Atari Announces an Official Portable 2600 System

Bill Kendrick writes: "Infogrames (the folks who now own Atari) have just struck a deal with another company to produce a 10-in-1 video game system based on the Atari 2600. It'll be joystick-shaped, plug into a TV set, cost only $20, and include games like Combat, Asteroids, Missile Command, and my favorite, Adventure! It won't replace my Atari 2600 Jr and 60 cartridges, but it's a step in the right direction!"

Original?

[supercytro]

It's amazing how Atari are constantly heard to resurrect itself only to push out the same games again and again, only to surprise itself when it doesn't pay off profitably... even in this instance, cheap many-in-one tv classic games systems have been sold so it's not even first with this strategy...

Re:Sad really

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, it could compete and then lose with the Amiga. Seriously, the Amiga was so much better than the ST. The AmigaOS was exceptionally well-desgined and resource-efficient (for the time), and the Amiga gfx hardware was extremely powerful (for the time), with some better 2D abilities than even modern PC gfx cards (sync-to-external-video capability and sub-pixel scrolling, for example, not to mention the beam-synchronised gfx coprocessor for special effects...)

It's just a shame the Amiga and Atari ST spent so much time fighting eachother, instead of the real enemy, the PC, which was so incredibly inferior to either at the time.

Re:The point being?

[phunhippy]

I'm sorry, would someone please enlighten me a bit on this matter?
Who on earth wants to play atari 2600 games?

Think of it this way..
Playing atari games is kinda like bringing back good memories really cheaply.. hell if it comes with pit-fall i'd pay 20 bux to be able to plug into an rca jack anywhere and play.. it's fun..
Think if it this way..
Its the same thing as wanting or going back to an old gf(or bf i suppose.. dunno not, gay) ya know what your getting, when your getting, know where and how to hit all the right buttons and since you've played it alot before you can just shut it off when your done :)

Replayability?

[Perianwyr Stormcrow]

"Name one single atari 2600 game that actually has a decent plot, good replayability, long shelflife and non-repetitive gameplay."

Plot: Do you complain when your game of checkers doesn't have any love interests in it?

Replayability: the name of the game with these old Atari games. You never really beat them- you're mostly competing against yourself.

Shelflife: Witness the plethora of 2600 emulators out there. Geez.

Non-repetitive gameplay: See "plot", above. What are you looking for, final fantasy?

Old Atari games may not have beautiful, amazing graphics, but many of them are unbeatable in the arena of actual gameplay.

Portable?

[saqmaster]

It'd be cool if someone brought out a colour, handheld Atari system. It wouldn't cost much, I mean, compared to something like the NeoGeo handheld or gameboy.

Just imagine it, sitting on the train, and people start hearing the classic Asteroids noises coming from your handheld.

Within minutes everyone will want a go. Nostalgia at it's best!

Re:Original?

[Anonymous Coward]

Most of us who can remember playing Atari are not in the age group I believe they are targetting. They are targetting a generation who has never had experience with this gaming system. In addition, those who are not rich kids but can afford a 20 dollar system and they would be happy for a tried and tested platform.

Re:The point being?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ok,

How about parents with younger children, who don't want to spend much on something that will probably get broken fairly quickly.

It retricts the kids to playing it on the TV which allows for greater control over it's usage than say a GameBoy which they can sit anywhere out of sight with.

The games relied on gameplay rather than complicated plots, much easier for a younger child to master, take 2 young children. Explain to one how to play space invaders, try and explain to the other how to organise the members of thier team in Dungeon Siege and the benefits of +x modifiers and don't forget to keep the 4 or 5 health bars on the left of the screen up...

Just because you do not play with duplo bricks, it does not mean there is no market for such a product.

Thinkgeek

[Ratface]

This is something that would *so* fit ThinkGeek's product line. I hope someone from there keeps an eye on the status of this product and gets them in stock when they are finally availabe.

Re:Sad really

[goodEvans]

It's sad to see Atari's legacy being abused by yet another company who just lives on Atari's fame.

JUST LIVES ON ATARI'S FAME? Infogrames has been around and making bloody great games for nearly 20 years! I had Infogrames games on my old Amstrad CPC464, back in 1986-89!

I smell a troll...

Re:Who will buy it?

[ProlificSage]

Those who remember coming home from school and ignoring our homework to see how many times we could flip Asteroids before supper.

Those who remember having to mow two lawns to afford to buy Missile Command

Those who despise today's multi-function "game controllers" and long for the day of a one button joystick

Those who now have the cash to buy all the games they could never afford as kids.

That, IMHO, is who will buy it.

Re:Portable?

[Sabalon]

That's what I thought right after I read the article. A small screen would suffice - we're not talking about losing quailty on the graphics :)

You could probably put a few megs of ROM in it and preload it with just about every Atari game out there.

The only problems I see are:
- getting permissions to package the ROM's
- you'd not want to do it the above way because once you sold one, there is no reason for someone to come back and buy more games from you. So that means some sort of media to swap games in and out, which means more cost.