New collector

[Sputnik]

Hello I am Sputnik I am new to the Atari consoles and these forums. I am about to begin collecting games of course but I needed to know something first. 2600 or 7800? I'm not sure which one to get so I was wondering if someone could tell me what is better. Also I was wondering which games to start off with in my collection. Please tell me what you think I should get.

[The_Laird]

The 7800 plays 2600 games as well as its own games so its a no brainer really!

[mimo]

have a look at the top 100 2600 games at Atarimania

as for the 7800, there are loads of great games, especially the homebrew games. Can't rate Pac Man Collection highly enough!

my fave 7800 games are:

Asteroids

Space Invaders (homebrew)

Pac man collection (homebrew)

Ms Pac man

Centipede

Joust

Tower Toppler

Xevious

Donkey Kong (the sound is horrible but the gameplay is great. Looking forward to the POKEY enhanced version becoming available)

[Sputnik]

If the 7800 isn't available how would the 5200 do for me?

Edited November 22, 2010 by Sputnik

[The_Laird]

If the 7800 isn't available how would the 5200 do for me?

 

Not as good as it dosn't play 2600 or 7800 games. Depends what country you are in too. There was no Pal 5200.

[TrekMD]

Welcome! I'd go for a 7800 as already recommended. The 5200 is a good machine but it needs an adapter to play 2600 games. The adapter is not easy to find and you have to have the right 5200 model for it to work. With the 7800 you can play the 2600 games without adapters plus you get the 7800 library of games.

[AtariLeaf]

You could start with a 7800 as it allows you the experience of the best of both libraries. As for games, most of the best games are the easiest and cheapest to find. I'm sure there are many here that would be happy to hook you up with some really great common games for a good price. Just post in the "wanted" section of the marketplace. Good luck

Edited November 22, 2010 by AtariLeaf

[thund3r]

Welcome to AtariAge! Just a word of advice before you start rolling out the cash for systems and carts. Have a look at the game library before buying and ask yourself, "will i play these games or collect these games?" If your here to play then try them out via emulation first to see if you enjoy the library of games, I dont mean the whole list, but try some 7800 and the better 2600 games and then decide.

I see lots of people collecting atari just because they visit the community on AA and decide that they want to be with the "in crowd".

 

Just a friendly word of advice.

 

Moving onto the choice between the 7800 and 2600, My vote follows the same course as The_Laird. The 7800 plays all 2600 games (minus a few) and currently has alot planned for it (Expansion module, New games, Harmony Cart).

 

Hope that helps.

[Sputnik]

I plan on trading my NES for an atari seeing as how I always preferred atari over nintendo and sega. Atari has always been my choice in games which is the reason why I love them so much.

[Rik]

Of course get a 2600!!that's an absolute must, no question about it!!I would concentrate on getting a nice 7800 console and most if not all the games for it.The 7800 is quite harder to find games for, in the wild anyway,i have rarely seen 7800 games in the wild, me anyway, so i would start NOW.Of course one can find a lot of nice 7800 games at Ebay, but that's the expensive way to go.Hit all the flea markets and thrift shops you can, never know what you'll find.Or of course, you can look here at AA Marketplace.The majority of 2600 games can be played on the 7800, some can be a very tight fit, so be careful!.The quickest remedy for the tight fit problem would be to simply get a 2600 console, or do the modification, info on that can be found here.So the question, "which should i get" is pretty redundant.The 2600 and 7800 compliment each other..GET BOTH!!!!! If you do get a 2600 and games, try to get the Activision and Imagic titles, as most of those games are the best for the 2600.Good Luck in your collecting endeavors!

Edited November 22, 2010 by Rik

[mimo]

I would get an 800XL or XEGS over a 5200 any day (despite living in the UK I have owned at least 4 5200's!)