The Atari 2600+ is live for preorders!

[E. King]

2 hours ago, swlovinist said:

Just want to clarify here as well that the 2600+ works with the Dragonfly Multicart.  Homebrew 7800 games still do not work but at least you can play the commercial 7800 games this way.  There was an error in my video and I have since pinned a post on my channel to correct.   

Can you please try Harmony cart with a single rom and rename the rom "AUTORUN" or "AUTORUN.bin" or "AUTORUN.a26" with the single rom on the root of the sdcard, to see if it auto boots the one game on the Harmony cart? 

I read in this other thread that the Harmony cart has a single game mode that boots directly like a normal cart does.

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by E. King
correction

[Ben from Plaion]

2 hours ago, Jstick said:

This comment from the ScreenRant review has me concerned:
 

 

I'm interested in the 2600+, even considering it's current drawbacks, but "frequent crashing" is something that isn't really acceptable. 

 

I haven't heard this so far from any other sources though, might this be a faulty unit perhaps?

I've played hundreds of carts on the 2600+ with thousands of sessions and I can't recall even once having a crash.

[MarcinJ]

1 hour ago, Aragorn7 said:

🤔 Hmmm.  I think a quality check is in order. Don't you? At least a few hours should do the trick. That way if there are any issues, you still have time to tell Atari and get another one before Christmas. 😉 

Good point! I need to check if it works. 🙃

[T.A.P.]

The spare joystick I ordered to go with my system got delayed to 11-24, so it's coming the day prior to my system, which means it will likely get messed up in shipping cause Amazon can't pack worth a damn.

 

I should have just ordered through Atari. This is what I get for trying to save some money with free shipping through Prime. : /

[SparkleFork]

So my bank sent a message this morning saying "yeah, so we blocked an order from amazon but let us know if it was actually you who placed it". Sigh. It's had no issue processing orders before so god knows why it flagged this one. Delivery will now be monday instead so let's file this one under 'better later than never'. 

 

Quick questions for the devs or the tech fans:

1. Is there any chance the touchpad or keyboard controllers will ever work on the 2600+?

2. In theory, could Atari release a SD cart that would work on the 2600+ or is it just an incompatible medium? It seems a shame to not be able to play the incompatible games on it. I appreciate this would be in conflict with any future multicart compilations, but speaking of which...

3. Are you looking at releasing a 7800 game multicart (the answer to this is 'yes' btw 😉) as there's a significant jump in second price carts on that system?

 

Thanks for any responses! 

[THX-1138]

5 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said:

I've played hundreds of carts on the 2600+ with thousands of sessions and I can't recall even once having a crash.

I went through my own humble little collection and all I saw was some graphics glitches and corruption - but they were not repeatable, removing the cart and re-inserting it and/or power cycling fixed that.  I put this down to misreads of the cart - and these were all older carts, not the new ones.

[Dionoid]

Saw this posting on Facebook. It's good to see Atari openly respecting the Stella emulator.

Edited November 16, 2023 by Dionoid

[Ben from Plaion]

2 hours ago, THX-1138 said:

I went through my own humble little collection and all I saw was some graphics glitches and corruption - but they were not repeatable, removing the cart and re-inserting it and/or power cycling fixed that.  I put this down to misreads of the cart - and these were all older carts, not the new ones.

Ah, yes. I should of added that indeed some carts I tried at first wouldn't boot or would load garbled. But once the cartridge contacts were cleaned and game booted I didn't have any further issues and never have did I experience any in game crashes.

 

 

[Ben from Plaion]

14 minutes ago, Dionoid said:

Saw this posting on Facebook. It's good to see Atari openly respecting to Stella emulator.

They posted on Twitter also...

 

[82-T/A]

20 hours ago, donjn said:

Yes, there was this weird period BEFORE Ebay was really a thing (even though it started in 1996/96 it didn't get huge until 2003/2004 or so) but it was also AFTER these boxes were current games you would play. I think at some point I might have tossed some boxes. However, even back then I never threw away an Ultima box, ever. The map and books needed a home!

 

Yeah... I mean, I used eBay back then, but it was mostly for just buying a few things here and there. It wasn't so easy to just ship things the same way it is today. I did give a bunch of stuff away... actually, I think I gave my original Ultima Online Beta Testers CD-ROM to Al along with a couple of the coins / maps that I still had from various Ultima games. But mostly... yeah, I threw everything away. I don't know that I'd still want it now because I don't really have the room for it, but I do wish I could have given them away. I also wish I had kept a few of the boxes like System Shock and System Shock 2, or even Ultrabots. I am really glad I kept my AD&D gold box games... I remember sitting there with the huge black trash bag and thinking to myself... does this go too? Naah... I'll save these, they're small enough. I guess at the time I thought I was trying to be responsible... I was moving into an apartment from a house I rented with a roommate, and you know... when you're young, you imagine life just goes on forever. So I had like 3 cars (only two of them actually running well), tons of "stuff"... and I needed to just unload. Hahah...

 

 

20 hours ago, Albert said:

We'll be able to fix this with an update, it's something I'm actively working on right now.

 

 ..Al

 

Which answers one of my questions... it sounds like we'll actually be able to reflash the system with any updates needed from time to time. I think that's pretty awesome. Here's an idea that's been floated a few times on here...

 

IDEA FAIRY

 

It would be really cool if Atari offered a "Cat Box" if you will... for the 2600+ that connects via the USB-C port. Here's my thought, it could be a little box that plugs into the back and allows sort of a front-end loader to the 2600+ so that you can log in with your online Atari or VCS account. It would let you use the 2600 as usual, but it would allow you to "compete" in organized Atari high-score events, or even just across the board with other 2600+ owners. You might even want to make this available to VCS owners so they can compete as well for the 2600 games they buy through the VCS system. There's probably more you could also provide via this system... but you could probably offer something for like ~$35 as a little USB device that sits next to the 2600+. That would be a reasonable price point, and I'd definitely get one (I'm sure you guys are already planning something like this, but just an FYI, it would be pretty awesome).

 

 

19 hours ago, Gemintronic said:

Sounds like updates by connecting to your PC are a thing.

 

I wonder if someday we could buy digital indie / homebrew on the AtariAge store and directly upload them to our 2600+

 

Yes!!! That's a great idea... the thing I mentioned just above could allow connecting to the Atari Store...

 

 

18 hours ago, ToddUGA said:

Picked up some used 2600/7800 games at a local shop, in addition to ordering a 7800 gamepad. I'm a network engineer and work remotely from home so I'll probably unbox the 2600+ and make sure everything works before boxing it up for my son's Christmas present.

 

I love that Atari 7800 gamepad. My 7800 never had that, we had the proline ones (I guess those are the European ones). Do they sell new ones like this? I would absolutely love to get an NES-style gamepad. Did you buy this one used / original, or was it something aftermarket? Thanks!!!

[82-T/A]

17 hours ago, donjn said:

The thing is, they wanted to make the whole process just like in the old days.

But you can NEVER have things exactly like the old days, you can only make things FEEL like the old days.

 

Just in... Atari offers the "Pizza Hut Atari Special" ...

 

Replete with red CokeCola cups, trucker hats, and goomy bracelets, a large "deep dish" pepperoni pizza, and a copy of E.T. on VHS, with every order of an Atari 2600+.

 

 

 

14 hours ago, Chemical Burrito said:

I suspect the general public would have traded the entirety of 7800 compatibility for a set of paddles packed in with the system in addition to the joystick.

 

I didn't mind that they were separate. They were never included in the original Atari VCS / 2600 (as far as I remember), so it didn't bother me in the least that I needed to order them separately. I honestly don't even know WHY I ordered them since I already have several sets of paddles, haha. I just wanted to have new ones.

 

But if I remember correctly, there were different sets of paddles that worked with different games. I have one set that had two paddles connected to a "Y" splitter that connected to only one game port, and then I had paddles that were single paddle controllers where it was one paddle and one wire.

 

I recall one of them had the tennis racket and some other sports implement crossed on it (in green / gold), and the other one had a racecar on it. I don't know which was which though, can't remember.

Edited November 16, 2023 by 82-T/A

[+jeremiahjt]

58 minutes ago, 82-T/A said:

But if I remember correctly, there were different sets of paddles that worked with different games. I have one set that had two paddles connected to a "Y" splitter that connected to only one game port, and then I had paddles that were single paddle controllers where it was one paddle and one wire.

 

I recall one of them had the tennis racket and some other sports implement crossed on it (in green / gold), and the other one had a racecar on it. I don't know which was which though, can't remember.

The single controller on one cord were the Driving Controllers and they only worked on Indy 500 (Sears Race).

[Dionoid]

The 2600+ was just delivered to me here in The Netherlands, and I really like the look and feel. Just insert a cartridge and play; it's plain and simple.

By default my 2600+ was on 16:9 display, but it's easy to switch to 4:3 by using a switch on the back. Joystick feels like the original; personally I like the Hyperkin "Trooper" joystick better, but that's a matter of taste.

[+sramirez2008]

5 minutes ago, Dionoid said:

personally I like the Hyperkin "Trooper" joystick better, but that's a matter of taste.

I really like the Trooper too, but I played a few games at PRGE and was impressed with the CX40+. 

[vagabondartist]

I’m recently interested in Atari thanks to the Evercade Atari carts and then Atari 50.

I’m super excited for this system. This is the first product I can think of that is officially continuing support for a legacy platform in a new way. This is going to be a big deal. Maybe not for tinkerers and hobbyists here, but for regular dudes like me who just got into these games and now have an affordable retro system to collect for and play.

 

I don’t want to mess with Roms and emulators, I just want to pour whiskey or some wine, sit down and play games for 30 minutes, then go back to my day.

 

While I’ve been buying some carts leading up to the launch of this thing in anticipation, I’m most interested in new or deluxe versions of games Atari will be making themselves in the future.

Hopefully home brew carts are also able to be figured out because there are a ton I’m interested in.

[+LS650]

One thing I've seen mentioned: a standard Sega controller doesn't work well, either 3-button or 6-button.

That strikes me as odd.  I normally use a stick for most games, but there are a few I prefer using an old Sega 3-button for.

I would have thought that hardware-wise, the signals detected by the console are pretty much the same as a joystick.  

 

Is there something 'off' about the Sega controller that prevents them from being interpreted correctly?

Or was it just a case of those reviewers having a wonky Sega controller?

[Bakasama]

I think someone got those controllers work with a Mega 7800 adaptor.

[Alarm]

5 minutes ago, Bakasama said:

I think someone got those controllers work with a Mega 7800 adaptor.

They did, but only one button worked, so no good for playing 7800 games.  

[+sramirez2008]

Hmm...here's hoping a Starplex controller works. Anyone out there with a 2600+ and Starplex? You could try testing it with Asteroids or any left/right shooter (e.g., Space Invaders). Thx!

[DEANJIMMY]

12 minutes ago, Alarm said:

They did, but only one button worked, so no good for playing 7800 games.  

Ist that true?

I would expect only one button to work without that adapter but neither have one nor an Genesis pad. Used my self built joysticks and the unijoysticle2 so far.

Will see how they work on the 2600+ when it arrives tomorrow.

[E. King]

After further digging, I think the only way to use Harmony Cart on 2600+ is to use the Harmony software and flash the Harmony cartridge to be in single image mode, which overwrites the normal firmware and turns it into a one game at a time flash cart. In this case the cart behaves like a standalone cartridge so a single game can be played just like a standard cartridge so should theoretically work on the 2600+.

 

Hopefully someone soon comes up with a better way to play a rom on the 2600+.

[Ben from Plaion]

1 hour ago, ls650 said:

One thing I've seen mentioned: a standard Sega controller doesn't work well, either 3-button or 6-button.

That strikes me as odd.  I normally use a stick for most games, but there are a few I prefer using an old Sega 3-button for.

I would have thought that hardware-wise, the signals detected by the console are pretty much the same as a joystick.  

 

Is there something 'off' about the Sega controller that prevents them from being interpreted correctly?

Or was it just a case of those reviewers having a wonky Sega controller?

No, I mentioned previously in this thread the socket pin outs are different on the Sega Megadrive/ Genesis vs Atari 2600. It's not recommended.

 

However they will work with an adapter that reroutes the pin outs, John Hancocks review video shows the adapter.

[Dionoid]

1 hour ago, ls650 said:

Or was it just a case of those reviewers having a wonky Sega controller?

I can confirm that 3-button Sega controllers don’t work on the Atari 2600+. And while we’re taking about joysticks: you definitely need a joystick extension cable if you want to play from your couch. 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Dionoid

[MarcinJ]

20 minutes ago, Dionoid said:

I can confirm that 3-button Sega controllers don’t work on the Atari 2600+. And while we’re taking about joysticks: you definitely need a joystick extension cable if you want to play from your couch. 

Do you know where I could purchase such extension cables? 

[Ben from Plaion]

1 minute ago, MarcinJ said:

Do you know where I could purchase such extension cables? 

Let's see what tomorrow brings.