Atari 7800

Blast from the Past: Rediscovering
the Atari 7800

Let me tell you, the Atari 7800 was a futuristic masterpiece that was totally underrated in its day. It may have never gotten the love it deserved, but it had some seriously incredible games like Donkey Kong, Ms. PAC-Man, and Robotron 2084 that are still beloved by nerds and geeks everywhere (myself included).

I can’t even express how much I adored my Atari 7800. I mean, I scrounged up every penny I could just to get my hands on it. And let me tell you, it was worth every single hard-earned coin. The graphics, the game-play, the sheer awesomeness of it all was enough to make even the most jaded jump for joy.

 

Interesting Facts:

  • The Atari 7800 was first released in 1986 as a successor to the Atari 5200, but it was not as successful as its predecessor.
  • The console was designed to be backward-compatible with Atari 2600 games, making it a popular choice for gamers who already owned an Atari console.

Hardware

  • Used a custom 6502C processor running at 1.19 MHz or 1.79 MHz
  • Had a palette of 256 colors with 25 displayable on screen simultaneously
  • Not backward compatible with Atari 5200 games

Games

  • Only 59 games officially released by Atari
  • Several more third-party and unreleased titles existed
  • Pole Position II was the pack-in game

Commercial Performance

  • Failed to match the commercial success of the Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Discontinued after just a few years on the market
  • Offered improved graphics over 2600 but not a full generational leap over 5200
Atari 7800

The Atari 7800’s catalogue is worth a closer look

When people think of Atari, the games and systems that spring to mind likely depend on which decade you grew up in. ‘80s kids will recall the company’s coin-munching arcade cabinets and the behemoth that was the Atari 2600 – a system that managed to survive the ’84 market crash, with games released in Europe as late as 1992. ‘90s kids are likely more familiar with the Atari Lynx and Jaguar, and perhaps the Atari ST home computer – if you had rich parents. Click here to read more.

Did You Know?

The Sega Master System was called the 'Mark III' in Japan!"

 

Sega Master System