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

[Marc Fiorillo]

Wow.  I have some questions moving forward...

Now that we have the 2600+ will we see a wide release of Aquaventure, Saboteur, Yars' Return, and Save Mary?  Sadly, by the time I found out about these limited releases, they were already sold out.

Any idea when the CX-40+ joysticks be available again in the U.S.?  I did read about the worldwide inventory issues earlier in the thread.

I know everybody is asking about game manuals...how about writing and releasing them for Berzerk and especially for Mr. Run and Jump for those of us who have already purchased the games?  A retroactive release of manuals would be really cool! 

 

Ben, keep up the good work...I've been a collector for years, but this has really re-energized my love of Atari!!

[Ben from Plaion]

21 hours ago, Marc Fiorillo said:

Wow.  I have some questions moving forward...

Now that we have the 2600+ will we see a wide release of Aquaventure, Saboteur, Yars' Return, and Save Mary?  Sadly, by the time I found out about these limited releases, they were already sold out.

Any idea when the CX-40+ joysticks be available again in the U.S.?  I did read about the worldwide inventory issues earlier in the thread.

I know everybody is asking about game manuals...how about writing and releasing them for Berzerk and especially for Mr. Run and Jump for those of us who have already purchased the games?  A retroactive release of manuals would be really cool! 

 

Ben, keep up the good work...I've been a collector for years, but this has really re-energized my love of Atari!!

Thanks!

 

Not sure about the XP line. 

 

CX40+ back in stock in the US in May.

 

Instructions for Berzerk and MR&J I'll make at some point.

 

Thanks again

[John Van Ryzin]

Just gave my Atari 2600 Alien Abduction! source code and publishing rights to Audacity.

[SuperZapperRecharge]

1 hour ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Just gave my Atari 2600 Alien Abduction! source code and publishing rights to Audacity.

Nice!!! I'm glad they were very receptive. Can't wait to buy a real cart. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

 

Please try to ignore some of the people who don't think or research before they post here. Most people, here, really do appreciate your skill and prowess in developing 2600 games. I bought Alien Abduction for the VCS but really want the cart in box.

 

It's a bit of a shame that Atari is driving developers away once again but I hope they research their history a bit(why developers left when the marketing and business shills came in, WB, Ray Kasar) and Atari starts to embrace and encourage developers!

 

Hope Audacity releases the cart soon!  Thanks again John.

[+jeremiahjt]

3 hours ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Just gave my Atari 2600 Alien Abduction! source code and publishing rights to Audacity.

If I remember right, you made Alien Abduction for them, and they then passed on it. What made them change their mind?

 

Hopefully we can get a cartridge release soon.

[KainXavier]

11 hours ago, John Van Ryzin said:

Just gave my Atari 2600 Alien Abduction! source code and publishing rights to Audacity.

 

I'm happy Alien Abduction will see a physical release, and I hope the game sells well!

 

13 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Instructions for Berzerk and MR&J I'll make at some point.

 

I feel like AtariAge would be the perfect venue for this.  There's already some precedent for it too.  Pitkat's box and manual are sold separately.  (See here.)  I would love to be able to buy a full-sized box and manual for the 10 Games in 1 cartridge as well!

 

Edit: Manuals for all of the re-releases would be nice really, but the compilation games especially.

Edited February 24 by KainXavier
I should be asleep right now.

[John Van Ryzin]

10 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

If I remember right, you made Alien Abduction for them, and they then passed on it.

They did not pass on the game.  I could not go from a 16k to a 256k mega Audacity game, because using the retro joystick damaged my arm.  Took a year of physical therapy to recover.

 

My original game design was a bit too intense for my arm. LOL!

Edited February 24 by John Van Ryzin
Forgot to explain.

[John Van Ryzin]

On 2/22/2024 at 3:33 PM, shane857 said:

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.

It is all part of Atari’s “fake scarcity” plan.  They make 500 copies of an old game you can get for a dollar at a garage sale, put it up for preorder and if you miss it, it leaves you wanting.  Basically making old worthless games valuable.

[MikeM_]

16 minutes ago, John Van Ryzin said:

It is all part of Atari’s “fake scarcity” plan.  They make 500 copies of an old game you can get for a dollar at a garage sale, put it up for preorder and if you miss it, it leaves you wanting.  Basically making old worthless games valuable.

Most of what’s crazy expensive right now though is 3rd party games or licenses that Atari no longer has. Most of the titles they still own are pretty common and inexpensive.
 

Your previous games are actually some of the priciest ones right now. If Activision rereleased H.E.R.O. right now at the same price point as Atari, it would undercut the aftermarket price by a significant amount and benefit the players way more than anyone else. 
 

Re-releasing titles for $30 brings down the eBay prices because a lot of them had soared above that due to the renewed interest the console has created. 

 

Companies are going to look for ways to make the most profit. It’s just the way it works. In the case of current Atari, I don’t feel taken advantage of by them. If anything, the work they are doing here on the forums to make the FW the best it can be shows a solid dedication to giving us the best experience possible which they didn’t have to do if it was just about a quick cash grab. 
 

And again, this doesn’t mean that I don’t think new games aren’t important as well. I’m looking forward to Audacity releasing more new games, including yours. 
 

But keep in mind that a lot of people buying the system didn’t have all the original games back then so this huge library of classic games available to them now are new to them, even if they are 40+ years old. 

[John Van Ryzin]

I see your point, but why is every old game released in limited quantity and never appears again?  I combine that and a lack of interest in publishing new games to be suspect.  They do not even want the expense of including a manual.
 

The only reason H.E.R.O. is scarce because it was released during the video game crash, so the quantity of built cartridges was low compared to previous top 10 games.

But I should stop hijacking this post and do something else with my time.

 

 

 

[Albert]

20 minutes ago, John Van Ryzin said:

I combine that and a lack of interest in publishing new games to be suspect.  They do not even want the expense of including a manual.

This is not true at all, Atari is very much interested in publishing new games, and they understand that they need to have a mix of older titles and newer titles.  These things take time, they don't happen overnight.  And as for manuals, all of the XP releases have had manuals, and only a few of the new games released at $30 (with a box and a cardboard sleeve protecting the cartridge) have not.  I believe future games at that price point will have manuals going forward.  For games I publish through AtariAge, manuals are very important to me personally, so I spend a lot of time working on them (just ask anyone who's published games through AtariAge).

 

 ..Al

[John Van Ryzin]

9 minutes ago, Albert said:

This is not true at all, Atari is very much interested in publishing new games, and they understand that they need to have a mix of older titles and newer titles.  These things take time, they don't happen overnight.  And as for manuals, all of the XP releases have had manuals, and only a few of the new games released at $30 (with a box and a cardboard sleeve protecting the cartridge) have not.  I believe future games at that price point will have manuals going forward.  For games I publish through AtariAge, manuals are very important to me personally, so I spend a lot of time working on them (just ask anyone who's published games through AtariAge).

 

 ..Al

They are so interested in new games that they offered David Crane, the creator of 3rd party game development companies, low pay to code a port of someone else’s game.  Please delete my AtariAge account.

[MrBeefy]

3 hours ago, Albert said:

This is not true at all, Atari is very much interested in publishing new games, and they understand that they need to have a mix of older titles and newer titles.  These things take time, they don't happen overnight.  And as for manuals, all of the XP releases have had manuals, and only a few of the new games released at $30 (with a box and a cardboard sleeve protecting the cartridge) have not.  I believe future games at that price point will have manuals going forward.  For games I publish through AtariAge, manuals are very important to me personally, so I spend a lot of time working on them (just ask anyone who's published games through AtariAge).

 

 ..Al

They've always been top quality too!

 

If I had to guess, newer stuff doesn't have the nostalgia that the older games do. From a business perspective the old games while having been released a lot in multiple ways over the years are still low hanging fruit that those fans will buy. 

 

If the 2600+ plus does well over time I would think we'd see more of a shift to newer stuff.

 

Hey I just thought of this and not related. Moving forward will AA releases in the store have the AA logo or Atari?

[Albert]

34 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

Hey I just thought of this and not related. Moving forward will AA releases in the store have the AA logo or Atari?

The AtariAge logo just as they've always had.

 

 ..Al

[MikeM_]

31 minutes ago, Albert said:

The AtariAge logo just as they've always had.

 

 ..Al

Looking forward to getting my copy of Bentley Bear’s Crystal Quest, my 1st AA title. Happy to hear it will still be an AA title. 👍🏼 

[Sean_1970]

On 2/25/2024 at 3:20 AM, MrBeefy said:

They've always been top quality too!

 

If I had to guess, newer stuff doesn't have the nostalgia that the older games do. From a business perspective the old games while having been released a lot in multiple ways over the years are still low hanging fruit that those fans will buy. 

 

If the 2600+ plus does well over time I would think we'd see more of a shift to newer stuff.

 

Hey I just thought of this and not related. Moving forward will AA releases in the store have the AA logo or Atari?

I cannot argue this point: those old games are a known quantity and being able to get them in brand new condition without taking chances on eBay has a lot of appeal. Some homebrew/indie titles are a bit hit-and-miss based on the few I’ve encountered due to being included in new compilations, but buying a new physical cart is a different ballgame entirely and has some excitement attached. Being in the UK ease of access is key, but I’m confident that will come in time and I’ll be growing my collection with new games rather than just trawling through eBay eventually 😊

[Bratwurst]

On 1/29/2024 at 3:18 PM, Ben from Plaion said:

Aesthetically it looks exactly the same. Buttons feel the same but I've been engineering the DPAD to be better. I've been dropping info here and there in AA regarding what I've been doing. I just cant see anyone prefering the original CX78 to the CX78+. But that is my opinion. 

 

If I get time I'll do a video to show the internals of the CX78+ in the next few days.

Has there been any further elaboration posted anywhere yet about the revisions made on the CX78+? I am interested in getting a controller but I'd like to know more before I commit to a purchase, else I could just get the original CX78s.

[Ben from Plaion]

19 minutes ago, Bratwurst said:

Has there been any further elaboration posted anywhere yet about the revisions made on the CX78+? I am interested in getting a controller but I'd like to know more before I commit to a purchase, else I could just get the original CX78s.

I haven't got around to it yet. I'll try and find some time next week

[ewokmic]

On 2/5/2024 at 8:14 PM, Ben from Plaion said:

For the time being it should be complimentary, but keeping track of all stock availablilty in all territories is not easy. Too much stock in this country, too little in others is quite a spinning plates act.

Completely out of the blue got Amazon dispatch note on the paddle set with 4-in-1 cart.  Looks like it’s back in stock in the UK. Coming tomorrow! Nice. 

[Ben from Plaion]

On 2/29/2024 at 3:16 PM, Bratwurst said:

Has there been any further elaboration posted anywhere yet about the revisions made on the CX78+? I am interested in getting a controller but I'd like to know more before I commit to a purchase, else I could just get the original CX78s.

Had a bit of time this afternoon. Enjoy!

 

Biggest changes are in the DPAD feel even though that is constrained by the general aesthetics of the Gamepad. I tried to prevent directional pressing errors as playing with the original pad it was too easy to make a unintended directional movement. I think I acheived it without making diagonal movements too hard. Anyway I'm sure the internet will judge when it comes out in May. 

[MikeM_]

5 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Had a bit of time this afternoon. Enjoy!

 

Biggest changes are in the DPAD feel even though that is constrained by the general aesthetics of the Gamepad. I tried to prevent directional pressing errors as playing with the original pad it was too easy to make an unintended directional movement. I think I acheived it without making diagonal movements too hard. Anyway I'm sure the internet will judge when it comes out in May. 

Looking forward to when these arrive. 👍🏼 

 

Ordered 2 of them back when pre-orders went live. 

[ewokmic]

Looks great. Excited to get one. Haven’t used one for 20 years!

[+Intellivision Master]

15 hours ago, ewokmic said:

Looks great. Excited to get one. Haven’t used one for 20 years!

It does look great.  I'm excited to get one too.  I never had one before, so it'll be nice to finally try one out.

[+Intellivision Master]

20 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Had a bit of time this afternoon. Enjoy!

 

Biggest changes are in the DPAD feel even though that is constrained by the general aesthetics of the Gamepad. I tried to prevent directional pressing errors as playing with the original pad it was too easy to make a unintended directional movement. I think I acheived it without making diagonal movements too hard. Anyway I'm sure the internet will judge when it comes out in May. 

Thank you for making the video and sharing it with us.

[+Nathan Strum]

On 3/5/2024 at 9:51 AM, Ben from Plaion said:

Had a bit of time this afternoon. Enjoy!

 

Biggest changes are in the DPAD feel even though that is constrained by the general aesthetics of the Gamepad. I tried to prevent directional pressing errors as playing with the original pad it was too easy to make a unintended directional movement. I think I acheived it without making diagonal movements too hard. Anyway I'm sure the internet will judge when it comes out in May. 

Thanks for the video - that looks great! I'll be getting one for sure (and hacking it to turn it into a right-handed controller - I've never been able to use a d-pad with my left hand).

 

Question - is there any reinforcement inside the joystick shaft? It appears to be hollow. I've never had an original CX-78, so I'm unfamiliar with it.

 

The reason I ask, is that I had a Gravis GamePad years ago (favorite gamepad ever) that used a plastic screw-in joystick, that screwed into a metal-threaded insert. The weak point was always at the top of the plastic threads (at the base of the joystick handle), where the handle would snap off. This was especially so if the joystick loosened up a little - causing more stress at that point because of the extra movement and reduced shoulder support. Gravis sold replacements for awhile, but I didn't stockpile them when I had the chance  . Do you think Atari might sell replacement screw-in joysticks for this new one?