Video Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 The Joystics didn't self center and the buttons will randomly quit working, that's my complaint. Sure, the systems huge, but so's the X-Box, and I don't complain about that. Then there's the over all console design. I think the sexfully slick wedge shape is simply awesome. It looks a lot cooler than the Barney flavored Ice cube sitting on top of my X-box. The games are over all great, when the controllers work, or when the games are programmed to work with them right. Pac-Man was a little difficult, but most the rest I have work OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 I have 34 games myself but whenever I see a decently priced 5200 game on EBay..especially boxed...I try and bid. I just won Super Cobra CIB and it's on it's way to my doorstep! I begining to feel the pull of ePay...I would really like to go 'all-in' on a 5200 collection...must resist...must pay bills... :wink: Same here! Had to borrow $200 for my rent...eek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 I have 34 games myself but whenever I see a decently priced 5200 game on EBay..especially boxed...I try and bid. I just won Super Cobra CIB and it's on it's way to my doorstep! I begining to feel the pull of ePay...I would really like to go 'all-in' on a 5200 collection...must resist...must pay bills... :wink: Same here! Had to borrow $200 for my rent...eek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Cleopatra Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 I don't think the controllers were THAT bad. I mean we had a million 2600 controllers laying around that you had to sort through to find a good one. Or if you played a game that you didn't need to go... say, up you could use the one that snapped int hat direction. I don't know I have a ball playing the 5200 And as for size well we all know it's not the size that counts, it's all how you use it, er I mean... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Perhaps the 5200's saving grace would be the Wico controllers and other 3rd party controllers. Without the Wico controller, most games would be rendered impossible to play. That is simply not true. I never had a Wico controller, and I played Pac-Man, Space Dungeon, Kix, Kangaroo, Joust, Missile Command, Galaxian, Countermeasure, Defender, etc. etc. etc. successfully for hours and hours and hours at the tender age of 15. And, re: reliability problems, Best Electronics has thankfully come to the rescue with their gold contact auxiliary keypads. They currently have gold contact fire buttons in the works as well, and when they come out with those, one rebuild will be all you'll ever need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Perhaps I'm just a dolt then..LOL. I do like the 5200 controllers myself but when it comes to playing the games, I use the Wico in order to preserve the condition of my 5200 controllers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Um...if you're never going to use them to play the games, what are you preserving them for? Are you going to turn them into table lamps eventually? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsoper Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I use the Wico in order to preserve the condition of my 5200 controllers Yeah, but it gets bizarre because some people (including Best Electronics) say the 5200 controllers can also go bad from NOT being used. What is a lost and confused classic gamer supposed to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Use 'em til you can't use 'em no more, that's what I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElectricTroy Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I don't think the controllers were THAT bad. I mean we had a million 2600 controllers laying around that you had to sort through to find a good one. Thanks to the huge popularity of the 2600, the Commodore=64, and later Amiga, finding replacement controllers was and will never be an issue. The 2600 controller became the de-facto standard for gamers. You can't say the same for the 5200-proprietary sticks. Also, my 2600 sticks were very, very reliable. In ~10 years of gaming (77-87), I only broke 2 sticks. From what I've heard of 5200 sticks, they would break if you just looked at them funny. . And then, there's the whole issue of trying to play a digital game like Pac-Man with analog control. It's possible but frustrating. I can't play Pac-Man on my PS2 for the same reason... the analog control just doesn't cut it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 And then, there's the whole issue of trying to play a digital game like Pac-Man with analog control. It's possible but frustrating. I can't play Pac-Man on my PS2 for the same reason... the analog control just doesn't cut it. TOO MUCH has been made about this aspect of the 5200 controller. I've had my 5200 up and running now for about 2 weeks. In that time I've played over 100 games of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. It takes a while to get used to the feel of analog sticks, but after you do, it's not a problem. In fact, last night I played Ms. Pac-Man on the 7800 for comparison and I had a hard time re-adjusting to the digital sticks. They just aren't as responsive as the analog sticks. With the analog sticks you are able to 'guide' Pac-Man with subtle and anticipatory movements. In contrast, digital sticks force you to play a frantic and reactionary game in which you 'goad' Pac-man with aggressive stick movments. Moreover, no two digital sticks play exactly the same. Finding a quality digital stick, without some idiosyncrasy, is almost impossible. Out of the dozen or so 2600 sticks I own, I can only rely on two for incident-free gameplay. In conclusion, my gameplay on Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man has significantly improved since I began playing the 5200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAZ Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 To put this question to rest forever... When I was younger and owned the Atari 5200...I frequently made it to the 7th key in Pac-Man... If the joysticks really were that shitty, I would NOT have made it that far so often, correct? I wore one down till the rubber part was completely gone. I had a flawless pattern for all the key stages... and after the 7th key, the ghosts would be flashing blue the entire time... If you accidently ate one, however, you better run like hell...cause as I remember they come at you ULTRA fast (especially the red one). Case closed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 To put this question to rest forever... When I was younger and owned the Atari 5200...I frequently made it to the 7th key in Pac-Man... If the joysticks really were that shitty, I would NOT have made it that far so often, correct? I wore one down till the rubber part was completely gone. I had a flawless pattern for all the key stages... and after the 7th key, the ghosts would be flashing blue the entire time... If you accidently ate one, however, you better run like hell...cause as I remember they come at you ULTRA fast (especially the red one). Case closed! Kaz, I'm right there with you. When I was a kid, I played 5200 Pac-Man for hours with these fantastic controllers, and frequently made it past the 7th key. As you say, case closed. Hey...isn't there a point sometime after the 7th key where, after flashing blue the entire time for many boards, the monsters become deadly again? I seem to remember something like that happening...of course, it's been around 17 years, so I could be mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAZ Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 I was going to say that I thought I remember that, but I just don't know. If it was, then it was only for like 1 level, and then back to infinite blue, because I DO remember playing a crazy amount of levels where they'd be blue. And I remember eating them (by accident or on purpose), just to throw in a little interest. At 7 years old this is all I knew for gaming, my trusty 5200. I used to play Atari 5200 football a hell of alot too. And I used to eat all the dots, and have the red ghost chase me down the long bottom corridor just for fun, to have him catch me. And I was a Pac-Man nut so I used to make these cut-outs of Pac-Man and the ghosts, and pretend like I was playing the game on a table or something. Those were the days, that and playin' Transformers every day! Those days are gone, but in their place are days where I defend 5200 sticks from mean ol Decepticons. Don't forget that tunnel glitch, where you can eat a dot without eating it! Clearing a stage like that is neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Tunnel glitch? Eating a dot without eating it? Hmmm...I seem to remember that I once knew what this was, but I have no idea now. Could you provide more details? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAZ Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Play Pac-Man, and start out going to the right... Go into the tunnel on the right side...watch the dots that are close to where Pac-Man begins. One of the dots will disappear when you go through the tunnel. I think it is the second dot that you could eat when going to the left! Neat stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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