Atari 5200 - Worth getting?

[segasaturn]

2 words....

 

GET ONE!

[hhwolfman]

Just for curiosity sakes, what is the average price or ballbark range for a boxed complete 5200?

I may have a line on one. Not sure of the asking price yet but I'd like to get a little knowledge before I approach the person about it.

 

Probably around $150 with a couple working Joysticks.

[Greg2600]

I've done a pretty good analysis of the 5200, Colecovision, and 7800. My goal was to see whether any or all of them were really worth my space (not so much money). I used emulators of course, for the comparison. At the end of the day, none of these are anywhere near perfect, nor do they have the many positives of the Atari 2600 that they never eclipsed, or the NES/SMS which stomped on their ashes.

 

Graphics: In terms of the 5200 itself, I like the "Atari" color palette, but the lower resolution really hurts the experience. Colecovision has the 5200 beat in that regard, as does the 7800.

 

Sound: As for the sound, I don't think it's any better than the 7800/2600, in fact I find it worse, because the sounds they chose to use on many games sound absurd and out of place. The background music on many of these games is a real pain to listen to, although the intro music is very good. Not all that impressive with the voice feature for games like Berzerk or RealSports Baseball, barely understand it.

 

Physical Characteristics: The ridiculous size of the 5200, coupled with the issues of the 4-port proprietary switch box/PSU, 2 port issues with certain games like Pitfall!, and the Infamous controllers, doesn't make the 5200 all that fantastic. Again, I don't have the console, but there are horror stories in abundance about the controllers. I shouldn't have to go nuts just to get the system to work and play decently.

 

Games: As for the games themselves, with the exception of Pac-Man, the great majority of what I would consider popular or playable games are available on the 7800 or Colecovision. Technically, there are superior Pac-Man homebrews/reprods on both of those systems, but I can't really count those, because they were not massed produced. Pac-Man on CV from AtariAge is not available, and the PMC was never finished I've seen. The Activision games have only slightly better scenery comparing the CV and 5200 versions to the 2600. I also don't count Homebrews or Prototypes, because that would require me to buy a 128 in 1 or USB Cartridge, both of which are very expensive. Games like Kangaroo, Galaxian, Super Breakout, Berzerk, Missile Command, Countermeasure, and Vanguard did not progress past the 5200, and are better versions than the 2600. But if the controller stinks? Q*bert and Miner 2049 are better on the 5200 than the CV, while others like Zaxxon and Mario Bros. are terrible compared to other systems.

 

Cartridges: The larger size is a pain, although the labels are very nice, clearly better than most of the CV and 7800 Black/White labels.

 

End: Frankly, many of the classic 2600 Arcade ports were available in almost perfect form on the NES. In fact, many of the games of that era, which may have been split between the Colecovision and 5200, were available on the Atari 400/800/XL/XE platform, so perhaps that's the answer? Unfortunately, Atari computer cartridges are hard to come by, as are the computers. So for me, if I can get Pac-Man on the 7800 or somehow the Colecovision, I would probably go with those systems instead. The 5200 doesn't hold enough Good things to be worth it.

[Vic George 2K3]

I'm weird. But, do you want to know the reason i wanted a 5200 as a kid? Pac-Man. Not beause it looked more like the Arcade version, but because it had ROUND dots, instead of the 'wafers". I never understood the wafers. I was always under the impression Pac-Man was eating graham crackers

 

Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man on the 2600 also had 'wafer' shaped dots. But I can understand wanting a version of Pac-Man that had dots that looked like dots rather than dots that looked like dashes, wafers, graham crackers, or whatever. However, my family ended up getting a ColecoVision because of the games I wanted to play on it: Ladybug, Mr. Do!, and Smurf Rescue.

 

Nowadays, though, I'm happier having Pac-Man Collection on the 7800 in addition to a Pac-Man Gold TV Games unit for getting my Pac-Man fix.

[+Cafeman]

I've done a pretty good analysis of the 5200, Colecovision, and 7800.... I used emulators of course, for the comparison. At the end of the day, none of these are anywhere near perfect, nor do they have the many positives of the Atari 2600 that they never eclipsed, or the NES/SMS which stomped on their ashes.

 

From my experiences with emulators and the 5200, you just can't compare emu VS real system. Sounds never sound as cool through PC speakers via emu; colors are always worse and often using a wrong palette.

 

Here are some unique experiences that (at least I believe) you can only get via 5200 ... the best of the best on 5200 experience: Playing Missile Command and Centipede especially with the trackball; or Space Dungeon with 2 coupled controllers; playing exciting and well programmed versions of oldie coinops, especially ones like Pac-Man, Joust and Vanguard in which there were not comparable versions back then - and even now they hold up well; and try home market games like Rescue on Fractalus, Star Raiders, and Countermeasure.

 

I love the Activision games on 5200, except paddle-less Kaboom. I wish they'd have made Enduro 5200.

[Greg2600]

Well, I finally did get a 5200, arriving today off eBay. I got the 2-port system, 2 controllers, 15 games, in addition to some dozen games from another auction. This is the first time I would play a 5200 in at least 20 years, last doing so on my older cousin's system, and for which I have no recollection. I gave the system and the controllers a good cleaning. The games played very near the same as the emulator.

 

I found the graphics to be about what I expected. Most of the games I have look fine, like Pole Position, Pac-Man, River Raid. It's a decent upgrade over the 2600. Centipede looks like garbage though, yuck. I liked the sound much better on the system than the Emu. As for the dreaded controllers, well, they both work, and so do all the buttons. The Red fire buttons are too mushy, yes, but the problem is they are too unresponsive and slow. The same with the Analog stick. I had no problem with it not centering. The problem was it was not responsive and sensitive nor precise at all. This makes games like Super Breakout, Q*Bert, and Joust very difficult. Super Breakout, as many say, is simply unplayable with these. Centipede is next to impossible because the buttons don't respond enough for rapid fire.

 

There are a few more games I need to get, and a few I have in those lots that I feel wreak. I want to see how playable Miner 2049er, one of my favorite games, is on this. As a youngster, my cousin gave me an Atari 800 in the mid-80's, and I just couldn't stop playing that game. I don't feel like getting an 800 again, though.

 

I also got a 7800 last week, very cheap, off eBay. I find it nice, much easier to control than the 5200, better graphics, worse sound.

[phuzaxeman]

comparing systems through emulators is 1 dimensional. sounds, joysticks, feel, and presence of a system is lost.

 

to own a 5200 is a collector thing. i still have my original box with the handle and instructions (as well as all the ataris, colecovision, and intellivision). the 5200 is a special system for many on this forum.

 

critics can stab at the 5200 all they want but the good game to bad game ratio is excellent on the 5200 (there arent any bad games) compared to other systems....poke fun of the 5200 sticks all you want but you wont be able to play space dungeon on some intellivision discs. the wideness of the coleco controllers aren't my cup of tea either. so to me, none of the controllers of that era werent great either. yeah it may be big, but the 5200 is the sleekest among all the consoles of the past. my ps3 with a fan unit isnt that much smaller...

 

2600 is the most nastalogic system for many atari fans, but the 5200 and lynx have the most "good" games.....

Edited September 17, 2008 by phuzaxeman

[hhwolfman]

Well, I finally did get a 5200, arriving today off eBay. I got the 2-port system, 2 controllers, 15 games, in addition to some dozen games from another auction. This is the first time I would play a 5200 in at least 20 years, last doing so on my older cousin's system, and for which I have no recollection. I gave the system and the controllers a good cleaning. The games played very near the same as the emulator.

 

I found the graphics to be about what I expected. Most of the games I have look fine, like Pole Position, Pac-Man, River Raid. It's a decent upgrade over the 2600. Centipede looks like garbage though, yuck. I liked the sound much better on the system than the Emu. As for the dreaded controllers, well, they both work, and so do all the buttons. The Red fire buttons are too mushy, yes, but the problem is they are too unresponsive and slow. The same with the Analog stick. I had no problem with it not centering. The problem was it was not responsive and sensitive nor precise at all. This makes games like Super Breakout, Q*Bert, and Joust very difficult. Super Breakout, as many say, is simply unplayable with these. Centipede is next to impossible because the buttons don't respond enough for rapid fire.

 

There are a few more games I need to get, and a few I have in those lots that I feel wreak. I want to see how playable Miner 2049er, one of my favorite games, is on this. As a youngster, my cousin gave me an Atari 800 in the mid-80's, and I just couldn't stop playing that game. I don't feel like getting an 800 again, though.

 

I also got a 7800 last week, very cheap, off eBay. I find it nice, much easier to control than the 5200, better graphics, worse sound.

 

 

Play Qix Play Qix

[DracIsBack]

From my experiences with emulators and the 5200, you just can't compare emu VS real system. Sounds never sound as cool through PC speakers via emu; colors are always worse and often using a wrong palette.

 

Yeah = that's why I always keep real systems around. Emulating would save space but the experience always bugged me ... things just never seemed quite right. Mostly the visuals never look right on a computer monitor with higher resolution and high definition. Someone once suggested hooking up a regular TV to the computer but haven't got MacMESS to work in a way I'd like ... not sure if it can broadcast to a secondary screen ala Quicktime. Fiddling with the display is annoying.

[Atari2008]

As for the dreaded controllers, well, they both work, and so do all the buttons. The Red fire buttons are too mushy, yes, but the problem is they are too unresponsive and slow. The same with the Analog stick. I had no problem with it not centering. The problem was it was not responsive and sensitive nor precise at all. This makes games like Super Breakout, Q*Bert, and Joust very difficult. Super Breakout, as many say, is simply unplayable with these. Centipede is next to impossible because the buttons don't respond enough for rapid fire.

 

There are a few more games I need to get, and a few I have in those lots that I feel wreak. I want to see how playable Miner 2049er, one of my favorite games, is on this. As a youngster, my cousin gave me an Atari 800 in the mid-80's, and I just couldn't stop playing that game. I don't feel like getting an 800 again, though.

 

I also got a 7800 last week, very cheap, off eBay. I find it nice, much easier to control than the 5200, better graphics, worse sound.

 

I got a 5200 recently and the controllers feel somewhat comfortable but they don't inspire a lot of confidence. The joystick itself feels weak and I feel like during an involved game of Pac-Man, I'm going to break it, not to mention that it is slow and unresponsive. So I do find that in fast games like Pac-Man the controllers are a bit of a drawback. I have Pac-Man Collection for the 7800 and find it much easier to control Pac-Man (I also like that with the 2600/7800 you get to plug in a variety of different controllers, my favorite being the Genesis pad) and on the 2600 version of Berzerk, it's the same thing, I lose the cool voices and sharper graphics but the control is tighter. Still the 5200 has a far more exciting library than the 7800. I almost wish the 5200 had been designed like the 7800 in terms of console size and the type of controllers it supports...

[+Cafeman]

...So I do find that in fast games like Pac-Man the controllers are a bit of a drawback. I have Pac-Man Collection for the 7800 and find it much easier to control Pac-Man (I also like that with the 2600/7800 you get to plug in a variety of different controllers, my favorite being the Genesis pad) and on the 2600 version of Berzerk, it's the same thing, I lose the cool voices and sharper graphics but the control is tighter. Still the 5200 has a far more exciting library than the 7800.

 

Yes I agree about preferring digital pads/sticks to the 5200's, but the thing is, you get used to it and it mostly becomes a non-issue. It's just different.

 

I almost wish the 5200 had been designed like the 7800 in terms of console size and the type of controllers it supports...

 

Don't we all! If only 5200 sticks used the standard Atari 2600/Genesis type of plug.

[briand1313]

I already own an Atari 7800 with a fair amount of games and since I can play the 2600 library, that doubles the fun.

 

That said, I've been seriously thinking about getting a 5200 unit. I understand that some games are just rehashes of 2600 titles, albeit with superior graphics. But there are a few gems on it.

 

And the biggest challenge are those awful controllers.

 

Is an Atari 5200 worth getting? If so, what games would you recommend and what controller replacements would be advised?

[Greg2600]

QIX was in that auction. Played it, its a good game, once I figured out what I am supposed to do. In terms of comparisons for the 5200, I think the main one is the Colecovision. I was never a big fan of the Intellivision, even as a kid. Unfortunately the CV I have doesn't work, so I've yet to compare the two directly. That said, I am a big pre-Jaguar Atari fan, and have always found their classic systems to be of good quality and durability. I might decide to go with best-electronics solution for sprucing the controllers up.