I broke down, I bought an atari system.... [Archive]

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AB Positive

05-20-2003, 06:04 PM

A used but tested-before-my-eyes mint in the box 7800 with Pole Position II, Ms. Pac-Man (sealed in the box new) Midnight Mutants (sealed in the box new) Crystal Castles (2600, complete) and Video Pinball (2600 complete) Set me back $80 for the entire package but I finally can play Atari games in reality. Thanks to Video Game Exchange in Plaistow for this bundle of joy :)

EDIT: Anyone have reccomendations for games to get later on? I know great 2600 carts but I'm admittedly a little slow on the 7800 side of things.

Also, at the store I saw a Trackball controller for the 5200 that is larger than the 7800 I just bought... odd. Atari brand too.

-AG

Arqueologia_Digital

05-20-2003, 07:28 PM

I recommend for the 7800...
Food Fight
Ballblazer
Mario Bros.
Desert falcon

And that�s all...

AB Positive

05-20-2003, 07:39 PM

damn, I passed up a sealed new Food Fight, only to go with "Midnight Mutants" because it had Grandpa Munster, and I love the Munsters.

well, there's always next time.

-AG

Sylentwulf

05-20-2003, 07:42 PM

I'm gonna try to say this nice. You might want to try taking that back for a refund. You should be able to pick up a guaranteed working boxed 7800 with 50 games for less than that price on ebay. Hell, I live 30 miles north of you and would gladly sell you an atari with 30 games for that price.

AB Positive

05-20-2003, 07:45 PM

ouch... no dice. However eBay doesn't usually have 60 day warranties on them and it was tested before I bought. I guess I can deal with the hit for that. However I might simply look for games online from now on if they don't belong to my store.

however I did see one on ebay complete with something like 20 games about to end at $375. I guess that's one of the 'ebay insanity' auctions then, huh?

-AG

Scoots

05-20-2003, 09:54 PM

You'll get your money's worth out of it in any event. Yeah, there's always someone out there who got one cheaper...

AB Positive

05-20-2003, 10:02 PM

I was just let known that for the condition I got both it and the box in, it wasn't that bad of a purchase. I was going for both playability and collector's sheen on it, so it's not too bad. I was just worried that I overpaid by half or something. Still, it's a 7800, something i've wanted for some time but haven't gotten the ability to get since I really hate to use eBay.

Edit: By SylentWulf. I still haven't gotten used to people's screennames yet. heh.

-AG

Gunstarhero

05-20-2003, 10:14 PM

No doubt you did overpay a bit, but at least you did get everything with the boxes, including the 7800, which is a plus. Plus you got it RIGHT NOW, instead of purchasing it on the net and waiting for it to arrive. The wait can be agonizing. I overpay quite often for games I want, IF I'm anxious. If I'm in a patient mood, then I usually wait for a bargain. Sometimes anxiety gets the better of me.

7800 games I recommend:

Donkey Kong
Joust
Robotron
Dark Chambers
Food Fight

Most 7800 games are ultra cheap, even complete.

stargate

05-20-2003, 10:18 PM

Yes, you did overpay. However, not by that much and $80 is still a good price considering the fun you will have with the system.

As far as $375 for a 7800 with 20 games, that is completely and utterly unheard of and probably BS..

Here are some recently ended 7800 auctions:

complete 7800 system with 73 games (some boxed) and extras, closed for $167.50
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3022745196&category=3617

Atari 7800 System 12 Games Acessories+More NR, closed for $26.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3130210089&category=3537

Now, considering that with ebay, you would also have to pay about $15 for shipping and probably would not get the box, your deal was decent. I wouldn't be disappoined.

christianscott27

05-20-2003, 10:22 PM

oddly enough the guy he bought the 7800 from uses an old edition of the DP guide to set his prices. i've been up there and his back room atari wall is the most amazning pile of games i've ever seen.

now as for getting more games...come on down to boston sometime, i've got lots for trade or low prices.
________
Vapor Genie (http://vaporizer.org/)

AB Positive

05-20-2003, 10:28 PM

christianscott: he let me into his backroom too, saw his many copies of complete mystique games (cool and wrong at the same time) and a few of his atari prototypes. Like Ikari Warriors for the 2600. And I have to ask if Double Dragon for the atari was an actual release or not?

on the neo-classic side, man did the Dracula X complete and FF3 complete look tempting. Also, he had a good amount of complete SMS hu-cards which I never saw before until then.

Crazy crazy store, and he's attempting to sell it to semi-retire. I hope if it gets bought that the new owner is as cool as the current one is.

-AG

zektor

05-21-2003, 01:10 AM

You didn't get a bad deal. If it is mint (no dings or dents on the top metal cover, or better yet, the plastic still attached to that cover) then you made out ok. The 7800 is a great system, and with the ability to play all your 2600 favorites as well, it's a great system to have! Xevious is one of my favorites for the system. Be sure to grab a copy if you can.

Arcade Antics

05-21-2003, 10:59 AM

And I have to ask if Double Dragon for the atari was an actual release or not?

It's real alright. Real BAD. Seriously, one of the worst games ever designed on any system. Including the Game.com.

Really.

AB Positive

05-21-2003, 11:27 AM

I was reading the back of the box (it was sealed) and MAN... they named all the bosses and enemies, but they all looked like white blobs with smaller white blobs on top of them. Tossing barrels? green blocks. I know that the Atari 2600 wasn't the greatest graphically, but this was an obvious attempt to make money of an arcade hit. Blegh.

-AG

chadtower

05-21-2003, 11:34 AM

I know that the Atari 2600 wasn't the greatest graphically, but this was an obvious attempt to make money of an arcade hit. Blegh.

Isn't ANY release an attempt to make money off of something? It's not like these people release stuff for the art. I for one am glad they attempted things like this. The game may not be that fun but at least they were trying that late in the game. Did you shell out $50 for it? No? Then you probably got what you paid for...

Arcade Antics

05-21-2003, 11:42 AM

Isn't ANY release an attempt to make money off of something?

Yes, but that's not the point Adam was making. :)

It's not like these people release stuff for the art.

Believe it or not, some of them did and still do.

I for one am glad they attempted things like this. The game may not be that fun but at least they were trying that late in the game.

You're glad they made crap? You haven't played it, have you? LOL The whole point is that they clearly were NOT trying - they just schlepped out a big turd with the DD name on it. If they had actually tried, the game would have been playable. It's not so much that the graphics are bad, but playability-wise, it's on par with the Mythicon games.

chadtower

05-21-2003, 12:19 PM

Isn't ANY release an attempt to make money off of something?

Yes, but that's not the point Adam was making. :)

So what WAS his point? I saw nothing other than a pure bash.

It's not like these people release stuff for the art.

Believe it or not, some of them did and still do.

Not commercial releases... there isn't a single commercial widescale release that is for art. No one would self finance such a thing and the major companies care far less about art than about the bottom line. That will never change.

You're glad they made crap? You haven't played it, have you? LOL The whole point is that they clearly were NOT trying - they just schlepped out a big turd with the DD name on it. If they had actually tried, the game would have been playable. It's not so much that the graphics are bad, but playability-wise, it's on par with the Mythicon games.

I've played it. It may not be good but at least it was an attempt. Do you have a copy? If it's so bad, why do you have it? Do you have it for the art? Or do you have it simply because they released it?

swlovinist

05-21-2003, 12:32 PM

Congrats on the Atari 7800 score, I firmly believe that you may pay more finding odd video game systems in the "wild", but you know what? It is more fun! Ebay has been nice to me, funding my 2000+ game library, but it takes the fun out of hunting. I like to score stuff in the "wild". I own 30 atari 7800 games, the ones I recommend are ROBOTRON 2084, Centepede, Mrs. Pac Man, Food Fight, Joust, and Dig Dug. I don't own it, but I heard that Dark Chambers is good as well. I also recommend getting Wico Joysticks for your system, great for your 2600 stuff and games that require only one button. The Robotron 2084 version for this system is my most favorite game in my entire library.......period.

Scoots

05-21-2003, 12:41 PM

If you can find one of those Euro 7800 joypads, they're well worth picking up. The standard 7800 controller sucks IMO; the joypad is like a NES pad with a little thumb-controlled joystick on it (like the analog stick on a N64 controller). Really cool.

ubersaurus

05-21-2003, 02:46 PM

Games I suggest-
Robotron 2084(you can use two sticks, just like the arcade!)
Food Fight
Mario Bros
Ballblazer
Commando
Xevious
Scrapyard Dog
Joust
Donkey Kong Jr.
Asteroids

The console has a lot of good games and only a few stinkers. It's definitely one of my favorite consoles, and its good to see someone else picking it up.

AB Positive

05-21-2003, 02:53 PM

Just for all to know, the 7800 turned out to be defective, and was returned for credit plus, which went towards a SMS bundle (it was their only 7800). I hope to get another 7800 someday because the short time I had it I fell in love with the system. Still, I plan to get every one someday so it'll be mine... just a matter of time.

-AG

ROBOTRON

05-21-2003, 04:09 PM

bizounce

05-21-2003, 05:29 PM

I'll second that. GET TURMOIL