Atari 5200 - Definition and Overview

Atari 5200 System

The Atari 5200 was a video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari. It was created to compete with systems from Coleco and Mattel. It was both technologically superior and more cost efficient than any console available at that time.

The Atari 5200 was, in essence, an Atari 400 computer without a keyboard. This made for a powerful, proven design which Atari could quickly bring to market. The system featured many innovations like an automatic switchbox and 4 controller ports, but the most revolutionary was the a controller with an analog joystick and system function keys (start, pause, reset). Unfortunately, the non-centering joystick design proved to be ungainly and unreliable, alienating many consumers. The Atari 5200 also suffered from its initial cartridge incompatibility with the Atari 2600 (an adapter was later released).

While the 5200 did garner a strong cult following with its library of high quality games, it faced an uphill battle competing with the ColecoVision's head start and a stuttering economy. But the question of which system was superior became moot when the game market crashed in 1983-84, killing off both systems in their prime.

Screenshots

Pac-Man	Dig Dug	Jungle Hunt	RealSports Baseball
Atari (1982)	Atari (1983)	Atari (1983)	Atari (1983)

Pitfall II	Zaxxon	Ballblazer	Rescue on Fractalus
Activision (1984)	Sega (1984)	Atari/Lucasfilm Games (1986)	Atari/Lucasfilm Games (1986)

More screenshots can be found in the Screenshot Gallery.

Technical specifications

• CPU: 6502C @ 1.79 MHz
• Screen Resolution: 320x192 resolution, 16 on-screen colors (out of 256)
• Sound: 4-channel
• RAM: 16K

See Also

• List of Atari 5200 games
• Atari 2600
• Atari 7800
• Atari Lynx
• Atari Panther
• Atari Jaguar
• Atari Jaguar II