The Atari 5200 is essentially an Atari 400 without a keyboard. This proves that Atari's designs can quickly adapt to the market.
The console brings a revolutionary new joystick with an analog stick and function keys (start, pause, reset). Other innovations include automatic firing and four joystick ports.
The non-centering design of the joystick proved to be without advantage and unreliable, annoying many buyers. While the 5200 gained a large following thanks to a high-quality game library, it faced new competition from the Colecovision and an economy that was becoming increasingly shaky.
The question of which system would be superior to the other became irrelevant when the game market collapsed in 1983-1984, killing both consoles in their perfection.
Libretro A5200
Libretro Atari800