Atari XE Video Game System Review - Gamester81

[@Anxel]

I remember seeing this in the Sears catalogs! I always wondered what it would be like. We never got one though.

[@TylerSteven9]

Would've liked to see it plugged in and playing a game, but cool video anyways.

[@warrengonline]

Snatch out, put in, snatch out. If you do not want it, I'll be happy to add her to my collection as I've always wanted and Atari XE anything.

[@sonicsega1699]

and 30 years later, of all the dozens of times donkey kong has been re-released, nintendo still won't give us the full version with all 4 levels

[@xLithiumFlower1]

What a damn shame

[@alexr.1813]

No kidding, what are they waiting for?

[@bobjones27]

I think they finally did in their virtual store thing. I heard rumors of this rom floating around.

[@Gamester81]

@humanslayermil Like any other retro system with RF cables. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[@owiseone1]

I had one of these when it was new. I was so jealous of my friends that had a Nintendo which was far superior.

[@Antnie]

I was just a thrift store and found a game for this system. The game is Atari Lab. The game is brand new in box with all of the other tools. I got it all for $2.50, then when I got home and checked on the Internet they sell for $90+. I am a happy camper.

[@Gamester81]

@brickman409 Yeah one of my earlier videos. I've improved a lot. I don't use scripts when I do my videos either.

[@jamessmith84240]

This was my first ever computer / games machine. Man I was like 5 when my parents got me it for christmas. Can remember hearing my dad playing Ms Pac Man as I lay in bed after my bed time! I still have this machine in working condition in a box in my loft :)

[@Gamester81]

Yeah the Atari ST computer is on my wanted list of computers to pick up. I really want to find the rarer Falcon version.

[@Gamester81]

@arfank199 It's the shitty lighting when I filmed this. I'm 29.

[@Gamester81]

@garnett9295 I found it at a garage sale a long time ago actually.

[@Gamester81]

Man you gotta love when that happens. Nice find.

[@batlin]

No gameplay footage at all? Wat??

[@anexaugustin4387]

batlin I couldn't believe John didn't include gameplay footage either...I kept fast forwarding to what I thought was gameplay footage to no avail.

[@OneEyedJack1970]

I'm pretty sure the light gun works on a composite color monitor just like a regular TV. It's just a modified light pen.

[@alexanderalexandrou]

Why mention the master system as a lesser system compared to the nintendo when you were talking about specs? The master system was significantly better, technically at least, compared to the nes.

[@farcher3]

@Gamester81 It doesn't matter how old you are. I don't care if you were 105 as long as you made this video. I think you did a great job! Thank you! keep up the good work!

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

The Atari-XEGS ( 8-bit XE Computer ) was my first Computer system. Then i went to its BiG brother the 130XE. Never owned any atari st computers but wanted too. After the Atari 8-bit systems i had several Commodore Amiga personal computers. Now have a custom built AMD machine. Archon for the XE was one my favorite games on the system.

[@khaledbaijan4864]

@Johnpaulbacon that such a cool story.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Thank you.

[@Erik-vp5bm]

Atari ST was great. It was not marketed very heavily in my country, so I was the only guy on the block who had one, but hey, it was awesome.

[@WTFG78]

This was my first computer. Got it in 1989. My mom thought that getting an Atari from the get go would be a good way to get the need for video games out of my system and focus on computers. She believed that Atari was on it way out, so I wouldn't be interested in the company after a while. As you can see by my username, that plan failed miserably. ;-)

[@StanleyOpar]

you are the biggest and most awesome video game collector nerd I have ever seen. You have so many items that any collector would kill to get for, A thousand Internets to your sir!

[@DracIsBack]

Nice review. The 7800 was test marketed in 1984, but wide-released in 1986.

[@glove8888]

i have this system hooked up to my tv right now lol

[@orangedrummer9130]

i completely agree with this guy here...I know its a console review, but maybe show what the games look like? I like your videos and keep on makn em!

[@NightSprinter]

@Gamester81 It also had composite A/V out which gives a better picture (I think you forgot about those connections, may be wrong). Also, I think you hold either Option or Select with the keyboard plugged in to play Missile Command. Without the keyboard, it auto-starts the game.

[@tektitetv]

Finally! The old intro is back! YAAAAY.

[@DlNKYDANA]

Great Video! Brought back some memories. I've had one of these since I was probably 7 or 8. I should dig that and my C64 out.

[@1kld5mnb]

this is the atari i had as a kid! found memories. i never knew what model it was because we just called it "atari". thanks gamester!

[@BartechTV]

This is to the Atari 800XL and 65XE, what the CD32 was to the Amiga 1200.

[@OldAussieAds]

That's great... now turn it on.

[@merakko]

I still have one of those things in my garage, my dad got it to me in 1987, i was 6!! Then i first moved to a c64, then to an amiga 500 and to a SNES. Then the first PlayStation came out, i've been craving for it!! Imported was insanely expensive here in Italy, so i had to wait for the official release. After the PS i had a Dreamcast and last one an xBox first edition. two portables a game boy original and a game gear. Flight simulator II for thi system was stupid, insnaely complicated.

[@gigaty123]

dude, you are so helpful to me. ive never heard of most of the systems you show!!! SUBBED!!!

[@johnnyjohnson]

Nice review! I remember playing a boxing game on the XE years ago at a friend's house. I think it may have been Fight Night, but am not sure.

[@kappappa]

I bought one of these at a flea market because I wanted the light gun to play Alien Brigade. Atari released several light gun games for the 7800 and I think one or two for the 2600, but to my knowledge the only way to get a light gun for them was to get the XE system which came with one. It always seemed to me as bizarre that they released the XE system anyway, since the already had the 7800 and the games on the 7800 looked better anyway.

[@NightSprinter]

@Gamester81 Actually, Jon, it supports composite video and audio as well due to a couple of RCA ports. Should look a smidge better.

[@thegrasshopperliesheavy]

I had this thing as a kid. Rescue on Fractalus ftw!

[@ElectricIndica420]

great videos man. your collection is very extensive!

[@inphanta]

I remember seeing this about for a very short while. Were there any games that made practical use of the keyboard?

[@thamry721]

I bought this system back in summer 1994 at a flea market in germany. It came as a complete system with the original box, light gun, flight simulator II, Bug Hunt, Centipede, a controller. I bought it for approx. 8 US$.

[@jayc5413]

that's the only thing I can say, is that your reviews of these crazy rare systems, NEED TO BE SHOWN POWERED UP and playing at least a few games. you have some of the rarest stuff I have ever seen, and there is no game play footage? gotta fix that bro. cheers.

[@nathanallan1]

Great coverage! I have a 65XE on the way, but I still don't have one of these.

[@The90sGamingGuy]

Cool vid man! I didn't know about this system till watching you vid.

[@JynxBlack13]

OMG, I have not seen one of those in ages, my friend and I used to play on that all the time!

[@midnight80090]

great video man i love system reviews!

[@shadysegaaddict2060]

Just picked one of these up yesterday along with a 400 with program recorder!

[@DarkPlagueStudios]

Wow, awesome! I was waiting to see this :)

[@tsskiller08]

@Gamester81 I see that you have a cart labeled "Star Raider". I imagine that it's the same game as Star Raiders...could it be an earlier revision (the cart I have has the same product number)?

[@GunSam]

I never heard of this, we had a 7800 in the mid-late 80's

[@1776Sledge]

Interesting that you chose to review really obscure video game systems. It's a good thing. It allows me to relive the past. Ahhhhhhhhh..... The memories.

[@raydeen2k]

Star Raiders was my main game back in the day. I had a Tron joystick from the Mattel M-Network pack that had Tron:Deadly Discs and Adventures of Tron compilation. Oh man was I the fecking Star Commander with that joystick and my 400 + Star Raiders. that was as close as I got to space combat until I got a PC with Wing Commander.

[@ThomasSpychalski]

Thank you for showing that Star Raider cart, I played that game all the time as a kid on my Atari 800 and Atari XL (Black and silver, smaller then the brown and orange 800). Still would play it too, decent game for it's era...btw, have no funds for sych things but as this plays all the 400 and 800 carts I would love to know how much a working one goes for...

[@barrybear2011]

"The Atari 5200 was basically an Atari 400 computer, so the games look almost identical. All Atari 400 & 800 games play on the XE." Exactly. The XEGS was basically a consolized Atari 65XE which itself was basically an Atari 800XL with a case and keyboard which looked like the Atari ST computers. (The XEGS, 65XE, and 800XL all had 64 KB RAM.)

[@googaagoogaa12345678]

i love the 8 bit line and the ST

[@googaagoogaa12345678]

in fact i have a 1040 STfm and an 800XL as well as the XEGS recently

[@Erik-vp5bm]

Mostly right, but the case and keyboard didn't actually look that much like the ST. The ST was a lot lighter in its greyshade, and the keyboard looked very different. The ST had very funny F-buttons and looked somewhat like an Amiga.

[@8bitrocketstudios]

The only thing that separates the XE from the 5200 or 400/800 is the ability to use all 64K from a cart (bank switched) and even 128K carts. A few older 400/800 games were re-made for the XE, such as Mario Bros and play much better. But essentially it's 1979 technology with more memory. Freaking great 1979 technology though!

[@walterchapman2094]

Problem with this console/computer was the lack of 3rd party support anything Atari did in the mid to late 80s. Atari 8bits were very good machines even when compared to the C=64, but Ataris named was really tarnished after the game industry crash. On this particular system, it was really begging for a Atari 2600 adapter along with some of those Tengen Sega conversions that they had done on the NES. Even some of the newer Atari Games arcade games was absent.

[@warrengonline]

This is a great video. But I was wondering what the complaints were about. Gamester man... Wo, wo, wo.. I'm glad this is an older video. I respect you as quite a few of my gaming friends know you (you're cool), but the 'man handling' of such an classic system and its carts... I had to pause the video at 5:02 because it truly bothered me. This is in the past, so you are forgiven, but wow man.

[@KingDzaone2012]

Missing this Times, mean for its days was really amazing!!

[@djozyd]

hey quick Q.. where do u plug in the controllers into ? same port as the keyboard? btw im addicted to ur videos.. lol ive been an avid gamer myself ever since i can rmr but i never held onto my systems, since they would just attract alot of dust so donated em... wish i had em whenever i see ur vidz though!

[@RelliKsReliCsTheBeerNinja111]

@Gamester81 I was looking to buy a 8 bit atari system and was wondering if the XE or the 800 would be better to get? I'm also planning to get the Atarimax cart for it also. It has one of my fav games of all time Blue Max and now that you talked about the full ver of DK on it I'm really looking forward to getting this system. Did you do a review of DK for this and how close to the arcade is it? Thanks for all the great Videos I'm a big fan of your channel.

[@gamedoutgamer]

Did you ever get an XE? Blue Max is fantastic!

[@uzimonkey]

Interesting video, but do you ever show any of your computers running, or do you just look at them? I was watching, waiting for you to fire the thing up, but it never happened.

[@KingGhost78OG]

you really took it back with this one

[@ViperstudiosNG]

im 23 and I think ill still appreciate vintage video game systems when im 40

[@MoK86]

omg thanks gamester THAT BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES OF MY MOM BUYING THAT FOR ME BACK IN I THINK 1987? but dude i remember playing Allot of missile command

[@Gamester81]

Yeah it was 8bit as well, but they both have different graphics.

[@PhatPhunk]

Cool one man! I've never heard of this Atari machine before! This is great knowledge!!

[@OneEyedJack1970]

The surprising thing about the Sega Master System to me was that it was little more than an upgraded Colecovision. Both systems had very similar hardware.

[@OldAussieAds]

@OneEyedJack1970 I don't get what you mean. As in the CPU, RAM, graphics etc were all very similar? Or do you mean the look of the console or what? If you're saying the specs were similar that would surprise me... As wasn't the NES a step up from the Colecovision? And then the Sega Master System was a step up from the NES.

[@Lumotaku]

Actually the Colecovision had a better main processor the zilog z 80. The Nintendo and master system as were most 8 bits back then were made with the Mos 6502 chip or variations of. Later the cost of memory came down. which made the later 8 bit consoles able to have better graphics.

[@OldAussieAds]

So the Colecovision had a different main processor to the Sega Master System? So what was so similar about those two systems then?

[@Lumotaku]

Thanks for jogging my memory the master system did have a Z 80.

[@KevinTwiner]

Great looking system.and built tough too..!

[@NotATube]

@dpsinoh "The Atari 5200 was basically an Atari 400 computer" Internally it was near-identical, but there were a few minor changes (OS was removed and some pointless changes were made to the memory map) that rendered software not directly compatible. Why they wanted to have two near-identical but incompatible systems, I don't know. Marketing? Atari's notorious departmental rivalry? The bit that everyone hated about the 5200 (the controllers) was the bit that was different from the 400/800...

[@SC1089]

Ugh, did James the AVGN ever review this? If so can you tell me where to find it on his site?

[@msbae]

Where's the gameplay footage?

[@jasonarmstrong5750]

I'll admit I do like the design of the light gun for this system

[@pepsiru1es92]

nice video, as always, gamester. and I'm guessing the telephone picture mean a modem, or something.

[@BulletSmoke]

Omg, my friend owned one of these and I had no idea what it was. Thought it was a fake Atari clone, thanks for the history lesson.

[@joemel2]

@bengativo6 I remember typing in all those codes in the manual as well.I was so annoyed with the big bang code,took me nearly 30 mins to type it all in (always checking you didn't make a mistake) and it was over in about 5 secs.

[@UNKNOWN-le2tu]

i had an Atari 800 until it broke then we got an XE gs. you can hook up an Atari disk drive to it. all of our games and programs were on disk.

[@fireheartis1]

I always thought this was a more powerful version of the 7800? Am I rite or is it older than the 7800?

[@Guernicaman]

Can you play 2600 or any other of the Atari console games on the XE?

[@NotATube]

@SteveBenway Yeah- unlike the 5200 (which was internally identical, but with minor changes that destroyed compatibility and controllers everyone hated), the XEGS *was* basically a 400/800/XL/XE-line computer minus keyboard with compatibility. IIRC Atari were going to relaunch the 7800 in Europe then decided to release and focus on the XEGS instead. But much later I saw the 7800 here anyway... who knows what the plan was?! :-/

[@8MrDonut8]

you have a very interesting system collection.

[@crom19701]

have you played the warlords homebrew for the XE (castle crisis). It available on Atari Age and is outstanding. Pretty much arcade perfect. We just played several hours for a party I had at the house. Great time was had by all.

[@JeffSmith03]

Maybe if you lay off the caffeine. I feel so tense while you are talking so fast, banging scratching everything together... They don't make these any more--You can't just stop by walmart to replace it so please don't wear out the trigger on that light gun before you even plug it in to play a game. Other than that, I like your video, seeing the plugs it has to compare with my 130XE.

[@metallicazepman]

with that hat on, you look a lot like Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, don't know if anybody else thinks so, but i enjoy your videos, keep up the good work

[@madmax2069]

I owned one of these but never got to play it because it never worked, only paid $2 for it at a yard sale. it came with lode runner and another game for it (think it was bug hunt). i was a little bit mad when it would not work, it would power up though. think it was a video output issue (wasn't the cables).

[@Antnie]

Yah, I know. I wish it was like that everyday at the thrift store.

[@WebVManReturns]

Sitting on a couch playing games all day has caused Lou to lose a LOT of mass.

[@madcommodore]

Rescue on Fractalus on this thing was better than anything on the NES though :)

[@Efrainagc]

Hola amigo, quiero comentarte algo, aunque elvideo ya tiene tiempo que lo subiste, yo tengo mi consola atari xe system de hace ya varios años, se me extraviaron los manuales y quiero conseguirlos, principalmente el de programacion basic, y quiero pedirte ayuda que si tu puedes y si tienes los manuales en pdf me los pudieras proporcionar, agradeciendo de antemano tu gran ayuda, saludos

[@bengativo6]

@Gamester81 lol im 34 and i look like a damn 24 year old man ,but yea i had this xe system for my birthday back on 1987 or 1988 ,i was like between 11 and 12 , i remember the games such as baseball named hardball ,crosbow,flight simulator 2,bughunt ,and the one included mission command ,donkey kong jr.and manny other i used to type in the computer mode and did all the programs on the manual ,i really regret throwing it out like some 10 years ago ,i wish i could go back in time and save it

[@barrybear2011]

@fireheartis1 It's less advanced than the 7800. It's based on the 5200/400/800/XL.

[@richk7164]

the ibm type keyboard is considered top of the line to this day

[@xINVISIGOTHx]

I bid on one of those on ebay once....

[@AllanSavolainen]

That is so true, this is one of the most annoying things about reviews, not actually showing the thing in action. Grrr.

[@mp4podcastDOTcom]

Reminds me of the movie Cloak & Dagger (1984)

[@Watcher3223]

Those pastel colored buttons always reminded me of candy. For some strange reason, I want some SweeTARTS...

[@TheManOnTheHill]

love your vid intro :)

[@kerrywsmyth]

I think I am the only nerd who had this system in the 80's. I got it for its flight simulator, however it came with a BASIC computer and a book that taught you the language and basic programming. Man I feel stupid that I didn't follow up and become a programmer. Could have been like Mark Zuckerberg.

[@therealalteridem666]

indeed, i can read specs on my own time.

[@BASeals01]

That gun is awesome! It's probably worth the price of purchase in itself..

[@ZavenT]

Would a boxed one be worth $40?

[@danmatt7193]

what about 7800 that was 8-bit?

[@vidium]

love the vid i have the system two but it has some problems

[@Pinwormx]

Cool stuff