> What's funny is in the AVGN clip he ordered a 5200 controller off eBay only to find > it has a 2600 plug - I see that same joystick is still listed on eBay as a 5200 > joystick. > > At least he got a decent stick for his 2600, C64, and Genesis. I don't know if there > was a 5200 redesign that changed the controller ports. But how can someone NOT > actually check to see it would fit? > > And what was the deal with the touch-tone keypads on controllers at the time? > Intellivision, Colecovision, 5200, and even much later the Jaguar! > > And what about that storage space in the back? I can sort of understand that with the > Astrocade. I guess so it would match up well with the 8-track storage. But it seemed > rather outdated with the 5200. > > --Bekki
Wow... that video sucked. So a ten minute video about how he didn't do any research on how to get a 25+ yr old system working, and since he couldn't get it working, it was a piece of shit. Nice.
I owned one. I loved it. Here's some facts to clear it up for the folks here:
- The storage on the back was to keep your two controllers.
- The original controllers suffered from a bad case of oxidation. I learned how to take care of mine: take it apart, and clean the cell membrane contacts with a pencil eraser. Good as new.
- That Wico controller he bought is a 5200 controller. The original came with a Y-adapter, as the Wico didn't replace the keypad or S/P/R buttons. The Y-adapter plugged into the system; the two controllers plugged into the Y-adapter. Wico also made a keypad that replaced the other half, in which case you plugged that into the system, and the joystick into that keypad.
- The keypad was used to control the different options for the game. Each game came with an overlay (e.g. see here: http://www.atariage.com/overlay_page.html?SystemID=5200&SoftwareID=2106&ItemTypeID=OVERLAY). Most cartridges had storage on the back of the cartridge to keep the overlay.
- It did suck that there were no labels on the top of the cartridge. I solved that with a pack of blue Avery labels and a typewriter (remember... this was 1982).
CSB time... to buy my first PC, I sold my first Ataris (2600, 5200, games, and a Pong). In hindsight... a really STUPID idea. Anyway, it's how I got my first computer, and I was happy for the time being. Sold the whole package to a guy in Santa Monica who mainly just wanted the Pong so that he and his friends could watch it after they partied really hard... supposedly, it's a real trip.
About 5-6 years later, I go visit this video game store in North Hollywood that I go to every few months. They sell used games going all the way back to the 2600. In the one Atari case, I see all of my old game cartridges, still with the blue Avery labels (cue "It's a Small World" music).
RELAX and just have fun. Remember, it's all about the games.
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