Hardware Heaven
Atari 7800
SYSTEM SUPPLIED BY EVAN AMOS
» MANUFACTURER: Atari » YEAR: 1984
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COST: £69.95 (launch), £50+ (today, boxed), £45+ (today, unboxed)
Having
realised that the Atari 5200 was not going to be the success it had hoped for, Atari quickly moved to create a new console that would address the shortcomings of its predecessor, with General Computer Corporation contracted to do the engineering. The Atari 7800 would offer beefed up graphical capabilities, a less awkward controller and backwards compatibility with Atari 2600 games out of the box. The 7800 is visually similar to its older sibling, with the sloping shape, black plastic casing and silver central strip with rainbow colouring all reminiscent of the 5200. However, the 7800 differentiates itself with onboard buttons and less prominent ventilation grilles, as well as a smaller overall size and more rounded edges.