Atari Flashback Portable!

[thevnaguy]

Is the retail availability of the portable confirmed anywhere? Other than GameStop online and eBay is it going to be available anywhere? What about in stores?

November 29th was the last date I heard for it to be available in stores, I imagine Walmart, Toys R Us and any other stores that has been carrying Atgames product should have them on 11/29 if that is the updated release date

[SoundGammon]

Does it play Starpath games?

[+GoldLeader]

Pretty sure Bed, Bath & Beyond will have them too.

 

I mention them because when I was looking in stores, (before I realized they were delayed)...They seemed to be the only one who knew, for sure, what I was talking about.

[Atariboy]

What sort of store is Bed, Bath & Beyond, anyways? I always picture Atari Flashbacks sitting on shelves full of fancy soaps, cosmetics, hair dryers, etc. Not exactly a combination that goes together.

 

I assume the beyond part is where the Atari Flashback and likely quite a few other products that they probably carry, fall into.

[+GoldLeader]

^ I think you nailed it!

 

Maybe add pillows, shower curtains, and bath salts...LOL

 

It's actually kind of a neat place...

[Moo]

I think I was in one. It smells great.

[+GoldLeader]

It's the kind of store that looks like soap, but smells like candles...

[Andromeda Stardust]

It's the kind of store that looks like soap, but smells like candles...

As in good candles that actually smell like the fragrance advertised, or cheap candles that all smell like laundry soap?

[+GoldLeader]

Kosmic Stardust, on 22 Nov 2016 - 01:42 AM, said:

As in good candles that actually smell like the fragrance advertised, or cheap candles that all smell like laundry soap?

 

I'm picturing it smelling like Apple pie...Or Raspberry Pi for computer fans...

[Flojomojo]

BB&B is a warehouse type store with STUFF all the way up to the very high ceiling. Sensory overload!

 

My portable was one of the first ordered from AtGames and it was the production unit, no Space Invaders or Jungle Hunt on box or onboard.

 

Judging from the posts here, I think the machines in the first waves on eBay are the pre-production units.

 

GameStop is still saying 11/29/2016 @$50 for their shipment.

[BillLoguidice]

Does it play Starpath games?

 

No.

[+remowilliams]

Pretty sure Bed, Bath & Beyond will have them too.

 

I saw Flashback 5s in big piles sitting next to Flashback 7s in big piles there the other day, no portables though.

[Asaki]

What sort of store is Bed, Bath & Beyond, anyways? I always picture Atari Flashbacks sitting on shelves full of fancy soaps, cosmetics, hair dryers, etc.

Sort of. They actually have a -lot- of kitchen stuff, a little bit of everything I guess.

 

They have a lot of random gimmick junk near the front doors...one time they had a bargain bin full of DVDs, I snagged the Troll 1 & 2 pack B)

[Andromeda Stardust]

Meh. BB&B is mostly overpriced merchandise anyway. If you need a step above Walmart, but still affordable, shop at Target instead.

[Flojomojo]

These come in the mail all the time. If you don't have one, check your neighbor's recycling.

 

[+GoldLeader]

What's funny to me as I searched early on for one of these was that the kids working at Wal-Mart and Gamestop really didn't seem to know what I was talking about...but they nodded and were nice as if to say "We'll probably get some in later..". I really don't remember their exact words.

 

The guy at Bed, Bath & Beyond, however, knew exactly what I was talking about. He called it by name and then said, 'We don't have them in YET,...But we will get lots of them in!"

[Inky]

I noticed they aren't in the Walgreens Black Friday circular, but all other Atgames products are. Kind of echoing what has been said about the delay in releasing the product.

[iesposta]

New 2600 Pac-Man games that work on the Flashback Portable:

The 2015 new Pac-Man 4K final from DINTAR816:
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/229152-new-pacman-for-atari-2600/?p=3186651
Just some incorrect maze/dot colors.

This 2005 HackEm 8K is perfect:
HackEm8K.bin

 

This Jr.Pac-Man hack speeds you up when you press the button. Finally you can start making headway into the game.

JrPacThrottle.bin

No luck on the 2008 Denis Debro Pac-Man 4K versions I have tried. Players/enemies are offset too far right.

 

The sound is off, no surprise there. I tried some of my TIA chip tunes. Some fail big time. Plus the low notes seem lower and slower if that makes any sense?

[Andromeda Stardust]

So the early revision of Pacman from right before he converted over to 8k still works. Interesting.

 

If someone has the source code, maybe they could pinpoint the code changes that break the Pacman game, possibly during optimization routine. The old Pac 4k and new pac 8k both shift Pacman over some space horizontally, so they may have used similar code optimizations that broke in like fashion.

[doctorclu]

That's something I've been doing is trying a game and if that doesn't work try older versions. The game Flappy for example had three revisions, non worked perfectly but the earliest revision (R0 with the latest being R2) was the most functional.

[Asaki]

So the early revision of Pacman from right before he converted over to 8k still works. Interesting.

If I'm reading correctly, the Pac-Man homebrew that works was programmed by a different author.

[iesposta]

If I'm reading correctly, the Pac-Man homebrew that works was programmed by a different author.

Same author.

The challenge is to get all the gameplay, graphics, sounds and cut scenes in 4096 bytes. He accomplished this with new Pac-Man 4K.

The new 8K version adds the attract screen, more accurate enemy logic, more music, intelligent instead of constant flickering, and possibly options that were "add-ons" to the arcade machine like the speed up chip.

[doctorclu]

Comment made to the Artie the Atari comic strip this morning when a Flashback couldn't tell a joke...

 

"BOOO!!! Add a Atari Flashback Portable to the strip. At least with SD card support they would always have new material. "

[vtadave]

Got mine yesterday off eBay, so it's the pre-production unit without Jungle Hunt and Space Invaders. That's not a big deal given the SD card slot.

 

Some initial observations:

 

Pros:

 

Atari in my pocket is awesome

SD card feature is amazing, though I had a hard time finding an SD card less than 16gb in stores. Eventually found a 256mb one at home.

Most of the ROMs I really wanted to work, do. River Raid, Phoenix, Demon Attack, Pitfall, etc.

Rechargeable battery > 2 AA batteries. Not sure on the battery life yet

Odd playing Atari without the classic joystick, but controls seem to work fine

Haven't tried the A/V out, but that's a nice feature

 

Cons:

 

Screen is pretty tiny

Sound can be tinny, though headphones do help

Not sure why the ROM files aren't sorted alphabetically when I pull up the SD card browser on the unit

Would be great to be able to make ROM subfolders (Action, Sports, Arcade, etc)

Paddle games like Breakout aren't great without paddles. Would be awesome to be able to hook up a paddle controller

 

Now to plan my escape to play this during Thanksgiving festivities!

[atarifan88]

I've read the reviews and unless I missed it, has anyone out there heard an exact release date for this in the stores? I keep reading elsewhere it will be at the end of November, but no specific date given yet. I am fine this will not be out until after Black Friday as I won't have to venture out into the over-crowded stores. My plan is to keep my eyes and ears open about a release and head to my local Bed, Bath & Beyond with my 20% off coupon and snag it for $40. That's plenty of savings without the hassle!