10 replies to this topic

[tz101]

Was it sold solely in the US?

[ApolloBoy]

I think it was unofficially sold in Canada through importers, but other than that it was only officially sold in the US.

[tz101]

Sorry to hear so many countries missed out on all that 5200 goodness...

[zylon]

ApolloBoy, on Sat Jun 4, 2011 10:18 PM, said:

I think it was unofficially sold in Canada through importers, but other than that it was only officially sold in the US.

Right.
PAL was in the development stage but died there.

[toptenmaterial]

Atari made marketing decisions in the latter Warner years that were frankly bizarre, and the presentation of the 5200 was one of them. Abandoning it so quickly was another. It just makes no sense.

[sermajic]

tz101, on Sat Jun 4, 2011 10:25 PM, said:

Sorry to hear so many countries missed out on all that 5200 goodness...

but we can enjoy it now !!

[tyranthraxus]

I accidentally raised from the dead an older thread on this topic attempting to link to it but there is some good info on the topic there.

I would speculate that Atari couldn't get enough supplies together for a wide Christmas '82 campaign and concentrated on the U.S and Toronto for those initial months and then once the crash started in 83 they decided not to risk a full expansion into Canada as Coleco had scooped them.

Unless someone can find some Sears or other catalogs from 82-83 that prove otherwise, I think its clear that the 5200 never had anything more than a test launch in Southern Ontario.

[ledzep]

tyranthraxus, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 2:25 PM, said:

I accidentally raised from the dead an older thread on this topic attempting to link to it but there is some good info on the topic there.

I would speculate that Atari couldn't get enough supplies together for a wide Christmas '82 campaign and concentrated on the U.S and Toronto for those initial months and then once the crash started in 83 they decided not to risk a full expansion into Canada as Coleco had scooped them.

Unless someone can find some Sears or other catalogs from 82-83 that prove otherwise, I think its clear that the 5200 never had anything more than a test launch in Southern Ontario.

Speaking of Sears, I wonder what a Tele-games version of the 5200 would have been packaged like. Still with games in black boxes with different names? Maybe it would be the Super Video Arcade. I'm a sucker for the Sears version of the 2600, obviously.

[toptenmaterial]

^^ Black with sharp edges and a slanted metel grill on the front. Chrome borders. Heavy as hell.

[tz101]

I love the sears systems and would have scooped one up for sure. Also, what if there was a Radio Shack/Tandy version? Hmmmm...

[toptenmaterial]

tz101, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 4:45 PM, said:

I love the sears systems and would have scooped one up for sure. Also, what if there was a Radio Shack/Tandy version? Hmmmm...

The Radio Shack version would look like like an INTV II. It would have expansion ports for an A8 cart slot, and a TV card to hook up to the ol' rabbit ears. On a good night you could pick up five stations. There would also be a premium model that included a built-in short wave radio.