Atari 5200 on VCS Vault

[phuzaxeman]

I recently bought the Atari VCS at Microcenter for $250.  With 2 controllers, I thought it was a good deal.  I didn't think $400 was worth it before.

 

On Vault 2, there is a 5200 section of games.  They did a decent job with the virtual box artwork.  Xari Arena and Asteroids were one of the handful of games.  And I have to say they did a great job.  The controls on the VCS are underrated and I really like how you can play games on both classic and modern controls.

 

I wanted to note that the version of Asteroids was actually better than all the versions I've played before on the 5200.  Seems like it was fixed up and played very well.  The controls were very responsive. 

 

The classic controller also has paddle compatibility.  You can turn the stick in circles.  Playing Super Breakout was fun.  I prefer the 5200 stick but its playable.  

 

For $250, i thought it was a good deal.  And I like how Atari pays homage to the 5200.  Just my 2 cents.

[fiddlepaddle]

I looked it up...Ryzen based emulator. That sounds good, but where's the cartridge port? the SD slot? Crippled in my opinion.

[phuzaxeman]

19 hours ago, fiddlepaddle said:

I looked it up...Ryzen based emulator. That sounds good, but where's the cartridge port? the SD slot? Crippled in my opinion.

Why have a cart port when I already have a 5200? 

 

There's no need for for SD card because there are 3 USB ports. 

[+sramirez2008]

I recently purchased one myself and I have several 2600, 5200 and 7800s in my collection.  I’ve never been big on emulation, but I’ve decided to dedicate this microconsole for just that purpose.  
 

So far I’m happy with it.

[0078265317]

I will wait for VSC2.

[fiddlepaddle]

I didn't look closely enough to see you could put roms on a USB stick...that would fix it. I guess I (wrongly) figured it required purchasing additional copies of licensed games.

[phuzaxeman]

1 hour ago, fiddlepaddle said:

I didn't look closely enough to see you could put roms on a USB stick...that would fix it. I guess I (wrongly) figured it required purchasing additional copies of licensed games.

I would have never bought this. But it was on sale at micro center for 250. Comes with 2 controllers.  It's pretty cool, the controller stick (like a paddle) can turn so you can play arcade Tempest then switch to 5200 Super Breakout. You can also install windows and load up emulators. Plays Disney and Netflix too for the family.  I like being able to play 2600, 5200, 7800, and the arcade games all on one system. I really didn't expect anything.  I'm planning to put a Jag emulator. 

Edited November 29, 2021 by phuzaxeman

[Keatah]

Good to see the vcs piquing interest in emulation. Add Stella and Altrra and MAME for nearly complete coverage of all things "Atari".

[phuzaxeman]

@Ryan Witmer

Atari is supposedly open to work with developers. Would you consider having your awesome work available on the latest VCS?

 

Not sure you'd be interested but I think it would be cool Imho. 

[BIGHMW]

On 11/28/2021 at 2:21 PM, phuzaxeman said:

Why have a cart port when I already have a 5200? 

 

There's no need for for SD card because there are 3 USB ports. 

Question about USB port - Can I use .bin/.rom/.xex/.car files? If so, then perhaps all of our (2600, 5200, 7800, and XEGS) games can work on her too.

 

Also - Does it have switchable emulation, so it can replicate different vintage Atari consoles (i.e. 2600, 5200, 7800, and XEGS)???

[phuzaxeman]

9 minutes ago, BIGHMW said:

Question about USB port - Can I use .bin/.rom/.xex/.car files? If so, then perhaps all of our (2600, 5200, 7800, and XEGS) games can work on her too.

 

Also - Does it have switchable emulation, so it can replicate different vintage Atari consoles (i.e. 2600, 5200, 7800, and XEGS)???

The VCS is also a mini PC. So you can install windows 10 and every atari emulator.

 

The 7800, 5200, and 2600 games I play are from the store which works on the VCS OS. 

[zzip]

8 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

Question about USB port - Can I use .bin/.rom/.xex/.car files? If so, then perhaps all of our (2600, 5200, 7800, and XEGS) games can work on her too.

 

Also - Does it have switchable emulation, so it can replicate different vintage Atari consoles (i.e. 2600, 5200, 7800, and XEGS)???

Atari recently added a 7800 emulator and DOSBox via update.    Atari doesn't officially support adding your own ROMs to these, though some have worked out how to do it.   Supposedly this may be a thing they open up in the future.

 

Right now if you want to provide your own roms, your best bet is to put something like Batocera on a flashdrive and boot into that.

[+Ryan Witmer]

12 hours ago, phuzaxeman said:

@Ryan Witmer

Atari is supposedly open to work with developers. Would you consider having your awesome work available on the latest VCS?

 

Not sure you'd be interested but I think it would be cool Imho. 

All of my stuff is freely available under an open-source license, so anyone can pretty much do whatever they want with my games as long as the source code is kept available.

 

That's part of the reason why the A8 conversions showed up so quickly.

[phuzaxeman]

Spoiler

 

The 5200 menu looks really cool on the VCS.