THE400 Mini

[desiv]

20 hours ago, donjn said:

Another agree on the Atari 400 design. I've always preferred it and the 800 visually.

Another agree here...

Although I didn't have an Atari back in the day, I wanted one.  For cost reasons, we went Vic-20 (which I enjoyed like crazy) and I mostly stuck with the CBM line...
But when getting into retro, I wanted an Atari 8-bit, and while I was familiar with the XL/XE series computers...

I set out to get a 400 or 800...  (And got my Atari 400 which now has a RAM expansion and Fujinet).

 

I just love the iconic look of the OG Atari 8-bits..  Yes, the XL/XE series are nice.  Nicer from a design perspective for sure...
But for a retro feel for me, it was that "slight bit of the 70s in your 80s computer" design look that I wanted.   

[zzip]

4 minutes ago, scorpio_ny said:

I think the question is how it will handle games that need paddles or a trackball.  Also, how the 5200 controller support is going to be implemented?

5200 will be awkward for sure.   But I can't ever recall playing paddle games on Atari 8?   I'm sure there's a few.

 

But I think the appeal of this is it makes the games more playable in a living room context, adding extra buttons to the controller removing the need to be tied to a keyboard to play 8-bit games.   If I decide to buy one, it will be for that reason, rather than being a replacement for actual hardware.

[Beeblebrox]

Having the 3 x threads on this topic isn't helping much, and lots of people are eagerly posting, so it gonna happen that questions get lost in the threads.

 

For me if it can't do any of the following, personally it's not for me. The appeal for me for being an Atarian is the fact homebrew games by very clever coders are constantly released and amazing new games come out. If you don't push the envelope or bring new things to the scene, it stagnates. What coder can do with the old graphics chipsets 40/50 years on is amazing.

 

I can appreciate it will appeal to many others if it runs a lot of the ol school atari titles from the 80s.

 

Anyone know the following answers? (Sorry to post again):

 

What is it's ram config? Does it support say up to 1mb?

Can it run/mount up to 1mb car files? 

Will it in principle run all stock ram homebrew games, (so 'in principle' say  128k bunny hop, 128k Prince of persia)?

If 1mb support will it run the likes of the rewind demo, and things like Atariblast, space harrier and onescape, (so banked ram car's)? 

Does it support Atarimax flash format car's or atr's? So Flob on Atarimax max flash 8mbit carts can save progress and achievements. And bubble shooter atr can save progress for devices that provide full atr support. 

 

 

Edited January 12 by Beeblebrox

[+Larry]

Is it possible to do some serious computing (programming, word processing, databases, etc.) on something like this?  I'm presuming that a USB keyboard can be connected.  And truth be told, I'm far more interested in an Amiga A500 maxi than this.

[Bill Loguidice]

2 minutes ago, Larry said:

Is it possible to do some serious computing (programming, word processing, databases, etc.) on something like this?  I'm presuming that a USB keyboard can be connected.  And truth be told, I'm far more interested in an Amiga A500 maxi than this.

I suspect use cases, restrictions, etc., would more or less be in line with THEC64 mini. (And yes, you can attach a USB keyboard.) My assumption is you'd at least be able to do some BASIC programming and saving/loading of said programs. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Edited January 12 by Bill Loguidice

[ZylonBane]

That all being said, I hate, hate, hate the name. The huge "ATARI 400" text on the front is just as much a part of the design as anything else, so this thing having that big brown "THE" where it should say "ATARI" just looks idiotic.

 

It's not even a noun! They replaced Atari with a flipping article.

[Bill Loguidice]

25 minutes ago, ZylonBane said:

That all being said, I hate, hate, hate the name. The huge "ATARI 400" text on the front is just as much a part of the design as anything else, so this thing having that big brown "THE" where it should say "ATARI" just looks idiotic.

 

It's not even a noun! They replaced Atari with a flipping article.

I get it, but I also can't really fault them for keeping the naming convention in line with their other products. 

[+David_P]

2 hours ago, zzip said:

5200 will be awkward for sure.   But I can't ever recall playing paddle games on Atari 8?   I'm sure there's a few.

 

MULE can use paddles, as long as there's one joystick available.

[ZylonBane]

They were perfectly free to name it whatever they wanted while still leaving "Atari" on the front where it belongs. But they aren't even following their own naming convention. Their Commodore 64 mini was called "TheC64", not "The64". The logo for it actually worked out because the "The" was tiny and off to the side of the much larger "C64". Here though they completely botched it, with the most visually prominent part of the logotype being a big brown "THE".

[+davidcalgary29]

4 hours ago, Gibstov said:

I would have went with the XEGS...but that's me.  Always dug the look of the XEGS even when others didn't. (I also really love the look of the Atari 800 as well).

The 400 is a great choice -- the aesthetics and concept were groundbreaking for the era and no other North American computer really looks like it. The XL/XE lines, while stylish and functional, look much less fun. I also have to say that, having acquired a 400 a couple of years ago, that the much-maligned keyboard is actually pretty responsive. I wouldn't want to type an essay on it, but it is pretty functional for most purposes.

[Bill Loguidice]

1 minute ago, ZylonBane said:

They were perfectly free to name it whatever they wanted while still leaving "Atari" on the front where it belongs. But they aren't even following their own naming convention. Their Commodore 64 mini was called "TheC64", not "The64". The logo for it actually worked out because the "The" was tiny and off to the side of the much larger "C64". Here though they completely botched it, with the most visually prominent part of the logotype being a big brown "THE".

I'm personally not complaining too much about a relatively cheap plug-and-play that I frankly thought would never happen in the form of an effectively mass market product. For my money, for what it is, it looks really good. It's impossible to make everyone happen, so I'm not personally going to nitpick every little decision. It's not meant as a replica like something from New Wave Toys, where exacting detail is the expectation. This is again something meant as a plug-and-play novelty device, and we certainly don't know about any possible restrictions regarding the Atari name or other assets and how they're used. Legal teams can be quite exacting with stuff like this. 

[zzip]

4 minutes ago, David_P said:

MULE can use paddles, as long as there's one joystick available.

Yes you're right,  I think that's the only time I used paddles on my Atari XL other than experiments with BASIC.

[donjn]

4 minutes ago, ZylonBane said:

They were perfectly free to name it whatever they wanted while still leaving "Atari" on the front where it belongs. But they aren't even following their own naming convention. Their Commodore 64 mini was called "TheC64", not "The64". The logo for it actually worked out because the "The" was tiny and off to the side of the much larger "C64". Here though they completely botched it, with the most visually prominent part of the logotype being a big brown "THE".

Apples to Oranges..

 

The Commodore 64 was ALWAYS referred to as "C64"

The Atari 400/800 did not have short versions. I don't remember anyone saying A400, or A800 as often as C64.

[donjn]

1 minute ago, davidcalgary29 said:

The 400 is a great choice -- the aesthetics and concept were groundbreaking for the era and no other North American computer really looks like it. The XL/XE lines, while stylish and functional, look much less fun. I also have to say that, having acquired a 400 a couple of years ago, that the much-maligned keyboard is actually pretty responsive. I wouldn't want to type an essay on it, but it is pretty functional for most purposes.

The Atari 400 had this "late 1970's look trying to be modern" look. Its warm and just looks nice. The 800 loses some of that but still looks good.

The XL systems although popular and amazing, looked more like typewriter/computers, very basic looking.
The XE systems had their own look too, which I liked.

[zzip]

4 minutes ago, donjn said:

The Atari 400/800 did not have short versions. I don't remember anyone saying A400, or A800 as often as C64.

The 8-bit line could have used a good shorthand though.   I do remember people sometimes saying A400, A800,  but often they'd type out 400/800/XL/XE.   There was just no universal agreement on how that line of computers should be called.  People eventually settled on Atari 8-bit

 

5 minutes ago, donjn said:

The Atari 400 had this "late 1970's look trying to be modern" look. Its warm and just looks nice. The 800 loses some of that but still looks good.

The XL systems although popular and amazing, looked more like typewriter/computers, very basic looking.
The XE systems had their own look too, which I liked.

The Atari 400 look reminds me of McDonalds.   Probably because of the contest they ran BITD

[Bill Loguidice]

There are definitely dozens of paddle games on the Atari 8-bit. While there are some USB paddles/spinners (including one with Atari branding with the combo joystick and trackball), I'd be surprised if those types of controls were supported on THE400. I've never tried it on THE64 series (the C-64 and VIC-20 obviously both have plenty of paddle games themselves), but I believe it has mouse support, so that could be an option eventually with THE400 if it's not out of the box. That *may* mean that paddles/spinner/trackballs that work like USB mice *may* work with the paddle games. I wouldn't count on it, though. I'm looking at this more as a joystick-oriented plug and play and I'll leave the more "advanced" stuff to real hardware.

[+davidcalgary29]

1 minute ago, zzip said:

The 8-bit line could have used a good shorthand though.   I do remember people sometimes saying A400, A800,  but often they'd type out 400/800/XL/XE.   There was just no universal agreement on how that line of computers should be called.  People eventually settled on Atari 8-bit

 

The Atari 400 look reminds me of McDonalds.   Probably because of the contest they ran BITD

Yes. A8 was something I only started to use in the twenty-first century. I never heard people say "C64" until this century, either -- it was usually "64", and that stuck around when the 128 was introduced. 

 

The 400 probably reminded people of McDonalds to most people (and it did) because McDonald's introduced their iconic POS system and registers in the mid '70s, and they were innovative and distinctive. It would have been difficult to introduce anything with a similar keyboard and not invite distinctions. 

 

I used to hate the look of the 400 -- that feeling was influenced by popular bias, which really denigrated the 400 after the XL line was introduced -- but have come to really like it. I prefer the 800 myself for functionality, but the look of the 400 just makes me smile. The ZX80 is really the only rival that can match it for looks, and I don't recall seeing it in North America at any point in the early '80s.

[Bill Loguidice]

1 minute ago, davidcalgary29 said:

I never heard people say "C64" until this century, either -- it was usually "64", and that stuck around when the 128 was introduced. 

I have to disagree on this one. I'd say it was pretty common to say "C64" and "C128." You can see it in magazines of the day, ads, and as labels on packaging and what-not. I'm pretty sure as kids we referred to it like that too quite often. Plenty of other platforms had shorthand as well, though I agree that there wasn't an easy one for Atari 8-bit computers, with that potentially being far more of a modern shorthand than a back-in-the-day one.

Example:

[zzip]

1 minute ago, davidcalgary29 said:

 

The 400 probably reminded people of McDonalds to most people (and it did) because McDonald's introduced their iconic POS system and registers in the mid '70s, and they were innovative and distinctive. It would have been difficult to introduce anything with a similar keyboard and not invite distinctions. 

Yeah, that might be it as well.   Either way, I can't look at the The400 Mini without getting hungry for a Quarter Pounder 

 

3 minutes ago, davidcalgary29 said:

I used to hate the look of the 400 -- that feeling was influenced by popular bias, which really denigrated the 400 after the XL line was introduced -- but have come to really like it.

Yeah a kind of feel the same.  When I wanted a computer in the 80s,  I felt a real computer needed a real keyboard, a membrane keyboard just wouldn't cut it.  But over time, like other weird 1970s styling, it's become more nostalgic to me than off-putting.

[+davidcalgary29]

4 minutes ago, Bill Loguidice said:

I have to disagree on this one. I'd say it was pretty common to say "C64" and "C128." You can see it in magazines of the day, ads, and as labels on packaging and what-not. I'm pretty sure as kids we referred to it like that too quite often. Plenty of other platforms had shorthand as well, though I agree that there wasn't an easy one for Atari 8-bit computers, with that potentially being far more of a modern shorthand than a back-in-the-day one.

Example:

I typed it all the time, but can't remember hearing it at the time in Canada...maybe because the VIC-20 had such a large installed base here? It was either the 64 or the VIC-20 -- I just didn't hear the "C" (or maybe edited it out of my head).

[+davidcalgary29]

Did I miss the included games list? I see:

 

Miner 2049er

Airball

Boulderdash

Crystal Castles

Centipede

Millipede

Missile Command

Star Raiders II

Bruce Lee

Berzerk

Elektra Glide

The Seven Cities of Gold (?)

M.U.L.E.

Battlezone

Henry's House

 

 

otherwise confirmed:

Capture the Flag

Yoomp!

 

What are the other eight?

[Bill Loguidice]

1 minute ago, davidcalgary29 said:

Did I miss the included games list? I see:

 

Miner 2049er

Airball

Boulderdash

Crystal Castles

Millipede

Star Raiders II

Bruce Lee (Lee)

 

What are the others?

It hasn't been released yet, but beyond those, they also mentioned Berzerk (makes sense since Atari owns the IP now), Yoomp!, and Capture the Flag. So I guess that's 10 of the 25.

No doubt we'll hear plenty of tired "it doesn't include game x, y, or z!" comments (you can bet someone will say "Pitfall!", "Pac-Man," etc.) once the full list is revealed, but that's never the point of these systems anyway, particularly the ones that are user-expandable.

[+davidcalgary29]

That driving game isn't Road Race...what is it?

 

That's a great list of games, though. Adding Yoomp! is an excellent choice. 

 

I would have loved to see MIDI Maze on this, as it was probably the apex of commercial A8 game development in the late '80s. Oh, well.

[scelbi8h]

I love the idea of this mini Atari 400. But why the yellowed case color? It's supposed to be light grey...

[Bill Loguidice]

1 minute ago, davidcalgary29 said:

That driving game isn't Road Race...what is it?

Where do you see the driving game and "Zorro"? I can see Zorro getting the Lee treatment potentially, but I'd be surprised about TGACCRR, since that's an Activision property.