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NES Works Gaiden 70: Atari XE Game System & Missile Command (Patreon)

Published:
2024-11-13 12:45:48
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

I've been sitting on this one for a few years, and working on the NES Era books (Vol. II on sale now through December 1!) has finally nudged me into action. Yes, it's time to throw some Atari XE Game System coverage into the mix.

I hope it has become clear through my post-NES Atari coverage that I have a lot of respect for Atari as a game- and hardware-making entity, and also that I think Atari Corp.'s management in the late ’80s was absolutely godawful and had no clue how to compete against Nintendo and appeal to kids in a sensible way. The XE Game System really embodies that duality... it's the greatest console on earth, released five years too late.

FWIW, I'm trying to power through a bunch of coverage for non-Nintendo systems before we reach the 16-bit consoles. So over the next few months I'll be rotating between Atari 7800 and XEGS videos, Sega Master System, and even coverage of legacy systems that survived the Atari Crash (2600 and Intellivision). My Intellivision II with S-video mod arrived last week! It's gonna be a hoot.

And I'll still throw in the occasional NES video, even though we've moved a little beyond the 16-bit launches in that chronology. But really, I'm focused on getting everything laid out so that you could theoretically sit down and watch retrospectives for the entire 8-bit cycle between the NES launch and the Genesis launch someday before embarking on the next generation. It's a process! Might take a little while! But it'll be worth it, honest. You know, if you're into history or whatever.

Files

Previews only

Mutually assured destruction: The XE Game System / Missile Command | NES Works Gaiden 70

Can any exploration of the consoles appearing on American retail shelves in the late 1980s be properly complete without a look at the final Atari 8-bit machine? Hard to say. That final pre-16-bit-era console was Atari XE Game System, the computer pretending to be a console. But still, it was sold as a console and had its own library of XEGS-branded software. And it didn't boot into Atari DOS but rather launched missile command at startup. And it was indeed out there, if only just. So, that means we also need to consider the XE Game System. Don't worry, there's not much to see here. Its library isn't even 1.5 Virtual Boys, and a bunch of those games have already shown up on 7800. You can learn more about the XE Game System's history by preordering The NES Era Vol. II: NES and the Console Revolution, a comprehensive photographic atlas of every console game released for NES and its competitors—including the 7800—from October 1985 through December 1987. Take a deep dive into the prehistory of NES with this limited-edition oversized (12x12"!) photo book: https://limitedrungames.com/products/the-nes-era-vol-2-hardcover Production notes: Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! XEGS footage captured from original hardware. NES footage captured from Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 4K with RetroTink 4X.

Comments

Kevin Bunch

The way I've heard it from folks who were at the company at the time is that Jack Tramiel was a firm believer that good hardware sold itself and therefore did not put the resources into actually making software that the game industry absolutely needs to succeed. What worked for Commodore didn't work for Atari, who knew? Also that he had a real reputation for screwing people over and therefore developers rarely wanted to work with him (even beyond the miserly pay he would offer). That said, the post-crash libraries for both the 2600 and Intellivision are pretty impressive, as are the tiny number of ColecoVision games that made it out in 1985, so it is really cool to see western console developers taking the design lessons of that dalliance with 8 bit microcomputers back to those systems.

Obligate Carnivore

I definitely appreciate the broader scope of looking at the various 8-bit consoles together in the same historical context. In the pre-internet days, my first system was a hand-me-down Atari 7800. I mostly only had 2600 games to play on it for years and didn't realize for a long time why Pole Position II looked so much different than the other games.

Gretchen Leigh

I'm really happy to see you expand your coverage to the XEGS! It was my first "real computer" and what I wrote my first lines of BASIC on back when I was just barely old enough to use a keyboard.

Vinushika

Love this historical look at the US computer also-rans. My understanding is that their 400/800 line sold gangbusters in Europe in general and Germany in specific, which might be worth talking about. Also: should probably put a flashing lights warning on this one, a couple pieces of the Missile Command footage are pretty rough on the eyes.