Atari helped kickstart the home video game console market and laid the foundations for many things we take for granted. Like detachable controllers, cartridges, saving and pausing, etc. However, the 1980s introduced a whole new set of challenges and Atari wasn’t adapting quickly enough.
Can Atari 7800 play 5200 or 2600 games? You can play Atari 2600 games natively on an Atari 7800 as they share a similar architecture and cartridge design. But you can’t play Atari 5200 games on an Atari 7800 as the two have very different controllers and video processors (Atari 5200 cartridges are also wider).
At one point, Atari engineers were designing a prototype 7800 adapter for the 5200. But as we now know that product was never released to the public. Atari went bust before the 7800 could truly shine, leaving a black mark on the legacy of an otherwise excellent console that was hamstrung by its tiny game library.
Can Atari 7800 Play 5200 Or 2600 Games?
The 7800 was a return to form after Atari failed with the 5200. However, this success wouldn’t last long as the NES stole market share away from Atari with its superior library that was filled to the brim with top-tier exclusives. The Legend of Zelda and Mario were in far higher demand than Asteroids and Centipede.
Because the 5200 performed so poorly in sales, Atari decided to fix their error and include backward compatibility in the 7800. However, this was only partial as the 7800 couldn’t play 5200 games. Still, it will go down in history as the first-ever console with backward compatibility.
Yes, the Genesis also had backward compatibility with Master System. But you needed to purchase a Power Base converter to play older cartridges. While Atari’s 7800 could do it natively, and it was released two years before Genesis.
The reason you can’t play 5200 games on 7800 is the lack of a common architecture. While 5200 uses ANTIC and GTIA coprocessors for graphics, 7800 uses the custom MARIA chip. The Atari 7800 processes sprites and backgrounds differently from its predecessor.
Both the 7800 and 5200 use MOS 6502-based processors, but they have subtle differences. For example, the Atari 7800’s implementation of this processor has a HALT signal on pin 35 and an R/W signal on pin 36. On a regular 6502, these pins aren’t connected.
By using HALT, direct memory access could be provided to the MARIA video processor. Implementing backward compatibility with Atari 5200 games would require a significant redesign of this circuitry, and Atari figured it wasn’t worth the cost. Especially because the 5200 sold just 1 million units before being discontinued in 1984.
What Games Can The Atari 7800 Play?
The Atari 7800 can play 2600 games, as well as its own games. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many original games in the 7800’s library (there were just 59 games in total for 7800). You can play popular 2600 games such as E.T. and Space Invaders for7800.
The 7800 will also run Tank Command, Ms. Pac-Man, Robotron: 2084, Centipede, and Joust. What the 7800 lacks in terms of numerical superiority over its peers, it more than makes up for in terms of quality. But don’t expect to get the same genre variety as you would from an NES or Genesis.
Most games for this console are either platformers or shooters. There are a few excellent RPGs such as Ultima, and a couple of beat ‘em ups (Double Dragon is the best one). But that’s all the main genres one can expect from the Atari 7800’s game library.
Is A Atari 5200 Better Than A 7800?
If you ignore the terrible controller and lack of backward compatibility with 2600 games, the Atari 5200 doesn’t seem too bad. However, gamers didn’t ignore the aforementioned points which is why it sold just 1 million units to the 30 million of the VCS (2600). The 7800 sold nearly 3.8 million units in North America between 1986 and 1990.
In terms of graphical prowess, 7800 beats the 5200 (although not by a significant margin). Its processing power is comparable to an NES, while the 5200 is closer to a ColecoVision in terms of speed. One advantage the 5200 has over the 7800 is sound quality, as agreed upon by many retro enthusiasts who have used both consoles.
How Many Games Were Released On Atari 7800?
Just 59, that’s the total library size of 7800. Quite intriguing since the Atari 7800 was produced for 6 years- between 1986 and 1992. In comparison, Genesis had over 870 games during its 9-year lifespan, and the NES got over 700 games during its 10-year lifespan.
Why Did The Atari 7800 Fail?
It was a combination of poor management choices, a late release, and the lack of compelling exclusives. While Nintendo had already cornered the North American home console market in 1985, Atari was fumbling around with the 7800’s design. It was released nearly one year after the NES, with no big launch-day titles that could compete against the likes of Mario or Zelda.
Is Atari 7800 Region Free?
No, the Atari 7800 has a region lockout system that prevents you from mixing PAL games with NTSC consoles (and vice versa). You can get around this by modding an EU BIOS onto the motherboard of an NTSC Atari 7800. But I don’t recommend it unless you have worked on similar electronic devices before.
Conclusion
I hope this article helped you understand how backward compatibility on the Atari 7800 works. It can play 2600 games, but not 5200 games. That’s because the architecture of an Atari 5200 is very different from its predecessor and successor.
The 5200’s design is derived from Atari’s 8-bit lineup of home computers. It also has a different cartridge design which won’t fit into the 7800’s slot. Atari had engineered prototypes for an adapter that would let you play 7800 games on the 5200, but this never made it to the market.
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