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Info for a5200 |
Usage/Known Issues:
Keyboard input is a little difficult, using a joystick or mouse is recommended.
Most games are playable. See a5200.hsi for a fairly exhaustive compatibility list.
History and Trivia:
The Atari 5200 was introduced in 1982, and was actually designed to be a competitor to the
Intellivision, before ColecoVision entered the market. Developed under the name of "Pam"
(Atari, at the time, typically named projects after well-endowed female employees), Atari
considered releasing it with that moniker; PAM in this case an acronym for "Personal Arcade
Machine".
The 5200 shared much of the architecture of the Atari 400/800 computers, but featured a
different cartridge connector and completely different controllers. Non-centering analogue
joysticks which offered a full 360 degrees of mobility, were both innovative and unreliable.
Other controller features included a keypad, and a ahead-of-it's-time pause button.
The Atari 5200 suffered from it's initial incompatibility with the VCS/2600 (an adapter was later released) and fierce competition from Coleco. When Warner Communications sold Atari
Corp. to the Tramiels in 1984, they quickly removed it from the market.
Emulators:
Jum52 (Jum's A5200 Emulator) - http://www.geocities.com/james7780/emulators/emu5200.html
Because of it's hardware similarity to 400/800/XL/XE computers line - 5200 emulation is also included in:
Atari800 - http://atari800.sourceforge.net/
Atari++ - http://www.math.tu-berlin.de/~thor/atari++/
Atari800Win PLus - http://www.a800win.atari-area.prv.pl/
Raibow - http://www.chrislam.co.uk/