Summary

• Atari is reviving classic consoles with modern updates for a nostalgic experience.
• Atari is introducing new titles alongside re-released classics.
• The Atari XP Program focuses on rare and unreleased titles for collectors, preserving gaming history.

Gamescom 2024 was very old school for me. From 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:retro-inspired games, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:remakes of classics from my childhood, and even 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:retro-themed consoles, there was much to appreciate this year, and I loved every minute. Most, if not all, of my Gamescom highlights fell into this category, and amongst my favourite moments, I enjoyed catching up with Atari about all the awesome things it has been doing to not only breathe new life into its ꦛimpressive back catalogue, but also break new ground.

If you’re not up to date on what Atari has been doing (yes, it’s still around), let me fill you in. Last year, it launched the , an 80 percent sized version of the original Atari 2600 from 1977. It has the same metal toggles and wood grain front that you’d expect, much like the original, but it’s been modernised to feature an improved cartridge socket so it no longer sticks. Nostalgia, ♔eat yಌour heart out.

Of course, no memory of the 2600 is complete without the iconic joystick, so Atari relaunched the CX40 last year. Again, Atari made sure it had all the hallmarks of the original with the same dimensions, weight, and signature red button, but it also worked to improve u𒐪pon it, using a more durable rubber grip instead of plastic, but reformulating it to give the right texture for that classic feel.

After relaunching the CX40, Atari received a lot of fan feedback asking for a wireless version, so that’s what it did next. While Atari strives to retain that authenticity ๊of the original, we just don’t sit as close to our TVs as we used to now that we have whopping great wall-mounted monstrosities. Wireless was a no-brainer. However, Atari wanted to ensure that everything was backwards compatible with the origin🅘al hardware, so to achieve this it created a DB9 dongle so the wireless CX40 not only works on the new Atari 2600+, but also on the original 2600.

I was shown the ProLine controller that launched with the 7800 in the US in 1986, which gamers back then d♛ubbed the ‘Painline Controller’ because ergonomi🅘cally, it was an absolute nightmare. By the time Atari brought the 7800 to Europe, it had created a new controller design called the CX78 Joypad, which featured the first thumbstick.

Interestingly, you can unscrew the ♔thumbstick to 𒅌revert back to a normal D-Pad if you want to.

Atari has re-launched this controller too, now called the CX78 GamePad which comes in both wired and wireless forms, which once again are fully backwards compatible with original hardware. Atari also recently released the , which unlike the 2600+, comes with a pause button, as well as having a more ‘80s style to it. The nice thing about both of the re-released consoles is that they feature dual compatibility, so they can play either 2600 or 7800 games. Ultimately you just have to decide whether you like the &lsquo🏅;70s or ‘80s vibe more.

Both of the new units also feature HDMI ports, because let’s face it, not everyone has an old CRT TV kicking around. As an added improvement, you can also hot-swap games, so you don&rs💦quo;t need to power down the console to swap the cartridge. You know, that thing the manufacturer recommended you did but no one really paid attention to? Yeah, it doesn’t matter now anyway.

For the record, you really shouldn’t do this with retro cartridge games as it can cause damage in the console. Don’t say I didn&ꦛrsquo;t warn you.

Classic Atari games are playable once agai🎃n, and other than being incredibly nostalgic, it’s refreshing to go back to something so easy to pick up and play in short bursts. Despite their seeming simplicity, most are incredibly challenging. I utterly failed at pla✅ying Food Fight at Gamescom, but despite my dire performance, I still enjoyed it.

But Atari isn’t just focusing on reviving its old classics, there are ten brand new titles available for the 7800+ too. It’s not just its own historic catalogue that Atari has to work with, but community-made projects and third-party titles too. Bentley Bear’s Crystal Quest, the sequel to 1983’s Bentley Bear's Crystal Castles, was actually an unofficial sequel made by a member of the community. Having played and loved it, Atari approached the developer to acquire the IP to launch it alongside the 7800+. Frenzy, the sequel to Berserk, is another new title. Bounty Bob Strikes Back! was originally an Atari 5200 game, but Atari has ported it to the 7800+ platform.

Atari also at 50 percent of the size of the original. The original console featured a keyboard, but shrinking it down meant removing the working keyboard, so Atari needed a new way to play the 25 pre-loaded games on the mini. It made a new joystick that looks and feels like a normal CX40 Joystick, but actually has eight buttons to maintain the functionality needed. I was challenged to find all eight buttons, but struck out at seven. It turns out the final button is cleverly hidden as a corner on the b⛎ase.

One of the most important things Atari is doing at the moment is the , which focuses on rare and unreleased titles, to get them into the hands of gamers all over the world. Saboteur and🌌 Aquaventure were fully finished prototypes that were shelved indefinitely in 1983, so they were never released. The community has kept these alive over the past 20 years and because of that, Atari was able to give these titles their long-awaited physical cartridge launch.

Fun fact, Saboteur was created by Howard Scott Warshaw, the person responsible for making E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the game that ultimately ended up buried♐ in the desert en masse.

Atari upgrades the artwork, including things like pins, patches, posters, and game manuals, and they’re offered in finite runs. Each one is essentially a limited edition, and once they’re gone, they’re gone, as the Atari XP Program is collector-focused. Many of the titles that Atari is targetting were shelved due to n🍸o fault of their own and if they had been launched at the time, would likely have been great successes.

There are even prototypes that Atari is aware of that it has yet to find in the wild as they are “tricky to locate”, but that it hopes to one day salvage so that it can release them as part of the XP Program. While Atari wouldn’t let slip the name of any of these titles, I look forward to perhaps one day hearing about how they’ve uncovered som𝕴e new holy grail of unreleased Atari hi🌠story.

Atari is embracing both its past and future, not only making its back 🍨catalogue of consoles and games more accessible but unearthing lost treasures in the process. In a day and age where e🐼verything is going digital, and what we as consumers receive feels like less and less, to the point where you can buy empty game cases with no disc or cartridge inside, it’s refreshing to go back to the good old days.

All these modern digital games can evaporate overnight, as Concord has recently reminded us. There’s no real preservation happening for many modern games, but Atari isn’t letting that happen with its♒ history. It’s fighting to not only preserve what it created for ol🐬d fans but also to appeal to new fans, and introduce this golden age of gaming to a whole new generation.