5200 baseball vs. 7800 baseball

[phuzaxeman]

since the world series is starting, i wanted to get your opinions.

 

in the area of graphics, sound, gameplay, and overall quality, which version is better?

 

 

 

gosh, the 7800 developers messed up on this one. from sound to gameplay, the 5200 eats the 7800 version easily. what's cool is the 5200 version has some great voice sythesis, great gamesplay, and cool graphics.

 

for classic baseball, the 5200 version was the best...

[+Allan]

since the world series is starting, i wanted to get your opinions.

 

in the area of graphics, sound, gameplay, and overall quality, which version is better?

 

 

 

gosh, the 7800 developers messed up on this one. from sound to gameplay, the 5200 eats the 7800 version easily. what's cool is the 5200 version has some great voice sythesis, great gamesplay, and cool graphics.

 

for classic baseball, the 5200 version was the best...

 

5200 Baseball is lightyears better than either 7800 baseball. Hands down.

 

Allan

[jetset]

5200 is the better. Not even close imo. The 5200 version really takes advantage of the systems' controller, from the movement of the character to (especially) the keypad with the multiple pitch variations. Graphicially the 7800 has a slight smidge of an advantage. Somehow though, considering the 7800 is a "better" system...most games available on both systems only have minor graphic differences (see Robotron, Ballblazer...) Soundwise it's not even a fair fight. The 7800's sound is the pits on every game, not just baseball.

[Gregory DG]

I found the 5200 game somewhat playable. The 7800 is mostly UNplayable.

[+johnnywc]

IMO, 5200 Baseball is one of the best baseball games of all-time, and I still play it to this day. THE best is Earl Weaver Baseball, but that's for another thread...

 

7800 Baseball, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment.

[jpfalcon2003]

No comparison on these. 7800 realsports baseball looks more in comparison to 2600 Super baseball to me. For the 7800 Pete Rose Baseball is the best. Now who wants to say which is the better of these two games. i think they are both good. Couldn't decide on the better one. the voice in the 5200 is cool though.

[godzillajoe]

7800 baseball is the worst crap ever. 5200 baseball is really great. Lots of features that the 7800 version just doesn't have. Playability being the first one. If you want a decent 7800 baseball game, get Pete Rose Baseball, either the 2600 version or the 7800 version as they're essentially the same. I was hoping for the third generation Atari system that 7800 baseball would be great but it's completely unplayable.

[DracIsBack]

RealSports Baseball 7800 smacks of the Tramiel era -- cheap development with no effort behind it. Shoulda been good, wasn't.

 

Pete Rose Baseball was an average game of the era but still better than this loada-crap.

 

And this is from a 7800 fan.

[DracIsBack]

Somehow though, considering the 7800 is a "better" system...most games available on both systems only have minor graphic differences (see Robotron, Ballblazer...)

 

While I like the 5200, show me *ANYTHING* on the 5200 that looks as good as ALIEN BRIGADE or that underwater sequence in TOWER TOPPLER. There are very obviously graphical differences between the two -- and there should be. One is newer than the other. Or to put it another way, take KLAX on the 5200 and show the graphics against KLAX on the 7800. You'll see very quickly the "minor" differences aren't so minor.

 

Soundwise it's not even a fair fight. The 7800's sound is the pits on every game, not just baseball.

 

 

It isn't a fair fight but not "every game is the pits" as you say. Some games do use POKEYs (Ballblazer and Commando, which also uses TIA on top of POKEY) and some games do make pretty good use of the older chip.

[jetset]

Somehow though, considering the 7800 is a "better" system...most games available on both systems only have minor graphic differences (see Robotron, Ballblazer...)

 

While I like the 5200, show me *ANYTHING* on the 5200 that looks as good as ALIEN BRIGADE or that underwater sequence in TOWER TOPPLER. There are very obviously graphical differences between the two -- and there should be. One is newer than the other. Or to put it another way, take KLAX on the 5200 and show the graphics against KLAX on the 7800. You'll see very quickly the "minor" differences aren't so minor.

 

Soundwise it's not even a fair fight. The 7800's sound is the pits on every game, not just baseball.

 

 

It isn't a fair fight but not "every game is the pits" as you say. Some games do use POKEYs (Ballblazer and Commando, which also uses TIA on top of POKEY) and some games do make pretty good use of the older chip.

 

I stand corrected sir! Balblazers' sound certainly is great (then again...it sounds identical to the 5200 version, and graphics wise the older 5200 version is nearly identical as well!)

I bow to your better knowledge on Commando..never played it on the 7800...maybe I should pick that one up.

Are there any other 7800 titles with pokey sound? Two titles out of what...50 or 60? Kinda anemic...

[DracIsBack]

I stand corrected sir! Balblazers' sound certainly is great (then again...it sounds identical to the 5200 version, and graphics wise the older 5200 version is nearly identical as well!)

I bow to your better knowledge on Commando..never played it on the 7800...maybe I should pick that one up.

Are there any other 7800 titles with pokey sound? Two titles out of what...50 or 60? Kinda anemic...

 

The situation of the sound in the 7800 should be clarified because I'm not sure everyone has heard the reasons why this is.

 

First, its core, the 7800 has 2600 sound because it needed to be compatible with the 2600 out of the box. This was a primary design requirement after they got flack for the 5200 not being backwards compatible.

 

When the 7800 turns on with a 2600 cart inserted, not all of the hardware is functioning. It's effectively a 2600 in a 7800 case, with the TIA handling the graphics and sound (as it would in the 2600). When the 7800 encounters a valid 7800 cart, the rest of the hardware turns on or runs at full performance, including more memory, the MARIA graphics chip, the bus, the processor etc. In essence, it's "two systems" in one box.

 

The plus of this approach was they could offer a more advanced, yet backwards compatible system.

 

The minuses were:

 

1 -- That the motherboard was packed with hardware.

 

2 -- The system wasn't particularly cost effective to build.

 

As a result, there wasn't room to add a new sound chip *AND* a new graphics chip to the hardware, nor was it cost effective. To combat this, GCC (the 7800's developers) and Warner had planned to include sound chips in the cartridges. POKEY's were intended at first, while a cheaper sound chip, GUMBY, was in the works. With a POKEY on cartridge, the games could access both the four voice POKEY *AND* the two voice TIA chip if required.

 

So what happened?

 

Jack Tramiel appeared. He refused to invest much into any of the Atari game systems (5200 was mothballed, 7800 was thrown limply to market and 2600 was milked). GUMBY was killed along with the 7800 keyboard, high score cart, peripherals and many other games. He refused to pay to put POKEYs in any carts except Ballblazer or Commando and was almost as stingy on RAM memory and additional cart storage.

 

Yeah -- only two official games use POKEY and it is indeed anemic, though a few games make OK use of sound for TIA. Some homebrews have started taking advantage of POKEY sound, due to cuttle carts having them as an option.

[eegt97]

Well, I love 5200 Baseball, one of my top 5 games for the system. The voice really makes it for me along with the excellent gameplay. For classic consoles, it comes in second only to Baseball Stars for the NES (which still holds up for me to this day). So I guess that says yea, it's much better than the 7800 version!

 

-Brian

[jetset]

I stand corrected sir! Balblazers' sound certainly is great (then again...it sounds identical to the 5200 version, and graphics wise the older 5200 version is nearly identical as well!)

I bow to your better knowledge on Commando..never played it on the 7800...maybe I should pick that one up.

Are there any other 7800 titles with pokey sound? Two titles out of what...50 or 60? Kinda anemic...

 

The situation of the sound in the 7800 should be clarified because I'm not sure everyone has heard the reasons why this is.

 

First, its core, the 7800 has 2600 sound because it needed to be compatible with the 2600 out of the box. This was a primary design requirement after they got flack for the 5200 not being backwards compatible.

 

When the 7800 turns on with a 2600 cart inserted, not all of the hardware is functioning. It's effectively a 2600 in a 7800 case, with the TIA handling the graphics and sound (as it would in the 2600). When the 7800 encounters a valid 7800 cart, the rest of the hardware turns on or runs at full performance, including more memory, the MARIA graphics chip, the bus, the processor etc. In essence, it's "two systems" in one box.

 

The plus of this approach was they could offer a more advanced, yet backwards compatible system.

 

The minuses were:

 

1 -- That the motherboard was packed with hardware.

 

2 -- The system wasn't particularly cost effective to build.

 

As a result, there wasn't room to add a new sound chip *AND* a new graphics chip to the hardware, nor was it cost effective. To combat this, GCC (the 7800's developers) and Warner had planned to include sound chips in the cartridges. POKEY's were intended at first, while a cheaper sound chip, GUMBY, was in the works. With a POKEY on cartridge, the games could access both the four voice POKEY *AND* the two voice TIA chip if required.

 

So what happened?

 

Jack Tramiel appeared. He refused to invest much into any of the Atari game systems (5200 was mothballed, 7800 was thrown limply to market and 2600 was milked). GUMBY was killed along with the 7800 keyboard, high score cart, peripherals and many other games. He refused to pay to put POKEYs in any carts except Ballblazer or Commando and was almost as stingy on RAM memory and additional cart storage.

 

Yeah -- only two official games use POKEY and it is indeed anemic, though a few games make OK use of sound for TIA. Some homebrews have started taking advantage of POKEY sound, due to cuttle carts having them as an option.

 

Yeah I knew the why's behind the sound. And maybe back when it was released, backwards compatibility was a big issue, but I don't remember it was. Especially since at the time EVERYONE had a 2600 anyway, and plus 2600 was selling for $50 bucks (and less) anyways.

[Atariboy2600]

5200 has THE VOCIE, the 7800 Dont. nuff said.

[Foxsolo2000]

Have to agree with the majority, the 5200 version hands down

[Cousin Vinnie]

As a self-proclaimed 7800 expert, I will have to say the 7800 version is one of the worst games of all time. Some say the 5200 version of the game is the best classic baseball game ever.

 

Draw your own conclusions

 

Cousin Vinnie

[jaybird3rd]

I've never played the 5200 version, but it must be better than the 7800 version. I love the 7800, but its version of RealSports Baseball is a steaming pile. Nobody should let that game color their opinion of the 7800 and its capabilities; in the hands of a good programmer, it can easily do a whole lot better than that.