was there a reason why atari limited the memory size of 2600 games

[kool kitty89]

I'm definitely on the fence about whether MARIA was good or bad for the 7800. It's a very capable chip that's pretty tough to program. But in the eyes of 2600 programmers in 1982, it might be intuitive and very easy to work with. Traditional character mode systems (like ANTIC) are easier to use but less capable.

 

In terms of the timeline, by late 1981 GCC was already colaberating with Atari, right? (the Super Missile Attack suit being dropped and the subsequent partnership being made)

So, following the failure/cancellation of the 3200 design (planned for release in 1981 I beleive), it's possible they could have offered to start a project similar to the 7800 around this time, maybe not identical to what the 7800 ended up as, but in any case over a year ahead of the 7800's development. (it might not have been ready quite as quickly as the 5200 though)

[mos6507]

Perhaps being screwed over one too many times also plays a bit on this lack of sentiment toward the 2600?

 

That might be true of someone like Bob Whitehead who appears to have a lot of bitter feelings about the industry in general and never wanted to be involved with any of the revivalism.

 

It's more to do with the fact that when an engineer creates something they know it is ultimately limited by the context in which it was built. With technology always a moving target, the second you ship something, there is something else you could have added. So your focus shifts to the next big conquest. I definitely got that vibe from the Amiga convention talk that Jay Miner gave. The 2600 was just a compartmentalized piece of history to him and his attention was focused on the present and future tense. Joe Decuir, on the other hand, has enjoyed all of the renewed attention in the VCS.

 

Someone like David Crane, however, seemed to be more sentimental about the 2600. There is no way you would put the amount of effort he did into the DPC for Pitfall II had he not wanted to keep the 2600 alive. Doug Neubauer was also certainly sentimental about the 2600 to develop Solaris on his own. I don't think he was living off of the proceeds from the three post-crash games he did. It was a paid hobby, basically.

 

For those who have stayed in the industry, a certain amount of detachment with any particular era sets in so you can move ever onward. I got that vibe from Dennis Koble in particular. Even though he appeared in my documentary, when I was having trouble finishing it and soliciting for donations Dennis wrote me something kind of nasty. I don't remember the particulars but it was something along the lines of nobody should give a crap about the 2600 anymore and I should move on as everyone else has. David Crane took up my banner and spoke with some of the others until Joe Decuir ponied up the money to finish the documentary. So I take the tapes to the CG Expo and guess who is walking the floor but Dennis Koble! Talk about an awkward moment. Mea culpas were on order from him, since he didn't realize at the time that retrogaming was on the verge of mainstreaming, but the damage was done. I'll never get over that one.

 

It's kind of the equivalent to Nimoy writing I Am Not Spock and then I Am Spock.

Edited July 20, 2009 by mos6507

[carmel_andrews]

Well, going from what i read in the downloadable version of Mike Tomczyks 'Home computer wars'...Atari wasn't the only company f**king up R&D or basically disregarding it as a 'secondary function'

 

Take for instance tramiel's previous owned company, commodore....i bet none of you peeps know that commodore were sitting on the vic chip for 3 years, it was released in 1978 (or 2 in you include the CP designed colour pet, which i guess never saw the light of day)...apparently tramiel said to M.O.S, to go sell the chip to any computer or games company that wanted to use it in their gaming or computer systems

 

Now, if tramiel had been on the ball, not just about the burgeoning computer industry but also the gaming market, tramiel would have known that companies in the gaming industry were having a sh!tty time selling programmable games systems (and ofcourse atari was having it's own problems with management differences and then bushnell arranging to be fired) and the burgeoning computer industry what with atari about to come out with hardware that was light years ahead of any of the commodore and apple hardware

 

what tramiel should have been doing is telling the systems design team to work with MOS (using the better version of the vic chip, as cbm apparently made 2 versions) and get a colour pet or vic-20 type scenario developed and in the maketplace before atari hit the market with the 800 and also get the vic hardware in some sort of gaming system while atari were having their management issues, if they'd done that, not only would any commodore games system have cut into the vcs sales (as they were technically very similar) but also would have kept in check the initial success of the 800 (as again both systems were technically similar) and also commodore would have the benefit of a lower priced computer then the atari equivalent (whilst it might have not been like 300usd like the original vic20, it definately would have been cheaper then the 400/800 scenario

 

Also reading a little into the history of m.o.s on commodore.ca's w/s, it surprises me that commodore were not interested in a 16 bit version of the 6502, as, by the time CP left commodores MOS unit (later to become CSG- Commodore semiconductor group) MOS's role as chip R&D had essentially diminished, I'm guessing that either CP or Bill Mench (who later became the first company to officially market and produce 16 and 32 bit versions of the 6502) where basically told by tramile etc that commodore weren't going with a 16 bit 6502, unsurprising then that probably not long after CP left commodore, so did bill mench and set up WDC to develop the 65816 and eventually the 'terbium' or 32 bit 65816/6502)...i guess he stuck 2 fingers up at tramiel though by inking a deal with apple regarding the 65816, even though apple themselves were'nt involved in the design, development or manufacture of the 65816 (nor did they invest in the company) but they did see it as a good partnership for an upscale apple 2 based system (the IIgs)

[kskunk]

For those who have stayed in the industry, a certain amount of detachment with any particular era sets in so you can move ever onward.

 

Y'know, I never stopped to think about this much. I am hugely nostalgic about the technology I played with but not the stuff I worked on.

 

Some years ago I worked on a product that still has a fan base and their own online forums. I avoid them like the plague. Releasing that product took an eternity of hundred hour weeks piled on top of crispy insomnia and lost friendships.

 

Participating in those online forums would be like visiting a restaurant that gave me food poisoning. It makes me cringe just thinking about it. Sometimes it's hard to appreciate your own work as much as somebody else's.

 

- KS

Edited July 21, 2009 by kskunk