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Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to Atari 2600 at the time of the 5200's launch. Created to compete with Mattel's Intellivision, the 5200 wound up a direct competitor of ColecoVision shortly after its release. While the Coleco system shipped with the first home version of Nintendo's Donkey Kong, the 5200 included the 1978 arcade game Super Breakout, which had already appeared on previous Atari home platforms.
The system architecture is almost identical to that of the Atari 8-bit computers, although software is not directly compatible between them. The 5200's controllers have an analog joystick and a numeric keypad along with start, pause, and reset buttons. The 360-degree non-centering joystick was touted as offering more control than the eight-way Atari CX40 joystick of the 2600, but it was a focal point for criticism.
On May 21, 1984, during a press conference at which the Atari 7800 was introduced, company executives revealed that the 5200 had been discontinued after less than two years on the market. Total sales of the system were reportedly in excess of 1 million units.
Following the release of the Video Computer System in 1977, Atari began development on hardware for its next generation of video game consoles. When Ray Kassar took over as Atari CEO in November 1978, this development shifted entirely towards home computers as the Atari 400 and 800 home computer systems.
Atari's Consumer Division moved on to a more direct upgrade of the Atari 2600 known internally as "Super Stella" or the Atari 3200. The company proposed a three console product line with the 2600 on the low end, a modified Atari 400 computer on the high end, and the 3200 in the middle. As development stalled on the 3200 following a number of technical issues, the 3200 was dropped in favor of the modified Atari 400 design.
In 1981, Atari's Advanced Technology Group began work on this next generation console under the codename "PAM" (short for Personal Arcade Machine). Lead engineer on the project was Pete Gerrard and the machine's operating system was written by Rob Zdybel. Early prototypes of the system were also known as the "Atari Video System X – Advanced Video Computer System". According to Michael Moone, then president of Atari's consumer electronics division, they created the system "in the same spirit in which an automobile manufacturer builds different models to suit different tastes."
In January 1982 during the Winter CES trade show in Las Vegas, Atari unveiled the PAM project publicly for the first time. Announced as the "Supergame", the system was set to be released in time for the 1982 Christmas season. At the Summer CES show in June of the same year, Atari officially announced the Atari 5200 name, and set an October release date for the system. A voice synthesis module (similar to Mattel's Intellivoice), an Atari 2600 adapter (allowing the 5200 to play Atari 2600 games), and a trackball controller were all teased for later release in 1983.
In October 1982, the 5200 began appearing on store shelves in a handful of major department stores, retailing for $299.95. The console saw an extremely limited initial run, and only became available nationwide starting in January 1983. 10 games were announced for the system's launch, with Atari planning a total of 14 releases by the end of the year. In total, only 9 games were actually released for the 5200 in 1982, and one of the announced launch titles, Asteroids, was fully cancelled.
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Atari 5200 AI simulator
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Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to Atari 2600 at the time of the 5200's launch. Created to compete with Mattel's Intellivision, the 5200 wound up a direct competitor of ColecoVision shortly after its release. While the Coleco system shipped with the first home version of Nintendo's Donkey Kong, the 5200 included the 1978 arcade game Super Breakout, which had already appeared on previous Atari home platforms.
The system architecture is almost identical to that of the Atari 8-bit computers, although software is not directly compatible between them. The 5200's controllers have an analog joystick and a numeric keypad along with start, pause, and reset buttons. The 360-degree non-centering joystick was touted as offering more control than the eight-way Atari CX40 joystick of the 2600, but it was a focal point for criticism.
On May 21, 1984, during a press conference at which the Atari 7800 was introduced, company executives revealed that the 5200 had been discontinued after less than two years on the market. Total sales of the system were reportedly in excess of 1 million units.
Following the release of the Video Computer System in 1977, Atari began development on hardware for its next generation of video game consoles. When Ray Kassar took over as Atari CEO in November 1978, this development shifted entirely towards home computers as the Atari 400 and 800 home computer systems.
Atari's Consumer Division moved on to a more direct upgrade of the Atari 2600 known internally as "Super Stella" or the Atari 3200. The company proposed a three console product line with the 2600 on the low end, a modified Atari 400 computer on the high end, and the 3200 in the middle. As development stalled on the 3200 following a number of technical issues, the 3200 was dropped in favor of the modified Atari 400 design.
In 1981, Atari's Advanced Technology Group began work on this next generation console under the codename "PAM" (short for Personal Arcade Machine). Lead engineer on the project was Pete Gerrard and the machine's operating system was written by Rob Zdybel. Early prototypes of the system were also known as the "Atari Video System X – Advanced Video Computer System". According to Michael Moone, then president of Atari's consumer electronics division, they created the system "in the same spirit in which an automobile manufacturer builds different models to suit different tastes."
In January 1982 during the Winter CES trade show in Las Vegas, Atari unveiled the PAM project publicly for the first time. Announced as the "Supergame", the system was set to be released in time for the 1982 Christmas season. At the Summer CES show in June of the same year, Atari officially announced the Atari 5200 name, and set an October release date for the system. A voice synthesis module (similar to Mattel's Intellivoice), an Atari 2600 adapter (allowing the 5200 to play Atari 2600 games), and a trackball controller were all teased for later release in 1983.
In October 1982, the 5200 began appearing on store shelves in a handful of major department stores, retailing for $299.95. The console saw an extremely limited initial run, and only became available nationwide starting in January 1983. 10 games were announced for the system's launch, with Atari planning a total of 14 releases by the end of the year. In total, only 9 games were actually released for the 5200 in 1982, and one of the announced launch titles, Asteroids, was fully cancelled.