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Atari 7800 Pro System
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The Atari 7800 is Atari's most overlooked and under-appreciated
console. The console was announced on May 21st, 1984, and was to carry
a price tag of $140. The new custom CPU that would power the system was
capable of moving 100 objects on-screen at the same and time and displaying
a 256 color palette. The system would also be 100% compatible with the
huge existing 2600 library. Twelve 7800 titles were announced for launch,
as well as a special High-Score
cartridge that would allow console gamers to save their high scores
for the first time ever. The public was excited, and the 7800 was poised
to take over the gaming world. But it didn't quite happen that way.
In July of 1984, the home videogame division of Atari
was purchased by Jack
Tramiel. Although the Atari 7800 was ready to go, licensing negotiations
had to begin again because the Tramiels did not agree with some of the
existing arrangements negotiated by Ray Kassar. It was around this time
that the videogame market crashed, and retailers cut orders for videogames
across the board. By the end of 1984, the industry was left with only
Atari, Coleco,
and Mattel
turning out new product for their old systems, with no new console on
the horizon. Atari spent the next two years working out the details, and
the 7800 was finally ready to go in 1986.
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Atari Pro-Line Controller
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1986 is also the year Nintendo decided to bring their
successful Famicom
console over to the United States, even though the videogame market is
shaky. It's a smash hit. The NES sells like hotcakes wherever it is available,
and Atari takes notice. Tramiel and Atari continue with the release of
the 7800, but it was a very sloppy effort. Only three games were initially
released with the console, and it received very poor distribution. Retailers
were wary of Atari making announcements and not following through. True
to form, Atari announced a number of additional titles that never made
it to stores. The Atari 7800 was barely a blip on the videogame market.
Graphically, the 7800 was an excellent machine for it's
time, rivaling and even surpassing the NES and Sega
Master System in some respects. Its weak point was sound, since it
utilizes the same old sound chip from the 2600. Programmers got around
this limitation however, by adding the 5200's POKEY sound chip directly
to certain cartridges. Arcade ports for the system were excellent, but
it just didn't have the marketing behind it to overcome the Nintendo juggernaut.
The system is indeed compatible with almost 100% of
the existing Atari 2600 game library, and all the existing 2600
controllers and peripherals are compatible as well. The 7800 was also
sold with its own special
Proline controllers, meant to be an improvement over the 5200 design.
They feature two independently functioning buttons, but the elongated
design does not prove very comfortable or advantageous for gameplay.
For years, the 7800 has been ignored because of a perceived
small library of games, and the popularity of other Atari systems. However,
there are almost 60
titles available for it, many of them are very good. For the budding
classic game collector, it's an excellent system to collect for because
many of the titles can be found still in the box without too much difficulty.
Only a few 7800 titles are very rare, and none would be considered unattainable
to the average collector.
Elsewhere in the world, the 7800 had a bit more success.
Systems sold outside North America included Asteroids built-in to the
OS ROM, making it an interesting item for American collectors. In Australia
and New Zealand, it included a 32-in-1 cartridge, although it was just
a re-labeled 2600 version. Still, this is another interesting collectible
that North American collectors won't find at the local flea market.
Interestingly, very few prototypes
have turned up for this system over the years, compared with the dozens
that have been found for the 2600. It was only recently emulated,
and no new games have been written for the system like they have for virtually
every other classic system. Truly, the 7800 has been sadly overlooked
not only in the original market, but also by the collector and hobbyist
community. Hopefully, the 7800 will gain some more fans and maybe we will
see a new game for the system, giving this underdog a second chance.
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