Have You Played Atari Today?

[Takumaji]

Yeah, the paddle bundle looks okay, I only have one original paddle left and it's in quite bad condition with lots of jitter and other contact problems so I'm thinking of getting it. Price is €39 over here. That's a Paddlin'!

EDIT:

I've just found that the friggin' LEGO Kit of the Atari 2600 console costs a whooping 100 bucks more than the real thing over here: https://www.amazon.de/LEGO-Bauset-Erwachsene-Geschenk-Belohnungsprojekte/dp/B0BBJM1XDY/ref=sr_1_11?crid=23VAV3XYDITBO&keywords=atari+2600&qid=1700905189&sprefix=,aps,316&sr=8-11&th=1

The only home Atari console I ever enjoyed was the 5200; they let someone design the controller while high as a fucking kite. Great port of berserk.

I haven't dared it yet to go near the 5200. Played a lot of its games on emu, and yeah, some good stuff there, it's like a 2600 on steroids. Well, maybe not US- or Germany-made high-grade steroids, more like stuff from Africa or China... still a kinda interesting system in terms of vg history, it more or less was the result of a panic reaction by Atari when the IntelliVision and later on ColecoVision came out. The Atari lads were shit scared someone could steal their thunder which in retrospect was totally uncalled for.

The 5200 was practically non-existent over here, save for a few systems that US GIs stationed in Germany brought with them and sold to locals. They do pop up on ebay or local ads once in a blue moon, mostly broken or "untested", for insane asking prices.

Gonna stick to emu for now.

 

[Moob Butter]

Jaguar is cool to explore as you try to see if any of the games in the library live up to the 64 bit hype. You can squint your eyes at something like Sky Hammer and imagine just maybe, that it could almost barely hold a candle to an early PS1 or Saturn game...

I'd never heard of Sky Hammer, I had to look it up on YouTube.

Apart from the awful framerate, and draw distance... yeah actually it looks like a early PS1/Saturn game or at the very least a good 32x game.

The Jaguar version of Doom was arguably the best home port of the 90s since ID made it in house. It was so good the source of it was used to create the GBA version of Doom nearly a decade later.

 

[Pinball]

I've got the original consoles, but confess to having just bought the 2600+. I like the accessories which are compatible with the original consoles. I also like having HDMI output and being able to plug in 2600 and 7800 carts. Being based on a crappy old emulator sucks. Cheaper to produce than FPGA of course, the greedy sods. 80% the size also sucks. But it is cheap-ish on Amazon, and gives a plug n play experience.

Buying Atariage was sharp practice, but modern ebiz philosophy is to buy your customer base if you can. Plenty of examples.

 

[Neo Alec]

 

[Pinball]

 

[Takumaji]

I've got the original consoles, but confess to having just bought the 2600+. I like the accessories which are compatible with the original consoles. I also like having HDMI output and being able to plug in 2600 and 7800 carts. Being based on a crappy old emulator sucks. Cheaper to produce than FPGA of course, the greedy sods. 80% the size also sucks. But it is cheap-ish on Amazon, and gives a plug n play experience.

Buying Atariage was sharp practice, but modern ebiz philosophy is to buy your customer base if you can. Plenty of examples.

If you have some original 7800 games, it would be interesting to hear if they work or not.

As I mentioned before, I don't mind them using an emulator but they could have chosen a better one.

 

[Pinball]

I agree- for Atari themselves to use a dodgy emu is unforgivable, but I guess this is the best we are going to get for a while. I've bought RetroHQ's 7800 gamedrive, so will have the entire catalogue to try out. I also want to use the gamedrive's RGB AV output (Sega Genesis 2 socket) with an original 7800 to see how that looks e.g. SCART to OSSC to HDMI. My preference would be original hardware, but the poorer quality RF connection puts me off!

 

[Takumaji]

I agree- for Atari themselves to use a dodgy emu is unforgivable, but I guess this is the best we are going to get for a while. I've bought RetroHQ's 7800 gamedrive, so will have the entire catalogue to try out. I also want to use the gamedrive's RGB AV output (Sega Genesis 2 socket) with an original 7800 to see how that looks e.g. SCART to OSSC to HDMI. My preference would be original hardware, but the poorer quality RF connection puts me off!

Also if you have a GameDrive or Harmony cart or some other SD thingie, give it a try on the plus, I wanna know if carts like that work on the machine.

 

[Neo Alec]

I agree- for Atari themselves to use a dodgy emu is unforgivable, but I guess this is the best we are going to get for a while. I've bought RetroHQ's 7800 gamedrive, so will have the entire catalogue to try out. I also want to use the gamedrive's RGB AV output (Sega Genesis 2 socket) with an original 7800 to see how that looks e.g. SCART to OSSC to HDMI. My preference would be original hardware, but the poorer quality RF connection puts me off!

I've been trying to get a 7800 Game Drive from SAG from the beginning. I missed the tiny first batch, and now it's never in stock.

 

[famicommander]

Also if you have a GameDrive or Harmony cart or some other SD thingie, give it a try on the plus, I wanna know if carts like that work on the machine.

Gamedrive doesn't work. Harmony Cart works but only if you only load one ROM on it at a time.

 

[Pinball]

I've been trying to get a 7800 Game Drive from SAG from the beginning. I missed the tiny first batch, and now it's never in stock.

It's available here (where I bought it from a few days ago):

7800 GameDrive

The RetroHQ 7800 GameDrive cartridge allows you to play all your Atari 7800 games and homebrew directly from a memory card with many other extras built in! The 7800GD has all the additional audio chips you'll ever need, including 2 POKEY chips for DUAL POKEY music, a YM2151, COVOX audio for...

retrogamerstuff.com

You're right though- OOS on many of the other retailer sites.

 

[Pinball]

Gamedrive doesn't work. Harmony Cart works but only if you only load one ROM on it at a time.

That sucks. What about the Concerto cartridge? I bought a Concerto as well as the 7800 GD. I may have to buy a Harmony as well, I suppose. Edit: I just realised I already have a Harmony cart from years ago. I think it is 2600 only.

I guess I'll use the GD with my original 7800 then!

Concerto cartridge | Erstwhile Technologies

Concerto can be purchased with a black shell with an opaque label, or a new translucent shell of the color of your choice, with a translucent label! All shells are new, injection molded plastic, not 3D printed.For a limited time, we are offering Concerto with a soldered-on Basic HOKEY for $69...

erstwhile-technologies-7800.square.site

 

[Pinball]

And look what arrived today :-) I'm quite tickled to receive 2 new 2600 carts in 2023.

 

[Takumaji]

I've been trying to get a 7800 Game Drive from SAG from the beginning. I missed the tiny first batch, and now it's never in stock.

It briefly was in stock again about two weeks ago but the available units sold withing a few days.

The fitting Mega Controller Adapter is still available, tho, was thinking of getting one for the lightguns. I already have a Seagull 78 adapter to use Genny pads on the 7800 but I don't think it supports them.

 

[Viewpoint]

One thing I loved about the 2600 Games is the art on almost all the boxes.

 

[terry.330]

Seems like they managed to dupe a whole lot of hoarder goobs with the 2600+. I've been seeing it all over social media but not a single picture of anything but the box.

 

[Neo Alec]

It briefly was in stock again about two weeks ago but the available units sold withing a few days.

The fitting Mega Controller Adapter is still available, tho, was thinking of getting one for the lightguns. I already have a Seagull 78 adapter to use Genny pads on the 7800 but I don't think it supports them.

I should have been checking atariage.com. I've had the SAG page open in a tab for months, and apparently they accidentally oversold their stock the first time around, so even though I've been checking almost daily, it never came up for sale.

 

[HellioN]

I know Hyperken makes the Ranger that is a pad/paddle in one design but does anyone make paddles based on the OG ones?

 

[Takumaji]

And look what arrived today :-) I'm quite tickled to receive 2 new 2600 carts in 2023.

View attachment 69718

So, what's the deal, any first insights?

 

[Pinball]

I'm waiting for the 7800 gamedrive...

 

[prof]

This is his main website where he lists all the official dealers for the 7800 GD, as well as the Jag one and whatever else they've got out right now.

RetroHQ : Retro Hardware

RetroHQ : Retro Hardware

www.retrohq.co.uk

And he maintains a few threads on atariage where updates and such are discussed. As in if you have any compatibility issues, mention in the thread there, and he'll address it.

 

[Takumaji]

More news on compatibility:

In the comments of a YouTube vid of a guy called TootyUK, one of the producers of the 2600+ by the name of Ben Jones mentions that some of the 7800 compatibility problems are caused by PAL versions of the games which have not been thoroughly tested. Sometimes it's difficult to tell whether a cart is PAL or NTSC and if you use a multinorm monitor, chances are that you won't even notice when playing the games.

According to him, they're working on it. I wonder how they're gonna update the machine.

 

[Viewpoint]

Tak, I have a question or maybe for someone else who has gotten this. I feel like I should know the answer but after the shit mess with the new NeoCD pads I'm curious to know if the new Joysticks are legit more sturdy then the originals. The OG joysticks were notorious for the little plastic ring piece breaking after prolonged use.

Please tell me that was something they didn't overlook.

 

[famicommander]

More news on compatibility:

In the comments of a YouTube vid of a guy called TootyUK, one of the producers of the 2600+ by the name of Ben Jones mentions that some of the 7800 compatibility problems are caused by PAL versions of the games which have not been thoroughly tested. Sometimes it's difficult to tell whether a cart is PAL or NTSC and if you use a multinorm monitor, chances are that you won't even notice when playing the games.

According to him, they're working on it. I wonder how they're gonna update the machine.

Even if they update it the emulator they're using is still shit. Unless they switch from Prosystem to A7800, this thing will suck at playing 7800 games. Period.

 

[Takumaji]

Tak, I have a question or maybe for someone else who has gotten this. I feel like I should know the answer but after the shit mess with the new NeoCD pads I'm curious to know if the new Joysticks are legit more sturdy then the originals. The OG joysticks were notorious for the little plastic ring piece breaking after prolonged use.

Please tell me that was something they didn't overlook.

On their website, Atari say that the new stick "has been lovingly recreated to the same specifications as the original" so I guess there wasn't any hardware revision beforehand. I've heard about the plastic ring problem many times before but never experiened it myself because I never was a fan of the original 2600 sticks in the first place, it always felt weird to me.

I've watched a number of 2600+ vids on YT and many people mention the relative stiffness of the new sticks, maybe they've put in a more rigid damper which helps against ring breakage. Time will tell.

I mostly use Spectravideo Quickshot I sticks and Genny pads on my 2600 and 7800.

Even if they update it the emulator they're using is still shit. Unless they switch from Prosystem to A7800, this thing will suck at playing 7800 games. Period.

I wonder how they gonna update the system, maybe the USB port is not only for power but also data.

I don't know how important 7800 compatibility is for the average buyer of the system but before I bought my 7800, I was mainly interested in the 2600+ for playing 7800 games. I'm glad I went the og hardware route.

EDIT:

This just in: My copy of Mr Run And Jump for 2600 arrived today, it works flawlessly on my original 2600 but on the 7800, the picture starts to flicker and jump up and down when you move the character on screen. It's relatively slight and does not really prevent you from playing the game but quickly gets annoying.

I guess they should completely reconsider their stance on 7800. Many of its games don't work on the 2600+ yet and now the second of the two official new releases does not fully work on the 7800 which normally has flawless 2600 backwards compatibility. Not cool, Atari.