How Good Was The Atari 7800?

[Aswald]

I know the sound was inferior, but other than that, how did the 7800 compare, technically, to the NES and the Sega Master System?

Assume the level of competence displayed by those two other companies.

[Dr. Morbis]

I don't think it could have touched the SMS, but it could have easily rivalled/surpassed the nes 'technilogically'. The problem is that this system was never pushed to it's limits. what it could have done and what it actually did do with the games that were released are two very different things.

But it's still a fun system and I recommend it for some of it's system exclusive 8-bit gems.

[NE146]

I think it compares pretty favorably..

However. wasn't the 7800 developed and supposed to have been released before the famicom/sms were created? So in a sense it's sort of a half generation before them? I dunno *shrug* :P

[Darth Sensei]

I think it compares pretty favorably..

However. wasn't the 7800 developed and supposed to have been released before the famicom/sms were created? So in a sense it's sort of a half generation before them? I dunno *shrug* :P

Yeah, wasn't it stalled by Jack Tramiel for like 2 years?

[The Unknown Gamer]

I guess you have to been around for a few more years like me to remember this but when the 7800 was to be released back in 84/85. That was when the GREAT GAME CRASH happend. Or ask yourself why the Video Player for the Adam system never came out. I remember how the big toy that year was the Cabbage Patch Kids doll, the toy stores could not stock enough of them. Some times history happends the way most of us don't remember.
It was Sega first then Nintendo, it wasn't until the NES was popular that most stores even stocked the SMS. Which if I remember was almost strickly a mail order item up to then.

The 7800 in my opion beats the NES on some games mainly old arcade Centipede, Dig Dug, Galaga and the like. As much as I don't like to admit this but the 7800 was the less powerful of the 3. Sound execpt for Ballbazer was very crappy and the sound puzzles in Scrapyard Dog are all but impossible to win. The SMS if you wonder was the most powerful of the 3. Ironically the 7800 and the NES used the same processer.

In the 8 bit era of consoles games were a mix bag at best, better on some systems than others. To me you can't beat Double Dragon on the SMS, or even Centipede or MS. Pac-man on the 7800.

[Aswald]

Thanks for the replies!

I've owned an Atari 7800 since 1988, and always suspected that that unbeatable handicap known as "Tramielitis" dragged it down. The games it did well- Robotron: 2084, Dig Dug, Xevious, Tower Toppler, Pole Position 2, and others- indicated this, but it was never used to its fullest potential. Certainly, it could handle large amounts of on-screen motion better than the NES and maybe even the SMS.

The marketer-inspired crash of 1984 did it in at that point, but I heard that the Atari 5200 was released (it was essentially a keyboardless Atari 400 computer) in a hurried effort to compete with the ColecoVision. Atari was worried that, had it not done so, the ColecoVision would have so dominated the market that the Atari 7800 would never have had a chance, especially when you consider the "learning curve."

I suppose the question was largely technical- someone familiar with the actual harware, such as Sean Kelly or Opcode, could tell for certain just what it could've done.

[Gunstarhero]

The 7800 is more or less a Turd. It's better as a run-thru for 2600 games more than anything else. Yeah it does a couple titles better than the NES, but that doesn't make it worth buying one if you ask me. I've had plenty of playtime on the 7800 to make this judgement, but I know I'm on solid footing when I say that its a much better investment to get a 5200, as it has better audio, and even has better ports than the 7800 has, how pathetic is that? The 5200 is a powerhouse next to the 7800, maybe not on paper, but its not a Tramiel era system, and you can see the tender loving care that went into the games, unlike with what we got on the 7800.

The 7800 contains the exact same Audio chip that the 2600 uses, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I don't know why, maybe back then they couldn't put an advanced chip in and still get 2600 games to have audio? Or the other option is of course it was just cheaper.

Robotron definitely stands out on the 7800, that was an excellent title, but it misses some thing the 5200 version has, which is the particle explosions you get when you blow up enemies, plus the Audio is better on the 5200 version. Centipede is nice on 7800, but again, its better on the 5200 because of the Trackball. Unless you think that 2-player simultaneous trumps trackball control, I know some that do.

I had a complete 7800 for quite a few years, but couldn't justify keeping it around anymore so I sold it. Still can't unload all of my games for it, nobody wants em, alot are complete too. But they are so cheap its difficult to get rid of them. Almost a waste of time.

[Kid Ice]

I
The 7800 in my opion beats the NES on some games mainly old arcade Centipede, Dig Dug, Galaga and the like. .

Galaga is better on the 7800? Are you sure about that?

[ubersaurus]

Technically, the 7800 could compete well against the NES and SMS. However, whereas Sega and Nintendo put some good cash behind R&D for these, as well as on-cart RAM and memory mapping, the Tramiels told their programmers to go with the bare minimum of space and RAM possible. As a result, alot of 7800 games just look worse.

But look at games like Ballblazer, Scrapyard Dog, Midnight Mutants, Impossible Mission, and Commando, and you can see that the 7800 was no slouch. Although it's sound was worse, it could handle alot more sprites then either of the other two, due to its different way of handling the display.

Oh yeah. Famicom is 1983 tech, 7800 is 1984, and SMS is 198...6?

5200 robotron BETTER? HOW? The game plays slower, the sprites are giant sized, and you never get the same hectic feel from the 7800 version. Both use 2 controllers though, which still puts the 5200 one better then most, but still, 7800 has that port hands down.

[Raccoon Lad]

SMS(Mark III) is 1985 tech.....and far more powerfull than you could ever dream!!!!

[Atari7800]

My understanding is that while the 7800 is inferior to the NES and especially SMS on many levels (especially sound) it could move around a lot of different objects onscreen particularly well... the benefit of the extra graphics chip that was named "Maria" or something to that effect. I don't think the 7800 could do graphics as well as either the NES or SMS but it had an advantage when it came to throwing a lot of stuff around on the screen all at once without flicker or slowdown. I would have loved to see some good 2-D shooters on the 7800. Galaga just doesn't cut it.

[ApolloBoy]

SMS(Mark III) is 1985 tech.....and far more powerfull than you could ever dream!!!!

But the sound somewhat sucks (unless you have a Mark III with an FM pack).

[ubersaurus]

My understanding is that while the 7800 is inferior to the NES and especially SMS on many levels (especially sound) it could move around a lot of different objects onscreen particularly well... the benefit of the extra graphics chip that was named "Maria" or something to that effect. I don't think the 7800 could do graphics as well as either the NES or SMS but it had an advantage when it came to throwing a lot of stuff around on the screen all at once without flicker or slowdown. I would have loved to see some good 2-D shooters on the 7800. Galaga just doesn't cut it.

Xevious
Planet Smashers
Robotron 2084
Asteroids

Weren't Plutos and Sirius shooters? I can't wait to get a look at those.

[ApolloBoy]

My understanding is that while the 7800 is inferior to the NES and especially SMS on many levels (especially sound) it could move around a lot of different objects onscreen particularly well... the benefit of the extra graphics chip that was named "Maria" or something to that effect. I don't think the 7800 could do graphics as well as either the NES or SMS but it had an advantage when it came to throwing a lot of stuff around on the screen all at once without flicker or slowdown. I would have loved to see some good 2-D shooters on the 7800. Galaga just doesn't cut it.

Dude, have you ever played Ballblazer?

[Gunstarhero]

ubursaurus wrote:

5200 robotron BETTER? HOW? The game plays slower, the sprites are giant sized, and you never get the same hectic feel from the 7800 version. Both use 2 controllers though, which still puts the 5200 one better then most, but still, 7800 has that port hands down.

Re-read my post, I didn't say the 5200 is better overall, I just said the 7800 is missing stuff that the 5200 version has. The Audio is better on the 5200, you can't deny that, plus the 5200 has the controller coupler. It's not like the 5200 version can't throw alot of enemies at you either, all in all I'd still take the 5200 version as it has the features I want. The 7800 version certainly doesn't show a quantum leap of technology above the 5200, which it should have.

[Atari7800]

duh... how could I forget Xevious?

I'd love to see something really fast and fully of sprites, like a Raiden, Gradius, or R-Type. Nothing against Robotron... it's a great game, but it's only one screen.

[ManekiNeko]

Not very. Although I will admit that I'd rather play Commando on the 7800 than on the NES.
Anyway, I think the system's graphics are muddy and the hardware just isn't that impressive. The games also have less depth than those on the NES, except for Midnight Mutants, which tried to duplicate the same success enjoyed by complex action/adventure titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

JR

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

If you want to compare graphics on systems

Ok

Commando Better on the 7800 over the NES

Galaga better on the NES over the 7800

Dig Dug better on the NES over the 7800

Xevious NES and 7800 are the same but there nothing compared to the TG16/PCE version

Donkey Kong Same on the NES and 7800

Donkey Kong Jr. Same as DK

Double Dragon NES over 7800 big time

Joust 7800 over NES

MS. Pac Man NES Slightly over 7800

Klax Same as MS. Pac Man

Rampage same as ms Pac Man and Klax

That is all

(rember i am refuring to the graphics not the actual game.

[Zaxxon]

With the 7800's muddy graphics, fuzzy video output, weak sound, bad controllers, it seems more like a step backwards from the 5200. Other than Midnight Mutants, no games really seemed impressive. NES, SMS, even CV stomps the 7800.

[omnedon]

7800 works great with any Atari compat stick, like the genesis Arcade Power stick. Crappy controllers? Well, the Pain Line's Do suck, but it's hardly an issue with that kind of compatible.