Before the 1983 video game crash and Nintendo’s subsequent takeover of the industry with the NES, the Atari 2600 reigned supreme. The popular console was pretty much the poster child for ‘late 70s/early ‘80s gaming, boasting a vast library of titles that have since inspired a multitude of games for decades to come. Over 30 years after the 2600 was discontinued, it’s making a contemporary comeback.
Atari and Plaion have announced the 2600+, a modernized recreation of the four-switch model introduced in 1980. In addition to sharing the same woodgrain aesthetics and metal switches, it also includes modern features such as HDMI output, USB port, and support for multiple screen resolutions. The console comes with a new CX40+ joystick faithful to the original and supports two players.
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The Atari 2600+ launches on November 17 for $129.99. You can pre-order it now on Atari’s website. CX40 joysticks will also be sold separately for $24.99. Atari and Plaion also plan to launch the CX-30 Paddle Controller bundle that includes the paddle and a 4-in-1 game cartridge for $39.99.
I don’t know whether to be happy for a modern Atari or angry because it looks cash grabby.
Oh it definitely is. I mean we’ve had many re-releases of a 2600 including multiple Flashback consoles.
AFAIK, only one was moddable to use old catridges, but none shipped with that capability. But many came with a 20+ games and were significantly cheaper.
I still can’t believe they made some of the Flashbacks with IR remotes. My kids grew up in the age of the Switch. They have no idea how to keep a controller within line of sight of the console.
Reminds me of the videos of kids trying to figure out rotary phones.
10 in 1 when it could be the whole library…
I’m an old dude who actually had the original Atari 2600 and 7800 as a kid and loved playing games on them. I finished Pitfall 2 FFS. Those games have exactly zero appeal to me today.
I’m not entirely sure who this new hardware is supposed to appeal to. Would Atari 2600 purists go for this given the price tag and emulated games?
There is no Atari.
That’s pretty cool. I grew up with an Atari 2600 at home and still think about some of the games today. I remember distinctly playing Parachute (I actually remade this for a personal project) and Pitfall, as well as a handful of others. I also had an NES, and those were pretty much my only consoles until much later when we got a Sega Genesis and later I bought an OG Xbox.
However, I won’t be buying this. They should instead just sell an actual emulator for PC and sell a bundle of games to go with it. Maybe sell each game for $1-2, maximum $5, and maybe offer a Switch port as well.
But I don’t want to pay $130 for single use hardware, that’s just dumb.
There is the atari 40th anniversary game for the switch. That’s good enough for me
They own Ant Steam as far as I know, so your desires are already met.
Are you talking about this Antstream? It’s not released , but I’ll have to check it out when it is.
Ordered and already excited. I still have a giant box of 2600 games and controllers and according to their site, it will all be compatible.
Ready for the nostalgia overload when I fire up Pitfall.
Be also ready for the realization of how barebones those games are. Played a couple of 2600 games with a friend and there is just a tiny amount of genuine fun to be had. And I am definitely not hating on simple old games! But most of the games we tried boiled down to “follow ball” with terrible controls. His collection might just have been bad, though.
Game quality is what crashed the home video game industry between Atari’s decline and Nintendo’s rise. Not that all of the games were bad, there were just so many bad games out there that buying games became a gamble that disappointed more often than not.
Nintendo improved on this by requiring games meet certain standards before they’d let someone release them for their system.
Edit: fixed typo
No international retailers yet grumble
– A Sulky Brit
Exclusive to USA? Get fucked
The website says international retailers are coming soon.
You can’t play The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on this.
Does the Atari 2600+ use emulation software to play game cartridges?
Yes, the Atari 2600+ uses emulation technology to play game cartridges. View the full list of compatible games here.
I got you though.
