Systems Really worth having.

[noiseredux]

you guy's are F'd in the head. For once Dave is right about something. I spend many Sunday mornings waking up with coffee and 2600 games.

[dsheinem]

There's a huge retrogaming community over at AtariAge that would disagree too. It might not be popular here, but the 2600 is unquestionably one of the finest retro systems.

[Tweekers237]

A powerful PC is of course your best bet.

If you want console hardware, the PS2 with a MCBoot card would last you the rest of your life.

what exactly is a mcboot card?

[Tweekers237]

If you want systems with the biggest, most diverse and classic libraries, then the consoles people have listed are probably the best options.

Those being:
NES
SNES
Mega Drive
PS2

I would personally consider adding Wii to that pile, especially with GC backwards compatability, but I know it's not a choice everyone would make.


The lack of N64 love on these forums always makes me sad. I think N64 games have aged way better than most of their PS1 contempories.

my girl has been considering a Wii because she likes GC. Its funny because she wants to play all the systems I don't really have interest in GameCube being one of them.

Yeah to me N64 was a sweet Nintendo system with some really fun games.

Golden Eye? Hello?

and Ocarina of Time is still my favorite Zelda installment.

[Jmustang1968]

There's a huge retrogaming community over at AtariAge that would disagree too. It might not be popular here, but the 2600 is unquestionably one of the finest retro systems.

I definitely respect what it is and what has done for the gaming industry and history. But I think it takes even a more niche group of gamers, and a further subset of retro gamers, who enjoy it still. I would also wager most are a bit older who grew up with the system, but that is just a hunch and I have nothing to back it up.

I can find some limited enjoyment and nostalgia with it, but there are so many other systems and games I would rather play and spend my free time with.

I remember when I received my lot of the 2600 and a bunch of games, we played through each for a few minutes and thought well that was a blast from the past and appreciated it. We then put it on the shelf and never pulled it out again.

[Luke]

If anything qualifies as "retro" it is the 2600. If you get tired of Berzerk, Yar's Revenge, Defender, Crystal Castles, Millipede, Asteroids, 4-player Combat, 4-player Warlords, Super Breakout, Space Invaders...I'll stop there.

But if you get tired of those games, then "retro" gaming isn't your thing. Go play you some Halo and snack on a slim jim.

[alienjesus]

There's a huge retrogaming community over at AtariAge that would disagree too. It might not be popular here, but the 2600 is unquestionably one of the finest retro systems.

I definitely respect what it is and what has done for the gaming industry and history. But I think it takes even a more niche group of gamers, and a further subset of retro gamers, who enjoy it still. I would also wager most are a bit older who grew up with the system, but that is just a hunch and I have nothing to back it up.

I can find some limited enjoyment and nostalgia with it, but there are so many other systems and games I would rather play and spend my free time with.

I remember when I received my lot of the 2600 and a bunch of games, we played through each for a few minutes and thought well that was a blast from the past and appreciated it. We then put it on the shelf and never pulled it out again.

Yeah, this is where I stand. I respect the Atari 2600 and it's peers for the time like the Colecovision and the Intellivision (although I have admittedly never had the chance to play those two systems), and on the odd occasion I can get some enjoyment from a 5 minute bash at something on the system, but I just can't play any of them to any major extent before getting a bit bored. I feel that the gamers out there who still enjoy playing the system as more than a nostalgia trip or a curiosity are probably a niche, even within the already niche group that is retro gaming enthusiasts.

If anything qualifies as "retro" it is the 2600. If you get tired of Berzerk, Yar's Revenge, Defender, Crystal Castles, Millipede, Asteroids, 4-player Combat, 4-player Warlords, Super Breakout, Space Invaders...I'll stop there.

But if you get tired of those games, then "retro" gaming isn't your thing. Go play you some Halo and snack on a slim jim.

I imagine you spend hours on your Odyssey aswell?

I'll pass on the Halo anyhow. Back to Blaster Master for me

Maybe we should spin this out into a seperate thread with a poll. I'd be interested to see what % of people on this board still find the 2600 enjoyable for any length of time.

[muhanad]

The lack of N64 love on these forums always makes me sad. I think N64 games have aged way better than most of their PS1 contempories.

Yeah to me N64 was a sweet Nintendo system with some really fun games.

Golden Eye? Hello?

Yeah N64 is one of my favorite systems of all time, I grew up with it. But many of the games have not aged very well, and all the good games are overpriced. Hate to say it, but goldeneye had not aged well at all. But still, theres so many great classics.

[dsheinem]

[ But I think it takes even a more niche group of gamers, and a further subset of retro gamers, who enjoy it still.

AtariAge registered users: 30,000
NintendoAge registered users: 15,000
Sega-16 registered users: 6,000
Racketboy registered users: 6,500

Maybe there are Nintendo/Sega sites that are bigger than AtariAge, but I can't think of any. 2600 love is "niche" only here, for some reason. Playing and collecting for the system is a staple of retro gaming as a hobby.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Everything Atari rules. I own the 2600, 5200, 7800, and Lynx and adore all of them. Even the 5200 with it's crappy controllers.

I find the 2600 one of the most fun systems to collect for. Games are plentiful, cheap, and the variation in cart design/shape is interesting.

And the games themselves are classics too. Not to mention the amazing homebrew stuff that continues to be released.

And it's not just the 2600 that's decent either. There are some other solid consoles from that era like the Odyssey 2 and Intellivision (I've had limited experience the Colecovision and Vectrex).

Nothing is "too old" for me and people who think that "good" games weren't released until the 8-bit era perplex me.