[ Retro Scan ] The Atari Trak-Ball
August 16th, 2018 by Benj EdwardsThe reports of Retro Scan’s death are greatly exaggerated.
I just emerged from the other side of a huge house move that taxed my body and soul. Moving my huge collection was very difficult, and now dealing with where to put it all keeps that stress going. I feel behind on lots of things, but it’s time to catch up. One of the best ways to do that is with a new Retro Scan. So here we go — let’s talk trackballs.
As far as I know, the first arcade video games to use a trackball were Midway’s Shuffleboard and Atari Football, both from 1978. As to which came first, I have no idea at the moment.
Atari really ran with the trackball (they called it a “Trak-Ball”) and produced several mega arcade hits that used the interface, including Missile Command and Centipede. It only makes sense that they would bring the tech home to their Atari 8-bit computer line — and the Atari 5200, as seen here — in the form of the Pro-Line Trak-Ball controller.
(An aside: Despite the ad saying the Trak-Ball controller works for the Atari 2600, I know of no vintage 2600 games that support trackball mode natively. There is a joystick mode switch on the bottom of the controller, however, that lets you use it with any game.)
Of course, the 5200 version of the Trak-Ball controller is legendarily huge. It’s almost as big as the (already big) console itself. But I’ve heard good things about it, despite never having used one. I do have the smaller CX22 Trak-Ball controller and I enjoy games of Missile Command on my Atari 800XL with it from time to time, although it is criminally under-supported (in Trak-Ball mode) by games on that platform.
So how about you guys: Have you ever used the Atari 5200 Trak-Ball? What did you think about it?
Discussion Topic: Have you ever used a trackball with any game console? Tell us about it.
August 16th, 2018 at 11:24 am
Moving sucks but glad you are back Benj! Been missing your updates here
August 16th, 2018 at 11:45 am
Thanks, Ghazban! I appreciate it. I realized I have been missing posting them as well.
August 17th, 2018 at 9:11 am
Never had one, but I did have a custom made trackball for my Amiga. Used it for Arkanoid iirc. Ps good to see the new post ๐
August 17th, 2018 at 11:49 am
This blog rules, just wanted to say that. I keep coming here and i never show my support, and that’s a shame.
August 17th, 2018 at 11:52 am
Thanks for the support, guys. It means a lot.
August 19th, 2018 at 5:33 am
Benj: Welcome back! I was starting to get worried about you! Yeah, moving does suck even if it is just a cubicle. Ha! I am not a fan of trackballs. ๐
Agustin: Ditto. ๐
August 20th, 2018 at 6:47 pm
Welcome back! Missed these quite a bit.
I never used a trackball in a console, but I would love to try and convert a 5200 trak-ball to USB as sort of an uber-trackball. I heard that the ball has a good weight, and that it rolls around quite a bit.
October 25th, 2018 at 8:46 am
I never cared for the trackball as a control device, it’s the main reason I was never into Centipede, I hated the controller for it.