Anybody else grow up with Atari 2600, but don't really care to play the games ?

[WCP]

One thing that is pretty weird about me from a retrogaming standpoint is that I don't really care to play Atari 2600 or Atari 800XL games, even though these were the games I was playing from the age of 7 years old to 14 years old. You'd think I'd have the most nostalgic feelings about those particular games, over anything else.

At one point, I had an Atari 2600 and got the S-Video mod and everything, and really tried to get into the 2600, but for some reason, I just can't seem to get into it. I played all those Atari 2600 games as a kid. Asteroids, Air-Sea Battle, Combat, Outlaw, Indy 500, Adventure, etc, etc.

I played a number of different games on the Atari 800XL as well. I especially remember Blue Max. Also a war strategy game called "Eastern Front" or something like that. I definitely have fond memories of all that stuff, but don't really care to play it.


The oldest systems I really like playing are TG-16 and Sega Genesis (1989). Even though I was 18 or 19 years old when the TG-16 and Genesis first arrived, for whatever reason, that seems to be my most nostalgic period of time. Doesn't really make sense to have your most nostalgic era from when I was 18 to like 24 years old. You would think it would have been more of my childhood. I guess it's mainly cause the games are just so simple, and kinda prehistoric, compared to games now, but for whatever reason, I can really get into 16-bit.

[Tanooki]

I had a couple of friends with the thing but I never owned it. I'd play it at their house, but try as I might some years back with the first couple releases of the atari flashback and access to stella(emulator) and ROMS I just can't handle it more than once or twice roughly for a few games and I just lose interest.

In all fairness I grew up with the NES from the moment it came out as a test basically and I really find myself having more trouble sitting down to those games than the SNES which was my second. The games are in no way as crude from a gameplay, audio and visual standpoint as the pre-NES(Famicom) systems, but they're still rough around the edges a lot of them have trouble holding my interest for extended periods, but just not as drastic as the 2600. I think the rose tinted glasses that cause more of a beer goggles effect only works for so long until you realize what you're waking up next to may be kind of fun but more of a wreck in enough ways it just makes things difficult to appreciate. :)

I haven't bought a NES game for myself to keep in I think a couple years now, more than that if it wasn't just a replacement for one I'd want back, but I still do pick off the occasional SNES game because they hit that quality threshold that even modern players on download games(console, pc) or tablets find acceptable still as they've aged just that well.

[goldenband]

I'm not generally into Atari 2600 games where the purpose is playing for high score, unless there's a high score contest afoot. (Makes sense, since for the most part I'm not into playing any games for high score.)

But the multiplayer games remain fun as ever, especially at parties and family gatherings. And games with a concrete goal, like Pitfall or Death Trap, still have appeal to me; I just beat Death Trap on Hard last year, and it was a hell of a challenge.

About the only VCS game I'll play for high score is Bugs, oddly enough. I still want to roll the score in that one...

[Emperor Megas]

The 2600 was my first console. I'm 40 now, and must have been 5 when we first got one. I enjoyed it then because it was the only way to play video games at home, but even as a young child I was painfully aware that the games were mostly terrible, and nothing near what could be achieved in the arcades. There were are only a handful of 2600 games that I felt were exceptional back then (Keystone Capers, Yar's Revenge, Pitfall!, Mrs. Pac-Man, Breakout, Missle Command), and even fewer that I would still play today.

I still collect them if I come across them, but I have no real attachment to that generation and don't actively seek out 2600 (or Intellivision or Colecovision) games. 8-Bit NES and Master System games though, and every console generation since, I still love. I probably love Master System games as much today as I did back when they were new.

[Flojomojo]

I don't feel there are any rules about what you should consider fun to play. I loved collecting the VCS stuff post-crash, but most of my friends had moved on to computers by then. Games from that era have generally not aged well, and arcade ports have been made obsolete now that it's almost easier to play the original arcade ROM than the home port.

I think I like the genre and style of "old game" (to include Nidhogg, Super Hexagon, Shovel Knight, Mutant Mudds, etc.) than the output from any particular system. The Genesis and SNES are closer in time and format to the Atari 2600 than they are to modern PC and console games.

[tom]

How can you not care about playing the old games, if you're here on DP.

I play all the old classics, SNES, SMS, Coleco, Atari (all platforms), C64, NES, Genesis, PSX, Amiga, those are the games which are programmed for real, pixel by pixel.

(Gotta say though, most gamers here cannot even make it to the Trophy level in Enduro)

[MachineGex]

Atari 2600 games are the most fun when you play with friends. I love playing them with my son. My favorite games are all 2 player games.
Maze Craze
Indy 500
Slot Racers
Space Invaders(2 player)
Combat
Air-Sea Battle
These games are all a blast with two people.

[vintagegamecrazy]

I can understand the OP's point to an extent but I still really enjoy a lot of 2600 games though. I grew up with one and had and played it into the mid 90's but my heart was always on a NES so that's my favorite console. I still love playing the Atari 2600 especially in score competitions but I've found that I don't really like Atari's Atari 2600 games. I've found that many of the third party games hold my attention far longer now, especially Activision.

[homerhomer]

I have a number of 2600 games. While I prefer the NES or Genesis, I do enjoy getting 2600 arcade ports like Berzerk and Galaga. I only play each game for like 10 minutes and then on to the next. Then I put it away for 6 months and do it all over again. Joy!

[celerystalker]

Yeah, the 2600 was my first console, and I played it a ton until I played the NES, at which point I found most Atari games to seem like parts of a game instead of complete games with a few exceptions. I've probably said this in at least three other threads, but Warlords is the one 2600 game that gets regular group play. Otherwise, NES games were the first to me to feel timeless.

[o.pwuaioc]

I have a harder time getting into games post-DC than I do games pre-crash. Gears of Halo's Creed? Nah. I'll pass. Gimme that good ol' HERO or River Raid or Yar's Revenge or Demon Attack or Solar Fox or Pitfall instead. I'd rather play my Colecovision than the PS3, my 7800 than the Xbox One, NES than 360, C64 than Xbox.

[Greg2600]

I'm the opposite, the older the system, the more likelihood I'll be playing it. The games were simpler, and can a full experience can be had in short amount of time.

[Videogamerdaryll]

I'm just to busy to ever hook up the console..

[7th lutz]

It isn't the case for me. The games aren't time consuming. My early days in the arcades are part of it also since I remembered playing games like Q*Bert,Galaga, Bump'n Jump.

The genres of games that I enjoy aren't being developed much for the last couple game generations. The start of the decline of interest of gaming generations really started with Playstation 2 era.

I own a Atari 7800 instead of the 2600 Jr. I had. One of the reasons I enjoy the Atari 2600 is the shooters it has. I am not much a 3rd person or 1st person shooter person. I love games like River Raid, Phoenix, Milipede, Astroblast as examples for the Atari 2600.

[celerystalker]

I like the simplicity of classic arcade games, but I have better ways to play most of them than early console ports. Some I picked up the actual cabinets to play, but most of the classics have since had superior console ports (like Pac-Man or Q*Bert) or been included in the many arcade compilations that have come out since. I keep my old pre-NES systems for the few unique or superior games on them, but I don't get nostalgic for a round of Air Sea Battle or Maze Craze like I do for Contra or Super Mario Bros. It's like Elvis or the Beatles... I appreciate the role they've played historically, but they aren't my regular listening.

[Edmond Dantes]

*Raises hand*

I don't have anything against the classic arcade style, but the games unique to the Atari tend to be simplistic even by that standard, to the point where I don't feel challenged and so don't feel a desire to improve and get a higher score. Even games originating on another system (or the arcade) and merely ported to the Atari tend to feel dumbed down in this way.

This is weird to say on a website that was founded on nostalgia, but when you have a choice between Star Wars the Arcade Game on Atari, or the actual Star Wars arcade game, what reason is there to ever choose the Atari version except nostalgia?

(Then there's those games that require the keypad and which you won't know how to play or even what the hell you're supposed to do without the overlays or the instructions)

[Atarileaf]

Well I love the 2600, obviously. As others have mentioned, the 2600 is a system that is best enjoyed in short bursts. Growing up actually, unless we were doing some kind of marathon, we played video games a little bit and then did other things kids did back then - we played outside.

Now video games, smart phones, tablets, etc has created a generation of kids who ONLY play some form of video entertainment with their behinds firmly glued to a chair, to the detriment of other activities.

As for the games themselves, you either like them or you don't. It's certainly not to everyone's taste. I know a lot of people who are nostalgic about the 2600 but don't want to own one or play it beyond some online emulator (which is a horrible substitute) but these same people don't really play any generation of video game.

Sure you could play the actual arcade game if you had the real machine, mame, or a modern compilation but sometimes the 2600 version was actually superior - space invaders being a prime example.

For me it's the simplicity, ease of use and quick bursts of fun that keep me coming back. There's just something about a rousing game of asteroids on the 2600 for 10 minutes that makes me smile just as much today as it did back then. Other generations of games simply don't do that for me, and I doubt they ever will.

[rmaerz]

I had a 2600 when I was a kid - it was my first home console. But, I really enjoyed the games at the arcade BITD as they were superior in so many ways.

Nowadays, I find that many of the 2600 "black label" carts haven't aged well - there are exceptions. Some of the best titles on the 2600 are the silver and red label carts. Activision, Imagic, Parker and CBS released some pretty good titles as well.

My favorite console is the ColecoVision. If there is a game that exists on the 2600 and ColecoVision (e.g. "Jungle Hunt") I'm going to play the ColecoVision version because it's much improved. There are rare cases where I'll play the 2600 version and I enjoy it for what it is (e.g. Ms. Pac-Man).

[WCP]

I do want to get an emulator for the 800XL and a Blue Max rom. Would love to to play that game again. I had that game on tape, lol. Talk about old school. The game came on a cassette tape.

[T]

I turn 50 this year so i started with pong before the 1600 came out.

Between kids and work i have little time for games but i do manage to
play my 3ds everyday. Haven't hooked the Atari up in years.

[bust3dstr8]

I grew up on the 2600, but the only games I come back for are the paddle games.

The other types of games I enjoyed back then where done better on later consoles.

[ProjectCamaro]

I'm a child of the 80's and as such grew up on the NES. With that said my grandparents had a 2600 that I would play at their house. While I don't play it much I do still enjoy the console, I would play it much more if the joysticks had better response.

[Casati]

I turn 50 this year so i started with pong before the 1600 came out.

Between kids and work i have little time for games but i do manage to
play my 3ds everyday. Haven't hooked the Atari up in years.

I started with Pong then Atari 2600. In the early 80s, I mostly played Star Wars Empire Strikes Back, Pitfall!, Berzerk, Frogger, Defender, Centipede, E.T., and the strange 2600 Pac-Man. I didn't have a large selection of games. But that was at home, and I spent a small fortune in quarters at the local arcades playing Tron, Star Wars, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, etc.

Now I play mainly 8-bit and 16-bit games with some Playstation. I own an Atari 2600 (and 7800) console and about 50 games, but don't have it hooked up. I keep them mainly as a collector. Those flashback consoles are a cheap and convenient way to play them.