Atari · 1986–1992

Atari7800

Backward compatible with the 2600, and late to a party the NES was already hosting. A small, collectible library.

[n] Atari 7800 games available

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Why it mattered

The 1984 console that had to wait two years to launch

Atari showed the 7800 ProSystem in the spring of 1984: a proper arcade machine designed by General Computer Corporation, with a graphics chip that could throw a hundred sprites around, a slot that played every 2600 cartridge, and a launch line of Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Xevious, Joust and Robotron. Then Warner sold Atari to Jack Tramiel that July, and the finished console sat in a warehouse. It finally went on sale nationwide in 1986, under $80, into a market Nintendo had already taken.

The library is small — about sixty US releases — and splits neatly in two: the 1984 arcade ports, and the 1987–91 games Atari made when it was the only publisher still trying, from Ninja Golf to Midnight Mutants. Almost everything turns up loose, so a box is the scarce part, and the early cartridges with an Atari, Inc. copyright are the first prints. The Pro-Line joystick is worse than any game on it; a working pair is worth more than most of the carts. Every cart is photographed and tested.

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Fast facts

ReleasedMay 1986 nationwide — test-marketed in 1984
Launch price$79.99 with Pole Position II in the box
MediaROM cartridges, plus a slot that plays 2600 carts
Units sold~3.8 million, usually estimated
Best sellerPole Position II — the pack-in, by default
Did you know?The 7800 was finished in 1984 and sold in a few test markets that summer, then shelved when Warner Communications sold Atari's consumer division to Jack Tramiel in July. Tramiel's Atari Corp. sat on the finished stock for nearly two years before the national launch in 1986, which is why the earliest cartridges carry a 1984 Atari, Inc. copyright and the later ones say Atari Corp.
Did you know?It was the first console designed from the start to play its predecessor's games. Every 2600 cartridge fits and runs in the 7800's slot, with no adapter, because the console carries the 2600's TIA chip and switches into 2600 mode when it sees an old cart. It is still the cheapest way to own a working 2600.
Did you know?That TIA chip is also the 7800's sound chip, so most games sound exactly like a 2600. Two cartridges — Ballblazer and Commando — solved this by putting a POKEY sound chip from the Atari 8-bit computers inside the cartridge itself, which is why those two sound like a different console.
Did you know?The MARIA graphics chip could draw around a hundred sprites on screen with no flicker, more than the NES managed, which is why the 7800 arcade ports of Galaga, Xevious and Robotron look so much cleaner than the 2600 or 5200 versions. What it could not do was scroll smoothly, so most 7800 games use fixed screens or flip-screen levels.
Did you know?The 7800 had a digital-signature lockout years before it was common: every cartridge had to be signed with a key only Atari held, or the console would boot it in 2600 mode instead. It was one of the first anti-piracy schemes on a console, and it meant no unlicensed 7800 games existed until the key was recovered in 2001.
Did you know?Atari's XG-1 light gun works with five 7800 games — Crossbow, Alien Brigade, Barnyard Blaster, Meltdown and Sentinel — and only on a CRT television. Sentinel, from 1991, was one of the last 7800 games released and is one of the harder ones to find.
Did you know?By 1988 nearly every third party had left, so Atari wrote its own games and gave them names like Ninja Golf, Basketbrawl, Scrapyard Dog, Motor Psycho and Midnight Mutants — the last starring Grampa Munster from the TV show. These late originals had short runs and are the collectible end of the library.
Did you know?Atari formally discontinued the 7800 and the 2600 on the same day, January 1, 1992, after the 7800 had spent its whole life priced under $100 as the budget alternative to the NES. Roughly 3.8 million were sold, most of them in North America, where the last games trickled out in 1990 and 1991.

Find your next Atari 7800 game

Start with a familiar favorite, explore a theme, or browse by what’s included.

Counts are listings in stock — the same game can appear more than once in different packaging.

The grails

Sentinel, Tank Command, Alien Brigade, Motor Psycho, Basketbrawl, Planet Smashers, Klax — the 1990–91 releases that shipped in small numbers to a market that had left.

The class of 1984

Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Xevious, Centipede, Dig Dug, Joust, Robotron: 2084, Asteroids, Food Fight — the arcade ports the console was built for, finished two years before anyone could buy them.

Ninja Golf and other late-night ideas

Ninja Golf. Basketbrawl. Scrapyard Dog. Motor Psycho. Midnight Mutants (starring Grampa Munster). Planet Smashers. Atari's in-house studio, 1988–91, working without adult supervision.

Absolute Entertainment

Title Match Pro Wrestling, Tomcat: The F-14 Fighter Simulator, F-18 Hornet, Super Skateboardin', Touchdown Football, Pete Rose Baseball, Crack'ed — Garry Kitchen's studio, the one third party that stayed.

From the home computers

Ace of Aces, Summer Games, Winter Games, Impossible Mission, Ballblazer, Choplifter, Karateka, One-on-One, Hat Trick — Epyx, Accolade, Lucasfilm and Broderbund titles Atari ported from the Commodore 64 and the ST.

Point the XG-1 at the television

Crossbow, Alien Brigade, Barnyard Blaster, Meltdown, Sentinel — the five light-gun games. A CRT is required; the gun does not know what a flat panel is.

Scoreboards

Touchdown Football, Pete Rose Baseball, RealSports Baseball, Hat Trick, Fight Night, Mean 18 Ultimate Golf, One-on-One, Summer Games, Winter Games — and Ninja Golf, which counts.

Nintendo had these too

Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Double Dragon, Ikari Warriors, Kung-Fu Master, Commando, Rampage, Xenophobe, Karateka — the same games the NES kids were playing, on the console that cost half as much.

Fists, swords, folding chairs

Title Match Pro Wrestling, Mat Mania Challenge, Double Dragon, Kung-Fu Master, Karateka, Fight Night, Ikari Warriors, Basketbrawl — the 7800 solved most problems by hitting them.

Numbers on the box

Pole Position II, Robotron: 2084, Mean 18, F-18 Hornet, Tomcat: The F-14, One-on-One — for a console with sixty games, a surprising amount of arithmetic.

Complete in box, best condition first

Every complete Atari 7800 game in stock right now.

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Cart with manual

Cart and manual, no box — the collector's middle ground.

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Loose carts

Cartridge only — cleaned, tested on real hardware, photographed.

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Sealed

Factory sealed and photographed through the shrink.

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Atari7800

The 1984 console that had to wait two years to launch