Atari 2600+ Review: Atari's NEW 2023 Console
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- ‼️ Check out my sponsor PCBWay at pcbway.com for all your PCB needs! 🪛 ‼️
My retro gaming podcast: theretrohour.com
My X: / danwood_uk
My Facebook: / danwooduk
▬ Contents of this video ▬
00:00 - What Have Atari Been Up To Lately?
02:55 - Atari 2600+ Unboxing
04:10 - PCBWay Sponsor Slot
04:39 - Atari 2600+ New CX40+ Joystick Overview
07:18 - Atari 2600+ Hardware Overview
10:43 - Atari 2600+ Playing Games and Power On
13:26 - Atari 2600+ Original Game Cartridge Compatibility
14:13 - Conclusion
Sources used in this video (with permission or under fair use):
Atari 2600+ - Official Announcement Trailer: • Atari 2600+ - Official...
Atari 2600 commercial December 17 1977: • Atari 2600 commercial ...
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Trailer: • Atari 50: The Annivers...
Centipede Collectible Atari 2600 Cartridge: • Centipede Collectible ...
Pre-Order Mr Run Jump 2600 Today: • Pre-Order Mr Run Jump ...
#Atari #Atari2600 #Atari2600Plus #RetroGaming #Retrogames - Věda a technologie
I was born in 1983 - but the Atari 2600 was still my 1st game console growing up. So I have a lot of nostalgia for it. And I still have all of my original cartridges
Same here. So many memories. That 2600 was space aged tech to me back then.
My first was the Intellivision, but I later bought a 2600 because it had so many more games
By 1983 the Atari was already obsolete. I would have recommend you got an NES when you were around 7 or so. Those games were quite inexpensive by then, but the console was still very playable. I was born in 1971, by 1983, the Atari 2600 was a long lost console to most people.
It was more a case of we had what my parents could afford - we used to rent the NES console and games from video stores on weekends or school holidays. But never had one when I was young
@@michaelbotting806 I would think by 1990 the NES would have been quite affordable. I never owned one, but 1990 is when I entered college. By that time, the SNES and PlayStation was "the thing". At the time in the 1980's, I remember most parents thought video games were a fad, so they didn't try very hard to get a "top of the line" system.
I actually grew up on a C=64, it was my brother that insisted on getting a console, as he considered a computer "too nerdy". I went on to become an engineer as a result. If by 1990, I wanted to get the "cheapest" but "best" console at THAT time, I think I would have gotten a Colecovision. I really don't know what the prices would have been at that time, but I would have expected the Nintendo to be affordable by 1990. I'm surprised you could still rent the console and cartridges by that time but the NES was around for a long time, I guess in 1990, the SNES hadn't come out yet, that came out in 1991.
I'll tell you, I have NO nostalgia for all the old hardware. I bet given another decade, you won't either. Hunh, the NES was discontinued in 1995. That's surprising they kept selling systems when they SNES was out. By 1995, there were simulators of the NES coming online. I was BLOWN AWAY when I could play Super Mario brothers on a Unix workstation in the graphics lab.
I was born in 1971, so I was 6 when the Atari 2600 came out. It was my first game system & I still have it along with my entire collection of cartridges. It will be nice to give my old games a new home.
I was also born in 1971 and this was my first game console, wish I still had mine !
Another 1971er here. My console is long gone, but I do have many of the game cartridges. This is going on the Christmas list!
@@jeeplife5262
A bit later on here, born in '77 and finally got an Atari 2600 (my brother bought it from my mate in either 1985 1986) and we loved it! It got a lot of use! It stopped working in the late 80s ('88?) and was replaced in secret with a VCS as a surprise when I spent a week up in Scotland with my mate at his Nan's.
Great memories!
My dad was born in 1971}
@@tanookileafproductions you should buy him one of these for his birthday or Father’s Day… he will love it!
This is facinating since I worked on the assembly line building original 2600s in 1977.
You produced the original 'heavy sixer'?!
That's cool! Those things are ultra rare and expensive when they come up. I don't think I've seen one come up for sale here in the UK!
I was born in ‘78 and grew up with the Atari 2600. The release of Atari 50th is a great addition along with the recharged series on modern platforms. These games need challenges for longevity.
Same here. People our age played the ATARI long before we played the NES. I've got an original ATARI that still sorta works and I still enjoy playing it from time to time. Ya know providing the damn thing will work🤷♂️
I was given an Atari 2600 in early 1985, it was about 5, 6 years old at the time with about 2 dozen games, including Pitfall II. I was visiting my grandparents in summer of '85, there was a Revco Drug Store selling Atari & Activision games on sale for $2.00 a piece! Grandmother did surprise me with 2 of them since she saw me showing interest in them for Christmas; I got Defender & Chopper Command. I still have the system & the games in my closet.
Also, I have a ColecoVision console with a dozen+ games too.
Born in 71. Got a new 6 switch in 1980 for Christmas. Couple things I am reminded of. Atari Age magazine showed how you could convert a joystick controller to make it left-handed. Also when playing Space Invaders if hold the start switch down while switching on the power you would shoot double. Maybe you folks know that stuff, good memories.
For some games, I could slit the cartridge kinda crooked and it would unlock a cheat or a bypass.
I'm 48 and Atari was my first and favorite game console. Still have an original Atari 2600 and it still works great. Very fond memories for me. Cheers 🍻👍
I have my Atari as well, still works
I am 24 I grew up playing on my dad’s Atari 2600, I have nostalgia for the system, I used to play it a lot when I was younger. I was excited to pick the Atari 2600+ up and play all the cartridges my dad had laying around. Now I want to collect for the 2600 and the 7800
I was born in 1966, I had an Atari 2600 and wore out two sets of joy sticks! I loved Elevator Action and Galaga. They used to heat up quite a bit and the cables did break. But it was the toy of my youth!
I'm an Australian born in 1968. My mum bought me my Atari 2600 in 1979/80. It was incredibly expensive at the time, but it made me extremely popular with my friends. Lol. I'm pleased to say that 43 years later, I still have my console and accessories, all in excellent condition. I haven't used it in decades. Perhaps one day, I'll try to get it fired up again. 😊
It may not work on the new HD tvs.
This is awesome! I still have my colecovision from just after I was born in 1979. Early this year I managed to work out how to run the colecovision on both a new cheap HD tv and an old one too. If you have trouble with connecting it, let me know, I can help as I am also from Australia. I made a video on how to connect it to both TVs at different times.
This is way cool and so nostalgic. I was born in 1968, and I received an Atari 2600 Game Console, and several game cartridges, for Christmas in 1978. If I remember correctly, in 1978, the Atari 2600 was selling for around $140 and the game cartridges were between $25 and $40 each, depending on the newness and popularity of the arcade version (if there was one) of the video game at the time. Considering each game cartridge only had a 4k ROM chip in it, that is pretty pathetic by today's video game standards, but the Atari 2600 was still a blast to play at the time. My friends and I would spend hours playing Atari everyday after school, and yet we still managed to go outside and play as well...lol.
The Atari 2600 joysticks would wear out really fast. I can remember "rebuilding" many of the joysticks in order to get more life out of them, even though they were only around $10 to replace at the time. The first thing to usually wear out was the fire button spring, which had to constantly be restretched in order for the fire button to work properly. Then the directional membrane sensors on the PCB circuit board would fail. Good times.
I still remember when Activision started making game cartridges for the Atari 2600. The graphics were so much "better" than the original Atari game cartridges. Eventually, Atari's graphics got better also. Well, Except for the "E.T." game, which was a total disaster for Atari.
I ended up selling my Atari 2600, and around 30 game cartridges, in the mid- 80's, for around $200. What a bargain that was. I pretty much quit playing video games after that, even though I have had a great career as an IT Professional for over 25 years. Maybe I will purchase one of these new Atari 2600 consoles just for the nostalgia, and also to play with my grandson. We never really grow up now, do we?...lol 😊
Born in 1970, we got the 2600 in 1978 Christmas and Brakeout was the first game we played on it. I remember like yesterday going to Sears at the mall and playing Air Sea Battle or waiting in line to play on several occasions. Life was completely different back then, then again I was just a kid.
Was born early 1990s, oddly enough i picked up a 2600 from an ebay auction in 2008 with a ton of games and ended up really enjoying how simple and abstract everything was, my favourite game being Berzerk from the lot. With how it sounds and just the feel of things its such a drastic contrast from anything out now game wise. Despite it being WAY before my time i sort of like how everything requires a lot of imagination to get into it, i guess i would be in the minority here.
I liked Berzerk in the early-1990s on my 7800! Even when the game's from 1982.
Thanks for sharing Dan, great to see more content from you!
Born 73. Started for a year in 1984 with a second hand Commodore Vic-20, then did another 2 with a Vic-64, first with cassette only, later with a 1541 floppy I saved up for and bought new. The day after, in school i i was king of the nerds, 7th grade this. After school like 15-20was waiting for me outside school for my last class to end so they could come with e home to check it out. I loved that Vic 64. Still to this day dream about how we'd stay in my room for 60h, straight a frew guys in the summer and just play. After that I got the Amiga 500 of course, and those 3!" disks. First time I brought one to school, there could be a group of 8.10 of us just admiring that disk and the IMMENSE amount of data it could store.
I bought one on pre-order. I was born in 1966 and grew up with Atari, so this is right in my wheelhouse. I do have a couple of old 2600s and a large collection of carts. I don't need to buy one of these... but it gives me HDMI and 7800 compatibility. I'm really looking forward to getting mine!
I also preordered mine... I was born in 1983 and my parents had an Atari and that was the only console I had until Christmas 1991 when we got the SNES. My parents were infamous with their refusal to upgrade a system you could still get games for my family got free games from everyone else who had upgraded to NES or Sega Master System/Sega Genesis and didn't want their 2600 games anymore. However this is the one console I didn't have in a modern setting that I had growing up because I don't have the real estate for a CRT and I'm not technically skilled enough to figure out how to upgrade a classic 2600 to a modern TV. The 2600+ is perfect for me.
I pre-ordered mine. I was born in 1984. I got a big library of the 2600 games.
Love your content. I iknow there is so much limited content you can cover, but hope you produce more.
Thanks for the review and it is nice to see you back Dan!
I got one for my birthday. Before Nintendo. I graduated to Nintendo but I have AMAZING memories with my Atari 2600. My first kiss was shared while playing the system. Many nights playing games. Lots of friends hanging out. So many memories
Thank you for another enjoyable video. I actualled checked yesterday if i missed a video of you, since it's been a while.
born in 75. Plus have a collection of old 2600 cartridges. For me its is a must have. It was the first gaming console I,ve had. Mine will arrive tomorrow. One thing that has caught my eye is how expensive it has gotten to play old retro games. Lets hope that this send a trend for a new generation of gamer.
Been missing your videoes, Great to have you back :-)
My brother and I got one for Christmas in 1978, I think. Loved it, especially during the Midwest blizzard of 1978! I still have it and all the games. Tempted to get the new one.
Thank you very much for the review and great job. I liked playing the Atari games on the Atari 400/800 and games published for them and complexity was a bit more for them with better graphics and sound. But I’m going to check this out.❤
I had one of these in the 80's great times also i think the colour band around the joystick comes with what we called the woody design this was the very first Atari. Later they made the unit in plain black that's the plain black joystick.
We had a garage sale in 1980 and my parents used the proceeds to buy us a 2600. It was the thing to have back then, simpler times. I'm content with computer emulation but I still have an original unit with cartridges, not the one we had as kids, never hooked it up though.
Thank you for the video Dan!
Thank you so much for doing this teardown!
Nice review, especially as you open everything up. It looks like they took some time with this console and especially the controllers. I remember breaking countless originals back in the day as they were quite flimsy. Whats on the emulator board would have taken up the footprint of the case 40 years ago, similar to the C64 boards.
For someone that just wants a plug and play approach, its great to see gaming companies now releasing consoles that can play the original game cartridges. Of course if you're just after a hit of nostalgia and you have a spare PC lying around all, of the emulators and ROMs are easily downloaded.
This, coleco vision and intellivision were my first gaming experiences, so yea, can't wait. Know the Atari came out in 77, but our house didn't have one until about '81.
Great review, Dan! 50+ gamer here and the Atari 2600 was actually my first contact with video games. Loved the game "Demon Attack" on it. Atari is actually heading into the right direction, but i think the prices are too high for the new games...
Same here, 58 and still gaming… remember this console so well…
Ya, they could have made it more compelling. The controllers should be wireless.
@@chevy4x466 40 bucks for a repackaged Bezerk is a little too high. 10 were ok
Received mine today, The Atari 2600 was my first console and have to say this recreation doesn't disappoint
I was born in 72. Still have my old Atari 2600 and cartridges. I remember repairing my old joysticks when the contacts wore out - I took them off the board, bent them out a bit, and then taped them back on and they worked again for a good bit. I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what the new switches are on the updated stick, and you bailed half way through the teardown! :) Great video though.
Dan I can’t believe you cut away from Space Invaders at the crucial moment. The tension was just peaking 😂 One of my school friends lent me his 2600 with Space Invaders in the late 80s, when he got an Amstrad, so it was the first console I played.
Getting one, thank you. Excellent video btw
I'm loving my Atari 2600+.
The 2600 was my first ever console, I was hooked on the old Road Runner game as a kid, I would love to get one of these.
Nice video Dan 👌
Born in 81 and this was the first foray I had into video games. Simple and got the basics for a young kid to learn.
Really great video. 😊 Where did you get that green/yellow/pink controller? i love it
Great review, Dan. Really useful. They missed a trick not making it the same size as the original.
Great video, Dan. An interesting product, this..
I grew up in the 70's, born in 1967, I was there for Pong, then the Atari 2600. I got one for Christmas the year after it was released. Back then it was just amazing. Pure joy for a kid. I picked up a Sega Genesis Mini, for the retro love, but this would be special!! Really special!!
Can you imagine if you had a PS5 & Call of Duty series game back then.
Its hilarious that the inside is mostly empty space. The technology/machinery to create the 1970's circuit boards no longer exists, so everything done with modern tech to look retro is really cool.
Very well done and thank you very much!
Clocking asteroids on a Saturday morning was a highlight for me back in the early 80's. I did that a couple of times. Loved my old Atari.
Thanks for the solid review! Looking forward to getting one. If you haven't used your modern VCS in a while, plug it in and enjoy. There's lots of new content. And it's the best way to play Atari 50 with paddle support.
💯
This is so cool. I was born in the 90s but one of my earliest memories was playing atari on my fathers computer. He had the computer that could take atari carts. I loved it. Still do. Id love to get one of these things and start collecting carts.
While I probably wouldn't get one myself, I do have to admit adding 7800 support was an appreciated touch on Atari's part.
Personally, the 7800 support is the only reason I would consider buying.
@@kspen72 Considering the prices they go for these days on the 2nd Hand market, it does add a reasonable value to what would otherwise be just another modern HDMI Atari 2600 at the end of the day. Something a lil extra to actually earn the + at the end of "2600+".
Since it’s emulation on a SOC, it would have been done after the release by some homebrew guy anyway. Note that not all the 7800 games are compatible with this machine, so if you really want to enjoy all the Atari games, you’re going to have to find a way to tickle with the SOC settings… assuming ‘Atari’ programmers in Timbuktu were paid to create them.
@@Strateggo For sure but at the end of the day Atari "Or more likely whomever Atari farmed it's development out to" at least gave it the functionality to do so right out of the box. That's what I'm trying to get at ultimately.
Honestly, it looks very underwhelming, to be honest. I'm not really sure what else I was expecting
I just stumbled upon your channel. Nice review. I like the explanation on how the system can play carts, I was wondering that myself.
I was looking at picking up one of the consoles at Costco a month or so ago, but decided against it. I didn't think I'd play it enough to warrant the purchase. It was cool to see for nostalgia's sake though.
I was born in 76 and got my first 2600 in 81. I had the "Vader" edition with the black front. Good times!!!
Great review to the point!
(Off topic) Can you please tell me what the round smart digital clock is on the right?
another great video Dan. Where have you been???? come back, you are one of the best youtubers out there!!!!!!
Nintendo ought to do this with the NES/SNES/N64
I've still got the original console that my parents bought me for Christmas along with 2 joysticks and numerous games, can't remember last time I actually switched it on, might have to take a look to see if it work and how much this console is and try my games
I remember spending all day playing pacman and clocking it, thanks for sharing
@4:55 I am fairly sure that as a child our joysticks had the same orange directional markings as this modern replica. I never knew Wozniak and Jobs were behind Breakout!
Great review!! I have an unrelated question though. At the 10:45 mark you have a small round clock object next to your screen. What is that and where did you purchase it? I can’t find it anywhere.
I had a 2600 and a super Nintendo that i don't remember having but apparently existed when i was around 3. I do really want to pick this up just to add to my collection and finally get my hands on this system again
The 2600 was my first ever games console. The best games were Yars Revenge and Combat. I do still play them using the excellent stella emulator.
I never owned one of these back in the day, but a friend of mine who lived in the same street did. We would always play Joust on it.
I think this console is geared toward the retro computing enthusiast and those people who just want to enjoy a bit of nostalgia about a console they once owned. There are barriers to entry for an authentic experience like that because first you would have to try and find a used working one in half decent condition, and then you would have to try and find a way to connect it up to a modern TV.
This console removes many of these barriers, and yet still allows people to play the original titles on it if they want. I think it's a neat system.
Great Video
I am dumbfounded that you never played the 2600 as a kid. I'm only 46 but I grew up with the 2600 which I continued to use even after I got a C64.
I am only 39 - and the 2600 was my 1st console as a kid. I didn’t get an NES until I was at least 11 or 12
This I don't understand. Basically any "fun" game on the 2600 was also available for the C=64.
@@fuzzywzhe True which is why I eventually retired the 2600. But for a short time it was fun using both.
The C64, that was so much better than the Atari 2600. Gotta love the floppy disks. I had several games on each disk. My favorites were dig dug and moon base.
@@lamarravery4094 We were all pirates weren't we? My school used to sell floppy disks for $1, and they all knew what we used them for.
I think the best game for the C=64 was Jumpman, NOT Jumpman Jr. I've never completed it. The Grand Loop, there's one level you've never seen unless you beat it. Roll Me Over always killed me.
YET I was able to beat Impossible Mission.
I still have my 2600 Atari system from back in the late 70s, early 80s with around 150 cartridges plus lots of controllers along with a 7800 system with around 50 cartridges so I'll definitely have to get this console so to be able to play them again with less hassle on my TVs.
Looks awesome. I had the original back in 81. Space invader was legendary.
I had one when they first came out, i played it a lot, but i don't feel the need to play it again. It's nice to see it's still around though.
Watching your review I really want 1 now
Oooh spotted Treasure Island there! First game I ever completed on my Plus4 (my first computer as I believe it was yours!) Anyway, believe it or not I did work experience at a local game shop in 1989 and we still sold old stock 2600s! Dunno where they got them from. And what do you think of the news there will be an Amiga Maxi from retrogames Dan?
I still remember the night we got our 2600. My dad sprung for Space Invaders and Asteroids ($74.99 each!) and Video Pinball (he thought that would be a game for him). We ended up playing Combat! (the free throw-in game) until after midnight. There was so many variations on that game and the competitive nature made it perfect for our family of 4.
Im in my early 40s too but I remember the 2600 because luckily, i'm gaming since I was a baby boy lol. It was the first video game system I ever saw, although yeah, I was a baby, very very young. Still remember my father playing boxing with different people, and myself grabbing that joystick and trying to maybe figure out what the hell i was supposed to do. Since then I've had some atari flashback systems and compilations, and the original too of course with games, and really I've had enough, not sure about the target audience for this, probably die hard fans only and the random guy who just remembered he/she had an atari half a century ago lol. If it came in that box though, yeah, i'd probably get it too :P
I'm your age. I think Atari's future plans are upgrading the old classics. I think what they did with Haunted House is an example of where they are heading. They took that primitive game and now, the new Haunted House Game is getting great reviews. I think we'll see more modern versions of the old stuff in addition to totally new 21st century games for this era.
This system was made for me. 😁
I've been looking for a system that can play my old games since forever.
The retron didn't look like a good option. 😒
I was in the process of trying to figure out how to hook up my old Atari to a 4K TV.
And then this system came out, and answered my prayers.
I still have mine , I was in 3rd grade playing it.
My older sister later ended up working at Atari, she took me to work I got to play in the arcade room all to myself for free.
I was there most of the day playing all the games hands hurt couldn’t move my fingers. Good times.
Breakout Arcade was written by Woz and Jobs.
The Atari 2600 port was written by Brad Stewart.
Although, you could argue that the ports are all closely following the design by the Steves. Although we don't know how tight it was to the design by Nolan Bushnell.
I picked up Mr Run and Jump yesterday. The 2600+ is in the post somewhere. The paddles have sold out hopefully Atari will make more
I never had one - but my friends did. I got right into gaming with my C64 back in the day. Way more games. But I've always wanted one and this might be the ticket!
Do you know if they work with PAL cartridges as well as NTSC ones? There is a slight difference that meant you needed to match the cart to the console if playing original hardware.
Just like the Evercade, Atari 2600+ hardware (ARM Soc / Linux OS) is actually perfectly capable of running modern but lightweight native games, beyond emulating 2600/7800 titles.
Would love to produce a game cartridge natively targeting the system.
Enabling this could open a whole range of options for players, developers and Atari.
Haha I had one of these as a kid in the 80's here in Australia, looked just like that. Favorite game was Commando, you could move up, down and sideways haha. The games were simple and fun, not violent and graphic, they couldn't be haha
I was about 9 when I got one. I was 5 when Star Wars came out. Everything changed. Yar's Revenge, I got to some high level in that game, binge-playing. Great Memories.
Ive still got my original Atari console and games ,loved missile command but my favourite was adventure i played it to death , I owned a console before the Atari called Video master it must have been the late 70s ,you could play tennis, football etc all comprised of just moving blocks on the screen but amazing as a kid at the time.
The original was before my time, but I am pumped for this. I’ve been collecting cartridges in the last several months. Probably the easiest retro console to collect for. Well, up til now anyway.
Thanks for the review, this helped me decide that I will buy one. I'm one of the older generations, in my mid 40s :) this has great memories!
When I was a kid growing up in the 1980s, I was obsessed with the Atari game catalogs….. I had all of them. They were cool to collect and fun to read. I used to get them at department stores in my area malls (when they actually sold electronics and TVs). I was so obsessed with the catalogs that I forgot to buy the 2600….
I never ever owned it!!!!
My first game was the regular old Pong. My cousin later got a 2600 and I got an Coleco Telstar Arcade, triangle shaped with the steering wheel and pistol. Got it when it came out in 1977. Both the Telstar Arcade and 2600 came out in '77. So we would play with whatever we had, get bored, swap consoles for a while then swap back later. The 2600 was OK, but the Arcade had racing with a steering wheel and shifter, fun until you learned the routine, same with the Pistil and gunfighter until you could hit every single time. Even with the games we still spent most of our time doing other things outside. That is, until our corner Sub Shop got Space Invaders a year later. '78, '79, Space Invaders junkies.
We played the Atari 2600 a lot when I was a kid. And I'm only 35. We had a Mega Drive and later a PS1 as well, but always have had and still have our old 2600. We...didn't care what was old news, we kept stuff we liked.
The original CX40 joystick you have, didn't have paint as it's a Vader joystick, these sold with the Vader and Jnr consoles. It was only the older Heavy and Light sixer that came with the circle design around painted orange.
Wow!!! I love the retromercial!!!!! It has Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding from Saved By The Bell) and Chuck McCann from a ton of various childrens' TV shows and sitcoms of the 60s and 70s in it!!!!
born in '72, played my first atari around 1979, went on to get an atari 400, 800xl, STe1040, then slipped into consoles in the early 90's, then evolved into PC's, where i currently have a 3090(24gb) gpu, 5800x3d cpu rig (my 3rd build), never forget those early years, it was more exciting back then in my opinion.
On the original joysticks it was easy to swap the wires around to use them on a TI 99/4a.
This is, by far, the best thing "Atari" has done in recent memory. It looks like they had a company build a solid console and controllers, unlike those awful ATGames Atari plug-and-play consoles that felt like cheap plastic garbage. Their Atari VCS system was questionable, as well. THIS is what an old school fan like me has wanted from the company. And the fact that they're re-releasing some of their old games is awesome. Especially like the enhanced version of Berzerk. The big question mark is, will they ever update the console to play a lot of the homebrew games that arent currently compatible with the system, such as the games made by CHAMP Games.
Brilliant. Mine hasn't worked in years but I kept my box of cartridges. I wonder if it can run Space Shuttle Simulator. That game uses ALL the buttons on the whole machine. The switch that open the podbay doors or something is probably missing. lol
15:10 Agreed. I played this at friend's homes in the 80s, but moved onto Nintendo by the time I was 9 y.o. I'd get the plug n play ver. with an O.G. Atari ctrl-r.
Excellent video. I want one. Would go great with my six switch. I'm going to buy one of the new joysticks to use with my USB adapter.
I noticed the joystick pin outs are printed on the board of the joystick.
I have two OG 2600s with about 120 games. My young niece and nephews LOVE it , even though it's hooked up to a 13 inch CRT TV.
I grew up with an Atari 2600 and had quite the collection of games. Alas, don't have the unit anymore (it was one of the "6 switch" ones) and many of the games also went missing. I do still have a Colecovision with the "Atari Adaptor" that allows the Colecovision to play 2600 games. I'll have to dig that thing out of the basement and see if it still works. I also have a friend here in town that has written a couple of homebrew games for the 2600 as well. Something I was seriously thinking of checking out myself, although being a senior software engineer, it is hard for me to want to do even more programming after spending all day at work doing it. Crazy what some of these old retro games and consoles are going for now. Back at the time when the NES first came out, especially in the late 80s into the early 90s, you practically couldn't give away old 2600 systems and games and how many I've seen at yard/rummage sales as well as thrift shops that you could pick up for like $20. I am talking the console plus a whole box of games at the time. I could still kick myself in the ass for not grabbing that Vectrex system I saw in a thrift shop for $25 in around 1992. Part of it being a poor college student that just did not have an extra $25 to spend on something like that at the time. I guess now as us "Gen X" are getting older and have a ton of disposable income, seems we want to buy back our childhood memories, such as these old retro games and consoles. As an aside, look at the rise of the so-called "Retrocade", that is actual arcades with those classic "golden age of arcade games", such as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Defender, Joust, etc, like we use to hang out in as teenagers. There is a really nice one right here in town and every time I go into that place, it is always crowded! From talking with the owner, I am hearing that even THOSE games are getting expensive to acquire. There was a time you used to be able to get old arcade games for a couple of hundred dollars in the late 90s into early 2000s (I have two in my basement), but I am hearing those things are now getting into the thousands of dollars to acquire.
The joysticks all had orange paint markings on top. It usually wore off. I should know, my first job in my teens was as technician at an Atari service centre. Fixed hundreds of joysticks on boring days. Fixed 2600s and a few Atari 400 and 800 computers on more intesting days
I was born in 63. I still have my original 2600. I may buy this because memories and keeping my old one in same condition as it is.
Meu jogos preferido. Enduro, River Raid, Hero, Megamania, Keystone Kapers, Frost Bite.
IIRC, in the early-1990s, I was playing 2600 games on a 7800. A favorite was Jr. PacMan!
Your voice is familiar to a podcast I've recently come across... Retro hour! 👑
wow, what a blast from the past !! excelent review... my only concern is the prices of the cartridges... way expensive imho !!