The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, or simply the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a replacement for the famous Atari 2600. The 5200 was created to compete with the Intellivision, but wound up more directly competing with the ColecoVision
shortly after its release. A number of design flaws had a serious
impact on usability, and the system is generally considered to have
performed poorly on the market.
The 5200 was heavily based on Atari Inc.'s existing 400/800
computers and the internal hardware was almost identical. However, a
number of issues (aside from the lack of a keyboard) meant that
software was not directly compatible between the two systems.
The system's Atari 400-based origins made for a powerful, proven design which Atari Inc. could quickly bring to market.
In its prototype stage, the Atari 5200 was originally called the
"Atari Video System X - Advanced Video Computer System", and was
codenamed "Pam" after a female employee at Atari Inc. It is also
rumored that PAM actually stood for "Personal Arcade Machine", as the
majority of games for the system ended up being arcade conversions.
Actual working Atari Video System X machines, whose hardware is 100% identical to the Atari 5200 do exist, but they are extremely rare.
The initial 1982
release of the system featured four controller ports, where nearly all
other systems of the day had only two ports. The 5200 also featured a
revolutionary new controller with an analog joystick,
numeric keypad, two fire buttons on both sides of the controller and
game function keys for Start, Pause, and Reset. The 5200 also featured
the innovation of the first automatic TV switchbox, allowing it to
automatically switch from regular TV viewing to the game system signal
when the system was activated. Previous RF adapters required the user
to slide a switch on the adapter by hand. This unique RF box was also where the power supply connected in a unique dual power/television signal setup similar to the RCA Studio II's.
A single cable coming out of the 5200 plugged into the switch box and
was used for both electricity and the television signal.
The 1983
revision of the Atari 5200 has two controller ports instead of four,
and a change back to the more conventional separate power supply and
standard non-autoswitching RF switch. It also has changes in the
cartridge port address lines to allow for the Atari 2600
adapter released that year. While the adapter was only made to work on
the two-port version, modifications can be made to the four-port to
make it line-compatible. In fact, towards the end of the four-port
model's production run, there were a limited number of consoles
produced which included these modifications. These consoles can be
identified by an asterisk in their serial number.
The Atari 5200 suffered from its software incompatibility with the Atari 2600,
though an adapter was later released in 1983 allowing it to play all
Atari 2600 games, using the more reliable controllers native to that
system.
Another problem was the lack of attention that Atari Inc. gave to
the console; most of its resources went to the already oversaturated
Atari 2600. It faced an uphill battle competing with the ColecoVision's
head start and a faltering video game market.
At one point during the 5200's lifespan, Atari Inc. planned on
developing a smaller cost-reduced version of the Atari 5200, which
would have gotten rid of the controller storage bin. Code-named the
"Atari 5100" (a.k.a. "Atari 5200 Jr."), only a few fully-working
prototype Atari 5100s were made before the project was canceled.