Which console is better? Atari or NES?

[Reaperman]

That's a bit misguided. Adjusted for inflation at launch the VCS cost nearly twice as much as the NES did at its launch.

 

Sure the VCS became the goto for poor families when technology moved on, but the exact same thing happened with the NES.

 

My perspective on the VCS wasn't necessarily looking at it through NES glasses. More from looking down on it through A8 glasses. I have no idea what a decent 800 setup ran at launch, but I assume quite a lot more than either.

 

I think I'd like VCS more if it offered me a different experience than I'm used to. Something where I can go "that's neat, I've never played that before." In that way, maybe the 'NES generation' would have an easier time stepping down to it. I own a bunch of VCS titles, and I've seen it do some amazing things (qualifier:"for what it is"). At the same time 'amazing vcs titles' are really nothing compared to 'the mediocre a8 ports' of the same games and it seems like I'm just punishing myself by playing the game on VCS.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Reaperman

[BydoEmpire]

I play the 2600 a lot more overall, but if I were on a desert island with only one of those two consoles, I'd probably pick the NES due to the variety. Still, so many 2600 games have such a timeless quality I never get bored with them. I have a lot of NES games, but don't really feel like playing many. I guess I'm going to have to say Atari 2600 by a hair...

 

On forum threads, "best" or "better" always means "favorite." Just do the translation in your head and move on...

Edited March 11, 2014 by BydoEmpire

[Keatah]

That's a bit misguided. Adjusted for inflation at launch the VCS cost nearly twice as much as the NES did at its launch.

 

Sure the VCS became the goto for poor families when technology moved on, but the exact same thing happened with the NES.

 

I wonder if that is so today? If not with the VCS, then with what system, PS2? XB1? Those are old enough to be considered yesterday's news.

[RevEng]

Based on lifetime sales numbers, current console+game pricing, and wide availability, my guess is that the PS2 is the popular "tight budget" console, followed by the Wii.

[atarilovesyou]

I voted NES, simply because I think that if I had to choose which one I'd rather have on a deserted island for the rest of my life (with coconuts for tv, of course), I'd want the extra depth of the NES library.

 

What's a better system?...NES, there should be no doubt on that (technically, it's quite obvious). What's the 'best' system...that's opinion, and lots of things can affect that. These two systems are so close in my mind that the NES really only won by a bit (or 7, whatever).

 

I have just as much nostalgia and good vibes about the VCS as I do the NES, but maybe because the NES came at a time where I wasn't concerned about beating scores, but more into 'finishing' games (end bosses, SMB type thing). The adventure games were finally done with depth on a console, and the variety of games, the library was diverse and new at the time...even though I still liked the other systems like the Master System, the NES really encapsulated what was going on with video gaming in my life at the time.

 

Anyways, I have no problem stating my preference on AA about the NES, lol!...there's lot of fans here, even though I've come to realize the NES is the red-headed stepchild of AtariAge ! In my opinion, anyway. There's a subforum for just about every system you can think of, but no NES. Without beating that dead horse, lol, it's nice to know I'm not alone in my preference.

 

But the 2600 (and Atari) is still pure awesome.

[+LS650]

Which is better, purple or green?

[BassGuitari]

I voted "other" out of spite for a meaningless question.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Which is better, purple or green?

purple, green, and gold, of course. Mardi Gras colors!

 

Thanks for the input, fellas. I grew up on NES. Well, more specifically, all my friends grew up on NES because my mom and dad never bought me one. As a result, I had a lot of catching up to do as an adult. But all through my life it was NES fans calling the Atari sh!t. I too, fell victim to this misguided philosophy, until I got an Atari myself in 2012. Besides the obvious primitive raw graphics, sound and specs, or the video game crash, I feel that much of the fun has been taken out of the NES/SNES collecting hobby due to the "collect everything" mentality of NES collectors, driving up prices on popular or uncommon games. Even some rare Atari titles are easily attainable and a bustling homebrew scene, it's a great system to collect for. Not quite sure whether the Atari or SNES is my number two system right now. It's hard to quantify, and despite the fact that my Atari collection grew far more rapidly than any of my other systems (due thankfully to the bargain bin prices of Atari titles), NES is still my first love and the system I currently own the most games for. So yeah, the "deserted island" scenario has to go to NES. But perhaps the most telling sign is that I have more posts on Atariage now than Nintendoage, despite joining AA a year later (both are over 2000 posts btw). Or maybe the people here at AtariAge are just friendlier. That and 50% of posts on NintendoAge are in the marketplace forums. Yet even AtariAge seems to have more NES fans among Atari lovers, according to the poll.

 

Keep the comments rolling...

Edited March 12, 2014 by stardust4ever

[108 Stars]

Master System for me.

[adamchevy]

The first system my parents bought me was an nes. The system I played the most was the playstation growing up. I bought an atari 2600 and a colecovision within the past 6 months and I wish I could have had those systems growing up. I think I missed out on some great gaming experiences. It is a bit unfair to pit the VCS against the nes graphically, but based on originality and programming genius its hard to say the nes wins. I think princess rescue is just as much fun to play as super Mario bros on the nes. I have been playing them back to back a lot lately .

[+Gemintronic]

Master System for me.

 

If we grew up in Brazil this choice would be obvious. They even got a freakin' awesome port of Street Fighter II!

[karokoenig]

Now, if Nintendo had built backwards compatibility to the 2600 into their NES...

[robotwo]

I say NES, but only because Atari VCS/2600 systems weren't too common around here (only seen one once).

[Andromeda Stardust]

Now, if Nintendo had built backwards compatibility to the 2600 into their NES...

No. Even though they use the same CPU architecture, the NES hardware is totally incompatible. Atari made the 7800 backwards compatible and it totally gimped the system's capabilities. I do enjoy Atari but I absolutely love the tile based graphics the NES puts out. Ironically, the NES gets by with less RAM than other tile based systems by using a separate ROM bus for graphics. And it works too because the advanced mappers which came later to the system allowed loading of graphics instantaneously.

[PFL]

Well a few years ago I bought a VCS and a NES. I then sold the NES as it didn't really offer me anything every other console and computer offered (SNES, Megadrive et al) and, to me, had a really dull palette. I still have the VCS and it's still hooked up to my telly. So, for me, the VCS won / wins...

 

I love it's raw simplicity in the GFX department and I love the dirty lo bit cacophonous sound it produces. Also, as I'm crap at games, completing games on the NES was a no-go for me - it just left me frustrated only getting to see half the game I paid for. However crap I am on the VCS I can always improve my score. The games are also more suitable to my lifestyle. Just switch on, shoot things, switch off then go to work...

 

PS: My number two 8 bit console would be the SMS. It's just a little more vibrant than the NES.

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

For me its the NES.. Atari just doesn't quite do it for me like Nintendo does but I still think Atari is cool and i still have all of that stuff. I grew up with NES and ColecoVision but I got into Atari (and Intellivision) later on, when I was 14 or so..

[karokoenig]

No. Even though they use the same CPU architecture, the NES hardware is totally incompatible. Atari made the 7800 backwards compatible and it totally gimped the system's capabilities. I do enjoy Atari but I absolutely love the tile based graphics the NES puts out. Ironically, the NES gets by with less RAM than other tile based systems by using a separate ROM bus for graphics. And it works too because the advanced mappers which came later to the system allowed loading of graphics instantaneously.

That's what I absolutely love about this site: You make a (admittedly stupid) joke, and in return, you receive a slightly nerdy lecture about technological details. I learn something new every day here. That's great! Thank you stardust. Seriously. I'm not kidding you. I mean it.

Edited March 13, 2014 by karokoenig

[Andromeda Stardust]

^^

[Christophero Sly]

Atari VCS, easily.

[+Random Terrain]

All I know is that the Atari 2600 saved gaming.

 

But seriously, before the VCS came along, home video games sucked. Seemed like the only thing available was mostly a bunch of 2-player only Pong-like crap. Then the dark clouds parted and the Atari VCS floated down from the heavens and brightened up our lives.

[atarilovesyou]

All I know is that the Atari 2600 saved gaming.

 

But seriously, before the VCS came along, home video games sucked. Seemed like the only thing available was mostly a bunch of 2-player only Pong-like crap. Then the dark clouds parted and the Atari VCS floated down from the heavens and brightened up our lives.

 

You know I hate to get nostalgic, , but honestly that's how it went. This first time I saw the VCS doing its thing was like the most amazing event of my life up to that point! Life changed after that. And would again after that, many times. Like when I became aware of the power of boobies.

[Keatah]

All I know is that the Atari 2600 saved gaming.

 

But seriously, before the VCS came along, home video games sucked. Seemed like the only thing available was mostly a bunch of 2-player only Pong-like crap. Then the dark clouds parted and the Atari VCS floated down from the heavens and brightened up our lives.

The VCS didn't do jack shit to "save" gaming. Gaming hadn't been invented yet.

 

 

You know I hate to get nostalgic, , but honestly that's how it went. This first time I saw the VCS doing its thing was like the most amazing event of my life up to that point! Life changed after that. And would again after that, many times. Like when I became aware of the power of boobies.

What is it with men and titties? I don't get it..??

[+Gemintronic]

What is it with men and titties? I don't get it..??

 

It's an adaptation that keeps men and women interacting despite higher level reasoning not to.

[AtariLeaf]

 

What is it with men and titties? I don't get it..??

 

Would you rather get men WITH titties?

 

[Andromeda Stardust]

Boing! Boing!