negative1 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 looks cool: https://www.atari.com/atari-mini-pong-jr-brings-the-classic-pong-arcade-experience-to-homes-for-holiday-2020/ Iconic Brand Atari® Joins Forces with Leading Entertainment Device Manufacturer UNIS and Long Term Partner in this Market, Arcade1Up, to Launch New PONG®-Inspired Small-Form-Factor Retro-Arcade Device in Asia, North America, and Additional Markets NEW YORK, NY (October 20, 2020) – Atari® — one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands and entertainment producers — in collaboration with amusement and entertainment device manufacturer UNIS Technology Ltd.today announced the Atari Mini PONG Jr., a new home arcade device based on the classic PONG® arcade game. The stylish small-form-factor digital Atari Mini PONG Jr. gaming device will arrive in time for the holidays in North America and Asia. The Atari Mini PONG Jr. from UNIS allows players to experience PONG in a whole new dimension, bringing a high-tech yet retro ‘80s arcade experience to the home living room. The Atari Mini PONG Jr. measures just 30-centimeters in length and is outfitted with an LCD screen, fitting perfectly on any table surface. The device features single-player play against an AI, 2-player local multiplayer, retro arcade sound effects, and physical dials for players to control their respective PONG paddles. The device is powered by a USB cable and adapter; users can optionally install three lithium rechargeable batteries for portable play. The Atari Mini PONG Jr. launches exclusively online this holiday season. UNIS Technology Ltd. will distribute the Atari Mini PONG Jr. in China and Asian markets, while Arcade1Up (Tastemakers, LLC.) will handle North American distribution. Atari will soon announce details on pricing and pre-orders, as well as additional gaming devices. “We are delighted to collaborate with the creative minds at UNIS to create a new arcade-inspired PONG gaming machine for fans,” said Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari. “Available soon online, the Atari Mini PONG Jr. is the perfect gift for Atari fans and collectors interested in experiencing the simple-yet-challenging gameplay of PONG in a tangible, more immersive way.” “We are extremely excited to be working with Atari on developing the Atari Mini PONG Jr.,” said Steven Tan, General Manager of UNIS Technology (Canada) Ltd. “We previously launched several PONG tables for the amusement coin-op industry in partnership with Calinfer, and those products have done exceptionally well. PONG is truly an incredible license. I am looking forward to seeing the Atari Mini PONG Jr. hit the consumer market!” Key Features of the Atari Mini PONG Jr.: Lightweight and compact in size Perfect for home, office, and on-the-go Play with AI or friends Ten AI difficulty levels Intuitive interface, simple to use controls 7.9 Inch LCD Panel Lithium Rechargeable battery (3) for portable use USB powered later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Someone in a different thread wondered if this was meant for store end points during the holidays, but according to the above press release this will be an online purchase only through the holidays. Seems pretty neat, albeit totally useless, and I'll get one if it is maybe $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 https://gizmodo.com/the-portable-atari-mini-pong-jr-is-like-a-nintendo-swi-1845425162/amp Just popped up on my phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I would love to see this with an additional "two player" breakout game. You could have the breakout bricks in the middle and still battle like pong. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thanatos Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 This is one of those announcements that makes me go "WHY????" I lived through the zillions of pong clones in the 80's garage sales. No thanks. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMaddog Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 On 10/21/2020 at 12:09 AM, 0078265317 said: https://gizmodo.com/the-portable-atari-mini-pong-jr-is-like-a-nintendo-swi-1845425162/amp Just popped up on my phone. Must everything Atari SA make have to be compaired to the fricking Nintendo Switch by millennial journalists!? Heaven forbid if any company made video games before the Big N did... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 58 minutes ago, MrMaddog said: Must everything Atari SA make have to be compaired to the fricking Nintendo Switch by millennial journalists!? Heaven forbid if any company made video games before the Big N did... Not defending nintendo, but they've been a toy company since 1965, and into videogames since 1975, so it's not like they're newcomers. later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_hawk Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 I LOVE paddle games. If it was cheap, had good controls & stacked with a range of well emulated paddle games like Warlords, Arkanoid, Blasteroids, Kaboom & Tempest then it would be an instant purchase. As it'll no doubt be overpriced, have dodgy controls & only be able to play Pong (like billions of clones from 4 decades ago) I'll give it the swerve. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 2 hours ago, the_hawk said: I LOVE paddle games. If it was cheap, had good controls & stacked with a range of well emulated paddle games like Warlords, Arkanoid, Blasteroids, Kaboom & Tempest then it would be an instant purchase. As it'll no doubt be overpriced, have dodgy controls & only be able to play Pong (like billions of clones from 4 decades ago) I'll give it the swerve. And people will try to hack it. But without action buttons, it won't be very useful. later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfy62 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) I have been an avid mini arcade supporter from the Arcade Classics,My Arcade,New Wave Toys,Tiny Arcade etc. I have reached the overload point especially with the very basic game selections such as repeated Pacman,Dig Dug and Pong. This one and the fact Arcade Classics just released their 4th Pacman version has put a solid "no" into my mini collecting vocabulary. Just too late to the party,for me at least. Edited October 27, 2020 by wolfy62 Adding info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 (edited) On 10/27/2020 at 1:14 PM, wolfy62 said: I have been an avid mini arcade supporter from the Arcade Classics,My Arcade,New Wave Toys,Tiny Arcade etc. I have reached the overload point especially with the very basic game selections such as repeated Pacman,Dig Dug and Pong. This one and the fact Arcade Classics just released their 4th Pacman version has put a solid "no" into my mini collecting vocabulary. Just too late to the party,for me at least. I have a question. I'm a hardcore music collector, i buy tons of records and cds, from groups i like. I don't care if i have 10 copies of something, i end up buying newer versions just to collect. I don't even listen to most of the records, or cds, since i have the digital files. are you a collector, or do you actually play everything you own. would it bother you, if you missed one of the myarcade releases, or tiny arcade or arcade classics. i only buy the ones i like, and actually play them. if you collect them, it doesn't matter if they release pac-man 10 times.... like the tiny arcades hello kitty pac-man, i would still buy it. what difference does it make if you have all of them or not. it just separates people that collect, from people that use what they buy. later -1 Edited October 28, 2020 by negative1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfy62 Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 I am actually a pretty fair mix of both collector and player of all the games I buy. I love the way most arcade recreated toys look because I grew up with video games and in the arcades. I have a decent eye for what is pretty crummy or pretty nice,and I realize a lot of the little mini items are not very playable or fun to play. I actually do like the way the little tiny arcade machines look and play to an extent.Arcade classics line I think is pretty bad mostly,My Arcades are a couple steps up from that. New Wave Toys make excellent machines! Just like any companies stuff,some are definitely better than other. I also do have a collecting problem from the completionist standpoint,up to a certain point. I dont like collecting variants of the same item if I can avoid it,one is enough. And,as long as someone enjoys what they play or collect is really all that matters. I love my collection,the mini arcades are just part of it. I have a beautiful boxed Intellivision collection,most games of which I have played over the years and most every video game system,or a version of ever made. Video games are awesome!? My Dad was a huge music collector,mostly classical stuff. That must be a fun hobby too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted November 26, 2020 Author Share Posted November 26, 2020 on sale at microcenter, i'll wait for a price drop: https://www.microcenter.com/product/628116/atari-mini-pong-jr later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted November 27, 2020 Author Share Posted November 27, 2020 some more pictures of it: later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted December 1, 2020 Author Share Posted December 1, 2020 selling for $129 at arcade 1up site: https://arcade1up.com/products/atari-mini-pong-jr?_pos=1&_sid=6640e964b&_ss=r later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinChargers Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 I mean, it looks very pretty, and I'm sure the build quality (at that price) is quite nice. Not sure if the collect-ability factor is is high as the new Nintendo Game and Watch. At $129, for the regular guy, its not really an impulse buy, I wouldn't think? Perhaps it is more of a high end novelty? Something to show off how much expendable income you have? If it was truly something for fans of Atari or Pong, maybe they could have made something a bit more affordable? I was thinking before the price dropped that maybe this would be something fun for my daughter and I to enjoy. Oh well, like I said, its pretty to look at. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted December 2, 2020 Author Share Posted December 2, 2020 53 minutes ago, TwinChargers said: I mean, it looks very pretty, and I'm sure the build quality (at that price) is quite nice. Not sure if the collect-ability factor is is high as the new Nintendo Game and Watch. At $129, for the regular guy, its not really an impulse buy, I wouldn't think? Perhaps it is more of a high end novelty? Something to show off how much expendable income you have? If it was truly something for fans of Atari or Pong, maybe they could have made something a bit more affordable? I was thinking before the price dropped that maybe this would be something fun for my daughter and I to enjoy. Oh well, like I said, its pretty to look at. i will wait for a price drop eventually. i remember i wanted a rubiks touch cube, and they were priced similarly, and i waited a few months, and they were clearing them out for very cheap. later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 eta prime review: later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 (edited) Guess I was late to the unboxing party (hadn't seen this ETAPrime one, which is a great unboxing. Just barely got my contest-won version from UNIS). I did get some footage with a second player on it though, at least I agree with his assessment - at $129, this is crazy. Even if it had all Atari paddle games on it, that'd still be a questionable price, but at least there would be more than one game on it. Edited December 29, 2020 by Shaggy the Atarian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 These look neat but $129 is way more than I expected. I'm not willing to pay anything close to that for one of these. When It's $50 or less I'll grab one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted December 29, 2020 Share Posted December 29, 2020 So this does more than just play regular old Pong, right? ...right?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative1 Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 2 hours ago, Asaki said: So this does more than just play regular old Pong, right? ...right?? no, why would it. 1 player - 10 different AI levels 2 player mode later -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Turns out that there were some major audio glitches on the video I posted above, so I'll be removing that soon and replacing it with this one: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 4 hours ago, Asaki said: So this does more than just play regular old Pong, right? ...right?? Nope. $129 for the luxury Pong experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 4 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said: Nope. $129 for the luxury Pong experience! In some dark corner of the Earth, there is a market for this product. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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