The Atari 2600+ is live for preorders!

[PowerDubs]

How far away from your router though?  Signal throughput drops pretty quickly with distance.

 

Maybe look into a mesh system.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

7 minutes ago, PowerDubs said:

How far away from your router though?  Signal throughput drops pretty quickly with distance.

The Fire TV stick was just 2-3m away. And nothing in between.

 

The problem is, that the 2.4 GHz band is used not only by WiFi, but also by Bluetooth and lots of wireless radio devices.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Thomas Jentzsch

[protomank]

I have several BT and some 2.4Ghz controllers. What I can tell is, BT is not always the same, there are times it takes time to sync, and just keeps giving you lag, while 2.4 ones, well, I can't feel the lag at all. So, if a controller is 2.4, I already count as having basically, no lag at all.

I tested the controllers on NES, SNES and Mega Drive, both BT and 2.4 on same consoles.

[ForceInfinity]

2 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

The Fire TV stick was just 2-3m away. And nothing in between.

 

The problem is, that the 2.4 GHz band is used not only by WiFi, but also by Bluetooth and lots of wireless radio devices.

And it’s so much worse if you live in an apartment 😕  I don’t miss the days where I had to find the least worst 2.4 ghz channel for the router

[T.A.P.]

Are there plans to sell additional paddle controllers without the 2600 cartridge? I'd love to have a few spares.

Edited November 2, 2023 by T.A.P.

[Albert]

Just now, T.A.P. said:

Are there plans to sell additional paddle controllers without the 2600 cartridge? I'd love to have a few spares.

[Microjak]

Very excited to get my new 2600+ but unfortunately I won't be allowed to open it until Christmas Day! I really do feel like a kid again and I'm sure I'll be counting the number of sleeps during December!

Being from the UK I am thankful its available over here and hope all future game and accessory releases are also, thanks.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

7 hours ago, ForceInfinity said:

And it’s so much worse if you live in an apartment 😕  I don’t miss the days where I had to find the least worst 2.4 ghz channel for the router

I know. While the Fire TV stick issue happened in a small village in the country side (no other WiFis around), in my flat I can see up to 40 other WiFi devices. And especially my PlusCart is frequently having problems to get connected.

[Fred_M]

16 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Why were they terrible?

Mostly because of their bulky design, they are difficult to hold in your hand. Each joystick also has a large antenna attached to it.

 

 

[Blinky]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:42 AM, Ben from Plaion said:

Heres a quick video

Nice! the first look of the 2600+ guts 😃Als fun to watch that screw robot screwing in those screws.

[Ben from Plaion]

35 minutes ago, Fred_M said:

Mostly because of their bulky design, they are difficult to hold in your hand. Each joystick also has a large antenna attached to it.

 

 

Holy shit!

[Ben from Plaion]

18 minutes ago, Blinky said:

Nice! the first look of the 2600+ guts 😃Als fun to watch that screw robot screwing in those screws.

I never tire of watching the robots work...here's another this time screwing the CX40+ joysticks

[Thomas Jentzsch]

46 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Holy shit!

80s tech!  

[Thomas Jentzsch]

45 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

I never tire of watching the robots work...

Same here, but no only for robots.

[Ben from Plaion]

23 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

80s tech!  

2023 3D printed prototype

[protomank]

3 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said:

I never tire of watching the robots work...here's another this time screwing the CX40+ joysticks

Heu Ben, any chance of sharing the internals of this joystick?

I am curious on the pcb and the stick piece format.

[Ben from Plaion]

10 minutes ago, protomank said:

Heu Ben, any chance of sharing the internals of this joystick?

I am curious on the pcb and the stick piece format.

Yes, sure, I will do a quick video tomorrow or over the weekend.

[Ben from Plaion]

11 hours ago, Microjak said:

Very excited to get my new 2600+ but unfortunately I won't be allowed to open it until Christmas Day! I really do feel like a kid again and I'm sure I'll be counting the number of sleeps during December!

Being from the UK I am thankful its available over here and hope all future game and accessory releases are also, thanks.

Imagine that Joyous feeling on Christmas day as you rush downstairs to see if Santa has come, and he has! you then rip open your present and its what you wanted, you then have the hype of the box opening experience of the 2600+, which is very carefully considered. Clam Shell box design so you open it from the front and have an unempeded view of an Atari 2600 made in 2023....your heart melts and you get that feeling that you're a kid again.

Edited November 2, 2023 by Ben from Plaion

[+sramirez2008]

6 hours ago, Fred_M said:

Mostly because of their bulky design, they are difficult to hold in your hand. Each joystick also has a large antenna attached to it.

 

 

They are a bear to play with, but somewhat cool. Sorta like the “Brick” is still cool to look at. I have the Atari version and have used them just a few times. Mostly a conversation piece.

[Ben from Plaion]

8 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

They are a bear to play with, but somewhat cool. Sorta like the “Brick” is still cool to look at. I have the Atari version and have used them just a few times. Mostly a conversation piece.

Oh funny story....these back in the day real life photos of a family playing machines on original Atari packaging....I said to the guys involved with the 2600+ products packaging, man I dont mind getting me and my kids dressed up in flares, brown jumpers with bowl haircuts!

 

As you see we went down a modern rendered route but still, me and the kids could of been on the front of the 2600+ box!

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Ben from Plaion

[+sramirez2008]

3 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

but still, me and the kids could of been on the front of the 2600+ box!

I think you need to do it!😉

[Ben from Plaion]

6 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

I think you need to do it!😉

looool, mockup below

 

[Jake67]

19 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Imagine that Joyous feeling on Christmas day as you rush downstairs to see if Santa has come, and he has! you then rip open your present and its what you wanted, you then have the hype of the box opening experience of the 2600+, which is very carefully considered. Clam Shell box design so you open it from the front and have an unempeded view of an Atari 2600 made in 2023....your heart melts and you get that feeling that you're a kid again.

My Christmas will be joyous but in a slightly different way.

 

My parents were divorced and my mom didn’t have a lot of money for extras. One Christmas she asked her parents (my grandparents) for an Atari 2600 for us... and that’s what we got! We had our favorites and wrote our high scores on the manuals, long since lost, sadly. 

 

All these years later, my mom recently moved closer to where I am following the death of her second husband.

 

She finds it easiest to give everyone money for Christmas, so I “pre-spent” mine on the 2600+ pre-order. When I get it, I’ll wrap it and put it under the tree for Christmas. When I open it that day, she’ll see what she got me for Christmas. 

 

Judging by my own reflexes playing Atari in emulation recently, I will suck at these games after all this time and will have to count on her being even older so I have a chance to win some games. 

I don’t know how I ever managed to play Activision Boxing as a kid without my thumb falling off. I’m constantly blowing out the engine in Dragster. And the skill I had with Dodge Em is long lost. 

[Ben from Plaion]

2 minutes ago, Jake67 said:

My Christmas will be joyous but in a slightly different way.

 

My parents were divorced and my mom didn’t have a lot of money for extras. One Christmas she asked her parents (my grandparents) for an Atari 2600 for us... and that’s what we got! We had our favorites and wrote our high scores on the manuals, long since lost, sadly. 

 

All these years later, my mom recently moved closer to where I am following the death of her second husband.

 

She finds it easiest to give everyone money for Christmas, so I “pre-spent” mine on the 2600+ pre-order. When I get it, I’ll wrap it and put it under the tree for Christmas. When I open it that day, she’ll see what she got me for Christmas. 

 

Judging by my own reflexes playing Atari in emulation recently, I will suck at these games after all this time and will have to count on her being even older so I have a chance to win some games. 

I don’t know how I ever managed to play Activision Boxing as a kid without my thumb falling off. I’m constantly blowing out the engine in Dragster. And the skill I had with Dodge Em is long lost. 

Oh man, this is what I'm here for, thank you for posting this. I think for our generation, videogames are life because we where there at the beginning and its a medium that is art coupled with the unique characteristic that we then are the main character in that art. Its special.

 

John Hancock has a very touching personal story that really resonated with me, its worth a watch. 

 

[Bakasama]

52 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

They are a bear to play with, but somewhat cool. Sorta like the “Brick” is still cool to look at. I have the Atari version and have used them just a few times. Mostly a conversation piece.

It just kills me that there’s a box for Warlords featured here.