THE400 Mini

[Beeblebrox]

9 minutes ago, Hwlngmad said:

Amen Bill.  Atari has lots of things at its disposal and products like this (along with the games they have been releasing) are most welcomed.  I / We can only hope that there is lots more yet to come.

IMHO I think so long as these new plug and play machines can play the new homebrews like Prince of Persia, Flob, Dude Story, The last Squadron, Scorch, ADoom, L'abbayne des morts, Time Wizard, etc, which push the capabilities of the original 1979 chipset, and don't just regurgitate Atari's 80's back catalogue only, there might be some lasting appeal. The main issue all the time with Atari  - and you saw it with the Jaguar with a lot of the it's titles - was they just thought versions of the old classics was enough at times. 

 

In the 90's with a lot of A8 games we just got multiple mediorce platformers or countless versions of Tetris clones. Now in the last 10-15 years we have seen some amazing A8 games that push the capabilities and are fun and engaging games.

Edited January 11 by Beeblebrox

[Bill Loguidice]

3 minutes ago, Mr Robot said:

Why did they pick the ugliest Atari to use for the case? If this was an XL model I would be all over it just for the case, but as it is, I'll pass.

A few others feel that way for sure, but I personally like it. It also gives them wiggle room to use the 800 design for a full size unit should this prove successful.

 

My guess why the 400 is because it may have both outsold the 800 and also has an iconic, if infamous, keyboard. Since it's all decoration anyway, why not in that case? I'm there for it.

[Mr Robot]

7 minutes ago, Bill Loguidice said:

My guess why the 400 is because it may have both outsold the 800 and also has an iconic, if infamous, keyboard. Since it's all decoration anyway, why not in that case? I'm there for it.

I think the biggest selling Atari was the XL, mostly because of the harsh cost cutting under Tramiel, I know it outsold all others in Europe. 400/800 apparently sold ~800,000 I'd guess the majority of that would be the 400 but the XL sold ~500,000 on its own.

 

> why not in that case?

The case is the only thing I'd be interested in, everything else about it is already available in less hamstrung variations. For me, it's just a pretty box to put on a shelf with the other minis in my collection.

 

Edited January 11 by Mr Robot

[Bill Loguidice]

Just now, Mr Robot said:

I think the biggest selling Atari was the XL, mostly because of the harsh cost cutting under Tramiel, I know it outsold all others in Europe. 400/800 apparently sold ~800,000 I'd guess the majority of that would be the 400 but the XL sold ~500,000 on its own.

 

I'm not doubting any of that, but I think a lot of factors contributed to them choosing the 400 over the 800 or XL/XE series. Probably the most beloved (and "best") "looks" are the 800 and 1200XL, but I think going with the 400 for the reasons I stated seems reasonable enough. They need to attract some people outside of the hardcore Atari communities, so going with the one with the notable keyboard design is probably one of the easier ways of accomplishing that. Certainly, we wouldn't want to be within 10 feet of that keyboard were it a Maxi, but as a Mini that wouldn't have a functioning keyboard regardless, no problem.

[+remowilliams]

26 minutes ago, Mr Robot said:

Rewinding + Save states almost certainly makes this a retroarch emulation which is atari800 3.1.0 from 2019. Current atari800 is 5.2.0 but the retroarch core hasn't been updated, instead some mods have been made to 3.1.0 so the source tree is no longer in sync.

Yes that old Libretro core is a problem.

 

I'm not going to be supporting outdated substandard emulation with known issues just because it's convenient for a manufacturer to slap it in there.

[+MrFish]

3 hours ago, Mr Robot said:

Why did they pick the ugliest Atari to use for the case? If this was an XL model I would be all over it just for the case, but as it is, I'll pass.

I'll agree that the 800XL probably has the greatest mass appeal; but, personally, I rank in looks 130XE/65XE, 800, 400, XEGS, 1200XL/800XL/600XL. That doesn't mean I don't like how the 800XL looks, I just don't prefer it over the others. I think the original 400 has great lines; and I like the membrane keyboard a lot; I would never use it for serious typing, but for gaming it's great and a very cool look and design. I'm glad they picked the Atari 400 over all the other designs.

 

[Fred_M]

The bad libretro core would be a dealbreaker for me. The My Arcade Gamestation also uses this bad core for 5200 emulation.

 

What I am worrying about is that there might be too much available now. My Arcade announced at CES a.o. new Atari controllers, the Atari Gamestation pro portable and another range of Atari cabinets (larger than the previous ones). ATgames just released the Atari Flashback 12 Gold, Plaion released the 2600+ and now The400 mini.

 

I really like an Atari 8-bit mini and I would definitely buy one if the sound emulation is good.

Edited January 11 by Fred_M

[Mercenary]

The 400 is a weird choice.

Despite my favourite being the 130XE (for me, it's the best looking 8-bit Atari by far and I like the cartridge slot around the back) you'd think the 800XL - being the most popular - would be the choice for a mini. I guess maybe the argument is that the 400 has four joystick ports. But that’s a weak argument if they’re going for accuracy. I mean, the 400 didn’t play games that required more memory, or 5200 games, and the 400 also had a working keyboard. I doubt the mini 400 will have, just like the C64 mini didn’t. Plus, they could stick 4 ports on a 800XL mini

I'm in agreement with Mr Robot that the 400 is the ugliest of the 8 bit systems. I'll pass on this.

Edited January 11 by Mercenary

[donjn]

16 minutes ago, MrFish said:

I'll agree that the 800XL probably has the greatest mass appeal; but, personally, I rank in looks 130XE/65XE, 800, 400, XEGS, 1200XL/800XL/600XL. That doesn't mean I don't like how the 800XL looks, I just don't prefer it over the others. I think the original 400 has great lines; and I like the membrane keyboard a lot; I would never use it for serious typing, but for gaming, it's great and a very cool look and design. I'm glad they picked the Atari 400 over all the other designs.

 

Another agree on the Atari 400 design. Ive always preferred it and the 800 visually. The XL series looked more like 80's typewriters where the 400 had this cool look with the brown and yellow colors mixed within.

[+MrFish]

13 hours ago, donjn said:

Another agree on the Atari 400 design. Ive always preferred it and the 800 visually. The XL series looked more like 80's typewriters where the 400 had this cool look with the brown and yellow colors mixed within.

The original Atari 400 is a charmingly designed little machine (surprisingly smaller than what I thought before I actually got one). I think it's a good fit for a product like this.

 

[Mr Robot]

Is there any word on a 5200 compatible USB joystick to go with the 5200 support in this? I wouldn't mind one of those.

 

[Beeblebrox]

Aethestic preference is all subjective obviously. I owned an 800XL and 130XE as a teenager. Like em both but the 800XL and 600XL have a special place in my heart and I love their aesthetics.

 

More recently in the last 2 years I've totally fallen for the 800. I've installed many Incognitos and taken these iconic machines apart so many times. It's chunky design and keyboard is great. 

 

I can see why, for a mini scaled down modern machine like this new 400, which won't need a keyboard for things like wordprocessing, and indeed a half sized keyboard wouldn't be ergonimic for such a purpose - the 400 design kinda makes sense. However the machine does need a working keyboard surely? There are games that use the keyboard. Look at Final Assault for example. Defender uses the space bar. 

 

It's no surprise to most people that the original 400 membrane keyboard was a horrible thing to use. 

 

Personally I think going for the 400 design was probably the right choice in some respects IMHO because it is such a start contrast from anything else. My preference would have been the 800. You need something really iconic looking.

 

Anyway, as I say all subjective and based on many factors including nostagia.

Edited January 11 by Beeblebrox

[Steril707]

The 400 is a cute design and looks different enough to other home computers of the era.

In the end it's just a case for an emulator board.

[Mr Robot]

A USB keyboard will apparently work OK, just like TheC64-mini

 

[+mytek]

I doubt that this will be all that usable as a Atari computer meant to displace the real thing (e.g, no SIO port). I look at these creations more as a game console version, and as such the 400 case really lends itself to that and historically was originally designed to be just that. Of course Atari later shifted directions and decided it too would be an entry level computer. However as @Mr Robot pointed out, this probably wasn't the best choice or the prettiest unit to base the mini on. Instead I would have liked to see it be THE-XEGS mini instead

 

And I have something that might be adapted to fit into such a case

[kimchipenguin]

5 hours ago, TrogdarRobusto said:

Hey, Ben is still in the deep end on the Atari 2600+ 🤣 ... we will def get you some answers from Atari/Plaion/Retro Games as questions pile up. I think there is an interesting blend here of more straightforward mini-console with some extension to allow for more advance uses (USB, SD slot, etc). I;m not the expert, but I'll get an expert into this thread ... 

Looking forward to the expert, and more Atari-licensed retro stuff that us Europeans can actually buy

 

One odd decision is to go with that - in my opinion - silly "The" prefix. Unlike with the C64 and Amiga mini, they obviously licensed the Atari logo, so why not print "Atari 400" on the device instead of ruining the look by putting "The 400" on there? If there's ever going to be a 400 maxi or any other Atari-licensed mini made by Retro, Atari should speak to Retro, to keep the mini case more authentic.

 

Or just offer an Atari sticker in the Atari store 😉

[Beeblebrox]

1 minute ago, mytek said:

 Instead I would have liked to see it be THE-XEGS mini instead

 

And I have something that might be adapted to fit into such a case

Ah, I forgot about the XEGS as a possible design choice.

 

 

[pcrow]

2 minutes ago, kimchipenguin said:

One odd decision is to go with that - in my opinion - silly "The" prefix.

Yup.  It strikes me as a licensing snafu.  They put "Atari" on the box, though, so why not on the machine?  Maybe there was some catch where they can't use "Atari" in the name of the product due to some deal Atari has with another company.

[pcrow]

3 minutes ago, Beeblebrox said:

Ah, I forgot about the XEGS as a possible design choice.

But zero nostalgia appeal in Europe, as the XEGS never launched there, and not much in the US, either.

[pseudografx]

2 minutes ago, pcrow said:

But zero nostalgia appeal in Europe, as the XEGS never launched there, and not much in the US, either.

XEGS was available in some European countries back in the day. There's a PAL version and I've seen quite a few.

[mimo]

2 minutes ago, pcrow said:

But zero nostalgia appeal in Europe, as the XEGS never launched there, and not much in the US, either.

It did, but no one bought it.

400 is iconic imo but understand that it's not as loved as the XL line.

Personally it's my favourite because of it's 1970s futuristic design 

[+save2600]

A non-working keyboard in this particular instance (cheap as chips membrane vs. mechanical - c'mon!) is a shame* and seems to me a missed opportunity. Still, nice to see the 400 getting some love!  👍

 

*not expecting any real performance out of such a tiny keyboard of course, but would have been nice for the basics - incl. start, select, option, numerals, spacebar etc.

[Beeblebrox]

2 minutes ago, pcrow said:

But zero nostalgia appeal in Europe, as the XEGS never launched there, and not much in the US, either.

You are probalby right in some respects yes, but again it's all subjective. For some XEGS design will appeal more than the 400, just as the XE's appeal for some. 

 

On balance I think the 400 is probably right, but i'd have prefered the 800.

 

 

[donjn]

They did mention the CX40-like joystick has SEVEN buttons. Obviously hidden from view in the back.

I assume those will emulate START, SELECT, OPTION, etc..

[+mytek]

31 minutes ago, pcrow said:

But zero nostalgia appeal in Europe, as the XEGS never launched there, and not much in the US, either.

Yeah but its design really lends itself to this because of the external keyboard port, which obviously the mini needs to have as well. So I can picture in my mind there being a angled USB port on the side mimicking the XEGS. And although it may not have launched there, everyone is well aware of its existence and what it looked like. And if this was a requirement of there being interest in Europe, then why do so many Europeans (as well as other countries) want a 1450XLD which never launched anywhere?