The Essential Pre-NES Consoles

[BoneSnapDeez]

I'm not sure I'd include any Commodores other than the 64 personally, and the 5200 and Atari 8-bit are a bit sketchy in my book in terms of what I'd deem "essential".

I'd put the Apple II on the essential list.

Yeah the Commodore thing is personal preference I guess. I love the VIC-20 and C16, but I'm sure plenty of folks would just be satisfied by the 64 (there's a huge overlap of games amongst all three from what I can tell).

Apple II is a tricky one. If it was designed more like a C64-style "computer-console" (ie: bloated keyboard design, hooks to TV, uses carts) I would probably already own one. I just hate dealing with floppy drives and disks.

Though I will admit that I only have had experience with older model Apple II systems. Never tried a GS, which looks pretty neat.

[ApolloBoy]

I'm not sure I'd include any Commodores other than the 64 personally, and the 5200 and Atari 8-bit are a bit sketchy in my book in terms of what I'd deem "essential".

I would certainly include the A8 on the essential list, it's a fantastic system and has loads of great games, a good chunk of which are on cartridge. There's also plenty of solutions out there for playing disk-based games without resorting to an actual disk drive (MyIDE II, SIO2PC, SIO2SD, to name a few). Plus, most of the games on the 5200 are also on the A8 so you don't have to worry about controller issues. I actually really like the 5200, but the presence of the Atari 8-bit line makes it a little redundant on an "essential" list.

[colorcomputerstore]

Can you add APF Imagination Machine to the ""Non-Essential" Consoles and Computer Systems" ?

[Gunstar Green]

I'm not sure I'd include any Commodores other than the 64 personally, and the 5200 and Atari 8-bit are a bit sketchy in my book in terms of what I'd deem "essential".

I would certainly include the A8 on the essential list, it's a fantastic system and has loads of great games, a good chunk of which are on cartridge. There's also plenty of solutions out there for playing disk-based games without resorting to an actual disk drive (MyIDE II, SIO2PC, SIO2SD, to name a few). Plus, most of the games on the 5200 are also on the A8 so you don't have to worry about controller issues. I actually really like the 5200, but the presence of the Atari 8-bit line makes it a little redundant on an "essential" list.

I was going to say this but since it's already been said I'll just say I agree. The 5200 is just a crappy Atari 8-bit. If you're going to include the computer, the console is redundant.

I don't have a strong opinion on the Commodores but if we're going for the most essential period then the 64 is the big one obviously.

[samsonlonghair]

I'm not sure I'd include any Commodores other than the 64 personally, and the 5200 and Atari 8-bit are a bit sketchy in my book in terms of what I'd deem "essential".

I would certainly include the A8 on the essential list, it's a fantastic system and has loads of great games, a good chunk of which are on cartridge. There's also plenty of solutions out there for playing disk-based games without resorting to an actual disk drive (MyIDE II, SIO2PC, SIO2SD, to name a few). Plus, most of the games on the 5200 are also on the A8 so you don't have to worry about controller issues. I actually really like the 5200, but the presence of the Atari 8-bit line makes it a little redundant on an "essential" list.

I was going to say this but since it's already been said I'll just say I agree. The 5200 is just a crappy Atari 8-bit. If you're going to include the computer, the console is redundant.

I don't have a strong opinion on the Commodores but if we're going for the most essential period then the 64 is the big one obviously.

Blast from the past! I'm glad the newbie bumped the thread cause I missed this one back in the day.

I would say that the apple ][ is an essential machine.

@colorcomputer Welcome to the forum!

[IcKy99]

My take on this essential pre-nes consoles would be

Atari 7800 (It plays 2600 carts so you dont Need a 2600 unless you want wood grain one of those and the 5200 was garbo)
ColecoVision (yuuup! It had better arcade ports than the 2600)
Commodore 64 (I personally have never seen or used a C64, but I know tons of people loved it)
Intellivision (Sure why not)
Odyssey^2 (this or the original, since it was the first console on the market)
Vectrex (This thing was so unique I consider it essential but its definitely one that could be left of an essential list if it had to be)