This was a DOOZY to make, I hope you all enjoy it! Please check out these videos too: 5 Minute History Nintendo NES: th-cam.com/video/k_oNjfOVB0E/w-d-xo.html 5 Minute History Atari 2600: th-cam.com/video/H8vaXOKJxKQ/w-d-xo.html Every Konami NES Game: th-cam.com/video/AO1qrfzyDtI/w-d-xo.html
Yes, the NES looked much better but you have to give it to the Atari developers for doing the almost impossible on a machine designed to play Pong. And after all these years, some of these Atari games have such charm and are so fun that they are more fun than the better looking NES games (Q*Bert, Bump 'N Jump, Millipede, Popeye).
Also consider that the original Atari Video Computer System came out many years before the Nintendo Entertainment System. Hardly a fair match. I dismissed the Atari VCS at the time because of the lame graphics compared to what I was used to seeing in the video arcades. I settled on the Atari 400/800 home computers and never saw any reason to consider Nintendo. Lately I've been taking another look at the 2600 games. Sure, the graphics are generally poor but for the most part the gameplay is definitely still there. Those mushrooms in Centipede sure don't look like mushrooms, but the gameplay is certainly still there.
Thanks so much for a great video. Regarding Donkey Kong, Garry Kitchen stated in a recent interview on the Gen X channel that he could have made all 4 levels for Donkey Kong for the 2600, but Coleco had a deadline he had to meet so that they could get it out in time for the Christmas holiday season, and also I think he said he would have needed a larger ROM size for the cart, and Coleco wanted to use the smaller size.
Great video! Here are some games you missed: Basic Programming (Family Basic FC only) California Games Chess (Video Chess vs Chessmaster) Crazy Climber (Atari rarity - FC only) Donkey Kong Jr. Front Line (FC Only) Ghostbusters Klax (Atari PAL only) Ms Pac-Man (NES Tengen + Namco variants) Othello Pooyan (FC only) Space Invaders (FC only) Space Shuttle Winter Games Other games that are either titled the same or comparable in gameplay: BattleZone (BattleTank?) Bowling Boxing (lots to compare) Breakout (Arkanoid?) Combat (FC had Battle City) Espial (Atari rarity - Xevious clone) Ghostbusters 2 (Atari PAL only) Gravitar (Solar Jetman?) Pole Position (F1 Race FC & GB only) Secret Quest (vs Zelda?) Smurfs (NES PAL only) Snoopy (Atari rarity vs Silly Sports?) Spider Man (?) Star Trek (?) Star Wars (?) Superman (?)
Even putting graphics and sound aside I feel you're being veeeery generous with some of the 2600 appraisals. ;) But hey I'm a sucker for a good comparison video, and this demonstrates how the 2600 is the purest, most basic distillation of what "video game" can mean. It gives you just what you need and not a byte more.
As a kid, I owned an Atari 2600, once I got to the NES, and the 16 bit consoles, I could never go back to the 2600, outside of a small selection of games (mainly Activision's input on the console), and stuff like Bowling, or Target Fun (also called Air Sea Battle). I still have a couple 2600 carts I managed to hang on to, Night Driver, and the atrocious Pac-Man, the Night Driver though is the only one I still have from childhood, the Pac-Man, someone gave me about 20 years ago.
The 2600's 6507 is not a modified 6502. The 6507 is a severely castrated 6502. Also, Kung Fu Master on the NES is bang on regarding the speed and touch of the player and enemies. I am curious why the graphics don't match better, for the NES could do it.
Your ranking system is a little unusual. I would have favored the NES versions more often than not, but you're right when you say that 2600 Pitfall 2 is superior to NES Super Pitfall. I would say that NES Kung Fu has the edge over the 2600 version, because it plays more cleanly and has two buttons for attacks. You have to use diagonals to make the kicks come out in the 2600 game, which makes it slightly more awkward to play.
WOW! What an Atari 2600 homer! No way most 2600 games compete with the NES... Mario Bros a tie??? Popeye a tie??? QBert a tie??? Rampage a tie??? REALLY? Its fine to be a 2600 homer. I grew up with one and loved it but c'mon man!
@@janwilt6974 Game play is definitely most important but when game play is basically identical then you go on to other things which clearly is in heavy favor of the NES.
On your list I'd only give Atari the advantage on Galaxian, Defender II, Pitfall, Star Raiders, and Millipede. Maybe Joust too. I love Atari but NES wins out for the most part. I'm surprised you didn't put Space Invaders on here. The Famicom game is just terrible compared to Atari's version.
What? No Ghostbusters? 0_o No Ms. Pac-Man? 0_o To be fair... no matter what platform you play Ghostbusters on it's kinda crap. BUT... with the VCS version? It manages to retain most if not all of the basic gameplay elements of the NES version and the fact that it has a store where you buy stuff to upgrade? For a VCS game that's damned impressive. lol And the VCS version of Ms. Pac-Man pretty much fixed everything that was wrong with the original VCS Pac-Man. Considering the system it's damned near arcade perfect.
Clearly the NES has the upper hand in this battle, still the Atari most definitely has its use as it was present before the NES was released eh guys 🙂👍🏻
Blasphemy! NES Golf was superior to Atari Golf in every concievable way. wish someone would make a good homebrew Golf game for the 2600 though...obviously, this gamer nerd doesn't know how sports games should work. My best score in 9 holes(aka Atari Golf)...32. Best score in NES Golf...64,(-8 under par after 18 holes) So I guess in that respect they are equal, LOL!
Dede, you forgot Ms. PAC MAN, PAC MAM Jr., Front Line and Ghost Busters. And in the same manner comparing a different, but similar games there are Tanks, but No tanks for Atari and Battle City for the Famicom. 😊
@@GregsGameRoom you could consider to compare atari hombrew games as well, like The princess rescue, (Super Mario Bros Atari port) Robot Zed and Mega Man 2600 (Mega Man inspired game and Mega Man demo for 2600), MAPPY, very good 2600 port. Donkey Kong VCS , another fantastic 2600 port. I have to think about others too :)
If they play the same then graphics and sound are the tie breaker. I loved the 2600 as a kid too but most of those games are ass now and have aged like milk.
I don't have head trauma bad enough for this to be a question. Atari caused the games industry to crash. Nintendo and the gold seal rescued game industry. Atari = E.T. Nintendo = Mario Bros., Metroid, The Legend of Zelda and many others. I had both. With Atari I played Adventure, Pitfall and Pacman. Then I got to play Mario Bros. on my cousins Nintendo and everything changed. Just 1 persons opinion.
@@GregsGameRoom then just review a black screen. Because if graphics has nothing to do with gameplay then a blank screen is all you need right. (i see you didnt have a come back for that)
You think rampage on atari to n e s is a tie? bullshit. Without a frame of reference, you would have no idea what the hell was going on. seems biased. Like a lot of these comparisons. Boo
The Atari 2600 uses a variant of the same 8-bit processor as the NES. I can't believe it's 2024 and people still think "Atari was 4-bit"...follow that logic backwards...what comes before 1-bit? 1/2-bit?
Maybe I'll watch the rest of the video eventually, but as a big time Burgertime fan when you said that abomination of a game on the 2600 had decent gameplay you lost me. Good grief.
I bought an Atari 2600 Jr in the late 80s specifically because the NES did not have Pong, Asteroids, Frogger, Space Invaders, and because no store anywhere around me had arcade games the NEShad that I wanted like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros.
🇺🇸 Watching while parked at TA Travel Center - Huntington Oregon. 🚛 Thinking about Greg's Game Room? 🤗 A fantastic channel with quick, clear & informative reviews! 🕥 Why go anywhere else?
This was a DOOZY to make, I hope you all enjoy it! Please check out these videos too:
5 Minute History Nintendo NES: th-cam.com/video/k_oNjfOVB0E/w-d-xo.html
5 Minute History Atari 2600: th-cam.com/video/H8vaXOKJxKQ/w-d-xo.html
Every Konami NES Game: th-cam.com/video/AO1qrfzyDtI/w-d-xo.html
I know there were a few arcade games that came out on console first. I am curious what they were.
I can still see my father sitting in front of the 2600 , playing Pac-Man, saying to my Mom,"Just one more game. "
Yes, the NES looked much better but you have to give it to the Atari developers for doing the almost impossible on a machine designed to play Pong. And after all these years, some of these Atari games have such charm and are so fun that they are more fun than the better looking NES games (Q*Bert, Bump 'N Jump, Millipede, Popeye).
No matter which version of bump and jump I play it always feels like the arcade
Also consider that the original Atari Video Computer System came out many years before the Nintendo Entertainment System. Hardly a fair match.
I dismissed the Atari VCS at the time because of the lame graphics compared to what I was used to seeing in the video arcades. I settled on the Atari 400/800 home computers and never saw any reason to consider Nintendo.
Lately I've been taking another look at the 2600 games. Sure, the graphics are generally poor but for the most part the gameplay is definitely still there.
Those mushrooms in Centipede sure don't look like mushrooms, but the gameplay is certainly still there.
Exactly! Gameplay is the most important component to a video game!
Thanks so much for a great video. Regarding Donkey Kong, Garry Kitchen stated in a recent interview on the Gen X channel that he could have made all 4 levels for Donkey Kong for the 2600, but Coleco had a deadline he had to meet so that they could get it out in time for the Christmas holiday season, and also I think he said he would have needed a larger ROM size for the cart, and Coleco wanted to use the smaller size.
He said something similar in my interview with him, Dan Kitchen and David Crane. ;-)
The twenty six hundred version of space invaders is still the best version... 2 player, etc
Agreed! Probably one of the very best ports and still holds up.
This was a great comparison video dude! The gameplay is most definitely the most important. Atari held its own for so long.
Great video! Here are some games you missed:
Basic Programming (Family Basic FC only)
California Games
Chess (Video Chess vs Chessmaster)
Crazy Climber (Atari rarity - FC only)
Donkey Kong Jr.
Front Line (FC Only)
Ghostbusters
Klax (Atari PAL only)
Ms Pac-Man (NES Tengen + Namco variants)
Othello
Pooyan (FC only)
Space Invaders (FC only)
Space Shuttle
Winter Games
Other games that are either titled the same or comparable in gameplay:
BattleZone (BattleTank?)
Bowling
Boxing (lots to compare)
Breakout (Arkanoid?)
Combat (FC had Battle City)
Espial (Atari rarity - Xevious clone)
Ghostbusters 2 (Atari PAL only)
Gravitar (Solar Jetman?)
Pole Position (F1 Race FC & GB only)
Secret Quest (vs Zelda?)
Smurfs (NES PAL only)
Snoopy (Atari rarity vs Silly Sports?)
Spider Man (?)
Star Trek (?)
Star Wars (?)
Superman (?)
Plenty of games left for a Part II. ;-)
Acid drop for Atari was the last official game rleaced in 1992 and it is very similar to Magic Julary for the Famicom.
@@intel386DXMagic Jewelry? Nice reference...that is a Klax clone.
I wish Dig Dug would have come out in the US on NES. Japan got a near perfect port while we got Dig Dug 2…. 😝
Yeah, I play it so often on my NES (with the Everdrive) forget it's really a Famicom game sometimes.
This was one of the reasons I got an Atari jr - so I could play Dig Dug, Asteroids, Pong, and Space Invaders
The comparisons really make the Atari graphics look bad. It's like looking at a VHS compared to 4k.
Haha, like comparing NES to SNES. ;-)
My two first consoles going head to head. Enjoyed the head to head comparisons
Nice channel especially the homebrew Nes video I just subbed you keep up the awesome work 👍
Awesome analysis and breakdown on all of these Greg! Made for a really enjoyable watch…even if I disagreed on a few of them.
Even putting graphics and sound aside I feel you're being veeeery generous with some of the 2600 appraisals. ;) But hey I'm a sucker for a good comparison video, and this demonstrates how the 2600 is the purest, most basic distillation of what "video game" can mean. It gives you just what you need and not a byte more.
Double Dragon! 🐉 cool to see all these games side by side ❤
Heck yeah!
My dad: "Why do you need a Nintendo? You already have an Atari."
As a kid, I owned an Atari 2600, once I got to the NES, and the 16 bit consoles, I could never go back to the 2600, outside of a small selection of games (mainly Activision's input on the console), and stuff like Bowling, or Target Fun (also called Air Sea Battle).
I still have a couple 2600 carts I managed to hang on to, Night Driver, and the atrocious Pac-Man, the Night Driver though is the only one I still have from childhood, the Pac-Man, someone gave me about 20 years ago.
It's all about game play, 2600 for the win!
Gameplay is it’s strong suit.
Mans said EyeCar E-Warriors
I also say "GIFF" instead of "JIFF"
@@GregsGameRoom lol so you're one of those guys
Great video
The 2600's 6507 is not a modified 6502. The 6507 is a severely castrated 6502. Also, Kung Fu Master on the NES is bang on regarding the speed and touch of the player and enemies. I am curious why the graphics don't match better, for the NES could do it.
Got a Vader for xmas 82. That was awesome back then!
Your ranking system is a little unusual. I would have favored the NES versions more often than not, but you're right when you say that 2600 Pitfall 2 is superior to NES Super Pitfall. I would say that NES Kung Fu has the edge over the 2600 version, because it plays more cleanly and has two buttons for attacks. You have to use diagonals to make the kicks come out in the 2600 game, which makes it slightly more awkward to play.
It's not really a ranking per se. Conceding that the NES looks and sounds better almost every time, the only real competition here is gameplay.
Hey, were did you get the cartoon clip for Pitfall? David Crane was asking if anyone has copies of the cartoon as he wants to see it again.
Love videos like this!!
I disagree on a few, but particularly Double Dragon. Having a single player Double Dragon is pointless.
WOW! What an Atari 2600 homer! No way most 2600 games compete with the NES... Mario Bros a tie??? Popeye a tie??? QBert a tie??? Rampage a tie??? REALLY? Its fine to be a 2600 homer. I grew up with one and loved it but c'mon man!
I think it’s the gameplay
@@janwilt6974 Game play is definitely most important but when game play is basically identical then you go on to other things which clearly is in heavy favor of the NES.
On your list I'd only give Atari the advantage on Galaxian, Defender II, Pitfall, Star Raiders, and Millipede. Maybe Joust too. I love Atari but NES wins out for the most part. I'm surprised you didn't put Space Invaders on here. The Famicom game is just terrible compared to Atari's version.
What?
No Ghostbusters? 0_o
No Ms. Pac-Man? 0_o
To be fair... no matter what platform you play Ghostbusters on it's kinda crap.
BUT... with the VCS version? It manages to retain most if not all of the basic gameplay elements of the NES version and the fact that it has a store where you buy stuff to upgrade? For a VCS game that's damned impressive. lol
And the VCS version of Ms. Pac-Man pretty much fixed everything that was wrong with the original VCS Pac-Man. Considering the system it's damned near arcade perfect.
Indiana Jones was the first in game market I ever played and you could only buy one item but I loved that feeling of in- game commerce.
I don't care what anyone says , Atari 2600 Pac man is STILL one of my favorite games.
Nes wins overall, but what is the final result?
Clearly the NES has the upper hand in this battle, still the Atari most definitely has its use as it was present before the NES was released eh guys 🙂👍🏻
Blasphemy! NES Golf was superior to Atari Golf in every concievable way. wish someone would make a good homebrew Golf game for the 2600 though...obviously, this gamer nerd doesn't know how sports games should work.
My best score in 9 holes(aka Atari Golf)...32.
Best score in NES Golf...64,(-8 under par after 18 holes)
So I guess in that respect they are equal, LOL!
Dede, you forgot Ms. PAC MAN, PAC MAM Jr., Front Line and Ghost Busters. And in the same manner comparing a different, but similar games there are Tanks, but No tanks for Atari and Battle City for the Famicom. 😊
Have to save some for a Part 2…
@@GregsGameRoom you could consider to compare atari hombrew games as well, like The princess rescue, (Super Mario Bros Atari port)
Robot Zed and Mega Man 2600 (Mega Man inspired game and Mega Man demo for 2600),
MAPPY, very good 2600 port.
Donkey Kong VCS , another fantastic 2600 port. I have to think about others too :)
Give me a break with some of these Atari ties and wins…you have a hard-on for the 2600.
I always laughed in 2600 double dragon when your character is down he looks like a poodle
If they play the same then graphics and sound are the tie breaker. I loved the 2600 as a kid too but most of those games are ass now and have aged like milk.
I don't have head trauma bad enough for this to be a question. Atari caused the games industry to crash. Nintendo and the gold seal rescued game industry. Atari = E.T. Nintendo = Mario Bros., Metroid, The Legend of Zelda and many others. I had both. With Atari I played Adventure, Pitfall and Pacman. Then I got to play Mario Bros. on my cousins Nintendo and everything changed. Just 1 persons opinion.
I thought Atari 2600 games could be as big as 64k?
Nowadays with the latest memory chips. But Fatal Run was the biggest when Atari was still making games.
NES was the first truly contemporary console
What about Atari 2600/VCS ?
What a horrible (amazing) night to have a curse (channel subscription).
"Nintendo NES?" So... it's a Nintendo Nintendo Entertainment System... am I getting that right?🧐🤔
how was bump and jump a tie lol?
"game play same... both ar fun.. nes has massivly better graphics.. TIE"
stop padding the scores lol
This is a gameplay comparison not graphics.
@@GregsGameRoom then just review a black screen. Because if graphics has nothing to do with gameplay then a blank screen is all you need right. (i see you didnt have a come back for that)
FIRST!
Thank you!
You think rampage on atari to n e s is a tie? bullshit.
Without a frame of reference, you would have no idea what the hell was going on. seems biased. Like a lot of these comparisons. Boo
Bruh, you are so full of it.
The very 1st sentence was inaccurate. Atari 2600 was a 4 bit system
I hope you are joking.
Haha! Good one!
The atari 2600 isn't 8 bit.... the 800 and 400 are, however
The Atari 2600 uses a variant of the same 8-bit processor as the NES. I can't believe it's 2024 and people still think "Atari was 4-bit"...follow that logic backwards...what comes before 1-bit? 1/2-bit?
6507 is most definitely an 8-bit processor.
Maybe I'll watch the rest of the video eventually, but as a big time Burgertime fan when you said that abomination of a game on the 2600 had decent gameplay you lost me. Good grief.
Yikes, it's almost like people have differing opinions on things. The horror!
Opinions are like… something? I forget the saying.
It’s clear that the NES versions were better in 8 out of 10 times. What a dumb review.
I bought an Atari 2600 Jr in the late 80s specifically because the NES did not have Pong, Asteroids, Frogger, Space Invaders, and because no store anywhere around me had arcade games the NEShad that I wanted like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros.
🇺🇸 Watching while parked at TA Travel Center - Huntington Oregon.
🚛 Thinking about Greg's Game Room?
🤗 A fantastic channel with quick, clear & informative reviews!
🕥 Why go anywhere else?
Awesome, thanks for watching from Oregon!