» MANUFACTURER: Atari » YEAR: 1987
» COST: £119.99 (launch, deluxe set), £200+ (today, boxed), £150+ (today, unboxed)
Though Atari’s 8-bit computer line was approaching its eighth anniversary in 1987, the company was still committed to pushing those products. The problem, as Atari’s Neil Harris told comp.sys.atari.8bit users, was that mass-market stores were “retreating from the computer business” and “doing a fabulous business in game systems like Nintendo, Sega, and, of course, Atari”. Without machines in stores, software developers were reluctant to support Atari’s machine. The XE Games System (XEGS), like the Atari 5200, would offer the 8-bit computer technology in a console form factor. Unlike the 5200, it would be cross-compatible.
The XEGS is an attractively designed device that certainly had a decent amount of grunt, essentially being a redesigned…