Atari Alumni

After the release of the Atari 5200 and the great Video game crash 1983. Atari needed to do something and do something fast. So they came up with probably their best game system to date. Reason being it has its own library of games, and can play every Atari 2600 game. So the library for the Atari 7800 can be quite large if you figure in all the 2600 games.

Good news about the 7800 is the controllers actually work. Not like the previous Atari 5200. I personally like the 7800, with apparent better graphics than the 2600, but I feel Atari just couldn’t get the popular arcade titles and game titles to compete with the every popular Nintendo Nes in the mid 80’s

The Atari 7800 - Release Date 1986

* Released to be a superior model with less of the problems from the original Atari 5200.

* The Atari 7800 could play almost any Atari 2600 game with out any sort of modulator or expansion module

* The 7800 was always viewed as a Atari 2600, but with supposedly better graphics and what not.

* The Atari 7800 had the ability to play tons of games, but the development for new games for the system wasn’t their. It has been stated that Atari released on 60 or so titles just for the Atari 7800.

Controllers - And What you Should Know
When released the Atari 7800 included a two button controller. Which Ii guess fit a little more natural in your hand. The reason I’m creating this section is to inform you that not all Atari 7800 Games, will work with the Atari 2600 Controller (1 button controller)

For example when playing Double Dragon on Atari 7800, the original 1 button atari controller will not work with the game. You have to use the 2 button Atari 7800 Controller to enjoy the game.

The Atari 7800 will play all atari 2600 controllers, the 7800 has the same size controller port. So thats good news if you still have all your atari 2600 stuff.

Additional Controllers for The Atari 7800
1. The XE Light Gun is compatible with both the XE Game System and the 7800 ProSystem.
2. Joypad mainly Sold in Europe,and other locations outside North America, the 7800 Joypads are similar to NES joypads with a small, removable stick on the d-pad.

Atari 7800 Games
The Atari 7800 released about 59 games, there were some additional games released aftermarket. During the Atari 7800’s life cycle, Atari found themselves struggling to get developers to create 7800 versions of then-popular arcade titles because of a controversial policy employed by Nintendo. When Nintendo revived the industry, they signed up software development companies to create NES games under a strict license agreement which imposed serious restrictions on what they were allowed to do.

Even though the Atari 7800 can play hundreds of games, due in part it’s compatible with all Atari 2600 games. Which helped sell the unit after the Atari 5200’s downfall.
Best and The Worst of Atari 7800 Games
To Start the Section off, as with many classic systems there were rare games, and their were very common games. Some games can fetch a quality dollar, while others aren’t even worth it. That brings me up to my next point, some games are worth more than other games.

Five Collectible Rare Titles
1. F-18 Hornet
2. Ninja Golf
3. Midnight Mutants
4. Double Dragon
5. Rampage

Very Common Games
1. Jinks
2. Barnyard Blaster
3. Crack’ed
4. Melt Down

source: http://www.squidoo.com/atari7800