2600+ vs retron 77?

[Maztr_0n]

Thats totally fair tbh.

 

Hopefully that changes in the future but ya know, only time will tell.

[tradyblix]

Everything's better about the plus series, it's not even close.

 

Do you want to build a fun collection and give yourself a hobby, thereby respecting games more ? Nobody respects roms. you didn't pay for it, you don't have a physical cart, you don't care, and with a rom menu you skip games that otherwise you'd try if you had a cart with cool art. 

 

Plus it's more like the real experience, getting up and putting a new cart in. Everything can play roms, do something authentic for once in your lives.

 

Also you get the real experience of unboxing an official Atari Product.

 

I'm just saying, these are things that added value to my life, so yeah. If you can't afford to collect a few of the greatest carts, then yeah well... I get it, but hey, save up. plan it out. you don't need a whole collection done tomorrow. It's a hobby.

 

Hell it took me around 6 months to get all the games I really wanted. And still getting a few more ! Looking forward to Space Duel. 

 

I have about 60 games total and it covers most of the great games I really wanna play. Except for like 5 that cost a grand on their own (!!) the rest were like 10, 15 bucks each. Sometimes 5 bucks or less for 2600 games nobody thinks are good. 

Edited August 21 by tradyblix

[Thomas Jentzsch]

On 8/21/2024 at 3:48 AM, tradyblix said:

Everything's better about the plus series, it's not even close.

Nope.

• The R77 allows you to play ROMs from SD card, for the 2600+ you have to own the cart and wear it out.
• The 2600+ cartridge slot is much more sensitive to dirt than the original 2600 slot. You have to clean your carts extensively. Not necessary for the R77 and its ROMs.
• The launcher allows you the organize your ROMs as you like, you can search for ROMs, browse and preview them. With the 2600+ you and your shelf are the launcher.
• The firmware update of the R77 is much easier and not OS depended.
• The 2600+ is a closed system, using proprietary tools, the R77 has the open source, community firmware. If Atari loses interest into the 2600+, it cannot be updated anymore. 
• The R77 allows you to play ROMs which the 2600+ does not support (currently e.g. CDFJ). To get the latter dumped and running, there is much more work required. Even some theoretically working formats are not always dumped correctly.
• The R77 gives you full access to Stella's UI. The 2600+ has no UI. 
• You can tailor Stella as you like (phosphor, scanlines, palettes, controller sensitivity, paddle jitter fixing...).
  • If a game is not correctly autodetected by Stella (TV format, controller), you can fix that yourself using the UI. For the 2600+ you can not.
  • The R77 supports save states, the 2600+ does not.
• Via 2600-daptor, the R77 supports e.g. Keypad, Driving Controllers and TrakBalls. There is no such option for the 2600+. 

Both systems have their pros and cons. They fulfil different requirements.

Edited August 25 by Thomas Jentzsch

[Dionoid]

Thanks for highlighting the benefits of the Retron 77, @Thomas Jentzsch. This provides some balance in the comparison. However, the 2600-daptor isn't sold anymore, so I don't see that as a valid option to support a Keypad, Driving Controller or TrakBall (besides the fact that it also requires an awkward OTP-cable construction).

 

I own both systems, and for me the 2600+ is clearly the favorite. I just like the look & feel of the 2600+ and that is where the R77 fails for me.

The R77 also has a cartridge slot, but it supports only about 70% of my cartridges, and I have to insert the cartridges backwards (compared to an original 2600), which feels weird. Aesthetically, the R77 feels like a rushed job to me.

Edited August 25 by Dionoid

[Thomas Jentzsch]

4 hours ago, Dionoid said:

Thanks for highlighting the benefits of the Retron 77, @Thomas Jentzsch. This provides some balance in the comparison. However, the 2600-daptor isn't sold anymore, so I don't see that as a valid option to support a Keypad, Driving Controller or TrakBall (besides the fact that it also requires an awkward OTP-cable construction).

Fingers crossed that this situation will no last forever. At least there is an option for people who own this adaptor. And it is proven to work.

4 hours ago, Dionoid said:

I own both systems, and for me the 2600+ is clearly the favorite. I just like the look & feel of the 2600+ and that is where the R77 fails for me.

The R77 also has a cartridge slot, but it supports only about 70% of my cartridges, and I have to insert the cartridges backwards (compared to an original 2600), which feels weird. Aesthetically, the R77 feels like a rushed job to me.

Both are collecting dust here.

 

But which is better was not my case anyway. I only listed the points where the R77 has advantages over the 2600+. Just to contradict that general statement I have quoted.

[Maztr_0n]

8 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Fingers crossed that this situation will no last forever. At least there is an option for people who own this adaptor. And it is proven to work.

Both are collecting dust here.

 

But which is better was not my case anyway. I only listed the points where the R77 has advantages over the 2600+. Just to contradict that general statement I have quoted.

 

Yeah also, i really like the "authentic cartridge collecting" thing but like...

 

Bruh i was too late to get Ikari Warriors for 7800 on the cheap, not everyone can get their favorite games on carts as easily 😭