--- title: Atari 7800 ProSystem categories: - Consoles origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1984' cpus: - 6502c params: name: 7800 ProSystem company: /companies/atari company_name: Atari specs: - label: NAME value: 7800 ProSystem - label: MANUFACTURER value: Atari - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: 1984, 1986 (full launch) - label: END OF PRODUCTION value: '1992' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Pole Position II (USA) - cartridge; Asteroids (Europe) – in system memory; 32-in-1 (Australia and New Zealand) - cartridge - label: KEYBOARD value: 1 detachable joystick with 2 fire buttons (USA); 2 detachable controllers including a pad and 2 fire buttons each (Europe) - label: CPU value: 6502c (custom, not 65C02) - label: SPEED value: 1.79 MHz - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: TIA (sound chip), Maria (graphics), Riot (I/O) - label: RAM value: 4 KB - label: ROM value: 4 KB (BIOS) - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 320 x 200 - label: COLORS value: 16 hues, 8 luminances each, 128 colors. 256 colors possible, 16 on screen at once. - label: SOUND value: 2 channels; POKEY sound chip option in cartridges (for additional or replacement 4 channels) - label: I/O PORTS value: RF TV video output, 2 x controller ports, expansion port (not on all system revisions) - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: Cartridge, 32 KB Maximum - label: OS value: Over 65 cartridges, plus most 2600 VCS cartridges - label: POWER SUPPLY value: External power supply unit, 9v DC 1A - label: PERIPHERALS value: 'All Atari 2600 peripherals; Atari XEGS Model XG-1 Light Gun; Unreleased: Keyboard (which would allow use of Atari 8-bit computer peripherals, but not software), High Score Cartridge, Dual Controller Holder and 5200 Compatibility Module' tabs: - photos - software - emulators - links - videos photos: - title: LEFT SIDE subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: 7800 (EUROPEAN MODEL) subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: FRONT subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: FRONT PORTS subtitle: '' text: These are the joystick ports and option switches image: null - title: BOTTOM subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: RIGHT SIDE subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: 'RIGHT SIDE #2' subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: CONTROLLER PAD subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: JOYSTICK UNSCREWED subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: US BOX subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: EUROPEAN BOX subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: EUROPEAN BOX - BOTTOM subtitle: '' text: '' image: null screenshots: - title: ASTEROIDS subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: BARNYARD BLASTER subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: BALL BLAZER subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: BASEBALL subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: BASKETBRALL subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: CENTIPEDE subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: COMMANDO subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: CROSSBOW subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: DARK CHAMBER subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: DESERT FALCON subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: DIG DUG subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: DONKEY KONG subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: DONKEY KONG JR subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: DOUBLE DRAGON subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: FATAL RUN subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: FIGHT NIGHT subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: FOOD FIGHT subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: GALAGA subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: HAT TRICK subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: IMPOSSIBLE MISSION subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: JOUST subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: KARATEKA subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: MARIO BROS subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: MEAN 18 subtitle: '' text: '' image: null emulators: - title: MESS url: http://www.mess.org/ platform: Multiplatform text: This multi-system emulator, can emulate the Atari 7800 links: - title: Atari 7800 FAQ url: http://www.atariage.com/7800/faq/index.html?SystemID=7800 text: What would be a system without a FAQ ? ;-) - title: AtariAge url: http://www.atariage.com/ text: What you don't know this site ?! Go there, I tell you. - title: Cousin Vinnie's Atari 7800 Panoramic Froo-Froo url: http://www.bigfishusa.com/7800/index.html text: A 7800 dedicated page with reviews and original articles - title: Dan Boris' 7800 Tech Page url: http://atarihq.com/danb/a7800.shtml text: Useful technical page - title: Jindroush's 7800 Tech Page url: http://cat.asw.cz/~kubecj/7800tech.htm text: Another interesting technical page - title: The Atari 7800 page url: http://www.atari7800.org/ text: Nice page. Instruction manual archive, Games list, Emulators, Screenshots, Schematics and more - title: The Atari History Museum url: http://www.atarimuseum.com/ text: Everything Atari !! A must see videos: - title: Atari 7800 commercial url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxfsb1wvWb8 text: 'Length: 51s' comments: - author: walmartcartpusher date: Saturday 18th April 2009 text: |- "Uhh, not much to say about this thing, one question, do you acually need to connect this to a computer or something cause i dont know where to connect the rf or w/e" should be the same as the Atari 2600 games/tv switch... - author: Olivier (Earth) date: Tuesday 9th August 2005 text: Well, the European version has a special audio & video output connector -> scart connector. I guess the US version has also a audio & video output. - author: Deadman101 (US) date: Monday 8th August 2005 text: Uhh, not much to say about this thing, one question, do you acually need to connect this to a computer or something cause i dont know where to connect the rf or w/e - author: Jerry Reno (Bowie, MD) date: Wednesday 27th July 2005 text: The "Atari Flashback" miniconsole is, according to the label on the bottom, a "Mini 7800". It looks like a tiny 7800; iIt has five 7800 games in rom, with a dozen or so 2600 games. The two controllers look like 7800 controllers, but are not compatible, according to the manual. oc_id: 898 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230530065125/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=898 date: '2023-05-30' --- The Atari 7800 ProSystem was originally scheduled for release in late 1984, as the follow-up to Atari’s misguided 5200 SuperSystem, but didn’t see release until 1986, when it retailed for approximately $140 (USA). Instead of competing with comparatively weaker systems like the 5200 and Coleco’s ColecoVision, the later release date for the 7800 brought direct competition from the more robust Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), released in late 1985, and the Sega Master System (SMS), which, like the ProSystem, was released in 1986. In late 1984, despite having had successful showings at trade events, an extensive and enthusiastic preview in one of the top video and computer game magazines of the day (Electronic Games), retail orders already taken, and warehouses full of stock, Atari management decided to shelve the system and its launch games in favor of their computer line when it became apparent to them - and seemingly everyone else in the industry - that the videogame depression had become an irreversible crash. Also put on the shelf was a redesigned Atari 2600 (VCS), dubbed the Atari 2600jr, due to its diminutive size. These moves have often been criticized in hindsight, but for those around at the time, it was clear that videogames were being supplanted by low cost and powerful personal computers as the more flexible game machines of choice, and a game system in the traditional sense simply wouldn’t be financially sustainable.