Atari 2600 for Mac

hellfrick · October 26, 2007

Even tho I had a 2600 back in the day, I must admit I did not stay loyal to the technology beyond my ColecoVision. The fact is I wasn’t very good! But I still had fun, and nowadays I wouldn’t mind that kind of escapism from time to time. I’m a Mac user and Mac-savvy, which is to say I can get around my computer but don’t really dip into the guts of one. All that said, here’s my very simple and naïve questions:

-If I get my hands on the joysticks and paddles, how easy is it to hook them up to my Mac, via USB?

-Is it possible to get new joysticks and paddles or should I troll eBay? (I remember thinking those things were built to last, but 25 years-plus is a long stretch.)

-I see talk of Emulators, but it all sounds foreign or PC-based to me. Is this the approach I would take to getting a 2600 working on my Mac? (I know this a BIG question and I’m sure the answer can be had somewhere on this awesome website; if someone could just steer me the way, please.)

-How easy is it to get many, many of the popular games working on a Mac? Honestly, I hope it’s a relatively easy project bec. it would be fun as hell to play these games again, especially holding that way-cool joystick; but let’s face it: I’m 38 with a 14 month old son. My time is tight! (Of course my daydream is that with the joysticks, a converter to USB and a DVD-Rom or three of the games, this is an easy hobby to resume in my adulthood.)

Anyway, even if this is beyond my reach time-wise, money-wise or otherwise, it was a blast paging through this website. You guys have really kept the torch alive on something that means an awful lot to so many. It’s a classy website and clearly a fun community. Thanks!