[Estimation] XEGS

D@md@m · Post by **D@md@m** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 3:56 pm

Hi guys,
I'm a newcomer to the Atari 8 bits world.
Someone is offering me a XEGS system in box with 7 games, a few in box, for 70 euros (shipping included). Is it a good price? If not, how much would you pay for it?
Thanks in advance.

Post by **deathtrappomegranate** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 4:28 pm

It all depends on what software is included.

Some games can be worth that on their own, but if they are common games, then the price is pretty steep.

D@md@m · Post by **D@md@m** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 5:18 pm

Well, games are :
flight simulator II (with manual, XE), Bug Hunt (with manual, XE), Defender (loose, XL), Moon Patrol (with box and manual, XL), Star Raiders II (loose, XL) , Lode Runner (with box and manual, XE), Thunderfox (with box and manual, XE).

Post by **Atari Frog** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 5:36 pm

Hello,

Nice to see you here

€70 seems a bit too expensive, though you have a complete, boxed setup and some nice games. You also need to consider the compatibility issue. Most European demos won't work at all on NTSC systems and you may encounter problems with about half of the newer PAL games. If you order an SIO2PC cable and only want to stick to classic games (pre-1990), you'll really enjoy the sytem. All in all, it really depends what your main interests are.

If you want to fiddle around, there is a way to make the sytem PAL compatible (as explained on the Yaronet board) but that really depends on your motivation

This being said, we strongly encourage all French members to get an 8-bit and see what they missed

--
Atari Frog
http://www.atarimania.com

D@md@m · Post by **D@md@m** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 6:32 pm

Thanks AtariFrog,

It's partly because of you that I want to buy an 8-bits Atari (the other part is one of my friends who owned a 130XE a long time ago

). I made an offer at 60€ shipping included, I hope I can get it.

My first motivation is to discover the 8-bits world, and to collect games. But, as I see there is a very active community, I'd also like to try recent releases and demos. I already understood that I'll need a SIO2PC to transfer games and demos, but I still have doubts regarding PAL and NTSC. You said that most recent european releases only work with PAL systems : does that mean that there are no new productions for NTSC systems? Are there as many NTSC as PAL cartridges available?

I must confess I'm mainly interested in cartridges, as I'm a console collector. This is why the XEGS is perfect for me to discover Atari 8-bits systems

Post by **Atari Frog** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 7:15 pm

D@md@m wrote:It's partly because of you that I want to buy an 8-bits Atari (the other part is one of my friends who owned a 130XE a long time ago ). I made an offer at 60€ shipping included, I hope I can get it.

I tend to be some sort of spammer when it comes to this platform

My first motivation is to discover the 8-bits world, and to collect games. But, as I see there is a very active community, I'd also like to try recent releases and demos. I already understood that I'll need a SIO2PC to transfer games and demos, but I still have doubts regarding PAL and NTSC. You said that most recent european releases only work with PAL systems : does that mean that there are no new productions for NTSC systems? Are there as many NTSC as PAL cartridges available?

I must confess I'm mainly interested in cartridges, as I'm a console collector. This is why the XEGS is perfect for me to discover Atari 8-bits systems

The demo scene is strictly a European phenomenon so you may have compatibility issues in that area because PAL timings are (obviously) different. Some demos require memory expansions (unfortunately). Same with the newer European games using tight code adapted to PAL systems. Virtually no NTSC fixes as most people will probably replace their NTSC ANTIC chip with a PAL one.

The "scene" is virtually dead in the US but you do have some new games from time to time. A nice example is Castle Crisis which is a faithful reproduction of the Warlords coin-op. Also look out for protos (such as Commando or MIDI Maze). Video 61 also re-released some great games on cartridge: Dropzone, World Karate Championship... You don't need to worry about cartridge compatibility as 99% of the production was/is NTSC. You could also try a FlashCart. Lots of readily available - and user-friendly - options actually

--
Atari Frog
http://www.atarimania.com

Post by **deathtrappomegranate** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 8:56 pm

Yes, most games will work equally well in PAL and NTSC.

Most modern TVs in Europe handle NTSC just as well as PAL, although I don't know about the situation in South America.

There are thousands of games available, as well as demos and utilities.

SIO2PC is great for just being able to use the software. Although there is something pretty cool about collecting the original games.

I agree with the comments about Castle Crisis. It's a very nice game, especially if you have three other like-minded friends!

D@md@m · Post by **D@md@m** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 2:36 pm

Well, someone else bought it but... I like what I discovered about these machines, so I'm thinking in getting one, maybe a 130XE if I can

And about TVs here, they handle NTSC, Pal-N (Argentina) and Pal-M (Brasil standard), so I guess it wouldn't be a problem, although I don't know if it's compatible with european PAL...

Post by **Atari Frog** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 3:01 pm

D@md@m wrote:Well, someone else bought it but... I like what I discovered about these machines, so I'm thinking in getting one, maybe a 130XE if I can

The keyboard isn't fabulous but the 130XE is really nice overall. You could even add a memory expansion and make it a super system which will run all the demos and applications easily. Your experience with the Lynx should also be a big plus if you want to start coding

--
Atari Frog
http://www.atarimania.com

D@md@m · Post by **D@md@m** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:46 pm

Unfortunately my experience with the Lynx wouldn't be useful as I'm programming in C, I don't know anything about assembler

One thing I like about the 65/130XE is the ST look

Sorry about that, but it's just that as many friends on another forum (;)) I grew up with these computers...

I'm still looking for one

Post by **deathtrappomegranate** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:23 pm

I still have two STs.

I'll always remember when I first hooked one up, and played Xenon, Ranarama, Black Lamp etc. I just couldn't believe that computers could do such things!

Good luck with getting an 8-bit machine!