The new Atari 2600+ w/HDMI out and 2600/7800 support

[Tickled_Pink]

48 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Why can't you test it because it is NTSC?  

Um - I assumed that I couldn't? I remember when my uncle brought back an NTSC unit back from Venezuela and found that PAL carts didn't work on it.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

A PAL cart in a NTSC console in a PAL country? Weird combination.  

 

They will work, just with wrong colors.

 

[+MrZarniwoop]

1 hour ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

A PAL cart in a NTSC console in a PAL country? Weird combination.  

 

They will work, just with wrong colors.

 

Depending on the TV, the picture may be unstable (rolling, skewed, etc.) or potentially not display.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

27 minutes ago, MrZarniwoop said:

Depending on the TV, the picture may be unstable (rolling, skewed, etc.) or potentially not display.

Almost all TVs in Europa can handle 60Hz.

[Dionoid]

Interview with Atari CEO Wade Rosen on the new Atari 2600+ (crosspost from Atari General forum)

 

[Aloan]

On 8/22/2023 at 11:26 AM, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Since the cart port is effectively a ROM dumper, no carts including an ARM (Harmony, PlusCart, Champ Games...) chip will ever work. These carts cannot be dumped.

What if they update their inner emulator to support all that?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

9 minutes ago, Aloan said:

What if they update their inner emulator to support all that?

Their "inner emulator" is Stella. Which is not the problem. The problem is the cart dumper. Which naturally has not access to cart internal only communication. 

[cdoty]

On 8/22/2023 at 9:41 AM, Thomas Jentzsch said:

No magic will fix that, sorry. And since there is not even a SD cart option like the R77 has, there are even more limitations. At the moment this looks like the inferior, little brother of the R77.  

Even the chip is not better (and from 2014): 

https://gadgetversus.com/processor/allwinner-h3-vs-rockchip-rk3128/

I'm sure these systems could be emulated on a toaster. Unless more modern chipsets are cheaper, it's overkill to use them. Similar SOCs power most mini consoles.

[cdoty]

On 8/31/2023 at 9:32 AM, zzip said:

If there's one USB port that's used for power, how is it going to be used for upgrades at the same time?   Hubs take power from the host device, not feed power to it,   Unless there''s some USB-C magic that I'm not aware of?

Plug it directly into a computer? It worked fine for the NES and SNES mini.

[+5-11under]

I think the 2600+ would be a good system for your friends or family. They'll be able to play it on their TV, and it'll run most of the cheap games you give them, or the games they find on eBay.

A few annoyances, though, in this scenario:

1. It gets pretty expensive, especially after adding paddles.
2. The paddles multicart is only 4 games - I don't know how many are available, but nevertheless, 4 is low. Even 10 for the main multicart is low... it could have been 16 or 32 without losing out on potential revenue streams, I think.
3. No 2nd button on the controller - they could even put it on the "shoulder" so you wouldn't detract from the overall look.
4. The DIP switches are tiny (from pictures I've seen). I like these:

                  

Number 1, I get. There's costs involved. Number 2, 3, and 4, though, seem like improvements that would have been fairly easy to add at minimal cost, and with decent benefit.

 

A 7800 multicart would have been pretty cool, too. Maybe not many games available? These games are harder to find, and I think family and friends would probably enjoy the 7800's graphics more, compared to the 2600's.

[Tronmagnum]

Does Atari planning on remaking the old games? Selling a cartridge only system probably wasn't that great of an idea since most people are like me and have no idea what happened to the games of their youth. 

[Thomas Jentzsch]

7 hours ago, cdoty said:

I'm sure these systems could be emulated on a toaster. 

Nope. You underestimate by far the complexity of correct emulation.

[azure]

On 8/23/2023 at 6:14 PM, Living Room Arcade said:

And a brand new pair of CX30+ paddles instead of trying to clean up OEM from eBay.  

This is best news. I distinctly recall there being several discussion threads years ago discussing the desire for a new source of paddles. I have a few sets, which includes one set of original paddles in brand new condition, but all my other sets are in used condition. The good set is smooth as silk, but I still don't use it for fear of wearing it out. New paddles are a nice option. I hope they will offer non-bundled set in the store.

[Shawn]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:42 PM, 5-11under said:

 

                  

 

 

Using dip switches at all on these multicarts instead of being menu driven was a poor choice by Atari, IMO.

[+5-11under]

1 hour ago, Shawn said:

 

Using dip switches at all on these multicarts instead of being menu driven was a poor choice by Atari, IMO.

They could have re-purposed a pin from the 7800 format, and used it as a very simple reset line to handle the menu selection. There may be other ways, but I'm not too familiar with the emulator deals with that side of things.

[+discotronic]

On 8/22/2023 at 10:26 AM, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Since the cart port is effectively a ROM dumper, no carts including an ARM (Harmony, PlusCart, Champ Games...) chip will ever work. These carts cannot be dumped.

I've tried to search for the answer to this question. I have all the Champ games and also have the AtariMax Maxflash. None of the Champ games are playable on my Harmony cart after dumping. Is it that any ROM dumper actually can't dump the cart? I was thinking that since I do have ROMs for Scramble and Super Cobra that play without any issues that it was a emulation issue. That is why I never purchased the Retron77. That would also mean I'm likely out on this console as well. Apologies if this has already been answered somewhere. 

[Dionoid]

New video interview on the Atari 2600+ by BennySGB from the Pax West conference:

 

The Atari representative is called David (looks 50+) and he shared some interesting things during the interview:

• Atari is testing out the 2600+ cart compatiblity by literally testing carts one by one, just buying every game they can find and also going to people with large cart libraries to test them out.
• The 2600+ build quality is amazing, according to David.
• Atari hopes to capture nostalgia with the Atari 2600+, which they think is a similar market to people buying new record players to play their old vinyl albums and then start to collect new albums too.
• They think the first ring of customers are probably going to be hardcore 2600 fans and collectors, but they also hope to attract younger gamers who are interested in playing retro games.
• With the launch just before the holidays Atari expects "generational gift giving" - i.e. son buys for dad, dad buys for gamer son, etc. They say it's an emotional product for a lot of people.

Edited September 13, 2023 by Dionoid

[mactari]

On 8/26/2023 at 2:20 PM, BIGHMW said:

Wico Command Control series

Now you’re talking controllers. Had the one with swappable grips… you’ve almost convinced me to go open up some storage bins and see if I can’t find it. 

[Living Room Arcade]

On 9/13/2023 at 4:24 AM, azure said:

This is best news. I distinctly recall there being several discussion threads years ago discussing the desire for a new source of paddles. I have a few sets, which includes one set of original paddles in brand new condition, but all my other sets are in used condition. The good set is smooth as silk, but I still don't use it for fear of wearing it out. New paddles are a nice option. I hope they will offer non-bundled set in the store.

@azure  Yes.  The fact that brand new Atari 2600 paddle controllers are now available at the Atari.com store should not be overlooked in all of the excitement about the 2600+ console.  

[radventure]

As someone who is tempted but still undecided on pre-ordering.... I may be swayed with any info on how good the new joystick is. Has this been mentioned somewhere? 

 

Paddle combo box is no longer available for pre-order (at least with Amazon AU / authorised AU distribution)!?

[Jstick]

2 hours ago, Living Room Arcade said:

@azure  Yes.  The fact that brand new Atari 2600 paddle controllers are now available at the Atari.com store should not be overlooked in all of the excitement about the 2600+ console.  

I was happy about this until I noticed that atari.com is apparently the only place you can get the paddles, so they aren't available to anyone outside the US (they aren't on Amazon like the 2600+ and joystick are).

[davyK]

Bit of a pity that the Harmony won't work with it, but I'm still considering this as a purchase. I have mostly PAL carts which is a bit of a downer but I have some NTSC ones too.

[Dr Karnov]

1 hour ago, davyK said:

Bit of a pity that the Harmony won't work with it, but I'm still considering this as a purchase. I have mostly PAL carts which is a bit of a downer but I have some NTSC ones too.

Why are PAL carts a downer?

[Aloan]

All I know is I am very excited for it and will buy it as soon as it is possible here in Brazil. So far, no retailers here as of yet.
Regarding my thoughts on it:
1- I personally only care about the 2600 and its games, period.
2- After studying more about it on several places on the net, I can say I´m happy about it overall.
3- Personally I love its iconic and exquisite 2600´s digital LEGO like graphics and I also love its 128 color palette. All this fuels the imagination (when you most likely see one color or multi color (vertical stripes) icons on the scren instead of super realistic graphics)
4- yes I also like its 2 channel sound... So yeah I am a complete 2600 lover. hence why I´ll pick it up
Also, I haven´t had the 2600 since the 80s when I last had a Junior, so... this will be golden to me (holding a "replica" of the 4 switch) having the console with me to the end of my human time
Can´t wait for more news and revelations on it. I´m going to Youtube everyday several times a day, hunting for more info even if it´s more of the same thing hahah!

Edited September 17, 2023 by Aloan

[M-S]

I don't think it will be available here for a while, or maybe never. Depends on how much Atari is willing to have a local manufacturer, because as an import it probably wouldn't be cheap.