FifthPlayer Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) 4 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said: So I do think even if it's not quite all there, it deserves a little bit of special consideration so future products centered around the platform will be possible. Certainly, if it's truly awful, that's a different story, but I find that highly unlikely. It only has to be good enough. Honestly, I'm not yet sold on this device - there's more I want to know. But M.U.L.E. built-in, support for four controller ports and easy hookup to modern TV's make this machine compelling on that point alone. I've wanted a machine that I could bring to a friend's house to host a M.U.L.E. party and this product, assuming it doesn't suck, really fits the bill. I also find it interesting that a group of people has declared Retroarch A8 core as the emulator employed in this console, despite no official declaration, and then started beating up Atari over it. At least find out for sure before getting out your pitchforks. Edited January 13 by FifthPlayer 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 32 minutes ago, donjn said: 4 hours ago, Mr Robot said: That's a very valid point. This may be a reason for me to get one, even if I think it's so ugly it hurts my soul. WE GET IT, you think its ugly. Noted and logged, 3 times already... That's like calling someone's wife or first love ugly. Maybe some of us that had this machine as their first computer in 1982 like the look of it? Feel free to bag on it for shit emulation core, but not for the case design. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 3 hours ago, Jetboot Jack said: I have a TheC64 Maxi and it’s great, there is a community around theses systems that has hacked them all - adding better emulators, editing the built in games carousel etc… That's good to know. I expected it to be the case, but hadn't looked into that aspect yet. I had seen some reviews for TheC64 (and TheA500), before, and watched them again when this was announced. I know there'd been plenty of firmware updates for TheC64, but hacks by the community were also of interest. Thanks for the info. As an enthusiast, this is the kind of stuff that makes me more interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 On the subject of using "The" in the name, Gibson mandolins (and earlier guitars) have always been inlaid with "The Gibson" on the headstock. 1923 A-5 Lloyd Loar (snakehead) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bent_pin Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 4 hours ago, Jetboot Jack said: Pre-ordered, I tried several hours ago, but I got waitlisted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scifidude79 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I preordered mine while I was on break at work earlier. I checked YouTube and one of the channels I subscribe to dropped the news that it was available for preorder on Amazon (US version) so I ordered it there. I also ordered a second controller. It might be fun to mess with that on a computer too. We had the 5200 when I was a kid, but we never had any of the Atari computers. I've looked into possibly getting one, but they're pretty expensive. So, I'm really looking forward to this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I have an 800XL and I'm very happy with it, yet I'm still strangely tempted to buy this A400 Mini. Is there anyone in the same boat, people who have original hardware but are buying the A400 Mini anyway? Why? (Basically I'm looking to see if anyone has a good reason to get one that I haven't thought of) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FifthPlayer Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 5 minutes ago, akator said: Is there anyone in the same boat, people who have original hardware but are buying the A400 Mini anyway? Why? Drop-dead easy to connect to modern TVs, for starters. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donjn Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) 55 minutes ago, scifidude79 said: I preordered mine while I was on break at work earlier. I checked YouTube and one of the channels I subscribe to dropped the news that it was available for preorder on Amazon (US version) so I ordered it there. I also ordered a second controller. It might be fun to mess with that on a computer too. We had the 5200 when I was a kid, but we never had any of the Atari computers. I've looked into possibly getting one, but they're pretty expensive. So, I'm really looking forward to this. Cant find it on Amazon US. EDIT: Found it https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CS3VD9TJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Edited January 13 by donjn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuzaxeman Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Die hard 800xl fan. I like this A400 mini. Really cool idea. The price is good too. I'm wondering what the OS will look like. I'm in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beeblebrox Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) So to repeat but I've asked a few times and searched for specs and the answers to my questions posed here, which I won't bother repeating in this reply 😉😁 Anyone know? Specs just say 256MB; FLASH: 128MB, but nothing of what limit is for games you might wanna run (1mb car's?) If we can't run our homebrew games like Flob, (latter ATR allows progress and achievements to be saved on current supporting devices), Atariblast! or Onescape - then that's a serious limitation. Homebrew is one of the key things that keeps the Atari scene going, maintains interest and hooks some new people in. Edited January 13 by Beeblebrox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steril707 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 17 hours ago, donjn said: And the point is....so is the Atari 2600+, so is Gamestation Pro.. IF there is no input lag (like a true FPGA) my brain cant tell the difference. The point is that some people in this thread are wondering if this will have full blown functionality, eg SIO, working Keyboard, cart slots, etc. It won't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steril707 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) On 1/12/2024 at 10:48 AM, MrFish said: Really??? I thought this was supposed to be an electric cheese grater. Alright close the topic, we've all been duped... Considering 80% of people here are asking if this thing will be able to run Fujinet or have SIO ports your cheap shot is a bit lame. Maybe you could try to be helpful to people here as well instead of acting like a jackass. Edited January 13 by Steril707 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 39 minutes ago, Steril707 said: Considering 80% of people here are asking if this thing will be able to run Fujinet or have SIO ports your cheap shot is a bit lame. 80%?? bullcrap... more like 0.8%... yeah, the majority of us are completely clueless here as to what we're looking at without your extremely insightful comments. 43 minutes ago, Steril707 said: Maybe you could try to be helpful to people here as well instead of acting like a jackass. "Helpful", yeah, you are, to a class full of kindergarteners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atariman72 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 6 hours ago, akator said: I have an 800XL and I'm very happy with it, yet I'm still strangely tempted to buy this A400 Mini. Is there anyone in the same boat, people who have original hardware but are buying the A400 Mini anyway? Why? (Basically I'm looking to see if anyone has a good reason to get one that I haven't thought of) I have the 800 and 800XL but have pre-ordered The400 Mini. Apart from it looking very cool I want to support anything to do with the A8 lineage. The ability to easily connect to a new tv via hdmi, usb loading and joystick support are major selling points. Although Retro Games aren't a company that I am particularly fond of due to certain business practices, the products they have released so far were well put together (apart from the original joystick they released) and have had firmware support. I currently use the TheVic20, A500 Mini and TheC64 Mini on a regular basis. Hopefull if The400 sells then in the future a Maxi A8 with working keyboard will be released. And an ST possibly! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barney15c Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 4 hours ago, Beeblebrox said: So to repeat but I've asked a few times and searched for specs and the answers to my questions posed here, which I won't bother repeating in this reply 😉😁 Anyone know? Specs just say 256MB; FLASH: 128MB, but nothing of what limit is for games you might wanna run (1mb car's?) If we can't run our homebrew games like Flob, (latter ATR allows progress and achievements to be saved on current supporting devices), Atariblast! or Onescape - then that's a serious limitation. Homebrew is one of the key things that keeps the Atari scene going, maintains interest and hooks some new people in. I would be interested to know if there is support for any homebrew software that uses more than 64k ie Prince of Persia (128k) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peruchi Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) Let's be fair: the scope of this thing is just to have a simple and direct way to play A8 games in your current-gen TV. Having said that, it is expected that it won't be able to sport an SIO port, PBI, ECI, cartridge port and so on. The same happened with the C64 mini, that doesn't have user port, iec port, cart port, etc... It's just a simple device, maybe with some aspirations to become a collectable item in the near future. For me, it's something that does not inspire much appeal, I'm fine with the original hardware and other emulation options. But we are enthusiasts, not just a casual gamer interested in reviving or get acquainted with the platform. Just my humble 2 cents... Let's play our Ataris, folks, in any way that fits your will (or bill). Edited January 13 by Peruchi Input mistake 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMontezuma Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 15 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said: Airball Battlezone (how?!) Berzerk Boulderdash Capture the Flag Crystal Castles Elektra Glide Henry's House Lee (aka, Bruce Lee) Millipede Missile Command M.U.L.E. Star Raiders II The Seven Cities of Gold Yoomp! Ten to go. Yoomp! PAL or NTSC ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 What would add appeal is if you can break out of the factory environment and do general system emulation on it, without modifying the hardware itself. I just don't know about these things - I bought one of those C64 joysticks on eBay over 10 years ago and have barely touched it. It's nice and all to have a remake of the old case but equally you could just get something 3D printed and put a Raspberry Pi inside it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scifidude79 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 8 hours ago, donjn said: Cant find it on Amazon US. EDIT: Found it https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CS3VD9TJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I couldn't find it either. I searched, but my break was almost up. So, I went back to the YT post and clicked on the provided link. Luckily, that opened in the Amazon app and I was able to order. Sometimes, I just shake my head at Amazon's search results. 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preppie Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I want THE800 with working keyboard, but that won't happen if THE400 doesn't sell well so I guess I'll be buying one lol 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 2 hours ago, TheMontezuma said: Yoomp! PAL or NTSC ? It doesn't matter. Emulation can run in either mode, regardless of which standard your TV/monitor uses. The only thing that might be affected (if the emulator supports it) is the difference in pixel aspect ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) 10 hours ago, akator said: I have an 800XL and I'm very happy with it, yet I'm still strangely tempted to buy this A400 Mini. Is there anyone in the same boat, people who have original hardware but are buying the A400 Mini anyway? Why? (Basically I'm looking to see if anyone has a good reason to get one that I haven't thought of) I've got multiple 400,800, xl, xe and emulation via pi, MiSTer FPGA and Xbox etc etc. Still getting one Why? Because I like the look of it. It can sit in the family room without me being moaned at for all the cables everywhere, it can work on my plasma TV without messing about with video converters and audio injectors and I can throw it in an overnight bag to take away on holiday or business trips. And I think this gen of Atari are really trying to do something good so I'm going to back this one Edited January 13 by mimo 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FifthPlayer Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) 2 hours ago, Rybags said: It's nice and all to have a remake of the old case but equally you could just get something 3D printed and put a Raspberry Pi inside it. You absolutely can, though that takes this device from "Click Buy and done" to a DIY project, which doesn't have the same kind of appeal. Edited January 13 by FifthPlayer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Retro Games THECXSTICK - A400 (Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk) https://amzn.eu/d/8VLdN70 Found the link to the UK joystick pre order, searching Amazon didn't bring up any results 🤷 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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