I’m not stranger to Atari’s, or its compatibles. As a small
boy we had Coleco Geminis, Sears game systems, and actual Atari’s. I remember when
I was 5 or 6 we fried one of the Colecos, and one of the Sears, but of course we are talking
between 1983 and 1985 when these systems where a dime a dozen and my folks
could pick up replacements for a few bucks. After we fried the last Sears
system, my Mom came home with an Atari 5200 and some games one day. No matter what
anybody says about the 5200, I loved mine it was awesome, but that’s a story
for a different time.
boy we had Coleco Geminis, Sears game systems, and actual Atari’s. I remember when
I was 5 or 6 we fried one of the Colecos, and one of the Sears, but of course we are talking
between 1983 and 1985 when these systems where a dime a dozen and my folks
could pick up replacements for a few bucks. After we fried the last Sears
system, my Mom came home with an Atari 5200 and some games one day. No matter what
anybody says about the 5200, I loved mine it was awesome, but that’s a story
for a different time.
By about 1988 it became apparent I wasn’t finding anymore
games for the 5200, and for Christmas that year my folks and sister chipped in
and bought me an Atari 7800. One problem though, I plugged the 7800 in and it didn’t
work, at all. So after the new year I got dropped off at Toy’s R’ Us with the
receipt and I was told I could get a new one or buy what I want with the money
back, which was a bit over $100.00 since 7800’s where about $99.99 at that time. I decided I still
wanted a video game system but not a 7800, so I got myself a new Atari 2600, this
version of the 2600 was actually known as the Atari 2600 Jr and went for about
$49.99. If your not familiar with the breeds of 2600 the Junior was the last of
them, and the smallest. Essentially it was a smaller version of the 7800, was
black, and had a stainless (looking) band across the top, some of which had the
rainbow like the 7800.
games for the 5200, and for Christmas that year my folks and sister chipped in
and bought me an Atari 7800. One problem though, I plugged the 7800 in and it didn’t
work, at all. So after the new year I got dropped off at Toy’s R’ Us with the
receipt and I was told I could get a new one or buy what I want with the money
back, which was a bit over $100.00 since 7800’s where about $99.99 at that time. I decided I still
wanted a video game system but not a 7800, so I got myself a new Atari 2600, this
version of the 2600 was actually known as the Atari 2600 Jr and went for about
$49.99. If your not familiar with the breeds of 2600 the Junior was the last of
them, and the smallest. Essentially it was a smaller version of the 7800, was
black, and had a stainless (looking) band across the top, some of which had the
rainbow like the 7800.
I loved my Atari 2600 Jr, and I played it all the way up to
Christmas of 1989 when I got my NES. One of my fondest memories of the 2600 is
a day we went to a rummage sale and I picked up a plastic container of 10 games
for $0.50, all of which worked too. I spent my summer playing those, and playing
with a friend from down the road who was also into the 2600 as well. I remember one of my favorite
games of the time being Skyjinks, which was an airplane slalom game from activision and feed my love for aviation since I wanted to become a pilot when I was younger and this and Barnstorming where as close as I could come to a flight sim. To say
the least when the NES came the 2600 and 5200 went into the same box and into
the attic. Finally in 1993 I gave the systems to my sister since she was a huge
Demon Attack fan and I figured she would like relieve those memories. She still has both systems to this day but they are buried in her crawlspace somewhere.
Christmas of 1989 when I got my NES. One of my fondest memories of the 2600 is
a day we went to a rummage sale and I picked up a plastic container of 10 games
for $0.50, all of which worked too. I spent my summer playing those, and playing
with a friend from down the road who was also into the 2600 as well. I remember one of my favorite
games of the time being Skyjinks, which was an airplane slalom game from activision and feed my love for aviation since I wanted to become a pilot when I was younger and this and Barnstorming where as close as I could come to a flight sim. To say
the least when the NES came the 2600 and 5200 went into the same box and into
the attic. Finally in 1993 I gave the systems to my sister since she was a huge
Demon Attack fan and I figured she would like relieve those memories. She still has both systems to this day but they are buried in her crawlspace somewhere.
When I got back into retro gaming I decided I wanted to get
an Atari 2600, a 5200, and 7800. But having a family and needing to spend money
on more important things, I have only gotten the 2600 so far, and of course
it’s a 2600 Jr.
an Atari 2600, a 5200, and 7800. But having a family and needing to spend money
on more important things, I have only gotten the 2600 so far, and of course
it’s a 2600 Jr.
In part 2 I will tell you about adopting this old school
technology to a modern TV set up, and some of the other issues and fun I have
had.
technology to a modern TV set up, and some of the other issues and fun I have
had.
