Requesting Advice on Atari Consoles

[Starcade]

Hi All:

I want to get an Atari console in the next few months but am unsure what to target. I had the 800 as a kid, and was originally shooting for that, but now I remember the XL, the 5200, the 7800, etc., all of which can be found on eBay. I want the console for games: Galaga, Donkey Kong (Jr.), Berserk, Joust, Robotron, Zaxxon, all the good stuff.

Any advice? I'm not a tech guy, so even if I do decide on the 800, I know there are different models, that some games need more RAM than others, etc. I just want to make sure I don't buy something that doesn't work and/or isn't really what I want.

Thanks again.

SGC

[Zoyous]

I'm sure there's people with a lot more expertise on Atari consoles and computers around here than me, but I can tell you that the 7800 is backwards compatible with almost all 2600 games.  So there's a couple of game libraries there that can be accessed with just one console.  The 7800 is not backwards compatible with the 5200, though.  I seem to recall that the 5200 required an adapter, which might have actually essentially been a modified 2600 that plugged into the 5200's cartridge port, in order to play 2600 games.  And because of the era that the 5200 came out, it might have more of the arcade conversions you're interested in than the 7800. 

[Starcade]

Thanks, Zoyous. I'm leaning towards the 7800 because of the backwards compatibility, and because I hear the 5200 controllers are a bit touchy. I'm watching both systems on eBay.   

[RedWolf]

Hi All:

I want to get an Atari console in the next few months but am unsure what to target. I had the 800 as a kid, and was originally shooting for that, but now I remember the XL, the 5200, the 7800, etc., all of which can be found on eBay. I want the console for games: Galaga, Donkey Kong (Jr.), Berserk, Joust, Robotron, Zaxxon, all the good stuff.

Any advice? I'm not a tech guy, so even if I do decide on the 800, I know there are different models, that some games need more RAM than others, etc. I just want to make sure I don't buy something that doesn't work and/or isn't really what I want.

Thanks again.

SGC

Welcome to the forum!

Keep in mind there are four distinct platforms there: the 8-bit computer series, the 2600, the 7800, and the 5200.  The 7800 can play 2600 games.  Most of the 5200 games are ports from the 8-bit computer line.

I recommend getting an Atari 800XL (an Atari 8-bit computer) for a good mixture of features and dependability, unless you want to play 4-player games like MULE.  If you want that, get an 800.  The 8-bit computer line has plenty of good arcade ports on it.

The 7800, on the other hand, also has a very good library of Arcade ports done by General Computer Corp.

I'd avoid the 2600 if your goal is to play the arcade classics; get a 2600 if you want to be nostalgic about prominent 2600 games like River Raid -- the graphics are too primitive for good translations of games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man.