What should I get: Atari 7800, Intellivision or Colecovision

[CRTGAMER]

What should I get: Atari 7800, Intellivision or Colecovision

Everyone has their favorite system, each console has great exclusive games. Don't worry too much on the brand, best to research the games first and costs. Find out about which games you might enjoy and only then invest in the console. Hitting the 101 and Hidden Gems Guides posted in the bar at the top is a good start.

[dsheinem]

Anything in particular you are looking for Dish?

Alien Brigade
Fight Night
Ikari Warriors
Kung-Fu Master
Mean 18 Ultimate Golf
Ninja Golf
Planet Smashers
Summer Games
Tank Command
Winter Games
Xenophobe
-any Homebrew/Aftermarket games (especially Plutos and Sirius)

[Luke]

^Nuts. I don't have any of those.

[BurningDoom]

I say the Colecovision. Good graphics and sound for the time, and great early Nintendo and Sega games on there.

The thing that would prevent me from getting a 7800 is the sound. I've heard it uses the same sound-chip as the Atari 2600, and that thing sounds horrendous. But I've never actually played an Atari 7800.

[ApolloBoy]

The thing that would prevent me from getting a 7800 is the sound. I've heard it uses the same sound-chip as the Atari 2600, and that thing sounds horrendous. But I've never actually played an Atari 7800.

The 7800 does in fact use the TIA for audio (which is both a graphics and audio chip BTW) so it's the same as the 2600 in terms of audio capabilities. There are a couple of official releases that use a POKEY chip for external audio (Ballblazer and Commando) as well as some homebrews so it's not all bad.

[G-Darius]

In my opinion there is little difference with the Atari 5200/7800- there were a few original titles i guess but mostly they would just release the same group of common titles across both,the joypads are not great either.So i would just buy a cheap A2600 (which is one of my top consoles of all time) and then get a Colecovision.
I think the Intellivision is a dreadful system but of course that is just my opinion.

[Hatta]

While there was overlap with a lot of the Atari titles, both consoles still stand on their own.
5200:
Star Raiders
River Raid
Miner 2049er
H.E.R.O.
Galaxian
Rescue on Fractalus
Zaxxon

7800:
Galaga
Xevious
Double Dragon
Alien Brigade
Pole Position II
Ikari Warriors
Impossible Mission


Also, the Atari 8-bit line is just a 5200 with a keyboard and digital joysticks. IMO, buy a 7800 an 800XL with a RAM upgrade, and you can play just about anything Atari. That's excluding the ST, but those are mostly just good for Midi-Maze.