Poochy Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 27 minutes ago, donjn said: 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.. It will be interesting to find out where these buttons are. All the pictures I've seen only show the standard fire button and two small buttons on the front side. All the other sides are smooth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) Here's the joystick info. https://retrogames.biz/products/thecxstick Everything they make seems to start with "The"; TheC64, TheA500, TheVIC20, TheCXStick Edited January 11 by Mr Robot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 37 minutes ago, donjn said: 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.. The buttons are under the directional ring (four of them) and the others are on the front 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 3 hours ago, Mr Robot said: Why did they pick the ugliest Atari to use for the case? Gotta disagree here. To my eyes the "retro-futuristic" look of the 400's case is the most beautiful design of all the A8s. I never had a 400 as a kid but I own two of them now. I also own about seven or eight XL machines (and the 800XL was my very first computer) but I would honestly be less interested in this mini in an XL style than I am in the 400. If only it had a functional SIO port so that I could use it in conjunction with my 810 styled SDrive-MAX! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The V-Man Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) I agree about this should have a "functioning" keyboard. Just look at the old Timex Sinclair 1000 as inspiration! And a cartridge port like the 2600+ does. Even if its on the back. I started with a 400. But a few years ago I picked up 2 800s for my nostalgic needs. One unmodified and the other with Incognito. Edited January 11 by The V-Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jeremiahjt Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Put me in the camp that thinks the 400 was the best choice out of all the many iterations. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chad5200 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 15 minutes ago, Mr Robot said: The buttons are under the directional ring (four of them) Huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark2008 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) I'm lucky because my first Atari was an Atari 400. Incidentally, I was a huge fan of Creative Computing magazine. Which I've been revisiting because I find it remarkable the discussions they had about AI in 1976 and each year from 1979-1981. Creative Computing's writeup on the new Atari 400: https://mcurrent.name/atari1979/ The Atari 800 was introduced as a business machine and the Atari 400 was introduced as the home computer. It was not a games machine to me, and was not marketed that way to me either. Whether it was a followup to the VCS, isn't in dispute. I do attribute those experiences on this home computer with of a lifelong career in IT, and now in AI. But, I also understand it is going to be packed in with games, and of course the games were important for Atari and that's fine. I've already ordered THE400 thanks to the pre-order discussion. I'm looking forward to it. Edited January 11 by Mark2008 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 15 minutes ago, Mark2008 said: ...Atari 400 was introduced as the home computer. It was not a games machine to me, and was not marketed that way to me either. It's definitely a computer. Third-party keyboards took care of the typing aspect; add a substantial memory upgrade to that and it was essentially an 800. I just look at it as more of a games machine at present: it's compact, membrane keyboard is cool and suitable for gaming, and I have other machines at my disposal that I prefer for the general computing side of things. There's nothing, however, that prevents it from being used as a full computer -- with appropriate upgrades. I'm just waiting for the 400 Incognito to be released... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdoty Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) I wonder if this is the reason they limited the Atari 2600+ to 2600 and 7800 games, leaving the 5200 stuff for the The400? The keypad is another problem, but neither system has a full keypad. I was thinking the 4 keys around the LED might be part of the 7 keys supported on the device. Edited January 11 by cdoty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beeblebrox Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 6 minutes ago, MrFish said: It's definitely a computer. Third-party keyboards took care of the typing aspect; add a substantial memory upgrade to that and it was essentially an 800. I just look at it as more of a games machine at present: it's compact, membrane keyboard is cool and suitable for gaming, and I have other machines at my disposal that I prefer for the general computing side of things. There's nothing, however, that prevents it from being used as a full computer -- with appropriate upgrades. I'm just waiting for the 400 Incognito to be released... If you can't wait for the 400 Incognito (where afaik it might never matrialise) - there is always the 1056k 400 upgrade https://www.tindie.com/products/5cfab/1056k-memory-upgrade-board-for-the-atari-400/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari030 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 3 hours ago, Mr Robot said: I'm glad to see someone is looking in the Atari 8-bits direction but did it really have to be these guys? These are the people who sent Revive Machines RM800XL a C&D for their upcoming project, also used Amiberry in the A500mini but shat on the developer so hard he won't even offer support for the emulator to users of the machine now. They also poop all over the open source licensing for the software in these things. I'd expect any changes they make to the retroarch core for this not to be contributed back to the retroarch project, they have form in this area. That was my worry. If Atari were serious about these machines they would get involved and approach Revive rather than let henchmen at it. Proof is in the pudding for Atari and I guess desert just got dished up. I wan't to support Atari as much as possible, we need a direction for the future but this is a bit worrying. The idea of a Mini isn't my first thought but I would buy one just in the interests of solidarity. I won't if they don't pull their head in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Looks cool, glad it exists. I wish I wanted to buy one. Will look for it on clearance if it makes it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donjn Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) 2 minutes ago, cdoty said: I wonder if this is the reason they limited the Atari 2600+ to 2600 and 7800 games, leaving the 5200 stuff for the The400? The keypad is another problem, but neither system has a full keypad. I was thinking the 4 keys around the LED might be part of the 7 keys supported on the device. No, I think the whole line of THEC64 and THE400 are mostly for the UK. US retailers don't sell these at all. Edited January 11 by donjn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 5 minutes ago, Beeblebrox said: If you can't wait for the 400 Incognito (where afaik it might never matrialise) - there is always the 1056k 400 upgrade https://www.tindie.com/products/5cfab/1056k-memory-upgrade-board-for-the-atari-400/ Yeah, it's a cool memory upgrade; but an Incognito would offer so much more; and my main desire is for the XL/XE compatibility part, which will take the machine into a whole new realm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 5 minutes ago, cdoty said: I wonder if this is the reason they limited the Atari 2600+ to 2600 and 7800 games, leaving the 5200 stuff for the The400? The keypad is another problem, but neither system has a full keypad. I was thinking the 4 keys around the LED might be part of the 7 keys supported on the device. The carts are massive for the 5200 and won't fit, probably a different cart connector required too. The 2600 cart dumper already existed. It looks like the ring around the joystick is 4 quadrant buttons, there are two buttons on the rear plus the conventional fire button 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 2 minutes ago, MrFish said: Yeah, it's a cool memory upgrade; but an Incognito would offer so much more; and my main desire is for the XL/XE compatibility part, which will take the machine into a whole new realm. I loaned Candle my pal 400 11 years ago to help in the incognito. After so many years and so little communication I doubt I'll see either 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beeblebrox Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) 11 minutes ago, MrFish said: Yeah, it's a cool memory upgrade; but an Incognito would offer so much more; and my main desire is for the XL/XE compatibility part, which will take the machine into a whole new realm. Absolutely. One of the reasons I love my own Incognito'd 800, (which also now has VBXE ) Edited January 11 by Beeblebrox 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 7 minutes ago, mimo said: I loaned Candle my pal 400 11 years ago to help in the incognito. After so many years and so little communication I doubt I'll see either Yeah, I might be dreaming, but you never know. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 23 minutes ago, cdoty said: I wonder if this is the reason they limited the Atari 2600+ to 2600 and 7800 games, leaving the 5200 stuff for the The400? The keypad is another problem, but neither system has a full keypad. The 5200 carts are very different from the 2600 and 7800 carts, so it would have been quite the feat to make them work. The nature of the controller also would have been a big issue (analog stick, keypad, and the DB-15 connector). It makes sense to have 5200 support in the "THE400", in the same way that pairing the 2600 and 7800 games together makes sense for the 2600+. 23 minutes ago, cdoty said: I was thinking the 4 keys around the LED might be part of the 7 keys supported on the device. No, there are four buttons on the "ring" of the joystick, and three buttons on the back, one on a corner and two in the center of the back. You can find photos here: https://retrogames.biz/products/thecxstick/ Here's a photo showing the three buttons on the back: ..Al 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Hopefully (like the other spate of mini-consoles in recent years) this eventually gets a North American retail release. It's adorable enough that I kind of actually want one. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irgendwer Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 6 hours ago, pirx said: time wizard would be a blast there :))) With the "rewind game"-feature every title becomes time wizard... 😉 I'm also not a fan of the 400 looks, but guess the case can be produced cheaper when (also if non-functional) having only a flat keyboard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 39 minutes ago, MrFish said: I'm just waiting for the 400 Incognito to be released... If and when the 400 Incognito gets released, my 400 will definitely move into permanent setup as my main Atari computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donjn Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 8 minutes ago, Albert said: The 5200 carts are very different from the 2600 and 7800 carts, so it would have been quite the feat to make them work. The nature of the controller also would have been a big issue (analog stick, keypad, and the DB-15 connector). It makes sense to have 5200 support in the "THE400", in the same way that pairing the 2600 and 7800 games together makes sense for the 2600+. No, there are four buttons on the "ring" of the joystick, and three buttons on the back, one on a corner and two in the center of the back. You can find photos here: https://retrogames.biz/products/thecxstick/ Here's a photo showing the three buttons on the back: ..Al Still not understanding buttons on the orange ring. Feel like im taking crazy pills. Either that or the picture does not show it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Here's some more pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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