I used to work in a computer shop in the UK in 1985 that just sold Atari and it was glorious. I was on the cusp of the 400/800 to 800xl transition, and was there when the ST dropped (I had no wages left that month...) without doubt, the 800 has the nicest keyboard I have ever used. Great article 👍
Great timeline and historical review of the 8 bit Ataris. I started out with a 400 when I was a kid and did not realize what an expense this was for my mom, who got it for me. I had really wanted an 800, and eventually got myself a 600XL and then a 520 ST after that. Today, I have the 400, 800, 600XL, 800XL and 1200XL, XEGS and 1040 STFM. The 1200XL is probably my favorite. It's gorgeous and works fine. I love these machines and am glad they were around for as long as they were. Nolan Bushnell and Jack Tramiel made their mark. The various entities after them kept the Atari name alive. It seems to be in good hands now. The 400 Mini is wonderful emulator. I'm hoping they do more! Lastly, my Fujinet doesn't seem to work too well with the 1200. I've heard the machine has a compatibility issue and that I should use the Fujinet with my 800XL, which I'm going to try. I appreciate this substack! Have you played your Atari today?
While the prices adjusted for inflation look ridiculously high given the performance of the hardware, you can put them into perspective by comparing them to high-end gaming rigs of today. If you want the best gaming performance you can get, you can get close to those values and in 1979/1980 the Ataris were the best gaming rigs you could buy. It's amazing that Trammiel Atari kept the 8-bits alive and sell them for a whopping 7 years without major upgrades, especially given the pace of development in the second half of the eighties.
The XEGS remains an item I'd love to get into my collection. I currently have a 400 (which I've owned since 1981) an 800XL and a 65XE. Meanwhile, if I'm firing up games, it's likely happening on my The 400 mini, because ROMs are easy.
The 400 can be modded to have composite and chroma/luma video out using either a new CPU card by tf_hh or by replacing a chip on the mainboard with an UAV (or similar) and some soldering. You can even route the video out without modding the case.
Agreed - it's why the 400 is sort of just sitting around, as are all of my cartridges. The 400 mini has HDMI out, meaning I get to play on giant screens!
I remember having to sell a fully boxed and nearly complete XEGS for next to nothing a couple of years ago after no one offered more than that for the better part of a year and I wanted to clear out. Still close to weeping when I see what they go for now.
I used to work in a computer shop in the UK in 1985 that just sold Atari and it was glorious. I was on the cusp of the 400/800 to 800xl transition, and was there when the ST dropped (I had no wages left that month...) without doubt, the 800 has the nicest keyboard I have ever used. Great article 👍
That sounds amazing!
Great timeline and historical review of the 8 bit Ataris. I started out with a 400 when I was a kid and did not realize what an expense this was for my mom, who got it for me. I had really wanted an 800, and eventually got myself a 600XL and then a 520 ST after that. Today, I have the 400, 800, 600XL, 800XL and 1200XL, XEGS and 1040 STFM. The 1200XL is probably my favorite. It's gorgeous and works fine. I love these machines and am glad they were around for as long as they were. Nolan Bushnell and Jack Tramiel made their mark. The various entities after them kept the Atari name alive. It seems to be in good hands now. The 400 Mini is wonderful emulator. I'm hoping they do more! Lastly, my Fujinet doesn't seem to work too well with the 1200. I've heard the machine has a compatibility issue and that I should use the Fujinet with my 800XL, which I'm going to try. I appreciate this substack! Have you played your Atari today?
While the prices adjusted for inflation look ridiculously high given the performance of the hardware, you can put them into perspective by comparing them to high-end gaming rigs of today. If you want the best gaming performance you can get, you can get close to those values and in 1979/1980 the Ataris were the best gaming rigs you could buy. It's amazing that Trammiel Atari kept the 8-bits alive and sell them for a whopping 7 years without major upgrades, especially given the pace of development in the second half of the eighties.
Sorry for misspelling Tramiel. I caught one autocorrect change but missed the other.
The XEGS remains an item I'd love to get into my collection. I currently have a 400 (which I've owned since 1981) an 800XL and a 65XE. Meanwhile, if I'm firing up games, it's likely happening on my The 400 mini, because ROMs are easy.
400 is great for carts, but I don’t like that it only has RF out.
The 400 can be modded to have composite and chroma/luma video out using either a new CPU card by tf_hh or by replacing a chip on the mainboard with an UAV (or similar) and some soldering. You can even route the video out without modding the case.
Agreed - it's why the 400 is sort of just sitting around, as are all of my cartridges. The 400 mini has HDMI out, meaning I get to play on giant screens!
I’ve yet to pick up the 400 mini. I’d really like a regular size one with cart support and HDMI, like they’ve done with the C64.
Oh, that'd be fantastic. The Commodore 64 Ultimate is very well done.
I remember having to sell a fully boxed and nearly complete XEGS for next to nothing a couple of years ago after no one offered more than that for the better part of a year and I wanted to clear out. Still close to weeping when I see what they go for now.
I feel you. I sold a Falcon030 for pretty cheap in 2005 or so and regret that.