My new 1980s obsession

[80s Big Hair]

I need to get back to the Atari VCS (2600). There are two routes to go: 1) Emulation (using your computer to play the ROMs (games) 2) Hooking up a console to a modern TV. Well, you could hook it up to an old cathode ray tube TV which is the simplest way but I do not have one. Both routes have their positives and negatives.

I am leaning towards emulation right now despite having a rather large collection of cartridges:



With emulation my cartridge collection is meaningless though as all the Atari ROMs are readily available for free. The controllers are key though. If you want to play with original joysticks and paddles you will need to get a thing that coverts the nine pin connections to USB. Now you can just use a modern video game controller for the joystick, but with paddles, driving controllers, etc. you are out of luck without an adapter. Some say the adapters have a slight lag to them which seems to be a huge deal, but I have never used one before so I do not know.

Or I could buy a new console (not overly pricey) and hook it up to my modern TV. Then the controllers would work perfectly of course, but I would be limited to playing only the cartridges that I have (which is a lot so it is not a deal breaker). The thing about this route is that the Atari was not designed to work with a modern TV and the picture quality is not always great. It depends on your TV and the specific game you are trying to play. Some things look great, others do not.

Maybe I will try both routes. Either way I need joysticks and paddles so those will be bought soon. I read that all of the new replacement joysticks are poor quality and break so I will be buying original joysticks. Original paddles too as nobody makes replacement paddles.

And the 2600 being introduced in 1978 is a 1980s thing to me as I first had one sometime in the early 1980s. Does anyone else have fond memories of the Atari?

[Chris109]

Vaguely recall any of these. We didn't have much money back then so a game console would have been an 'extravagant' purchase. However, I do know it was a big deal when daddy bought some console that had some kind of tank game some time during the 70's.

[80s Big Hair]

Vaguely recall any of these. We didn't have much money back then so a game console would have been an 'extravagant' purchase. However, I do know it was a big deal when daddy bought some console that had some kind of tank game some time during the 70's.

Yeah, that sounds like the Atari 2600. It came with a game called Combat. In addition to tank on tank combat it also had prop. plane on prop. plane combat and jet on jet combat. It is a pretty basic game but provides really good two player action and is one of my favorite 2600 games.
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Yes, it was expensive when it came out in the late 1970s, but the price dropped as it aged in the 1980s.

Maybe 20 years ago I set an Atari up for my visiting relative's children to experience. Being used to whatever people played 20 years ago they scoffed at it but were persuaded to try it out by their parents who had played Atari back in the day. The kids were very surprised at how good the thing with unimpressive graphics was and how hard the games quickly got. We had to kick them off of it so that the adults could play against each other.

[eagle]

Oh man, I love the 2600 and have one. I modded it with UAV so I have S-video out. I did the same to my Atari 5200. Both of those feed into a 4-way s-video/composite switch which feeds into RetroTINK 2X mini, which then connects to my TV with HDMI. In my mind, the 5200 games are some of the best ever made, and the 2600 is just cool because of what it was.

[80s Big Hair]

Oh man, I love the 2600 and have one. I modded it with UAV so I have S-video out. I did the same to my Atari 5200. Both of those feed into a 4-way s-video/composite switch which feeds into RetroTINK 2X mini, which then connects to my TV with HDMI. In my mind, the 5200 games are some of the best ever made, and the 2600 is just cool because of what it was.

That sounds pretty impressive and beyond my current knowledge or skills. Your way seems like the best way to hook them up to a modern TV. Currently I am still on the emulation track which is kind of a shame because it makes no use of my cartridge collection. I am awaiting a new 9 pin to USB adapter for joysticks, paddles, and driving controllers that should arrive this week. I will see if that satisfies me with the emulator. If it does not I might ask you for elaboration on your set up.

[eagle]

If you want to pay for it, I'm happy to do the UAV mod on a 2600 for you. I can send pics of the installs I have done, if you want to see.

[Chris109]

If you want to pay for it, I'm happy to do the UAV mod on a 2600 for you. I can send pics of the installs I have done, if you want to see.

[80s Big Hair]

If you want to pay for it, I'm happy to do the UAV mod on a 2600 for you. I can send pics of the installs I have done, if you want to see.

Thanks. That is very nice of you. However I just received my USB adapter and right now I am very satisfied with just emulating the 2600 and using original controllers. Am I giving out candy on Halloween? Are you kidding me? There is Atari to play! To be fair, someone else is giving out the candy in my place.

[eagle]

If you want to pay for it, I'm happy to do the UAV mod on a 2600 for you. I can send pics of the installs I have done, if you want to see.

Thanks. That is very nice of you. However I just received my USB adapter and right now I am very satisfied with just emulating the 2600 and using original controllers. Am I giving out candy on Halloween? Are you kidding me? There is Atari to play! To be fair, someone else is giving out the candy in my place.

Understood. Offer stands if you change your mind. Emulation is cool, but using the real thing is more cool, and using real cartridges on a real system is even cooler than that. I've done all of that, and I greatly prefer using real cartridges on an original system. I started with RetroPi, and I have a RetroN 77 and a real 2600. I play the real 2600. I also have a real 5200 and I prefer that as well. In any case, enjoy that retro goodness! And, if you haven't tried it, try H.E.R.O. -- one of the best games ever made, and it's on the 2600.

[80s Big Hair]

And, if you haven't tried it, try H.E.R.O. -- one of the best games ever made, and it's on the 2600.

I had not tried H.E.R.O. before your recommendation but had heard of it and knew it was some sort of big deal and I like the game now. It is strange that it was ported to so many other systems. How often does that happen to a 2600 game? Never? Generally it is the other way around. The game also pointed out a benefit of emulation too. I do not have the H.E.R.O. cartridge yet I am playing it. I believe that you are right in saying that the emulation experience is lacking though. It is missing the feel you remember from decades ago.

[Chris109]

Me trying to understand what you two are talking about.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Me trying to understand what you two are talking about.

That's me too! But I was never a gamer. So that's my excuse. I played Super Mario a few times on my neighbor's Game Boy as a kid but that's the extent of my game playing. We never had any in our house and for whatever reason I never craved it. I was always more into movies and TV shows. Or kicking the ball around outside.

[eagle]

I always wanted an Atari in the 1970s & 1980s, but my parents wouldn't buy them. Down the street, one friend had a 2600, and another had a 5200. I used to go play the 5200 whenever I could, which wasn't really all that often.

About 15 years ago, I bought an Atari XEGS to use as a console system, and it was okay, not super awesome for what I wanted. Then I tried a RetroPi running 2600 games, and I was hooked. I found a real 2600 for $60 locally with 19 common games, and I now have probably 40-50 cartridges. A few years later I found a 5200 on Craigslist near my parents' house, and it just so happened that a few days later they were driving past my house, so they picked it up for me. That one was also a reasonable price ($175 at the time) including 5 games or so, plus the coveted CX53 trackball controller.

The CX53 is the reason I got a 5200: I love trackball games like Missile Command and Centipede, and the 5200+CX53 is an unbeatable combination of trackball goodness for the home market.

Over time I have improved my setup, adding the UAV and RetroTINK as I said earlier. It's super fun, and one of the nice things about these old games is that you can play them for 5-10 minutes, no need to get into a super complex massive virtual world that blows hours of your time. These games are fun and simple, and my sons love playing them with me.

[jno]

I have two of these, one permanently hooked up in my cellar. A friend of mine made me a box so I can link it to the TV using a SCART and/or S-Video connector to improve the picture quality. I love the 2600. Galaxian is probably my fave.

[Reef monkey]

Nice collection of cartridges! I bought an Atari Flashback during lockdown. My kids were unimpressed with the tech, but I enjoyed playing old favorites like Frogger, Galaga, and especially Pitfall. I like that the joysticks are just like the ones that used to come on Atari systems, and the box looks like a scaled down wood grain 2600.

My younger brother still has our old Atari 400 from when we were kids, I’ll have to ask if he has played it recently.

You could probably still find an old pre-HD tube TV from the late 90s in a resale or pawn shop .