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Atari 500
marcuswrath
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I'm trying to help settle a bet and I wonder if you guys can help out. A friend of mine is convinced that when she was a kid, she had an Atari 500. Her husband thinks she's confused and has bet her that she never had an Atari 500 because there is no such thing. The stakes? An Xbox 360. More specifically, if he's right, he can buy an Xbox 360. If she's right and there is such a thing as an Atari 500 then he is never permitted to even MENTION an Xbox 360 ever again.
So what say ye, Penny Arcaders? Anyone ever hear of/own/see-on-an-infomercial-one-time-during-college an Atari 500?
So what say ye, Penny Arcaders? Anyone ever hear of/own/see-on-an-infomercial-one-time-during-college an Atari 500?
marcuswrath on
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EDIT: There is a mention of "Atari 500".
EDIT2: It appears Google knows all.
EDIT3: There appears to be a lot of conjecture on the subject, it's possible that it is just people mistaking an Atari 500 for something else.
My personal view is there was no Atari 500 except in the hazy memory of people trying to remember an old computer/console.
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
All in all, this really seems like a case of the "Nintendo Gameboy DS" syndrome, where someone names a console but really means three others, but they still end up calling the console by the wrong name anyway even after corrected.
Fairly sure it doesn't exist.
I had the 1040 stf and my brother's friend had a 520 st
If an actual Atari 500 doesn't exist (not an Amiga 500, not an Atari 520), then her husband gets to buy a 360.
All my friends still call the N64 the "Ultra 64" thanks to my hyping it from the time it was still known as "Project Reality" right through the "Nintendo Ultra 64" days. I got off it on the very issue of Nintendo Power that they announced the name change ("Happy NU Year" was somehow still on that very January bonus issue's cover
This is as close as you are going to get to a 500.
The site where the guy claims to have service manuals for the Atari 500 is a typo. He meant the 800 or the 600 of the XL series.
The problem with this bet is that it is impossible to prove the non-existence of anything. Even vampires.
So if the 500 supporter sticks to her guns, the bet will never be resolved. The best proof would be that, although never formally stated, Atari only used even lead model numbers (4, 6, 8, 26, 52, 78, 104) with a zero or two following. The 500 would be quite remarkable with the odd number, and thus there would almost certainly be an enthusiast site noting this anomaly.
For my part, I sold Atari 400's, 600's and 800's for Lionel Playwold (My first job! Selling computers at a toy store!). I had access to the ordering catalog and there were no Atari 500s available from 1985-1987.
EDIT: because proving a negative is impossible, the best way to resolve this bet is to give the lady one week to prove the existence of a 500.
The real lesson here is, kids, don't do drugs. Or, stay in school. Or something.
Thanks everyone, I'll check back in when she taps out.
So basically, if she is really against the idea of her husband getting a 360, she could technically deny every single piece of evidence he presents to her on the grounds that "I know I had an Atari 500 when I was a kid, you and the rest of the world are wrong."
The only thing I could think of that would be irrefutable would be to actually write Atari, asking about their various model numbers and if a model 500 did in fact exist.
Speaking as a married man, all I can say is "good fucking luck with that".
Any conflict where victory relies upon your spouse admitting fault is untenable.
My advice is to negotiate compromise: "Let's just say there may or may not be an Atari 500. How about I mow the lawn then go buy and Xbox360?"
[ XBL: NemesisFuzz | PSN: Deefuzz ]
Or the Amiga.
Or an Atari that everyone had like the 2600, 7800, or ST, and she's just way off base. Maybe she played a game on it called INDY 500. I have learned from the Employee Lounge threads that this kind of mistake is common.
Double-limed for truth. It would probably be easier if you just bribed her--like take over her house chores for a couple of months... maybe a year. ;-)
I think if a married woman ever uttered the words, "I was wrong," Earth gets punched by the sun. It's a rule.
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Or don't... and get his f**k on. Decisions decision. That XBOX 360 probably comes with a free stay in the doghouse.
It was pretty awesome.
Consoles: Atari 2600,5200,7800, Lynx, Jaguar.
8-Bit: Atari 400, 800, XE, XL.
16-Bit: Atari 520 ST, 1040 ST, TT, STE, Falcon 030.
I think that's all of 'em.
http://www.midnightsynergy.com
Retro Inspired Puzzle, Arcade and Adventure Games.
Same here! While all my friends were rushing out to get "an Intendo", I was playing Ballblazer on my Atari 7800. Good times.
A friend of mine also had an Atari 800, which was pretty damn cool. Never heard of a 500 though.
My Backloggery
But then there'd be an Atari 500, and he'd lose the bet he just won... Parataridox!
Nope, I owned one too. Hi5!
Got it for Christmas when I was like 5 or 6. I had a ton of games for it too. I played Super Breakout with my Dad for a long time. Eventually got a 2600 converter for it too, since all of my friends were so bummed when I got it, because all the 2600 games they brought over to play on it wouldn't work.
I loved Vanguard and Pitfall II. And Kangaroo. Yeah.
Also, Sortof-Arcade-Perfect Pac-Man for the win.
Good times.
man that guy is so whipped
my wife would let me mention it after ten years, 15 mx
Heh, I never had a problem with my 5200 controllers. Don't get me wrong, they were terrible controllers, but I seemed to luck out.
One of my big regrets was that I sold everything at a garage sale in '95. That thing was just too huge to lug around, but I still wish I'd kept it. Of course, if I had kept it, I don't doubt that I'd be having controller problems now.
Anyway, they have agreed to a compromise whereby he gets $100 and is allowed to continue his Xbox 360 Campaign of Irritation, ad nauseam.
Thanks for your help, Penny Arcaders. As you were....
-marcus
10 to 1 she gets him a 360 for Christmakwanzukah. Wives never admit being wrong, but sometimes they end up feeling guilty or bad and give in. Guilt trips can be good on occasion... although crushing a woman's will and soul with vociferous, incessant whining usually works. They hate that shit.
Ng Security Industries, Inc.
PRERELEASE VERSION-NOT FOR FIELD USE - DO NOT TEST IN A POPULATED AREA
-ULTIMA RATIO REGUM-