Have you played ATARI today!!!

[Jagosaurus]

I was about to bring up the XM module fiasco. Great idea though.

[Golgo 14]

I was about to bring up the XM module fiasco. Great idea though.

I'll let you know when I get mine.

[Jagosaurus]

I was about to bring up the XM module fiasco. Great idea though.

I'll let you know when I get mine.

Ouch. How much was the original contribution again? I remember the "no refunds" clause due to the tooling being complete.

Seems getting the outer plastic done first is high priority in the Atari community....

[Golgo 14]

I was about to bring up the XM module fiasco. Great idea though.

I'll let you know when I get mine.

Ouch. How much was the original contribution again? I remember the "no refunds" clause due to the tooling being complete.

Seems getting the outer plastic done first is high priority in the Atari community....

My total was $106 w/ shipping. There was a 10% off discount available for pre-orders submitted before the original shipping date of 11/30/2010.

He peevishly offered refunds a couple of years ago, but I didn't take him up on the offer. At this point, I see the whole project as some sort of performance art and I enjoy it as such. All these screw-ups and broken promises are the sort of thing you'd expect from Tramiel-era Atari if it were still around.

Possibly my favorite part of the saga was when one of his first moves was... to create and order full-color product boxes. Supposedly he has hundreds of nice full-color boxes for this non-product. It's the sort of thing I would have done as a kid; making promotional material for something I had no idea how to make.

[Jagosaurus]

My total was $106 w/ shipping. There was a 10% off discount available for pre-orders submitted before the original shipping date of 11/30/2010.

He peevishly offered refunds a couple of years ago, but I didn't take him up on the offer. At this point, I see the whole project as some sort of performance art and I enjoy it as such. All these screw-ups and broken promises are the sort of thing you'd expect from Tramiel-era Atari if it were still around.

Possibly my favorite part of the saga was when one of his first moves was... to create and order full-color product boxes. Supposedly he has hundreds of nice full-color boxes for this non-product. It's the sort of thing I would have done as a kid; making promotional material for something I had no idea how to make.

The thing the Tramiels got right was hardware. Their hardware was legit from a spec perspective. This guy even screwed that up lol.

IIRC, the ST and Commadore were still used in the music industry for some time.

The Tramiels fell short on on understanding GAMES and software are important. He was stuck stuck in "make computers" mode from his previous success.

One of the only positive stories I've heard about their involvement in software development teams was not having Rebellion rush Alien vs Predator. Wow, turned out great. Too little, too late.

I digress... lol

[Anapan]

I always hear the 80's TV jingle when I see this topic (The only? Lies!).
And then I see a mental image of the MC-Donalds Atari Burger.

Then I think of the Atari ST Mr. Cool Ad.
Gaddamn, Atari advertising was awesome.
I don't have anything really to add here, but a bump.
I lent out my heavy-sixer to a good friend, and he still plays it with his son way more than I ever would. I'm thinking of building another. I doubt I'll get as good a deal as I did back then. This is the guy who built my modded console - $52 on ebay. It's still going strong on S-video and Stereo output.
Given that I'm not really half-assing the hardware stuff much anymore, I think I've gotta whole-ass RGB mod a Heavy-Sixer somehow. It's a toss-up if I do that or sound and light-mod a handheld.

tl;dr?
Sad but true:
Activision Anthology is all I need for my 2600 fix. It's available on every important console so I can play it on a 2"x4" handheld with a 2" screen (Game Boy Micro - My inside pocket EDC), Cellphone, PC, or my $20 pawnshop PS2 slim (I stuck a Joytech screen on it).
My favorite game (Seaquest) is available on every screen I own without even having the Atari here, and it's legal, and it better. Very sad, but very true.

[mas]

Got my Atari 7800 back and I love it. I miss the games and the arcade ports. Ms pax man, robotron 2040, xevious, man these games are fun

[ExedExes]

Activision Anthology is all I need for my 2600 fix. It's available on every important console so I can play it on a 2"x4" handheld with a 2" screen (Game Boy Micro - My inside pocket EDC), Cellphone, PC, or my $20 pawnshop PS2 slim (I stuck a Joytech screen on it).
My favorite game (Seaquest) is available on every screen I own without even having the Atari here, and it's legal, and it better. Very sad, but very true.

I learned from playing Pitfall! last month that the GBA Anthology port is just slightly slower than real hardware, but it's still a good collection overall. Seaquest is probably my favorite too. I've been trying really hard to get over 200K, but it just doesn't happen.

You all should check out the 2600 games from 20th Century Fox too. They're not all that bad. Heck even Flash Gordon, which has no resemblance to the series/movie/whatever, but instead a port of another game, is great.

[marlowe221]

Since my initial response to this thread, I have been inspired to play my 2600 a lot more. I had forgotten just how much fun simple, arcade-style games can be even when the graphics are pitiful by today's standards.

My collection is now in the neighborhood of 60 unique carts (plus a couple of doubles) which is far more than any other system I own. I have also purchased one original Atari joystick and 2 Suncom sticks which are very nice. I also acquired a set of paddle controllers that work great once I cleaned them up a bit.

The 2600 definitely has a special place in my heart since it was my first console and first real gaming experience. Also, since I have a Vader model, I choose to believe that it was manufactured in 1982, making it a birth year console for me.

Collecting for the 2600 is a blast and it helps that it's very cheap too. I have a few other games I would love to pick up if/when I see them but my next target is a 7800...

[mas]

Had friends over last night. Played a lot of Atari. Mostly river raid. Made a drinking game out of it. Anyone who shoots the white plane has to drink. Pretty fun. Then played a little ms pac man on the 7800 before we went and played another system