HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY/BIRTHDAY BIG SEXY!!! The Atari 5200 SuperSystem turns 40 years young this past month!!!

[BIGHMW]

Here are two debut ads that aired during the 1982 World Series that introduced us all to the one we all know and love as Big Sexy!!! ❤️ 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by BIGHMW

[+Stephen]

It's odd - I had a 400 in late 1982, and we only had over the air TV (with rabbit ears) so I am sure I was blasted with commercials, but I honestly do not recall any memories of the 5200.  We had a 2600 but I honestly don't recall thinking about the 5200 until I started BBSing which would have been 87.  I obviously saw all the magazine ads comparing games on different systems.  I think I realized the games were identical and never gave another thought.  Anyone else have the same experience?

[rayik]

2 hours ago, Stephen said:

It's odd - I had a 400 in late 1982, and we only had over the air TV (with rabbit ears) so I am sure I was blasted with commercials, but I honestly do not recall any memories of the 5200.  We had a 2600 but I honestly don't recall thinking about the 5200 until I started BBSing which would have been 87.  I obviously saw all the magazine ads comparing games on different systems.  I think I realized the games were identical and never gave another thought.  Anyone else have the same experience?

Same here.  I bought one in 1983 and don't remember any tv commercials.  Only ads I remember were the video game magazine articles with 5200 game version compared to another system.  Also, I remember the system just disappearing after a couple of years.

[+x=usr(1536)]

I can remember seeing ads for 5200 games both on TV and in print, but not for the system itself.  At least, the games were the focus of the ads, not the 5200, even though it was inevitably shown in the ad.

 

Tenuously-related trivia: in the movie Cloak & Dagger (in which the 5200 plays a significant part), Davey visits Morris in a store full of 5200 consoles and cartridges.  That store was The Game Keeper, located in the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California.  Despite having gone into that particular store fairly frequently, I can't recall ever seeing a 5200 or any games for it on the shelves.  The store did carry a tiny selection of 2600 games, but that was about it.

[phuzaxeman]

6 hours ago, Stephen said:

It's odd - I had a 400 in late 1982, and we only had over the air TV (with rabbit ears) so I am sure I was blasted with commercials, but I honestly do not recall any memories of the 5200.  We had a 2600 but I honestly don't recall thinking about the 5200 until I started BBSing which would have been 87.  I obviously saw all the magazine ads comparing games on different systems.  I think I realized the games were identical and never gave another thought.  Anyone else have the same experience?

These commercials were awesome.  So many great memories. I didn't see an Atari computer until late 84 and 85 when we bought our first 800xl.  Games like 5200 Centipede, Countermeasure, Space Dungeon were either different or not around for the 8bit.  5200 Qix was better than the 8bit.  I ended up using my XL for almost a decade into college.

Edited November 8, 2022 by phuzaxeman

[ymike673]

I remember watching those commercials during the 1982 World Series and saying I want this. I bought my 4 port at Toys R US when it was released there just before Thanksgiving. 

[+x=usr(1536)]

7 hours ago, phuzaxeman said:

These commercials were awesome.  So many great memories. I didn't see an Atari computer until late 84 and 85 when we bought our first 800xl.  Games like 5200 Centipede, Countermeasure, Space Dungeon were either different or not around for the 8bit.  5200 Qix was better than the 8bit.  I ended up using my XL for almost a decade into college.

Without realising it, I grew up playing the 5200 version of Qix converted to the A8.

 

The first time I fired up A8 Qix, my immediate reaction was something along the lines of, "what the hell have I downloaded?"

 

How Atari could have two systems so close in architecture that software could be ported between them with minimal effort, yet still double up on development work for a single title baffles me to this day.

[BIGHMW]

The AWESOME Trak-Ball was THE dealmaker for me and made my decision a lot easier, sure enough, after seeing me blow almost all of my allowance every week on coin-op credits, especially one day I blew it all at Six Flags Magic Mountain on some of the arcade games there in various locations, and after a lot of convincing after both seeing the 5200 in action and finding out how much money getting a 5200 would actually save in the long term as far as quarters saved every single time I hit the start button, my late mother surprised me on my 17th Birthday on May 19th, 1983, by getting me a 5200, along with a Trak-Ball, and Missile Command, I ended up playing it until almost 1:00 am that night (and on a school night at that!), and now nearly 40 years later I still play her today, lots of memories and over 400 titles later.

[phuzaxeman]

On 11/8/2022 at 8:39 AM, x=usr(1536) said:

Without realising it, I grew up playing the 5200 version of Qix converted to the A8.

 

The first time I fired up A8 Qix, my immediate reaction was something along the lines of, "what the hell have I downloaded?"

 

How Atari could have two systems so close in architecture that software could be ported between them with minimal effort, yet still double up on development work for a single title baffles me to this day.

What year did you play 5200 Qix on 8bit? I'll admit, I had a friend that had many hacked games. Lots. I never had seen 5200 Qix in 85.

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 hour ago, phuzaxeman said:

What year did you play 5200 Qix on 8bit? I'll admit, I had a friend that had many hacked games. Lots. I never had seen 5200 Qix in 85.

First time would've probably been somewhere in the 1985/6 timeframe.  My software collection was fairly skimpy in 1985, but it may have been in there.  1986 was when I started going to user group meetings, so it expanded significantly after that point and there's a really good chance that that was when it made it in.

 

What I don't remember was if it was a Glenn crack or not.  I don't recall seeing his name displayed, but he also hid some of his credits behind CTRL-G, and I may just not have tried it on that one.

[phuzaxeman]

1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

First time would've probably been somewhere in the 1985/6 timeframe.  My software collection was fairly skimpy in 1985, but it may have been in there.  1986 was when I started going to user group meetings, so it expanded significantly after that point and there's a really good chance that that was when it made it in.

 

What I don't remember was if it was a Glenn crack or not.  I don't recall seeing his name displayed, but he also hid some of his credits behind CTRL-G, and I may just not have tried it on that one.

Ok, I guess it would have happened after the existence of the 5200. I was already into the 800xl in 85. Playing 5200 Qix in 83 was pretty cutting edge especially being a fan of the arcade version. I started going to 8bit user groups in the early 90s.

[+x=usr(1536)]

23 minutes ago, phuzaxeman said:

Ok, I guess it would have happened after the existence of the 5200. I was already into the 800xl in 85. Playing 5200 Qix in 83 was pretty cutting edge especially being a fan of the arcade version. I started going to 8bit user groups in the early 90s.

It wouldn't surprise me if you had it ahead of us - I was in Ireland at the time, and a huge percentage of the cracked software we had was hand-carried in from the UK, US, or continental Europe.  There was some BBSing but nothing like it was in other countries, for the most part.  Either way, once it was there it would spread fairly quickly, but was still largely passed hand-to-hand.

[+x=usr(1536)]

12 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

What I don't remember was if it was a Glenn crack or not.  I don't recall seeing his name displayed, but he also hid some of his credits behind CTRL-G, and I may just not have tried it on that one.

Went back and checked on this, using the 5200 port of Qix found on Homesoft Disk no. 56 for testing.  While I can't definitively say that this is the exact version that I was playing BITD, it'll have to do until another version crops up.  Even then, it doesn't seem like there'd be a good way to distinguish them.  Moving on regardless:

 

This one is pretty much how I remember it: attract mode, no splash screen, no obvious credits for Glenn.  I did try CTRL-G, but with no results.  There may be another hidden credit in there, but if there is I don't know how to trigger it.

 

FWIW, Glenn did an interview for ANTIC some time ago, and I seem to recall that he listed the titles that he had personally ported from the 5200.  Can't recall if Qix was in there or not, though.  Having said that, there was more than one person doing 5200 ports, so it's entirely possible that it was someone else's work.

[+MrFish]

On 11/7/2022 at 10:53 PM, x=usr(1536) said:

Tenuously-related trivia: in the movie Cloak & Dagger (in which the 5200 plays a significant part), Davey visits Morris in a store full of 5200 consoles and cartridges.  That store was The Game Keeper, located in the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California.  Despite having gone into that particular store fairly frequently, I can't recall ever seeing a 5200 or any games for it on the shelves.  The store did carry a tiny selection of 2600 games, but that was about it.

That's Hollywood for you...

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

46 minutes ago, MrFish said:

That's Hollywood for you...

Grew up with one parent in that industry, and later worked in it myself for a time.  You're 1000% correct

[+MrFish]

On 11/7/2022 at 7:19 PM, Stephen said:

It's odd - I had a 400 in late 1982, and we only had over the air TV (with rabbit ears) so I am sure I was blasted with commercials, but I honestly do not recall any memories of the 5200.  We had a 2600 but I honestly don't recall thinking about the 5200 until I started BBSing which would have been 87.  I obviously saw all the magazine ads comparing games on different systems.  I think I realized the games were identical and never gave another thought.  Anyone else have the same experience?

Similar (and even more drastic) experience here. I maybe had seen something about the 5200 back in the day, but I recall nothing about it. I really wasn't clearly aware of the system existing until I started attending AtariAge in 2005. I was aware of the 7800 system -- from ads in Compute magazine -- since my 130XE computer days (starting in 1985). The 7800 looked like a cool system to have.

 

[Lynxpro]

Atari Inc. advertised the 5200 heavily until early 1984. Atari advertised everything heavily until then. If you were watching broadcast television in the States, you certainly could not miss Alan Alda pimping Atari computers and accessories in prime time like a pimp with a blimp.

[BIGHMW]

20 hours ago, Lynxpro said:

Atari Inc. advertised the 5200 heavily until early 1984. Atari advertised everything heavily until then.

...and even though it was discontinued the then-new Atari Corp. still promoted the 5200 in some regard, I remember seeing commercials for Big Sexy during the 1984 Summer Olympics, with ads like these two:

 

 

and

 

 

[phuzaxeman]

22 hours ago, Lynxpro said:

Atari Inc. advertised the 5200 heavily until early 1984. Atari advertised everything heavily until then. If you were watching broadcast television in the States, you certainly could not miss Alan Alda pimping Atari computers and accessories in prime time like a pimp with a blimp.

Atari did a poor job advertising the 5200. Many commercials showed the 5200 graphics but the commercial was for the 2600. When Atari advertised for Centipede, it would show both 2600 and 5200 art for both consoles instead of an exclusive 5200 ad. 5200 Centipede was the goat in that era. They did this in virtually all magazine ads. 

 

These commercials that did showcase the 5200 were on odd channels and very late times.

 

Part of the 5200 problem was Atari's dedication to the 5200. Atari could have done better. 

[BIGHMW]

When I picked up 5200 Centipede, I had only previously seen the A8 version of it on ads for the 400/800 computers so I THOUGHT I knew what to expect, but when I first booted her up, this just days removed from getting her for my 17th Birthday, I was quite surprised and impressed!!! It was BY FAR BETTER than the A8 version!!! It was a wonder why Atari never decided themselves to officially port it over for A8 users to enjoy for themselves like they eventually did with both Qix and Dig-Dug instead of having Glenn do that now-famous code-breaking hack conversion.

[Flyindrew]

As I was 10 in 1982 I have zero memory of the 5200 existing as all of us 2600 kids were thirsting for a Colecovision at the time. In January 2022 I stumbled on a gorgeous totally refurbished 5200 at an old mom and pop TV repair store. Having both machines in my lifetime, I can honestly say the 5200 was far superior. Its such a shame it never caught on at the time.

[phuzaxeman]

59 minutes ago, Flyindrew said:

As I was 10 in 1982 I have zero memory of the 5200 existing as all of us 2600 kids were thirsting for a Colecovision at the time. In January 2022 I stumbled on a gorgeous totally refurbished 5200 at an old mom and pop TV repair store. Having both machines in my lifetime, I can honestly say the 5200 was far superior. Its such a shame it never caught on at the time.

Where did you grow up? If you followed Atari in the US, the 5200 was all over during the winter of 82.

[Flyindrew]

34 minutes ago, phuzaxeman said:

Where did you grow up? If you followed Atari in the US, the 5200 was all over during the winter of 82.

I lived in New York City and have very little recollection seeing the 5200 anywhere at that time. I remember seeing 2600, Intellivision and Colecovision games all over. Then again, as I wanted a Colecovision so badly, maybe I wasnt paying attention. Today as I have the 5200 and Collectorvision Phoenix (essentially a Colecovision), I can honestly say the 5200 is a superior machine hands down. If Atari's video game and computer divisions cooperated and if this system was launched similar to the XEGS (computer/game system) with a normal controller, the 5200 could have destroyed the competition at the time. Its sad as I view this great machine as a missed opportunity for Atari. 

[phuzaxeman]

1 minute ago, Flyindrew said:

I lived in New York City and have very little recollection seeing the 5200 anywhere at that time. I remember seeing 2600, Intellivision and Colecovision games all over. Then again, as I wanted a Colecovision so badly, maybe I wasnt paying attention. Today as I have the 5200 and Collectorvision Phoenix (essentially a Colecovision), I can honestly say the 5200 is a superior machine hands down. If Atari's video game and computer divisions cooperated and if this system was launched similar to the XEGS (computer/game system) with a normal controller, the 5200 could have destroyed the competition at the time. Its sad as I view this great machine as a missed opportunity for Atari. 

Yeah, if you followed the gaming magazines and shopped at places like Toys R Us and Kmart, the 5200 was there.  The 5200 was only system that could compete with Coleco.  There were people that loved Donkey Kong but I was still into Pacman and Defender.  Both great systems.  Seeing Pacman and the intermissions for the first time at home was a gem.  I am a Coleco Smurf fan.

[Flyindrew]

2 minutes ago, phuzaxeman said:

Yeah, if you followed the gaming magazines and shopped at places like Toys R Us and Kmart, the 5200 was there.  The 5200 was only system that could compete with Coleco.  There were people that loved Donkey Kong but I was still into Pacman and Defender.  Both great systems.  Seeing Pacman and the intermissions for the first time at home was a gem.  I am a Coleco Smurf fan.

That was also an issue at the time as everyone had 5200 games already on the 2600. I have the 5200 Pac Man game as well and its as close to the arcade port you could find during that time period. Another mis step was not making that Pac Man game the pack in game similar to what Coleco did with Donkey Kong.