I love my vintage Atari 5200 but the controllers only work sometimes.  This was a  problem that was going to be fixed by Atari years ago but those plans were cancelled as this model never lasted long.  I have to admit though that this is much more fun to play than XBox or PS2.  It has all the old skool games from the 80's that I grew up with and I can't get enough of that.  My kids on the other hand roll their eyes at me as I hog the games and my husband laughs at me for being such a total geek!

legalnitemare

Mission Viejo, CA

If you like simplicity in your gaming then this is for you.  The games are fun and relatively easy and they bring back some great memories for those of us over 30+ years!  And for those of us who are very, very, bargain minded then this is really the system for you.  It just brings back so many good memories that the price is worth it for just that fact.  Show your kids how we blazed the trail for them as pioneers in the gaming world. A can't miss!  I rate this  4 out of 5 stars!!

theblacksmiths

Oxford, ME

This system takes me back to the good ole days before the game consoles became too damn commercial. The classic games are there and look great. It reminds of the quarter popping days of arcades. Get this only if you truly value the classics like the pac man series, pitfall I + II, decathelon, and pole position.

reaperull06

Lafayette, LA

I can remember when the Atari 5200 first came on the scene. The Atari 5200 providing my siblings and myself hours of fun. The Atari 5200 was a game that my mother didn't mind us playing because it kept use entertained. The Atari 5200, I have to admit, kept my household spotless when I was growing up. In my house, your chores had to be done in order to play the Atari 5200. I still regret to this day not owning an Atari 5200. My children think I am exagerating when I tell them how I played the Atari 5200. I am not a video game player now, but I tell them all the time how if I could find an Atari 5200 I would never watch television.

dalorin

Toledo, OH

I'm a proud owner of an **Atari 5200 Advanced Video Entertainment System**. One of the largest and rarest Atari home video game systems ever! This great big game system has a strong 8-bit CPU processor system like the Atari 7800 (it was actually based on the Atari 400 computer line) and my Atari 5200 even has 4 controller ports in front of the machine like the Sega Dreamcast and N64 have (only the early 5200 models did this though because the pack in game **Super Break Out** used the four player feature). The Atari 5200 Super System had all the makings of the next big console in the golden era video gaming in the early 1980's, but there is a sad story behind it. Atari needed a powerful successor to the aging yet still popular Atari 2600 VCS, but chose to focus on their old warhorse instead of their newer 5200 technology. By 1983 it was really beginning to cost them. Since the Atari 2600 was sinking fast and Atari itself was falling apart, the 5200 was all but ignored and the system faded into obscurity. Despite the potential the 5200 had, it never got a chance to shine. There was another big problem with the 5200. It's true what they say about the controllers- *THEY SUCKED!* The new analog controller sticks did not re-center after being pushed and believe me, it made for a lot of accidental deaths in some of the arcade style games. It wasn't all bad though, because these controllers also included some very revolutionary and cool features like a Pause feature, 12 Number and Reset buttons so it wasn't a total loss. What ultimately killed off the system though in July 1984 was the Great Video Game Market Crash caused by lack of demand for over hyped 2600 games like **Pac Man** and **E.T.**. There were tons of unreleased games for the Atari 5200 products like *Asteroids, Pac Man Jr. Tempest,* and many others that were discontinued simply because of poor software sales compared to the Atari 2600 games but again that was Atari's fault for really not doing anything to advertise the machine. That brings me to another problem with the 5200; it was NOT backward compatible with the successful 2600 games (kind of like some older Nintendo consoles). A special adapter was released in 1983 but it was too late to really make a real impact (the *Colecovision* even had a 2600 adapter and they were an Atari rival). The Atari 5200 Super System is an awesome system for collectors because there are some real obscure but fun games for it like *Return of the Jedi, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, *and *Gremlins*, plus you can also find a lot of cool arcade legends like **Ms. Pac Man, Qix, Pole Position**, and **Space Invaders** to satisfy that need for intense retro action. Although there are some fun games here, the system is not very good for young kids or the casual player thanks to the awkward controllers and lack of software. **Atari 5200 overall rating: 53/100**-StarSoldier1 2007(Ryan Genno)

StarSoldier1

Lake In The Hills, IL