Do You Think?

[Poopopyo]

Do you think that Atari would still be making consoles today of they didn't blow their money away on stupid ideas? Atari's failure was all a chain reaction.

 

Atari wasted their money on making things like tons and tons of controllers that people didn't want to wast their money on because they had no problem with the normal joystick.

 

If Atari didn't waste all their money on things for the 2600 that nobody needed then they probably would have had money to make the 5200 controller better.

 

If the 5200 controller didn't suck, if the 5200 wasn't huge and was backward compatible with all 2600 software, then the 5200 would have sold enough to make enough money to make the graphic capabilities of the 7800 better, spread the word about the 7800, and release more games for the 7800.

 

If Atari made the Panther instead of the Jaguar then the Jaguar would have had a better graphics processor so more games could be made for it.

 

Now if the Jaguar sold well they could have made a 180 bit system while every other company was still stuck with 64 bit systems. What would the 180 bit system be called? Puma? Lion? Tiger? 10400?

 

Boy if the guys down at Atari had some common sense then they would be making mega bucks now.

[Wickeycolumbus]

Do you think that Atari would still be making consoles today of they didn't blow their money away on stupid ideas? Atari's failure was all a chain reaction.

 

Atari wasted their money on making things like tons and tons of controllers that people didn't want to wast their money on because they had no problem with the normal joystick.

 

If Atari didn't waste all their money on things for the 2600 that nobody needed then they probably would have had money to make the 5200 controller better.

 

If the 5200 controller didn't suck, if the 5200 wasn't huge and was backward compatible with all 2600 software, then the 5200 would have sold enough to make enough money to make the graphic capabilities of the 7800 better, spread the word about the 7800, and release more games for the 7800.

 

If Atari made the Panther instead of the Jaguar then the Jaguar would have had a better graphics processor so more games could be made for it.

 

Now if the Jaguar sold well they could have made a 180 bit system while every other company was still stuck with 64 bit systems. What would the 180 bit system be called? Puma? Lion? Tiger? 10400?

 

Boy if the guys down at Atari had some common sense then they would be making mega bucks now.

 

In all honesty, I do not want Atari to make another system. What is the point? All modern systems are the same in my mind, most of the games are cross platform, and the graphics generally look the same.

 

What do you mean Atari wasted their money on tons of 2600 controllers? The joystick, paddle, driving controller, and touch pad were all there from the beginning (maybe not the touch pad, but the others were).

 

I think releasing the panther would have meant no jaguar, and they probably would have pulled out even earlier. 180 bit system? where do you get that figure from?

[Koopa64]

I think he meant "128-Bit" system.

[Poopopyo]

What do you mean Atari wasted their money on tons of 2600 controllers? The joystick, paddle, driving controller, and touch pad were all there from the beginning (maybe not the touch pad, but the others were).

 

I think releasing the panther would have meant no jaguar, and they probably would have pulled out even earlier. 180 bit system? where do you get that figure from?

 

The driving paddles, keypad, and touchpad are all common controllers that probably did waste Atari's money. Your forgetting all the other controllers that many people didn't care about like the Mindlink, kid's controller, Space Age, wireless joysticks, and the light gun. Some of these controllers were only made for one game, so atari didn't have much of a reason to make them. I think the joystick and paddles are just fine.

 

I think the Panther would have been very successful. I think it would be interesting to see Atari battling Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. I really wish there was another company like Nintendo that has existed from the near beginning of home consoles

 

I'm pretty sure the number if bits the PS2, the Gamecube, and the XBOX1 had was 180, and 180 bit systems were right after 64 bit systems.

 

I think he meant "128-Bit" system.

 

Maybe I'm just going crazy. I think that the XBOX 360 has 360 bits and a 360 degree angle is a circle, so XBOX1 has half the bits that the XBOX 360 has and half a circle is 180. Maybe school is corroding my brain.

Edited June 16, 2009 by Poopopyo

[godzillajoe]

Was Atari really starving for cash when they released the 5200?

 

Where do you even get that idea?

 

You throw out a bunch of wild claims that the 5200 "would have made enough money to make the 7800 better" and "Atari wasted money on things the 2600 didn't need"

 

Do you have numbers to back that up or specific examples of these wasteful "things" Atari produced?

 

The whole post is gibberish.

[Poopopyo]

Was Atari really starving for cash when they released the 5200?

 

Where do you even get that idea?

 

You throw out a bunch of wild claims that the 5200 "would have made enough money to make the 7800 better" and "Atari wasted money on things the 2600 didn't need"

 

Do you have numbers to back that up or specific examples of these wasteful "things" Atari produced?

 

The whole post is gibberish.

 

Yes Atari was starving for cash. Jeez, they couldn't even afford to put a few springs in the controller. They put all their trust in flimsy flex circuits and "rubber boots." It's like driving a really old car, you hope it doesn't break but you get it going for a couple minutes and it breaks down.

 

Have you seen the size of the 5200? The thing is the size of my computer. Atari could have saved tons of money on materials by cutting down the size of the 5200. The system didn't need a controller door, and IMO, the 5200's graphics were miles ahead of the ColecoVision's and the Intellivision's so cutting back on the graphics a little wasn't that big of a deal. Not to mention the box. yeesh they used a whole tree for one 5200 box. You can literally fit a medium plasma screen TV into it.

 

Atari didn't necessarily "produce" wasteful things. Most of what Atari wasted their money on was failed experiments like the Mindlink. One wasteful thing Atari did produce was the 2600 Jr.

Edited June 16, 2009 by Poopopyo

[2600Lives]

Atari's "failure" in the console market largely stemmed from Jack Tramiel's wish to transition from console to home computers. It's why the 7800 was shelved for as long as it was.

 

The 360 isn't 360 bit, there are no "bits" anymore. Modern systems are measured like you would a modern computer, with processor speed, graphical chip power, and available onboard RAM. Bits pretty much went out with the PS1/Saturn/N64 era.

 

And I don't think innovation was wasting money. Atari was at the forefront of gaming innovation for years. Things like the Mindlink may have been failed experiments, but they WERE experiments, and that's what drives the industry forward, the willingness to experiment and take risks. Atari was introducing us to new concepts and ideas in control that are today commonplace. You likely wouldn't be using a wireless 360 control had Atari not thought up the idea damn near 30 years ago. Look at now, with Microsoft introducing Natal. It may fail miserably when it's introduced, but it's still innovating and pushing the industry into new areas, and if you don't do things like that, the industry as a whole stagnates.

 

Was it wasteful for Sony to release the revised PS1? The slimline PS2? The smaller Genesis 2 and 3? No, they are redesigns, and reimaginings of the earlier systems. The 2600 Jr. wasn't wasteful, it was Atari's attempt to recharge interest in the aging system, and it worked to a degree. It was cheap, had a very attractive design, and was small and unobtrusive. Definately not a waste of money.

 

The 5200 was that big because Americans like big things. Look at VCRs of the day. HUGE. At the time, we liked stuff like big ass cars and stuff, so they probably went with that asthetic. The Colecovision was a pretty big system, too, as is the original X-Box. The 5200 also was graphically inferior to the Colecovision (but superior to the Intellivision with some things), and while the joysticks may have been poorly designed (there wasn't enough long term testing done on them, honestly), they were super innovative, adding both a pause button for the first time, and a fully analog stick.

[Aegis]

Atari did waste a lot of money but that wasn't why they failed (they made a lot of money too) - the video game crash happened because there was too much choice - too many consoles with too many (mostly substandard games) and people just stopped buying - there are things Atari could have done that might have lessened the impact and kept them going:

 

Pay the designers royalties and give them credit on the box - this really messed up Atari and they quickly came to regret it with the founding of Activision - ultimately all their best talent kept leaving.

 

Get the 5200 out sooner with 2600 backwards compatibility, compatibility with 400/800 carts and a keyboard attachment that actually turned it into a real computer. Joysticks that didn't suck wouldn't have hurt either.

 

Control the quality of the software - this is where Nintendo succeeded and learnt from others mistakes - remember the 'seal of quality'? As Nintendo manufactured the carts they could choose what went on their system.

 

License the NES - seriously - whoever let that deal slip through the cracks shouldn't be allowed to be in business any more...

 

I think even if the 7800 had been released when it was supposed to it wouldn't have changed Atari's fortunes - they'd fumbled the ball one too many times by then and their demise was inevitable.

Edited June 16, 2009 by Aegis

[Poopopyo]

The 5200 was that big because Americans like big things. Look at VCRs of the day. HUGE. At the time, we liked stuff like big ass cars and stuff, so they probably went with that asthetic.

 

ROFL !!!!!

[2600Lives]

Yeah, I was only half serious there, but look at the VCRs of that time period. My god those things were humongous. Electronics just seemed huge back in the late seventies and early eighties. The Odyssey 2 was one big ass console as well, as was one version of the CD-I.

[Poopopyo]

Yeah, I was only half serious there, but look at the VCRs of that time period. My god those things were humongous. Electronics just seemed huge back in the late seventies and early eighties. The Odyssey 2 was one big ass console as well, as was one version of the CD-I.

 

Yeah the odyssey 2 was almost the size of the 5200, but that's because it has a keyboard. The CD-i was definatley the hummer or monster truck of every system ever made.

[gamerz]

Yeah, I was only half serious there, but look at the VCRs of that time period. My god those things were humongous. Electronics just seemed huge back in the late seventies and early eighties. The Odyssey 2 was one big ass console as well, as was one version of the CD-I.

 

Yeah the odyssey 2 was almost the size of the 5200, but that's because it has a keyboard. The CD-i was definatley the hummer or monster truck of every system ever made.

 

Then you never saw a Neo Geo then.

[Ben_Larson]

Do you think that Atari would still be making consoles today of they didn't blow their money away on stupid ideas?

No, Atari's main downfall IMO was a) their desire to do things on the cheap at the expense of quality (and fun), and b) their stupidity when it came to not retaining good talent.

 

Now Sega - they, I think, would still be making consoles if they didn't blow their money on stupid ideas.

[Godzilla]

"do you think" people should at least have topics long enough so that I know what the post is about? Yes, I do.

 

As far as wasting money, R&D is the lifeblood of the future of any company. But without an accountant I would have no way of knowing if vintage era atari spent so much on developing the space age joystick (for example,) that it was an actual contributing factor in their collapse. Personally, I don't think so.