Atari 7800
The Atari 7800 is a third generation video game console developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Atari in May of 1986. The console was actually designed in 1983, and ready for release in July of 1984, which would have made it the first console of the third generation, but tumult from the US video game crash and the sale of Atari delayed it by two years. This meant that it didn't reach shelves until seven months after the much more impressive Nintendo Entertainment System was released in the USA, guaranteeing the system's failure.
The 7800 uses ROM cartridges for video games and was designed to be backward-compatible with almost every Atari 2600 release. The console uses a MOS 6502C processor and the same TIA chip as the 2600 for audio and joystick input. The NTSC model shipped with a joystick, but, for the later PAL release, Atari opted for a game pad similar to that of the NES. The "7800" number in the title comes from the console's catalog number CX-7800, which was chosen because, the catalog number of the Atari 2600, is CX-2600, and the 7800 is the third Atari console, so three times 2600 is 7800.
Personal
I've never played a 7800 in real life, but I have played various games from the library in emulators and was quite unimpressed. Most of the games are arcade ports which retain the arcade mentality of looping endlessly and collecting points. While the graphics are certainly better than the 2600, the games are still a far cry from arcade originals.
I've never owned an Atari 7800.
Games
- See all Atari 7800 Games.
Initial Games
The US release shipped with Pole Position II while the European release shipped with Asteroids
The following games were available at the console's launch: Ms. Pac-Man, Pole Position II, Centipede, Joust, Dig Dug, Robotron: 2084, Food Fight, and Xevious.
Personal
There aren't any 7800 games that are important to me.
Review
I don't know enough about the system to review it.
Media
Hardware
The NTSC model with joystick.
The PAL model with game pad.
Links
- 8bitworkshop.com - Online development.
