Atari Systems

The pioneers of home gaming.

Overview

Atari defined home gaming from the 2600 through the Jaguar. While many systems are now obscure, the 2600 and 7800 remain historically important, and the Lynx was a capable handheld.

SystemYearType
Atari 26001977Console
Atari 52001982Console
Atari 78001986Console
Atari Lynx1989Handheld
Atari Jaguar1993Console

Emulators

SystemEmulatorNotes
Atari 2600StellaRetroArch core, excellent
Atari 5200Atari800RetroArch core
Atari 7800ProSystemRetroArch core
Atari LynxHandy / Beetle LynxRetroArch cores
Atari JaguarVirtual JaguarRetroArch core, limited

Setup

ROM Folders

roms/atari2600/
roms/atari5200/
roms/atari7800/
roms/atarilynx/
roms/atarijaguar/

File Formats

  • .a26 - Atari 2600
  • .a52 - Atari 5200
  • .a78 - Atari 7800
  • .lnx - Atari Lynx
  • .j64, .jag - Atari Jaguar
  • .zip - Compressed (all systems)

BIOS

Varies by System

  • 2600: Not required
  • 5200: 5200.rom required
  • 7800: 7800 BIOS (U).rom optional
  • Lynx: lynxboot.img required
  • Jaguar: BIOS files needed

Jaguar Note

Jaguar emulation is limited. Many games don't work well. The Jaguar CD add-on is even less supported. Manage expectations accordingly.

Where to Find Games

No-Intro sets on Myrient. See the Download Guide.