The Fairchild Channel F came out the year before it but the Atari VCS did pretty much everything it did but better, and with proper marketing. I won't count the Odyssey because it wasn't a programmable console.
The arcade versions were so superior and still incredibly fun to play today. You are doing yourself a disservice by not trying them. As for Atari 2600, I still love Adventure, Pitfall, and Yars Revenge but that's about it and the graphics/sounds of the Atari 2600 were quite sad... However the arcade games are still awesome to play today like Centipede/Millipede/Missile Command/Marble Madness with a track ball, Asteroids, various Galaga games, Defender, Space Invaders, Burger Time, Dig Dug, Q-bert, Donkey Kong, Pac-man/Ms Pac-man, Popeye, Tempest and Arkanoid with a spinner, Rampage, etc...
I played a couple of the arcade versions and it truly is a generational difference. Even NES games are cutting it close for me.
Yeah it seemed kind of crazy to me that it wasn't until PS1/Saturn/Dreamcast era that we finally got arcade perfect ports. At least the SNES got much closer to the arcades and could readily handle older 80s arcade games.
Don't feel sorry, you're looking at a perspective of what is available today, back then pitfall was everything to me.
That's what made that era great, though. You are talking about the heydays of the 8-bit and 16-bit eras with a thriving arcade scene. You had all these great home console games plus the second golden age of arcades. It was awesome being able to walk into any mall and find an arcade with stuff that looked light years better than the stuff you had at home. Just imagine a room with like 50 of the best arcade games all blasting sound effects and music. It was glorious! Then when you got home you had all your great home console games. Once we got arcade perfect ports at home in the PS1/Saturn era, there wasn't really any point to go to the arcades anymore. Then once games got way more cinematic and narrative driven, arcades become largely obsolete in the U.S.
Yeah, if a game originated in the arcades, then chances are it was much better and more appealing to the masses than the home ports. I think newcomers to early '80s gaming would be better off exploring arcade games first, and then later try old consoles and computers knowing what the limitations are.
Yes. And the Intellivision one:
www.resetera.com
2D Indie games are a dime a dozen and REALLY need to stand out for me to gain my interest. But that's sorta off topic.
True words, no fight needed. 2600 Defender is great.
It's so much choppier than the arcade, though. I prefer the VIC-20 version over the 2600 one. It's also choppy but the laser is more satisfying.
Kids that got the 2600 in the era of Nintendo/Sega consoles understandably usually weren't very happy about it. No one wants to be multiple generations behind even if there are some good games for it. I felt bad for one neighbour playing Rampage and Double Dragon on 2600 while everyone else had SMS or NES. As much as I love the 2600, some games should never have been attempted on it.
