The Atari 2600+ is live for preorders!

[Giles N]

This is sold as the 2600+, - with capability to play both 2600 and 7800 games.

 
It says ‘no cartridge left behind’.

 

Lets hope they get there^ as soon as possible.

 

[donjn]

55 minutes ago, BillDMatt said:

would you be willing to spend  $350 to $500 for the FPGA?   Which is about what it would cost,  but something tells me you would complain regardless.  "  Who's going spend that much on an atari with emulated hardware?"     For some people here it's a Damn if you do Damn if you don't for atari, you'll just have people bitching no matter what.    

No, I would rather purchase a real Atari 2600 (real FPGA) modded with composite out for $125!
Yes I have been critical here but its because I want this to be a great product. Don't start with the "bitching" thing.

 

[JPF997]

8 minutes ago, donjn said:

No, I would rather purchase a real Atari 2600 (real FPGA) modded with composite out for $125!
Yes I have been critical here but its because I want this to be a great product. Don't start with the "bitching" thing.

 

The problem with FPGA in general is that for some reason it's far more expensive than just buying an old console, you look on eBay and you see a Sega Genesis with 20 games selling for like 100 buck's, and then you look at the Analogue mega sg and for whatever reason that thing is like 200 buck's, until FPGAs go down in price we're stuck with emulation based systems or last case scenario just go hunting for the old console's and hope they still work.

[zzip]

11 hours ago, swlovinist said:

I think there will be a mass appeal for it as an impulse purchase for the holidays.

Yeah exactly,   that GenX dad who is hard to shop for?  Surprise him with this.

 

Of course I said the same thing about the VCS,  but that never really showed up on retailers shelves so it couldn't be an impulse purchase.

[donjn]

Hey @Albert have you tested the 2600+ response time? Does it feel almost as responsive as playing an Atari on a CRT?
I assume because it is direct to HDMI the lag would be better than using the Stella emulator in Windows?

[Albert]

Just now, donjn said:

Hey @Albert have you tested the 2600+ response time? Does it feel almost as responsive as playing an Atari on a CRT?
I assume because it is direct to HDMI the lag would be better than using the Stella emulator in Windows?

It lagged quite a bit at first, but this was due to all the video processing my TV was doing.  Once I put the TV into "game" mode, the lag went away and I didn't notice any lag at all after that. 

 

 ..Al

[donjn]

1 minute ago, Albert said:

It lagged quite a bit at first, but this was due to all the video processing my TV was doing.  Once I put the TV into "game" mode, the lag went away and I didn't notice any lag at all after that. 

 

 ..Al

Yes that's right you did mention that.
Well I ordered on Amazon, so I am excited.

Edited September 21, 2023 by donjn

[Ben from Plaion]

3 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

How do you know it has been updated? Looks the same to me.

Hello All, My name is Ben Jones and I work for Plaion. I'm responsible for the manufacture and production of the Atari 2600+ and am here to answer any relevant questions on the machine.

 

First off in response to Thomas, indeed the compatibilty list has not been updated since the announce. I expect it to be updated in about 2 weeks. 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Welcome Ben! Nice to see you here.

[GraffitiTavern]

2 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Hello All, My name is Ben Jones and I work for Plaion. I'm responsible for the manufacture and production of the Atari 2600+ and am here to answer any relevant questions on the machine.

 

First off in response to Thomas, indeed the compatibilty list has not been updated since the announce. I expect it to be updated in about 2 weeks. 

Welcome!

[donjn]

42 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Hello All, My name is Ben Jones and I work for Plaion. I'm responsible for the manufacture and production of the Atari 2600+ and am here to answer any relevant questions on the machine.

 

First off in response to Thomas, indeed the compatibilty list has not been updated since the announce. I expect it to be updated in about 2 weeks. 

Hi @Ben from Plaion, how are you doing? I have some questions:
 

• I would like to know more details regarding input lag. I know Albert addressed it but I assume because there is no Windows operating system in the way and it is direct to HDMI, the lag will not be noticeable?
• Will there be a way to update Stella, like Retron has?
• Would there ever be a way to make a multi-cart work? Is that something you are considering?

• Will there be a way to access the Stella menu, to possibly add things like scanlines and other Stella options?

• Will all 9 pin joysticks work? Have you tested the Hyperkin brown joystick which has two buttons? Will that second button work with 7800 games that require it?

• Does the Hyperkin Ranger with the built-in paddle work?

   

Thanks!

Edited September 21, 2023 by donjn

[Dr Karnov]

I'd like to know if PAL 7800 games run at fullscreen / full speed, the same as NTSC carts. 

[Ben from Plaion]

36 minutes ago, donjn said:

Hi Ben, how are you doing? I have some questions:

 

• I would like to know more details regarding input lag. I know Albert addressed it but I assume because there is no Windows operating system in the way and it is direct to HDMI, the lag will not be noticeable.
• Will there be a way to update Stella, like Retron has?
• Would there ever be a way to make a multi-cart work? Is that something you are considering?

Thanks!

I'm great thanks.

 

1. I've not had any concerns raised to me about input lag from people that have played on the machine. I've played on it hundreds on times and its not a concern for me. However peoples own experience may vary as of course the machine runs on emulation.

2. Yes, the system is updateable via the USBC port.

3. I presume you mean modern ARM based multi carts rather then something like Ataris 32in1 cart (which works fine btw). Currently those ARM carts do not work. Here is the cartridge format compatibility list. Bottom three not tested or wont work.

4. Not in its launch firmware.

5. CX40, CX30 and CX78 work.

6. I can ask someone to try this.

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Ben from Plaion

[donjn]

22 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

I'm great thanks.

 

1. I've not had any concerns raised to me about input lag from people that have played on the machine. I've played on it hundreds on times and its not a concern for me. However peoples own experience may vary as of course the machine runs on emulation.

2. Yes, the system is updateable via the USBC port.

3. I presume you mean modern ARM based multi carts rather then something like Ataris 32in1 cart (which works fine btw). Currently those ARM carts do not work. Here is the cartridge format compatibility list. Bottom three not tested or wont work.

 

@Ben from Plaion

Much appreciated!
 

• If the system is update-able could you conceivably run software via that port?
• Are there any discussions or work regarding possibly getting something like Harmony Cart to work someday? It is very popular among Atari fans. Or is this a definitive "no"?

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by donjn

[Dr Karnov]

Are there any pictures or video of 7800 carts running?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

12 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Here is the cartridge format compatibility list. Bottom three not tested or wont work.

Great! That means several games marked as untested should work now, e.g.

• Decathlon
• Fatal Run
• James Bond
• Miner 2049er
• Montezuma's Revenge
• Mr Do's Castle
• Polaris
• Q*bert's Qubes
• Robot Tank
• Stargate
• Super Cobra
• ...

@Ben from Plaion I suppose the list of supported cartridge formats will be further extended in the coming future? 

[Ben from Plaion]

6 minutes ago, Dr Karnov said:

Are there any pictures or video of 7800 carts running?

 

Heres a pic of Fatal Run 7800 playing

 

[zzip]

37 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

2. Yes, the system is updateable via the USBC port.

Is it possible to side-load roms of carts that don't work via USB?

[Ben from Plaion]

17 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Great! That means several games marked as untested should work now, e.g.

• Decathlon
• Fatal Run
• James Bond
• Miner 2049er
• Montezuma's Revenge
• Mr Do's Castle
• Polaris
• Q*bert's Qubes
• Robot Tank
• Stargate
• Super Cobra
• ...

@Ben from Plaion I suppose the list of supported cartridge formats will be further extended in the coming future? 

I think at this point thats safe to assume yes.

[Dr Karnov]

11 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

 

Heres a pic of Fatal Run 7800 playing

 

Thanks so much!

 

Looks great, very sharp

[Ben from Plaion]

4 minutes ago, zzip said:

Is it possible to side-load roms of carts that don't work via USB?

Sorry I dont know the answer to this, USBC port has only been used for power and firmware updates.

[donjn]

2 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Sorry I dont know the answer to this, USBC port has only been used for power and firmware updates.

Hi @Ben from Plaion

I had a follow-up that you might have missed.
Are there any discussions or work regarding possibly getting something like Harmony Cart to work someday? It is very popular among Atari fans. Or is this a definitive "no"?

[tmop69]

23 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

 

Heres a pic of Fatal Run 7800 playing

 

 

Definitely the scanlines are needed with big TVs, so I hope they will be added in the next fw update.

 

[Ben from Plaion]

15 minutes ago, donjn said:

Hi @Ben from Plaion

I had a follow-up that you might have missed.
Are there any discussions or work regarding possibly getting something like Harmony Cart to work someday? It is very popular among Atari fans. Or is this a definitive "no"?

Generally I'm told its not possible. 

Focus currently is to get the published compatibility list of not tested and fails (I've been told this week that Texas Chainsaw Massacre does actually work, so thats a red fail to green pass) updated for Atari first party and third party games. Then I would like to see how many homebrew games work, but this is harder as I dont have ready access to the carts or ROMS.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Ben from Plaion

[M-S]

46 minutes ago, JPF997 said:

The problem with FPGA in general is that for some reason it's far more expensive than just buying an old console, you look on eBay and you see a Sega Genesis with 20 games selling for like 100 buck's, and then you look at the Analogue mega sg and for whatever reason that thing is like 200 buck's, until FPGAs go down in price we're stuck with emulation based systems or last case scenario just go hunting for the old console's and hope they still work.

The FPGA market is composed of three companies with almost 80% of the market share as far as I know, it's worse than the GPU market. And the cheaper FPGAs probably can't do everything in an original console. There's a long way until it will be possible to have to have something like that for the 2600.