Atari Forum?

[JoeAwesome]

The Sony/MS subforum and lack of separation is more and more glaring with each generation.

[Jagosaurus]

I would argue we have more people actively playing PC Engine and TurboGrafx 16 games than we do Atari games. Then again, we don't have a lot of active PC Engine discussion.

I dig the TG16/PCE but it's one console with a CD add on. To me, that falls under "other" along with the 3DO, CDi, Marty, etc. Of course the TG16 has a great library worth discussing. Might be chicken & the egg there too

With Atari you have:
Atari 400 Computer
ATari 800 Computer
Atari XE65
Atari ST/TT
Atari Falcon

Sure I'm missing some of the computers as it's a scene I want to know more about, but you get the idea there. Then console-wise:
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Atari 7800
Atari XEGS
Atari Jaguar

And the shelved Atari Panther & Jaguar Duo are cool novelties.

If I were a prospective member or a new member joining, I would think it odd there wasn't an Atari area on a retro game oriented forum. I know part of the focus lately has been attracing new members with the site overhaul. Seems more to discuss here over 10+ hardware platforms and considering the overall impact Atari had on the industry.

[Gunstar Green]

It doesn't matter to me one way or the other. I know Atari continues for several generations but maybe "Atari and 2nd Gen" would be better if you're going to bother to make a new subforum.

[marurun]

I dig the TG16/PCE but it's one console with a CD add on. To me, that falls under "other

Well, it would be under NEC along with the PCFX, the PC-88, and the PC-98, the latter two of which were the most popular computing platforms of their generations in Japan.

Meanwhile, you are correct that Atari was very important, at least in the early arcade scene and in making, then breaking the home console scene. But Atari’s computer platforms were never very popular in the US, at least.

[marlowe221]

I voted yes.

That said, I don't think there's genuinely enough interest around here to warrant it.

Most of the big Atari guys are going to be over at Atari Age anyway.

(I say all this despite being a HUGE Atari fan, and a guy with 2 Atari consoles/computers hooked to his TV at the moment)

[noiseredux]

No matter what game I search for, I just get Elkin's beaten or acquired lists haha.

[ElkinFencer10]

No matter what game I search for, I just get Elkin's beaten or acquired lists haha.

I apologize for nothing!

[Sarge]

In the interest of full disclosure, I voted no. I think things are segregated too much as it is already. I don't know that we need system-specific sub-forums, for example; I think most folks would like to read about Nintendo, Sega, and MS/Sony in a general gaming thread. And if the goal is to avoid using a search, well, I'm already having to do that anyway.

Plus, almost the only way I browse these days is through the Active Topics link.

[isiolia]

In the interest of full disclosure, I voted no. I think things are segregated too much as it is already. I don't know that we need system-specific sub-forums, for example; I think most folks would like to read about Nintendo, Sega, and MS/Sony in a general gaming thread. And if the goal is to avoid using a search, well, I'm already having to do that anyway.

Pretty much this. Most of the discussion that seems to end up in the platform boards could logically be filed somewhere else (and often is already, outside of a few threads). Things like the "How's your x gaming going" are basically redundant next to the What Are You Playing thread. Hardware issues are split between there and the Technical Help board. That sort of thing. Threads about games could go into the relevant genre boards. If you just look at threads about platforms or hardware itself, they'd probably mostly fit into a single forum (or something like Computers/Consoles/Arcade/Emulation).

I think having more threads created versus posts in the same few topics would be better, with regard to searching. Plus it'd make things easier to relocate a conversation later, if the desire to do that arises.

[Exhuminator]

I think there should be three forum areas:

Retro Gaming
Modern Gaming
Off Topic

And that's it.