Atari Flashback (New Hardware from Atari)

[Griking]

Check it out here (http://www.atari.com/us/games/atari_flashback/7800?PHPSESSID=ca41d0c9bce2aab606e9a1d6a2f2f530).

Yeah, its only one of those plug and play devices but its an official one and comes with cool looking joystiks. Not to mention that it includes Adventure. :-P

There's also an article about it and the new PS2 Atari Anthology here (http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040908/D84V5SPO0.html).

The new Anthology BTW is going to contain 85 games this time around.

[max 330 mega]

wow that looks pretty neat, might have to pick on of them up.

[Lady Jaye]

We already were discussing the Flashback in the Atari Anthology thread...

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41095

[Griking]

Oh hell, I didn't even see that.

sorry :embarrassed:

But there are two more bits of interesting info that I just noticed from the above article.


The "Atari Anthology" disc will offer new twists on the games, too: "trippy mode," which renders the graphics in psychedelic colors, and "time warp" and "double speed," which can alter the pace of on-screen action.

Besides its array of classic Atari 2600 and 7800 titles, the Atari Flashback console will include one previously unreleased game: "Saboteur."

[MegaDrive20XX]

That reminds me, this little plug and play can be found for $19.99 now

[mgriff]

I heard the controllers didn't work to well, from what I've heard the controllers felt choppy.

[Neil Koch]

They're way too small for me... I can only play for about 10 minutes before my hands cramp up. The selection of games isn't too hot either. A lot of them have been on other plug and play "systems", and others are just poor games.

[kirin jensen]

The worst thing for me is there's no cart slot.

With all the new homebrews, they need a cart slot.

Plus the Activision/Imagic games.

[wgungfu]

The worst thing for me is there's no cart slot.

With all the new homebrews, they need a cart slot.

Plus the Activision/Imagic games.

Cartridge slots are just not going to happen. It would be a technical support nightmare with lots of average people (not collectors like us) calling up wondering why their 20 some year old cartridge won't work. And nobody wants to pay someone to say "just clean the cartridge contacts" or "that's not an Atari cartridge, that's for the Colecovision/Intellivision/etc."

On the plus side, the new Flashback 2 is set up for people to hack in their own cartridge port. Just need to disable the menu chip and solder it in. I have an E3 review of the Flashback 2 up at cg.com here (http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/flashback2). I agree though, as a collector I didn't care for the original Flashback either (have a review up of that as well), especially the controllers. This time around though, they are using full reproduction Atari sticks (with new microswitches instead of the old plastic bubble contacts), and it will accept legacy controllers.

[Captain Wrong]

Wow. That 2.0 looks cool. I didn't realize that even existed. Thanks for the review link. :D

[Scream And Fly]

Nice review, lots of grammar errors though :)

Greg

[TeddyRuxpin]

What they SHOULD do is make an *actual* compact Atari 2600 that plays the old cartridges, or even a portable like:

http://www.classicgaming.com/vcsp/