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Tips for someone considering collecting for the Atari 2600?


hiitsbrian

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Got a head start on games!

 

 

 

Now alls I need is the actual console. :lol:

Like Torr said: you've got some of the best games there! From your collection so far I like best: Asteroids, Missile Command, Berzerk, Pitfall, Space Invaders, Defender, and of course the multiplayer game of all multiplayer games: Combat. Try Combat game No. 7 'Tank Pong': the zaniest tank game ever made. I've had so many laughs w/ my friends back in the day w/ this game. You can hit your opponent from the most impossible positions in the field w/ the bouncing cannon balls.

 

I wouldn't play Pac-Man and Donkey Kong too often if I were you though... ;)

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A great start for your collection man :) , but id dump that pac-man for ms. pac-man. Some games id recommend picking up would be solar fox, jungle hunt, moon patrol, video pinball, midnight magic, robot tank(or battlezone), enduro, seaquest, and stampede. Also every atari collector needs air raid, red sea crossing, and birthday mania in their collections haha.

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A great start for your collection man :) , but id dump that pac-man for ms. pac-man. Some games id recommend picking up would be solar fox, jungle hunt, moon patrol, video pinball, midnight magic, robot tank(or battlezone), enduro, seaquest, and stampede. Also every atari collector needs air raid, red sea crossing, and birthday mania in their collections haha.

Hmmm...if you're going to dump Pacman for Ms. Pac, you still need to add a Pacman to your collection, even if you never play it. :) I do agree that Ms. Pac is stellar, but Pacman is good in it's own way (note: argument that will go on to the end of time, methinks). Not arcade, but if treated as "something different", you won't be disappointed to add him to your collection.

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My advice on bad games: you're gonna read a lot of chatter about how Game A, B, or C is terrible because X, Y, or Z (usual suspects being the likes of Pac-Man, E.T., and Donkey Kong). My advice is to tune it out.

I'm not saying there aren't 2600 games that ARE objectively terrible (quite the contrary, there are many), but rather that in a lot of cases it's a matter of opinion, and being infected with a prejudice can color your impression of a game you might otherwise enjoy in spite of its flaws. If you go into it expecting it to be bad, you're only going to see the bad in it.

I think Pac-Man is a fun game, personally, despite the fact that as a port of the arcade game it leaves a lot to be desired (it's more like a Pac-Man clone, really).

I could tell you a bunch of games I think are legitimately shitty, but I'd also encourage you to check them out and see for yourself. Maybe you'll see something I don't. :)

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Picked up Dodge Em (pic label) and Yars' Revenge today at the flea market. Both in great shape for 2600 games.

 

So I was wondering...I'm still not very knowledgable about the 2600 in general. I see some games have their connectors exposed similar to the NES games but most are hidden inside the shell of the game. Did atari have issues with the connectors on the games working well with the console like the NES toaster does? Do the games need any kind of cleaning? Is there a way to open the carts with the hidden connectors? If so, what's best to clean them with? Just curious.

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You can just stick a toothpick (or similar) in the tiny 1cm slit and the door can then be pushed back, revealing the connector/PCB. And the games that don't have the door mechanism don't have it simply for cost cutting reasons and nothing else. Ideally you would have the door for added dust sealing.

 

There are considerably less problems with VCS carts vs. NES carts. And I just used alcohol or contact cleaner on a lint-free cloth to clean the connector.

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Sega games are pretty fun on the Atari, too! Star Trek is excellent! I would also be a goon and recommend Spy Hunter, Rampage, Ghostbusters, Tapper, Buck Rogers (pretty good graphics for Atari), Congo Bongo, Kung Fu Master, Commando, Gyruss, and (I know it's been said, but) H.E.R.O (Actually has multicolored bad guys whereas the C64 version has single colored ones!)!

 

Emulation is forgivable when choosing IMO, but I agree heavily that the feel of a real cart in the actual hardware is the very best. I sound like a finger wagging mom when saying this, but, a computer often uses a whole heck of a lot of electricity for what is whittled down to only a few volts on real hardware!

 

Homebrew games are also a great choice!! ;)

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Picked up Dodge Em (pic label) and Yars' Revenge today at the flea market. Both in great shape for 2600 games.

 

So I was wondering...I'm still not very knowledgable about the 2600 in general. I see some games have their connectors exposed similar to the NES games but most are hidden inside the shell of the game. Did atari have issues with the connectors on the games working well with the console like the NES toaster does? Do the games need any kind of cleaning? Is there a way to open the carts with the hidden connectors? If so, what's best to clean them with? Just curious.

Most third-party games don't have any dust covers, but it doesn't affect their reliability. Most Atari Corp. cartridges used a coverless shell, presumably as a cost-saving measure. They can be cleaned the same way as NES cartridges. And it's very rare that any 2600 cartridge will flat-out just not work.

 

FYI Atari Corp. was actually a different company than the Atari--Atari Inc.--that first released the 2600. They started putting games out in 1984; Atari Corp. released the 2600jr. and the red label games, and re-released much of the old Atari Inc. back catalog (these look like the regular picture- and silver-label games but have the new, fatter, dust cover-less cart shells, and the labels often have alternate fonts, colors, artwork, and typographical errors, which IMO makes them fun to collect :)).

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Picked up Dodge Em (pic label) and Yars' Revenge today at the flea market. Both in great shape for 2600 games.

 

So I was wondering...I'm still not very knowledgable about the 2600 in general. I see some games have their connectors exposed similar to the NES games but most are hidden inside the shell of the game. Did atari have issues with the connectors on the games working well with the console like the NES toaster does? Do the games need any kind of cleaning? Is there a way to open the carts with the hidden connectors? If so, what's best to clean them with? Just curious.

Need any of these hiitsbrian :) ?

 

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So whats the verdict on power supplies/controllers? Originals only? Or are there good after market versions of each?

 

Get an Atari that has all the hook-ups for the benefit of having them and so that you know the seller has all they need to test it.

 

In my opinion, the Suncom controllers(TAC-2, Slik Stik, and StarFighter) are the best controllers and this video shows internally why that is:

 

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So whats the verdict on power supplies/controllers? Originals only? Or are there good after market versions of each?

 

Cheap and easy would be a Sega Genesis pad (look closely for a slightly raised thumbpad as there are two versions of the same pad. One is stiff, the other is perfect.). The very, very best (..and, of course, this is my opinion) is an arcade joystick...

 

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...Wooden box, drilled top & plexiglass, Atari joystick PCB, video game hot chick art (optional), minor soldering skills. Not hard.

 

I have both original and aftermarket power supplies. I've found no difference between them. There are also stiff and not-stiff Atari sticks so it can be hit and miss with those, too. I have a ton of Atari sticks and they all look pretty much the same but that is where similarities end.

Edited by Papa
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