Atari 5200 - System with the most undesirable games?

[boatofcar]

I passed on a TON of 5200 games today at a pawn at a buck apiece, to try and sell or trade. I'm glad I did too! It seems like you can't give these away. Why?

[tom]

Nothing to do with undesirable surely.

Look at USA ebay all those 1000s NES carts for $0.01, $0.99, $1.00 and so on...can't give them away....

[bangtango]

Easy. There are better options for people looking to enjoy gaming Atari-style.

The 5200 carts don't fit any other system, like the Atari 2600 carts do. The system is deemed underpowered, compared to the 7800. The cartridges and system are bulky, taking up more room than some other consoles. Tiny game library (common for most Atari systems, though). So many horror stories about the controllers. The system seems to be more difficult (and expensive) to find than the 2600 or 7800.

Personally, I am of the belief (right or wrong?) that you can find a better version of virtually any 5200 game worth playing on either the 2600 or 7800...........or at least a version "good enough" to get by with.

[Griking]

Whgat were the titles? Perhaps I'll buy them from you if you can still pick them up.

[diskoboy]

Finding a working 5200, much less with working controllers, is a rarity.... That's probably why.

:/

I haven't seen a 5200 in the wild since the early 90's. But I see tons of games for it.

[InsaneDavid]

much less with working controllers, is a rarity....

Ding ding. If the default controller for a system blows usually people won't have very much fondness for the platform.

[ubersaurus]

Easy. There are better options for people looking to enjoy gaming Atari-style.

The 5200 carts don't fit any other system, like the Atari 2600 carts do. The system is deemed underpowered, compared to the 7800. The cartridges and system are bulky, taking up more room than some other consoles. Tiny game library (common for most Atari systems, though). So many horror stories about the controllers. The system seems to be more difficult (and expensive) to find than the 2600 or 7800.

Personally, I am of the belief (right or wrong?) that you can find a better version of virtually any 5200 game worth playing on either the 2600 or 7800...........or at least a version "good enough" to get by with.

There's quite a few games on the 5200 that are better than their 2600 counterparts, that lack 7800 counterparts. But the controllers really do suck.

[Ze_ro]

If I could find good, working controllers for the 5200, I'd be all over that thing. I love that era of gaming, and the 5200 had some interesting things going for it... but if I can't even start a game, then it kinda ends there :(

--Zero

[Lemmi_Is_God]

the 5200 was the worst atari system ever made, and you can get an atari 800xl alot cheaper then a 5200 and avoid those crappy controllers altogether and with 5 multi carts you can get 139 games for the 800 computer

my first Boxed 5200 system with 30 games cost me $30 at a flea market and i sold it for $125, 10 years later, and in those 10 years i played it maybe 4 times the last time the controllers were usless even after cleaning them and i wasnt paying for new rebuilt controllers that cost more then i paid for the entire system

plus the 800xl is smaller then the 5200

and $1 per game isnt bad there is bound to be someone out there that will pay that for the games

and i sold one of my 5200 systems with like 5 games to ubersaurus for like $25 or something which was a deal since he didnt have to pay though the nose for shipping :D

[fishsandwich]

You people are crazy. The 5200 has some awesome games and a few great exclusives, too... Gremlims and Space Dungeon come to mind. There's lots going on in the homebrew scene and many of these newer games are fantastic.

I agree that the controller SUCKS and is probably the reason the 5200 doesn't get all the love it deserves. That and it's basically a Atari 400/800 without nearly as many games.

Go pick on some other system. :2gunfire:

[cyberfluxor]

I've been wanting to grab a 5200 for awhile now but it does seem quite expensive for what it is. I mainly wanted it and a bunch of complete games, but not a complete collection for that'd take too much time and some extra money as well. I'm not much of a retro gamer but I figured I'd get the unique 5200 for good times sake. The arcade track ball is a must for me when I get the system due to Centipede and Missile Command plus possibly a few others. I'll have to see where it takes me, but loose cartridges don't appeal to me nor I do think it's much of what others are looking for either that own older systems. I can't stand looking at my stack of 40 something loose 2600 games, why get a bunch of 5200's the same way. :/

[le geek]

for me 5200>7800...but it's a matter of choice.

5200 Choplifter with refurbed controller is friggin' sweet...

and there are some nice homebrews/modern releases for it...Koffi and Flip & Flop come to mind...

But yeah it will always be a niche system...

Cheers,
Ben

[boatofcar]

Whgat were the titles? Perhaps I'll buy them from you if you can still pick them up.

Berzerk, Pole Position, Q*Bert, Popeye (both PB games have messed up labels), Missile Command, Star Raiders, Pac-Man (of course!), plus some more I can't remember....

[Pantechnicon]

I've heard all the anti-5200 controller arguments before several times and won't dispute those. But this is the 1st time I've seen people seriously bag on the quality of 5200 games.

This is somewhat surprising to me because imo the best thing about the 5200 game library is the vast improvements over standing 2600 titles such as Centipede or Missile Command; This improvement isn't limited to Atari titles only. The 3rd party developers all put out hopped-up versions of great titles like Wizard of Wor or Defender. These all get pretty damn close to their arcade originals on this platform.

Pitfall II...omg...Pitfall II is literally twice the game it was on the 2600. A must for 5200 owners everywhere.

All you on-the-fencers take note: Get yourself a controller refurb from 4Jays (linkle) (http://4jays.net/store//page75.html) and go re-explore this system's library. You will not be disappointed. (I've had my refurbed controllers for almost 3 years now and they've never given me a second of trouble).

p.s. - Mr. Postman just brought some 5200 extension cables I ordered off of Ebay. Now I can play with the Big Silver Beast while sitting a reasonable distance from the TV. 8-)

[boatofcar]

I just want to point out that my original post was in now way trying to diss the 5200, or its games. I was just asking a question as to why it seems like you can't give them away.

Comparing them to NES games on ebay that are unsold is ridiculous on so many levels I can't believe I'm even responding. There are at least 20 common NES games that I can think of offhand that will sell for at least a dollar, as long as shipping is reasonable.

[Pantechnicon]

I just want to point out that my original post was in now way trying to diss the 5200, or its games.
I was just asking a question as to why it seems like you can't give them away.

Controllers are part of it. Collectors by and large may not want the hassle associated with these things.

It probably also has something to do with Atari never really producing a console other than the 2600 that resonated with the collective consciousness. Collectors and oldschoolers know about the post-2600 legacy, but if you ask Willy Wal-Mart what systems Atari made and he'll say, "Atari made the Atari (meaning the 2600, but he won't know that.)." On the other hand, I'll bet he can identify at least three from : NES, Super NES, N64, Gameboy and Gamecube all as Nintendo's legacy. Props to the big N for sustaining brand recognition as long as they have across a variety of products.

[Push Upstairs]

I'd never seen a 5200 till about maybe 3 years ago....that thing is huge!

[Pantechnicon]

I'd never seen a 5200 till about maybe 3 years ago....that thing is huge!

The Big Silver Beast :love: . It's aesthetic is a huge part of the appeal of it to me. Atari definitely wasn't ashamed of this thing at the time.

It probably wouldn't be so big were it not for the built-in controller storage tray on the top. I think the original Famicom is probably the only other console with a built-in controller storage system. That's still a good idea as far as I'm concerned.

One other fun fact about the 5200 some of you may not know: the carts are hot swappable. You can yank one out and pop another in without damaging anything or incurring the hassle of a power cycle. I didn't know this myself until a few years back. I had brought my 5200 to CGE in 2000 and was sharing a hotel room with Altairboy. He knew about the hot-swap thing but I didn't. So we were playing some of the 5200 carts I had picked up when he calmly yanks one out without powering down and jams in another. Suffice to say I was pretty @_@ but he showed me how no harm had come to anything in the process. This was good because I almost had him doing a Nadine Cross off of whatever floor of the Plaza we were staying on that year LOL

[bangtango]

I just want to point out that my original post was in now way trying to diss the 5200, or its games. I was just asking a question as to why it seems like you can't give them away.

Comparing them to NES games on ebay that are unsold is ridiculous on so many levels I can't believe I'm even responding. There are at least 20 common NES games that I can think of offhand that will sell for at least a dollar, as long as shipping is reasonable.

Meanwhile, my main problem with the 5200 is the price. Putting the controllers aside, it costs more to get a working 5200 than a 2600, 7800 or Jaguar. All three of them have legitimate reasons that make them worth picking up, to boot. Why on earth would I pay through the nose for a system with a library that small when I could get a machine with a huge library (2600), a machine that has better specs than the 5200 and plays most of that 2600 library (7800) or a system (Jaguar) with a small library that did have enough good games and a controller that held up well enough to warrant a $30 purchase? All three of them come at a better price and really have more to offer.

That is based on shopping around on these forums, Ebay and various online stores for 5200 "stuff", including the system, which I still intend to own someday.

[boatofcar]

Nice points, bangotango. I never thought about it that way, in terms of system cost, but you're right.

[chrisbid]

a controller solution is the only barrier to the 5200 being a great system. the 7800 has worse sound, and nearly equally crappy controllers. of course an atari 8bit is the second best atari system out there. 8bit Donkey Kong is the best home version ever released (and did not get a 5200 port for whatever strange reason)

[Ed Oscuro]

Nothing to do with undesirable surely.

Look at USA ebay all those 1000s NES carts for $0.01, $0.99, $1.00 and so on...can't give them away....
Especially not when you charge $5 for shipping LOL

And of course not when you're charging $10 for shipping a loose cart, either...been plenty of those all along as well...

[Ed Oscuro]

Also, no reason to go with a 5200 when you can just get an Atari 8-bit machine. Should be most all of the game selection at a cheaper price.