kheffington Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Found this post on usenet by O'Shea LTD. We need an Inventor/Engineer who has the ability to recreate in a new simplesystem the 7800 console! O'Shea, Ltd. is located in Kansas City, MO since 1975. We own 1 million Atari game cartridges from the late 70's. Many of you know that the Atari 7800 uses 8-Bit graphics. We are looking for someone to remake and simplify the 7800 inner workings of the consoles i.e.board, chips, wire layout, and anything else that might be needed. The units need to be able to plug into TV or computer, have a cartridge slot, and be able to use 2 joysticks. We are looking for a easier way to manufacture the system. Our plan is to manufacture 200,000 of these units and kit them each with 5 of our Atari Cartridges & market them at retail throughout the US. If you have the engineering background and ability to reverse engineer the old 7800 console and are able to design this unit please contact us. Thanks, Brian Raynor O'Shea, Ltd. 330 W. 47th St. #203 Kansas City, MO USA 64112 Phone# 816-531-1177 Fax# 816-531-6569 email: boshea@earthlink.net www.atariclassic.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Is this a recent posting? Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kheffington Posted June 23, 2004 Author Share Posted June 23, 2004 The posting is in comp.sys.atari.8bit and was posted June 22, 2004, today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Hmm... That's interesting... They must not be selling as many carts thesedays and want to bundle a console to clear them out. Hey, the more Atari players out there the better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 If they were able to do it I wonder how much one would retail for. It would be super sweet to get a brand spankin' new 7800! (right thread this time!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmi Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 It would be super sweet to get a brand spankin' new 7800! (right thread this time!) yeah that would be great the Mini78? or 7800jr. and i hope the CC2 will work on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 The reason I asked was because they have been posting requests like that, every once in a while, for at least three or four years. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oesii Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 The reason I asked was because they have been posting requests like that, every once in a while, for at least three or four years. Mitch I concur, I think we had a discussion a couple of years ago on this forum about the feasibility of making 200k consoles and trying to sell them to the general public at retail price. I don't think it would fly if it was more than $25 like those Jakks Tv Games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xot Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 I don't see any way this could be financially sound. People would clamor for more cartridges which would simply not exist. I suppose the idea would be to market as a five game console period, and how you could price it appropriately and still profit from it seems an impossibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 the Mini78? or 7800jr. Actually IIRC, Atari once planned to put the 7800 in a 2600 Jr case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Well, whatever comes out of this, I wish them luck. I'll buy one, just to own a new non-Atari created 7800. That would be extremely sweet. Now, if they could get some programmers to put together some more games, then i'd be truly happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Now, if they could get some programmers to put together some more games, then i'd be truly happy. Ooh, perhaps AtariAge could collaberate with O'Shea's on that part... *drools at the possibilities* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holygrailvideogames.com Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Here is the link from last year. It has been more than a year and nothing has become of it. I would be surprised to see a new Atari 7800. http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.p...ari+7800+system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Whoever does it knows what they must do. POKEY chip built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 I think what would have to happen first is someone would have to find a schematic for the Maria chip, just as one was found for the TIA chip. Then someone else would have to convert it to VHDL (as was done with the TIA chip). It might be possible to make a Maria clone by writing to the spec (since it didn't have a bunch of quirks that programmers relied on), but it would be easier to start from a circuit diagram. If all the digital electronics could be put in one ASIC chip, including a very small ROM that just does the absolute minimum (it probably wouldn't need to be more than 256 bytes, which would avoid copyright problems too), then the main cost issue would become connectors and plastics. Including the TIA in there would be nice, too (you need TIA sound anyhow), especially since O'Shea's probably has 2600 games to get rid of too. The cost of the connectors and plastics should not be understimated, but at a quantity of 200K they should be relatively cheap per unit. I think it's doable, but it's only doable with a VHDL 7800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Whoever does it knows what they must do. POKEY chip built in. Why? The only two carts that know how to use it already have it. O'Shea's isn't making this for the homebrew market, they're making it to empty their warehouse. Just be glad that they want a cartridge slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 If they added RCA or S-Video jacks, I'd probably pick up a 7800. Still, it sounds like a pile of work and risk. The 7800 isn't exactly the most "simple" of designs with a mesh of 2600, XE and proprietary hardware crammed onto mother board. I also wonder how much testing O'Sheas would do to ensure compatibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireTiger Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 I'd get one, just to let my 7800 rest, possibally two... I know other people who would get one (for themselves or kids) IF it could be made to work on any or nearly any TV. Perhaps we should make a POLL abput this. Would you purchase a NEW 3rd party developed Atari 7800 cartridge player for the tv or computer, with 5 games? a) YES! b) NO! c) only if the system was with something better then RF or modifiable d) only with my/my 7800 genuis friends input on making the system better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireTiger Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 EDIT EDIT EDIT Would you purchase a NEW 3rd party developed Atari 7800 cartridge player for the tv or computer, with 5 games? a) YES! b) NO! c) only if the system was with something better then RF or modifiable d) only with my/my 7800 genuis friends input on making the system better d) Several such systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_ruck Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 If the price was reasonable I'd have to own one. It would be cool if they eliminated the encryption key, even though it has been broken, and maybe make a few nods to homebrewers (which might be tough to do with an eye on the price). I would think this project wouldn't be prohibitive for someone who is really determined and doesn't expect to make a lot of money. For compatibility I suppose the 6502 emulator and TIA emulator would have to be spot on for timing to make sure games work right, but I imagine you could have some flexibility with the Maria emulator provided the emulation at least exceeded the original (which shouldn't be too difficult, honestly). Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Cool, a 7800 in a Pro Controller Joystick! Awesome.... Wait a minute, that would suck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Pac Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 To me anyway a quote unquote NEW 7800 would be sweet only if it was portable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Given stated purpose of this thing (moving carts out of the O'Sheas warehouse), anything which is unnecessary is going to increase the cost, which will decrease the number of potential customers, and therefore won't be included. But in order to be cheap enough (single chip ASIC), it would be extremely likely that it would be small. Which means that a portable 7800 mod (like the already existing portable 2600 mods) would actually be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Given stated purpose of this thing (moving carts out of the O'Sheas warehouse), anything which is unnecessary is going to increase the cost, which will decrease the number of potential customers, and therefore won't be included. But in order to be cheap enough (single chip ASIC), it would be extremely likely that it would be small. Which means that a portable 7800 mod (like the already existing portable 2600 mods) would actually be possible. A portable 7800? Stop it Bruce, you're making me drool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 I would buy several new 7800 systems if: 1) They had s-video and audio outputs. 2) They have a cartridge slot. 3) They don't introduce any new compatibility problems. I'd gladly pay $50 for such a unit. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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