Recent
Images
News
Videos
Community
Guides
In addition to the analog control stick, 5200 controllers also sported a keypad which allowed for overlays, the inclusion of which was a response to the Intellivision controllers. However unlike the Intellivision controllers, most games on the 5200 didn't come with overlays in box at all nor were they available for purchase at retailers, thereby make this feature utterly redundant. However on innovative feature of the 5200 controllers was the inclusion of a pause button, making it one of the first console to allow users to pause the action of a game at any point to allow the user a break. Latter Atari would release a trackball based controller, much akin to the ball based Marble Madness controller. However reception for this controller, like the console itself, was lukewarm. This was mostly due to the fact that the controller was as big as the console and was inconsistent in tracking movement. A re-design for the Trak-Ball was latter released by Atari with better motion detection and a more compact design, but by that time the 5200 had already failed to captivate audiences.
Also the original 5200 was released with four joystick ports, and this was not unlike the Atari 800 computer. The original 5200 also came with a unique RF switch box that supplied power to the 5200 on the same cable that provided the video/audio signal to the television. This, like the 5200's controller, entailed numerous issues. While it was probably designed this way to reduce the number of cables running across the floor of a users house, the wire was more expensive to manufacture and replace. Also this cable was specifically designed for the 5200, meaning the 5200 wasn't compatible with alternative adapters, making the search for replacements even more difficult. To address these grievances levied against their console, Atari released a redesigned second generation 5200 system where the number of ports was reduced to two and the console was compatible with any normal power supply and RF switch box.
However Atari management made other various poorly thought out business decisions that doomed the 5200. Firstly Atari failed to motivate and encourage third developer to develop games for the console. Secondly Atari management decided to devote most of their resources to the already over saturated 2600 market while leaving the 5200 idle. Atari had numerous replacement consoles for the 5200 in the works before they decided to invest research and development into the Atari 7800. Atari Inc. originally planned on developing a smaller cost-reduced version of the Atari 5200, which would have gotten rid of the controller storage bin.Titled as the Atari 5100 it would have been a more simple and user friendly 5200, but the project was eventually canceled. Atari's originally planned sequel to the 5200 was a system called the 3200, but development was halted on it as being too difficult to develop for.
* CPU: Custom MOS 6502C @ 1.79 MHz (not a 65c02).
* Support Hardware: 2 custom VLSI chips
* Maximum Screen Resolution: 320×192 resolution, 16 (out of 256) on-screen colors per scan line. Palette can be changed at every scan line using ANTIC display list interrupts, allowing all 256 colors to be displayed at once.
* Graphics: ANTIC and GTIA
* Sound: 4-channel sound via the POKEY chip which also handles keyboard scanning, serial I/O, high resolution interrupt capable timers (single cycle accurate), and random number generation
* RAM: 16 KB
* ROM: 32 KB ROM window for standard game cartridges, expandable using bank switching techniques. *2 KB on-board BIOS for system startup and interrupt routing
* Physical Size: 13" x 15" x 4.25"
There hasn't been any recent activity for this object.
Atari's (failed) successor to the Atari 2600. It is more commonly known as the 5200 and was released on March 15, 1982.
A first generation 5200 with 4 ports
Background
On 1982, Atari introduced the Atari 5200 to the gaming public. Still enjoying the massive success from their last home console, the Atari 2600, Atari decided to produce a game system based on its popular line of 8-bit computers, which were also quickly becoming a popular gaming platform. Because of this games could be ported very easily from the Atari 400/800 line of computers to the Atari 5200. In the eyes of Atari management this would encourage third-party development for the 5200 system as their 8-bit computers already had a dedicated group of developers. However the design for various parts of the 5200 would not only differentiate the console from Atari's own product line (Atari 2600, Atari400/800) but also would differentiated itself from its home console competition ( Intellivision/ ColecoVision).Hardware
The largest difference between the 5200 from Atari's 8-bit computers and 2600 was the console's unique analog based joystick. This controller allowed for a full 360 degrees of movement. However the controller was deigned in a way where it was not self-centering and was constantly prone to becoming stuck. The controller was also more complex as it had two different firing buttons and a number pad. This made it extremely difficult to play games even as simple as Asteroids. In addition, the controllers were prone to failure and were notorious for being unreliable. This lead to several third-party vendors (most notably Wico) to release third-party controllers (of various levels of quality) and devices that would even allowed the use of the 9-pin 2600 joysticks on the 5200.
The now infamous 5200 controller
In addition to the analog control stick, 5200 controllers also sported a keypad which allowed for overlays, the inclusion of which was a response to the Intellivision controllers. However unlike the Intellivision controllers, most games on the 5200 didn't come with overlays in box at all nor were they available for purchase at retailers, thereby make this feature utterly redundant. However on innovative feature of the 5200 controllers was the inclusion of a pause button, making it one of the first console to allow users to pause the action of a game at any point to allow the user a break. Latter Atari would release a trackball based controller, much akin to the ball based Marble Madness controller. However reception for this controller, like the console itself, was lukewarm. This was mostly due to the fact that the controller was as big as the console and was inconsistent in tracking movement. A re-design for the Trak-Ball was latter released by Atari with better motion detection and a more compact design, but by that time the 5200 had already failed to captivate audiences.
Also the original 5200 was released with four joystick ports, and this was not unlike the Atari 800 computer. The original 5200 also came with a unique RF switch box that supplied power to the 5200 on the same cable that provided the video/audio signal to the television. This, like the 5200's controller, entailed numerous issues. While it was probably designed this way to reduce the number of cables running across the floor of a users house, the wire was more expensive to manufacture and replace. Also this cable was specifically designed for the 5200, meaning the 5200 wasn't compatible with alternative adapters, making the search for replacements even more difficult. To address these grievances levied against their console, Atari released a redesigned second generation 5200 system where the number of ports was reduced to two and the console was compatible with any normal power supply and RF switch box.
Atari 5200, two-port model
The Games
While the quality of 5200 games is subjective and open to interpretation, the number of games released on the console was far less than that of its competition from Intellivision and ColecoVision and completely dwarfed by its predecessor the 2600. Most of this had to due to the fact that 5200 also had a short life span due in no part to the infamous game crash of 1984. The lack of games was also due to the fact that few third-party developers adopted the console for development. The most prominent reason for this was the fact that Atari's 2600 console already had a 20 million users whereas the 5200 struggled to maintain 1 million users. Also development for the 2600 was cheaper and didn't require new and complex technology to develop for. Because of this the few games that were released for the 5200 were almost always designed or more commonly produced in-house by Atari.The 5200 games definitely look better than 2600 games
Reception and Market Failure
To put it plainly the Atari 5200 was not well received by consumers when it was first released and was never able to completely recover from its lukewarm reception. The reason for this has as much to do with the actual console as it has to do with the management for the console. The various design and technical flaws, which ranged from a unreliable controller to an unusual RF adapter, all discouraged users from adopting the console. Also the first wave of 5200 were incompatible with 2600 games, requiring users to buy a separate adapter in order to play their back catalog of 2600 games which greatly discouraged the massive amount of 2600 users from adopting the console.However Atari management made other various poorly thought out business decisions that doomed the 5200. Firstly Atari failed to motivate and encourage third developer to develop games for the console. Secondly Atari management decided to devote most of their resources to the already over saturated 2600 market while leaving the 5200 idle. Atari had numerous replacement consoles for the 5200 in the works before they decided to invest research and development into the Atari 7800. Atari Inc. originally planned on developing a smaller cost-reduced version of the Atari 5200, which would have gotten rid of the controller storage bin.Titled as the Atari 5100 it would have been a more simple and user friendly 5200, but the project was eventually canceled. Atari's originally planned sequel to the 5200 was a system called the 3200, but development was halted on it as being too difficult to develop for.
The entire 5200 package
Hardware Specifications
* CPU: Custom MOS 6502C @ 1.79 MHz (not a 65c02).
* Support Hardware: 2 custom VLSI chips
* Maximum Screen Resolution: 320×192 resolution, 16 (out of 256) on-screen colors per scan line. Palette can be changed at every scan line using ANTIC display list interrupts, allowing all 256 colors to be displayed at once.
* Graphics: ANTIC and GTIA
* Sound: 4-channel sound via the POKEY chip which also handles keyboard scanning, serial I/O, high resolution interrupt capable timers (single cycle accurate), and random number generation
* RAM: 16 KB
* ROM: 32 KB ROM window for standard game cartridges, expandable using bank switching techniques. *2 KB on-board BIOS for system startup and interrupt routing
* Physical Size: 13" x 15" x 4.25"
Atari 5200 games
Edit
| Platform Name: | Atari 5200 |
| Release Date: | March 15, 1982 |
| Online Support: | False |
| Install Base: | 0 |
| Original Price: | $270 |
| Producing Company: | Atari, Inc. |
| Total Games: | games |
Game machines
a list of 16 items by effjay
a list of 16 items by effjay
|
Blinky first in Pac-Man |
2
|
|
Inky first in Pac-Man |
2
|
|
Pitfall Harry first in Pitfall! |
2
|
|
Pinky first in Pac-Man |
2
|
|
Frogger first in Frogger |
2
|
|
Bounty Bob first in |
2
|
|
Pac-Man first in Pac-Man |
2
|
|
Quickclaw first in Pitfall II: Lost Caverns |
1
|
|
Evil Otto first in Berzerk |
1
|
|
James Bond first in James Bond 007 |
1
|
|
Space first in Spacewar! |
8
|
|
Jungle first in |
3
|
|
Mine first in |
2
|
|
Underground first in |
2
|
|
Haunted Mansion first in Haunted House |
1
|
|
Sewer first in Mario Bros. |
1
|
|
Sports Stadium first in |
1
|
|
Cave first in |
1
|
|
Video Arcade first in |
1
|
|
The Moon first in |
1
|
|
2D first in Tennis for Two Simulator |
24
|
|
Unbeatable Games first in Tennis for Two Simulator |
17
|
|
Single-Screen level first in Tennis for Two Simulator |
12
|
|
Gravity first in |
12
|
|
High Score first in Seawolf |
12
|
|
Porting first in |
11
|
|
Instant Death first in |
10
|
|
Launch Titles first in |
10
|
|
Game Over first in |
9
|
|
Digital Rights Management first in |
9
|
|
Platform first in Donkey Kong |
5
|
|
Ladder first in |
4
|
|
Apple first in |
3
|
|
Strawberry first in |
3
|
|
Cherry first in |
3
|
|
Galaxian Flagship first in |
3
|
|
Airplane first in |
3
|
|
Spaceship first in Spacewar! |
3
|
|
Lava first in |
3
|
|
Car first in |
2
|
