Atari 800XL and 400 -- Atari was the a huge force in the early years of personal computing.  After the video game crash of 1983, most hard-core gamers moved to home computers.  Atari was ready with the 800XL to fulfill their needs.  Atari computers, starting with the 400, had been around since 1979 and is one of the oldest gaming-significant computer lines.  I wasn't really a fan of the later Atari 8-bit offerings (like the 800XL).  I felt they were inferior for gaming compared to the Commodore 64's better (or at least better utilized) sound and graphic capabilities.  Still, when discussing gaming in the late 70's and early 80's, Atari is THE biggest name.  The first computer game I remember seeing was Star Raiders on the Atari 400.  I remember how amazing the graphics were compared to the game consoles I was used to playing, but I also remember how difficult it was to type on the flat, membrane keyboard on the 400 (which was the only Atari model to feature this type of keyboard).  GOTCHA acquired a boxed Atari 400 in 2002.  However, it will remain in the box for posterity, as the 800XL is a better choice for gaming.

Along with the 800XL, GOTCHA also has a 1050 5.25" floppy disk drive, an Indus (third party) 5.25" floppy drive and an Atari 1027 dot matrix printer.

Atari 800XL

Atari 400

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Last modified: January 25, 2003

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