i love my 7800 but many of those games suck (one on one, karateka, double dragon, fight night). the jag is great for like 4 games? what a waste too....
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great wife!!!
look what my wife bought me :-) aren't wives awesome :-p
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if you can't play the 5200 sticks when they're functional, you didn't have this system when you were a kid...
i still remember having like a dozen kids for my b-day party when i was a kids to try to get the highest scores in pacman, galaxian, and super breakout and we all were good. not one complained about the joystick.
it was when the start button was so erroded in couldnt work anymore that we all were depressed as kids :-)
the 5200 wins over the 7800 and 2600 easily. an i owned both those systems when they came out, and still the 5200 stood out even though i had a big heart to my first video game system, the 2600...
put it this way, it wouldn't be the 5200 if you didn't play on the orignal joysticks.
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i've got all the atari's. the 5200 is my fav. it has much better games than the 7800. it has better graphics than the 2600. pick up a multi cart, good rebuilt controllers, and this piece of history is a blast.
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i've got all the atari's. the 5200 is my fav. it has much better games than the 7800. it has better graphics than the 2600. pick up a multi cart, good rebuilt controllers, and this piece of history is a blast.
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... But it's worth the effort, as the controoler's a real joy to use when it works right.
yep, totally agree.
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i had a group of buddies back in the day that had the 5200. yeah we broke a lot of the joysticks (just like my 2600) but we all had no problem playing the 5200. still one of, if not, my favorite system of all time. since i grew up on the controllers, i find them very easy to play on.
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The controllers are horrible.
They break. They are not easy to fix. They work ok for a few games but for left right up and down games like pacman they are bad. really bad.
It wouldn't have been so bad if you could use 2600 controllers with the 5200 without a converter. Then the gamer could pick which one he would use and you wouldn't be stuck with it for all the games.
Since we are on a positive note. I will have to say I do like them better than the Intellivision controllers.
all controllers break. and the new upgrades make it easy to fix. work ok? they work great for me for most games. if atari programmed the number pad to use as arrows, games like pac man would work perfectly.
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the atari 8 bit computers ruled during that time. i had so much software (still do) and have a bunch of great memories with that machine. i bought mine at a local sears store. i hooked up on the bbs back in the day as a kid.
best titles you can't miss?
no particular order:
alternate reality the city-best game of all time on all atari's
http://www.ataritimes.com/article.php?showarticle=248
the eidolon-best graphics on the 8bit
http://www.ataritimes.com/article.php?showarticle=416
kickstart (mastertronics)-gosh this has to be the funnest 2 player game on the 8 bit; rare game that ill have to buy if i see it.
world championship karate-beautiful game and graphics; 2 player must
autoduel-one of the best role playing game that took me a while to finally beat.
infiltrator-this game was ahead of its time. awesome game by mindscape. you could tell this game laid the foundation to the current mission games of today.
great american road race-sorry but the gameplay burns rubber over pole position. racing through all the US cities and dealing with the weather is a blast.
7 cities of gold-the beginning music alone is one of the top. i love this game. this game made me look into an atlas as a kid. it's no reason why EA today is such a badd A$$ company. when i earned "viceroy," it was a great atari moment...how geeky.
karateka-slower refined martial arts game with a great story line. fighting the dude with the ugly face and saving the girl was amazing. great music too.
one on one-this game is so fun with 2 players. nba games have come a long way but this was the grandfather of nba games. to dunk using dr j and having the robot clean the glass was way cool!
if i had one atari machine i could only play, it would be 800xl. there were so many different games and things you could do on this great machine....
btw, i loved the C64 too. the C64 always had better sound but the atari wasn't to far either.
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another example of the 5200 superiority over the 7800 in terms of overall comparison.
the 5200 easily could take the 2600 yet the 7800 couldn't do much even to shine over the "ill fated" 5200....
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Heh... If we ever meet, the first beer is on me.
Hopefully some of the 5200 bashers will come in and get this thread heated up, just to make you feel at home.
anyone can bash. people that can make good points and defend their own reason are the ones that can truly debate in a forum.
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Heh... If we ever meet, the first beer is on me.
Hopefully some of the 5200 bashers will come in and get this thread heated up, just to make you feel at home.
anyone can bash. people that can make good points and defend their own reason are the ones that can truly debate in a forum.
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If you could have only one 5200 game what would it be?
in Atari 5200
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i've got a multicart, but have 1 original game/box/instructions that i kept and that's SPACE DUNGEON.
there is no better game that uses the controllers well, uses the dual setup, has great sound, graphics, and excitement. plus, you can't find it on a 2600 or a 7800.