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Atariboy2600 — The Other Darth Vader.
#1982 #2600 #atari #darthvader
Published: 2017-05-19 15:51:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 5005; Favourites: 49; Downloads: 63
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Description
To this day the 2600 is my all time fave video game system ever and right now there's still new games coming out for this 40 year old (that's right 40) gaming system and this is just my salute to old STELLA (code name).here's some background on this type of model:
2600 ‘Darth Vader’ (1982)
The first real style change since the first model in 1977, this version is an all-black version of the CX2600A (hence the nickname) with a new logo. Maybe by now they were thinking that woodgrain was just too 1970s, or maybe they just needed it to look contemporary alongside their newly released 5200. Packaged in a new-look silver box and officially called 2600 for the first time this was Atari’s attempt at keeping up with the changing face of the videogames industry. In-box extras changed too, gone were the paddles and Pac-Man was the choice of bundled cartridge.
This model was introduced in 1982 and was the first to use "2600" in its name (the previous models all being officially named the "Video Computer System"). Besides containing a different logo than earlier models, this model does not have woodgrain on the front and is primarily black, resulting in the nickname of "Darth Vader"
Technical specifications:
- CPU: 1.19 MHz MOS Technology 6507
- Audio + Video processor: TIA
- Playfield resolution: 40 x 192 pixels (NTSC). Uses a 20-pixel register that is mirrored or copied, left side to right side, to achieve the width of 40 pixels.
- Player sprites: 8 x 192 pixels (NTSC). Player, ball, and missile sprites use pixels that are 1/4 the width of playfield pixels (unless stretched).
- Ball and missile sprites: 1 x 192 pixels (NTSC).
- Maximum resolution: 160 x 192 pixels (NTSC). Max resolution is only somewhat achievable with programming tricks that combine sprite pixels with playfield pixels.
- 128 colors (NTSC). 128 possible on screen. Max of 4 per line: background, playfield, player0 sprite, and player1 sprite. Palette switching between lines is common. Palette switching mid line is possible but not common due to resource limitations.
- 2 channels of 1-bit monaural sound with 4-bit volume control.
- RAM (within a MOS Technology RIOT chip): 128 bytes (additional RAM may be included in the game cartridges)
- ROM (game cartridges): 4 kB maximum capacity (64 kB with bank switching)
- Input (controlled by MOS RIOT):
- Two screwless DE-9[1] controller ports, for single-button joysticks, paddles, "trakballs", "driving controllers", 12-key "keyboard controllers" (0–9, #, and *) and third party controllers with additional functions
- Six switches (original version): Power on/off, TV signal (B/W or Color), Difficulty for each player (called A and B), Select, and Reset. Except for the power switch, games could (and did) assign other meanings to the switches. On later models the difficulty switches were miniaturized and moved to the back of the unit.
- Output: B/W or Color TV picture and sound signal through RCA connector (NTSC, PAL or SECAM, depending on region; game cartridges are exchangeable between NTSC and PAL/SECAM machines, but this will result in wrong or missing colors and often a rolling picture.)
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Comments: 10
I think I saw this version before the "wood-grain" classic version in my lifetime.
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a very nice system, this unit is
also, have you played atari today/
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I remember having that system, well actually it was my father's; looking back on it that was my introduction to video games but it wasn't until the NES.... looking back on the 2600 I think I was spoiled on the NES, Genesis and Playstations 1-4 because I can't play a 2600 game for more than 5 minutes before getting bored.
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