One of my favorite systems

[maxdrive]

I know this system gets a lot of crap especially the controllers, but for me it will always be one of my all time favs. It was the first video game console I ever played as a kid. So many fond memories playing PAC man, jungle hunt, pole position, and galaxian. I feel the controllers get a bad rep. They aren't perfect but to me in watching reviews it seems that intelivision and colico get more of a pass on their controllers. Faults and all there are still games that are on the 5200 that those controllers are the best for it. Is there really any games on the other systems that benefit from their controllers more then any other system that plays the same game.

[mtarallo]

Agree 100% - I never had a 5200 as a kid - I have one today and it too is one of my favorite consoles. I have video modded it and rebuilt the controllers as well which I guess makes it more appealing to me. I like the huge clunky design of it and the chrome inlay - it is just one of those things, I just like it!

[zylon]

Missile Command and River Raid are excellent examples.

[Bill Loguidice]

I know this system gets a lot of crap especially the controllers, but for me it will always be one of my all time favs. It was the first video game console I ever played as a kid. So many fond memories playing PAC man, jungle hunt, pole position, and galaxian. I feel the controllers get a bad rep. They aren't perfect but to me in watching reviews it seems that intelivision and colico get more of a pass on their controllers. Faults and all there are still games that are on the 5200 that those controllers are the best for it. Is there really any games on the other systems that benefit from their controllers more then any other system that plays the same game.

 

Intellivision and ColecoVision controllers WERE criticized, but they were reasonably durable and worked in a "traditional" way in many ways. The Atari 5200 controllers were not particularly reliable, didn't self center, and were analog, which was a fairly radical departure. It's not surprising the 5200 controllers were more maligned. I think if they were similarly radical, but were reliable and had a better reason for being the way they were (or at least self-centering), there would have been much less criticism. It simply wasn't particularly well-suited to the game designs of the time.

 

It was a nice system all things considered, but there's no denying it was a victim of some poor marketing decisions by Atari (the pack-in, the early, unexciting titles, etc.) and some curious design choices, along with bad timing in general, e.g., butting up against a particularly strong competitor in the ColecoVision and, of course, the Crash.

[NE146]

Yeah this has been talked about a ton.. but I've never had a problem using the 5200 controllers, I could play games just fine. I had problems with them however when they BROKE Not too much fun having a non-functioning controller... else yes I agree, the 5200 was the magic console of my youth. I still love the thing.

[0078265317]

I had 5200 as a kid. But very few games.

[maxdrive]

Still problems aside there are still games that are the definitive versions on the 5200 due to this controller as stated missile command but also robotron qix come to mind in the reviews of the other two console I never hear of any games that are looked at as the top due to intelivision or colicos controllers

[moja]

I played both the 5200 and Intellivision recently, and was really getting annoyed at the Intellivision controller. My thumb kept hitting the rim of the circle pad.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I didn't own the 5200 originally bitd, but damn did I ever want one when i saw an older neighbor kid up the street had one. The rest of us lowly peeps on the street just had 2600s, he had the 5200 and was always bragging about it. Anyway, it took a lot of child begging and extra chores to get the 2600 in Christmas '82 as it was, so getting a 5200 wasn't going to happen back then.

 

I then bought one back in the early 2000s and I've really enjoyed it quite a bit. I can honestly say that it gets more play than my 7800 over the past few years and definitely more than ANY of the 2600s I have in the house. To add to the definitive versions of games, i feel that Rescue on Fractalus, and especially Star Raiders are best on the 5200 version game play wise. And yes Missile Command with the trak-ball controller is pretty much like having the arcade version right there and I don't think there has been a better port of it than that on the 5200.

 

I spoke about it many times before, the controllers don't bother me at all. They are fairly easily repaired for cheap and just need a little TLC now and then to keep them going strong. My only gripe if I had one on the 5200 is that it isn't as reliable as the 2600 was. I had to replace the multiplexer chips in mine several times and overall it just feels more fragile in its design as opposed to the VCS.

[Atari Nut]

I agree also. I bought the system when I was a kid and loved it. I never had an issue with the controllers and even today, I wish I could get an adaptor to occasionally use the controllers on my 8-bit.

[+wongojack]

Great post - I never had a 5200 bitd, but I have enjoyed playing it more than I thought I would. Maintaining the controllers isn't really THAT hard and now there is plenty of information on how to build or buy digital adapters.

 

Homebrews might be another story, but I don't really consider it as having the true definitive editions of anything aside from perhaps Missile Command and Centipede. That's because every game is basically cross-platform with the A8 computer line (and usually the 2600) and when you play those versions, you don't really miss the analog control THAT much. I don't anyway. Now I'll cross myself up a bit and say that I do enjoy playing Star Wars Arcade and Super Breakout on the 5200 for their unique control. I give Kaboom some play every now and then too. I've also divested completely of my A8 stuff and am content to just keep the 5200 and a flashcart (which allows me to play a ton of A8 conversions).

 

Finally, while the Intellivision is easy to criticize for having a cramp inducing controller, I think that in a fictional battle of which system has unique gameplay designed for the console's features that the Intellivision would be very strong competition. There are more than a handful of 16 way games on the Inty and plenty others that use the keypad very well. It also has some slower paced games like Utopia and D&D(s) that don't cause the cramping and were almost non-existent on consoles for a long time. Even the Intellivision versions of some of the games on both systems compare favorably. Intellivision PacMan is pretty good and the 4 way direction required is simple to pull off with the disc, and 5200 Frogger is disaster (unless you like playing with a keypad). I would also prefer to play Beauty and the Beast instead of Kangaroo, but in the end this just comes down to personal preference.

[SINGLE TOOTH]

I grew up with the 5200 also. I was born in 82 so I was pretty little when we had it. My parents mainly bought it for my sister, but I did wind up playing it more than the rest of my family later on. My parents say I was even better than them and my sister when I was that little, but they must have really been bad, haha.

 

Anyway, I did love the machine and I'm glad it was my first system. I didn't mind the controllers back then, except for when they stopped working and my dad had to always fix them. I have pictures of my opening my birthday present and it's Dig Dug. My favorites were Dig Dug, and Keystone Kapers.

 

We gave it to my cousins when I got a NES which I regret. They say they spilled soda on it and threw it away. Kinda pisses me off.

 

I got the Atari bug again in the mid 90's and started going to thrift shops. Lots of 2600 stuff but it took YEARS until I found any 5200 stuff. It's a lot more rare to find in the wild. I remember when I first saw the controller again at a garage sale back then and got nostalgic over it haha.

 

Now, I've rebuilt my controllers with Best's gold kit. I also A/V modded one of my 5200's and the picture is pretty awesome. It's a shame there aren't more native games for it, and more original games.

[+Ryan Witmer]

I can't take the 5200 seriously because it doesn't have a curling game.

[0078265317]

I can't take the 5200 seriously because it doesn't have a curling game.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/276527-averagesoftwares-development-blog-realsports-curling/?do=findComment&comment=3983455

[zylon]

I kinda stumbled into the 5200 and it is now my most played Atari. By the later 90s, I'd outgrown the 2600 some time before and still had it, but it was left at Mom's house. Sega was my thing then. I used to go to flea markets and used 2nd hand shops. We didn't have internet then, so hunting in the wild was the only way. One evening, I swung past a flea market that was packing up. I stopped in for any possible last-minute deals. I found a 2-port 5200 w/ Pacman abandoned where a seller had been, so I took it home. Digging around in the used shops, I turned up a power supply and a couple other carts: Missile Command, Pole Position, Centipede. At the counter, the owner started asking me about my "finds" and mentioned having a bunch of dead controllers for 5200. I always used to tinker w/stuff and had fixed things for him in the past, so he made me a deal. If I could make the controllers work, or at least half of them, then I could have a pair for my system. It took a lot of tinkering, cleaning, and then figuring out out to put them back together, but I got almost all of them working and had myself a set. 20yrs later, I'm still here.

 

Also have a Tandyvision One from an uncle. I never had a problem with the controls either for most games. I loved the autofire on Astrosmash, Shark Shark was cool, and I think the Centipede port was the best I'd ever played. I'd had some Colecovisions as well 2nd hand, but didn't get along with those controls at all, other than the Super Action sticks.

Edited April 2, 2018 by zylon

[SINGLE TOOTH]

I kinda stumbled into the 5200 and it is now my most played Atari. By the later 90s, I'd outgrown the 2600 some time before and still had it, but it was left at Mom's house. Sega was my thing then. I used to go to flea markets and used 2nd hand shops. We didn't have internet then, so hunting in the wild was the only way. One evening, I swung past a flea market that was packing up. I stopped in for any possible last-minute deals. I found a 2-port 5200 w/ Pacman abandoned where a seller had been, so I took it home. Digging around in the used shops, I turned up a power supply and a couple other carts: Missile Command, Pole Position, Centipede. At the counter, the owner started asking me about my "finds" and mentioned having a bunch of dead controllers for 5200. I always used to tinker w/stuff and had fixed things for him in the past, so he made me a deal. If I could make the controllers work, or at least half of them, then I could have a pair for my system. It took a lot of tinkering, cleaning, and then figuring out out to put them back together, but I got almost all of them working and had myself a set. 20yrs later, I'm still here.

 

Also have a Tandyvision One from an uncle. I never had a problem with the controls either for most games. I loved the autofire on Astrosmash, Shark Shark was cool, and I think the Centipede port was the best I'd ever played. I'd had some Colecovisions as well 2nd hand, but didn't get along with those controls at all, other than the Super Action sticks.

The Intellivision Centipede was even better than the 5200??

 

Yeah I was not a fan of the Colecovision controllers. Although, I first played that machine after it was well past it's prime.

[SINGLE TOOTH]

Here's a picture of me getting Dig Dug for my birthday. I loved this system.

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2018 by SINGLE TOOTH

[maxdrive]

That is so cool I was about that age too i was born in 81 we didn't have a lot of games for it but that didn't bother me I still loved it

[SINGLE TOOTH]

Here's a couple more. Before I could play, and watching someone play Pac-Man.

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2018 by SINGLE TOOTH