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[Hale-XF11]

This was my family's 2nd console after first owning a Sears Pong game. We eventually bought a second 2600 after wearing out the first one.

I think Superman on the 2600 was the only Superman I ever enjoyed. I was in love with that game. Of course, I owned all the classics like Pitfall, Breakout and Combat. So many great games on that system. Too bad about all the shovel-ware near the end of its life.

 

[Harlock]

And the Atari 2600 had a Netflix style game service. 2-4 kbytes was small enough to send by telephone in the 80s.

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

Great thread! My intro into gaming was all thanks to this gem. Im 33 now and I cant believe what kids these days must take for granted. River Raid, pitfall, asteroids, barnstorming, solaris and enduro were huge parts but there were so many others. Such a great time.

 

[Spectral Glider]

To this day I still love the 2600 conversions of Berzerk and Phoenix.

 

[flyover]

To this day I still love the 2600 conversions of Berzerk...

2600 was all about Berzerk for me. We had other games too, but man I could play Berzerk forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnPfiFxkEm8

I still love the Buckner & Garcia song about it. Best thing on that Pac-Man Fever album.

 

[GDGF]

First system I remember playing. Everybody in my family seemingly had one. Eventually got my cousin's as a hand me down in 1986 (yep, the original one)


And yeah, Berzerk was awesome

 

[Tempy]

Berzerk TV ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0kWqjDUu7o

 

[winjet81]

Remember getting the Atari VCS on Xmas Day, 1981... played Space Invaders to death, even figuring out the double shot cheat.

Favourite game of all time: Ms. Pac Man. On the eve of the first video game crash of 1983, this game more than made up for the gigantic failure of Pac Man.

Honourable mention: Starmaster. How to master Starmaster

 

[statham]

I never owned one, but my brothers friend did, and I loved combat tanks/biplanes

 

[phosphor112]

My first console <3

Also, "2600" puts you on the Dept Homeland Security watchlist.

 

[artorias the abysswalker]

my parents had one and it was the first system I played before we got an NES...memories of playing Berzerk on it are my first gaming memories.

 

[Zweisy1]

You just have to respect Atari 2600. Jay Miner was a genious.

 

[izakq]

Favourite game of all time: Ms. Pac Man. On the eve of the first video game crash of 1983, this game more than made up for the gigantic failure of Pac Man.

I know that feeling. When Pac-Man came out, I was really pissed off and just wanted to throw it away. When Ms. Pac-Man came out, yeah, that was great and if only they hadn't rushed out Pac-Man, that game would've been great as well.

I was very surprised that they came out with Pac-Man Jr. late in the 2600's life, and that one was a pretty good game as well.

 

[Spectral Glider]

Honourable mention: Starmaster. How to master Starmaster

Oh yeah, Starmaster was great, kind of ahead of it's time. Air Raiders was another good shooter that was more simulation oriented.

 

[Harlock]

The sound was enhanced by the simple graphics. I remember shiting myself playing Haunted House.

Other thing I remember is playing Popeye and never passing the second stage. Once I got through and thought "a new screen, yes!". Was liked having a new game.

Jawbreaker was other cool game. Very fast pac-man style.

Infiltrate is worth checking too.

 

[Muffdraul]

Remember getting the Atari VCS on Xmas Day, 1981... played Space Invaders to death, even figuring out the double shot cheat.

Favourite game of all time: Ms. Pac Man. On the eve of the first video game crash of 1983, this game more than made up for the gigantic failure of Pac Man.

Honourable mention: Starmaster. How to master Starmaster

Starmaster- very possibly where my "inverted joystick control" preference originally began.

 

[Dicer]

Do I love the 2600??!!?!?

Yes. yes I do...

 

[Cafeman]

I actually stopped gaming around the time of "The Great Crash," lost all interest in exactly the same way I lost interest in collecting Star Wars action figures, getting up to watch Saturday morning cartoons etc. It was totally a puberty thing. Many years later when I finished college I bought a SNES purely as part of a scheme to establish credit. I had no intention of getting back into it. But one night with Super Mario World and F-Zero and I was born again hard.

Same story for me, except replace SNES with Genesis and Sonic/Streets of Rage/ etc. Going from Atari (5200 for me) graphics to Genesis was ..wow!

 

[Imbarkus]

Don't forget:

Also dear to my heart:

I let my collection get away from me 20 years ago and regretted it so much I picked up a replacement. I weep at some of the games I had in my collection, complete with instruction books, now gone:

See, I used to get the exclusives, man, because I was a member of the Atari Fan Club, and had a collection of every issue of the Atari Fan Club magazine, which also got away from me before I started paying attention.

Check out the archive (http://www.atariage.com/magazines/atariage.html) and holla if you were a fellow club memba!

 

[rSpooky]

Oh man, all these great stories and screenshots/boxart. Major nostalgia feelings right now. .. I remember going out with my parents gettingtopick a nee game, picking mostly on box art and description. I will also always remember finding that my dad had a secret game.... X-man

Look it up, it is on youtube...
Also.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Demon_Attack_box_art.jpg

 

[Imbarkus]

Also.

Yeah man. Good times. Also:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-raiders-of-the-lost-ark_20852.html

Follow the link for an original TV ad for the game...

 

[speculawyer]

I still remember getting it for Christmas. Best present ever.

Spoiler

Get off my lawn!

 

[IrishNinja]

guy wants $40, with the lever on the right missing (he has some form a replacement one going he says). yay or nay?

 

[IrishNinja]

...looking at ebay, it's a close call, still not sure on this one

 

[Celine]

I have an Atari 2600 but I'm missing the power supply.
What kind of PSU does it use?

 

[spookyfish]

My parents bought my the Sears Atari 2600, shown below for christmas. I wonder if that was the first gaming exclusive with the fine fake wood grain.

No, the regular Atari VCS (six-switcher) also had the rich, faux wood grain. Mine is packed away, still in its 1978 box.

 

[IrishNinja]

No, the regular Atari VCS (six-switcher) also had the rich, faux wood grain. Mine is packed away, still in its 1978 box.

that's awesome. what was the difference with between the 4 and 6 switches?

 

[IrishNinja]

guy wants $40, with the lever on the right missing (he has some form a replacement one going he says). yay or nay?

still wondering! maybe i shoulda asked retro GAF

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

still wondering! maybe i shoulda asked retro GAF

That's really pushing it IMO. Has the seller verified it works?
I picked up a Vader and I've been replacing caps and power regulators to get this thing working. Keep in mind the age of these and that the onboard hardware will be close to failing in most cases. Even the original power supplies can have cap issues.

In the end its up to how much you want to spend, but if they can't verify it works, that's too much money.
Plus there's only about three games there that don't suck and the games are cheap.

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

I have an Atari 2600 but I'm missing the power supply.
What kind of PSU does it use?

A 9v 500ma. Best off getting a newer one as the older ones can have cap issues which could lead to damaging the power regulator or main capacitor in the system due to uneven power.

 

[IrishNinja]

That's really pushing it IMO. Has the seller verified it works?
I picked up a Vader and I've been replacing caps and power regulators to get this thing working. Keep in mind the age of these and that the onboard hardware will be close to failing in most cases. Even the original power supplies can have cap issues.

In the end its up to how much you want to spend, but if they can't verify it works, that's too much money.
Plus there's only about three games there that don't suck and the games are cheap.

he did, but youre right id have to see a demo...might just hold out, they're plentiful on ebay and i don't fancy one of the switches being broken anyway

 

[Sean*O]

So many familiar stories in this thread. I recall Christmas morning, after everything opened, dad pulls out a box hidden behind the tree.. Santa must have left it. LOL

Space Invaders and Asteroids all day long and all night long. Staring at the box art, shit was just magical back then.

 

[BillyBats]

My universal tool to hook it up.

 

[Cody_D165]

I'm 20 years old and I love my Atari 2600.

Asteroids and Adventure are my two favorites. Warlords is awesome too.

Edit: Anyone ever read the book Ready Player One? There are some awesome Atari references in there.

 

[RobbieNick]

My universal tool to hook it up.

LOL Oh my God! the memories.

Loved Kaboom. Too bad those shitty paddles always wore out after extensive play.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

still wondering! maybe i shoulda asked retro GAF

$40 for a 6 5 switch 2600 and a smattering of common games? No way.

 

[140.85]

My first game system! I'm as old as it is... -_-

My first game was ET and I was too young to know it sucked.

 

[Bigfroth]

I still have mine. That was one of the best Christmas ever. Adventure, pitfall, Yar's revenge,Demon attack, Alantis were some of my favorites. remember Space Shuttle?...anybody

 

[Xater]

One of my friends had one when I was young. But even when I was 6-8 years old I never really enjoyed it much. I was already tainted by Nintendo I guess.

 

[Gen X]

Hmmm I got mine in Jan '84, but by then Activision were in full swing. I was 11 years of age and it was my first console also. By the time I gave it to my nephews a few years later I had built up a semi decent collection including Decathlon, Space Shuttle, Tutankhamen, Empire Strikes Back, Popeye, Dig Dug, Joust.... the list goes on.

I used to keep a little notebook and write down my high scores on certain games. I think Dig Dug and Joust were my most played.

 

[Gen X]

that's awesome. what was the difference with between the 4 and 6 switches?

From memory the only difference is two of the switches were moved to the back, Black & White and another one. All six switches were on both consoles.

 

[Diablohead]

My uncle used to have one and it stays at my nans, so on visits we would dig it out and play pong and shit, was awesome but it also felt old to me since I was growing up with a master system and the upcoming megadrive.

Still an awesome classic console.

 

[Red Liquorice]

My first console. I would play ET and Ms. PacMan for hours on a Sunday afternoon.

 

[Gianni Merryman]

So many fond memories, I was just a carefree kid and being able to play down-ported versions of arcades games such as Asteroids, Defender or Galaxian was a dream come true.

 

[mr jones]

If the Atari isn't dead, this can't be a necro-bump, right?!

What's odd about this post, is I'm personally not a fan when it comes to the Atari 2600. I tend to not go back further than the 16-bit era, so the Atari doesn't hold my attention very long.

Having said that, I'm genuinely impressed with what modern hobbyist developers are coming out with on the 2600. Games that would have EASILY sat among the professional retail titles that were out at the time. Titles like Juno First, Stay Frosty 2, and Pinata are excellent examples of folks doing stuff with the Atari 2600 that would have boggled my mind back in the day.

 

[CaptainSlow]

If anyone wants to watch some videos with a ton of different Atari games being played and some good Atari info, the James and Mike videos are pretty good if you have a good hour and a half to spend

Part One
https://youtu.be/VGsckFydtXc?list=PLbQ-gSLYQEc7EIriDwqTtYQ4Z5c5Gnm1A

Part Two
https://youtu.be/UfJ2pzhJ5xE?list=PLbQ-gSLYQEc7EIriDwqTtYQ4Z5c5Gnm1A

Part Three
https://youtu.be/6FP4xYEpe-M?list=PLbQ-gSLYQEc7EIriDwqTtYQ4Z5c5Gnm1A

Part Four
https://youtu.be/25Z32y9OOBk?list=PLbQ-gSLYQEc7EIriDwqTtYQ4Z5c5Gnm1A

 

[Khaz]

They glossed over a couple of games I knew were interesting so I don't know. I didn't feel it was very informative, just two dudes playing old videogames while making jokes.