10 replies to this topic

[SRGilbert]

We all know that the 5200 is an basically an Atari computer in disguise. I'm a little surprised that Atari never went the upgrade route and designed it to accept a keyboard and disc drives and all that. Was it ever even considered?

[jaybird3rd]

One reason I can think of is that there was a lot of internal competition between the console and computer divisions within Atari. A 5200 keyboard and disk drive interface might have been technologically feasible, but they would have encroached upon the 400/800 computers' "territory", since they would have provided computer-like functionality on a machine that was based on the same technology as the 400/800 computers.

The 7800 keyboard wasn't considered to be as much of a "threat" to the computer side because the 7800 – and the software that was being developed for the 7800 keyboard, such as OSS BASIC – was sufficiently different from the home computers. The internal Atari culture also seems to have changed somewhat by the time the 7800 came on the scene.

[Vic George 2K3]

If one wanted an Atari computer that had a keyboard and played games, they would have bought the 400, 600XL, 800, or 800XL. There would be no reason to give the 5200 a keyboard if that system was just going to be sold primarily as a game system. The games for both the 5200 and the 8-bit computers were identical or similar enough, though some games for the 5200 took advantage of keypad functions on the controller that would make a similar version on the 8-bit computers pretty hard to control unless a person was sitting right at the computer, and even then the control would be like modern game system emulation on a personal computer.

Edited by Vic George 2K3, Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:49 AM.

[jetset]

It's a game console. doesn't need one.

[Allan]

Another thing was that the 7800 was developed by GCC who didn't have to deal with all the internal crap between divisions at Atari. Plus it was developed a little later in time. Things at Atari changed rather quickly throughout the company's history.

Allan

[Nuclear Pacman]

I agree with the other guys, in effect Atari did have a 5200 with a keyboard option, called the 8-bit computer line.

[Big_Mo]

Had such a thing been done, the software support would seem to have to fall to the PCS (Personal Computer System) group, but the console was under the videogaming group, so there might've been turf wars.

Several Atari employees of that era I've spoken to think that Atari made a huge mistake going into the PCS business, and should have taken the chipset for what ended up in the computers and 5200 and gotten out a more powerful replacement system for the VCS closer to 1980.

[Allan]

Big_Mo, on Sun Oct 2, 2011 1:44 AM, said:

Several Atari employees of that era I've spoken to think that Atari made a huge mistake going into the PCS business, and should have taken the chipset for what ended up in the computers and 5200 and gotten out a more powerful replacement system for the VCS closer to 1980.

Supposedly that was the original plan.

Allan

[flowmotion]

During the runup to the crash, Coleco was heavily promoting their upcoming "computer expansion module #3". While the ADAM was never successful, it gave Coleco a big edge in the propaganda war. So Atari missed a huge opportunity not making the 5200 an extension of their already successful computer line. (Had they done this successfully, the 7800 probably would have never happened, and Tramiel would have probably focused entirely on the computers. )

And its one thing to say 5200 and 8bit were basically the same now, it would have been quite another back then, when everyone had to buy the same software over again.

[Vic George 2K3]

In hindsight, if Atari was going to go the route of having the 5200 be the consolized 8-bit computer line, it should have been compatible with the 8-bit computer line from the start, cartridges and controllers.

[Rex Dart]

Why, because there was no software that required it, of course.</badjoke>

Edited by Rex Dart, Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:56 PM.