Re: Apple II vs Atari 800

[Don <coach41@pacbell.net>]

On Apr 13, 5:36 pm, "Jack Tseng" <tse...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> In 1980, Apple II graphics/sound looks limited.. Graphics on the games look
> very terrible... Sound is not good. Atari graphics/sound are better than
> Apple II.. Why did many companies make the games for Apple more than Atari?
>
> I attended to the computer class in the elementary school. There were many
> Apple computers in the most school. Can anyone tell me a reason why the
> school chooses Apple even thought the graphics and music were terrible?
>
> Thanks!
> Jack

Jack,

A small history lesson for you.  Apple II graphics and sound, over the
years hardly changed.  From when the Apple II was introduced in the
late 1970's until the advent of the Apple IIe, the "high resolution
graphics" on the Apple II never changed.   The only improvement before
the introduction of the Apple IIGS in 1986 was the use of "double high
resolution" graphics.

As far as the number of games available on the Atari vs the Apple II,
I doubt any of us can ever get an exact count.  The Apple II did have
a head start and technically the 8 bit Apple II's were manufactured
much longer than their Atari counterparts.  However, in the early to
mid 80's, I'm pretty sure that any major game that appeared on the
Apple II was also on the Atari.   The 8 bit Atari's soon gave way to
the Atari 520ST/1040ST and that may have slowed the development of
games for the older Atari's in it's later years.  You could say that
about the 8 Bit Apple II's as well when the IIGS came out.

As far as education went, I remember using the Apple IIe in 1983 or
1984 at school.  I was probably in 3rd or 4th grade at the time.  I
didn't think about the graphics or sound.  I was just fascinated with
the computer and the programs I could run.   Why Apple choose to focus
on education, we'll never know (maybe to get an early influence on the
kids to buy Apples in the future).

However, it was a sound business decision.  The Apple IIe was still in
use at my high school through my graduation year (1992) and presumably
a few more years after that.  That's a solid investment for school's
who may have to change machines way more often these days with the way
technology changes.  Despite the decline of the Apple II in the
commercial market in the 90's, the Apple II was still entrenched
heavily in education and that came it going longer than the Atari's
and Commodore's.

Don