Overview
The 5200 was the successor to the highly successful 2600. When released it was the most powerful console of its day, it was basically an Atari 400/800 home computer, inside a sleek plastic box. Although the 5200 enjoyed moderate success during its heyday, the gaming public never completely warmed to the SuperSystem, and the "Great Video game Crash of 1983" helped to seal its fate along with the rest of the home video game consoles. It should be noted, however, that the 5200 was outselling the Colecovision when Atari decided to pull the plug on its advanced video game system in 1984. The problem was that many gamers were looking for the 'next big thing', and games like Super Breakout, Galaxian and Space Invaders did not push the 5200 to its limits. So, gamers stuck to the old reliable 2600.

Models
Atari only released two consoles: the 4-port 5200, which allowed [surprise surprise] 4 joysticks to be connected, and a 2-port version. They looked exactly the same, but the main difference was the fact that the 2-port version didn't use a proprietary console to tv connector making it easier to replace.

Technical Specifications
CPU: An 8-bit 6502C running at 1.78 MHz
Memory: 16K RAM
Maximum On-screen Colours: 16 on-screen out of 256 maximum
Maximum Resolution: 320x192
Sound: POKEY 4-channel sound processor
ANTIC Graphics Co-Processor

Accessories
One of the 5200's main selling points was its Joystick, which was completely analogue, compared to the digital joysticks of the Intellivision and Colecovision systems. The 5200 also sported a rather sexy roller ball controller, a mouse, and the legendary Wico Joystick and Keypad.