Atari 5200 Gaming Guide: Collecting Tips, Hardware, & More!
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- The Atari 5200 is 40 years old and I thought I would do a collecting reflection video on what this console offers for those that want to purse original hardware. Enjoy the video and thanks for watching.
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Atari 5200 was my first console so I have a soft spot for it despite its issues.
Best Electronics sells a fix to the 5200 joysticks, using gold instead of the tin that oxidized and stopped being usable. It's what Atari should have used in 1982, but didn't. I replaced the flexcircuit on my four sticks and it makes one heck of a difference, though their replacement silicone buttons also helped. No need for Wico or Competition Pro sticks either. The latter had problems because the joysticks were digital (on or off). The Wico and Atari sticks were analogue and some games made good use of that sensitivity. Others, not as much...
Nice shout out to Atariblast and Atarimax! The latter is needed for the homebrews for sure. I'm a collector who has about 80% of the original titles, and Atari systems that aren't the 2600 didn't get as much TLC for emulators as other systems. Until recently. But even then, the real hardware has that extra special feel. Especially once fixed.
The 5200 with the s-video mod looks amazing. Mine is modified for s-video and composite but after getting a s-video to hdmi converter, the difference is even more astounding.
The crash still would have happened, but Battlezone, Tempest, Solar Fox, Siniatar, and other games in development (and most were almost done!) Still would have been refreshing. When XEGS and 7800 came out, even I was asking where good new titles were as opposed to re-re-releases of the old greats. Which were still good but new games were needed... now imagine MotorPsycho with the pokey chip and proper sound and the ability to shoot obstacles...
My uncle had a 5200 back in the day. I don't know, but he got lucky for two reasons. The first is he had working controls, the other was the fact that my father knew how to repair them.
I alway appreciate you not "gatekeeping" when it comes to emulation. Many of us do prefer original hardware You hit gaming from both angles perfectly.
Good stuff. Some of my favorites on the 5200 were Mario Bros., Star Trek, and Pitfall 2. I love how that Bosconian looks. Wish I had that back in the day. Thanks for the video, John.
I had a 5200 when it launched, Countermeasures was a unique game, The New Atari VCS has it, just fantastic!
5200 could had been great, IF it got a good controller. If they just kept the 2600 joystick might have been enough.
John, thanks for an honest review of the 5200. Many reviews bash the original controller and don't look at all of the system's capabilities. As you pointed out, with a third party controller and an Atarimax cart the system is awesome! I also would recommend the trackball, it's the best way to play centipede.
Yeah that’s why I showed centipede, as it’s a great version paired with the track ball
The system had potential, but it got wasted by the controller, sadly
i did pick up a 4 controller port version of the 5200 around 1996 or 97 & enjoy playing it what little i could because of the controller is just junk but yes i will be picking up a new 3rd party one soon.
Yes the 5200 had its problems, but me and my brothers had a blast on this console! My parents picked up a 2 controller port when the price went down. I wish someone could create a modern rendition of Star Raiders!
Qix was a lot of fun, still play it on my RetroPi as the 5200 from our fam is boxed and stored at my brothers house, used to love digging it out of the closet and playing all through the 1980s when the only other console we had was a NES. good times
I have a soft spot for this console.
I remember the controller 🎮 for the 5200 was terrible 😔
Great video. I think the 5200 is a really underrated system. Another thing that you alluded to is the wonky power/RF box on the 4 port version, I’ve heard they’re very safe but after 40 years it’s hard not to be somewhat uneasy about it. I’ve heard that there are many ports from the Atari 8-bit computers like Tapper which is a cool way to get into those games.
The good thing about the 5200 is that you can store a beer in it!
In my early teen years my dad was in NJ and I asked him to send me an Atari 5200 but he couldn't find one. So next time I saw him that he could buy me whatever I wanted since he couldn't find me the 5200. I found at a Sears robots from the GoDaikin collection these are expensive die-cast quality robots much more superior to Transformers or Go-Bots. Anyway he bought me Voltes V($75) and God Sigma($50) and I was so happy with these die-cast colossus that I didn't mind the 5200. But years later I read all the troubles the console had. Good that you are still collecting for this system. Cool video John!👉😃👈
There's a shop in Wisconsin, not going to say where, if they still have a boxed Atari 5200 like they did this year, and associated games, I'm going to get it. It apparently it was a Atari 5200 system, that had never been opened, and I never once thought about getting it, as I was just getting back in to Atari systems and games, and was starting with Atari 2600.
Great video John. The 5200 is definitely an underrated system and one that we sadly never got here in the UK!
John, the color pot needs a little tweak, the colors are off. Do it when its been warmed up 15 minutes.
That Bosconian port looks great. Draconian for the 2600 by Spiceware is another great conversion. They even managed to get voice in there without using an Atarivox.
Always nice to see the 5200 get some attention. 👍
I’ve been a novice collector for a while. I have most of my childhood systems collected, and emulation systems for some that are a little too expensive. I picked up both versions of the 5200 a few years ago and had to repair the controllers first thing. It’s definitely an interesting system to collect for. Thank you, John, for your work on keeping the histories of these systems alive and bringing us along for the journey.
I got my 5200's (yes, two of them) in the early 2000's and I love the system. The game library is unique as there are titles that cannot be found on the 7800 (ie., Kangaroo, Vanguard). Had Atari released self-centering joysticks, I think the system would have sold better. Thankfully, there are alternatives we can use today.
Such an underappreciated console! My favorite games are: Beamrider, Venture, Berserk, Galaxian, Pac-Man, Dreadnaught Factor & more ;) Zone Ranger is also a blsat. I love how you highlight the Atarimax and the homebrew community, too (Beef Drop) and more. I have a connector I got from eBay from France that lets you use Genesis controllers on the 5200 and the original 5200 keypad on the other, as well as plug in a 2nd player 5200 controller. Great $30 little device and I wish more people could play these great games. Atari 50 has a few for sure, and it's a great way to get into those games. Thanks man! Great episode as always ;) Keep up the great work my friend. Thx for showring the 5200 some love!
Good video! Congrats! on having a complete collection of t he Atari 5200 Super System! You are so right about the controllers(Original)! They were the worst for the system! I bought one of those adapters that you can use to play with a Sega Genesis controller from: AtariAge. Best little gadget, I ever bought!
Thank you John. Once again a very fair video on a console with a sadly difficult past. Unfortunately, it is too expensive for me to collect for, but, as you said, emulation allows you to enjoy the games on modern hardware. I usually get my games through torrent, but Is there a 5200 compilation for any other consoles? Like a Vita for example? I didn't really want to go down the torrent route, but can not find other ways of finding the games. Thanks again, John.
Nice video, and thanks for showing Bosconian a polish conversion (It's on Atari 8bit too)..Greetengs from Poland!
It's an underrated console and often just get's bashed by it's controllers. If you can rebuild your controller, you will get used to the way it works. It's not perfect, but it's not THAT bad as everyone makes it out to be.
I was happy to get a complete boxed collection for this system in 2020. I had the loose cartridge of Bounty bob Strikes back and a loose box and instructions appeared on the AA forums, and I snagged it up. So happy to have a complete collection for this system.
All I want is a 5200 console and a real copy of Cloak and Dagger (hell, even Cloak and Dagger on Switch - someone needs to port/finish that game)…
If you said you're going to do the many ports of Berzerk, you should! My favorite port of Berzerk is Obviously the Original Arcade Version, and the C64 Redux version by (RGCD or Element 114 Software). You can try out Berzerk Redux for the C64 if you want to.
Already have the captured video of that ;). Just waiting on a new boxed hombrew copy to be sent for a mega video to be done.
Oh okay then!
A lot of these systems that didn't do well always fascinate me. I was able to get a 3DO and Atari 7800 at Midwest Gaming Classic this year (I saw your panel, good work!)
I'm going to Japan in April and hope to find other oddities like the PC-FX, actually found a controller for it in Green Bay, WI for $10!
I loved the controller!! Best controller for breakout and centipede. Love the system!
A good working order original controller with Star raiders is a wonderful experience. The trackball controller is probably my favorite controller of all time! I use after market ways of using a genesis controller for most games. A very worthwhile system to get into just don't stock up on the OG controller.
river raid
Q Bert and all pacman games.
Lol that butt plug controller cracks me up every time I see it, I'm immature🙄
I need to get my Atari 5200 modified with A V output but dont know where or who I can do it
i love every single one of those CBS Electronics games
Yeah a good watch 👍
In January 2022 I walked into an old school mom and pop tv repair store here in Brooklyn and found for sale a totally refurbished 5200. I love this system so much and it's my favorite of the 15 or so vintage units I own. The games are phenomenal arcade ports and the system has an awesome authentic 1982 feel to it.
Thanks for the video John. Your info about the controller and multi cart was insightful and helpful.
I love how the joystick was a true analogue design. You could control the speed of the paddle on break out. Each position on the joystick was mapped to the screen.... Nobody does that anymore...
Blaster is my favorite on it!! Phenomenal
wheres the 5200 flashback?
Never never land.
My only advice to those who want to collect is to have two things going in: nostalgia and patience.
If you didn’t have one as a kid (like I did), you should skip over the 5200.
As far as patience, The 5200 reentered my adult life around 20 years ago (4 port, power tv switchbox).
Have bought about 25 games over those years, and finally found some functioning controllers 3 years ago at a thrift store ($6 each).
A less expensive, and more reliable way to experience many of these games, is to get an Atari 400 computer, 2 2600 controllers, a 2600 trackball, and paddle controllers.
The guts of both systems are almost identical, and the games are cheap, with more reliable hardware.
I noticed that they didn't have any solitaire games. Freecell, Golf, Pyramid, Yukon, Tri-Peaks and Taipei are my goto apps on my old I-Pad.
I even had them in the Windows 3.1 era. Did those games exist back then? I would have bought that cartridge.
AVGN ranked the system and games in “games that don’t even qualify as games,” as the Atari 5200, itself, “refused to be reviewed,” similar to the Atari Jaguar CD add-on. Maybe he could review the Atari 5200 and Atari Jaguar CD games one day, similar to what he did for the Panasonic 3DO.
Got the trackball and the retro boys arcade stick mine is a 4 port with av mod I have battlezone sinestar ball blazer rescue on fractus defender Pac-Man arcade tempest scramble donkey cong that puts the colecovision version to shame zaxxon 32k astrochase berzerk starwars arcade pitfall Star Trek strategic operations simulator intelldiscs real sport’s baseball pole position Star raiders a fantastic system with out it there wouldn’t be a Atari 400&800 computers since they were based on the 5200 chip arcatecture
You mentioned it was a financial failure. All Atari consoles were failures not named the 2600. The demise of the 5200 was Atari not supporting its console properly. The ads would advertise both 5200 and 2600. It never properly backed the 5200.
The 5200 has no "bad games" in its lineup. It's a gem and the growing number of 5200 fans shows it's been on the rise. Thanks for the review on the amazing console.
I play the 5200 regularly and love console despite controller flaws, I too think the console is definitely overlooked. I periodically clean the controller contacts with Deoxit and they always work well after cleaning. I appreciate the 5200 screen time and always enjoy your channel!
Have you ever considered the gold contacts they sell? Supposedly you never have to clean them.
@@treyslay753 I haven't tried gold plated contacts but you have peaked my interest. Can you recommend a decent retailer or a website to check these out?
You can try Best Electronics or eBay. They are pricey, but I'm sure well worth it if you never have to clean the contacts.
Great info and great collection, John, thanks! I definitely need to get the Atarimax cart and a different controller. It's amazing how Atari killed themselves back in the day by trying to squeeze as much out of the 2600 they could and misreading the market with the 5200. The public hadn't been indoctrinated to the concept of "backwards compatibility" yet. Atari was the first to have to deal with it.
Great video John! I have purchased an Atari 5200 a few years ago on eBay, and also a fully refurbished controller. The best version of missile command I’ve played is on 5200! The analog controller is perfect for that game.
Still have my 5200 from 1982 when I got it from Christmas! Still works though I have a new controller for it.
i cant remember the seller :o
i have 2600>5200 adapters and love them
it still has a y-port for the original so you have the numpad as well
I remember being excited about getting our 5200 back when it came out. We loved the analog stick, it felt superior to the other stock sticks/ d pads. The fire buttons went bad prettly quickly and the fixes we tried didn’t last long or work at all. We gave up after only buying a few games and it went into a closet.
I forgot to ask one other thing what is the difference between the two port 5200 and the four-port 5200. The one that I’m getting in the mail here in a few days is a two port 5200 I know I believe one difference is that the Atari 2600 adapter only works with the two port but as far as anything else I’m not sure thanks for your help
The Atari 5200 and the Odyssey 2 both have the same problem: faulty controllers. May they both rot in hell
I would love to talk to this guy over a game of chess. Just to pick his brain!
Wow, Atari Blast looks like such a technical leap forward!
i have a 5200 and a few games, but no controller so seeing those arcade sticks is nice
I got to have that homebrew controller😁
Hi there I just bought a 5200 waiting for it to get here. Can you tell me where is the best place to get replacement controllers? Are you seen the one that you were talking about that customer makes controllers is there any other places that make controllers commercially? Also, where did you get the games that you were showcasing on your Atari max SD cartridge? Thanks for any help I greatly appreciate it. Oh one more thing do you know if there still a place where I can get the adapter to? I believe it’s an adapter that allows you to use like Sega genesis controllers on the 5200 thanks for any help.
Lots of questions asked here. Atariage 5200 subforum might be a good place to find homebrew games. I don’t have a place other than eBay for controllers. I think the 2 port is more reliable as a console.
I have had my 5200 since summer and got a 2 port one. I like the system. I like it more than the 2600. Do you also have an Atari 600xl, 800xl, or XEGS too John? If there is still an active homebrew scene for the 5200 I should get the Atarimax multicart and add roms to it and also 5200 homebrew roms and play on original hardware.
Active homebrew scene yes, not nearly as robust as 2600 or 8-bit. Complete in box XEGS and game set. Boxed 800xl, 400, 600xl as well along with several from the st line. I think the Atarimax SD is a must if you play your 5200.
Thanks John I will have to get that Atarimax sd for the 5200. I am going to research if there are any 600/800 games that weren’t on the 5200 that homebrew has ported over.
Nice video about 5200 in the 21st century. I've always loved the console, although I usually emulate these days due to the sticks needing maintenance. And the size of it, I don't have it sitting out all the time because it takes up a lot of floor or table real estate space.
Well said!
Great video! Thanks!
Great video please continue this series with all the consoles I know you’ve done this many years ago but it’s always good to reset and refresh the years and games change over time I’ve seen all of gaming from the 80s to now and I know you’ve seen more than me my retro friend
I’m sorry the 5200 is too much of a hassle
Loved my 5200. My 2 favs were Star Raiders (on hard) and Space Dungeon. You learned at a young age to repair and cannibalize the controllers.🤘🤘