Editing Atari XEGS

{{Short description|1987 video game console}}
{{Infobox CVG system
| title = Atari XE Video Game System
| logo = Atari XEGS logo-10.svg
| image = Atari XEGS - Computerspielemuseum-49 (17134338672).jpg
| caption = 
| manufacturer = [[Atari Corporation]]
| type = [[Home video game console]]<br>[[Home computer]]
| generation = [[Third generation of video game consoles|Third]] (8-bit era)
| release date = late {{Start date|1987}}
| discontinued = {{end date|1991|12}}<ref name="duarte92"/>
| CPU = [[MOS Technology 6502]]C
| memory = 64KB [[RAM]]
| display = RF and composite out, 384&nbsp;×&nbsp;240 (overscan), 16 colors from a 256 color palette
| media = [[ROM cartridge]]
| onlineservice = 
| units sold = 100,000<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n1/marketplace.html | title=Editorial: Ever-Changing Atari Marketplace }}</ref>
| topgame = 
| compatibility = [[Atari 8-bit computers]]
| price = {{US$|159|1987|round=-1}}<ref name="hutchinson" />
| predecessor = [[Atari 7800]]
| successor = [[Atari Panther|Panther]] {{small|(canceled)}}<br>[[Atari Jaguar|Jaguar]]
| sound = [[POKEY]]
| graphics = [[ANTIC]] (graphics)<br>[[GTIA]] (video)
| CPUspeed = 1.79 MHz
}}

The '''Atari XE Video Game System''' ('''Atari XEGS''') is an [[industrial design|industrial redesign]] of the Atari 65XE [[home computer]] and the final model in the [[Atari 8-bit computers|Atari 8-bit computer series]]. It was released by [[Atari Corporation]] in 1987 and marketed as a [[home video game console]] alongside the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], Sega's [[Master System]], and Atari's own [[Atari 7800]]. The XEGS is compatible with existing Atari 8-bit computer hardware and software. Without keyboard, the system operates as a stand-alone game console. With the keyboard, it boots identically to the Atari XE computers. Atari packaged the XEGS as a basic set consisting of only the console and joystick, and as a deluxe set consisting of the console, keyboard, [[Atari CX40 joystick|CX40 joystick]], and [[Atari XG-1 light gun|XG-1 light gun]].

The XEGS release was backed by new games, including ''Barnyard Blaster'' and ''Bug Hunt'', plus cartridge ports of older games, such as ''[[Fight Night (1985 video game)|Fight Night]]'' ([[Accolade, Inc.|Accolade]], 1985), ''[[Lode Runner]]'' ([[Broderbund]], 1983), ''[[Necromancer (video game)|Necromancer]]'' ([[Synapse Software]], 1982), and ''[[Ballblazer]]'' ([[Lucasfilm Games]], 1985). Support for the system was dropped in 1992 along with the rest of the 8-bit computer line, the [[Atari 2600]], and the [[Atari 7800]].

==Development==
[[File:Atari_XEGS_with_Keyboard-7949_Fertig_1500.jpg|thumb|Atari XEGS with keyboard]]
[[File:Atari XEGS-7942 Fertig 1500.jpg|thumb|Atari XEGS]]
[[File:Atari XEGS-7944 Fertig 1500.jpg|thumb|Joystick ports]]
[[File:Atari XEGS-7943 Fertig 1500.jpg|thumb|Backside ins and outs]]
In 1984, following the [[video game crash of 1983]] when [[Atari, Inc.]] had great financial difficulties as a division of [[Warner Communications]], [[John J. Anderson]] of ''[[Creative Computing]]'' stated that Atari should have released a video game console in 1981 based on its [[Atari 8-bit computers]] and compatible with that software library. The company instead released the [[Atari 5200]], which is based on the 8-bit computers but is incompatible with their software.<ref name="anderson198403">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/creativecomputing-1984-03/Creative_Computing_v10_n03_1984_Mar#page/n51/mode/2up | title=Atari | work=Creative Computing | date=March 1984 | access-date=February 6, 2015 | author=Anderson, John J. | page=51|quote=The games division [..] saw the home computer division as a threat [..] If any of their new machines could expand into true computers, the reins would automatically be handed over [..] To the games division, this was a fate worse than death [so] they chose death. [..] If, in 1981, the next-generation game machine ''had'' been designed to be compatible with the Atari 400 and 800 microcomputers, Atari would not be in the state it is today. Instead, the 5200 game unit was launched. Internally, it was very nearly an Atari 800, and as such was a fabulous game machine. The notable exceptions were that all compatibility and expandability had been designed out [..] with an external keyboard and 800 compatibility, could have been transformed into a product superior to the famed Coleco Adam, way back in 1982.}}</ref>

After [[Jack Tramiel]] purchased the company, [[Atari Corporation]] re-released two game consoles in 1986: the [[Atari 7800]], which had previously been released in a brief test run in 1984; and a lower cost redesign of the [[Atari 2600#Atari 2600 Jr.|Atari 2600]].

Atari conceived the console in a plan to increase the company's console market share while improving sales of its 8-bit home computer family which had started with the Atari 400 and 800.<ref name="Wolf2008">{{cite book | last = Wolf | first = Mark J. P.  | year = 2008 | title = The video game explosion: a history from PONG to PlayStation and beyond | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn = 978-0-313-33868-7 | page = 60 }}</ref> Providing a "beginning computer" and "sophisticated game console" in one device, was thought to convince more retailers and software developers to support the platform. Matthew Ratcliff, who had been contributing editor for [[Antic (magazine)|''Antic'' magazine]], recalled that "Atari executives asked the heads of several major toy store chains which product they'd rather sell{{mdash}}the powerful 65XE home computer for about {{US$|long=no|80}}, or a fancy new game system for about {{US$|long=no|150}}. The answer was, 'You can keep the computer, give us that game machine!"<ref name="XEGS info">{{cite web | title=Atari XEGS Information | first=Matthew | last=Ratcliff | url=https://www.atarihq.com/atcomp/xegs.html | website=AtariHQ | access-date=February 28, 2021}}</ref> In May 1987, Atari's Director of Communications, Neil Harris, updated the online Atari community by outlining this plan, noting that the XEGS was intended to further the 8-bit line by providing mass-merchants with a device that was more appealing to their markets.<ref>{{cite web | last = Harris | first = Neil | title = Re: Is Atari killing the 8 bit? | date = May 12, 1987 | url = http://groups.google.ca/group/comp.sys.atari.8bit/msg/98a62e383f31d6cc?dmode=source | access-date = August 4, 2013}}</ref>

The XEGS is a repackaged Atari 65XE home computer,<ref name="XEGS info"/> compatible with the existing range of [[Atari 8-bit computer software]] and [[Atari 8-bit computer peripherals|peripherals]], and thus can function as a [[home computer]].<ref name="ClassicGaming">{{cite web|title=Atari 8 Bit Computers – 1979–1987 |work=Classic Gaming |url=http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.php?view=ConsoleMuseum.Detail&id=52 |access-date=July 21, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211095903/http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.php?view=ConsoleMuseum.Detail&id=52 |archive-date=February 11, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Paleotronic">{{cite magazine |title=The Toy Store: Shootout of the games systems |url=https://archive.org/details/paleotronic0418-150dpi/page/n97/mode/2up?q=%22XG-1+light+gun | magazine=Paleotronic | date=April–June 2018 | issue=2 | page=96 | access-date=March 1, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Retro Gamer UK">{{cite magazine |title=Peripheral Power |url=https://archive.org/details/Retro_Gamer_UK_124/page/78/mode/2up?q=%22light+gun%22 |magazine=Retro Gamer UK |issue=124 |page=76 | access-date=March 1, 2021}}</ref><ref name="VGC">{{cite book |last1=Loguidice |first1=Bill |last2=Barton |first2=Matt |title=Vintage Game Consoles |date=2014 |publisher=Focal Press |isbn=9780415856003 |page=66 |url={{Google books | id=wZnpAgAAQBAJ | plainurl=yes | page=66}} |access-date=March 1, 2021}}</ref> At a more premium {{US$|159|1987|round=-1|about=yes}},<ref name="hutchinson" /> it co-existed with the Atari 7800 and remodeled Atari 2600,<ref name="hutchinson">{{Cite news | title = Kaybee Toy Store Ad | newspaper = Hutchinson News | location = Hutchinson, Kansas | pages = 64 | date = October 8, 1987}}</ref> and was occasionally featured alongside those systems in Atari print ads and television commercials.<ref name="syracuse">{{Cite news | title = Atari Retailer Rebate Ad | newspaper = Syracuse Herald Journal | location =  Syracuse, New York | pages = 187 | date = December 11, 1988}}</ref>

Atari Corporation discontinued their 8-bit product line, including the XEGS, in December 1991.<ref name="duarte92">{{cite magazine |last=Duarte |first=Tim |date=July 1992 |title=The Game's the Thing |url=https://archive.org/details/atari-user-1992-07/page/n21 |access-date=February 5, 2025 |magazine=AtariUser |department=Feature |publisher=Quill Publishing Co. |page=22}}</ref>

==Games==
{{main|List of Atari XEGS games}}
The XEGS shipped with the Atari 8-bit version of ''[[Missile Command]]'' built in,<ref name="ClassicGaming" /> ''[[History of Microsoft Flight Simulator#sublogicfs2|Flight Simulator II]]'' bundled with the keyboard component, and ''Bug Hunt'' which is compatible with the light gun. As the XEGS is compatible with the earlier 8-bit software, many games released under the XEGS banner are simply older games rebadged.  This was done to the extent that some games were shipped in the old Atari 400/800 packaging, bearing only a new sticker to indicate that they are also compatible with the XEGS.<ref name="Wolf2008" />

==Peripherals==
The XEGS was released in a basic set and a deluxe set.  The basic set includes only the console, and a standard [[CX40 joystick]] with a grey base to match the XEGS rather than its original black. The deluxe set consists of the console, the CX40 joystick, a keyboard which enables home computer functionality, and the [[Atari XG-1 light gun|XG-1 light gun]].  The keyboard and light gun were also released separately outside North America.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rhod.fr/cons-atari-xe.html |title=Rhod's Collection |access-date=August 24, 2010}}</ref> This is the first light gun produced by Atari, and it is also compatible with the Atari 7800 and Atari 2600.<ref name="ClassicGaming" /><ref name="GameSpotHistory">{{cite web | last1=Herman | first1=Leonard | last2=Horwitz | first2=Jer | last3=Kent | first3=Steve | last4=Miller | first4=Skyler | title = Video Games Are Back 1985–1988 | work = The History of Video Games | publisher = GameSpot | url = http://au.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hov/p6_01.html |url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118001239/http://au.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hov/p6_01.html | archive-date=November 18, 2012 | access-date = March 16, 2014 }}</ref>

The system can use [[Atari 8-bit computer peripherals]], such as disk drives, modems, and printers.<ref name="ClassicGaming" />

{{Gallery
| title = 
| width = 150
|File:Atari XEGS keyboard.jpg|XEGS keyboard
|File:Atari XE joystick (colour restored).jpg|CX40 joystick in XEGS color scheme
|File:Atari XG-1 light gun.jpg|XG-1 light gun
}}

==Reception==
Atari sold 100,000 XE Game Systems during the Christmas season in 1987, every unit that was produced during its launch window.<ref>{{Cite magazine| magazine=[[Antic (magazine)|Antic]] | url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n1/marketplace.html| first=Nat | last=Friedland | title=Editorial: Ever-Changing Atari Marketplace| via=atarimagazines.com | access-date=March 1, 2021}}</ref> Matthew Ratcliff called the game and computer combination "a brilliant idea", which "has been selling out almost as fast as toy stores can get them in".<ref name="XEGS info"/> He said, "The XEGS may not seem like such a hot idea to serious Atari computer users. But just think about it. If you were afraid of computers or don't have the foggiest idea what to do with one, you'd have absolutely no interest in an Atari 65XE{{mdash}}even if it could play great games. However, you'd probably have no compunction about buying a great video game system, the XEGS, as a new addition to the family entertainment center." In 1988, he wrote in [[Antic (magazine)|''Antic'' magazine]] that, to switch between light gun and joystick games, active XEGS gamers are frustrated by the need to continually re-plug their devices and power cycle the system, due to the system's lack of autodetection, which is complicated by its awkwardly downward slanting ports. He said "''Barnyard Blaster'' and ''Bug Hunt'' could have been just a bit smarter" by including the simple routine that he was forced to write and publish as a workaround.<ref name="Antic 7,9">{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Antic (magazine)|Antic]] | first=Matthew | last=Ratcliff | title=XG-1 Light Gun Finder | url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n8/xg1light.html | date=December 1988 | volume=7 | issue=8 | access-date=February 28, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Atari|History of Atari]]
* [[Atari 8-bit computer peripherals|Atari 8-bit peripherals]]
* [[Commodore 64 Games System]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Commons category|position=left|Atari XEGS}}

{{portal bar|1980s|1990s}}
{{Atari hardware}}
{{Third generation game consoles}}
{{Home video game consoles}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atari Xegs}}
[[Category:6502-based home computers]]
[[Category:Atari 8-bit computers]]
[[Category:Atari consoles|Xegs]]
[[Category:Home video game consoles]]
[[Category:Backward-compatible video game consoles]]
[[Category:Discontinued video game consoles]]
[[Category:Third-generation video game consoles]]
[[Category:1987 in video gaming]]
[[Category:1980s toys]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1987]]
[[Category:Products and services discontinued in 1992]]
[[Category:65xx-based video game consoles]]