The 'Atari Entertainment System'?

[diskoboy]

Would you still have bought a Famicom/NES if Atari had released it as originally planned?

I've often asked myself that.... Then come the 200 'what if?' questions.

EDIT: BTW, I probably would have if all the games/perepherials that Nintendo, themselves, developed (except the disk drive). And if Atari would've brought over the Japanese companies that Nintendo did.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I think the acronym for the Atari Famicom was supposed to be AVS (Advanced Video System).

I probably would have passed on it, depending on what was or wasn't available at launch. I had shifted most of my gaming to the Apple II by then.

[Niku-Sama]

i dont know any thing about this

[poloplayr]

thank you for letting us know.

[Pantechnicon]

I would definitely have considered it. In the mid-80's the Atari brand still had enough credibility in my eyes to warrant pining for any game system with their name on it. Whether or not they developed the thing themselves wouldn't have been an issue.

I've said things along these lines before but it bears a quick repeat here: I think for the vast majority of young gamers in the early 80's there was no real awareness of a market crash. There was no Web on which to communicate with people more in tune with industry dynamics. Excusing a few oddball teenagers who might have actually regularly read The Wall Street Journal or had access to inside-industry publications. One's sole interaction with the market was what he/she bought or didn't buy. I would probably have nagged my parents or saved for an "AVS" solely on the basis of (1) The Fuji logo and (2) The sophisticated graphics; not because I felt some fanboyish sort of obligation to keep save the company from bankruptcy by investing in the new platform and hoping for some killer apps.

[Flack]

I don't know if anyone else here collections action figures, but this is kind of how it works. I'm thinking specifically about Star Wars here, but I'm sure it applies to any of them. When new figures come out, there's a bit of a frenzy. Prices are high and popular figures are hard to find. As the initial hype dies down and more product arrives, prices and stock level out. Pretty soon everybody has everything they want, and figures start staying on the shelves longer and longer. Eventually, you start to see some sales. $1 off, maybe $2. Pretty soon, they start working on new figures -- that's when you'll see 2 for 1 sales, 3 for 1 sales, or more. I picked up a big chunk of my collection at a toy liquidation store for a buck each. Then there's a short period where there are no new figures, and then all of a sudden you start all over again with a new cycle of figures.

Compare this to the videogame cycle of the early 80's. Pac-Man and E.T., despite what anyone says now, were big shit when they were released in 1982. The Atari 5200 and the Colecovision were also released in '82. So yeah, in 1983, you saw some sales. You saw places doing 2 for 1 sales or worse on games. The 7800 was released in 1984, not to mention the fact that home computers were beginning to boom -- the Commodore 64 was released in '83, and was going head to head with Apple in '84. So while computers were growing, the videogame market did slide and that's when I remember seeing Atari games for $5 or less ... but the NES hit in '86, so really there's not this "huge gap" that people talk about, at least not that I remember.

</end rant>

That being said, I think having the Atari name on the NES wouldn't have necessarily sold more or less units, but I think it would have started selling more quickly. Back then it wasn't like there were all the big name brands we have now. It was like there was Atari, and then there were people who were competing with Atari. When the NES came out I remember people in school (7th grade) saying they really wanted one of those "Nin-teen-dews" ... people didn't know what the hell it even was, other than it played games. Even after the "crash" I think there was more positive connotations associated with the word "Atari" than there were negative. Atari was like Coke -- you know, when people say "man I want a Coke." "Oh yeah? what kind?" "Oh, a Dr. Pepper." I mean people would say, "hey you wanna come over and play Atari?" and then you would get there and they would have an Intellivision or something. Atari was almost slang for "videogame console". So, if the NES had had the Atari name on it, I think it might have had more name recognition out of the box.

Not that it needed it, apparently.

[rolenta]

I think the acronym for the Atari Famicom was supposed to be AVS (Advanced Video System).

Earl, nintendo called the system the Advanced Video System at the January 1985 Wnter CES. This is AFTER Atari passed on it. It was renamed the Nintendo Entertainment System in time for the June 1985 Summer CES.

[Zing]

If it had Super Mario Bros. and Punch Out, yes.

[jetset516]

Why would you *not* have bought it just because it was made/sold by Atari? If it were a good gaming system...
I know nowadays people might bypass systems because of fanboyism, such as not buying an xbox because its made by Microsoft, etc...Were people as moved by such stupid motives back then?

[diskoboy]

Why would you *not* have bought it just because it was made/sold by Atari? If it were a good gaming system...
I know nowadays people might bypass systems because of fanboyism, such as not buying an xbox because its made by Microsoft, etc...Were people as moved by such stupid motives back then?

This isn't really a question for fanboys, I was questioning Atari's stability at the time. Would it have saved Atari (much less, the industry of the time)? Would we have seen the games that WERE released if Atari had the system, and for that matter, what about ROB and the lightzapper - would they exist? Would Atari have put it on the back burner in favor of the 7800? Would it be as popular today if Atari had gotten it or would it have faded into obscurity?

This is what I meant when I said "Then comes the 200 'what-if' questions"

[retroman]

yes i would have. As long as its a good system i dont care who makes it

[GyBaNO]

Yes (I mean, hell, who cares what its called as long as the games are great), but here's a more interesting question: Do you think Nintendo would've ditched Atari when it came time to release the Super Famicom in America?

[tom]

Well, Atari would have done better marketing in Europe than Mattel, and maybe the NES would've succeeded.

[Raedon]

Considering it would have just been a famicom with an atari name atari Zelda would have sold me.

[Pantechnicon]

Yes (I mean, hell, who cares what its called as long as the games are great), but here's a more interesting question: Do you think Nintendo would've ditched Atari when it came time to release the Super Famicom in America?

I doubt it. Your implication seems to be that Nintendo was in some sort of position wherein they could simply use Atari until they were of no further use to the big N*. From a business standpoint that wouldn't have made a lot of sense. Atari the USA's powerhouse gaming company in the mid-80's. Don't lose sight of that. The main reason Nintendo wanted Atari to distribute the Famicom in the USA was because Atari already had brand recognition, an installed base, and the necessary market and distribution mechanisms in place. By the time the market would have been ready for the Super Fami the Atari name would have been inextricably linked to its predecessor. Even if Nintendo wanted to release the Super Fami on their own they might not have been able to at that point. So why ruin a good relationship (as Atari regrettably did before it even got off the ground)?

* - Metaphorically, I'm seeing this airport bar at which a Japanese salaryman is plying a blonde stewardess from San Diego with as much liqour as she can hold in the hopes of getting her to come back to the hotel.

[MrRoboto19XX]

Heres how I see it:

Atari releases their version of the NES. Being the Atari of the 80's they opt out of making launch titles of the Nintendo games we know and love for Atari's back catalogue (which we also know and love, but come on, Super Mario Bros vs yet another Pac-Man port) This causes one of two things to happen.

1) Videogames dont lose any ground in the united states, but stay stagnant. Atari releases nintendo games but they all fly under the radar.
2) Sega releases its master system, and due to the absence of Nintendo's liscencing agreements they are incredibly successful. This creates a situation paralleling that of the UK, and Sega comes out on top. (Not to mention they never approached Tonka, further aiding them)

Either way, its the Nintendo name that is displayed on the SNES/Superfami. Nintendo has found from japan that they can stand on their own and they ditch Atari .

From there, history resumes as normal. Nintendo and Sega are both successful with their 16-Bit consoles. Hurt from the loss of Nintendo, Atari releases the Jaguar...

And thats all I have to say about that.

[Yago]

This would be an obvious yes. My parents bought an Atari 2600 when it first came out. Like Flask said, Atari was a household name. If Atari made the NES, I am sure I would have gotten it just as I did the Atari 5200 and 7800 before it. My parents would have bought it the same as they would have purchased another FORD. No matter how shitty the car, you stick to what you know. Change in the early days seemed less likely then they would be today. That is how I see it anyway. And yes, we did get a NES. After that a Sega, after that a Sony, and now a Microsoft gaming system. It is a vicous cycle. But without it, there would not be much change. Look at the Atari 2600 compared to the 7800... In the future I am positive you will see a declining interest in Sony and microsoft game machines and jump on to something new by a new emerging company. That is just the way it goes.

[ubikuberalles]

Knowing what Atari products I did buy in the 1980's I would say that I probably wouldn't have bought an AES back then. During the 1980's I only bought Atari computers (my first VCS was a gift from my father so, technically, I didn't buy it). I didn't get my Jaguar, my first Lynx and my 7800 until the late ninties. Sure, I would most likely own an AES today but I would have gotten it used.