I first started with Atari back in 1980 or 81.....can't remember exactly.....with an Atari 2600 console. It was the kind of present that i never thought i'd get. I remember many a time being told off by the staff at Woolworths for playing with the display console and constantly being told by my parents that i couldn't have one as they were too expensive or a complete waste of money. Imagine my surprise when, upon opening a small present on top of a large pile of presents ever increasing in size, i found two Atari cartridges - Pacman and Asteroids. "hang on a minute" i said, "but i haven't got an Atari to play them on" only to then notice the rather large box right at the bottom of the pile. No other presents then seemed to matter, in fact, i can't even remember what else i got that year.
Seems so strange to think back to that Christmas day having spent pretty much the entire day playing these 2 games - each, i believe, were about 8k in size!!! They don't make games like that any more - repetitive gameplay, dull uninspiring sound effects, flickering graphics. Oddly enough, since obtaining a 2600 again, some of the games still have a certain appeal. Yes the graphics and sound may indeed be poor and extremely basic but the gameplay....it was all about the gameplay.
Having then progressed on to the computer side, namely a 600XL then 800XL, 130XE and finally an ST, thats when the fun started. Ah yes......rushing home from town on a Saturday morning clutching a cassette that cost all of £1.99 and then sitting in front of a TV screen waiting 15-20 minutes for the damn thing to load!
This is what this blog is all about. I want to share some of my Atari experiences with others and hear from other Atari users, both new and old, about there childhood experiences with this fantastic hardware and new users discovering the joys of Atari through either an emulator or a recently acquired computer.
Me on the Simpsons
