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Atari 7800 adaptor for Atari 5200 at PAX-East


TheGreatPW

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neat behind the scenes info. Never knew that. I've always been a huge fan of the amiga system, I can only imagine how different things would have been if it beat everyone to the market... amiga in 83/84... :) wow... (I know that's not what you are talking about, but just imagine that anyway :)

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I would *still* love one of these today. I always thought (and still do think) that the 5200 is Atari's best built game console. I'd much rather have it utilizing a 7800 adapter than the 7800 console itself. I read somewhere once that this was scrapped because it would have cost just as much as a 7800 console for the consumer, but I really do not believe that is true. They could have sold it without joysticks or a game...and of course it would have come without the need for a power supply or rf cable. Not to mention a smaller box to construct and print. It could have been sold for some less than the 7800 and would have been a kick ass upgrade for 5200 owners. Maybe they could have had it utilize the 5200's pokey sound for enhanced 7800 sound in games that didn't have the chip ;)

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I would *still* love one of these today. I always thought (and still do think) that the 5200 is Atari's best built game console. I'd much rather have it utilizing a 7800 adapter than the 7800 console itself. I read somewhere once that this was scrapped because it would have cost just as much as a 7800 console for the consumer, but I really do not believe that is true. They could have sold it without joysticks or a game...

 

Like you said, they could have omitted the game, but because the adapter has its own joystick ports, they would need to bundle at least one joystick. If they sold it with no joystick, they'd run the risk of folks getting it home only to be disappointed to discover that the 5200 sticks would not work with it. Now the customer has to run back to the store and pick up a joystick, and he/she might feel like the victim of a bait-and-switch.

 

and of course it would have come without the need for a power supply or rf cable. Not to mention a smaller box to construct and print. It could have been sold for some less than the 7800 and would have been a kick ass upgrade for 5200 owners. Maybe they could have had it utilize the 5200's pokey sound for enhanced 7800 sound in games that didn't have the chip ;)

 

The lack of a power adapter would have helped somewhat, but because of the way the VCS and the 7800 adapter work, the 5200's POKEY would not have been useful to the adapter.

 

The best reason to sell the adapter would have been to do the right thing for the customer. It is debatable whether or not canning the 5200 after just a couple of years was the right thing, but out of loyalty to the customer, they should have at least offered an upgrade path to them. For 5200 owners, the burden of having your system killed is easier to bear if your system happens to be the one that is capable of playing ALL of the Atari console games via the upgrade.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Did it only work with the 2-port 5200 console, ala the VCS adapter, or also with the 4-port model?

 

Why wouldn't the VCS adapter with on the 4 port system? I never heard that before.

 

Only 4 port models with a * in the serial number had the fix to be compatible with the VCS adaptor.

Atari would modify 4 port systems to be compatible at Atari service centers.

 

I have the official Atari service papers online if anyone cares to see them.

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