(Pre-LGR) Atari 2600 Game Console Review
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2008
- A review from the perspective of a cheap, casual collector of video games: is the Atari 2600 VCS worth it? A quick run-down of the history, pros and cons of the games and system.
I apologize for the huff-puff voicing caused by my crappy headset mic.
Predecessor to my Lazy Game Reviews - Наука та технологія
Dude. This was one of the first video on UA-cam that I watched. I remember trying to find stuff about the 2600. Christmas 1979, I was the first kid on the block to get one. Great stuff.
Sounds like he recorded this in the 90s
lol ikr
2008 is basically the 90s for youtube.
He used analog camcorders in early videos.
It was 2008, 9 years earlier and he would be recording it in the 90s
1979
Funny thing..most of the games you mentioned as your favorite were my least-favorite. especially dragster. That game was soooo boring.
Dragster is horrendously boring playing alone, but playing against a friend is great! Shifting quickly and efficiently to get the better time, down to a split second :)
+Lazy Game Reviews Try breaking a 6-sec run... Near-impossible! And that world-record 5.41 run? DOUBT IT!
+Lazy Game Reviews do you have california games for your 2600???
I paid $25 for it used when I was about 10 and it was my favorite game...I had over 50 games for it when I gave it to my sister, who needs atari when you have sega master system...
OMG tech overload
The 8-Bit Guy Hi David you are mi favourite UA-camr, I have got some questions so how could contact you ?
Woodgrain addiction comes from a long time
I second the opinion that LGR should revisit the mighty Atari 2600 console in HD. Maybe a tenth anniversary update in August 2018? :)
Welp. He's got 4 days to make that a reality! Hahahaha.
Well, it's almost 2020 and nothing.
PCGamer77 yeah
It’s 2022 and still waiting. 😆
2024...
oh hello 2008 LGR
how are you doing
@@uku4171 gey
@@uku4171
I agree :0
25 bucks for a 2600.... Sweet baby jesus, where is my time machine?
you can still find them for that price, especially at yard sales. just picked up a 4 switch and 32 games for $20. all but one game work (couldn't get Asteroid to work). the system itself took a little fiddling to get it to wake up from who knows how many years in slumber. its a little stubborn but it does work (it probably just needs a refresh kit).
Youd have loved the mid to late 90s. Atari 2600s were soo cheap. Console with like 100 games numerous controllers and what not would cost $5 to $10 bucks at a garage sale
Sometimes in the council hard waste collection id find games and things. Moreso commodore 64 and atari 400s though. Wish i had have known what the spectrum was back then. Saw sooo many in 1998-2004 laying around disguarded... i thought it was a piece of a computer so i never picked one up. Lol
I got an old wood grain one today, for $35. Didn’t really pay anything for it, traded in some old DVD and Blu Ray discs (kept the digital copies). 👍🏻
I must watch this hardware playlist about four times a year, really enjoy them. I also come running here before deciding on whether or not to buy a console. Big thanks man
''Because I love it and I'm bored'' XD
Dude you're the best! Really, I just found your lazy reviews channel and I really like it so far. Always interesting and just casual enough. Great job! Thanks for sharing!
Wow.. can't get those prices anymore..
KLanD Tine Cant find a wood one under €100 even without games...
Tom Jacobs
Really? They aren't that expensive around here. Although some sellers are wanting $7.50 for common games.. which is way way too much.
KLanD Tine wow, common games around here are still 99 cents. i feel lucky.
cKreepy Jones I've got my spots, but a lot of retro dealers are trying to cash in on the growing popularity.
+KLanD Tine The retro video game market is so overvalued that I don't even know if waiting will help the prices any.
I can't stop re-watching your videos such as this, over and over again. Your videos are just that awesome, and they make me want more games and systems. =)
omg you channel gotten so much better then this. It weird to go back and see your old videos. you got amazingly better
Fabulous video! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you!
I'm so glad your video had instructions on how to hook up my 4K HD smart TV to the Atari .
I found my older sisters original 1970's Atari 2600 in my Parents basement as a teenager in the late 90's. I cleaned it up and packaged it up in plastic and hid it from them in my closet.
For years they always talked about how much they loved that console and that they wish they knew what happened to it, I bet they are going to kill me if they find out that I had it for 2 decades lol.
I played some Atari 2600 games through ports and emulation and I have to say that the system had some pretty interesting games.
I am very glad you updated your microphone since then :)
i love your reviews. hope you make more :)
I found this video because I was looking for more information about the Arcadia Supercharger. And I got what I needed and more! Awesome video.
I am loving Thrust at the moment, it's amazing how playable these games still are.
Your reviews are actually very entertaining while still very different in style from avgn and other reviewers. Good work!
I like to Informative Style of your Reviews :/ They quite simply rock.
Wow. LGR has changed a LOT over the years. Still this was highly entertaining!
Man I wish these prices were still the case. I got an Atari bundle that had the system, two normal controllers and 4 paddle controllers, the star raiders pad along with the instructions and game, two Atari game binders filled with 16 games, and all the cables for $120. Looking at some of the prices online nowadays, I would’ve had to spend even more online compared to all the stuff I got here at my local antique shop.
Wow, never heard of that tape convertion thingy. It's amazing!
great review dude
Review is great.
It's like going back in time.My kids seemed kinda interested.
I've watched a bunch of Atari 2600 videos and this is the first time I've heard about the tape thing. It makes the system more interesting to me.
Awesome review on a great retro console! Dude I used to live in Sunnyvale California years ago before I moved to New Jersey. We used to drive by the old Atari building when my dad and I whent to go rent videogames at Hollywood Videos. Man those were some good times. Some of the games I own came from that video store and they still work great including Gunstar Heroes.
Lol hello I'm binging a mega Playlist of your videos I love your channel man I was in 7th grade when this came out lol
Your content has changed a lot haha!
I was building this Atari 50 anniversary Lego today, while watching you building 2 processor PC from the 90s. And once I finished with Lego I decided to watch about this console and here we are on this channel again 😂
had one when i was a kid back in 83. my brother and inused to set our lunch on it while we played. it was great for keeping a grilled cheeze sandwich warm.
that system was love.
uroborous01 i still own my heavy sixer whew thank goodness i its still runs and my mother didnt throw it out☺
Thank you for your video, the converter non-compatiblity had me in despair of ever playing with it again. Now I'll get that adapter, prolly from MicroCenter- the home of all old computer adapters and cables.
I just bought one, thank you for the suggestion =D
Sweet! This, your Commodore and your SEGA CD reviews were some of the best reviews I've seen on UA-cam. =D
I had a first gen model, sadly it stop working after 90 days. My dad was going to repair it, but the cost was almost as much as the machine. Thank god when the two Steve's came along they changed the standard warranty from 90 days to one year. Great machine and review.
I found that it can be fun for all the family to join in. I was often competing against my brothers to win and it brought us closer together as a family. I enjoyed mine and since it came with a range of games, there was something for everyone.
it seems like all of these youtube retrogaming channels have really driven up prices since 2008
I still own the 1978 Panasonic Portable TV me and my brothers used to play Atari on when we were kids (and it still works)! I also recently bought a 40 inch Element Electronics flat-screen TV (actually made in the USA, yes really), and it actually has a composite analog video input that actually works (I connected my 1995 Pioneer Laserdisc player to it and it actually has a pretty darn good picture). THEN I connected my Atari Joystick all-in-one game to it and it worked great; the controller itself actually compares favorably to the Atari original, which really surprised me! All I need now is some way to connect an original Atari 2600 to my big-screen.
We were given an Atari 5200 by my in-laws back when my spouse and I were newlyweds (probably as a Christmas present). I remember the trips we'd make to Toys 'R Us for a few years afterwards, looking for cartridges for it. Mostly my husband played the games on it, but I tried a few of the arcade-type titles we had for it too. Didn't get our first proper computer until a few years later (a C64c at an after-Christmas sale in 1987, mostly motivated by the Epyx "5 free games" promotion being run at that time. (It was a good thing we bought games for the C64, too, as the Epyx freebies were all sports titles we weren't interested in playing.) We didn't have another videogame console in the house until we bought a Playstation 2 a couple of decades later (it was a way to both play games on the TV and play DVDs, and was our first DVD player that wasn't part of one of our computers).
LOL this is young LGR guy. I'm huge fan of you
Your cassette secret blew my mind!
I wish there was a part two where its taken apart and explained maybe an episode to the birth life and death? love these review's
You know, you call your videos "Lazy Game Reviews" but they go more in depth than any other review I've seen.
Excellent review and funny too. My favorite game is Circus Atari as well. I absolutely love that game.
My only argument would be against third party controllers. Yes most are bad, but the exception are the Wico sticks. I love my Wico command control and prefer them even over the stock 2600 joysticks.
Great video!
I consider the Fairchild Channel F to be the first TRUE home video game console. The Magnavox Odyssey had pre-hardwired games that were accessed via jumpers in the different "cartridges." The Fairchild Channel F was the first system to have true programmed ROM cartridges not dependent on pre-wired games on the system. I used to have a Fairchild in its box still. Wish I hadn't sold it.
Dec 25th, 1978. Santa brought us an Atari 2600. I was suddenly the most popular kid on the block. Next major buy was a TRS-80 CoCo that used Cassette tapes to load games/programs...wonderful days.
Who's watching this in 2018
2019 yay
BRUH I'm from the future this is 2020 now and I still have atari
2021-
Wow, quality video for 12 years ago!
know whats weird phreakindee? even though i usually dont give two craps about really old hardware, YOU make it FASCINATING...like in your commodore vic-20 and 64 reviews....EXCELLENT
ok ur reveiw is mad funny and has alot of information. im thinking about maybe getting a atari 2600 u should do more reviws ill sure watch
i cant believe those atari controler are still working. My spectrum joystick didnt last 1 year of my childhood. :)
I used to have this system, but still a great console, and still a champion among other consoles like the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, PS1, PS2, PS3, and many more.
And speaking of the VCS, Atari announced a new console called the Atari VCS. Originally planned as the Ataribox, this new console will have all new features than the older game do. The new VCS will come out soon.
Happy 10th anniversary!
I ended up getting the Jr. model from my town market for around £15, also came with Wizard of Wor, Dodge 'em and a couple other games.
Pretty sweet though the joystick are those old contact ones... long since past its prime, may have to look into buying one with micro switches if I ever start properly collecting for it, there's just something about having a games console that's older then you are that makes it feel like a relic of the past, where I can turn to my parents and say ''hey remember this?'' and see the knowing look on their faces.
Great review :) I'm buying a 2600 for my kids soon, they have very poor fine motor skills and I thought the easier 2600 controls/joysticks/paddlesticks were a lot easier than the modern Wii's and XBox controls.My brother bought a 2600 for kids and it's awesome, what a retro champ it is :)
As I recall, the Supercharger only worked with games up to 6K. The reason that some games don't work, even though they're under the size limit is that they were never designed to be run from RAM and bad coding ends up corrupting the game's code. There was a fairly simple mod you could do that would add a toggle switch to write-protect the Supercharger's memory. There were also some "cheats" posted that would fix some of the ROM images to be SC compatible.
Also, some good games came out later in the 2600's life, like Tunnel Runner (1983), Solaris (1986) and Midnight Magic (1987).
I have the 4 switch VCS. Far as I know it still works. Haven't fired it up in many, many years.
I've never seen 2600 games for sale... good thing I still have mine
The Atari 2600 was the very first video game console that I played when I was young, more to the point it was the Sunnyvale heavy sixer model (with the wood grain), man that gives me memories.
Looking at the connection you showed. I was lazy one weekend and wanted to play my (I guess more appropriately my parents, but they never use it, so....) Intellivision 2 and didn't have that kind of connector, but my dad has a bunch of electrical supplies, so I just spliced the two together. It works beautifully. (The RF box is total junk, I have one as well, but it never really worked.)
As this video doesn't contain the word 'greetings', you should do a remake of this review of this awesome videoconsole 🙂
Damn....$25 Atari. 10 years ago was certainly different. Impossible to find one below $100 currently.
That's what i was thinking, really wanted to get one and collect some games
picked up a 4 switch, and 32 games for $20. all but one game work (Asteroid just would not load regardless what i did). picked up a supercharger for $40 (it was listed as untested on ebay but works flawlessly), as well as that cable adapter, a new retro-bit PSU (the original PSU was totally huffed), and a refreshed joystick.
i do wish i still had my childhood 2600 (a 6 switch) as i do like the 6 switch a bit more than the 4 switch, especially with those few games that use the difficulty setting switches to control some of the game functions,
"Now, why review such an iconic and almost flawless console? Well, because I love it and I'm bored"
~Clint Basinger, 2008
Whoa, this is some LGR "from back in the day" for sure
Holy crap this video almost 10 years old!
I really like your style, its not a ripoff at all to what Ive seen on youtube. You should really make more reviews!
~subscribes~
I miss the closing logo, even though I didn't start watching these until after he dropped it.
DING!
"Frick..."
This was my first system..I loved playing E.T!!
Good one
The 2600 is the first and only gaming system that I ever had. AWESOME!!!
I have a Colecovision with the atari expansion module. That counts as an atari, right?
Loving the series, particularly Thrifts, but have a question for you as a collector.
I recently repaired my light sixers after being stored in the garage/attic/junk cupboard for years and got it going on an LCD tv through the ordinary antenna in socket. If I modded the unit to composite with audio out, Peritel/Scart or S-Video, would it be worth more to a collector or less?
Well, I have a sixer of mine modded with composite out, and I value it a bit more than my others due to the clearer signal. But that varies completely from collector to collector, with many preferring the original unmodified hardware.
Many thanks for a candid opinion, Clint. I think I'll mod 1 and leave the other as standard. Most of the collectors here in the UK seem to be purists, so I will no doubt infuriate someone!
I wish you the best with your house move :-)
My dad worked at Sears so we had a Sears Super Arcade II. This is the one that had the infamous combo joystick/paddle. I picked another one up in the box from Ebay last year for $50.00.
EDIT: Forgot to mention some of my favorite games: Yar's Revenge, Indiana Jones, Space Invaders, Combat, Dragonfire, Cosmic Ark and Atlantis. Man, I loved me some Imagic games. :)
Ah, nostalgia. The 2600 was the very first video game system I ever played. My parents had bought one before I was born, and they let me play it. I believe we had one of the six switch Tele-Games version.
I killed so many hours with Berserk and Star Wars. I've recently become fond of Adventure and Yar's Revenge since then.
Awesome system.
I like the beginning of this
"Discover atareh"
Discover Atari.
ATARIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
M Douglas lol 😂😂
ha sorry i was commenting on your sega cd review , i guess the video switched while i was commenting on it. do you have snatcher by the way? anyway good videos man, keep'em coming
Try the TAC-30 it is a good third party controller. Nice review I'll check out some of those games.
Just a few days ago I bought Atari Greatest Hits for the Nintendo DS in the price of 9.95€.
I had Atari Anthology on PS2, but this was cheap, so why not.
Atari games are indeed fun, even after all these years.
I had some quite enjoyable moments with these games.
Swordquest trilogy is really interesting experience, although it's pretty difficult game for me.
I love these classic game collections very much. I wish there would be more of them.
I love the Atari 2600 i have the Atari flashback in my video game collection
I used to play that system at night durring the early 2010s at night
My light sixer workds great. I have a half a dozen still in the original box with instructinos and about 36 or so loose. Great system and well worth the cheaper prices to purchase. For any old-school game collector.
Jesus Christ Clint has been on UA-cam for 10 years
Best game as far as effort put in goes to f14 tomcat (or whatever it was called overseas) but my favourites to play are: river raid 1 and 2, chopper command, commando, seaquest, adventure, grand prix (for the skids), bump and jump, and battlezone.
As a 4/5yo adventure and haunted mansion used to freak me the hell out.. Haha
I actually have on of these. It's in storage at my mom's currently and I keep meaning to get it and bring it home someday, but I never seem to have the opportunity. It's too bad, the circuits could be fried for all that I know.
LOL the ending, ding!
OH THE HUGE MANATEE! (i laughed till i started to cry)
It's always weird and funny for me, as a Latin American, to hear about the catastrophic 1983 crash. We were playing the original Atari as late as 1990 like there was no tomorrow. Importing electronic goods in Brazil was as good as impossible back then, and we only had access to the Atari thanks to clones produced in Brazil. When the doors were finally opened, we pretty much jumped straight into the Master System, and shortly into the SNES and the Mega Drive (or the Genesis as you weird Americans call it). There was absolutely *no* 1983 crash at all here.
I think the 2600 still holds up today because of its completely esoteric look and feel. It's so striking and unique, direct and to the point, no bullshit, no cheesy mascots and no princess in another castle. It's just straightforward gaming.
Do you think you will do a review on Intellevision? I used to play on that console. Loved that system. Especially Burger Time! :D
this new Atari VCS looks pretty good!
lgr this was first video i ever saw by you :3
I absolutely Loved my ATARI 2600!
Believe it or not, I actually still have it!
Kevin Turner me too 😬
Kevin Turner me too 😬
Haha.. I love the Vader wood grain! :)
Here's a question.. what's the difference between Circus Atari and Clowns on the 2600? I used to know, but can't honestly remember. I used to love at least one of those two! We also played a lot of Human Cannonball, Space Invaders, Haunted House, Maze Craze, Barnstorming, & Pitfall!
Warlords was great with 4 players too. I remember my brother's friend bringing over his paddles so we could all play. Good times! :)
SO EPIC ! Thanks man but how can it support 4 players at the same time? the atari doesnt support only 2 controlers?
I have the atari 2600 plug n play joystick,its awesome! I can play it when im on a trip at a hotel!
How do the old sticks hold after all this time? Seems like they would have rotted away long ago. I was constantly having the boot fall off at the tender age of 6, I am 45 now, leaving that white opaque plastic core that would give a blister to a rock golem and I still remember the pain. As a little version of my adult self my favorite game was Bump n Jump and I can still hum the game loop music from memory. Moon Patrol was up there too.
gorepuppy funnily enough I just picked up Bumb'n'Jump for the 2600!
i grew up with a sears video arcade II. i really like its futuristic 80s styling beyond all others :O the controllers that came with it attempted combine the paddle and joystick into one and ended up with a potentiometer on a stick that was awful though. the original joysticks kind of hurt my hands now too, but they have such simplistic wiring anyone can make their own atari controller
To this day Yar's Revenge is still an absolute blast.
Now I know that there were both PAL and NTSC version of the VCS, but do you know if games were released in seperate PAL and NTSC versions, or are the games region agnostic and run on any reagion system?