Atarick

Hahaha, good call. I need to dig into the home brews on that front a bit more. There are some great ones.

Yeah, that game...woof. I get it, something for everyone and there were plenty of racy or vulgar games for the 2600. But the prime question- did they launch the 2600 with those games? It'd be like including Custer's Revenge instead of Combat.

Did it not have Thrustlander? Of all the titles I've seen for the VCS that has the most "feel" of a classic Atari game. That and Spear Master. I've had the Missile Command update for a while so I'm not counting that as a new one.

Thanks all, these are great suggestions! I totally forgot Frogs and Flies, and several of these, like Crazy Tunes, were new to me. Thanks Capitan Classic for that bump on the past topic as well, I'll definitely check that out. Much appreciated- feedback to follow!

AHhh good call, that is a good one. I tried getting them on that one but think I selected the wrong game mode. Is it 5 that works for 2 players? Always loved the skiing/slalom option in that one.

Holy crap. Obviously not the finished deal yet but that thing looks fantastic.

Good call, totally agree. Tutankhaman (solid box art) and GI Joe are borderline unplayable. For my money, though, and for many of the same reasons, Double Dragon was the worst for me. I was so excited to play it on the 2600 after loving the NES game. Welp. The combination of inferior graphics and insultingly difficult game play made me actually hate that game. Just a disaster.

I actually wasn't being facetious, I genuinely liked that game.

Were they the team behind the Yars Revenge reboot? Yeah some hidden gold there. I will give the current crew in charge this- they are laser focused on identifying revenue streams come hell or high water. It's as if they're working outside the circle to go inside. Monetize a brand, use the revenue off licensing to try and fund new ventures and then, if you can, develop new games. I have no clue if it will work, or honestly if any other company besides Nintendo or Sega could pull such a thing off. The press release Atari dropped today about public option trading on the French exchange was also interesting. Basically confirmed that they were going to use future revenue for game design. Surely this is designed to counter some of the fears possibly dogging the VCS out of the gate.

Marine wars is pretty great. I've gotten back into the Konami games, like that and Strategy X, a lot of late. Delta Force Sniper is kind of like a dark version of Firefighter. I also think Radar Lock is a grower, and Battlezone in color is probably one of my top 10-15 2600 games (though admittedly pretty popular, so not too radical of an opinion). Also, off topic but I still marvel at what Alien Brigade did on the 7800. As a pure shooter, that game is just amazing. Like POW and Operation Wolf all rolled into one. Yeah it was 1990 and kind of late, but a classic for me.

Hi all, I am slowly introducing my kids to the 2600 via a Flashback X with a thumb drive, but was curious about what games people rated as the best for multiplayer experience, and also relatively easy for kids younger than 10 to play. So far they play (and love) Outlaw, Fishing Derby, and Combat (I recently ordered retro paddles for Warlords as well), but my daughter loves racing games and asked if there was a 2-player game for the 2600. I couldn't think of one but figured I'd ask the collective here. Also, any further recommendations on the best 2600 games for 2 players who are younger (and thus prone to fiddling with controls and short patience with directions) are much appreciated. Thanks!

I suspect within, say, 3 months, as unboxing videos grow and more preorders are filled, and as more people mod or hack the hell out of this thing, that we'll see a "meet in the middle" equilibrium reached in the forum. It's clear the VCS won't kill people in their sleep as a few YouTube personalities seemed to suggest, and it's also clear this wasn't the greatest effort it could have been to truly revolutionalize the market (or gain the trust of Atari loyalists and modern gamers). Whenever I get my hands on one of these I'll keep an open mind. The games don't look awful, there's just not enough of them and they are available everywhere. To me the true test is what Atari does next. People have this thing, and they are hungry for games. A competent company would begin updating based on backer feedback and designing games or apps optimized for the platform to keep buzz alive. We'll see what they do.

I would imagine the hard path would be a huge marketing drive, substantial R&D costs and agreements with chip manufacturers, multiple platform exclusive games, hundreds of thousands of units at launch, and a big campaign to show everyone Atari was back. Like a Super Bowl ad, media tie-ins, etc. In this way, considering that could cost hundreds of millions, a small understated kind of campaign worked fine here (honestly it was their only path). But for me, the lack of ANY platform exclusive games that were designed with the console in mind, and a measly collection of IP games (not a single Lynx or Jaguar title, really? And not even the Yar's Revenge reboot from 2011?) is kind of laughable. Atari will probably never have the funds to do a well-funded launch for hardware again, but they could have amplified the capabilities to spur interest among more of the gaming community, or the niche market they seemed to aim for among Gen-Xers looking for a capable streaming platform that plays games, both classic and new.

Best looking title I've seen for this so far.

I'm not exonerating them for poor communication, but holy crap mail is taking forever now. I had something due to arrive the 11th and it still hasn't showed. They'll get flack for this but they couldn't have shipped these at a worse time. Some of that isn't their fault.

The easiest thing Atari could have done was develop a killer game side by side with the VCS, exclusive to it. It would have made the wait more palatable, it also could have showcased a new game developer and increased the appeal of the system overall. Problem is, to attract that type of talent for something on a major scale you're talking $80-100M minimum on marketing, development, agreements, etc. Do they even have a fifth of that available? A buzzworthy game would have simplified a lot, as would a bigger IP library of Lynx/Jaguar/7800 titles and maybe something on the dev side to optimize the classic controller (can it control my streaming apps? Is it easier to play sports/driving games with? Is it something kids can use for educational-ish games or apps during lockdown, given the simpler layout?). That would be closer to classic Atari and achieve a lot that would hit both fanboys and new target audiences.

Sorry, I didn't mean to convey that. I was saying that early protos of Tesla, buzz on the engineering scene, buzz about the grants they got, performance at auto shows, seeing Musk in action, etc, got the cult following. The product being premium but effective made them a lasting winner. My main point was that Atari has neither the buzz nor the momentum to make this like that. They may have had that 3 years ago at E3, but the failure to really double down on securing IP for gaming libraries (exclusive to the console), limited development, and shady information on hardware specs left a lot of doubters. They could have kept teasing it awhile before going to the IndieGoGo launch, while getting proverbial ducks in a row. Alas, here we are.

Totally. Look at Tesla. That thing was actually more likely to go the way of the DeLorean. Odds were totally against it. But awesome development, research, big money in prototype testing and clever but understated marketing built it a cult following, then full-on mainstream appeal. They built a great product, people bought it, those people became fans. Word of mouth and killer style made it worth hundreds of billions. Atari has fans. Fewer than before, but they're there. By the VCS team's own admission, this isn't for them- or, at least, not just them. It's for them AND modern gamers looking for a new console that can blow their minds. This doesn't seem to do that. The VCS isn't a Model S. It doesn't corner an ignored market sector, it simply borrows from a well trodden idea.

Super Cobra

Maybe, though I never loved the Intellivision controller setup at all, and I still don't see how expansive or expandable the library is.

BTW, congrats on that. Haven't heard of many who were successful, but I imagine there are some who are still looking to sell their presale slots. Interestingly, I know a couple people who are still looking to buy a slot. I wonder how informed they are.

My sole attraction to this from the nostalgia perspective, beyond the romantic lure of having the ability to show my kids a new Atari console on the shelf, stemmed in part from the belief there would be many, many more games in the mold of Missile Command Reloaded (a respectable reboot) or Battlezone Gold (ditto), with a few new exclusive titles over time. Taking old classics we know into the modern day, exclusive to this system, optimized for the new controllers. But Atari hasn't done that, at least unless I missed something. I have the Missile Command game on my phone, and can get BZ on my PC. They *could* find this niche if they ramped up development, but I just don't think they have any capacity to do that. This is interesting, but as you note, the superior product is a $400 laptop with respectable RAM storage and OS, word processor, webcam, and huge app store. You can get one of those in any Best Buy, MicroCenter, or Walmart in America, and that's where this thing missed the mark.

Yep. Good-hearted companies are nice, but ultimately it's the backing that keeps them afloat, innovating and producing. Earlier in the thread we brought up nostalgia; for any kid born after about 1995, Atari was kind of an afterthought (if not a punchline), while for kids born after about 2005 it was almost completely invisible. I'm not guessing that many millennials are clamoring for their iPhones to play the 9th version of "Roller Coaster Tycoon", or if they are, if they even know that company once made consoles. Ultimately, this is a project for a company with a toe in the gaming world and some other sort of media venture. Someone who can market, test, develop, and saturate the hell out of it. I'll know Atari is back when I can walk into a Target and see it sitting on the shelf, games and all. Not a Flashback, not a Fuji logo on a retro port handheld, but a real gaming device. To do that, it will take an almost unspeakable sum of money in today's climate. It's a finite pool to draw from. Part of me does wonder if the media/film crash that is affecting that industry opens the door for a big studio or production firm to take a look at gaming as a way of diversifying. To some extent most have already done this, but I'm saying repurposing a large tranche of studio funds for gaming development. The market is there, and for many of these film companies, they need to figure out what to do with the huge enterprise they've built. Outside of that, and the FAANG corporations like those you name above, I struggle to see what other businesses or corporations would have the stomach or resources to really dent the gaming world in the way one would need to for a sustained impact. The magic combo to me is deep pockets and a folksy approach to outreach and game development. Imagine the sort of organic development that the Amico had with a huge capital base and nostalgic appeal. Maybe that can attract some curious billion-dollar exec somewhere.

This honestly looks like 2/3rds down the road for an SNL sketch. All that's missing is an ill-conceived mascot they plan on using for marketing (I'm thinking some sort of cat/moose hybrid), played by Harry Styles, featuring a corny, inappropriate jingle that sounds like it came out of a 1970s adult movie soundtrack.

Maybe one of the most odd driving reasons I remain interested in this thing, classic Atari or non, is that I genuinely wonder if anything we could describe as a "new console" from Atari will ever happen again. Considering we had a 27 year wait between the Jaguar and the VCS, another 20-something year wait would put me in my late 60s when the next "new Atari system" drops. Not saying I won't pick up a new console then, but probably a stretch. AARP subscription and coupons on the other hand, now I am 100% in. The allure of having a new Atari product now, to show my kids, flawed as it is, is one of the pathetic romantic appeals to me. The return on investment is still out of whack IMHO, but I get the draw for some.