C64 vrs Atari 800XL
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:57 am
This is related to this C64 vrs Atari 8bit speed thread, but the focus is probably sufficiently different to justifiy a thread of its own.
I didn't get to play with an Atari 8-bit (specifically the Atari 800XL) until I started my collection. I was then able to compare it to the C64. You could argue it's not an entirely fair comparison, as the C64 came out a year earlier and a year was a long time in the early 1980s. However in 1983 the prices were about comparable as both machines were being sold into the same market.
I consider myself reasonably objective here as neither machine holds any nostaligic value to me. I went from System 80 to PC, bypassing the 'home" computer era all together.
I was really impressed with the Atari 800XL, when I finally got to play with it. Compared to the C64, I felt the keyboard was better (much better) and the console was smaller and had a lower profile which was easier for typing. Disk operations were very simple and straightforward, requiring none of the convoluted C64 syntax. The BASIC was more comprehensive on the 800XL than the C64. Graphic capability seemed about the same on both with the games I tried. The C64 won out on sound.
I'm certainly not trying to start a flame war. The C64 was a wonderful machine and had a HUGE impact. It just seems to me though that Atari in the 800XL did have a very marketable machine that (on spec) was very competitive. It seems they were just not agressive enough when taking on Jack Tremiel, possibly because Atari was running out of money. Later C64 pricing may have also been a factor.
Anyone else played with both machines and found a similar comparison?
I didn't get to play with an Atari 8-bit (specifically the Atari 800XL) until I started my collection. I was then able to compare it to the C64. You could argue it's not an entirely fair comparison, as the C64 came out a year earlier and a year was a long time in the early 1980s. However in 1983 the prices were about comparable as both machines were being sold into the same market.
I consider myself reasonably objective here as neither machine holds any nostaligic value to me. I went from System 80 to PC, bypassing the 'home" computer era all together.
I was really impressed with the Atari 800XL, when I finally got to play with it. Compared to the C64, I felt the keyboard was better (much better) and the console was smaller and had a lower profile which was easier for typing. Disk operations were very simple and straightforward, requiring none of the convoluted C64 syntax. The BASIC was more comprehensive on the 800XL than the C64. Graphic capability seemed about the same on both with the games I tried. The C64 won out on sound.
I'm certainly not trying to start a flame war. The C64 was a wonderful machine and had a HUGE impact. It just seems to me though that Atari in the 800XL did have a very marketable machine that (on spec) was very competitive. It seems they were just not agressive enough when taking on Jack Tremiel, possibly because Atari was running out of money. Later C64 pricing may have also been a factor.
Anyone else played with both machines and found a similar comparison?