Torn: 2600+, GS, or Flashback

[thorvitz]

Advice needed. I want to relive the early 80s but without the hassle of buying a CRT screen. I haven’t gamed much since I was 10; even NES games (and controllers) seem complicated. No judgement. 
 

I didn’t buy any of the Flashbacks because had read the joysticks lagged or were stiff. Hoping I’m wrong as this seems like an easy option (quite possible I’ll get it out of my system in a weekend and then just play occasionally). The 12 gold probably has enough games to satisfy me.
 

The GS joystick looks complicated (gen x reviewers have agreed). Plus I doubt I’ll play most of the non 2600 games (I know you can add on an SD card but no thanks). 
 

I was interested in the 2600+ until I read about cleaning cartridges. Also my parents long ago threw out my original carts. I’m ok buying but not dealing with cleaning. 

 

 

[Gamma Ray]

Sounds like 12 Gold is for you.

[Brad_from_the_80s]

Some of us nuts have all three.

 

I'd recommend the Flashback to start.  It's also the lowest cost and you can add roms to it.

[thorvitz]

I’m thinking the Gold too. I just wanted to confirm with you guys - who are way smarter than i am about this. I spent quite a few hours reading reviews. 

[tradyblix]

I would suggest the 2600+ for the following reasons:

 

1.) It's already got pretty high compatibility and will only get better. you can add most of the 7800 library which makes the playability of the 2600+ a bit better. 

2.) It's a nice compact box that hits all the right notes. It *looks* like a real 2600. That's a big deal. 

3.) Collecting carts (ebay, garage sales, hobby stores, etc) and swapping them is more fun than roms.

You may have some atari games you enjoy playing from roms already, but you will respect them more when you have a physical cart.

4.) it's got really nice controller support in the form of the original stick, so you can see how hard it was to control things, but also, hyperkin ranger is a really nice 2600 only third party controller and paddle unit. There's a lot of 9 pin sticks out there too which would look great in your living room / coffee table along with the unit. 

 

I also play atari games (including ones where I can't source a cart yet, or can't afford a cart yet (see: commando 7800)) on a miyoo mini, this is where I can weed out games that are not worth purchasing from ones I do want to own a physical copy of. But playing them with a proper controller on a real tv and inserting a cart - it's better and it's a joy. 

 

This may not be for everyone, some people want a rom only unit and the gamestation pro looks good for that. But the amount of fun the 2600+ brought me has been worth it. Plus all year I'm on the lookout for carts to play. 

Edited December 31, 2023 by tradyblix

[thorvitz]

Did you have any issues with latency (some reviewers have complained about obvious lag)? Also how much will I have to clean (old) cartridges I buy? I never had this issue of course when I was 10! I don’t think I even broke a cartridge when I was younger (owned over 70 at one point). 

[tradyblix]

7 minutes ago, thorvitz said:

Did you have any issues with latency (some reviewers have complained about obvious lag)? Also how much will I have to clean (old) cartridges I buy? I never had this issue of course when I was 10! I don’t think I even broke a cartridge when I was younger (owned over 70 at one point). 

No, I have no latency issues. I use game mode and have a low latency HDMI 2.1 port on a nice TV tho, so it will depend on your TV. 

 

There's a couple games where the paddles are a bit jittery, but I'm not sure they're worse than OG hardware. The bigger problem there is getting good enough at paddle play methinks.

 

Yeah you will have to clean old cartridges. A lot of them have an invisible oxide layer that has to be removed by either friction (inserting) or cleaning. On the old 2600, the friction was very high inserting the cart, so it cleaned better the carts. But cleaning carts is pretty easy. 

Edited December 31, 2023 by tradyblix

[Ben from Plaion]

There is only one answer here and that's the Atari 2600+

[Brad_from_the_80s]

Well honestly the cleaning has been no big deal.  A bottle of isopropyl alcohol and some cotton buds at a dollar store and you're good.  Dip the Q-tip in the alcohol, work both sides of the cart contacts, see the gunk come off, swab out any other dirt.  Maybe blot dry or let it dry on it's own for a while.  There are other/better methods, but I never have to do more than this.  If there are still problems with the cart it is likely an Activision cart, lol.

[tradyblix]

Although to be fair, I have a few activision carts and they're working ! Megamania is bomb if you're into the history of early arcade style shooters. 

 

We should start sending screenshots to modern day Activision of our 45,000 score runs and see if they still give us megamaniac badges

Edited December 31, 2023 by tradyblix

[Brad_from_the_80s]

1 hour ago, tradyblix said:

Although to be fair, I have a few activision carts and they're working ! Megamania is bomb if you're into the history of early arcade style shooters. 

 

We should start sending screenshots to modern day Activision of our 45,000 score runs and see if they still give us megamaniac badges

All of my Activision actually work, but roughly half require being inserted "just right"

 

I don’t know about getting any patches from Activision, but would be fun to do badges here on Atariage or something.  Even informal/unofficial, could have a screenshot thread for proof and just add them in your sig, lol.

[Sean_1970]

Definitely 2600+. It might not seem like a great deal since you need to collect carts (and yes, clean them, but honestly it’s not a big deal, especially if you’re not keen to deal with finding ROMs and messing with SD cards), but the kit is pretty solid and gives a (mostly’ authentic experience 👍

[scifidude79]

I would have recommended buying a Flashback 12 Gold a few weeks ago when Amazon had them for $60 USD. At that price it was a steal with 130 games, two controllers and paddles. Now maybe not so much. The cheapest price I can find one for is about $115. In my opinion, none of the mini retro consoles are worth more than $100.

 

Now, I recommend the 2600+ all the way. The console is great, the controllers feel authentic and getting good deals on old games is addictive. It looks great hooked up to your TV and the cartridges look great on a shelf. And, of course, sliding that cartridge into the system and toggling the power switch to play a game for some authentic 80s fun is the best, in my opinion. Plus, it's hard to say what re-releases and new cartridges Atari has in the works for 2024. In my opinion, it's a great time to be alive.

[+bent_pin]

10 minutes ago, scifidude79 said:

I would have recommended buying a Flashback 12 Gold a few weeks ago when Amazon had them for $60 USD. At that price it was a steal with 130 games, two controllers and paddles. Now maybe not so much. The cheapest price I can find one for is about $115. In my opinion, none of the mini retro consoles are worth more than $100.

 

Now, I recommend the 2600+ all the way. The console is great, the controllers feel authentic and getting good deals on old games is addictive. It looks great hooked up to your TV and the cartridges look great on a shelf. And, of course, sliding that cartridge into the system and toggling the power switch to play a game for some authentic 80s fun is the best, in my opinion. Plus, it's hard to say what re-releases and new cartridges Atari has in the works for 2024. In my opinion, it's a great time to be alive.

I have the 2600+, the gamestation pro, and a flashback 8 gold. My least favorite is the flashback.

[Brad_from_the_80s]

46 minutes ago, scifidude79 said:

I would have recommended buying a Flashback 12 Gold a few weeks ago when Amazon had them for $60 USD. At that price it was a steal with 130 games, two controllers and paddles. Now maybe not so much. The cheapest price I can find one for is about $115. In my opinion, none of the mini retro consoles are worth more than $100.

That’s a ripoff price, I see these direct from AtGames for only $60, a small discount, although US only.  At that price they make sense for some people.

32 minutes ago, bent_pin said:

I have the 2600+, the gamestation pro, and a flashback 8 gold. My least favorite is the flashback.

The Flashback 8 is an older Android-based unit, the first with hdmi.  Not a night and day difference, but later models are somewhat better.

[+bent_pin]

4 minutes ago, Brad_from_the_80s said:

The Flashback 8 is an older Android-based unit, the first with hdmi.  Not a night and day difference, but later models are somewhat better

The FB8G is not terrible, my primary complaint is that the games are not original. I feel like most have minor changes. Seems like many, most are interpretations that are just slightly off.

[John Stamos Mullet]

2600+ is closest to authentic.

 

FB is fun and easy

 

GS is hot crap in a $5 bag.

[Brad_from_the_80s]

6 minutes ago, bent_pin said:

The FB8G is not terrible, my primary complaint is that the games are not original. I feel like most have minor changes. Seems like many, most are interpretations that are just slightly off.

Hrmmm, I’m not sure about that.  Other than some home brews and the Space Invaders/Frogger substitutions they should be original roms.  But FB8 still uses an in-house emulator of some sort instead of Stella (started with Flashback 9).

[+bent_pin]

7 minutes ago, Brad_from_the_80s said:

Hrmmm, I’m not sure about that.  Other than some home brews and the Space Invaders/Frogger substitutions they should be original roms.  But FB8 still uses an in-house emulator of some sort instead of Stella (started with Flashback 9).

Maybe it's the emulator then, but most felt off and paddle games are all but unplayable.

[scifidude79]

6 hours ago, bent_pin said:

Maybe it's the emulator then, but most felt off and paddle games are all but unplayable.

I had a Flashback 7 or 8, somewhere around there. I wasn't HD. The emulation was slightly off and they had a couple ROMs that weren't original 2600 ROMs. Last year, I bought the Flashback 50 Gold, which is the same as the Flashback 12 Gold, but with the Atari 50 branding. Everything is vastly improved on that version and there aren't any ROMs that aren't 2600 ROMs. Plus, with the addition of most peoples' favorite Activision ROMs, it's a decent unit. Prior to the release of the 2600+, it was my favorite way to play 2600 games because they got it right and the Retron 77 has issues running some cartridges. I literally thought some of my cartridges didn't work until I got the 2600+ and found that they all work. Everything works on the latest Flashback models and, if you can get one at a good price, it's a good buy.

[scifidude79]

6 hours ago, Brad_from_the_80s said:

That’s a ripoff price, I see these direct from AtGames for only $60, a small discount, although US only.  At that price they make sense for some people.

Yeah, I'm looking at it now. Normally $70, but discounted for $60. $20 shipping, though, continental US only. My Flashback 50 Gold was about $80, but I paid a lot less because I had a $50 gift card. Free shipping from Amazon. The Flashback 12 Gold from Amazon at $60 had free shipping, so it's no wonder they sold out.

[Tavi]

I see a lot of recommendations for a 2600+

One thing I would keep in mind however is this does not sound like someone with an existing Atari cartridge collection.

In which case they will be limited to the pack-in 10-in-1 games, unless they buy additional 2600/7800 physical game cartridges.

With no existing collection I would have to say the Flashback would be the most plug and play option, and the best bang for their buck for the casual gamer.


... huh, never thought I would see the day where I was actually recommending a Flashback. But there it is!

Edited January 1 by Tavi
grammar correction

[JetmanUK]

To answer the question posed in the title, my advice is to follow what I did, you don't need to follow my order of purchase, but here it is for completeness:

 

Buy the 50th Anniversary Flashback

Buy the 2600 Plus

Buy the Gamestation Pro

 

Enjoy Atari. 🤟🏻🗻

[+Intellivision Master]

11 hours ago, scifidude79 said:

Plus, it's hard to say what re-releases and new cartridges Atari has in the works for 2024.

It'll be interesting to see what the re-releases & new games are going to be.  I look forward to the announcement from Atari.  With new games, I'm hoping for a vertical shooter and a maze style game.

[scifidude79]

9 hours ago, Tavi said:

One thing I would keep in mind however is this does not sound like someone with an existing Atari cartridge collection.

In which case they will be limited to the pack-in 10-in-1 games, unless they buy additional 2600/7800 physical game cartridges.

With no existing collection I would have to say the Flashback would be the most plug and play option, and the best bang for their buck for the casual gamer.

It depends on what kind of money the OP is willing to spend also. One can go on Ebay and search for "Atari 2600 game lot" and see what comes up. Lots are a good way to jump start a collection. Some are auctions, which can be a really good deal, depending on how high someone is willing to go. Others are just buy it now for X amount of games, it usually works out to a few dollars (USD) per cartridge.

 

As for plug and play, with 200 games on it for just under $100, I'm pretty sure the Gamestation Pro would be a slightly better bang for your buck than a Flashback. Sure, not all of the games are Atari, but at least the bonus games are legit 8 and 16-bit games, I think mostly by Pico Interactive.