Atari Are Doing It Again - 7800+

Takumaji

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After the rather mediocre 2600+ emu console release which in its official form has still a lot of problems, Atari have released yet another mini console called the 7800+:


They're taking preorders now, price is set to $129.99. Comes with HDMI output, a wireless CX78+ control pad, plays 2600 and 7800 games. Pack-in game is Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest, a great platformer which had been released as a homebrew already but now got re-released as an official product under the new Atariage management.

So, what's the difference between the 2600+ and 7800+? None as far as I can tell, both play 2600 and 7800 carts, supposedly the 7800 part has better compatibility to homebrew and PAL games, whatever that means.

If this is going to be like the 400 Mini with its very own set of glitches and quirks or the 2600+ which has compatibility probs with quite a few original games, most people will probably steer clear.

I wouldn't mind having a 7800 with HDMI but I'm going to wait and see how it turns out, something tells me things won't be much different than with the 2600+.
 

Azathoth

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AFAIK the only difference is an updated pin connection on the cart slot. Same chipset and will have the same updated firmware as available for the 2600+, which you can get off Atari Age and update yourself.

Barring homebrew that uses ARM chips and commercial releases that use unsupported input like the keypad or driving controller, commercial titles are almost at 100 percent compatibility. There was a lot of shit that didn't work on the original stock firmware.

I could see this being a good purchase if you already own a cart collection and have no knowledge or desire to fuck with emulation. Beyond that just run Stella and a controller adapter on whatever device you already own.
 

ballzdeepx

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Interesting, but i'm still content with my OG 2600. I did buy that CX78+ pad though and wish I had done so sooner.
 

Takumaji

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AFAIK the only difference is an updated pin connection on the cart slot. Same chipset and will have the same updated firmware as available for the 2600+, which you can get off Atari Age and update yourself.

Barring homebrew that uses ARM chips and commercial releases that use unsupported input like the keypad or driving controller, commercial titles are almost at 100 percent compatibility. There was a lot of shit that didn't work on the original stock firmware.

I could see this being a good purchase if you already own a cart collection and have no knowledge or desire to fuck with emulation. Beyond that just run Stella and a controller adapter on whatever device you already own.
The update situation was the #1 reason why I did not buy a 2600+. AFAIK, the patches made by Ben from Plaion only got an unofficial release on Atariage but were not made available by Atari themselves. It would be interesting to know if the latest version has found its way into the official production of the boxes.

About the CX78+ controller, having a wireless pad sure is nice but I never was a fan of the original Euro pad version, the D-pad became quite stiff over time and the distance between it and the buttons is a bit too wide for my taste. It's better than the original US controller but not much. I have a 7800 pad based on the NES pad layout but I mostly use Genny pads via adaptor.
 

famicommander

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It actually has more chips than the 2600+ and a better cart slot, so it should handle more homebrews and it should handle paddle and driving controller games much better.

So it's actually much better than the 2600+ and they announced it less than a year later.

Only a fucking retard would buy this. Just wait another year for the next version.
 

Azathoth

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AFAIK, the patches made by Ben from Plaion only got an unofficial release on Atariage but were not made available by Atari themselves. It would be interesting to know if the latest version has found its way into the official production of the boxes.

From what I gathered Atari hasn't put them out as an "official" update because they haven't written software for an easy, dummy-proof way to deliver it. You're locked to a Windows machine and need to be a little tech savvy to do it, that's the only reason they're not given the official moniker yet. If you go buy a 2600+ it will have an updated firmware on it which is the same thing as what's available on there now (well, probably months old by now).

I guess the paddle and driving controller issues all stem not from Stella or the hardware, but limitations on the Retroarch/Libretro end of the firmware.
 

famicommander

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From what I gathered Atari hasn't put them out as an "official" update because they haven't written software for an easy, dummy-proof way to deliver it. You're locked to a Windows machine and need to be a little tech savvy to do it, that's the only reason they're not given the official moniker yet. If you go buy a 2600+ it will have an updated firmware on it which is the same thing as what's available on there now (well, probably months old by now).

I guess the paddle and driving controller issues all stem not from Stella or the hardware, but limitations on the Retroarch/Libretro end of the firmware.
No, the 7800+ literally has new chips to handle the driving and paddle controllers that the 2600+ does not.

This is the problem. They used 2600+ users as paid beta testers then announced a better version of it less than a year later for the same price.

The Atari 7800 and Atari 2600 were stationary targets. It's been almost 40 years since the newer of the two released, we know exactly how they function and what a modern replacement should be able to do. There's no god damn reason at all the 2600+ shouldn't have been 100% compatible on day one. But they knew they could half ass it and release it in any old state, because all the people who bought it are the same people who bought the same broke ass AtGames Atari Flashbacks every god damn year despite them never working.
 
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