New(ish) 7800 Games and Accessories announced by Atari and Plaion compatible with the 2600+

[+LS650]

Well, this thread sure went off the frigging rails.  😕

 

[John Stamos Mullet]

1 minute ago, MrZarniwoop said:

I think it's fair to stop giving JVR a hard time. He wrote a new Atari 2600 homebrew game that's pretty amazing, right? Atari is pretty clearly still figuring out what they do for a living, with a new young CEO that appears to be giving us everything we've ever bitched about. AtariAge (@Albert) at this point is just trying to meet his pre-Atari commitments. Rather than turning JVR off from this community because of piracy or explaining that he's not genuflecting enough to the whims of nostalgia, let's recognize him for what he's done: a proper follow-up to one of the best 2600 games back in the day.

Fine. Point taken.

 

its just that he basically insulted this entire community by complaining that rehashing old games is bad. 90% of the people here are here for exactly that - nostalgia. Same reason people still listen to the music and love re-watching the TV shows and movies of their formative years. People make special personal connections to things like this from their youth. Video Games are an art form as well. I’m glad to hear John is still at this. 
 

But this stuff is a process and everyone in this damn fool country is a litigious a-hole these days. Everyone suing everyone for things. I don’t blame Atari and Albert for being careful.

[John Van Ryzin]

3 minutes ago, MrZarniwoop said:

I think it's fair to stop giving JVR a hard time. He wrote a new Atari 2600 homebrew game that's pretty amazing, right? Atari is pretty clearly still figuring out what they do for a living, with a new young CEO that appears to be giving us everything we've ever bitched about. AtariAge (Albert) at this point is just trying to meet his pre-Atari commitments. Rather than turning JVR off from this community because of piracy or explaining that he's not genuflecting enough to the whims of nostalgia, let's recognize him for what he's done: a proper follow-up to one of the best 2600 games back in the day.

Thanks. To be honest I wish I never did this.  Audacity talked me into it.  Only upside for me is Microsoft gave me permission to make an Xbox version with 2600 and a modern new version.

[John Van Ryzin]

3 minutes ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

Fine. Point taken.

 

its just that he basically insulted this entire community by complaining that rehashing old games is bad. 90% of the people here are here for exactly that - nostalgia. Same reason people still listen to the music and love re-watching the TV shows and movies of their formative years. People make special personal connections to things like this from their youth. Video Games are an art form as well. I’m glad to hear John is still at this. 
 

But this stuff is a process and everyone in this damn fool country is a litigious a-hole these days. Everyone suing everyone for things. I don’t blame Atari and Albert for being careful.

So to you, an actual retro game developer makes a new retro game, and it is not considered retro?

[+MrZarniwoop]

1 minute ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

People make special personal connections to things like this from their youth. Video Games are an art form as well.

H.E.R.O. reminds me of one of my best friends from childhood, who's unfortunately no longer with us. But we played H.E.R.O. for hours on end day after day, while discussing teenage philosophy around girls, doing what's right, music, art, movies, heroes, fairness, and even our rudimentary understanding of politics. JVR is tied to the most emotionally important things in my life.

 

And Alien Abduction makes me wonder what my childhood friend, Derek, would think of the game. I bet he would have loved it. A picture from a reunion in November 2022 where we played old games together after his death with all our old buddies that hadn't been together in over 30 years:

[+MrZarniwoop]

10 minutes ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Audacity talked me into it.

Thank. You. Audacity.

[John Stamos Mullet]

1 hour ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Thanks. To be honest I wish I never did this.  Audacity talked me into it.  Only upside for me is Microsoft gave me permission to make an Xbox version with 2600 and a modern new version.

$10 says a year from now David Crane comes out with a game called "Space Kidnapping".

[Razzie.P]

5 minutes ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

$10 says a year from now David Crane comes out with a game called "Space Kidnapping".

Roll up in a shady white van and try to kidnap space.

[MikeM_]

I feel like there is a bit of context and backstory here that the average end user is missing…

[John Stamos Mullet]

55 minutes ago, MikeM_ said:

I feel like there is a bit of context and backstory here that the average end user is missing…

John is the original Dev for H.E.R.O. For the 2600, among other games. I originally thought he was someone posting here under that name, didn’t realize it was really him. He seemed pretty upset. 

 

A few years ago, Dan Kitchen (the original dev behind Keystone Kapers) decided to finish his planned but shelved sequel to it, Casey’s Gold (originally Goldrush!). He was pretty close to releasing it when he partnered with David Crane under the title Audacity Games, then Casey’s Gold suddenly got shelved, and Circus Convoy came out using many of the same game elements. 
 

When John relayed that Audacity encouraged him to make Alien Abduction for the 2600, I made the joke that David Crane would try to cuck his game like he did to Dan Kitchen’s, and release something similar in theme shortly after. 

Edited February 18 by John Stamos Mullet

[shane857]

Just noticed this on amazon UK now. Is this an official Atari product?

Arcade1Up ATARI 50th Anniversary Deluxe.

• 64 Games included: 14 Arcade Titles + 50 classic games from the historical console Atari 2600
• Exclusive and sleek design celebrating Atari's 50th Birthday
• 17” BOE high-resolution Colour Monitor
• Upgraded Joysticks and On-Off Light-Up Buttons
• Light-Up Marquee and 3D Molded Light-Up Coin Doors
• Dual Speakers for Dynamic Sound
• Wi-fi Connection for Online Leaderboards (for the 14 Arcade titles only)

• Metal Certificate of Authenticity Plaque
• Over 5 Feet Tall (155 cm), weight 68 lbs / 31 Kg

[shane857]

12 hours ago, shane857 said:

Just noticed this on amazon UK now. Is this an official Atari product?

Arcade1Up ATARI 50th Anniversary Deluxe.

• 64 Games included: 14 Arcade Titles + 50 classic games from the historical console Atari 2600
• Exclusive and sleek design celebrating Atari's 50th Birthday
• 17” BOE high-resolution Colour Monitor
• Upgraded Joysticks and On-Off Light-Up Buttons
• Light-Up Marquee and 3D Molded Light-Up Coin Doors
• Dual Speakers for Dynamic Sound
• Wi-fi Connection for Online Leaderboards (for the 14 Arcade titles only)

• Metal Certificate of Authenticity Plaque
• Over 5 Feet Tall (155 cm), weight 68 lbs / 31 Kg

£549.99. A cool looking cabinet, bit too pricey for me. I would love to own one thou.

[Sean_1970]

14 hours ago, shane857 said:

Just noticed this on amazon UK now. Is this an official Atari product?

Arcade1Up ATARI 50th Anniversary Deluxe.

• 64 Games included: 14 Arcade Titles + 50 classic games from the historical console Atari 2600
• Exclusive and sleek design celebrating Atari's 50th Birthday
• 17” BOE high-resolution Colour Monitor
• Upgraded Joysticks and On-Off Light-Up Buttons
• Light-Up Marquee and 3D Molded Light-Up Coin Doors
• Dual Speakers for Dynamic Sound
• Wi-fi Connection for Online Leaderboards (for the 14 Arcade titles only)

• Metal Certificate of Authenticity Plaque
• Over 5 Feet Tall (155 cm), weight 68 lbs / 31 Kg

Yes I’m pretty sure it’s officially licensed. Arcade 1Up have done Centipede and Tempest cabs with multiple games included as well. Cheaper than a Mamecab, but I think the question would be about the quality of the parts. There were complaints about the trackball included with the Centipede cab, which based upon what I’ve seen is likely similar to the one in the Couchcade and not the greatest.

[Sean_1970]

I didn’t realise I was interacting with a bona fide celeb - pretty neat! HERO would be a game I’d happily pick up as a re-release given the comical markup on the secondary market 😉

 

I agree it would be nice to see Atari officially pushing physical releases of homebrew carts; I’d certainly buy them - if I knew they worked on my 2600+.

[MikeM_]

6 hours ago, Sean_1970 said:

I agree it would be nice to see Atari officially pushing physical releases of homebrew carts; I’d certainly buy them - if I knew they worked on my 2600+.

I think a majority of us would like to see the homebrews get official/supported releases. A lot of them are hard to find now it seems, or have pretty big markups on eBay. 
 

As it’s been mentioned before, licensing is the big roadblock. PAC-Man 8k for example looks amazing, but what would it take to get Namco to officially support it and allow a release? And if they did, who would publish it? Also, would they allow royalties to the devs who made it or simply offer a one time purchase in lieu of suing over copyright violation?

 

it’s a long list of prerequisites between here and there. I’m cautiously optimistic that we might see something at some point, but I doubt we’ll see everything we want. 
 

That’s why my focus has been on collecting the original games I missed out on the 1st (and 2nd) go around. Especially the 3rd party releases that Atari doesn’t have licenses for and would take more work to see re-released. 
 

John’s frustrated vent in this thread shows that even after 50 years, Atari Devs still have a hard time with the problems that surround releasing games. It’s one thing to write a game. It’s something completely different to get it into the hands of gamers. 

[Glorkbot]

On 2/17/2024 at 12:14 AM, John Van Ryzin said:

Aside from that, what video game console manufacturer ever came out with a new game system without new games for said system?  Do Atari fans not want new games?

We want them very VERY badly. Mr. Run and Jump is not enough. We want more new officially released Atari 2600 and 7800 games.

[Albert]

3 minutes ago, Glorkbot said:

We want them very VERY badly. Mr. Run and Jump is not enough. We want more new officially released Atari 2600 and 7800 games.

That is very much going to happen.

 

 ..Al

[+jeremiahjt]

On 2/17/2024 at 7:48 PM, John Van Ryzin said:

Thanks. To be honest I wish I never did this.  Audacity talked me into it.  Only upside for me is Microsoft gave me permission to make an Xbox version with 2600 and a modern new version.

I have been trying to get the YouTube channel GenXGrownup to do a live stream of Alien Abduction. I figured a little positive press might get Atari to do something on the cartridge front.

 

I do not know if it will happen or if it will make any difference, but this game screams cartridge release to me. I have at least got Jon of GenXGrownup to dust off his VCS 800 and update it. Hopefully he gives the game a try and finds it enjoyable.

 

I have not yet played Mr. Run & Jump, so I cannot comment on that game deserving the full cartridge release, but I know Alien Abduction deserves one.

 

That is a long way of saying do not give up hope just yet.

[Glorkbot]

3 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

I have not yet played Mr. Run & Jump, so I cannot comment on that game deserving the full cartridge release, but I know Alien Abduction deserves one.

Mr. Run and Jump is great. But I also think you should buy it just as a matter of principle. If Atari makes new 2600 or 7800 carts, we should buy them to encourage them to make MORE.

 

It’s possible that one new title or another may or may not be exactly to your liking. But the whole endeavor could stop dead in its tracks if things don’t SELL.

 

If you want to encourage Atari to release new games, the best way to do that is to buy the new games that they DO release. Buying Mr. Run and Jump increases the chance they’ll release Alien Abduction too. If it sells fantastic, well then that greatly increases the chances.

[John Van Ryzin]

Sorry highjacking the post.  Will not start a thread to say what I really think.  Just thought retro fans might want genuine new retro games.  Being called a drunk, not professional, or I am an imposter, or the game business crash did not happen, or real retro developers do not understand retro, or retro developers who do not consider themselves home brewers exactly are evil and suggestions that a former colleague would rip off my game are all quite ridiculous.  But I am glad to see you all still enjoy the things we created long ago.

[MikeM_]

38 minutes ago, John Van Ryzin said:

…Just thought retro fans might want genuine new retro games….But I am glad to see you all still enjoy the things we created long ago.

I don’t speak for everyone, but my observation is that as a community (of which I fully disclose I am pretty new to even if my experience with the games and consoles is not new), we definitely want to see new titles, both homebrew and commercial release. Yes we love the old stuff, but this can’t sustain on nostalgia alone. If your latest game was released as a cartridge, I’d be one of the first to pre-order. I suspect many others would as well. 
 

How about we all start on a fresh step here. 
 

We all want this to grow and succeed. 

We all want to see seasoned developers get a chance to flex their brains once again and wow us with what you guys can create 

 

We all know it can be an uphill battle at times. 
 

Lastly and most importantly:

I would suspect we are mostly Gen X around here, and Sarcasm is our native tongue. Especially @John Stamos Mullet who is quite fluent ha ha.
No offense is meant to be given, and none was taken. 

[John Van Ryzin]

14 hours ago, MikeM_ said:

How about we all start on a fresh step here. 

No problem.  I am all for forgive and forget.

[jonreddick]

On 2/19/2024 at 6:08 PM, jeremiahjt said:

I have been trying to get the YouTube channel GenXGrownup to do a live stream of Alien Abduction. I figured a little positive press might get Atari to do something on the cartridge front.

 

I do not know if it will happen or if it will make any difference, but this game screams cartridge release to me. I have at least got Jon of GenXGrownup to dust off his VCS 800 and update it. Hopefully he gives the game a try and finds it enjoyable.

 

I have not yet played Mr. Run & Jump, so I cannot comment on that game deserving the full cartridge release, but I know Alien Abduction deserves one.

 

That is a long way of saying do not give up hope just yet.

I've got the game installed. Now just a matter of finding an evening where I can schedule the stream. It's gonna happen, @jeremiahjt!

[Ben from Plaion]

4 hours ago, John Van Ryzin said:

No problem.  I am all for forgive and forget.

Everyone involved understands that new games officially sold by Atari is what everyone wants. 

[shane857]

On 2/21/2024 at 6:57 PM, Ben from Plaion said:

Everyone involved understands that new games officially sold by Atari is what everyone wants. 

Yes Newer, not so much old/newer releases as the majority of official 2600/7800 games are affordable and I expect most people own them anyway.