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The Video Game Console Library - Atari 7800 ProSystem

Atari 7800 logo Atari 7800 ProSystem Atari 7800 logo

  DW FACTS by Dark Watcher
Page content, development and design by Marriott_Guy
Developer Manufacturer Release Date Country(s) Initial Price Model Number Game Releases Overall Rating
Atari Inc. \ GCC Atari Inc. Jun-86 North America,
Europe		 $149 USD CX7800 64 (commercial) NA
Ratings Reviews Pictures\Video Specs Games\Emulation Models Clones Links
Atari 7800
Ratings
Consoles are rated based upon the available technology at the time of its release.  Ratings based upon a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).
Console Design (appearance, functionality) N\A
Console Durability (sturdy or frail and fragile) N\A
Controllers (design, response, feel, use) N\A
Graphics (graphical capability and presentation) N\A
Audio (sound, music, speech, effects) N\A
Media (game media format, design, durability) N\A
Packaging (appeal, durability of packaging) N\A
Game Library (quality, quantity of game library) N\A
Innovations (technological industrial strides) N\A
Gamer Value (good investment for the gamer?) N\A
Collector Value (good collector investment?) N\A
Games Rarity (general availability of games) N\A
Console Rarity (general availability of a system) N\A
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Reviews

Atari 7800

  DW FACTS
  - by Dark Watcher

The Atari 7800 Pro System was originally designed around 1983 and 1984, but was never released during that time frame because of the "Great Videogame Crash of 1984". Around 1985 Nintendo had revitalized the videogame industry with its release of the NES. This prompted then Atari CEO Jack Tramiel to try at the console market once again in 1986.

The Atari 7800 was brought out of storage to compete against Nintendo's NES. By the time the system was ready for sale, Sega had released the Sega Master System and had made the marketplace even more hostile for Atari. So what happened?

If it were released back in 1984 the system may have done amazingly well, but now its specs were clearly dated compared to its competitors. The Atari 7800 played classic 2600 games and revamped versions of older arcade classics, but gamers wanted new original games. Atari had almost no 3rd party support mostly because on disinterest or Nintendo's restrictions, so they had to try and support the 7800 alone (Froggo, Activision, and Absolute were a few third party supporters). By the time original games came out it was too little too late and it was time to put the system out of its misery in 1989.

FACT: The Atari 7800 was originally developed in 1984 as the Atari 3600. It was actually designed by a company called General Computer Corporation (GCC).  As part of a lawsuit settlement GCC had been sued for releasing an unlicensed speedup chipset for Atari's arcade version of Missile Command.


  HANDS ON REVIEW
 

Coming soon...
 

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Pictures & Video

Various picture\video media for this console.  Click pictures to enlarge.
Atari 7800 TV Commercial
Video courtesy of lingpanda101.		 Atari 7800 - Front

 Atari 7800 - Front

Atari logo

Atari 7800 - Back

 Atari 7800 - Back
 Atari 7800 TV Commercial
Video courtesy of tr0d.
Atari 7800 TV Commercial
Video courtesy of SpacedCobraTV.		 Atari 7800 - Joystick Review
Video courtesy of InecomCompany.
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Specs

For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.
 Processor Type  Processor Speed  Other Processor Information RAM \ Video RAM
Custom 8-bit Motorola 6502C 1.79 MHz None 4 KB

Screen Resolution

Color Palette

Polygons \ Sprites

 Audio
320 x 200 256 (16 on-screen) N\A Same as the Atari 2600

Media Format

Media Capacity

Games Released

Other Supported Formats
Cartridge 16 KB to 144 KB (max) 64 (commercial) Compatible with Atari 2600 games

Internal Storage

External \ Removable Storage

Game Controllers

Other Game \ Peripheral Devices
4 KB ROM (BIOS) None Joystick Light Gun and various
1st \ 3rd party controllers
Controller Ports Network Ports

Other Ports

Audio \ Video
Two (2) None Expansion port (1st model only) RF Connection

Power Supply

Other Outputs

 Other Details \ Notes
120 V AC 60 Hz 15 W None The expansion port was never utilized. 
No peripherals were ever released for it.
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Games & Emulation

Game screen shots and\or videos released for this system.  Click pictures to enlarge.
Atari 7800  - Games Compilation 1
Video courtesy of NewGenGamers.		 Atari 7800 - Sample Game Packaging
 Atari 7800  - Games Compilation 2
Video courtesy of NewGenGamers.
Third Party Emulators
Program Website Description

Stella

http://stella.sourceforge.net/

 This Atari 2600 emulator is DOS based and uses an
easy to use Windows based GUI. There are several
other emulators, but this is one of our favorites.
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Models

Additional authorized releases for this console.  Click pictures to enlarge.
Atari 7800 Prototype (left) shown at CGE

Atari 7800 Prototype (left) shown at CGE (picture credit unknown)
 There were three versions of the Atari 7800 that
were released.  All were basically the same,
with the exception of the expansion port that
was present on the initial offering. The
expansion port was never utilized, so owners
of systems without this never missed out.

 The very rare Signature Series Atari 7800

 The very rare Signature Series Atari 7800 (picture credit unknown)
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Clones

Non-licensed releases (clones).
No clones were released for this system.
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Links

Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system.
Name Website Description
AtariAge http://www.atariage.com/...SystemID=7800 Great resource for Atari games and hardware
Atari Museum http://www.atarimuseum.com/.../7800menu/ Many articles\pictures of the 7800
The Atari Times http://www.ataritimes.com/system.php?System=7800 Game and system review among the offerings
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