The 5200 was based on Atari Inc .' s existing 400 / 800 computers and the internal hardware was almost identical, although software was not directly compatible between the two systems.

Atari's management decided to enter this market, and the new technology was repackaged into the Atari 400 and 800, hitting the market in 1979.

Although the Atari 5200's internal design was extensively based on that of the 400 / 800 home computers, the differences were sufficient that games designed for one would not run directly on the other.

Atari Corp .' s later XE Games System revisited the idea of a console based on the 400 / 800 hardware.

Although used in the early days of the personal computer ( on the Sinclair ZX80, ZX81 and Atari 400 ), they have been supplanted by the more tactile dome and mechanical switch keyboards.

* New York City ( video game ), a 1984 Atari 400 / 800 / XL and Commodore 64 video game

Minter went on to develop a number of classic games, all written in assembly language, for the later home computers ( such as the Commodore 64, Atari 400 / 800 and Atari ST ) which were marketed mainly by word of mouth and by the occasional magazine advertisement.

The first of these systems were the Atari 400 and 800, but many competing models vied for consumer attention.

By, the TI 99 / 4A and the Atari 400 were both at $ 349, Radio Shack's Color Computer sold at $ 379, and Commodore had just reduced the price of the Commodore VIC-20 to $ 199 and the Commodore 64 to $ 499.

Originally developed for the Atari 400 / 800, versions were also released for the Commodore 64, Apple II, IBM PC, and Colecovision.

Randy Glover developed the initial prototype of the game in early 1983 for the Atari 400.

While initially derided for poor performance in comparison to the more sophisticated graphics devices used in computers like the Atari 400, framebuffers eventually became the standard for all personal computers.

Among them were DOS ( as a booter ), Amiga 1000, Apple II, Atari 400 / 800, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari XL, MSX, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Dragon 32, ColecoVision, Intellivision, Sega SG-1000 and TRS-80 Color Computer.

It was originally written for the Atari 400 / 800, and was later ported to the Commodore 64, the Nintendo Entertainment System and the IBM PC Jr. Japanese versions also exist for the PC-8801, the Sharp X1, and MSX 2 computers.

# REDIRECT Atari 8-bit family # The early machines: 400 and 800

The XEGS followed, building on Atari's 8-bit computer line which had started with the Atari 400 and 800.

In practice the XEGS is essentially a repackaged Atari 65XE, in a move not unlike that taken for the Atari 5200, which is effectively a repackaged Atari 400 computer.

As the XEGS is compatible with the earlier 8-bit software, many games released under the XEGS banner were simply older games rebadged, to the extent that some games were shipped in the old Atari 400 / 800 packaging, with only a new sticker to indicate that they were intended for the XEGS.

In Koronis Rift, the Atari 800's additional colors ( over those of the Commodore 64 ) allowed the programmers to gradually fade in the background rather than suddenly popping it in as in Rescue.

Activision was popular among developers for giving them credit in the packaging and title screens for their games, while Atari disallowed this practice.

The Game Boy's victory is generally attributed to its greater battery life, cheaper price tag, smaller size, and wider third party support over the Sega Game Gear and Atari Lynx, despite the Game Gear and Lynx's having color screens.

Many of them did so, and this modification is what is often seen listed in Apple II game configuration screens as the " Atari Joyport " option.

The Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit versions, called the Adventurer's Edition on their title screens, are special because of the unique additional content.

That's why the screens for Atari light gun games may be brighter than usual.

This would eliminate the need for more ports on the back of the machine, and allowed for the elimination of expansion slots for supporting more complex devices ( the Atari 8-bit family used a similar solution, known as SIO ).

In May 2009 Infogrames Entertainment, SA, the parent company of Atari Inc. and Atari Interactive Inc., announced it would be changing Infogrames ' name to Atari, SA.

At one point following the 5200's release, Atari had planned a smaller, cost-reduced version of the Atari 5200, which would have removed the controller storage bin.

They justified this relatively low ranking ( though higher than every other Atari console save the 2600 ) with the summary statement: " Its delayed release, its cancelled peripherals, and a lack of financial backing from the company's new owners all combined to ensure that Atari 7800 would never see any success beyond being a sexier way of playing Atari 2600 titles.

On January 1, 1992, Atari Corp. formally announced that production of the Atari 7800, the Atari 2600, the Atari 8-bit computer line, and the Atari XE Game System would cease.

The Atari Lynx has several innovative features including it being the first color handheld, with a backlit display, a switchable right-handed / left-handed ( upside down ) configuration, and the ability to network with up to 17 other units via its " ComLynx " system ( though most games would network eight or fewer players ).

Atari Corp. and Epyx eventually agreed that Atari Corp. would handle production and marketing, while Epyx would handle software development.

For example, a Commodore 64 user calling an Atari BBS would use ASCII rather than the machine's native character set.

After one year Atari would have the right to add a keyboard and market the complete Amiga computer.

The discussions ultimately led to Commodore's intentions to purchase Amiga outright, which would ( from Commodore's viewpoint ) cancel any outstanding contracts-including Atari Inc .' s.

It could move sprites and block graphics faster than an Atari ST, and in 256 colours under conditions when the ST would only show 16 colours.

Atari published their games for Atari systems, Activision and Epyx would do their computer publishing.

Atari also used the game for its other late ' 90s and 2000s anthology series.

It also has changes in the cartridge port address lines to allow for the Atari 2600 adapter released that year.

There was also a small faction of devoted Atari BBSes that used the Atari 800, then the 800XL, and eventually the 1040ST.

Later Coleco continued adapting newer successful arcade games like Subroc, Time Pilot and Frenzy, the company also made inferior ports of many of these games for the Atari 2600 and Intellivision, in an effort to broaden its market.

Then codenamed " Stella ," the machine was also set to utilize cartridges ; after seeing the Channel F, Atari realized they needed to release it before the market was flooded with cartridge-based machines.

There was also an advertisement comparing the Atari 2600 to it, featuring the slogan " I didn't know ".

In addition to the ECS module, 1982 also saw the introduction of a redesigned model, called the Intellivision II ( featuring detachable controllers and sleeker case ), the System Changer ( which played Atari 2600 games on the Intellivision II ), and a music keyboard add-on for the ECS.

MINIX 1. 5, released in 1991, included support for MicroChannel IBM PS / 2 systems and was also ported to the Motorola 68000 and SPARC architectures, supporting the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Apple Macintosh and Sun SPARCstation computer platforms.

The interrupt controller can be as simple as a 74LS148 priority encoder, or may be part of a VLSI peripheral chip such as the MC68901 Multi-Function Peripheral ( used in Atari TT030 ), which also provided a UART, timer, and parallel I / O.

Skyler Miller of GameSpot argues that Atari Video Cube, also from the same year, " gets my vote as the first true puzzle video game ," involving gameplay similar to a Rubik's Cube in a 2-dimensional space.

Minter also worked for Atari and for ( now-defunct ) VM Labs.

* Versions of OS-9 / 68K ran on a wide variety of 68000 family platforms, including the Sharp X68000 in Japan, some personal computers intended by their designers as upgrades from the Color Computer ( e. g., the 68070 and 68340-based MM / 1, and on other computers from Frank Hogg Laboratories, PEP Modular Computers, and Delmar Co .) It was also ported to the Atari ST by Recc-o-ware in the early 1990s, and was distributed by Cumana in Europe.

Similar 8. 3 file naming schemes have also existed on earlier CP / M, Atari, and some Data General and Digital Equipment Corporation minicomputer operating systems.

Atari also issued its widely advertised E. T.

Would-be renegade publishers could not publish for each other's lines, as Atari, Coleco and Mattel had done, because in order for the cartridge to work in the NES, the cartridge had to contain the appropriate key chip for the lock inside the console, and the publisher had to also acknowledge its license to Nintendo in the copyright notices.

Other consoles such as the Sega Saturn used the 68000 for audio processing and other I / O tasks, while the Atari Jaguar included a 68000 which was intended for basic system control and input processing, but due to the Jaguar's unusual assortment of heterogeneous processors was also frequently used for running game logic.

A game made for the Amiga platform generally had much better sound and graphics than the same game running on an IBM PC, and it was also a more powerful machine than its nearest rival, the Atari ST.

Zool was also ported to the Atari ST, Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive, SNES, Master System, Sega Game Gear, Amiga CD32, PC, Acorn Archimedes, and RISC OS platform, as well as for the arcade machines.

Much to Commodore's annoyance MetaComCo also worked with Atari to produce the BASIC that was initially provided with the Atari ST — ST BASIC.

The company also sold the Lattice C compiler for the Sinclair QL and the Atari ST and range of other languages ( e. g. Pascal, BCPL ) for m68k-based computers.

GEM is known primarily as the graphical user interface ( GUI ) for the Atari ST series of computers, and was also supplied with a series of IBM PC-compatible computers from Amstrad.

It also has been ported to the Atari ST again to be used in the free TOS clone EmuTOS.

The Atari Transputer Workstation ( also known as ATW-800, or simply ATW ) was a workstation class computer released by Atari Corporation in the late 1980s, based on the INMOS transputer.