Episode 387: The Atari 8-Bit Legacy (Patreon)

It's been tricky trying to line up Retronauts East recordings over the past year or so—not just because of the pandemic, but also because all of us have found more stable, robust employment since we began recording together a few years ago.  That's good for our efforts to fulfill Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, but bad for our efforts to line up compatible recording times. Every once in a while, though, we make a miracle happen... and here's one of them. 

This week, Benj (Edwards) and Ben (Elgin) join me to talk about a topic that I was interested in exploring in greater depth after my recent video forays into the Atari 7800 catalogue: Atari's 8-bit computer family. I realize saying "Atari 8-bit" can be confusing for those not familiar with the company's history, because technically "8-bit" should encompass the 2600 and 7800; but those In The Know specifically use the term to refer to Atari's home computers. We cheated a little, though—we also expanded the term to include one console, the 5200, which was based on the same architecture as (despite technically not being compatible with!) computers like the 400 and 800. 

Thankfully, Benj and Ben have a lot of experience with this corner of microcomputer history, so this episode gives them the opportunity to share their knowledge, memories, and general fervor for the devices. I always enjoy the episodes in which I get to set the dominoes in motion and sit back while experts break down a facet of video game history that is largely alien to me, and I hope you find similar satisfaction listening to this episode.

Cover art this week by John Pading, and edits (as usual) by Greg Leahy.

Musical inserts:

• 09:10 - Seven Cities of Gold
• 21:38 - Montezuma's Revenge
• 33:30 - Spelunker
• 42:20 - Ball Blazer: Song of the Grid / Archon: The Light and the Dark
• 56:51 - Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns BGM (5200)
• 1:11:17 - M.U.L.E.
• 1:24:08 - Salmon Run SFX
• Closing - Rescue on Fractalus