The reason the holes are on the side of the controller compartment is to allow you to keep them plugged in on the front, but still store them inside. It works VERY well.
my father bought me an original 4 port 5200 back in the 80s...and it was fantastic! For its time, it was a cut above everything else that was available. Namco and Activision games collection.. Pac Man.. Centipede.. ect. had graphics that were almost exactly like their arcade standing counterparts. Defender was my favorite game.. the game play and graphics were amazing.. like most of the games for that console. I'm a huge fan... cant say enough good things about it.
William Keefe I always admired colecovisions graphics and gameplay. I used to beg my friend to play his cause he was bored with it. I only had a crappy 2600 lol
I had one of these too.Mine came with Pac-Man. Defender was also my favorite and I had a game record! I flipped the score sent in a picture of the TV. When I was working on that I had to keep my dad from turning the console off he wanted to watch the news. I used the RF switch so he could watch TV but he still wanted to turn off my 5200 he didnt get it. Hahaha those were the times, wish I could find that picture would bring back memories.
Same here. I got mine for Christmas 1982 and still have it to this day. It’s a great machine. Thankfully I have a Wico joystick which makes many games much easier to play. I also picked up a trackball controller which is great for some games. 👍
For Countermeasure, you have to get the big fuel tank (don't shoot it) to refuel. Your fuel automatically decreases on its own until you run out. And, you have to get to the big rocket without shooting it, which takes you to the extra missile countdown game where you have to guess the code before you get bombed. The game gives you code hints (I forgot how). Whenever you guess the code for the extra missile countdown game, you get to "the next board" where your board and enemies change. It is a moderately fun game.
@@godslayer1415 ColecoVision was king, but I could not get a hold on one till about two years after it came out, and I could not find any place to play on it.
@God Slayer I hate to break it, but the Atari 5200 was better hardware wise, and with hacks you can play a great portion of the Atari 8bit library too.
I had a 2600 when I was a kid. I had never even heard of a 5200 or a 7800 until today. Watching you play those games was like reliving my child hood. Just WOW!!
I have a 5200, 33 games and a 90 game multicatridge, Atari 2600 adapter (and original 2600) 6 5200 controllers and love the system! For $19.99 you can get a rev 9 Gold replacement for original number and fire button and will never have a control problem again. Great video.
I've been subscribed to this channel for a long time. How did I miss this video?!? I picked up a 5200 a few years back and put it on the shelf. The little storage slot in the back and controllers broke without even touching them. I was able to get new controllers from Best Electronics (I definitely recommend them!!) and was able to play the system. Despite the issues, it is probably my favorite Atari system. Aesthetically they did it right! The console is beautiful, the controllers are beautiful, the carts are beautiful! It's definitely worth the buy!! The homebrew scene is still very much alive and have released a lot of great games. AtariAge has a bunch (as well as repro carts.) Awesome review and great video!
I was quite happy to stumble upon this new video feature on the Atari 5200! I've owned several, fixed the controllers, but sadly my current 5200 needs more TLC than time allows, so I just emulate mostly. The analog control on 5200 Missile Command is superb; the twin-stick control and gameplay on Robotron and Space Dungeon also awesome. And the coin-op ports are mostly all very great versions. So 5200 is a lot of fun and there are many homebrews and Atari computer game ports still coming. I love Countermeasure, once you get familiar with it it can get addictive. Thanks for the show!
Man, I miss the look of these consoles. The 2600 jr, 5200 and 7800 always looked so gorgeous to me as well as the 16/32 bit Atari computers of the era. Great video!
Atari after the initial VCS/2600 design became the only gaming company I know of, really ever, to have a consistent and pervasive "design language" that lasted across several systems and appeared in everything they did. They were like Apple before Apple started doing that. I've been thinking about doing a video just on that, but I'm not sure yet how to make it interesting. But they were way into design and maintaining a house style, and even if some of their stuff looks dated now, I feel like it's all internally consistent and makes design sense, down to the box designs, colors, logos and fonts, etc.
Unless the controllers have been abused or are completely broken they are usually very easy to get working. Just disassemble, clean the pots and button pads with alcohol, then sand down the pads with a fine sandpaper to remove all corrosion until they shine again. Yes, sanding electronics is not the best idea and you might destroy the board. Also, it won't stop the problem from happening again years down the road. However, seeing as how the controller didn't work anyway I don't see the harm. If you do mess up the board (or if you prefer), you can buy replacement boards with gold contacts that should pretty much last forever.
My first console was the 4-controller version of the 5200. Was given to me as a hand-me-down from a neighbor kid who wasn't into games anymore in probably 1984, in the middle of the crash. Since it was the middle of the crash I was able to have my parents get me a bunch of games for it since they were all like 10 bucks. Getting an NES like 4 years later was quite the sticker shock when I realized all the games were like 5 times as much...although the cost of frequently replacing joysticks probably evened it out. Definitely had one of those black and red sticks you have along the way.
Your content is so good, never had a 5200 but loved my 2600. I'm not sure I could get into these systems again but so entertaining to watch. BTW the MULE intro looks like an AT-AT walker lol. Keep it up!!
I think a single video would be good and I look foreward to watching it. Besides backwards compatibility there isn't much to say about the 7800: Better graphics, arcade ports, was shelved for a few years, not well supported by Atari or 3rd party developers, didn't do well against the NES. Basically the 7800 was to the 2600 what the 32x was for the Sega Genesis. At least it only needed one AC adapter and in the words of the AVGN didn't look like it was on life support.
Yeah, if someone was going to own one and only one Atari system the 7800 would be the one to get IMO. At least it's a helluva lot more reliable than the NES and controllers that aren't great but are reliable.
Had the market not crashed and the 7800 been released on schedule, it would have done very well. Atari just distributed it too late in the game. The only things that held it back against its competition were the sound quality and joysticks.
Another difference is that the 2 port model is compatible with the 2600 adapter. The 4 port required you to send your console back to Atari to get a fix so it could use the 2600 adapter. BTW I actually liked that auto-switch box since it meant you only had one cable going from your TV to the console. (The cable did both video and power.)
Ooooh I actually didn't know about that incompatibility, thanks! I think I actually would have liked the auto switchbox better too, I just know from reading reports from others online that some people really hate it. Especially because if anything went wrong with it (especially these days), you're kind of screwed.
Honestly, if you want 5200 performance without 5200 headache, just get an Atari 800 or other 8-bit computer. They had the exact same hardware and their games were usually 1:1 ports. You'll also get access to way more games and be able to use regular Sega Genesis contrrollers.
Really enjoy all of your videos. I even have an alert set up for a Sony ps-lx5 on eBay after that great review. Looking forward to more great insights on old tech classics. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share all of your knowledge with us. Edit: ps-lx3!
I had an Atari 2600, 5200 and 7800 when I was a kid (not all at the same time, and none of them were new, even at the time I had them) and I loved them all. The only new console I have ever personally owned was a Sony PlayStation 2 that I bought about 6 months after its release. I admit, as much as I loved my Atari consoles, and my Nintendo consoles, the PS2 was my favorite... I miss that little bugger.
I own and play my 2600, 5200, and 7800. For a person who doesn't want a cheap Flashback system and wants to have an authentic Atari experience, I would recommend the 7800. I use my 7800 in place of my 2600 simply because it's easy to hook up, and seems to work with every peripheral and game (except for Robot Tank, sadly...)
I got my four-port 5200 secondhand maybe 8 years ago with a handful of games and, for the brief amount of time the controllers worked, I thoroughly enjoyed it's versions of Centipede and Pole Position with that analog movement. If they really needed some kind of storage space on the back, they should have widened it inward and used it for cartridges instead. Doesn't matter what joystick or controller is in question, most everyone knows how to tuck them out of the way around the TV area, there was no need for a spot for them on the machine itself. I had a ColecoVision as my first console and those joysticks definitely did not go back in their tray the right way after stretching their coiled cables enough.
Hello from the Atari 5200 Podcast and the Atari 5200 Central UA-cam Channel. We have subbed your channel and liked all your Atari 5200 related videos. We hope this will help drive traffic to your channel. Looking forward to hopefully some new video's about the 5200 from your channel.
Do you have a ny links to sites that offer the S-Video mod to the 4 port model? I've got two, but also live in the UK, so they're rare as hen's teeth over here.
We had an Atari 5200! We were so excited when we got it and played it from 1984 until we got an NES in 1987. I recall the controller has issue but we made it work pushing the broken buttons with a fork
I had 5200 when they came out in 82 or 83.(had 4 ports on front) I loved playing Joust, Defender, Pac man. After that I bought the Atari 7800 enjoying Xzavier , Miss Pac Man, etc. Good times playing in the dark with siblings (turning the brightness down on tv playing PacMan) I might still have my 5200 laying around somewhere :) Thanks for the video :)
Man, you're an expert if you could play joust with a 5200 controller. It's like trying to do open heart surgery with your feet. Pac Man & Moon Patrol were fun enough but most of the other games came out on the 7800 and were way better.
@@erikfldt390 I had a Atari 7800 for several years and I really enjoyed it. Where I used to live, even Atari 7800 games could be had for 10 dollars each. The 7800 had mainly arcade ports but they were better than the 5200 and Atari 2600 versions. I was collecting carts only and at one point I almost had the whole collection but the last couple I needed were too much for me. I was missing the following games. Mean 18 golf Fatal run Ninja Golf Midnight mutants I did enjoy dark chambers because it was kinda gauntlet ish. Scrapyard dog is a great platformer for the system. Best of all the 7800 was backward compatible with the 2600 so you could play 2600 games without an adaptor. These days I emulated the 2600 and 7800 on my retropie. It's a lot easier and more fun.
@@marccaselle8108 Yep, I had a 7800 back in the 90s I got for cheap. I picked up a 7800, Jaguar, Lynx, and a 5200 that was defective and buggy back in the day as you could get those for pennies at thrift stores and flea markets. By far, ninja golf was the game I played more than any on the 7800. It’s an original concept and was done well. I’d also have to say that pound for pound, the Lynx had some awesome titles but it was a bad execution as it was a battery hog that was clunky but it was worth it for all the games it had that were unique for the system.
Nice Videos on the 5200! I was going to mention the Missile Command works with the trackball controller. Centipede and Robotron 2084 (using the dual controller coupler) are my favorite games for this system.
Nice video review! The 5200 is a true labor of love. If you put the labor in (from getting one without it being destroyed in shipping to finding a good controller solution) you are truly in for a treat. The system's hardware closely resembles the Atari 8-bit computer line and has that excellent POKEY sound chip as well as a lot of really challenging, fun and graphically superior games to many other platforms of the era. It's really too bad the controller (in my opinion) is what killed this console more than anything else and what still continues to dissuade newcomers to the system. Overcome the controller hurdle and you have one heck of a system here. The RF box for the four switch works just as fine as anything else as well. I always see people point that out as something "bad" and to "avoid". In my experience that box actually provided clearer RF than the two port model....maybe because the box was powered? In any case, my 5200 is composite modded these days so I don;t have to worry about that anymore anyway ;)
The best Atari console is the 7800. I bought mine CIB 25 years ago and it still looks and plays great. Plus it is backwards compatible with games for the 2600. I DO collect and play homebrews for both the 2600 and 7800. There are a lot of homebrews for both, so the 7800 has a HUGE library of commercial and homebrew games. It's a lot smaller than a 5200 too. The ProLine controllers can be painful to use, but I've never broken one. There is the option to get the official 7800 Control Pad that was released in Europe, but it's usually expensive. There are sellers on eBay selling 3D printed Control Pads that typically sell of around $25 new. The only other issue is the sound. To make the 7800 fully backwards compatible with games for the 2600, for the least amount of money, Atari used the Tia sound chip used in the 2600. Game publishers had the option to include the Pokey sound chip (used in the 5200 and some of Atari's arcade games) in the game cartridge, but I only know of 2 games released that way. "Commando" and "Ballblazer." Some 7800 homebrew ports of games that were never released for the 7800 back in the day use the Pokey chip. "Beef Drop," a very good homebrew port of "BurgerTime," was released in limited supply with the Pokey chip. The non-Pokey version uses the Tia chip built into the console and is called "Beef Drop VE."
Great video! My very first video gaming experience (at least that I can remember) is playing the Atari 5200 at my aunt and uncle's apartment. This was in the early-mid-eighties, when the system came out. I don't think I have played one since the early nineties. There were so many good games, Super Break Out, Pac Man, Centipede, Mario Bros., Kaboom, etc. While I don't ever see myself owning this console, simply due to a lack of time, money, and space; however, I too recommend it to lovers of retro games.
I remember my dad may him r.i.p. had got me the 2nd generation 5200. He also had got me along with it moon patrol,PAC man. I use to love that system so much.
I remember having a friend who had the 4 port edition! The first time I ever experienced the Atari 5200. I was blown away by the graphics! Later that year I knew that I had to have one and so I asked for one for Xmas. A year or two later I ended up getting the ColecoVision. A strange time. I had friends who had different consoles. Intellivision, Adam, Atari 2600, Commodore 64/128 computer, TRS computer etc. and we would visit each other’s houses to have that different experience lol
I liked your camera work at 12:00 It gives a better understanding how it looks in a real life situation. Seeing the controller and what's happening on the screen gives a better understanding how these games play. This is coming from a guy who has never really played any of these older systems.
Thanks, yeah Missile Command was originally a track ball game, so playing with a digital stick would be basically impossible and the centering Wico sticks just make it physically tiring. A track ball is still the most responsive and precise way to play, though. It's really hard to put the cursor exactly where you want it with a joystick, and you can probably still see it jittering a lot in the clip.
I BOUGHT a 5200. It was my favorite console. I had centipede, Defender, pac man, Galaxian, Missle Command, Star Raiders. I loved the analog sticks, but they wouldn't take a beating like Atari's original sticks. I'd buy this system today, and would likely play it more than my PS4 Pro.
You sort of overlooked this in your video, but one of the big complaints about the 5200 (at least earlier 4 port models) was the choice that Atari made to have the DC power plug for the unit be on the RF switch box, with the switch box then sending the power to the unit upstream from over the RF cable coming from the main unit, with the RF signal going downstream. The man unit could then separate the power from the RF signal and RF switch would separate filter the power out of the two RF out jacks (two 300 ohm screw terminals and a 75 ohm F-Connecter. This setup had two major downside. First, if the RF switch unit broke then you couldn’t just buy a generic RF switch to replace it. Second, if you accidentally connected the some other game or computer system (employing RCA RF out jack) to the an 1st gen. 5200 RF switch, you could fry that system since it wasn’t designed to handle DC current going upstream to it. Apparently Atari quickly learned from their mistake and switch to separate power RF ports on the later two-controller 5200 models. I suspect the thinking behind unusual 1st gen Dc Power/RF combo switch box for Atari was this would allow the power cable to be connected to the switch box behind the TV and out of the way and just have one cable connecting going to main unit placed on the floor in front on the TV, not that much of a benefit IMO to justify the downsides. By the way, the 5200 was not the first console to employ this idiotic method for providing power over the RF cable as there was a Pong clone console from the 70’s that also used a similar method of providing power over the RF cable.
I remember the WICO joysticks. They were really durable. I had one for my Atari 2600 and played Decathalon with it A LOT. LOL I had a ColecoVision too. I loved that thing. I had the 2600 adapter for it too.
If I were purchasing an old Atari, I’d get the 7800. Aside from being backward compatible with all 2600 games and controllers, the system was compact and also looked like this.
Just imagine if someone produced a modern game console with analog sticks, the original Battlezone, Defender, Centipede, and Omega Race. And for driving, the arcade version of one of Atari's best.
5200 is definitely worth owning in my opinion if not for the 5200 games, the 2600 with adapter! Your absolutely correct on 5200 being a definite upgrade over 2600. River Raid is one good example, along with several more. For better control on some games, I use a 5200 Masterplay type adapter which allows me to use my Genesis controller to play 5200 ganes. :-) There is,a guy on ebay that builds,and sells them but it was definitely worth the $89 I paid for it. Q-bert is another game that's much better with the original type 5200 controller vs the Sega controller. Enjoyed the 5200 insight. Think I will subscribe. :)
The 5200 in its time even was quite rare, at least among anyone I knew. Probably because it was so expensive. Fortunately for me my cousin had one so I got to play it in its heyday. I remember it being pretty amazing for its time. I never knew anyone else that had it.
The 5200 was my first electronic sticker-peel experience when I was 10 years old in '82-'83 and we had the two-port model and as far as I was concerned the biggest downfall was the controllers breaking.
I missed out because in 1982 I was a baby so I missed the early 80s lol. I had heard about the 5200 but by the late 80s very few people had a 5200. By then, the 2600, was the hand me down system that every kid had.
It's a crap shoot to find a 4 port model that's compatable with the VCS adapter. There are a lot of them on the second hand market that have been upgraded and you can tell by an asterisk in the model number but there are some that never got the upgrade and won't work with the adapter.
I used to have an Atari 800 computer, and all the games I played on that system which appear in this video were seemingly the exact-same versions. I haven't compared the specs but I'm guessing the 5200 had the guts of the 400/800 series. I've been wanting to get another 800 because the games were killer, and Donkey Kong in particular had the best home port I've ever seen of that game. It's the only home version that includes the cement-factory level and has many levels of timing for the bouncing springs.
There are some differences. Centipede on the 5200 was its own version using analog controls. Star Raiders on the 5200 is harder and offers analog controls plus a keypad in your hands. Space Dungeon and Countermeasure were exclusive ports for the 5200. They tried to do and 8bit port but there are glitches.
I have personally found that introducing people to my retro collection usually yields the happiest gaming experiences from the 2600. Adults and kids just love playing Kaboom! with the paddle and Space Invaders with the joystick. I've always wanted to support the 5200 but apparently the 2600 is simply "more fun".
The 2600 was and is the better console IMO, but the better graphics and more sophisticated gameplay of the 5200 aren't the selling point now that they were when the 5200 launched. The 5200 is a very small step from the 2600 compared to a Playstation 4 or Super Nintendo.
They're still a selling point for me :) The PS4 has much better graphics (and I have one), but I like the simpler and less genre-restricted games of the older systems better. My favorite systems are the ones that played the most arcade-style games with the best graphics (and are actually affordable, unlike the Neo Geo). You should be able to figure out from that which systems are my favorites.
Back in the late 80s/early 90s my grandmother bought a boxed 4-port Atari 5200, three controllers and a shoebox full of games at a tag sale for $5. She figured it would be an upgrade from their old Atari 2600, but my grandfather refused to touch it because he thought the controllers were too complicated. Even with games that only used the stick and firebutton, he wouldn't try them. He was pretty stubborn. So I ended up buying it from her. :) There are also instructions on the net for how to build an adapter that lets you use a standard DOS-era, 15-pin analog joystick with the 5200. I believe there are also adapters to use a standard Atari compatible digital joystick as well, but then you'll only have one button and it won't work with all games.
Just an update regarding a new way to play MULE. There is the Masterplay Clone that allows you to use many alternative joysticks or a Sega Gen controller as it has its own built in keypad but a newer project that Atariguy1021 is working on is a 5200 to Atari Jaguar adapter, I plan on getting 4 so that I can have a 4 player MULE party :)
Don't worry, I fixed both controllers :) Part 2 of my controller fix video will be up next time I post a longer video. (It's a short update to part 1, so I want to do it at the same time as something else.)
Yes! Finally, a mostly POSITIVE review of this awesome system! I'm glad to have my (s-video modded) system! I would love to have a complete collection, but some games (Frogger 2, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, etc.) will most likely keep me from fulfilling that goal.
I picked up Bounty Bob at a garage sale unopened in its box several years back for $2 just because I found it novel that a single 5200 game was sitting amongst a trove of 2600 games, turned out that they had about 10 5200 games at the start and some other guy grabbed all of them earlier,.but must have missed BBSB because it wasn't with the other 5200 games, which were all stacked loose elsewhere.
Thank you for this video! The only thing I remember about this system is probably the god awful controller, which was highlighted by AVGN years ago. Great to see someone giving this system a fair go this time. Keep doing your best, I can see you're being the next Techmoan and 8 Bit Guy IMHO. p/s And more classic Thinkpad review please! Haha
Well I only have two ThinkPads, and I've already done two videos :) But who knows, I might start buying old ones just to shoot videos of them. Maybe I can become known as "the ThinkPad guy". Can't promise anything yet, though.
Apparently, one of the key factors for the failure of the 5200, in addition to the crappy controllers and poor build-quality overall of the unit, was the fact that 2600 was Atari’s cash cow at the time and when the 5200 was released it did not sell well right out the door. This led Atari to focus more resources on putting out 2600 games over 5200 games, leading to a much smaller library of titles from Atari. There was also less support from third-party developers due to poor sales of the unit. It that classic catch-22 where no one wants buy a game console with few if any good game titles but few third-party developers want to invest money in making games for system owned by so few. One way around this is boost interest by the Console manufacturer making good games on their own that draw buyers to the system, which in turn attracts third-party developers. You saw this with Nintendo and Super Mario Brothers, Sega with Sonic the Hedgehog, Microsoft buying Ubisoft so “Halo: Combat Evolved” could be an exclusive prominent launch title on the original Xbox. The successor 7800 did better in this respect but IMO was released a little to late to fully succeed, having been delayed by two years from it’s originally planned ‘84 release (came out in ‘86.) due the sale of Atari in ‘84 and an outstanding contractual issue discovered after the sale.
I wish they would do a classic system of this like they do with the regular atari 2600. I guess raspberri pi is the answer unless you want the big box. Had this as a kid, one of my fondest memories.
Your 5200 looks excellent. Great condition. I agree with most of your review but you said it wasn't durable. For me, I've had my 5200 since 82 and it still works great. So I disagree with you on the durability part. Maybe the 4 ports were less durable because of the switchbox. What also separates the 5200 from the 8bit is the trackball controls. Missile Command and Centipede is just a great experience on the trackball.
I have a 4 port Atari 5200 and about 8 controllers non of which work but one is enough to allow me to play a couple games. my favorite game I have which is about 20 titles is galaxian. absolutely love it for some reason it just plays well on the 5200
The controllers are stored upside down yes but not with the cord wrapped up like that. It is meant to be plugged into the system and then stored like you showed but the cord runs through that cutout channel on the back sides
i HAD one,as a kid, in the early 80's,and to be honest,it was more trouble than it was worth.The joysticks were awkward/hard to use,the adapter that let you play 2600 games on it didn't work (there was a known problem with it,and the adapter had to ve sent in to be fixed) not to mention that the tv/game box was near imposible to replace (mine had been broken after numerous years,and even Radio Shack didn't have another,back in the 90's)....
The 5200 was a system that I wanted back in the day, but my want for it quickly dissipated once I saw the C-64 in action. I ended up getting the Commodore computer and never looked back.
I would probably look at an Atari 800 XL instead. I did have an interest in the 5200 games that would use the trackball, but I got a 2600 trackball and it worked quite well with games like Centipede on the C64.
I used to have Pitfall 2 for the 5200 as kid. If my memory was correct, when you collected the last object to win the game, a door would open, and it was an entire new world. Am I remembering this correctly, and did any other versions of the game (console or computer) feature this new world? If not, can anyone explain why Activision chose to focus on a new world exclusively for the 5200?
After a while it becomes dangerous to leave it on unless you know exactly what kind of plastic it is (and I didn't). Also, shortly after this video I dropped the system and cracked two of the panels... at that point it really doesn't matter anymore. (I'm still working on fixing it via donor systems.)
They made a somewhat smaller one later (the foam inserts in the box I have are unnecessarily large), but it is a big system that needs a big box. The box I have does have a carry handle, though! When you carry it, it looks like you're carrying around a suitcase. (I thought about filming that for some comic relief, but my box isn't in great shape and I didn't want to further damage it.)
They don't break as much as it oxidizes. They used really cheap components as so it builds up really quickly requiring you to take it apart and clean it every few days or just replace it with gold contacts.
ok so i feel the console is a unique addition to any collection... the aftermarket controllers are becoming more readily available recently and the repair kits better... I just replaced the circuit boards and buttons in 2 of my Official controllers and they work fine. I recommend getting the boards/buttons that have the gold contacts. the games are relatively cheap. too.. also would recommend getting a 2 port 5200 unless your hellbent on playing pitfall... which only can be played on a 4 port (2 port with a bios chip swap)...
I had one of these my mom found it at a yard sale in the 90's it had been well cared for and gently used, well although I did not beat on it I used it all the time and thought it was very advanced for its time. Although I did have an nes I still played this until I literally wore one of the joysticks completely out and it literally wouldn't go up when you pushed up nothing would happen, the other controller worked fine and I used the broken controller every time I didn't need the up on a game and when I did I was as gentle as possible as this was before the internet and endless options there, I probably got about 15 years use out of it because I remember still playing it in the 2000's and we only paid like $40 (used of course) and I'd say that we definitely got the money's worth out of it and it is probably still stashed away in some drawer and my mom don't even have any clue. I'd love to play with it again though. The previous owners had rolled the wire around the joystick and stored it in the back easily, but yeah I loved it it was like a mini arcade on my own TV in my room (which we're still extremely popular even in the early 2000s and still had some of the same games that I did even then) and of course it had my favorite galaga and several of my other favorites like Pac-Man and especially Pole position I loved Pole position.
Never bought/owned one, but are enough of these even still around for purchase? Yet what I really wonder is why the same company that brought out the Atari 2600 Flashback consoles never bothered with even one 5200 one. (At least I never saw one in a store, or even advertised.)
Excellent video! I'm a new subscriber, so I need to catch up on your other videos. A few things to point out about a few of the games I played back in the day: Not only was Super Breakout tough to play using the joystick of the standard controller, but Kaboom! by Activision (one of my favorite 2600 games) was even worse...in fact, for me it was just about impossible if you were used to the paddle controllers like I was. Kangaroo was just about in that same category because the joystick didn't center. One cool game, however, was Berzerk because it used voice synthesis, whereas the 2600 didn't.
How do you think it compares to the Colecovision? It appears that the Coleco might have had somewhat better graphical capabilities though the 5200's were good.
I'd say they were different more than one being better than the other. If you look at games they have in common, some look better on one system while others look better on the other. Zaxxon, for example, looks better on the ColecoVision but runs a whole lot smoother on the 5200. Defender looks and sounds a lot better on the 5200. Look at some of the screenshots here: www.atarihq.com/5200/cv52/ The 5200 could have given the CV a run for its money if not for the crash of 1983.
Thanks for that article I enjoyed reading it. It looks like the 5200 hardware is more powerful than I thought it was. In most of the screenshots the 5200 version of the game looked better. To bad the controllers sucked so bad lol.
Was that an AT-AT and E.T. Roaming across the M.U.L.E. start screen?! I think I'd personally rather own a 7800 for play over any other system, and a Heavy Sixer 2600 as a collector. I'm not an overall fan of the 5200 even though I do see the graphic improvement, and Atari must not have had any faith in it with the 7200 being designed and produced only a year after the 5200.
I work as one of the people who work in houses and stuff after someone moves out like I repaint the house and usually people leave things behind and out manager just tells us we can it Home and after going to a house to you know repair I found some Atari 5200 games like Super Mario Bros and I was looking forward to making a deal off of them because what's the point of having the game..but not the console?
The Acetronic type family of consoles had analogue joysticks earlier than this. Mass produced, not very good, not so popular, but particularly in Europe they were moderately common. I had one.
I wanted Cloak & Dagger for my Atari 5200 so bad until I researched and found out it was only vaporware because of the movie Cloak & Dagger. I actually played the coin-op Cloak & Dagger and it became my favorite video game at that point in time circa 1983?
The DPC wasn't strictly for voice on the 2600 (were there voices in Pitfall II?), but for the soundtrack in general. The 2600 was capable of doing voice on its own, though - Quadrun and Open Sesame! both had voice. So if the 2600 could do it, there's no reason the 5200 couldn't. All you need to do is record a sample and play it back. The question is just storage space. With an 8K cart like the 2600 used, you're going to use more than 1/8 of your cart storage for a single word. A full sentence would leave no room for the game itself. The 5200, though, used 32K carts (as well as 16K, but up to 32K). I'm not sure the total size of Berzerk, but it's a fairly simple game so they probably had some room to spare for voice samples. Other consoles could do voice without a separate module too... even the Intellivision, which had the Intellivoice. But without an Intellivoice, the umpires still say "Yer out!" in MLB Baseball. It's the same thing - the Intellivoice mainly existed to give a bigger library of words to Intellivoice games (which it stored in its own ROM), but the Intellivision itself was capable of playing voices without it if developers wanted to waste the cart space on it.
Modern Classic Thanks for the explanation. Hopefully you'll have some more Atari related videos that explain the technology further. I don't recall any videos detailing voice capabilities, so I'm glad I stumbled upon your channel because you seem to not only entertain, but educate.
There are certain things that are highly technical that I'm not a specialist on, so I probably won't usually go that deeply into technical capabilities in my videos. I've always known that about voice in early consoles, but I couldn't tell you the specific capabilities of the 5200's POKEY chip without looking them up. But if I ever do an Intellivoice-specific video (which I thought I might after my Intellivision video, when my Intellivoice was broken), then I'd probably talk a little about the voice capabilities of all the consoles of that era in that video.
The reason the holes are on the side of the controller compartment is to allow you to keep them plugged in on the front, but still store them inside. It works VERY well.
my father bought me an original 4 port 5200 back in the 80s...and it was fantastic! For its time, it was a cut above everything else that was available. Namco and Activision games collection.. Pac Man.. Centipede.. ect. had graphics that were almost exactly like their arcade standing counterparts. Defender was my favorite game.. the game play and graphics were amazing.. like most of the games for that console. I'm a huge fan... cant say enough good things about it.
William Keefe I always admired colecovisions graphics and gameplay. I used to beg my friend to play his cause he was bored with it. I only had a crappy 2600 lol
except the controllers weren't self centered
umm no it didnt not even 7800 could try again and C64/coleco/intellivision etc were way better then
I had one of these too.Mine came with Pac-Man. Defender was also my favorite and I had a game record! I flipped the score sent in a picture of the TV. When I was working on that I had to keep my dad from turning the console off he wanted to watch the news. I used the RF switch so he could watch TV but he still wanted to turn off my 5200 he didnt get it. Hahaha those were the times, wish I could find that picture would bring back memories.
Same here. I got mine for Christmas 1982 and still have it to this day. It’s a great machine. Thankfully I have a Wico joystick which makes many games much easier to play. I also picked up a trackball controller which is great for some games. 👍
For Countermeasure, you have to get the big fuel tank (don't shoot it) to refuel. Your fuel automatically decreases on its own until you run out. And, you have to get to the big rocket without shooting it, which takes you to the extra missile countdown game where you have to guess the code before you get bombed. The game gives you code hints (I forgot how). Whenever you guess the code for the extra missile countdown game, you get to "the next board" where your board and enemies change. It is a moderately fun game.
Wow the 5200 the rich man's 2600! I remember making long hikes to the Sears store in Chicago just to play this monster!
Monster? I guess you never played the ColecoVision back in the day
@@godslayer1415 ColecoVision was king, but I could not get a hold on one till about two years after it came out, and I could not find any place to play on it.
@God Slayer I hate to break it, but the Atari 5200 was better hardware wise, and with hacks you can play a great portion of the Atari 8bit library too.
I had a 2600 when I was a kid. I had never even heard of a 5200 or a 7800 until today.
Watching you play those games was like reliving my child hood. Just WOW!!
I remember being 5 years old and seeing the 2600 in a J.C. Penny's catalog in 1977 and it was $200. That's like $700 in today's money....crazy.
I have a 5200, 33 games and a 90 game multicatridge, Atari 2600 adapter (and original 2600) 6 5200 controllers and love the system! For $19.99 you can get a rev 9 Gold replacement for original number and fire button and will never have a control problem again. Great video.
I've been subscribed to this channel for a long time. How did I miss this video?!? I picked up a 5200 a few years back and put it on the shelf. The little storage slot in the back and controllers broke without even touching them. I was able to get new controllers from Best Electronics (I definitely recommend them!!) and was able to play the system. Despite the issues, it is probably my favorite Atari system. Aesthetically they did it right! The console is beautiful, the controllers are beautiful, the carts are beautiful! It's definitely worth the buy!! The homebrew scene is still very much alive and have released a lot of great games. AtariAge has a bunch (as well as repro carts.)
Awesome review and great video!
Watching your videos makes me so happy. It's crazy to think that just watching someone play with old stuff is so amazing
I was quite happy to stumble upon this new video feature on the Atari 5200! I've owned several, fixed the controllers, but sadly my current 5200 needs more TLC than time allows, so I just emulate mostly. The analog control on 5200 Missile Command is superb; the twin-stick control and gameplay on Robotron and Space Dungeon also awesome. And the coin-op ports are mostly all very great versions. So 5200 is a lot of fun and there are many homebrews and Atari computer game ports still coming. I love Countermeasure, once you get familiar with it it can get addictive. Thanks for the show!
Man, I miss the look of these consoles. The 2600 jr, 5200 and 7800 always looked so gorgeous to me as well as the 16/32 bit Atari computers of the era. Great video!
Atari after the initial VCS/2600 design became the only gaming company I know of, really ever, to have a consistent and pervasive "design language" that lasted across several systems and appeared in everything they did. They were like Apple before Apple started doing that. I've been thinking about doing a video just on that, but I'm not sure yet how to make it interesting. But they were way into design and maintaining a house style, and even if some of their stuff looks dated now, I feel like it's all internally consistent and makes design sense, down to the box designs, colors, logos and fonts, etc.
Unless the controllers have been abused or are completely broken they are usually very easy to get working. Just disassemble, clean the pots and button pads with alcohol, then sand down the pads with a fine sandpaper to remove all corrosion until they shine again. Yes, sanding electronics is not the best idea and you might destroy the board. Also, it won't stop the problem from happening again years down the road. However, seeing as how the controller didn't work anyway I don't see the harm. If you do mess up the board (or if you prefer), you can buy replacement boards with gold contacts that should pretty much last forever.
My first console was the 4-controller version of the 5200. Was given to me as a hand-me-down from a neighbor kid who wasn't into games anymore in probably 1984, in the middle of the crash. Since it was the middle of the crash I was able to have my parents get me a bunch of games for it since they were all like 10 bucks. Getting an NES like 4 years later was quite the sticker shock when I realized all the games were like 5 times as much...although the cost of frequently replacing joysticks probably evened it out. Definitely had one of those black and red sticks you have along the way.
Your content is so good, never had a 5200 but loved my 2600. I'm not sure I could get into these systems again but so entertaining to watch. BTW the MULE intro looks like an AT-AT walker lol. Keep it up!!
I'll be doing a similar video for the 2600 at some point too, so watch out for that!
I have both - I may do the 2600 and 7800 in a single video. It's hard to talk about the 7800 without talking a lot about the 2600.
I think a single video would be good and I look foreward to watching it. Besides backwards compatibility there isn't much to say about the 7800: Better graphics, arcade ports, was shelved for a few years, not well supported by Atari or 3rd party developers, didn't do well against the NES. Basically the 7800 was to the 2600 what the 32x was for the Sega Genesis. At least it only needed one AC adapter and in the words of the AVGN didn't look like it was on life support.
Yeah, if someone was going to own one and only one Atari system the 7800 would be the one to get IMO. At least it's a helluva lot more reliable than the NES and controllers that aren't great but are reliable.
Had the market not crashed and the 7800 been released on schedule, it would have done very well. Atari just distributed it too late in the game. The only things that held it back against its competition were the sound quality and joysticks.
Another difference is that the 2 port model is compatible with the 2600 adapter. The 4 port required you to send your console back to Atari to get a fix so it could use the 2600 adapter. BTW I actually liked that auto-switch box since it meant you only had one cable going from your TV to the console. (The cable did both video and power.)
Ooooh I actually didn't know about that incompatibility, thanks! I think I actually would have liked the auto switchbox better too, I just know from reading reports from others online that some people really hate it. Especially because if anything went wrong with it (especially these days), you're kind of screwed.
Honestly, if you want 5200 performance without 5200 headache, just get an Atari 800 or other 8-bit computer. They had the exact same hardware and their games were usually 1:1 ports. You'll also get access to way more games and be able to use regular Sega Genesis contrrollers.
I love your videos and attention to detail. Joy to watch :)
Really enjoy all of your videos. I even have an alert set up for a Sony ps-lx5 on eBay after that great review. Looking forward to more great insights on old tech classics. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share all of your knowledge with us. Edit: ps-lx3!
Thanks, and I hope you find a PS-LX5!
I had an Atari 2600, 5200 and 7800 when I was a kid (not all at the same time, and none of them were new, even at the time I had them) and I loved them all. The only new console I have ever personally owned was a Sony PlayStation 2 that I bought about 6 months after its release. I admit, as much as I loved my Atari consoles, and my Nintendo consoles, the PS2 was my favorite... I miss that little bugger.
I own and play my 2600, 5200, and 7800. For a person who doesn't want a cheap Flashback system and wants to have an authentic Atari experience, I would recommend the 7800. I use my 7800 in place of my 2600 simply because it's easy to hook up, and seems to work with every peripheral and game (except for Robot Tank, sadly...)
I got my four-port 5200 secondhand maybe 8 years ago with a handful of games and, for the brief amount of time the controllers worked, I thoroughly enjoyed it's versions of Centipede and Pole Position with that analog movement. If they really needed some kind of storage space on the back, they should have widened it inward and used it for cartridges instead. Doesn't matter what joystick or controller is in question, most everyone knows how to tuck them out of the way around the TV area, there was no need for a spot for them on the machine itself. I had a ColecoVision as my first console and those joysticks definitely did not go back in their tray the right way after stretching their coiled cables enough.
Hello from the Atari 5200 Podcast and the Atari 5200 Central UA-cam Channel. We have subbed your channel and liked all your Atari 5200 related videos. We hope this will help drive traffic to your channel. Looking forward to hopefully some new video's about the 5200 from your channel.
Do you have a ny links to sites that offer the S-Video mod to the 4 port model? I've got two, but also live in the UK, so they're rare as hen's teeth over here.
Are they? Why such a disparity in rarity
@@parimabartender The 5200 never released over here in the uk, that’s my theory on why it’s so rare
We had an Atari 5200! We were so excited when we got it and played it from 1984 until we got an NES in 1987. I recall the controller has issue but we made it work pushing the broken buttons with a fork
The back is the perfect place for a rolling rock.
Didn't he switch to Yuengling? :-D
Chiro Quacker That was a one time thing, really.
Rolling rock - on the Roll & Rocker!
Or a 40 ounce.
i think you watch somebody i watch too
I had 5200 when they came out in 82 or 83.(had 4 ports on front) I loved playing Joust, Defender, Pac man. After that I bought the Atari 7800 enjoying Xzavier , Miss Pac Man, etc. Good times playing in the dark with siblings (turning the brightness down on tv playing PacMan) I might still have my 5200 laying around somewhere :) Thanks for the video :)
Man, you're an expert if you could play joust with a 5200 controller. It's like trying to do open heart surgery with your feet. Pac Man & Moon Patrol were fun enough but most of the other games came out on the 7800 and were way better.
@@erikfldt390 I had a Atari 7800 for several years and I really enjoyed it. Where I used to live, even Atari 7800 games could be had for 10 dollars each.
The 7800 had mainly arcade ports but they were better than the 5200 and Atari 2600 versions.
I was collecting carts only and at one point I almost had the whole collection but the last couple I needed were too much for me. I was missing the following games.
Mean 18 golf
Fatal run
Ninja Golf
Midnight mutants
I did enjoy dark chambers because it was kinda gauntlet ish.
Scrapyard dog is a great platformer for the system.
Best of all the 7800 was backward compatible with the 2600 so you could play 2600 games without an adaptor.
These days I emulated the 2600 and 7800 on my retropie. It's a lot easier and more fun.
@@marccaselle8108 Yep, I had a 7800 back in the 90s I got for cheap. I picked up a 7800, Jaguar, Lynx, and a 5200 that was defective and buggy back in the day as you could get those for pennies at thrift stores and flea markets.
By far, ninja golf was the game I played more than any on the 7800. It’s an original concept and was done well. I’d also have to say that pound for pound, the Lynx had some awesome titles but it was a bad execution as it was a battery hog that was clunky but it was worth it for all the games it had that were unique for the system.
Nice Videos on the 5200!
I was going to mention the Missile Command works with the trackball controller.
Centipede and Robotron 2084 (using the dual controller coupler) are my favorite games for this system.
Nice video review! The 5200 is a true labor of love. If you put the labor in (from getting one without it being destroyed in shipping to finding a good controller solution) you are truly in for a treat. The system's hardware closely resembles the Atari 8-bit computer line and has that excellent POKEY sound chip as well as a lot of really challenging, fun and graphically superior games to many other platforms of the era. It's really too bad the controller (in my opinion) is what killed this console more than anything else and what still continues to dissuade newcomers to the system. Overcome the controller hurdle and you have one heck of a system here. The RF box for the four switch works just as fine as anything else as well. I always see people point that out as something "bad" and to "avoid". In my experience that box actually provided clearer RF than the two port model....maybe because the box was powered? In any case, my 5200 is composite modded these days so I don;t have to worry about that anymore anyway ;)
The best Atari console is the 7800. I bought mine CIB 25 years ago and it still looks and plays great. Plus it is backwards compatible with games for the 2600. I DO collect and play homebrews for both the 2600 and 7800. There are a lot of homebrews for both, so the 7800 has a HUGE library of commercial and homebrew games. It's a lot smaller than a 5200 too. The ProLine controllers can be painful to use, but I've never broken one. There is the option to get the official 7800 Control Pad that was released in Europe, but it's usually expensive. There are sellers on eBay selling 3D printed Control Pads that typically sell of around $25 new.
The only other issue is the sound. To make the 7800 fully backwards compatible with games for the 2600, for the least amount of money, Atari used the Tia sound chip used in the 2600. Game publishers had the option to include the Pokey sound chip (used in the 5200 and some of Atari's arcade games) in the game cartridge, but I only know of 2 games released that way. "Commando" and "Ballblazer." Some 7800 homebrew ports of games that were never released for the 7800 back in the day use the Pokey chip. "Beef Drop," a very good homebrew port of "BurgerTime," was released in limited supply with the Pokey chip. The non-Pokey version uses the Tia chip built into the console and is called "Beef Drop VE."
Great video! My very first video gaming experience (at least that I can remember) is playing the Atari 5200 at my aunt and uncle's apartment. This was in the early-mid-eighties, when the system came out. I don't think I have played one since the early nineties. There were so many good games, Super Break Out, Pac Man, Centipede, Mario Bros., Kaboom, etc. While I don't ever see myself owning this console, simply due to a lack of time, money, and space; however, I too recommend it to lovers of retro games.
Love how they went from wood in the 70s to stainless steal finish in the 80s to nothing but plastic in 90s.
I remember my dad may him r.i.p. had got me the 2nd generation 5200. He also had got me along with it moon patrol,PAC man. I use to love that system so much.
The first edition 4-port or later 2-port?
@@Nestalgba92023 the 4 port.
I remember having a friend who had the 4 port edition! The first time I ever experienced the Atari 5200. I was blown away by the graphics! Later that year I knew that I had to have one and so I asked for one for Xmas. A year or two later I ended up getting the ColecoVision. A strange time. I had friends who had different consoles. Intellivision, Adam, Atari 2600, Commodore 64/128 computer, TRS computer etc. and we would visit each other’s houses to have that different experience lol
Moon Patrol was easily the best game on that system. Most of the other ones seem like they were minor upgrades of the 2800 version.
I liked your camera work at 12:00 It gives a better understanding how it looks in a real life situation. Seeing the controller and what's happening on the screen gives a better understanding how these games play. This is coming from a guy who has never really played any of these older systems.
Thanks, yeah Missile Command was originally a track ball game, so playing with a digital stick would be basically impossible and the centering Wico sticks just make it physically tiring. A track ball is still the most responsive and precise way to play, though. It's really hard to put the cursor exactly where you want it with a joystick, and you can probably still see it jittering a lot in the clip.
I BOUGHT a 5200. It was my favorite console. I had centipede, Defender, pac man, Galaxian, Missle Command, Star Raiders. I loved the analog sticks, but they wouldn't take a beating like Atari's original sticks. I'd buy this system today, and would likely play it more than my PS4 Pro.
you deserve a medal! Atari 5200 plus a lcd tv & RF connection ohhh' the humanity!!
just want to say i love your channel................thanks for great vids
You got a slick voice for this kind of stuff
You sort of overlooked this in your video, but one of the big complaints about the 5200 (at least earlier 4 port models) was the choice that Atari made to have the DC power plug for the unit be on the RF switch box, with the switch box then sending the power to the unit upstream from over the RF cable coming from the main unit, with the RF signal going downstream. The man unit could then separate the power from the RF signal and RF switch would separate filter the power out of the two RF out jacks (two 300 ohm screw terminals and a 75 ohm F-Connecter. This setup had two major downside. First, if the RF switch unit broke then you couldn’t just buy a generic RF switch to replace it. Second, if you accidentally connected the some other game or computer system (employing RCA RF out jack) to the an 1st gen. 5200 RF switch, you could fry that system since it wasn’t designed to handle DC current going upstream to it. Apparently Atari quickly learned from their mistake and switch to separate power RF ports on the later two-controller 5200 models. I suspect the thinking behind unusual 1st gen Dc Power/RF combo switch box for Atari was this would allow the power cable to be connected to the switch box behind the TV and out of the way and just have one cable connecting going to main unit placed on the floor in front on the TV, not that much of a benefit IMO to justify the downsides. By the way, the 5200 was not the first console to employ this idiotic method for providing power over the RF cable as there was a Pong clone console from the 70’s that also used a similar method of providing power over the RF cable.
I remember the WICO joysticks. They were really durable. I had one for my Atari 2600 and played Decathalon with it A LOT. LOL I had a ColecoVision too. I loved that thing. I had the 2600 adapter for it too.
If I were purchasing an old Atari, I’d get the 7800. Aside from being backward compatible with all 2600 games and controllers, the system was compact and also looked like this.
You should check out ebay for games really cheap and newer games at Atariage.
Just imagine if someone produced a modern game console with analog sticks, the original Battlezone, Defender, Centipede, and Omega Race. And for driving, the arcade version of one of Atari's best.
5200 is definitely worth owning in my opinion if not for the 5200 games, the 2600 with adapter! Your absolutely correct on 5200 being a definite upgrade over 2600. River Raid is one good example, along with several more. For better control on some games, I use a 5200 Masterplay type adapter which allows me to use my Genesis controller to play 5200 ganes. :-) There is,a guy on ebay that builds,and sells them but it was definitely worth the $89 I paid for it. Q-bert is another game that's much better with the original type 5200 controller vs the Sega controller. Enjoyed the 5200 insight. Think I will subscribe. :)
The 5200 in its time even was quite rare, at least among anyone I knew. Probably because it was so expensive. Fortunately for me my cousin had one so I got to play it in its heyday. I remember it being pretty amazing for its time. I never knew anyone else that had it.
The 5200 was my first electronic sticker-peel experience when I was 10 years old in '82-'83 and we had the two-port model and as far as I was concerned the biggest downfall was the controllers breaking.
I missed out because in 1982 I was a baby so I missed the early 80s lol. I had heard about the 5200 but by the late 80s very few people had a 5200.
By then, the 2600, was the hand me down system that every kid had.
@@marccaselle8108 I had the NES in the late 80's.
It's a crap shoot to find a 4 port model that's compatable with the VCS adapter. There are a lot of them on the second hand market that have been upgraded and you can tell by an asterisk in the model number but there are some that never got the upgrade and won't work with the adapter.
I used to have an Atari 800 computer, and all the games I played on that system which appear in this video were seemingly the exact-same versions. I haven't compared the specs but I'm guessing the 5200 had the guts of the 400/800 series. I've been wanting to get another 800 because the games were killer, and Donkey Kong in particular had the best home port I've ever seen of that game. It's the only home version that includes the cement-factory level and has many levels of timing for the bouncing springs.
There are some differences. Centipede on the 5200 was its own version using analog controls. Star Raiders on the 5200 is harder and offers analog controls plus a keypad in your hands. Space Dungeon and Countermeasure were exclusive ports for the 5200. They tried to do and 8bit port but there are glitches.
I have personally found that introducing people to my retro collection usually yields the happiest gaming experiences from the 2600. Adults and kids just love playing Kaboom! with the paddle and Space Invaders with the joystick. I've always wanted to support the 5200 but apparently the 2600 is simply "more fun".
I will be doing a 2600 video at some point too. I'm working my way up to it...
The 2600 was and is the better console IMO, but the better graphics and more sophisticated gameplay of the 5200 aren't the selling point now that they were when the 5200 launched. The 5200 is a very small step from the 2600 compared to a Playstation 4 or Super Nintendo.
They're still a selling point for me :)
The PS4 has much better graphics (and I have one), but I like the simpler and less genre-restricted games of the older systems better. My favorite systems are the ones that played the most arcade-style games with the best graphics (and are actually affordable, unlike the Neo Geo). You should be able to figure out from that which systems are my favorites.
Back in the late 80s/early 90s my grandmother bought a boxed 4-port Atari 5200, three controllers and a shoebox full of games at a tag sale for $5. She figured it would be an upgrade from their old Atari 2600, but my grandfather refused to touch it because he thought the controllers were too complicated. Even with games that only used the stick and firebutton, he wouldn't try them. He was pretty stubborn. So I ended up buying it from her. :)
There are also instructions on the net for how to build an adapter that lets you use a standard DOS-era, 15-pin analog joystick with the 5200. I believe there are also adapters to use a standard Atari compatible digital joystick as well, but then you'll only have one button and it won't work with all games.
That RF signal is really clear, I can't wait to get me a 5200 so I can plug it up to my Retrotink 5X Pro (Via RF to Svideo conversion on my SVHS VCR).
The backwards compatibility was Atari's calling card, from the adapter on the 5200 for 2600 games to the 7800 playing 2600 without an adapter.
Just an update regarding a new way to play MULE. There is the Masterplay Clone that allows you to use many alternative joysticks or a Sega Gen controller as it has its own built in keypad but a newer project that Atariguy1021 is working on is a 5200 to Atari Jaguar adapter, I plan on getting 4 so that I can have a 4 player MULE party :)
"I like it big"- Modern Classic 2017
Just like X-Box "One", hehe!
one big feature of the 5200 not mentioned here is the TRACKBALL. super cool for games like Centipede
I love my 5200. My stick rebuilds are what you need.
Don't worry, I fixed both controllers :) Part 2 of my controller fix video will be up next time I post a longer video. (It's a short update to part 1, so I want to do it at the same time as something else.)
Yes! Finally, a mostly POSITIVE review of this awesome system! I'm glad to have my (s-video modded) system! I would love to have a complete collection, but some games (Frogger 2, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, etc.) will most likely keep me from fulfilling that goal.
I picked up Bounty Bob at a garage sale unopened in its box several years back for $2 just because I found it novel that a single 5200 game was sitting amongst a trove of 2600 games, turned out that they had about 10 5200 games at the start and some other guy grabbed all of them earlier,.but must have missed BBSB because it wasn't with the other 5200 games, which were all stacked loose elsewhere.
Thank you for this video! The only thing I remember about this system is probably the god awful controller, which was highlighted by AVGN years ago. Great to see someone giving this system a fair go this time. Keep doing your best, I can see you're being the next Techmoan and 8 Bit Guy IMHO.
p/s And more classic Thinkpad review please! Haha
Well I only have two ThinkPads, and I've already done two videos :) But who knows, I might start buying old ones just to shoot videos of them. Maybe I can become known as "the ThinkPad guy". Can't promise anything yet, though.
I'm glad you appreciate the theme music from MULE, one of the all time greatest video game themes
Apparently, one of the key factors for the failure of the 5200, in addition to the crappy controllers and poor build-quality overall of the unit, was the fact that 2600 was Atari’s cash cow at the time and when the 5200 was released it did not sell well right out the door. This led Atari to focus more resources on putting out 2600 games over 5200 games, leading to a much smaller library of titles from Atari. There was also less support from third-party developers due to poor sales of the unit. It that classic catch-22 where no one wants buy a game console with few if any good game titles but few third-party developers want to invest money in making games for system owned by so few. One way around this is boost interest by the Console manufacturer making good games on their own that draw buyers to the system, which in turn attracts third-party developers. You saw this with Nintendo and Super Mario Brothers, Sega with Sonic the Hedgehog, Microsoft buying Ubisoft so “Halo: Combat Evolved” could be an exclusive prominent launch title on the original Xbox. The successor 7800 did better in this respect but IMO was released a little to late to fully succeed, having been delayed by two years from it’s originally planned ‘84 release (came out in ‘86.) due the sale of Atari in ‘84 and an outstanding contractual issue discovered after the sale.
I wish they would do a classic system of this like they do with the regular atari 2600. I guess raspberri pi is the answer unless you want the big box. Had this as a kid, one of my fondest memories.
Your 5200 looks excellent. Great condition. I agree with most of your review but you said it wasn't durable. For me, I've had my 5200 since 82 and it still works great. So I disagree with you on the durability part. Maybe the 4 ports were less durable because of the switchbox. What also separates the 5200 from the 8bit is the trackball controls. Missile Command and Centipede is just a great experience on the trackball.
Countermeasure was one of the first games to really get my heart pumping and my nerves going.
When you had to figure out that code.
Same here. Great game!
5200 is gold...the 7800 too
I liked the 7800 when I had one. My only gripe we're the 4 games I could not afford.
Midnight mutants
Basketbrawl
Mean 18 ultimate golf
Fatal Run
Wow very nice video keep it up
I have a 4 port Atari 5200 and about 8 controllers non of which work but one is enough to allow me to play a couple games. my favorite game I have which is about 20 titles is galaxian. absolutely love it for some reason it just plays well on the 5200
Countermeasure was a awesome game! Trying to get that code in before the nukes landed really made you sweat!
5200 had some deep games.
The kill screen had the better graphics and sound show.
Thanks to this... I now really badly miss my Atari 5200 :(
The controllers are stored upside down yes but not with the cord wrapped up like that. It is meant to be plugged into the system and then stored like you showed but the cord runs through that cutout channel on the back sides
i HAD one,as a kid, in the early 80's,and to be honest,it was more trouble than it was worth.The joysticks were awkward/hard to use,the adapter that let you play 2600 games on it didn't work (there was a known problem with it,and the adapter had to ve sent in to be fixed) not to mention that the tv/game box was near imposible to replace (mine had been broken after numerous years,and even Radio Shack didn't have another,back in the 90's)....
The industrial design reminds me a lot of the B&O all-in-one stereo systems from the 90s...
Why would you pull off the protective plastic? I have never removed it on my units.
The 5200 was a system that I wanted back in the day, but my want for it quickly dissipated once I saw the C-64 in action. I ended up getting the Commodore computer and never looked back.
I also have a C64. Someday maybe you'll want to check out the 5200 again - you can be a fan of both machines.
I would probably look at an Atari 800 XL instead.
I did have an interest in the 5200 games that would use the trackball, but I got a 2600 trackball and it worked quite well with games like Centipede on the C64.
Oh, how I love the peel! There is nothing like getting a new PC case with tempered glass panels. LOL
For some reason, I want one
I used to have Pitfall 2 for the 5200 as kid. If my memory was correct, when you collected the last object to win the game, a door would open, and it was an entire new world. Am I remembering this correctly, and did any other versions of the game (console or computer) feature this new world? If not, can anyone explain why Activision chose to focus on a new world exclusively for the 5200?
Maybe it works on the 800 version as well.
I don't think the 2600 had the ability to put both "worlds" (for lack of better word) in the 2600 while they could for the 5200.
I'm one of those who would keep the protective plastic on.
After a while it becomes dangerous to leave it on unless you know exactly what kind of plastic it is (and I didn't).
Also, shortly after this video I dropped the system and cracked two of the panels... at that point it really doesn't matter anymore. (I'm still working on fixing it via donor systems.)
Dangerous?
Some types of plastic can bond to the metal and will never come off.
I see. I wouldn't consider that dangerous, myself, and after 35 years, I would have expected that to have happened by now if it were going to.
That's fine. I've had it happen. And you never know how long it takes.
We had the 5200 growing up in the 80's seing this video brought back memories....
Never having seen one, I can't get over the gargantuan size of the box (packaging). You could climb inside it.
They made a somewhat smaller one later (the foam inserts in the box I have are unnecessarily large), but it is a big system that needs a big box. The box I have does have a carry handle, though! When you carry it, it looks like you're carrying around a suitcase. (I thought about filming that for some comic relief, but my box isn't in great shape and I didn't want to further damage it.)
I had the 5200 and loved Pole Position. The controller used to break easy though.
They don't break as much as it oxidizes. They used really cheap components as so it builds up really quickly requiring you to take it apart and clean it every few days or just replace it with gold contacts.
ok so i feel the console is a unique addition to any collection... the aftermarket controllers are becoming more readily available recently and the repair kits better... I just replaced the circuit boards and buttons in 2 of my Official controllers and they work fine. I recommend getting the boards/buttons that have the gold contacts. the games are relatively cheap. too.. also would recommend getting a 2 port 5200 unless your hellbent on playing pitfall... which only can be played on a 4 port (2 port with a bios chip swap)...
I had one of these my mom found it at a yard sale in the 90's it had been well cared for and gently used, well although I did not beat on it I used it all the time and thought it was very advanced for its time. Although I did have an nes I still played this until I literally wore one of the joysticks completely out and it literally wouldn't go up when you pushed up nothing would happen, the other controller worked fine and I used the broken controller every time I didn't need the up on a game and when I did I was as gentle as possible as this was before the internet and endless options there, I probably got about 15 years use out of it because I remember still playing it in the 2000's and we only paid like $40 (used of course) and I'd say that we definitely got the money's worth out of it and it is probably still stashed away in some drawer and my mom don't even have any clue. I'd love to play with it again though. The previous owners had rolled the wire around the joystick and stored it in the back easily, but yeah I loved it it was like a mini arcade on my own TV in my room (which we're still extremely popular even in the early 2000s and still had some of the same games that I did even then) and of course it had my favorite galaga and several of my other favorites like Pac-Man and especially Pole position I loved Pole position.
Never bought/owned one, but are enough of these even still around for purchase? Yet what I really wonder is why the same company that brought out the Atari 2600 Flashback consoles never bothered with even one 5200 one. (At least I never saw one in a store, or even advertised.)
Awesome vid!
You have a MULE cart? I’m jealous. Great video!
Totally worth it. Every penny.
Excellent video! I'm a new subscriber, so I need to catch up on your other videos. A few things to point out about a few of the games I played back in the day: Not only was Super Breakout tough to play using the joystick of the standard controller, but Kaboom! by Activision (one of my favorite 2600 games) was even worse...in fact, for me it was just about impossible if you were used to the paddle controllers like I was. Kangaroo was just about in that same category because the joystick didn't center. One cool game, however, was Berzerk because it used voice synthesis, whereas the 2600 didn't.
Nice frog game what is name???
Back in the day I had the option to buy one complete in box.i passed mainly because of the controller issues.
1:57 "I like it big!" Oh, do you? :D
FYI, the Atari 2600 adapter isn't compatible with the 4 port 5200, only the 2 port works.
4:19 2800 and 2600? You mean 7800?
What I said was 2800 and 7800. If you're confused about the 2800, here's a link: www.atari.io/atari-2800/
No puedo creer que quitases el film protector, que sacrilegio.
First Console where the games looked just like the ones in the arcade, I remember getting one of these back in Christmas of 1982.
How do you think it compares to the Colecovision? It appears that the Coleco might have had somewhat better graphical capabilities though the 5200's were good.
I'd say they were different more than one being better than the other. If you look at games they have in common, some look better on one system while others look better on the other. Zaxxon, for example, looks better on the ColecoVision but runs a whole lot smoother on the 5200. Defender looks and sounds a lot better on the 5200. Look at some of the screenshots here: www.atarihq.com/5200/cv52/
The 5200 could have given the CV a run for its money if not for the crash of 1983.
Thanks for that article I enjoyed reading it. It looks like the 5200 hardware is more powerful than I thought it was. In most of the screenshots the 5200 version of the game looked better. To bad the controllers sucked so bad lol.
Was that an AT-AT and E.T. Roaming across the M.U.L.E. start screen?! I think I'd personally rather own a 7800 for play over any other system, and a Heavy Sixer 2600 as a collector. I'm not an overall fan of the 5200 even though I do see the graphic improvement, and Atari must not have had any faith in it with the 7200 being designed and produced only a year after the 5200.
I work as one of the people who work in houses and stuff after someone moves out like I repaint the house and usually people leave things behind and out manager just tells us we can it Home and after going to a house to you know repair I found some Atari 5200 games like Super Mario Bros and I was looking forward to making a deal off of them because what's the point of having the game..but not the console?
The peel off was awesome.
Nicely done
The Acetronic type family of consoles had analogue joysticks earlier than this. Mass produced, not very good, not so popular, but particularly in Europe they were moderately common. I had one.
I wanted Cloak & Dagger for my Atari 5200 so bad until I researched and found out it was only vaporware because of the movie Cloak & Dagger. I actually played the coin-op Cloak & Dagger and it became my favorite video game at that point in time circa 1983?
They should have included Frogger as the pack-in game
Or Missile Command, or Centipede?
Can you explain how they got the voice included in Berzerk? Did they have to add another chip to the cartridge like they did in Pitfall 2 on the 2600?
The DPC wasn't strictly for voice on the 2600 (were there voices in Pitfall II?), but for the soundtrack in general. The 2600 was capable of doing voice on its own, though - Quadrun and Open Sesame! both had voice. So if the 2600 could do it, there's no reason the 5200 couldn't. All you need to do is record a sample and play it back. The question is just storage space. With an 8K cart like the 2600 used, you're going to use more than 1/8 of your cart storage for a single word. A full sentence would leave no room for the game itself. The 5200, though, used 32K carts (as well as 16K, but up to 32K). I'm not sure the total size of Berzerk, but it's a fairly simple game so they probably had some room to spare for voice samples.
Other consoles could do voice without a separate module too... even the Intellivision, which had the Intellivoice. But without an Intellivoice, the umpires still say "Yer out!" in MLB Baseball. It's the same thing - the Intellivoice mainly existed to give a bigger library of words to Intellivoice games (which it stored in its own ROM), but the Intellivision itself was capable of playing voices without it if developers wanted to waste the cart space on it.
Modern Classic Thanks for the explanation. Hopefully you'll have some more Atari related videos that explain the technology further. I don't recall any videos detailing voice capabilities, so I'm glad I stumbled upon your channel because you seem to not only entertain, but educate.
There are certain things that are highly technical that I'm not a specialist on, so I probably won't usually go that deeply into technical capabilities in my videos. I've always known that about voice in early consoles, but I couldn't tell you the specific capabilities of the 5200's POKEY chip without looking them up. But if I ever do an Intellivoice-specific video (which I thought I might after my Intellivision video, when my Intellivoice was broken), then I'd probably talk a little about the voice capabilities of all the consoles of that era in that video.