As somebody enthralled by vintage gaming, you‘ve probably spent hours combing garage sales and eBay listings to score classic consoles. And few get more love than the wood-panelled Atari 2600 or 1982‘s tech-advanced ColecoVision right? But which machine from gaming‘s early days offers superior play and display potential for your shelf today?
That‘s the retro showdown I‘ll provide perspective on here! Covering history, controllers, graphics and vital game libraries, this guide aims to showcase strengths you may value as a collector across these 70‘s icons. Does Atari‘s first mover novelty outweigh Coleco‘s later tech edge? Let‘s explore!
Revisiting Two All-Time Great Console Brands
Before weighing differences, it helps knowing backstories of the companies involved right?
As literally the pioneer mainstream home video game maker, Atari doesn‘t need heavy introduction. Yet during the late 70‘s golden age, this tech outfit based out of California was a 500 employee powerhouse. Backed by profits from 1972‘s seminal coin-op Pong, their 1977 VCS (Video Computer System) married basic microprocessors with changeable cartridges – kickstarting the whole concept of home console gaming.
Despite only leaving beta testing by 1980, Atari 2600 sales skyrocketed from 2 million to 10 million yearly! Trademark wood-finished machines like yours defined living rooms until the mid-80s decline. But why exactly did fortunes change? Well Coleco‘s 1982 challenger proves illuminating here…
In contrast, by ‘82 Connecticut‘s Coleco Industries operated small. Mostly manufacturing plastic and activity toys alongside those nifty tabletop LCD games remained their staple. Yet wealthy owners Arnold Greenberg and Leonard Greenberg (unrelated) hungered expanding into consumer electronics. After aborted drives into digital watches and CB radio in the 70‘s, ColecoVision became their calculated home run swing.
Hewing closer to the arcade experiences hot in early 80‘s youth culture paid off initially too. Securing that era‘s top coin-op in Donkey Kong for high-score chasing at home saw 500,000 ColecoVision‘s fly off shelves fast. Momentum faded though as the gaming crash bit hard. This console plays valiantly in your collection today despite Coleco the company closing barely six years later.
The Games That Defined Each System
Now if you‘re on the hunt for the definitive library between Atari 2600 and ColecoVision, numbers paint one as a clear victor.
Console Game Libraries Compared
| Atari 2600 | ColecoVision | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Games Released | 904 | 145 |
Yup, Atari housed over six times the cart options Coleco could provide players. Quantity doesn‘t automatically signal quality of course! But with literally hundreds of exclusives, experimental gems will lie buried in your 2600 trove beyond just mainstays like Pitfall or River Raid.
ColecoVision meanwhile won acclaim for its pitch-perfect, vibrant arcade ports. If authentic coin-op conversions of Donkey Kong, Zaxxon or Lady Bug get you buzzed, Coleco‘s catalogue shines. Yet lifespan curtailments eventually saw flashy ports dwindle. Later Atari titles meanwhile squeezed crazy graphical tricks out of ancient components!
Sure, both systems deliver all-time greats. But viewing libraries longterm, Atari 2600‘s non-stop releases even through the 1985-1992 twilight era puts its breadth as undisputed. I mean, ColecoVision sadly died off when 1982‘s VCS catalogue was just getting started!
Graphics Showcase: Pixels Pushed to the Limits!
Now if you‘re chasing vintage consoles more as display centerpieces, ColecoVision no doubt dazzles the eyes over Atari‘s more primitive efforts. I mean just glimpse how 1983‘s Peppy leapfrogs the poor 2600 port!
Peppy on ColecoVision (left) shows off vastly expanded colors and sprite handling
Yup, overlays aside Atari‘s wood-grain aesthetic charms. But with only 128 total colors and blocky sprite handling, those 1977-era technical guts strain badly come 1982‘s comparative dawn of 16-bit arcade conversions.
Indeed ColecoVision‘s boosted 256 x 192 resolution, speedier CPU, extra sound channels and improved pixel pipeline made near perfect translations of hot titles like Congo Bongo, Lady Bug and Carnival possible! If flashy visuals to impress visitors are key, Coleco‘s your retro show-pony.
Yet equally as a collector, viewing how Atari 2600 coders pushed meager hardware way beyond intended limits equally inspires awe. There‘s some amazing listen-close stories from the golden age in how early genius developers worked around limitations to achieve once thought impossible feats!
So in summary – think ColecoVision first for housing those impeccable looking arcade ports in historical form. But keep your 2600 as testament to how necessity bred pixel-pushing creativity when resources were scarce! Both angles enrich understanding gaming‘s early days.
Controllers That Defined Genres
Lastly as a retro collector, I‘m betting getting hands-on with vintage hardware matters big for you! And here Atari 2600‘s controllers gain iconic status Coleco‘s awkward key-pad efforts just never obtain.
Atari‘s joystick (right) beats out Coleco‘s phone-like keypad
Yup, that perfectly balanced one-button joystick (great ambidextrous!) with bright red trigger simply screams 80‘s gaming innovation. It‘s why modern flashback consoles lovingly emulate each tactile detail for authentic old-school fun! Heck, even as plug-in peripherals for later consoles like the Commodore 64, Atari sticks stayed relevant worldwide all decade.
By comparison, Coleco‘s unwieldy numbered pads just never gained traction. Those blockish finger-cramping calculators were simply imitation attempts catching up to Atari‘s intuitive lead. And as 1982 marketing pictures prove, their target demographic of kids could barely grip controllers larger than their hands!
So feel pride at how Atari 2600 inputs pioneered genres later pick-up-and-play consoles streamlined. Everything from scrolling shooters to maze games became living-room staples thanks to how Atari nailed quick-response controls for all ages. It‘s a legacy Coleco with all their tech strengths couldn‘t match.
The Nostalgic Choice? Atari 2600 Forever Reigns
So weighing up strengths of the Atari 2600 vs ColecoVision, where do you stand? As a retro collector myself, Atari holds my heart for kickstarting this enduring home console obsession!
Sure technically Coleco‘s hardware outpaced the Video Computer System upon launch. Prettier games undoubtedly graced its catalogue thanks to insane Donkey Kong license fees demanded. Yet Atari‘s controllers, four year industry headstart and sheer depth of library see it prevail longterm. Like the Apple II over contemporaneous IBM machines, intuitive design won over cutting-edge power here.
Today, flipping Pong variations on a 1977 ‘Heavy Sixer‘ machine just feels right over any 80‘s challenger. Atari marries that sweet spot of novel wood-grain charm yet with juuust enough 26k 8-bit muscle under the hood to feel potency too. It‘s why modern plug-and-play Flashback devices emulate this pioneering grandad endlessly.
I‘m betting you thus view Atari 2600 boxes as centerpiece display gems no matter the condition. They represent living history that still plays great. And hopefully this breakdown of strengths versus the ambitious ColecoVision helps reaffirm why that 5200 model rightly deserves top vintage altar status in your collection!
Let me know your own thoughts on these home gaming pioneers. I‘m always eager hearing fellow enthusiast‘s retro console critiques and insight!
